The Heights March 23, 2017

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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

EST. 1919

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THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017

GO PRO

READY TO DANCE?

SPORTS

SCENE

Six Eagles participated at Pro Day in front of scouts from 22 NFL teams on Tuesday.

BC’s dance troupes discuss how they have prepared for Showdown.

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Boston College Community Remembers Monan The former president’s funeral Mass was held in St. Ignatius on Wed.

Connors and Gabelli talk meeting Monan, his lasting impact

BY CONNOR MURPHY

BY CONNOR MURPHY

News Editor

News Editor

In a funeral Mass Wednesday morning, Boston College celebrated the life of Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., a leader of BC for 45 years as the University’s 24th president and first chancellor. Monan died on Saturday in Weston, Mass., at 92.

Attended by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09; Newton Mayor Setti Warren, BC ’92; Doug Flutie, BC ’85; and numerous other prominent members of the BC community, the Mass featured remembrances of a man who Monan’s great-nephew, Anthony J. Bellia, Jr., said in a eulogy was “always at his best.”

Rev. Joseph O’Keefe, S.J., a former dean of the Lynch School of Education, built his homily around the Eucharist as thanksgiving, a common refrain from Monan in his homilies. O’Keefe highlighted Monan’s scholarship, graciousness, practical wisdom, dedication to public service, and faithfulness, citing examples of each.

O’Keefe was recently made the rector of a Jesuit training program at Fordham University, where a few weeks ago a scholastic asked him why Jesuits had to learn about Aristotle.

“Because maybe, one day, you’ll turn out like Don Monan,” O’Keefe had thought— Monan was an Aristotelian scholar and author in addition to his leadership in higher education.

“Don was living proof that the humanities can, indeed, humanize,” O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe told a story about Kim Noonan, a nurse for the Jesuit community, who accompanied Monan to doctor’s appoint-

father-in-law was in the hospital, dying of cancer, Monan would go, without telling anybody, to visit him.

“His kind words for others flowed easily because he genuinely appreciated their contributions and virtues, and … it was the same for a high-ranking public service, as it was for a person who served BC students lunch in the dining hall,” he said. “He loved everyone as an equal.”

Geoffrey Boisi, BC ’69, a longtime member of the Board of Trustees who said he spoke to Monan weekly for over 38 years, delivered the other eulogy. He called Monan, who is widely credited with saving the University from financial instability, BC’s

When Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., was named Boston College’s 24th president, the joke was he was so thin that he’d only take office after BC got the results of a physical exam. That’s a story Jack Connors, BC ’63, a Boston business icon, and the only two-time chair of the Board of Trustees, tells about Monan’s early days at BC. “He was very proud of that, because in his 24 years as president, he only took four sick days,” Connors said.

In phone interviews on Tuesday and Wednesday, Connors and Mario J. Gabelli, another major donor and longtime trustee, talked about their relationships with Monan and their perspectives on what he brought to Chestnut Hill.

Connors first met Monan a couple of years into his presidency. A founder of advertising agency Hill Holliday, Connors decided he wanted to do some fundraising for his alma mater, so he told Monan he’d raise $1,000 each at a 15-person dinner if Monan spoke at it. The next time, Connors decided to host a $25,000 dinner. He promised Monan eight people, but the night before, he only had two. He called up a friend who’d gone to Boston University after getting denied from BC—so they raised $75,000, and Monan spoke at the dinner.

Having promised him $200,000, Connors apologized to Monan, but then one of the attendees, so impressed with Monan, sent him a check for $250,000. Early on in his presidency, Monan couldn’t believe it.

See Monan Funeral, A3

See Trustees, A3

TOM DEVOTO / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

Rev. Robert L. Keane (left), Rev. John J. Hanwell, and University President Rev. William P. Leahy, all S.J. were officiants at the Mass. ments over the past few months. One day, the wait for the doctor unexpectedly went into lunchtime. Noonan offered Monan half of her sandwich, and after a couple bites he stopped and looked at her.

“Thank you so much,” he said. “This is just delicious.”

It was half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Monan believed, O’Keefe said, that Jesuits should “leave the sacristy” to engage with the marketplace of ideas and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to the common good.

He participated in the polis and public service, and even got involved in professional sports. After the murder of several Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter in 1989 in El Salvador at Central American

University, Monan challenged Congress to withhold aid from the country until it held its political leaders accountable for their roles in the murders. He succeeded.

“Don believed in a faith that does justice,” O’Keefe said.

Bellia, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Notre Dame, gave the first eulogy, highlighting in particular Monan’s personal attributes and family life—his families in Buffalo, Syracuse, Baltimore, Indiana, Boston, and Ireland.

“Blood ran very thick for him,” Bellia said. “But the spirit ran thick with him as well. And he treasured his spiritual family.”

Bellia’s first remembrance in life is Monan pushing him around in a red wagon, as a 2-year-old with a broken leg. When Bellia’s

Tracing Back BC ITS

BY ALEC GREANEY A1 Editor This is the first part in a series about technology at Boston College, in part following up on a 2005 story on the evolution of course registration titled ‘Getting into your classes’ and a 2006 series titled ‘BC gets wired: technology through the decades.’

When Brian Mangiacotti, MCAS ’18, woke up early in his off-campus apartment on Jan. 17, he wasn’t planning to spend more than a couple minutes in the atrium of St. Mary’s Hall. He had been through the process of registering for a Woods College of Advancing Studies class before—one each semester last academic year. He hadn’t had any trouble those days, strolling in around 10 a.m. on the first day of class, handing over his Eagle ID to one of the staff members manning one of a few computers set up by Student Services in Lyons Hall (the location has moved a couple times over the years), and listing the course ID number he wanted. Not a big deal.

This semester, he had an idea that the class he wanted would be more popular, so he took a bus in to campus and arrived outside St Mary’s when it opened at 8 a.m., thinking he would have plenty of time before his first class at 9. There he found the line, which wasn’t just out the door but around the pathway and another couple hundred feet down the road toward Commonwealth Ave. He waited for more than an hour as the line inched forward, missing his first

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

class but finally reaching the front at about 9:30 a.m. As he read off the course code, he got the bad news everyone who showed up that morning feared: the class had just filled.

That’s an example of a modern-day horror story that can garner you plenty of empathy from fellow students. It’s also a small example of something that Boston College’s Information Technology Services Department seeks to minimize: inefficiency.

In some ways, being a part of ITS is a thankless job. BC’s technology department outlined a broad mission statement in an update to its strategic plan in the spring of 2015, noting its purpose to provide “secure, reliable and integrated technology solutions in alignment with academic and administrative goals, while delivering excellence in customer service.” The thing is, people rarely think about ITS when things are going well—when things are slow, down, broken, or perceived as inefficient, that’s when critics show up.

“It’s a juggling act,” said Scott Cann, the technology director of ITS Support.

“I think customer expectations is another important thing for any IT shop … technically our customers are students, faculty, parents, and other administrators.

So we’ve got to think about their needs and wants, and balance that with keeping things steady, efficient, predictable, that kind of stuff.”

As Cann also pointed out, those needs and wants grow in scale every year, as

See UIS, A3

NEWS: Class of 2021

The numbers are in: BC’s acceptance rate stayed steady at 32 percent this year.....A3

IMAGE COURTESY OF BOSTON COLLEGE ATHLETICS

BPDA Approves Field House Plans The indoor practice facility is slated to be done by July 2018.

BY MICHAEL SULLIVAN Editor-in-Chief Boston College football is one step closer to joining its brethren in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Last Thursday, the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) approved the University’s plans for an indoor practice facility adjacent to Alumni Stadium. The facility, also labeled by BC as a field house, will serve to replace the bubble as BC Athletics’ primary practice space during the winter months. The field house will be 115,700 square feet, where Shea Field is currently located. It is one of three primary projects related to BC Athletics

that has been announced over the last year, the other two being the replacement for the Flynn Recreation Complex and the Brighton Athletic Fields, where baseball and softball are scheduled to move by the 2018 season. The total cost for the three projects will be around $200 million.

The field house will have a turf field on which football can practice, as well as a weight room that will double the size of the current ones in the Yawkey Athletic Center and Conte Forum. There will be a direct connection underneath the Beacon Street Garage straight to the field house. In addition, a formal outdoor practice field will be built next to the indoor practice facility. The bubble will likely still be used as an auxiliary space along with the field house. The full specifications of the plans were provided to the Boston Business Journal.

BC intends to begin construction for

METRO: Re-zoning Sparks Debate

On Monday, Newton City Council discussed affordable housing...........................................A5

INDEX

the indoor practice facility after Commencement 2017. The project ideally will be completed by July 2018, according to Vice President of Governmental and Community Affairs Thomas J. Keady, Jr. The project, Keady said, will not be delayed by the departure of Director of Athletics Brad Bates, whose contract runs out in June 2017.

The next step for the field house, Keady said, is to seek approval with the Boston Zoning Commission, which is a department of the BPDA. That will require a map amendment under the Boston zoning code, the meeting time for which is undetermined but will likely take place during the third week of April. Keady expressed excitement that BC has passed all three of its major athletics projects in the past 12 months.

“We’re thrilled that we have three projects in the last year done,” Keady said. 

NEWS.......................... A2 ARTS & REVIEW............ B1

Vol. XCVIII, No. 16 METRO......................A4 SPORTS......................B8 © 2017, The Heights, Inc. OPINIONS................... A6 www.bcheights.com

The Heights

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things to do on campus this week

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The Shea Center for Entrepreneurship will host a lunch with Jimmy Orcutt, co-founder of My Brother’s Keeper. My Brother’s Keeper is a Christian ministry in Easton and Dartmouth, Mass. that delivers furniture and food to local families in need. The lunch is today at 12 p.m. in Cushing 208.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

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Tonight from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., the McMullen Museum of Art will hold a creative writing workshop led by Hugo Clemente, a professor of advanced Spanish who has taught creative writing in New York, Boston, and several Spanish cities. Students will be able to write a short story and learn the basic rules and elements of brief narrative.

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Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned professor of economics at Columbia University, will speak at an event as a part of the Lowell Humanities Series on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Devlin 008. Sachs is a leader in sustainable development, a senior U.N. adviser, and a syndicated columnist whose columns appear in over 100 countries.

NEWS Nun Shares Heartbreaks, Calls on Students to Serve BRIEFS

By Abigail Druhot

Dining Adds Take-Out App

Boston College Dining Services has introduced a pick-up window at Hillside Cafe that allows students to order food ahead of time using the mobile app GET. BC Dining had a trial run for the window in the fall and officially implemented it last week.

To access GET, students must log into the app using their Agora Portal username and password.

Students can then order food “now,” which means the food will be prepared for pickup in 30 minutes, or “later,” which allows students to select a date and time up to six days in advance.

The purpose of the app is to reduce wait times at Hillside, an often-crowded dining destination.

Students can order coffee, breakfast omelettes, sandwiches, and other items from Hillside in advance to beat the lines during peak hours.

BC Dining had a soft release of the app and pick up window in the fall with just a few students.

In February, BC Dining contacted its top 75 most frequent Hillside customers and asked them to try the app. The app was officially launched for all students after spring break.

According to Megan O’Neill, associate director of restaurant operations, about 40 percent of orders through the app have been in advance, or have been ordered greater than 30 minutes ahead of time.

If all goes well with the app, the pick-up window service could expand to other dining locations on campus. “ We would love to expand across campus at some point,” O’Neill said.

RLL Hosts Grad Conference Last Friday, Boston College’s department of Romance language and literatures hosted an interdisciplinary graduate conference, For the Love of Truth: Consolidation and Disruption. The theme of the conference revolved around the Inquisition’s Injunction against Galileo, citing 2016 as the 400th anniversary of the judgement, which serves as a reminder for the consequences of speaking openly about the truth.

The two-day conference invited graduate students from all disciplines concerning Romance languages to propose paper ideas related to the theme. Suggested topics included censorship, progress, intellectual integrity, language and politics, and sciences of literature. During the conference, graduate students would present their ideas in English, French, Spanish, or Italian for a maximum of 20 minutes.

The keynote speaker for the event, Walter Stephens, is the Charles S. Singleton Professor of Italian Studies in the Department of German and Romance Languages of Johns Hopkins University. Previously a visiting professor of Italian at Yale University and the Unversite Francois Rabelais in Tours, France, Stephens’ research and teaching focuses on the relation of medieval and Renaissance literature to theology, witchcraft, literary forgery, and the history of scholarship.

Conference proceedings will be published in an issue of the Romance eReview, the department’s peer-reviewed online graduate journal.

For The Heights

Simone Campbell, a Catholic nun and the executive director at NETWORK, compared herself to the stomach acid in the body of Christ at her “Mercy, Service, and Advocacy” talk Wednesday night.

“My job is to liberate energy and stir people up,” she said.

Campbell has advocated for social justice issues for decades, traveling the nation with her social-activist group, Nuns on the Bus. She has also been an advocate through her executive director position at NETWORK,

a Catholic social justice lobbying group.

Campbell reflected on some of her more personal stories across her travels, specifically a woman named Margaret who Campbell said died because she didn’t have access to health care. She called on people to not forget the Margarets of their lives, and fight for what they believe is right and fair.

She recalls families like Margaret’s across her travels thanking her for fighting for them, and then herself thanking the families in return, and she realized something important in the midst of all this gratitude.

josh Mentzer / Heights Staff

Simone Campbell is a Catholic nun and the executive director at NETWORK.

“When you are saying thank you back and forth, it’s a sign of community. It’s a sign that we are seeing each other as humans. And that, that is what our nation is in dire need of,” she said. “That is where life is.”

Her “stomach acid” idea led into her point of getting comfortable with the uncomfortable in life as she shared personal stories about her travels that have touched her in an irrevocable way.

“We desperately need the spiritual practice of letting our hearts be broken open … because when our hearts are broken open, we have room for a lot more people in our lives,” she said.

Her points then shifted from mercy and love toward advocacy and what people can do to help others as part of their civic duty.

“Don’t shy away from the question … as your hearts are broken open, think about what you’ve learned, think about who you’ve met, think about how things are different,” Campbell said.

She called on many students specifically who she knew had recently come back from a service trip. She called on them to keep these passions and experiences alive in their hearts.

Then she touched on the four

virtues people can practice to deal with their broken hearts.

“I urge you to practice the virtue of joy. Joy, please,” Campbell begged.

She resents the grim nature that unfortunately follows those fighting for justice, and wants to see more joy in their practice. Joy indicates that people are connecting with other people and will be there for each other, she said. She also explained this as curiosity without judgement, and she added the importance of hope under this point.

“If you don’t have hope, you don’t have community, you don’t have connections, you are isolated from everyone,” she said.

The third virtue she explained was sacred gossip.

“This is where you tell the stories of the people that have broken your heart … you share from the inside out, and that is what makes the difference,” she said.

The last virtue is the virtue of doing one’s part to respond. She said people have these great experiences, but then need to act.

“The question becomes, ‘Now what?’ ... I really believe what our 21st century desperately needs is a little bit of space and quiet for you to listen to that spirit alive inside of you,” she said. n

Doctors Evaluate Problematic Pharma Practices

By Cole Dady For The Heights Drug companies often provide a variety of benefits to physicians to incentivize them to advertise their product to patients, be it company-sponsored stethoscopes, stock options in the organization, or even financial compensation. Although this may just seem like an effect of market forces, this compensation has given rise to the escalating cost of health care, a topic capturing national headlines.

Amalia Issa and Jerome Kassirer, both doctors, discussed the problem of translation in science from doctors to patients.

Financial incentives in the pharmaceutical industry interrupt genuine dialogue between doctors and patients, often resulting in misleading recommendations to consumers.

Amalia Issa is a doctor who specializes in the intersection of pharmacogenomics, personalized genomic medicine applications, and how both these scientific developments will be translated and integrated into health care delivery and health care systems.

One key topic she emphasized was publication bias, which occurs when the outcome of research or an experiment influences the decision to publish or distribute it. The pharmaceutical industry commonly uses sophisticated tricks and strategies to distort the evidence given to

doctors and patients in order to promote certain products.

This type of practice occurred with Risperidone, an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia 10 years ago. When it became legal to replicate it, drug companies developed virtually identical products to Risperidone. Trials compared the new antipsychotic drugs at a dose of eight milligrams per day against Risperidone at two milligrams per day, which was bound to make their new drugs provide better results.

This blatant example of publication bias is far too common in the industry, and it problematically prevents the most effective treatments from ending up in the hands of consumers, according to Issa.

“We need to have all of the data on a particular treatment to know whether it’s really effective or not,” Issa said.

Issa suggested following the guidance of third-party research firms. One such firm is Cochrane, a global independent network of researchers, professionals, and patients dedicated to producing high-quality, comprehensive research on various drugs. In order to execute this important work, they need access to all the data collected by pharmaceutical companies on the drug they test, which companies commonly withhold due to negative outcomes.

Still, studies that produce proper data are very difficult to get a hold of, even

as an academic, she said. Professional norms, national regulations, hospital policies, and countless other factors affect the results produced in trials, justifying a call to ethics and social justice in the industry.

Issa said the pharmaceutical industry should embrace the reality that medicines and how they are developed, marketed, and communicated are a human right rather than a commodity.

Public health should not be a moneymaking tactic for big businesses to profit from, but a resource with which all members of society can prosper. Now, more than ever, is the time to advocate for fair health care, and this fight involves everyone, she said.

“Educate yourselves, your families, your friends, and your neighbors about medications and pharma industry practices,” Issa said. “Lobby and advocate alongside scientists and other academics for increased transparency in the publications process.”

Kassirer, the former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and a distinguished professor of medicine at Tufts University, discussed how financial conflicts of interest influence physicians.

Kassirer cited the “Candy Experiment” at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, which conveyed the basic human tendency to respond to financial incentives. When servers at a restaurant

gave a piece of candy to customers, their tips were shown to increase.

And this same logic applies to physicians, as financial conflicts translate into bias. When offered an incentive to promote a certain drug, they will knowingly misdiagnose patients at their own risk.

To reduce the effect of incentives in the industry, many foundations require that physicians provide full disclosure to their patients. Yet there are even limits to this solution, as disclosure requires no substantive change.

“The problem is that disclosure is necessary but is not a sufficient solution to the conflict of interest,” Kassirer said.

“The conflict is the problem, not the lack of disclosure.”

In order to resolve the effect of incentives in the industry, the guidelines provided by physicians prove most helpful when given without funding from the industry. Medical society officers and journal editors should have no financial conflicts and the industry should have minimal financial support.

These solutions in themselves will help restore professionalism to the field.

“The health care system would be very different if patients received honest evaluations up front,” Issa said.

“I’m sure that transparency in terms of all the studies will make a huge difference." n

8:37 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance at Reservoir Apartments.

Wednesday, March 22

POLICE BLOTTER: 3/20/17 – 3/22/17 Monday, March 20

Tuesday, March 21

8:57 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident at Health Services.

2:59 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident at Campion Hall.

11:57 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a minor in posession at Keyes North Hall.

5:29 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a a fire alarm at Fitzpatrick Hall.

9:00 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident at Saint Ignatius Church.

2:16 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an assistance to another department at an off-campus location.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

CORRECTIONS Could you summarize your current feelings about housing and ResLife?

“I’m actually happy with how they handled it.”

—Dylan Nadeau, MCAS ’20

“Six-man in Stayer. So I’m feeling pretty good!”

—Jessica Garrigan, CSOM ’19

“It worked out this year but not in the past. Overall, not a good experience.”

—Megan Lesha, MCAS ’19

“Nothing. I feel nothing.”

—T Zhang, MCAS ’20

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

THE HEIGHTS

THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017

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Longtime Trustees on Monan’s Impact Trustees, from A1 “Jack,” he said, “I’ve never seen a check for $250,000. This is unbelievable.”

Gabelli met Monan when a business associate recommended he come up to BC. Having attended another Jesuit school, Fordham University, Gabelli agreed. That was in the early ’80s. Gabelli, a major Wall Street investor, was asked to manage a portion of the endowment, which began to explode. BC’s endowment has grown from $5.7 million when Monan started to about $2.3 billion today.

“There’s no university on the face of this earth that’s had that kind of success,” Connors said.

Gabelli used to golf with a member of Fordham Prep’s Board of Trustees who would talk about how good of a hockey

player Monan was.

“And then I met him, and this frail guy was a hockey player?” Gabelli said.

Monan asked Connors to join BC’s Board in 1979. Connors said Monan was the first person, besides his parents, to see his potential.

“I’m sitting there with these giants of the business, insurance, and banking communities, and I was just so fortunate to be given a shot at being on the Board,” Connors said.

At the time, there was no expectation that BC would become the success it did.

“Anybody who told you they anticipated what BC would become is making it up,” Connors said. “The only person who might’ve had that vision will be buried [on Wednesday]. Father Monan, in the opinion of some of us, could have run General

Motors.”

As the University’s first chancellor for the past 20 years, Monan occupied several roles—he advised the Board, for example, and he was asked by Margaret Marshall, the former chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, to lead a court reform effort.

St. Francis of Assisi, Connors said, is purported to have said “preach the Gospel—even if you have to use words.” Connors said Monan is an example of leading by example, referencing President Donald Trump’s claims that President Barack Obama wiretapped his offices during the 2016 campaign.

“He didn’t have to say the president wiretapped his home or his office,” Connors said. “He led by example and by his imagination.” 

Course Registration Through the Years UIS, from A1 consumers surround themselves at home with consistently released state-of-theart technology. Flashy advertisements pressure consumers to choose that which is new. Tighter relative budgets pressure IT organizations to choose that which is stable.

Perhaps that conflict comes to a head no place more than with course registration. It’s a process in which all students must play an active role—unlike the yearly housing lottery, every student must log on to the system themselves. That system is UIS. It’s a system that receives a fair share of criticism from students on campus, who cite it as being hard to use and looking antiquated.

“The whole registration process, adddrop period, etc., all of it together is so ridiculous compared to where we should be in 2017,” said Samantha Rogers, MCAS ’20.

“It’s so out-of-date and hard to use.”

Others, like Jared Hynes, MCAS ’19, wouldn’t necessarily give it a positive review, but also haven’t had any issues with it.

“I’ve heard a lot of people complain about it, but I haven’t really had any problems,” he said. “At first it was like, ‘whoa, this is old,’ but like I said, I haven’t had any major issues with it. It’s worked for me.”

If it sounds like an archaic system from a different world, that’s because it is. While the function of the current system in place has been tweaked and added to over the years, the interface—a black screen with blue and white writing in a courier-esque font—has not. There is nothing to click on, just codes to enter and return. It wouldn’t look out of place to appear on Matthew Broderick’s screen in the 1983 film WarGames.

But aside from difficulties students have running and becoming accustomed to using the program—the former gave Rogers enough trouble registering for spring courses that she missed out on an early picktime—the program does still work.

Each semester, 14,250 undergraduates and graduate students log on in during their selected “picktime,” input codes to search and add courses, and save them to register.

An experienced user can be finished in under a minute, and still have the opportunity at any point afterward to add or drop at will. It’s an impressive feat considering the system is older than the vast majority of the people using it.

Not many employees at BC today have the institutional memory to recall exactly when students began using the program.

An Info Tech newsletter in December 1990 indicated it was first piloted with 300 students that fall—though UIS predates direct student involvement. The author of that article was Louise Lonabocker, the University Registrar at the time. She has been the head of Student Services since 1998.

Lonabocker has been involved in course registration longer than just about anyone,

starting in BC admissions in 1970 and moving to the registrar’s office in 1976, where she gained enough experience in registration to write the book on it.

At that time, registration was different.

Rather than pulling up a window, selecting five classes meant undertaking a scavenger hunt across campus, scurrying from department to department to get computer punch cards. They would bring those to the Registrar’s office, which would in turn bring those to the computer center.

“It was definitely time-consuming,” recalled Fred Mauriello, a student who attended BC during the last year of the punch-card system. “The halls could get pretty packed.”

It’s around this time that, at some point in the 1970s, UIS was born.

Fully computerized registration was discussed as early as 1975, when the University Academic Senate-formed Action Committee to Study Registration returned a majority report recommending a computerized registration system like the one at Georgetown University, which they believed “would eliminate long lines and clerical labor required presently of faculty,” according to a Heights article.

Although the change didn’t come quickly, in the spring of 1982 BC launched a computerized system it had designed largely in-house. Students still had to wait in line, but now just one, usually in Gasson 100, where they could be quickly registered by a staff member.

“You could go to one person and they would sign you up for available courses,” Mauriello said. “That made it a lot easier.”

It wasn’t just better for students.

“It was better [for us] in the sense that, we were always worried if something happened to these computer punch cards, we would have lost everything—there was no backup,” Lonabocker said.

It was heralded as a great success that spring, making registration more efficient for everyone. But the perception of efficiency didn’t last. Lines remained long and the computers sometimes crashed. But BC’s tech department responded—this time by going outside the box.

In the late 1980s, BC Information Technology had implemented “Project Glasnost,” an effort spearheaded by the head of Info Tech at the time, Bernard Gleason, to provide open access to administrative information. Gleason was a revolutionary for his time, helping BC pioneer a fully integrated library and an online student information system. He was also an innovator in integrating voice and data services, which led to one of his four breakthroughs in course registration: U-DIAL. The first, U-VIEW, was introduced in the fall of 1988. This initiative brought custom-designed ATMs to campus, which allowed students to swipe their ID cards and access their account balance, financial aid, and current courses. Launched in the

fall of 1990, U-DIAL allowed students to register for courses via a touch-tone phone, for the first time eliminating the need to stand in a line.

In the spring of 1993, BC established URegister, a system that allowed students to access and search for courses on Macintosh computers in O’Neill Library—the first of its kind.

But the real notable release—which is still on campus today—was U-VIEW PLUS. This was a terminal-based, self-registration application tested by about 300 students in 1990, a time when the majority of the student body felt more comfortable using the also-new U-DIAL. Those with experience using terminals, however, cheered on the new program.

With these innovations, BC had put itself at the front of the pack. Other universities followed suit with legacy systems of their own in following years, but BC had paved a way. Both Lonabocker and Gleason wrote sections in a 1996 book called Breakthough Systems: Student Access and Registration, in which she and Northwestern University Registrar Donald G. Gwinn compiled accounts of new technological advances.

BC ITS appeared to stay in stride as the end of the millennium neared. A couple years after several members high up in the administration turned over, the University re-expressed its commitment to stay on top of tech, allocating $3.1 million in part to support “additional technology positions to maintain the school’s standing as a leading technological university,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in 1999.

The University turned to the private sector to find someone to lead in the way.

At the beginning of that same year, BC hired Kathleen Warner to be its first Information Technology vice president. Warner had been a vice president at Compaq-Digital, and seemed an attractive candidate to steer the University into the 21st century. In February of her first year, she told The Heights that her priorities for the department were establishing an industrial-strength firewall, pushing everything to the web with Project Delta, and making BC a wireless campus.

In April, the University appeared around the middle of Yahoo!’s “100 Most Wired” colleges and universities, just a couple years after starting to be included in U.S. News’ expanded rankings.

Not all was trending up, however. Soon after Yahoo!’s rankings were released, The Heights wrote an editorial criticizing BC for having a “computer deficiency,” with just one facility available for students to use.

Meanwhile, with ambitious new undertakings like Project Agora and the tuition rising above $30,000, the University realized the need to balance its budget. As we wrote in our editorial, “The question is becoming more and more pertinent every week: What does $30,000 equate to at BC in terms of educational resources?” 

ZOE FANNING / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Acceptance Rate Steady

BY CONNOR MURPHY News Editor Boston College accepted 9,200 students out of 28,500 applications for admission to the Class of 2021, for an acceptance rate of 32 percent, Director of Undergraduate Admission John Mahoney said in an interview Monday. Last year’s rate was also 32 percent.

The accepted number combines the early action admission pool with the regular decision pool. In December, 2,900 students were admitted early action out of 9,000 applicants, for an early action acceptance rate of 33 percent.

Students accepted to the class of 2021 had a mean SAT of over 1400 on the new 1600-point scale, and a mean ACT of 33. SAT scores ranged from 1360 in the 25th percentile to 1480 in the 75th percentile, and ACT scores ranged from 32 in the 25th percentile to 34 in the 75th percentile.

The 28,500 total applications were down 1 percent from last year’s total. Early action applications, however, increased this year from 8,500 in 2015 to 9,000 in 2016, a 5 percent rise.

Students were admitted from 50 states and 61 foreign countries. Thirty-four percent of accepted students identify as AHANA—32 percent of the Class of 2020 identifies as AHANA or are international students of color. Mahoney said AHANA applications have also increased.

This year’s numbers were largely similar to past years.

“When you’re even in applications, as we are, there aren’t really powerful trends to report upon,” Mahoney said.

That said, a couple of numbers stood out. The Connell School of Nursing, for example, saw a 7 percent rise in applicants this year. Mahoney said CSON’s level of selectivity has increased in the last couple of years. Men still make up about 1 percent

of applicants to CSON, Mahoney said.

“It’s one of those professions that is unjustifiably stereotyped as a female profession, so we’re just not seeing the volume still,” Mahoney said.

Geographically, the applicant breakdown stayed mostly the same. Applications from California, however, decreased 7 percent this year, although Mahoney said the state has been seeing a dip in high school graduates. International applicants are down 6 percent, which Mahoney attributed to a decline in applicants from China, which colleges and universities are seeing around the U.S. BC accepted both the new SAT and the old, 2400-point version, but Mahoney said a relatively small percentage of applicants opted to submit the old version. There was some talk that raw scores might be a little higher on the 1600-point scale, but Mahoney said BC didn’t really see that come true.

“We didn’t really see [the new version] as a radical shift in terms of using the tests as part of the evaluation,” he said.

Admissions counselors effectively worked two days in one on Monday, March 13 in order to get decisions out last week, Mahoney said, because of the blizzard last Tuesday. Decisions are out a little earlier this year because Easter falls in mid-April, and admissions will be unable to hold yield programming for about four days next month.

Between April 1 and April 4, admissions staff members will travel to 19 different cities for admitted student receptions.

April 8 is the Keith A. Francis Memorial Weekend yield programming for admitted AHANA students, a huge event for admissions, and April 9 is Admitted Eagle Day. “I would say now the real work starts, because we’ve accepted some extraordinary students, and they’re being accepted by some other great schools, as well,” Mahoney said. 

Monan Celebrated at Funeral Monan Funeral, from A1 “visionary second founder.”

“For me, it was the greatest honor of my life to have him call me his friend, and have him as my mentor,” Boisi said.

Monan, Boisi said, loved being a Jesuit.

Bellia said he and his family knew Monan as a priest before they ever knew him as a university president. He became a priest so he could be a teacher, and dedicated his life to spreading the message of Ignatian spirituality. He was also a good businessman. Boisi, a major player on Wall Street for decades, said Monan was especially proud of his decision to appoint lay and businesspeople to the Board of Trustees, which was run by Jesuits when Monan took over as president in 1972.

Monan was also committed to academic freedom, and voiced his opposition to the 1990 apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which the Vatican wanted to use to review the religious commitments of Catholic colleges and universities. Monan opposed a similar document in the mid-1980s.

He had an eye for talent, too. Monan had a knack, Boisi said, for choosing the right person, placing them in the right place at the right time. Boisi listed off Jack Connors, Frank Campanella, Tom Vanderslice, Mario Gabelli, Bill Voute, Tip O’Neill, Ted Kennedy, and others as people Monan choose to assist BC in areas like fundraising, investing, government relations, and church management.

But Boisi said Noonan, Peg Dwyer, BC’s first female vice president; and Rosemary Donahue, an assistant to the president, were Monan’s best hires.

To understand Monan, Boisi said people had to understand that he was an athlete. A lifelong hockey fan, Monan was a competitor, and he valued BC Athletics.

Last Friday night, after BC men’s hockey beat Boston University in the Hockey East Semifinals, Boisi and Donahue drove to see Monan in Weston. When they told him BC had beaten its archrival, he smiled. He passed away early the next morning.

In 2006, Boisi was at the Frozen Four with Monan. BC lost, but after the game, Monan took a 9-year-old fan by the hand to meet the players in the locker room, and told him that one day, he’d be there.

“Does that mean you’re giving me a scholarship?” asked Colin White, now a star on BC’s team and a first-round selection of the Ottawa Senators. Head coach Jerry York put “JDM, S.J.” decals on the hockey team’s helmets for Saturday’s Hockey East Final.

Boisi read a section of Monan’s final address as University president.

“A hockey player is only given a few short minutes of intense activity on the ice, and then he yields his place to a new line, and skates to the sidelines to watch the action,” Monan said. “The fact that my own turn on the ice has been so long has made it more enjoyable, and the best part is that even if I never score another goal, I will continue to be a member of the team, and perhaps enjoy the action more watching from behind the protective glass.”

“The spirit and the essence of J. Donald Monan will thunder through the halls of Boston College for eternity,” Boisi said.

“May God bless you and hold you close, dear friend—we will love you always.” 

The Heights

A4

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Imagining Your Home Madeleine D’Angelo

Michael dwyer / Ap Photo

Despite Weather, Outvets Dispute, St. Patrick’s Parade Draws Crowds

By Mary Kate DiNorcia Heights Staff

Green beads turned into gold as they flew across the air into the arms of Bostonians on West Broadway.

Though not all of the people that lined the sidewalks for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this Sunday were Irish themselves, they were united for a day by the color green, and their love of having a good time.

Although Boston shortened the parade route this year due to cold weather and Winter Storm Stella, the minor snowfall throughout the day did not stop the students that flooded the streets from enjoying the celebration.

As confetti and candy flew through the frigid air, overly excited college students and children on their parents’ shoulders all caught whatever prizes they could, encouraged by the chanting of those beside them.

Students on the corner of L Street filled apartment balconies and the side walk s b elow, chanting Irish rhymes and attempting traditional step dancing with whatever stranger happened to be standing next to them on the sidewalk.

Amanda Kishfy, MCAS ’19, arrived at the parade just as it began at 1 p.m., claiming her spot on G Street. Kishfy noted the quirks of the celebration that made it special enough for her to come back for a second year in a row.

“I think I come to the parade to see all of the different people interact with each other,” Kishfy said. “My favorite part of the day so far has been looking across the street and watching that group of tough-as-nails grandmothers

push college students out of the way to hold onto their spot at the front of the sidewalk.”

On G Street, the halfway mark of the parade route, echoed up and down the street as the musicians marched along West and East Broadway.

The few times the sound of the bagpipes did fade, it was immediately replaced by the blasting of Dropkick Murphys, the Boston-based punk band. The sound of this homegrown troupe, which returned to Boston over the weekend on their tour, incited even more excitement and dancing from the crowds.

The parade, however, was about more than a day of celebration to many of the attendees. Just as much as there was playful banter and camaraderie, participants and spectators exuded a gratitude and respect for Irish history, and the impact that it has had on Boston in particular.

The parade was not without controversy. According to The Boston Globe, Outvets, an organization that honors LGBTQ+ veterans, had to fight for a spot in the parade lineup this year.

Outvets was initially refused permission to march in the parade per the decision of a war veterans council that controls what groups get to march.

After high-profile politicians such as Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, and Governor Charlie Baker publicly refused to march in the parade due to this issue, a veterans’ council in South Boston met for a second time to have a revote on the matter.

After a unanimous vote, Outvets was invited to join the parade lineup and marched this Sunday, receiving

loud cheers and encouragement as rainbow flags hung from apartment windows along the entire route.

Sammi Martin, MCAS ’17, who was attending the parade for the first time, felt a certain hope in the support that has been shown for Outvets throughout the controversy.

“I was really proud that Marty Walsh stood up, because LGBTQ rights are something that I’m very passionate about,” Martin said. “That’s not an accurate reflection of what Boston is and what Bostonians should be, so I’m really happy that they voted to overturn their initial decision.”

Martin, surrounded by the support of many other Boston College students with whom she attended the parade, expressed her wish for this incident to serve as an example for the future.

“Hopefully, we can all learn something from this situation and move forward where everyone can celebrate equally and peacefully,” she said.

Although college students held a strong presence at the parade, attendance among older crowds was lower in numbers, likely due to the unexpected wintry weather in March.

One parade-goer, Dennis, hit his 30th year of attendance at the Southie St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year. The turn out this Sunday, he observed, was smaller than in years past.

He did not, however, notice any decrease in enthusiasm among those who attended.

“My favorite part of today is seeing all of the people enjoy the parade,” he said. “Every year is different. This year has a little less people, but everyone still has a great time.” n

The building was one of those places that you’ve walked past a thousand times without ever actually noticing. As I stood in front of it, taking it in for the first time, I thought that it was kind of charming in the way that city apartment buildings sometimes are. A patina of dirt and dust—natural parts of life in a city—covered the building’s white paint, and the brass numbers of the address were of a font that was completely non-offensive.

I turned, and introduced myself to the realtor, who shook my roommate’s hand and then mine. She smiled at us, keeping her plump and glossed lips pressed tightly closed, and tucking an errant strand of her straight, platinum blond hair behind her ear, before asking us to sign an official looking document that she seemingly pulled from thin air.

My roommate and I exchanged nervous glances before looking back at the realtor, who didn’t seem particularly reassuring. Warnings about not signing documents raced through my head, and I began panicking, imagining that the realtor would trap us in some kind of agreement that would haunt me for the rest of my life. Happily, the document turned out to be harmless—an acknowledgement of a broker’s fee should we choose this apartment—and my focus shifted toward the goal of getting out of the miserable wind and freezing temperature, and inside the building (which was starting to look rather cozy).

But as I stepped through the plain door of this nondescript apartment building, I did not prepare myself for the powerful scent of takeout Chinese food that immediately assaulted my nostrils. To be honest, it never occurred to me as an olfactory possibility. While it would’ve been a wonderful smell to encounter in a kitchen, it was such a strange smell to have ingrained in the corridors of an entire apartment building. I was expecting something more like mildew or aging carpets, not the smell of someone’s over-exuberant attempt to cure their Sunday morning hangover.

I looked at my roommate, attempting to telepathically convey my surprise, but broke down and said something like “Do you smell the Chinese food too?” as we climbed the stairs. She nodded enthusiastically as our realtor stopped abruptly on a landing, and announced that we would be seeing apartment 3B. The realtor rapped sharply on the white door in front of her, announcing her name and the name of her company to the innocent tenants enjoying their Sunday morning inside. My roommate and I hadn’t expected that the people living in the apartment would be there while we poked around their space, so we exchanged yet another set of panicked glances, feeling like we were about 12 years old, and complete imposters in the adult world of ‘apartmenthunting.’

A sleepy looking woman opened the

door, warmly welcoming us in and inviting us to look around wherever we needed to, before retreating into the kitchen. As the realtor strode into the apartment, my roommate and I hovered anxiously on the threshold, realizing that we had somehow stumbled into an artist’s loft, like one you would see in a movie about a famous painter so filled with passion for their craft, that every inch of their space becomes a blank canvas.

In the small living space, the furniture (a single couch) was pushed to the side to make room for a large canvas and collection of paints which occupied the entire center of the room. Sheets and large canvases, all featuring angular portraits and silhouettes, completely covered the walls, creating a mini art museum.

Carefully picking our way across the room, we peeked into the two bedrooms.

The first room was cast in a red glow from the scarves that covered the window, but too dim to see anything beyond the shape of a bed and yet another canvas. In the second room, we discovered the other tenant, who was still living out of his suitcase.

Pushing his curly hair out of his eyes, he nodded hello and shuffled out of the room and joined the girl in the kitchen. With nowhere else to go, we followed him, and watched him pile another dish onto an impressive tower precariously built in the kitchen sink.

The woman smiled at us again, and asked if we had any questions that she could answer. I racked my brain, trying to think of a single question that might make me seem less naive than I obviously was, and came up with: “Do you have any excessive wildlife problems? Like cockroaches or rats?”

At this, the man turned around, looking down his beak-like nose at me.

“You mean rodentia?” he asked, drawing out the last word for added emphasis.

I wrinkled my nose and nodded. I at least thought that was what I meant.

“There’s no escaping those vermin in this city,” he sniffed. “They’re everywhere.”

The woman then added that the stove and oven didn’t actually work most of the time, and that the noise from the T woke her up every night.

I gulped and looked at my roommate before desperately turning to the realtor.

I gave her a tight-lipped smile that I hope signaled my intense need to leave the room. We thanked the couple and waved goodbye, and the fled the building, which still smelled of Chinese food.

My roommate and I began our voyage back to campus, commenting how excited we were to return to our cozy dorm room.

It seemed so strange, considering that not too long ago we had stared at that room in horror, taken aback by a lack of storage space and suspicious hairs lurking in the bathtub.

I guess that no matter where you end up, your space is what you make of it. Even the dingiest of rooms, or an apartment where the oven is broken and the rodentia cannot be escaped, can become a home.

Madeleine D’Angelo is the metro editor for The Heights. She can be reached on Twitter @mads_805.

The Heights

Thursday, March 23, 2017

A5

Getting Rezoning Project Sparks Debate in City Council Cold Feet `

By Molly Duggan Heights Staff

William Batchelor

After seven-straight weeks of grueling classes and bitterly cold New England weather, I was in desperate need for a holiday. Spring Break had finally arrived and my destination was sunny California.

Days before my departure, my bags were all packed and I was ready to go. With midterms out of the way, I spent my time putting together lists of places to eat, and making plans to catch up with old friends.

Going to class on the Friday before break was simply out of the question. Instead, I grabbed a quick haircut in Fenway, and stopped by CVS to stock up on Advil and buy the latest GQ for the plane.

I got dressed and closed up my suitcase in anticipation for the flight. I cleaned my room, unplugged all my electronics, and closed the windows.

I did this all so quickly that I was ready to leave for the airport an hour earlier than I needed to be.

So I sat in the darkness of my dorm room, counting down the minutes till I could call an Uber.

Despite being crammed in the middle seat for the six-hour journey, it was the most relaxed I had been in weeks. I ordered an ice-cold glass of ginger ale and tore open a packet of Chex Mix while I sat back and binge-watched episodes of Entourage.

Unsurprisingly, the 10 days of break flew by. I quickly became accustomed to sleeping on a plush hotel bed and taking long, warm baths.

For the first time in months I was wearing shorts and walking around in loafers. I began to think, with the weather this good, why would anyone live anywhere else?

Over the break, I reunited with old friends I hadn’t seen in months, picking things up just the way we left them. It felt like no time had passed between us.

But I also took advantage of the brief moments where I was on my own, taking longs walk down the beach from Venice to Santa Monica and indulging myself in the hotel’s amenities.

Soon it was all over. I was back to the reality of college life, without any of the little luxuries you get while on vacation.

The temperature in Boston was in the 30s and snow was forecasted for the week ahead. The only thing I could look forward to was the possibility of a snow day.

Returning to campus I became overwhelmed with approaching midterms and assignments on the horizon.

I wondered where all the time went. How did Spring Break go by so quickly? I started counting down the days till Easter and then the days till summer.

But while returning to school may have been a struggle, the break did make me realize how lucky I am to go to college in Boston.

For most of my life, I dreamed of going to school in California. I was enthralled with the allure of Los Angeles and the idea of being at the epicenter of the entertainment industry.

While navigating the city, I missed the quaint and charming feel of Boston.

In a city like Los Angeles that’s so spread out, it’s impossible to get around unless you have a car. In Boston, you are always a quick train ride away from all the action.

While the winters aren’t ideal, Boston ended up being the right place for me. The city is an amalgamation of students from all walks of life. The restaurant scene is ideal for casual dining, and the hospitality of Bostonians is unparalleled.

William Batchelor is the asst. metro editor for The Heights. He can be reached on Twitter @williambatch.

At Monday night’s Newton City Council meeting, the debate centered around potentially rezoning the construction site on the corner of Walnut Street and Washington Place from a Business Zone to a Mixed Use-4 Zone (MU-4). A special permit and site plan approval were also discussed, so that a mixed-use development could be constructed.

The development would be larger than 20,000 square feet and would be made up of three interconnected buildings, including 160 total residential units, 5,000 square feet of commercial space, and 2,000 square feet of community space.

Four aspects of this building plan have generated the most controversy: the height of the building, the number of unit s , the mi x of af fordable w ith middle-income unit s , and the concerns of neighbors over shadows that the tall building will cast. Rezoning this building site will require 18 affirmative votes, two more than the usual two-thirds majority needed.

This rezoning will allow for the new proposed height of four to five stories, and a greater number of residential units. The MU-4 Zone was created in 2012, and was made to promote a lively pedestrian environment, as well as a space for businesses that serve the community.

The greatest concern of citizens attending this me eting was that rezoning this area would set a precedent for tall buildings to be constructed in Newton. A sp okesp erson for the L and Use Committee argued that this zone change would not set a precedent, emphasizing that the City Council still has to approve each new building constructed in Newton.

Supporters of the project and its rezoning noted that the construction of residential units would create more affordable housing in Newton for middle- and low-income individuals.

Molly Duggan / Heights Staff

In the Newton City Council meeting, officials discussed building developments and future affordable housing options in the area.

Affordable housing would allow for a mix of people of various incomes the opportunity to live in Newton, creating the potential for upward mobility.

“This project promotes upward mobility in a way that no other project in Newton does, given that if you are a resident in an inclusionary unit and your income rises, there is the potential to move into a unit reserved for middle-income earners,” the spokeswoman for the Land Use Committee said.

The City Council listened, recognizing the important effect that increasing affordable housing could have in an affluent area like Newton.

“Greater Boston does not have enough housing,” Councilor Jacob Auchincloss said. “If we want housing in Greater Boston to be less expensive, we need to build more housing.”

But Marc C. Lavardo, who was presiding over the meeting, argued that this project promotes a tradeoff, as there would also be residential units for middle-income earners. He argued that by making more middle-

income housing, there is less lowincome housing space available.

Not everybody was impressed with the L and Use Committee’s presentation. Councilor Emily Norton noted that the presentation’s emphasis on the $200,000 net fiscal benefit that the project would provide Newton with was irrelevant, as the annual budget of the city is $447 million— the $200,000 net fiscal benefit of the project would hardly make a difference. Councilor Leonard Gentile also voiced his opinion.

“I can remember the days when the Planning Department was actually an impartial body,” Gentile said. “Over the years, the Planning Department has shifted to the point where they are trying to drive policy, that in my opinion, is supposed to be decided by the elected officials here in the City of Newton.”

Vie w ing the pre s ent ation a s nothing more than a commercial, Gentile said, “If I was a resident of Newtonville, particularly if I was one who was really impacted by this, I would be sitting [here,] and I would be furious.”

There were cer tainly a high number of critics of the project, but the project’s benefit to lowincome individuals was noted by its supporters.

“The high price of housing is burdensome,” the spokeswoman for the Land Use Committee stated.

Councilor Marc Laredo said that this project opens up a very important and very difficult public policy debate.

“The breakdown of the building is going to be the difference for this project,” he said.

Councilor Ruthanne Fuller agreed.

“We need this permanent affordable housing , [but] I am open to the discussion about whether it should be 20 or 25 percent low income,” she said.

While most of the citizens present were decidedly against the project, the meeting adjourned with councilors on both sides of the issue, and without a definitive decision made. Laredo noted the importance of having a careful discussion of this issue. “ We owe it to the citizens of Newton to explain why we’re for or against something,” he said. n

Pho Countryside Serves Healthy, Vibrant Cuisine

By Laura Galligan For The Heights

On New Year’s Day 2017, Bao Trinh opened his second Pho Countryside Restaurant in Boston.

Although the first location of Pho Countryside is in Quincy, Trinh decided to open this second location on Comm. Ave. to increase the awareness of Vietnamese food in Boston and in the United States.

According to the restaurant’s website, the goal is to offer a high standard of food and friendly service, creating the perfect dining experience. Especially in a vibrant city such as Boston, Trinh recognized that many people do not have the time, or the desire, to make themselves a balanced meal after a long day of working or studying. Trinh wanted to change that, in a healthy and inexpensive way.

“People are too busy to cook,” Trinh said in an email. “How about heading to Pho Countryside for lunch or dinner? It’s less greasy, it has a whole healthy conscious section, and there are other sections for vegetarians and health watchers.”

Pho Countryside Boston has two floors that can accommodate large groups, such as birthday parties, meetings, and other private events.

Both levels have a bar, and outdoor seating is permitted from April through October.

In addition to the spacious layout of the restaurant, its location in Kenmore Square is surrounded by apartments and college dormitories, given its proximity to the Berklee College of Music and Boston University. Trinh is excited about the high numbers of people who will be in the Kenmore Square area during the Boston Red Sox season and for the Boston Marathon.

Pho Countryside replaced another restaurant, Josephine, which served classic Parisian dishes and was in business for about a year, according to Eater.com.

Trinh described the journey to opening the restaurant as a challenge. He found it difficult to juggle the contractors during the building

Laura Galligan / For the Heights

Hoping to spread the popularity of Viatnemese cuisine, Bao Trinh opened the second location of Pho Countryside this winter.

process, the landlord, and the slew of licensing contracts he needed to obtain, including liquor, fire, and healthy and safety.

Trinh found, however, all of his hard work to be very rewarding in the end. He has enjoyed having customers come into the restaurant, and receiving positive feedback from many.

According to Eater.com, Pho Countryside serves a selection of pho, mixed-vegetable dishes, vermicelli, rice dishes with shrimp, beef, pork, and chicken, as well as an assortment of desserts. The restaurant’s website

states that they combine the freshest ingredients from local farmers with popular Vietnamese herbs and spices to provide the best meal possible.

Although the items on the menu are fairly similar to the items on the menu at the restaurants other location in Quincy, popular items differ, due to the difference in population between the two areas, according to Trinh.

Popular items on this menu include the Vietnamese-style crêpe, state noodles soup, countryside steam vermicelli, and pork noodles soup. Trinh himself prefers Vietnamese shaking beef over

yellow fried rice.

Due to demand in the neighborhood, Trinh added crab rangoon and scallion pancakes to the Kenmore Square location’s menu. Live lobsters and crabs have also been added to fit the area’s needs. Trinh is also trying to meet the needs of the fast-paced city lifestyle by adding “grab-and-go” items like sandwiches.

“I am working on a Vietnamese sandwich due to its convenience and cheap price,” Trinh said. “Anyone can grab it and go to work or school since they don’t have time to sit down.” n

The Heights

A6

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Editorials

BC Should Name 90 After Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J. Many of the buildings on Boston College’s campus are named after former presidents, including Bapst Library and Gasson, Fulton, Lyons, Devlin, and Walsh Halls. These former heads of the University served anywhere from six to 13 years.

Following the death of University Chancellor Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., who served for 24 years as BC’s 24th president, no one is more deserving of a building taking on his name.

During his time at BC, Monan commissioned the construction, renovation, or acquisition of 13 dorms between the Main and Newton Campuses. Of these dorms, however, 10 have been named after donors, including Rubenstein, Gabelli, Vouté, and Ignacio halls.

Meanwhile, several dorms remain notably unnamed, instead taking on their street addresses.

Monan purchased 66 Commonwealth Ave., but the building itself is older and lacks the grandeur to properly honor Monan. And as entertaining as they may be for seniors, it seems unnecessary to comment on the viability and appearance of the Mods to be rededicated for a man who did so much for the University.

Thus, only one dorm built under Monan is worthy of his namesake: 90 St. Thomas More Road.

While the building was con-

structed in 1993, there has not been a donor who has stepped forward to claim its naming rights. Unlikely to be torn down in the coming years, 90 is a comparatively new and wellkempt building.

90 is located directly across from Corcoran Commons, placing it along the path of many students and visitors alike. It maintains greater significance than some of its counterparts on Lower Campus, such as 66, which is hidden in 90’s shadow.

Only one dorm built under Monan is worthy of his namesake: 90 St. Thomas More Road.

The building is also one of the dorms that freshmen stay in during orientation. Housing incoming students in a dorm named after the man who made their new school what it is now would be fitting.

With its location at the center of Lower Campus, an area which he almost single-handedly created, renaming 90 “Monan Hall” would appropriately memorialize the president’s role in making the University the school that it is today.

Monan contributed more to the development of BC than any presi-

dent in the school’s history. Commemorating his success by naming one of the buildings he brought to campus after him is a necessary action that the administration and Board of Trustees should take.

Because of the established precedent of naming buildings on campus after former University presidents, it is only appropriate that BC dedicate a building to its most important leader.

While some may argue that no one would use the new name for 90 if it was changed, this has not been the case in the past. Stayer Hall, which students used to refer to as “The Gate” when it was still titled by its address of 110 Thomas More Road, has seen its new name become adopted in everyday speech at the University since it was renamed in 2012. Therefore, there is little reason to believe that naming the building Monan Hall would go unrecognized.

BC’s newest building, 2150 Commonwealth Ave., might seem like a prime candidate to be bestowed with Monan’s name, given its beauty and position at the corner of BC’s opening thoroughfare. But it seems unfitting to name a building after Monan that he did not build. There is no reason for BC to hesitate any longer: rename 90 after the University’s most impactful and formative figure.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “The years teach much which the days never know.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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The Heights

Thursday, March 23, 2017

A7

Being a Blind Art Dealer

Josh Behrens Absolutely Nothing - I am pissed, and I’m feeling needlessly dramatic. Buckle up.

A Cruel, Tragic, and Convoluted Abomination - Upperclassmen warned us.

The signs were in the stars: 25 percent of freshmen live on CoRo. That’s one in four, for all you communication majors.

Regardless of prior warning and expectation, nothing could have prepared the freshman for the journey through a raging pit of hellfire and hazardously erupting lava geysers that is the Boston College housing process. Normally, the University would only reserve such damnation for those who choose to use a condom during sexual relations, but apparently freshmen deserve torment fit for the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Christopher Columbus alike. He killed millions of people too, you freaking i diots. Pick up a book for once. Anyway, the average BC freshman spends the majority of his or her first year developing an 8-man dream. They imagine a picturesque view of Gasson from one of the top floors in Walsh, or perhaps a luxurious residence in the cleaner Vanderslice Hall. They may relish in the idea of living with seven of their closest friends, or become excited at the prospect of having a common room to overcrowd and make groups of freshmen girls feel uncomfortable in.

In any case, just about every freshman arrives at housing selection week with the hope of getting a coveted 8-man room written across their hearts. But of course, BC will do everything in its power to make sure that this wish is pulverized and spat back in the faces of many, seeing as it’s what a majority of students want. With their hopes high and their ID numbers stored in the notes of their group leader’s phone, freshmen go to sleep the night before 8-man pick day with their world suspended upon unfavorable odds and a toxic false sense of entitlement. Nonetheless, after they awake, they spend the hours prior to noon reciting prayers they learned at their Catholic middle schools but never really understood, and uttering absurd phrases that range from “I’m transferring if I don’t get an 8-man” to “If I don’t get one, I’m going to have my Dad call BC tonight. He’s a corporate lawyer, and if he can bring national health care companies to their knees, he can definitely sue the crap out of th is stupid school and get me the 8-man that I obviously deserve for no apparent reason.” When picktimes are released, and campus comes to a halt for a brief moment of anticipation, the freshmen check their emails in unison, hoping to receive the good news they’d dreamed of for the last few months. For those that get picktimes, congratulations, you can be relaxed and sane for the next 96 hours or so. As for the rest of us, the real fun begins. The balls of fire begin to rain down from the sky, and students seek cover in the friendships and support systems they’ve developed all year. Their efforts are futile, however, as no relationship, no connection, no bond is safe from the destructive and awesome power that is the harsh reality of not getting blocked quads, and facing the decision to axe two or pick up one. In the ensuing scramble that resembles an overdone diner skillet of eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, and the blood and tears of privileged freshmen, few find themselves completely content and fulfilled, and many are often forced to reconsider almost the entire time they’ve spent at BC up to this point and maybe whether or not they even want to go to school here anymore. This is the crippling reality of the extremely perilous, sometimes completely deadly, housing selection process at BC that ruins morales, friendships, and lives.

And at the end of it all, some still end up having to eat a whole ’nother year of Mac food. Justice save us all.

You have to go see Get Out. As you’ve probably heard, what makes the movie so great is that it’s simultaneously a great horror film and a powerful piece of relevant and poignant social commentary.

The central thesis of the movie is that the Obama-era myth of a post-racial America is a lie. Jordan Peele, the film’s director and writer, expertly shows how well-intentioned, liberal white families often still contribute to white supremacy, even if they voted for a black president, or went on a cultural immersion trip to Africa.

For the uninitiated, Get Out’s protagonist is Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a black photographer who goes on a weekend trip to meet his white girlfriend’s family that takes a few unexpected turns. Starting with microaggressions, like his girlfriend Rose’s (Allison Williams) dad repeatedly calling Chris “my man,” and ending with Rose’s mom hypnotizing Chris in order to auction him off at their annual family picnic-turnedslave auction, Get Out spares no one.

That is, it spares no one who is white.

Even though Rose’s family and friends appear benign at first (if a little misguided with their comments), the film clearly shows by its end that so-called colorblind liberals can be just as dangerously racist as Confederate flag-waving conservatives.

This concept of white liberals being inherently racist is relatively old news to any millennial who has taken a Sociology 101 course, or been radicalized by Twitter. I consider myself a #woke millennial, as I try to educate myself on issues of race as much as I can. I constantly read social media posts from Shaun King, listen to “conscious” hip-hop from Kendrick Lamar, and read the necessary literature, like Ta-Nahisi Coates.

Get Out, however, made me feel deeply uncomfortable, like there was something about race and my place in relation to white supremacy that I hadn’t yet realized. The realization came slowly. Good art instills its deepest wisdom as seeds that bloom with

time. My mind kept coming back to Jim (Stephen Root), the one character in the film that appeared to understand Chris the most.

Jim is a blind art dealer who has bought Chris’ photography before. He raves about how beautiful Chris’ photography is, saying that Chris has an eye for capturing reality in all its gritty detail. The scene is touching and seems to be a respite from the oppressive whiteness of Rose’s household, a nod to the age-old trope of a blind man seeing what others cannot. Or perhaps the more important trope: two outsiders bonding over a truth that only they can understand.

Appearances deceive, however, as it’s revealed that Jim won Chris at Rose’s family’s auction so that he can put his brain into Chris’ body and have Chris’ sight. Even though the other white characters in the film are blatantly racist, it’s the character that appears to sympathize with Chris the most that ends up being the most complicit in his exploitation and oppression.

Suddenly, the contradiction of a blind art dealer comes into focus: Jim only knows about the art he’s buying through what other people tell him. He deals only in the hype surrounding the art, not the reality of the art itself. His biggest desire is to see the world through Chris’ eyes, to truly consume his black experience. Seen through this lens, Jim becomes scarily familiar, as if I’ve felt the same thing before. Then it hits me.

Peele is using the very hype surrounding his socially conscious movie that attracts supposedly #woke people like me to turn our leering gaze back on ourselves, exposing the racism inherent in our incessant quest to appear not racist by endlessly consuming black media.

Get Out’s harshest critique isn’t for liberals who naïvely believe in colorblind politics. It’s for white leftists who consume and appropriate the black experience, who see black suffering as some sort of sadistic wisdom that can be exploited for personal enlightenment, i.e. white leftists like me.

The majority of the time, my relationship with art, especially black-produced art, is through its hype and not its actual content.

I listen to Kendrick’s new album because of its critical acclaim. I read Coates because it’s the current fad. And most ironically, I saw Get Out because of the hype.

On one hand, our society is so oversaturated with media of all types that excitement and critical acclaim are some of the only ways to cut through the noise. Yet, so often in our Internet Age, we let the hype become all that matters. We let art’s beauty be determined by what the consensus of our online peers says about it.

This is most often true in relation to black-produced art, as progressive circles are quick to turn into a white hive mind, commodifying and fetishizing the black experience. In other words, they become a community of blind art dealers, relaying what they’ve heard to each other. They let the hype build, without realizing that they are muffling the original truth intended by the artist.

When I left the theater, I couldn’t shake my uneasiness. Peele made me realize that my gratuitous consumption of #woke media isn’t necessarily woke at all, but that it can actually perpetuate the systems of racism that art is meant to dismantle. It’s not that reading Coates or listening to Kendrick is inherently racist. Far from it. It’s that our culture takes these pieces of truth and whitewashes them. Blind-art-dealer hype scrubs the original reality from a piece of art, as its meaning is distilled to what your friend told you about it, or what the most recent Pitchfork article said.

More importantly, listening only to the hype replaces the artist’s agency for a critic’s, often replacing the original black voice with a white one. When us white leftists think we can become black (or perhaps simply when we want to become black) through consuming black art is when we fall prey to white supremacy, turning black bodies and minds into commodities for our own selfish endeavors. Consumption of art isn’t the problem: It’s the mindset around the consumption that matters.

Perhaps this column is adding to the unnecessary din of white commentators spewing truisms about racism that don’t add to the conversation, and just add to the useless hype. I hope not. In the end, I’ll never really know, because I’m just a blind art dealer. At least Peele helped me to see that, though.

Josh Behrens is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Achampong, King Primed for Progress

Carolyn Freeman For the past several years, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College has been headed by pragmatic leaders with visions of success largely dependent on the proclivities of the administration.

See: Nanci Fiore-Chettiar, BC ’15, whose administration started several successful initiatives, like the “What I Be” project, but had trouble initiating the conduct reform promised in her platform.

Thomas Napoli, BC ’16, started trying to expand free speech policies while he was still a senator, but ultimately ended up with a compromise that changed nothing more than the structure of the University free speech proposal. Most recently, Russell Simons, MCAS ’17, campaigned on an ambitious platform that involves, most dramatically, the addition of a new student center.

Since Fiore-Chettiar first took office, shifts in the administration have made the University more amenable to working with the student body. Dean of Students Thomas Mogan has made an exemplary effort to get to know and interact with the student body. He appears at football tailgates, protests, and the Plex with enough regularity that students see him, rather than University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., as their primary caretaker. This positive relationship isn’t accidental—the last several UGBC administrations seem to have made a point to develop a relationship that will benefit both the administration and the students.

The downside to that is the inevitable compromise. Napoli’s vision of expanded free speech provisions for students—like open protests and spaces to hang banners on O’Neill quad—never came to fruition because months of meetings with administrators led to a compromise that changed very little. Regardless, those months of meetings left a solid base of conviviality

and compromise between students and administrators.

The newest UGBC president and executive vice president have the advantageous opportunity of coming to office in a time when the demands of students are sitting on a solid bedrock of compromise and symbiosis between student leaders and administrators.

Although only a third of the student body voted, Akosua Achampong and Tt King, both MCAS ’18, were elected by a 1,226 point margin to the highest office in Chestnut Hill. The overwhelming student support for the winning team, particularly in the Lynch School of Education and the Connell School of Nursing, shows that the student body is behind them Achampong and King will need this support. Their platform outlines a purposeful idea for a University that more broadly supports the needs of low-income students, students of color, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and others whose needs have not been prioritized, policies that have been challenging for past UGBC executives. In the “Student Experience” section of their platform, nearly all of the first steps include working with a University office.

Achampong has served as the chair of the AHANA Leadership Council, a position that has brought her in and out of negotiations with members of the administration. This experience, coupled with a University community primed for change and an administration that is seemingly less obstinate than in prior years, Achampong and King face viable conditions for legitimate policy change of the kind that challenged their predecessors.

They have the chance to push harder, ask for more, and likely get it, considering the favorability of campus. There will still be compromise—there always is—but now, there could be less.

To make policy change that impacts the lives of the most students, the duo ought to focus their energies on the issue of free speech on campus. They seem to want to do this: a whole section of their platform is about the need for transparency, including the promotion of student autonomy to hold protests without asking permission, and

the installment of a student on the Board of Trustees. (Currently, the UGBC president and EVP give regular presentations to the Board about student issues, but they are not given a say on policy goals or plans).

To focus on free speech would be to dive back into the priorities that dogged the 2015 UGBC leadership. But, with better support and a president unafraid to be both an activist and a leader, this might be the year.

“I will speak up for something so long as it is the truth and I feel that it is right,” Achampong said to The Heights in a recent interview. “And that’s just who I am, that is me ... And I don’t know that my activism would hurt my relationship with administration because like I’m saying, I just want BC to be the best version of itself.”

The system in place seems to have worked for the past school year—there have been several well-attended protests, most notably the Silence is Violence march that included an intersectional group of students and faculty. But the system, like any system predicated on an uneven power dynamic, shows signs of breaking down.

Members of Eradicate BC Racism have repeatedly received sanctions for holding unregistered protests. The sanctions aren’t unexpected, since these protesters are breaking University rule, but they do indicate that the future of BC’s friendly protest policies may be in jeopardy.

And this holds true unless there is a change that makes spontaneous demonstrations possible, that allows students to advertise with fliers even if they aren’t part of a registered student group, and that encourages faculty and students to push against a system that rewards compromise.

That is, a system that requires permission slips to hold peaceful protests. Legions of UGBC leaders have tried to change this, mostly without success.

Now, Achampong and King have support from all sides to push harder on free speech and make headway for student rights that have been missing in the past.

Carolyn Freeman is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

The opinions and commentaries of the op-ed columnists and cartoonists appearing on this page represent the views of the author or artist of that particular piece, and not necessarily the views of The Heights. Any of the columnists and artists for the Opinions section of The Heights can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

A Counting Culture Alex Brunstad It’s easy to spot FitBit users on campus, judging by either their brisk pace or wrists donning a shiny metal band. While the prevalence of fitness trackers may appear to some as an innocuous symbol of BC’s “fit” culture, for me, each sighting is a small reminder of what has been recently coined as the “self-quantifying epidemic.”

Unfortunately, I am no stranger to calorie-counting applications such as MyFitnessPal, step trackers, scales, and many other forms of self-measurement.

My measuring habits originally sprung from the misconception that weight loss equates to health—an idea perhaps fueled in part by America’s $61 billion weight loss industry. But let me be clear: Losing weight is not the same as being healthy.

This misunderstanding can lead to extreme forms of self-quantification.

Although technology such as FitBits and calorie-counting apps can be powerful motivators to become active and eat healthily, it can also promote tracking steps, calories, and pounds in an unhealthy manner. When taken to an extreme, it sets unattainable standards in contrast to daily lifestyles.

The danger lies in the fact that we first see these numbers as goals, and then as baselines. Weight, caloric intake, hours of sleep, and step count become standards of judgment, and emotional unrest and physical damage ensue when we inevitably fail to measure up. Of the 223 million FitBit users, how many have become dependent upon the (false) security provided by numbers?

“Friendly competition” between people using calorie and exercise trackers can actually lead to exercise dependence, female athlete triad, or even the offset of the body’s balance of nutrients. A 2015 study conducted by the Sydney Morning Herald surveying primarily female FitBit users found that 79 percent of women reported feeling pressure to meet their daily targets, and 60 percent felt that their daily habits and lives were controlled by their FitBit. It is important to note that the various forms of self-quantification upon which people rely aren’t even accurate. MyFitnessPal, for example, is a popular caloriecounting app that syncs Fitbit’s caloric measurement of activity, and allows the user to compare calories consumed with calories burned. In its tracking of calories, however, the app assumes that a calorie of high-fructose corn syrup is the same as that of protein, which isn’t true. Caloriecounting applications fail to consider the crucial metabolic effect of different calories on the body and digestive system, and their varying effects on satiety and hunger.

Furthermore FitBits and exercise machines fail to account for exercise efficiency and training history. Even if an athlete believes a displayed calorie count is accurate, people who regularly workout (and do the same routine) become more exercise efficient. With practice, their bodies adjust to expend fewer and fewer calories.

All too often, I hear echoes on campus of the same phrases of punishment I directed toward myself in the past, and still actively combat. Even those who believe they practice healthy habits feel overly guilty after having a “bad food day,” and “punish” themselves accordingly. They remark to their friends, “I ate so much pizza today … No carbs tomorrow,” denying themselves the slightest bit of elasticity in their lifestyles.

So I wonder, why do products, which claim responsibility for sculpting healthy habits and bodies, actually promote this obsessive measuring and the need to selfquantify? While these powerful tools can motivate us, they can also put a damper on our emotions.

Feeling crestfallen or even anxious when each of our steps are not meticulously recorded is by no means a healthy way of enjoying life. Becoming obsessed with “perfecting” ourselves causes us to develop habits of self-deprecation when we cannot meet unattainable standards.

We should be more critical of the influence that devices like Fitbits and caloriecounting apps can have on our lives. Then, perhaps we may shift our focus from quantities in life to quality of life.

Alex Brunstad is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

The Heights

A8

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Iceland Festival Inspires Wonder

The annual Taste of Iceland event brings a weekend of ‘Sagas’ to Boston.

By Leo Confalone

fuller venues.”

Reid, in addition to her new role as first lady, is also an accomplished journalist and writer. On Thursday, she spoke to a packed room about the Iceland Writers Retreat. The program, which will be held April 5-9 this year, brings writers from all over the world to Iceland. Participants hone their skills through a series of workshops with accomplished authors and go on excursions throughout Iceland meant to inspire creativity through the country’s unique and wondrous landscape.

Reid co-founded the IWR in 2014 with Erica Jacobs Green to share Iceland’s rich literary culture with others. But, as she comically admitted, the event also allows her to interact with some of her favorite authors.

“We thought that it would be a brilliant idea to bring people who like the written word to Iceland, and have them take workshops by writers who we wanted to meet,” she said.

craft cocktails made with “Iceland’s favorite vodka,” Reyka Vodka, and mixed by cocktail champion Kári Sigurðsson.

If you asked Eliza Reid, a Canada Although Iceland has a population native, how her life would play out after of only around 330,000 people, the moving to Iceland and marrying Guðni country has a vibrant contemporary Th. Jóhannesson, who formerly worked art scene. Björg Stefánsdóttir, direcas a history professor, becoming the tor of the Icelandic Art Center, led a first lady of her adopted home country discussion about Icelandic visual arts would probably be one of the last posat the Kingston Gallery on Friday. He sibilities she would have entertained. explained how Icelandic art has spread “The Canadian media always asked across the world, and how the Icelandic me: Did you ever think, when you were Art Center helps connect the country’s growing up, that you would one day artists to the rest of the professional art be first lady of Iceland? Uhm, no, no I community. didn’t,” Reid said.

On Saturday, music from Saga Island The release of the Panama Papers took over the Middle East in Cambridge. revealed corruption inside the Icelandic A free concert entitled Reykjavik Calling government related to offshore bank featuring Icelandic bands Fufanu and accounts. This led to public unrest and Mammút, the latter of which won best a series of protests, forcing Iceland’s album and song of the year at the 2014 Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Icelandic Music Awards, entertained Gunnlaugsson to resign in April 2016. the audience with upbeat Icelandic Jóhannesson gained national attention rhythms. Also part of the show were after appearing on television amid the the Dirty Dottys, a pop-motown band crisis as a pundit, and debased in Boston. cided to declare his candiAt the Brattle Theatre dacy for the presidency. He in Har v ard S qu are on assumed office in August Sunday, moviegoers en2016, and as first lady, Reid joyed a diverse group of was forced suddenly into six short films at a screenthe spotlight. ing of Shortfish, a portion She shared her story of Iceland’s premier film at an event in Boston at festival, Stockfish. TranWBUR on Thursday as a - Kristjana Rós Guðjohnsen, co-chair of sitioning from emotional part of the annual, five-day and serious to comedic and Iceland Naturally Taste of Iceland Festival. lighthearted, the films adThe festival, which was first dressed a wide spectrum of hosted in Boston in 2010, brought a Reid also touched on the importance subjects, from alcoholism to a botched comprehensive experience of Iceland’s of literature in Iceland, from its roots in marriage proposal, and gave viewers a culture to the city this past weekend, the Sagas, which are historical narra- window into Icelandic culture. with events showcasing Icelandic cui- tives that recount the lives and times of In the future, Iceland Naturally sine, music, film, literature, and art.

Iceland’s early settlers in the 9th, 10th, hopes to expand the festival to other Taste of Iceland was initially orga- and 11th centuries, to the abundance cities in the U.S. The organization put nized to celebrate Icelandair’s nonstop of talented writers that hail from the on the first annual Taste of Iceland service between Boston and Reykjavik, country in the modern era. From an- Chicago in 2016, and generally hosts said Kristjana Rós Guðjohnsen, co-chair cient literature to more contemporary five to six events per year around North of Iceland Naturally, the promotional works, the written word is an important America, Guðjohnsen said. Following group for Icelandic brands and tour- part of Icelandic society, she explained. this year’s festival, however, she hopes ism in North America that puts on the Reykjavik was the first non-English that Boston-area residents came away event each year, in an email. Since then, speaking city to be named a UNESCO with something about Iceland that the company has seen support for its City of Literature after it received the peaked their curiosity. festival grow. title in 2011.

“We hope that Taste of Iceland of“Taste of Iceland in Boston has From Friday through Monday, fers a little something for everyone,” grown exponentially since its debut,” Bostonians enjoyed a special Icelandic Guðjohnsen said. “Whether you’re Guðjohnsen said. “In the past sev- dinner menu at The Merchant, a popu- a contemporary art enthusiast, film eral years, we’ve added new events, lar restaurant in Downtown Crossing. buff or foodie, everyone who attends including a literature discussion with The cuisine, which included arctic a Taste of Iceland in Boston event has Iceland’s first lady, Eliza Reid, and an art char, langoustine, free-range lamb and, the opportunity to walk away having discussion. We’ve also seen increased skyr, a yogurt-like treat, was prepared experienced something new that they participation from the Boston com- by acclaimed Icelandic chef Sigurdur hopefully want to try again and learn munity each year, leading to larger and Helgaso. The meal was accompanied by more about.” n Opinions Editor

“We hope that Taste of Iceland offers a little something for everyone.”

leo confalone / heights editor

Event hors d’oeuvres included lightly smoked sea trout, broccoli, and crisp rye bread.

Boston Entrepreneurs Take Innovation Tips From a Beetle Galvez and Sorensen, both BC ’12, design wettability products.

By Simran Brar

Heights Staff

Innovation is key to the constant evolution of our society—or so say Miguel Galvez and Deckard Sorensen, the co-founders of NBD Nano.

Galvez and Sorensen, both Boston College ’12, shared that it was at BC that the idea and growth of their company began. NBD Nano specializes in surface wettability products through the use of various coatings and additives. Galvez and Sorensen were both biology majors, and in their studies they encountered the Namib Desert beetle. The beetle, which is small and round with spindly legs and a bumpy, shining black shell, has the unique ability to alternate between hydrophobic and hydrophilic regimes.

Inspired by this advanced trait, Galvez and Sorensen aimed to produce products that mimicked properties of the beetle’s back.

“This particular beetle can hold up to 12 percent of its weight in water, while alternating the properties of the surface of its back, something that we kept in mind as we developed our technology,” Sorensen said.

Once the idea was born, Galvez and Sorensen immediately immersed themselves in finding opportunities to further develop what would later become NBD Nano. The perfect opportunity arose in the spring with the Shea Center’s annual Venture Competition. The duo entered and was accepted into the first round as one of the five companies selected. Each company was given $1,000 and three

months to develop their product and compose a 10-minute pitch to a panel of judges consisting of executives and entrepreneurs from the Boston area.

With an immense amount of dedication and hours spent adjusting specifics, Galvez and Sorensen snatched first prize, which included $10,000 that went directly to the development of NBD Nano. Now located in Brighton in a 4,400 square-foot office and lab space, the startup has been operating for five years.

“There has been a lot of change in the last five years as innovation develops,” Galvez said.

While NBD Nano is constantly evolving its technology and working on new materials, right now the majority of its focus centers around three major products: fingerprint coding for glass, water-repellent glass, and water-repellent plastic additives.

In a typical day, the company starts off with product development meetings geared toward its specific products.

The work of the startup also relies heavily on the collaboration of the scientists with whom Galvez and Sorensen work closely with each week. Together, the team figures out and manages what technology must be modified or prepared for customers in the coming days. As of now, the Brighton office retains 10 employees, along with two additional part-time employees in South Korea. Despite being a relatively new company, NBD Nano already has strong connections in North America, Asia, and Europe—showing its versatility all over the world.

And although NBD Nano has met impressive success as it has grown over the past years, Sorensen and NBD Nano made the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in 2015, the company has faced challenges just like many other startups.

Photo Courtesy of NBD Nano

Miguel Galvez (left) and Deckard Sorensen, the co-founders of NBD Nano, appeared at the MassChallenge Boston Awards.

“One of the biggest challenges with entering this market has been competing with others to work for large companies, while at the same time differentiating our product from everyone else’s,” Galvez said.

The duo has also faced quite a few other obstacles while building its company. Having come straight out of college and immediately founding their own startup, management skills were something that Galvez and Sorensen had to learn in the moment, growing from experience as issues arose.

Another challenge was hiring employees. Galvez and Sorensen originally searched for candidates with Ph.D.s and other similar qualifications.

As Galvez and Sorensen look to-

ward the future, and toward the direction that NBD Nano is heading in, they are optimistic. The duo hopes that NBD Nano will further establish its reach in the marketplace, while still continuing to increase revenue. They emphasized that the first few years very much revolved around research and finding the best market fit. Now having done so, opportunities for branching out are much more attainable, especially with a hopefully increased staff.

“Now that we’ve had some time to settle in, we are really seeing a lot of traction in product integration in some of the larger Fortune 500 companies which is really exciting,” Sorenson said.

Galvez and Sorensen’s story truly

hits home with BC’s philosophy. They grew an idea that they developed on campus through hard work and persistence, have established themselves as a market force. Looking back, Galvez and Sorensen are most thankful for BC’s commitment to entrepreneurship, and the school’s ability to aid students in pursuing their interests.

In his attempt to give back, Galvez is now the co-chair of the BC Technology and Entrepreneurial Council, serving as a resource for current BC students as they develop their own ideas. As ideas and innovation continue to evolve throughout the world, Galvez and Sorensen hope to be apart of this change through their work with NBD Nano.” n

COLUMN

MERITS OF CIVILITY

FILMS LIKE ‘GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL’ CHAMPION A FORGOTTEN KIND OF CIVIL DISCOURSE, PAGE B3

REVIEW

REVIEW

DRAKE’S ALBUM MARKS A FORAY INTO NEW ARTISTIC GROUNDS, PROVING HE HAS MORE TO SAY, PAGE B4

AFTER OVER A DECADE, A LEGEND RETURNS WITH TWO SPECIALS, Page B4

‘MORE LIFE’

‘Dave Chappelle’ THURSDAY | MARCH 23, 2017

THE

MEG DOLAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Heights

B2

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Showing What We Are Made of By: Caleb Griego | Arts & Review Editor Jacob Schick | Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

As they prepare for the ALC Showdown, BC’s dance troupes are ready to bring their own unique stylings to the stage and go for gold in a friendly, fun, and competitive environment.

As Boston College’s most talented choreographers and dancers prepare for this year’s AHANA Leadership Council Showdown, one thing remains certain—a little healthy competition brings out the best in everyone.

Showdown is BC’s biggest dance event of the year. In addition to the obvious dance component, Showdown also features a competition in a separate category—culture. While the solely dance-oriented teams compete against each other, the culture groups also perform a dance of their own creation. Both categories have a first place prize, a monetary donation to a charity of the winning team’s choice.

Preparing for the event with vigor and excitement, amid practice and the regular stresses of the week, captains, leaders, and officers from some of these dance troupes spoke about what Showdown and events like it mean for their respective organizations and BC’s dance community as a whole. All this week, from the Brighton Dance Studio and O’Connell House to remote rooms in Gasson, McGuinn, and Lyons, the clicks of heels, booming stomps, and quiet steps could be heard throughout campus into the wee hours of the night.

As the members of On Tap caught their breath after an intense choreography runthrough, Amanda Sackmaster, media director and co-choreographer and MCAS ’18, spoke about the nature of Showdown’s competition for their organization.

Even though Showdown pits the different dance groups at BC against each other, there is never a feeling of antagonism among teams. This is in part due to the nature of the event itself. The philanthropic prize means a great deal to each participant.

But, as Sackmaster said, the competitive aspect remains healthy because of the attitudes of those involved.

“I never feel like it’s a competition among teams as much as it’s a celebration of what everyone can do,” Sackmaster said.

Many students at BC aren’t afforded the behind-the-scenes look at the dance groups participating in Showdown. But this isn’t something that these students do just because they feel like it—dance is a part of their lives just as much as school.

Backpacks full of textbooks and charging laptops littered the edges of the Brighton Dance Studio while Elizabeth Takash, assistant director of the Dance Organization of BC and MCAS ’18, spoke about the way Showdown helps audience members glimpse all of the time and effort these groups put into this performance and others throughout the year.

“It’s really nice to have all your friends on campus actually understand what you do and what you’ve been working so hard on and why you’re not always around,” Takash said.

Many use dance to express themselves creatively in ways that they cannot in other aspects of life. In a cramped hallway next to the stairwell, while his teammates warmed up in a small practice room mere feet away, Vincent Talamo, one of the Synergy co-directors and MCAS ’18, talked about his time on the dance group. Synergy is something diametrically different from his life outside the team.

“Dance is just an outlet to do everything I don’t get to do studying and being finance,” he said. “It’s kind of a creative outlet for me.”

The energy of certain teams was by no means dampened simply because they were unable to find a dance studio to practice in. While others m i g ht h av e been

getting ready for bed, Females Incorporating Sisterhood Through Step (F.I.S.T.S.) was clapping its hands and slapping the floor in an empty room in Lyons. Standing next to desks and tables that had been stacked at the edge of the room to clear a practice space, Sammie Oluyede, president of F.I.S.T.S. and MCAS ’17, outlined the game plan of the team.

“We try not to let people know what we’re doing,” she said. “We go under the radar a little bit and then we surprise everyone on the Showdown stage.”

Showdown is not just a competition about dance itself. Many participating teams must try to put on a good dance along with the added pressure that the culture category brings. Masti, BC’s South Asian dance troupe, wants to entertain the audience while also displaying South Asian culture in an accurate way. They play traditional and modern music, as well as use sapps, a wood instrument native to Punjab, India. But as Kristina Scully, Masti co-captain and MCAS ’17, described, Masti takes this added difficulty in stride.

“I think competition is a really good way for us to showcase our talents in a way that inspires us to try our hardest and also make sure that we’re representing the culture,” Scully said.

Last year’s champion, BC Irish Dance, looks to events like Showdown as an opportunity expand its creative horizons by implementing new elements not usually seen in showcase performances. Siobhan Dougherty, BCID co-president and MCAS ’17, detailed the varied use of hands and movement around the floor as ways to add additional flair to the traditional dance.

The integration of new ideas gives groups an edge in the competitive realm.

This competitive aspect, however, is also seen as unifying as Aine McGovern, vice president and MCAS ’17, explains it allows the community to admire what other organizations have been working toward.

“To have a competition like Showdown where all these different dance organization can come together and battle it out for the big win is really a cool opportunity,” McGovern said.

For other groups, like BC Dance Ensemble, this will mark the first foray into the competitive aspect of Showdown. Emily Durkin, Dance Ensemble president and MCAS ’17, explained that though the group had showcased in years past, it never were a part of the competition proper. For DE in particular, the preparation for Showdown is markedly impressive as its Robsham showcase, Masquerade, fell just a week before, leaving a single week to devote to this performance. Different from its usual pieces, it integrates all of its ranks, as opposed to a few individuals in a few pieces. As seen during DE’s practice, this larger collage of bodies is sure be an im-

pressive sight on stage as it adopts uniform motion on this scale.

Vida de Intensa Pasión (VIP) reigned down a performance laden with fire on the heels and faces of its members. For VIP, Showdown is a natural progression of the labor put into dance throughout the year.

The competition is not just a way of showing that dance is enjoyable, evidenced by the smiling faces of its members, but that VIP and other organizations take it seriously as an artform. Laura Hydro, VIP president and CSON ’17, explained that given the opportunity to put up the best of their skills on stage is a great way to show how far each dancer and dance troupe has come.

“Showdown is the culmination of work over the course of the year as a dance organization,” Hydro said. “It represent a lot of hours of intense work.”

BC Full Swing looks to Showdown as an opportunity to strengthen its brand and future. After a rousing display of deft feet and whipping heads in practice, Full Swing relished its run with high-fives and smiles. While this took place behind her, choreographer Sarah Steiger, MCAS ’17, explained that events like this are more than just a way to show off impressive lifts, spins, and steps—they also help groups establish a sort of legacy on campus.

“This is Full Swing’s third year in Showdown and that’s as long as we’ve been here,” Steiger said. “We’ve become not just another club on campus, but a dance group.”

When the seniors graduate, Full Swing will be more established than ever before.

Events like Showdown represent a goal for which to strive and achieve on a higher performative level.

That goal of Showdown is also shared by troupes like Presenting Africa To You (PATU), which has been preparing for its performance since the first semester. Given the hours of practice put into its piece in a larger

performance, PATU makes clear that Showdown is an event on which it wants to leave an impression. As a result, it has all performers looking forward to sharing the fruits of passion with those who sit before them.

“Just be hype and be as excited as we are,” said Vanessa Medor, president of PATU and MCAS ’17. “We only have one chance to do it and we can feed of the crowd’s energy.”

As PATU practiced, pushing each of its members to the height of their ability, it was clear that its energy and passion for the event to come was fuel enough, even into the late hours of the night and early morning. It drilled performances again and again to get it right and leave a lasting impression.

Showdown is a performance opportunity like no other. With so many groups looking to get so much out of the event, it is up to the student body to fill the seats and attest to the hard work put into the labor of love that is dance.

Each and every one of the teams participating in Showdown is clearly putting everything it has into its perfor-

mance.

Late nights, weird practice spaces, and lots of sweat are common across all participants in the weeks leading up to the event.

Regardless of who wins and loses, Showdown is shaping up to be one of the most unifying, engaging, and fun shows to relish in on campus this year. n

Julia Hopkins / heights Editor

The long-awaited AHANA Leadership Council Showdown returns to campus with each competing dance group preparing in its own unique way, while also tapping into the collective fervor for the artform they share.

The Heights

Thursday, March 23, 2017

B3

Joys of Civility in Cinema

Isabella Dow

JAKE EVANS / HEIGHTS STAFF

‘White Rose’ Exhibit Attests to Virtues of Student Resistance in ’40s Germany

By Peter Gavaris For The Heights College campuses are simultaneously praised and ridiculed as being havens for progressive thinking. After the recent presidential election, students across the country were lambasted by parents, friends, teachers, and political pundits for infantile behaviors as rumors swirled around of students skipping class and crying because Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. It’s easy for adults to target college students as being too young, inexperienced, naïve, optimistic, and impressionable. These criticisms levied against students, in many ways, are fair, but, as evidenced by history, university students also carry with them a deeply held passion to do good. With all this in mind, the story of the White Rose student resistance to Adolf Hitler should inspire Boston College students to be politically active by honoring the actions of a bastion of brave and courageous university students who actively urged fellow students to resist the Nazi Party.

Located in the Theology and Ministry Library Atrium, the White Rose exhibit is simple: tall, gray panels of words and faces circle the perimeter of the room to guide guests along. The exhibit tells of a group of university students in Munich who actively took a stand against Hitler. Students at the University of Munich soon took notice of the intense anti-Semitic hatred that had slithered its way onto campus, as brilliant minds like Albert Einstein and Richard Willstatter were told to leave. Students of the White Rose in Munich created leaflets that

were supposed to inform people, shake their belief in Hitler, arouse feelings of doubt, and make Germans aware of their guilt. These leaflets were dispersed throughout Germany in an attempt to inspire more students at other universities.

Students Christoph Probst and Alexander Schmorell had been good friends since their schooldays—they eventually met friends Willi Graf, Hans Scholl, and Sophie Scholl, all of whom were quite critical of the Nazi regime. These friends often came together to listen to Professor Kurt Huber give lectures on the reprehensible actions of Hitler and the Nazis—Huber also helped compose the many leaflets alongside the rest of the students at the university. Long nights were spent talking, debating, and planning what to do in order to persuade others to stop following Hitler. This type of intense collaboration and camaraderie between friends helped make the White Rose resistance as effective as it was.

As informative as the panels of words are, the individual photographs of the White Rose resistors will truly stay with attendees.

Featured throughout the exhibit are indepth biographies of many student resistors situated adjacent to these photos—they are not much older than the students of Boston College. The haunting reality is the fact that many of these students died for the cause.

Resistors, like Schmorell, were slaughtered.

One of the more sobering panels tallies the atrocities committed by the Nazis against political opponents in Germany. Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazis interrogated and tortured over one million Germans, and killed over 130,000 of their own people.

After learning of the slaughter of these

student resistors, optimism may seem lost.

Still, the curators of the exhibit tried to show that the action taken by the White Rose was not in vain. Amid the gut-wrenching photographs of burned bodies and broken families lies a panel that addresses the legacy of the resistance. After the fall of Nazi Germany, the White Rose leaflets were used as drafts for the future Federal Government of Germany, while influencing freedom of speech and confession, and reasonable socialist movements. In many ways, the students of the White Rose outlined many ideals held by modern society, demonstrating their lasting impact.

John Michalczyk, a professor and director in the film department, has written a book and directed documentaries dealing with the atrocities committed by the Nazis.

Michalczyk first learned about the White Rose in the 1980s, when he met Franz Mueller, a young member of the White Rose with whom he remains friends to this day. The White Rose resistance moved the professor because he was interested in how a group develops momentum to take on a totalitarian and oppressive government body.

Michalczyk ultimately hopes that Boston College students will see this exhibit, and remember that they too have a voice and that they, too, should express themselves when there is a matter of social justice at stake.

“The exhibit has great relevance today when we are trying to make certain that a political ideology does not have priority over the law,” he said. “Every day, we are seeing more travesties of justice around us, and this has emboldened many to find a fresh voice of resistance.” n

Before I left the house to embark on my day when I was growing up, my parents would always remind me to be “polite and respectful.” To me, that meant valuing a set of moral and social expectations enough to carry them out even in trying situations that leave me to scream internally. It’s not necessarily about being “nice,” it’s about treating the people around you with the courtesy you would appreciate yourself. Part of the appeal of one of my favorite movies, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is the charming and melancholy treatment of the merits and trials of maintaining civility in an uncivil world.

And after hearing of and observing some questionable antics in recent memory, I found myself further pondering this brilliant Wes Anderson movie to take solace in the state of current social affairs.

Besides the aesthetic sophistication The Grand Budapest Hotel developed through its crisp costume design and artful camera angles, one of the thematic components of the film centers around civility. With much of the story set in a world torn by war, fear, and a grotesquely comical family dispute, the concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel, M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), consistently champions the maintenance of a personable demeanor and adhering to respectable behaviors.

There’s something comforting about the fact that the lobby boys at hotels across Europe can be counted on to “take over” for their concierge at a moment’s notice.

And after M. Gustave partook in a prison fight with a “sniveling little runt” to prove he wasn’t a pushover, he became “dear friends” with the man by falling back on his congenial disposition. Notably, the tension between upholding the embellishments of society and throwing them out the window is palpable. M. Gustave’s love of decorum falters on a number of occasions, but even at the bitter, tragic end of the movie, the man returned to his civil inclinations.

Outside the world of film, we find that, like M. Gustave with his hotel, people take pride in making their humble dorms or apartments into their home away from home. So when people choose to entertain their friends, they shouldn’t have to live in fear of their social outreach

leading to their demise.

I know plenty of social gatherings are ragers that people attend and host with the tacit agreement that things are going to get crazy. That dynamic has its place in the hearts of many, and I’m certainly not out to judge that or ruin anyone’s fun.

The point of this rant is not to stand on a soapbox and screech irrelevant or stuffy opinions. It’s about reminding ourselves why anyone thought up these pesky rules of social decorum in the first place: to manifest our respect for each other.

When I was a small child, I was told the respectable thing to do when invited to a party was to bring your invitation to the door. And it has to be an original invitation, not a copy to be redistributed among friends of friends that constitutes thinly veiled party crashing, like a real-life version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. When the party ends, one must offer to help clean up and restore the order to the home of whomever graciously invited you over. And rumor has it you’re supposed to thank the hosts personally before leaving. Gift reception requires thank you notes to be drafted, trash should never be left on tables … does any of this sound like a decree that crashed to the earth on a rogue spaceship from Mars?

When I’m met with looks of confusion and inquiries about whether my throwing away a few plastic cups and plates indicates that I have OCD, I begin to wonder if I really am a martian with regard to my expectations for social decorum.

The good news is that most of us aren’t being pursued by a deranged, finger-slicing, motorcycle-driving hitman.

We don’t have to wear a pungent amount of L’Air de Panache cologne or listen to meandering poetry readings before eating our meals.

I’ve seen plenty of people on this beautiful campus act in a manner that is consistent with the attainable decorum that shows our respect for those around us.

But I’ve also heard horror stories of unconscionable events that are simply appalling. If we’re not careful, we could end up becoming the dwarves that traipsed into Bilbo Baggin’s house one day and ransacked the place with uncultured and imposing actions, as in The Hobbit franchise. And that would be a real nightmare indeed.

Isabella Dow is the asst. arts & review editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

A New Age Has Dawned: The Planet of the “Pretty Good” Movies

Jacob Schick I’m knocking on wood while I throw a pinch of salt over my shoulder. I have several four-leaf clovers in my pocket, along with seven lucky horseshoes, and I haven’t stepped on any cracks in five months. I’ve taken to playing loud music and wearing a tinfoil hat so “the man” can’t listen in on my words and thoughts. I tried to rent a volcano for a virgin sacrifice, but that’s a mountain of paperwork. Just believe me when I tell you that I’m saying this with the utmost hesitation, but I think that maybe we might be out of this recent “slump” in movies (fingers crossed).

The slump I’m talking about is something I’ve noticed in the past few years. As I’ve said before, I keep a list

of every movie I’ve ever seen (1,633 movies, aren’t you proud of me, Mom?).

I sorted through them by year and my suspicions were confirmed. There was a definite drop-off in quality cinema over the past few years. To prove my point, in 2012, I saw about 40 movies I would categorize as at least pretty good—2012 marked the release of Wreck-It Ralph, The Master, and Moonrise Kingdom. But the following year, there was a very steep drop. In 2013, I saw only 22 movies I would say are pretty good. You might remember 2013 by such cinematic masterpieces as Marvel universe set-up/ cash-grab Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3 (also known as Robert Downey Jr. Couldn’t Get Out Of His Contract), and Tom Cruise’s sci-fi movie that wasn’t Edge of Tomorrow, the disaster titled Oblivion. It was a pretty rough annum in cinema. Unfortunately, the next year wasn’t much better. I counted 24 movies I would categorize as “pretty good.” As a reminder, young-adult-book-turnedmovie The Maze Runner, geriatric return

CALEB GRIEGO Arts & Review Editor Life, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds, is the latest space-based horror flick to hit the market. The past couple of years have been inundated by this kind of movie, from Gravity to Interstellar and The Martian. The race into space on screen does not appear to be slowing down, and Life could shake up the genre considerably if it can bring a more classy form of horror into the void. While other films, like Apollo 18, tried and seemingly failed to let the screams be heard from space, Life potentially has the power to resonate a horror that could be all too real.

to comedy Dumb and Dumber To, and the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie I bet you didn’t even know existed, Sabotage, all came out in 2014. This is not to say that good movies didn’t come out in these years. Whiplash, The Imitation Game, and Dallas Buyers Club were all released in these two years. But note how all of these movies were “Oscar bait.”

But, as I said earlier, I think we may be pulling out of this movie slump. The past few years have marked a definite rise in the number of movies that fit my nebulous description of “pretty good.”

To continue our yearly review, 2015 had 31 pretty good movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, Spotlight, and Straight Outta Compton. Even better, 2016 had 33 pretty good films such as Moonlight, La La Land, and Deadpool. Yes, these past years have marked a rise in sequels, spin-offs, and cash-grabs, but putting these aside, there have been more and more films that are at least pretty good.

I believe that we could be re-entering

a period of quality cinema. Oscar season of 2016 was filled with truly fantastic films. Moreover, we are only three months into 2017, and it’s already looking like this might be a great year for film. We’ve gotten through the usual garbage fire that is January, February, and early March relatively unscathed.

The LEGO Batman Movie, John Wick: Chapter Two, Logan, and Get Out were all terrific films, and we’re just getting started. Sure, we had the usual junk like generic horror movie The Bye Bye Man or generic action movie xXx: Return of Xander Cage. But we have had a fair number of films that I would gladly watch two or three more times. Looking ahead, there are a lot of movies that are going to come out that look like they could be added to my definitely-not-arbitrary category of at least pretty good. Freefire, Dunkirk, and Baby Driver are all on my list to see. New theory: when we have a good president, we get bad movies, and when we have a “president,” we get

JACOB SCHICK

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor This Friday, the movie that no one knew they didn’t really want hits theaters. Power Rangers, based on very popular and poorly acted kids show made to sell cheap plastic toys made in Chinese sweatshops by young children for literal pennies, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, is the pick for the weekend. Will it be good? Probably not. The reason it is the pick is out of sheer curiosity. What could a gritty, realistic, big-budget Power Rangers movie possibly be like?

Only director Dean Israelite really knows. One thing is for sure: go-go see Power Rangers.

better movies. Jacob’s column: come for movie talk, receive unwarranted political opinions.

We also have a few new directors, in addition to the rest of the great directors like Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, and Wes Anderson, who are proving themselves to be on par with “the greats” with their first few films. Damien Chazelle (Whiplash and La La Land), Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival, and Prisoners), Ava Duvernay (Selma and 13th), and most recently Jordan Peele (Get Out) are all directors that show incredible promise and skill, have many years ahead of them, and all have upcoming movies.

I don’t want to speak too soon, but I’m way more excited than I have any reason to be for the rest of this year, and years to come, in movies.

Jacob Schick is the assoc. arts & review editor for The Heights. He can be reached at heightsartseditors@ bc.edu.

ISABELLA DOW

Asst. Arts & Review Editor Spoon returned last week with its ninth studio album, Hot Thoughts, and with it the indie rock group sustained its moody, unconventional sound and song structures.

Frontman Britt Daniel’s characteristically enigmatic lyrics paired with this album’s funky electronic details keep the band fresh while developing the hypnotic and easygoing qualities that made the band successful in the past. Songs like “Do I Have to Talk You Into It” and “Shotgun” highlight how much fun this band can be, and keep the listener engaged through every punchy song on the album.

THIS WEEKEND IN ARTS: EDITORS’ PICKS

THE HEIGHTS

B4

THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017

Ravenous Fans Devour Chappelle’s Two Specials

BY GUS LEWIS

For The Heights Nearly 13 years since his last comedy special aired and over a decade since his abrupt departure from his renowned Comedy Central series Chappelle’s Show, Dave Chappelle made his highly anticipated return to comedy with two standup specials that debuted on Netflix this week.

Over the course of the two hour-long installments, Chappelle riffs on a myriad of new topics including his family life and current events while returning to some of his go-to topics of race, disgraced black celebrities, and interactions with the police. For the most part, he does this in his characteristic relaxed and conversational

style involving elaborate and meandering stories and serious social commentary punctuated by quick and artfully silly punchlines.

The first installment, entitled The Age of Spin, is a bit different in style from his previous specials. It involves a series of stories including the four separate occasions in which Chappelle met O.J. Simpson, the time he pitched movie ideas backstage at the Oscars, and taking his son to see fellow comedian Kevin Hart. While Chappelle is usually a masterful storyteller, some of these anecdotes are at times longwinded and drawn out with less rewarding punchlines than one might expect from such a comedy legend. Some Chappelle fans may find themselves slightly disap-

FILM

DAVE CHAPPELLE STAN LATHAN PRODUCED BY NETFLIX RELEASE MAR. 21, 2017 OUR RATING

NETFLIX

pointed, worrying he may have lost his touch, but fortunately, the second episode has a slightly different tone, rhythm, and structure more reminiscent of his previous specials.

Deep in the Heart of Texas has a more casual, relaxed feel. For some reason, he seems more at ease with this crowd, and it only enhances his comedy. At one point, he bums a cigarette off an audience member, takes a seat, and smokes it while delivering some of the most hilarious jokes of the entire set. The pace of this special is much faster as he expertly jumps from topic to topic, getting to punchlines more efficiently and delivering more laughs.

Unfortunately, this show was recorded in 2015 so Chappelle spends a large portion of the show addressing some dated subjects including the controversies surrounding Paula Deen, Donald Sterling, and Ray Rice, but this does not make his observations any less humorous.

In both specials, Chappelle returns to the racial commentary for which he is known, elevating it to new levels by drawing comparisons between the struggle of African Americans and other oppressed groups. He reminds us that racism persists in America today through his jokes on the frequency of police shootings and being the target of racial violence and slurs.

Chappelle emphasizes this point by humorously pointing out that the gay community is demanding too much too soon, telling them to “pace themselves” in light of the prevalence of racism today given that it has been 50 years since the

CHART TOPPERS

Civil Rights movement. He calls out his wife’s gay friends for petitioning to remove the words “husband” and “wife” from the law as nitpicking, telling them to take what they can get before they lose it all.

For someone who has been accused of homophobia in his comedy before, Chappelle did not shy away from making jokes about the LGBTQ+ community, returning to the topic at several points over the course of both specials. One could make the argument that at times he seems to be making light of their struggles, but upon closer inspection, he is expressing a clear sense of solidarity with them as a member of another oppressed group and reminding us all that we are a long way from true equality for all.

Like when he asked us in his last special For What It’s Worth, “How old is 15 really?” Chappelle forces us to contemplate the difficult questions by presenting the honest facts—opening our minds up to new perspectives and leaving it up to the listeners to determine how we feel about it.

Chappelle had a major hurdle to overcome with these specials. His fans have been anxiously awaiting his comeback, rewatching old material for nearly a decade, creating a buildup of anticipation, and a ravenous craving that is nearly impossible to satisfy, but overall, Chappelle delivers, reminding us all why he is one of the greats.

While there are some slow portions the good outweighs the bad. Chappelle fans should walk away feeling satisfied and anxiously awaiting his next special. 

Drake Deviates From Established Form in ‘More Life’

BY BARRETTE JANNEY Editorial Assistant

Is Drake a one-trick pony or is he capable of deviating from his largely archetypical music? Well, the answer still isn’t exactly clear, but his new album More Life brings exactly that to his artistry: more life and a refreshing flair to his typical antics.

More Life was released on March 18, marking Drake’s fifth studio album.

Well, “album” isn’t exactly the correct terminology, according to the young artist. He instead labels the musical compilation as a “playlist.”

This deviation from the typical labels of album or mixtape highlight an attempt at a paralleled deviation from Drake’s typical trajectory. Such is to be expected after his widely successful fourth album Views in spring of 2016, raising the golden question—how do you top this?

You don’t. Instead, you try to generate a divergent experience, hoping that a complete distinction from what was previously lucrative will allow a different set of expectations. Whether or not Drake achieves this diversion, however, seems to be the lingering inquiry.

As far as production is concerned, nearly the same slew of record labels crafted the work, adding in OVO Sound to the Young Money, Cash Money, and Republic trio. A new mix of featured artists worked to shift the creative team of the playlist, including the likes

of PartyNextDoor, Kanye West, Travis Scott, and 2 Chainz.

While Views dropped its first single within weeks of the entire album’s release, the promotion of More Life dates all the way back to the fall with the release of “Fake Love” on Oct. 23. The hit single touches on the deceptive motives and actions of those surrounding Drake and his fame, versing, “I got fake people showin’ fake love to me.” The song mixes R&B sounds with a strong, bass-invigorating beat, generating almost machine-like, nearly Bop It-esque vibrations enclosing the drop of the chorus. Although the overall sound of the piece does resemble Drake’s typical rap style, it does signal that Drake is seeking the anti-fake in More Life, offering a more genuine interpretation of rap.

Particular standouts that reflect this goal are “Passionfruit,” “Blem,” and “Sacrifices.” “Passionfruit” utilizes a steady, clapping beat with almost reggae undertones. It captures the relationship struggle of the fine line between passion and toxicity that creates distance, “Passionate from miles away / Passive with the things you say.” “Blem” capitalizes on the reggae tones, even with Drake’s usual rap voice possessing a sort of Jamaican twang, and uses emphatic pausing intermittently between the abstract flow of sound underneath another persistent beat. Crowned with an emotional piano introduction and interludes, “Sacrifices” displays Drake’s

gratefulness for his success and includes the audacious remarks of Young Thug and 2 Chainz in their separate verses regarding their rise to fame.

As in most of his albums, Drake continues to perpetuate his stereotype as the notoriously emotional rapper who reminisces over breakups in such songs as “Nothings into Somethings,” saying, “Did I just read that you just got engaged on me?” Back in “Free Smoke” he does the same thing with a blatant name drop of his recent ex, rapping, “I drunk text J-Lo.” All 22 tracks in Drake’s playlist, when listened to in succession, could be

mistaken for one long song that shifts slightly in mood and sound but altogether provides an enjoyable auditory experience. The performances of the female vocalists on tracks such as “Do Not Disturb” and “Free Smoke” refresh this stream of music with nearly euphoric buoyancy that contrasts poignantly with the harshness of the majority of the rhythm.

So perhaps More Life doesn’t seek to reinvent rap and aim for the rhythmic stars. It grants a contagious pulse with resonating lyrics and beatific new vocals and will surely find a home in the saved music of many a Spotify user. 

Asst. Arts & Review Editor For viewers that are fans of the comic mockumentary genre, NBC’s new television show, Trial and Error, is sure to please. By taking aspects of crime drama and reimagining them through an absurdist comedic presentation, the show develops an overall worthwhile spectacle. The show opens on a murder investigation into Larry Henderson (John Lithgow), a “kooky” but likeable man that has been accused of throwing his wife, Margaret, through his patio window. Hailing from New York, defense attorney Josh

Segal (Nick D’Agosto) is tasked with keeping Larry off of death row, which proves to be a tall order in the face of a virtually unwinnable case. But with the help of Dwayne Reed (Steven Boyer), an accident-prone investigator, and Anne Flatch (Sherri Shepherd), a researcher with a slew of socially inconvenient disorders, Larry’s unwinnable case starts to look that much more hopeless.

Paired with an unhinged, cunning assistant district attorney, Carol Anne Keene (Jayma Mays) who’s out for blood in hopes of getting a promotion, and Jeremiah (Bob Gunton), Margaret’s cigarette executive brother bent on antagonizing Larry through putting

TELEVISION

TRIAL AND ERROR JEFFREY BLITZ DISTRIBUTED BY NBC RELEASE MAR. 21, 2017 OUR RATING

NBC

1 Shape Of You Ed Sheeran 2 That’s What I Like Bruno Mars 3 Bad and Boujee Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert 4 Don’t Wanna Live Zayn / Taylor Swift 5 I Feel It Coming The Weeknd 6 Tunnel Vision Kodak Black 7 Love On The Brain Rihanna 8 Something Just Like This The Chainsmokers

TOP ALBUMS

1 Divide Ed Sheeran 2 Hardwired To Self-Destruct Metallica 3 Beauty and The Beast Soundtrack 4 24K Magic Bruno Mars 5 Moana Soundtrack

Source: Billboard.com

MUSIC VIDEO BARRETTE JANNEY

“OPTIONS” PITBULL

MUSIC

MORE LIFE DRAKE PRODUCED BY OVO SOUND RELEASE MAR. 18, 2017 OUR RATING

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‘Trial and Error’ Uses Wry Absurdity to Get It Right

BY ISABELLA DOW

TOP SINGLES

tulips on Margaret’s grave instead of calla lilies, the goofy quality of the show takes center stage.

The taxidermist-themed office and incompetent characters create an outrageous mood. From the beginning, the viewer is given a serious situation with a murder trial, but the show’s small-town setting, complete with socially unacceptable laws of the past and quirky characters, deflates the gravity of the situation. The effect leaves the viewer in awe of the delightful unreality of the East Peck County court system, and appeals to everyone’s cynical streak by giving them permission to laugh at events that would be considered grave in the real world.

Take, for example, the character of Anne. Immediately, the viewer is confused when she doesn’t recognize Josh, someone just met She then explains that she has face blindness, a disorder where people cannot recognize or remember faces. In the real world, this admission would elicit sentiments of understanding from anyone that heard it, but in East Peck, it’s a hilarious mechanic through which to inject unbelievable jokes into the plot. Another one of Anne’s disorders includes involuntary emotional expression disorder, where she is prone to inappropriate fits of emotion, usually in the form of cackling at terrible events. If there’s a funeral or a dead body, Anne will be laughing at it ruthlessly, in much the same manner the viewer wants to, but feels restrained from doing.

In fact, every character seems to have their own bank of ridiculous afflictions that the show draws upon in just the right moment. Dwayne can mostly just come up with interpretations of the case that make Larry look guilty, and his knack for getting tased by his brash former boss, Detective Hiss, proves to amplify the clown nature of his character.

Larry is portrayed as a mildly insane fool, which is only exacerbated by his focusing on trivial details that make him seem callous in the face of terrible tragedy. When he reports his wife’s murder, he gripes about the cable company not showing up at his house when he wanted, and appears to be unaffected by his wife’s bloody corpse. When an incriminating poem he wrote is read on the local news by Carol Anne, he is less concerned with how it makes him look completely guilty of murder, and more concerned with whether anyone commented on the meter or quality of the poem itself. And who can forget his objection in court that he was rollerskating at the time of his wife’s murder?

No, Larry was actually “rollercising,” which apparently requires a lot more grace and emotional expression than regular rollerskating, and made Larry’s priorities look again a bit skewed.

Nevertheless, all of the characters foster a sense of lovable absurdity to the town and the events of the show, and Trial and Error seems to be on a promising start toward establishing itself as a prolific program. 

A massive titular contradiction, Pitbull’s latest music video “Options” reveals that he is clearly out of them—he now combines pop, reggae, rap, and his Pitbull renown to generate a bizarre visual and auditory experience that is both uncomfortable and enjoyable.

March 17 marks both the release of the “Options” music video as well as the release of Pitbull’s latest album entitled Climate Change.

The song “Options” was released as the third single for the album on Feb. 17, featuring the reggae artist Stephen Marley.

The music video opens in a small Jamaican town, offering a colorful landscape that matches the uplifting sound of intermixed acoustic guitar and snapping. Pitbull and Stephen Marley have playful banter over a table game, saying “We’re making history tonight,” a classic random Pitbull statement that almost never relates to the topical manners at hand. A woman in ridiculously high heels and shorts walks by them and into a shop, the cue for Pitbull’s unwarranted and unwanted pursuit.

The rest of the video switches back and forth from antiquated shots of Pitbull and Stephen Marley in the studio and Pitbull seducing any and every ill-clad woman that strolls by him. An eventual trip through the town on a moped with one of these women solidifies that this music video is really that archetypical.

The nearly cringeworthy mini film concludes in a dimly lit nightclub where Pitbull is again surrounded by beautiful, smiling women.

The only aspects that barely salvage this video are the capturing of Jamaican street life, including kids gleefully playing soccer, and the infectiously chill vibration of the song. Such components bring a sense of bright youthfulness to a Pitbull song, a conceivably difficult task. Other than its few redeeming qualities, “Options” joins a long line of music videos that remind us why Pitbull exists as a running joke in pop culture. 

SINGLE REVIEWS BY TOMAS GUARNA LEO KALYAN “Feels Right”

MACHINE GUN KELLY “At My Best”

FRANK OCEAN “Chanel” “Feels Right,” the new single from up-andcoming London singer-songwriter Leo Kalyan, is a fresh R&B number about being content in the unknown. The solid bass, the guitar backing, and the electronic arrangements make it a piece good enough to remind us to keep an eye on Kalyan.

Ocean debuted the first solo track after his 2016 releases, and it is everything but disappointing. Ocean talks about a guy who has “two sides,” like the “Chanel” logo: “My guy pretty like a girl/ And he got fight stories to tell/I see both sides like Chanel.”

“At My Best” confirms Machine Gun Kelly’s commitment to the male-rapper-withfemale-singer formula, which was extremely successful with “Bad Things.” “At My Best,” however, lacks the originality and catchiness of its predecessor. In a nutshell, it just sounds like every other pop song.

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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.

1. Realize that wildfires burn more than 4 million acres every year.

2. Cut along dotted line.

3. Repeat this phrase: “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.”

9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by humans. 9 out of 10 wildfires can be prevented.

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B6

Thursday, March 23, 2017

FOOTBALL

Johnson Impresses Scouts Despite Questions About Position Pro Day, from B8 pounds. It showed on Pro Day, as Towles ran a 4.59 in the 40-yard dash and posted a 10-foot broad jump. But it may not be enough to convince teams to take a chance on a quarterback who threw for just 1,730 yards in his final year of eligibility at BC. Milano is also facing questions about his position in the NFL. The 6-

foot, 222-pounder is considered slightly undersized to be a linebacker at the next level. Although he was recruited to BC as a defensive back, he never played a snap at that position for head coach Steve Addazio, and may lack the speed to keep up with NFL wideouts in coverage.

But in a pass-happy league, Milano may have a future as a linebacker who can excel on throwing downs, and he

has proven that his instincts are superb.

He could also see playing time early in his career on special teams.

“Milano’s a dog, he’s like a heat-seeking missile out there,” Johnson said.

One Northeast-area scout for an AFC team had a similar assessment of Milano, according to NFL.com.

“I love watching him on tape,” the scout said. “You just know he wishes he were bigger so he could hit even harder.

He’s not as good as [Brian] Cushing, but that’s the same kind of mentality he plays with.”

Unfortunately, Milano was somewhat limited on Pro Day due to tightness in his left hamstring.

The nerves from Pro Day will likely carry over to Draft Day for most of BC’s NFL hopefuls. Johnson, for one, will be ready for that fateful call if it comes.

“I’ll be waiting by my phone anx-

iously,” Johnson said. “I’ll be right in my dorm room probably, or if I decide to go home then I’ll be with my family.”

But Towles, on the other hand, will try to distance himself from all the Draft noise in favor of a peaceful day with family.

“I’ll be at home playing golf with my dad and my brothers,” Towles said.

“We’ll see what happens.” n

Taylor Perison / Heights Staff

Linebacker Matt Milano (left) runs through agility drills in front of a scout from the New York Jets during Pro Day on Tuesday, while safety John Johnson (right) participates in defensive back exercises.

Just Like Duke, Men’s Hockey Will Uphold Winning Tradition Hockey Bounce Back, from B8 -ly early loss to Ole Miss, and the loss of Hopkins, potential new recruits may not be as invested in the Orange as they might have been several years ago. If I were a recruit right now, I’d head someplace like Duke or North Carolina with the expectation that I’d have a crack at a national championship over my time there. I see no such guarantee at Syracuse right now.

The good news for BC is that it should be a Duke, not a Syracuse, in terms of its outlooking moving forward. That’s not to say it’s a guarantee—getting complacent would be disastrous. But York is more reminiscent of Krzyzewski than Boeheim. Krzyzewski and York both win championships—their resumes speak for themselves, with four each.

Boeheim can make the tournament, but only has one national title, proving that he routinely fails when it matters the most. Winning is a part of BC’s culture just like it is a part of Duke’s culture.

BC must continue to aggressively recruit the top hockey talent, however.

There’s no saying what the organization might look like in a couple of years, but associate head coach Greg Brown and assistant coach Mike Ayers have been phenomenal recruiters thus far, and will continue to play a crucial role on the team moving forward.

That is especially true after the loss of Mike Cavanaugh, who many thought would be York’s eventual replacement before he accepted the head coaching job at Connecticut. If the Eagles can continue to recruit top talent and keep the organization stable, there’s no reason why this year won’t ever be looked at as anything except a temporary setback.

Frankly, given the amount of talent that departed after last season and the youth of this year’s squad (the Eagles were the youngest team in the country), it isn’t even really surprising that the Eagles didn’t make the cut this year. After the season-ending loss to Lowell, York himself called preseason projections that BC would finish at the middle of the pack in Hockey East “accurate” and praised his team for exceeding expectations.

Whether or not you believe York

BASEBALL

Nelson Logs First Win Birdball vs. Huskies, from B8 The Eagles would score two more in the inning with a Dante Baldelli sacrifice fly and two-out single by Jake Alu. Mellen was charged with seven runs, five earned, and walked five with four strikeouts in his poor outing. The Eagles held a commanding 7-0 lead.

Jack Nelson had a strong performance as he got the start for the Eagles. Nelson went the first four innings and shut out the Huskies, limiting them to one hit while walking one and striking out a couple.

Zach Stromberg and John Witkowski combined for three shutout innings in relief and the Huskies had only three base runners on two hits in the first seven innings.

The offense continued to work while BC pitchers dominated. The Eagles added insurance in the sixth when Baldelli scored on Casey’s double play. They also tallied two more runs in the eighth, as Baldelli, who scored twice and drove in two on the day, doubled home a run and scored on an Alu groundout.

BC was up 10-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth on its way to a blowout victory—or so it thought.

Luke Fernandes came into the game to pitch the eighth inning and was hit hard, as the Huskies’ bats finally broke out.

Northeastern hit for the cycle against Fernandes, who surrendered four runs on four hits before getting pulled after recording just two outs.

Sean Hughes, who relieved him, was no better. Hughes couldn’t record an out. He issued four-straight walks against the only batters he faced, including a wild pitch. That tacked on another earned run for Fernandes in addition to the run forced home by Hughes, cutting the Eagles lead to 10-

6. Alu came on to record the final out of the eighth, but all of a sudden it was a game going into the ninth.

Alu was back on the mound to close the game out, but he proved just as ineffective as Fernandes and Hughes.

Nick Fanneron started the bottom of the ninth with a pinch-hit home run over the right-field fence, the Huskies’ second homer on the afternoon, making it 10-7. After a Charlie McConnell double, head coach Mike Gambino went to Casey, who sealed the 10-7 win for BC with his second save of the season.

While the offense breaking out for 10 runs was encouraging as the Eagles move forward, this game was a lot closer than it should’ve been.

The pitching depth and effectiveness continues to be a cause for concern.

The Eagles were dominant in the first seven innings. Nelson, Stromberg, and Witkowski combined for seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits while walking one and striking out three. All of those great efforts were almost wasted by the debacle that took place in the last two innings.

Before Casey secured the victory with the final two outs, the combination of Fernandes, Hughes, and Alu surrendered seven runs on six hits and five walks without registering a strikeout.

This should’ve been a relaxing day for Gambino’s crew and a blowout win for the Eagles. Instead, Gambino had to walk back and forth from the mound as he watched his team’s lead shrink from 10 to three in less than two innings.

Going forward, if the Eagles hope to compete in a competitive ACC, they need to play a complete game for nine innings. n

really thought his team wouldn’t make the tournament is up to you, but either way, he publicly said it.

Next year, the team will still be young, but the roster will have a season of experience with tough hockey under its belt. The loss of seniors Scott Savage, Chris Calnan, Austin Cangelosi, Matthew Gaudreau, and Ryan Fitzgerald—plus the likely loss of sophomore Colin White—will be tough, but this roster is deep. This young talent will want to step up to the plate and fill in the shoes left behind by their departed teammates.

J.D. Dudek, Michael Kim, Christopher Brown, and Casey Fitzgerald will all be juniors next year. Each of these players has the potential to step up as leaders for the team, especially given that, barring a transfer, the Eagles won’t have a single senior on the squad.

Dudek and Brown, both forwards, may take on more goal-scoring responsibilities, while Kim and Fitzgerald will look to tighten the Eagles’ defense. Brown, notably, missed weeks of this season with mono. Having him healthy for a full season will only help

the Eagles.

Current freshmen will also step up and play a huge role for the team next year. Joseph Woll has had quite a season as BC’s netminder—at times outstanding, at times patchy—but with a full season of experience will be, well, a wall between the pipes next year for the Eagles. David Cotton, already an established threat for the team, will only improve with more experience and age. Graham McPhee has the skill and potential to emerge as a dangerous threat to opposing netminders.

And that’s just looking at the current roster. BC has an impressive lineup of recruits set to arrive next fall, ranging from Shattuck-St. Mary’s product Logan Hutsko to Canada native Mitch Martan. BC’s top recruit from that class, Finland’s Eeli Tolvanen, is pegged as a high NHL draft pick and eagerly anticipated as one of the country’s best rookies. Each of the recruits is a forward, bringing more dangerous goal-scoring ability to Kelley Rink.

Down the line, BC has recruits TJ Walsh, Patrick Giles, and Adam Samuelsson lined up. Walsh and Giles

are both forwards, while Samuelsson, whose older brother Philip won a national championship with the Eagles in 2010, is an imposing defenseman. The recruits set to arrive in the next couple of years are as elite as always, proving that BC’s hockey future is still bright.

So allow yourself to be disappointed that the Eagles’ season ended early—but not for long. Like Jack in LOST, let the emotion in, but only for five seconds—then, feel free to push it away.

After all, this is BC men’s hockey, and winning is part of the culture.

Like Duke men’s basketball, BC has a record of success both in the regular season and postseason, one of the greatest coaches ever to grace the sport, and world-class talent clamoring for the opportunity to play in maroon and gold.

A few years down the road, the 2016-17 season will be seen as nothing more than a momentary setback.

Annabel Steele is the assoc. sports editor for The Heights. She can be reached on Twitter @Steele_Heights.

The Heights

Thursday, March 23, 2017

B7

POINT COUNTERPOINT

The Closer, the Better Blowouts Are Painless

By Andy Backstrom

Asst. Sports Editor

Bryant Crawford didn’t even see him coming. Ky Bowman crept across the paint, leapt in the air and swatted the Demon Deacon guard’s shot out of bounds. For Bowman—Boston College men’s basketball’s most valuable player—it was yet another electrifying play. That is, until he hit the hardwood. The All-ACC Freshman landed awkwardly, damaging cartilage in his right knee.

Bowman lay face down on the court, pounding his fist against the ground in frustration. Immediately, Jordan Chatman, Jerome Robinson, Connar Tava, and A.J. Turner came to his side. But they weren’t the only ones worrying.

You could hear a pin drop in the Barclays Center.

While team doctors worked with the stationary Bowman, ESPN’s broadcast showcased two Eagles fans. Both locked their respective hands together at eye level as they watched the red-headed phenom struggle to fully extend his leg. Whether they were praying or not, they most certainly were concerned.

In the moment, the injury was the worst thing that could have happened to BC. Without Bowman, the Eagles had no chance in the ACC Tournament, let alone versus Wake Forest. Yet, as horrible as it was, it can be seen as a sign of progress.

One year removed from infamy, head coach Jim Christian fielded a team that, despite only winning two conference games, played North Carolina, Duke, and Notre Dame down to the wire. Fans took notice and genuinely invested in the team.

So when Bowman went down, fans were not only anxious about his leg, but also about the future of the team—something that before this season remained a complete mystery, and quite frankly was irrelevant to many.

During the 2015-16 season, the program was in complete disarray. While the team may have only lost twice more than it did this year, it dropped conference games by an average of 17 points—6.3 more than the 2016-17 Eagles’ margin of defeat. With the exception of BC’s three-point loss to UNC and a couple of games down the stretch, every ACC game on the schedule ended in a blowout.

There was no incentive for fans to drag themselves to Conte Forum. Every game was guaranteed to pad the loss column.

And with two Frozen Four-bound hockey teams, there was no need to subject themselves to a team that was cemented at the cellar of its conference.

Not to mention that BC’s leading scorer was a fifth-year transfer. Eli Carter logged 16 points per game, and was best known for his game-high 26 points against the Tar Heels. Sure, Carter was entertaining, but the bottomline was that he wasn’t there to stay.

Since BC is in the ACC, there is al-

ways the expectation that it will play the highest level of competition. And for the most part, that remains true. But when Christian’s injury-ridden crew was losing games by 20 left and right, the conference’s best didn’t put on the show fans might have been looking forward to.

The same was true for this year’s football team. For instance, take the Louisville game. Lamar Jackson accounted for seven total touchdowns, but only played three quarters. When he did score, it wasn’t flashy or suspenseful—it usually consisted of the future Heisman Trophy winner finding open space in the Eagles defense, either on the ground or in the air, for an easy score. And as soon as he was pulled, fans piled out of Alumni Stadium.

It makes sense. Star players shine when their team needs them the most.

On the other hand, Christian’s team brought out the best of its opponents.

And whether you’re a diehard Superfan or just a casual attendee, that’s all you can ask for.

Every time underclassmen Bowman, Robinson, or Chatman went for 20-plus points, there was a sense of hope tied to their performance. Even if BC ended up falling, it got fans thinking, “Well, if only we had one more piece.” I like to believe that recruits around the country were thinking along the same lines.

All but three Eagles will return for next season. A team built on youth and potential, BC’s 16 ACC losses this year showed that it is nearing a turnaround.

Now, Christian has to use that to his advantage. Just like he did with Bowman and Robinson, the third-year head coach must coax recruits to embrace the underdog role. He has more evidence now than ever to pitch to prospective players that they, individually, could be the program’s missing piece.

The fact that the Eagles were hanging with the nation’s top teams warrants respect. Last season, they were the laughing stock of college basketball. But with arguably the most explosive backcourt in the ACC, BC has transformed into a legitimate threat. It may not be consistent, but a threat it is.

Christian came into the season with two point guards leading the offense: Ty Graves and Bowman. Graves was a perimeter shooter, and Bowman looked like someone who should have stuck to football, turning the ball over 10 times in the first 61 minutes of his career.

But as soon as Bowman dyed his hair red, his play jumped to another level.

Graves transferred and Bowman teamed up with Robinson to establish a lethal one-two punch.

Through 23 losses—six of which were decided by six points or less—Christian’s group found its identity.

That’s a whole lot better than headlining SportsCenter as the first team to go winless in the ACC since the 1986-87 season. n

By Tom DeVoto Heights Senior Staff One of my favorite sports memories came in 2008, when I watched former Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas sing his favorite song—Frank Sinatra’s “High Hopes”— minutes after the Phils clinched the World Series.

It remains the only title I’ve seen one of my favorite teams win, and Kalas’ voice was the soundtrack to the summers of my youth, so it meant a lot to me.

I’ll be honest, though—I’ve never liked the lyrics to “High Hopes.”

If you’re unfamiliar, the song is about various animals that try to do something basically impossible, but they keep trying, because they have—you guessed it—high hopes.

An ant, for example, tries to move a rubber tree plant. Can’t tell you what a rubber tree plant is, but it sounds heavy and that ant probably shouldn’t be moving it.

I hate getting my hopes up, because after 21-plus years of this thing called life, I know what happens when I get my hopes up.

High hopes result in nothing but disappointment. Expectations yield heartbreak. I hate heartbreak. The solution? Don’t expect anything, and don’t get your hopes up.

Is it easier to have loved and lost, or never to have loved at all?

Uh, easy—the latter.

If you expect nothing, and you get nothing, then everything is fine.

If you expect something and you get something, then that’s great, but that is quite rare.

If you expect something and get nothing, as I have been known to do, there is emotional hell to pay. And all too often, sports teams rope me in and make me expect something great, only to have the exact opposite happen.

Feb. 6, 2005. The Philadelphia Eagles made their first Super Bowl appearance in over two decades against the New England Patriots. It was a back-and-forth, seesaw battle, and the Eagles had chances to win, but mismanaged the clock at the end of the game and lost by three points.

Jan. 2, 2012. The Philadelphia Flyers took on the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic. The Flyers took a two-goal lead in the second period, but gave up three consecutive Ranger goals to find themselves trailing late.

After a penalty was called on Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh for covering the puck in the crease with just seconds on the clock , Flyers forward Danny Brière was awarded a penalty shot.

The stadium was raucous, but he missed. The Flyers lost what was

way more than just a regular season game.

April 10, 2014. In his final game in a BC uniform, Johnny Gaudreau and BC men’s hockey get outdueled by Union College in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals. The Eagles close a late two-goal gap to just one on two separate occasions in the last two minutes, but it’s not enough to overcome a stronger game from the Dutchmen.

Nov. 22, 2014. BC football hit the road to take on No. 3 Florida State.

The teams were tied late in the fourth quarter in what has remained BC’s best chance to upend a top-five team under head coach Steve Addazio. BC had the ball deep in FSU’s territory with less than five minutes on the clock, but an incomplete pass on a trick play where the ball bounced off the hands of quarterback Tyler Murphy and a missed field goal doomed the Eagles. The Seminoles marched up the field, kicked a game-winning field goal, and sent BC packing.

March 20, 2016. B C women’s hockey had won 40-straight games to start the season and cruised to the National Championship against the University of Minnesota. In what represented BC’s best shot at a title in any sport since men’s hockey won it all in 2012, the Eagles were outmatched against the Gophers and suffered their first defeat of the season.

Many of my most vivid sports memories, regardless of the importance of the game, are heart-wrenching, gut-twisting losses. That certainly says something about the teams I’ve chosen to support, but it also says something about the agony of defeat.

I’d like to win, of course. But if I’m going to lose, I want it to be as painless as possible.

If I could guarantee beforehand that BC men’s basketball would go on a miracle run to the ACC Championship, only to lose on a buzzer beater against Duke, I wouldn’t be able to handle the emotional roller coaster.

It’s tough to say out loud, but I’d probably prefer BC’s actual path in this year’s tournament.

A wise woman (or man, depending on the version of the song you prefer) once said, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone?” Yes, it always do seem to go like that.

It’s much easier on the soul to be completely ignorant of what joy feels like than to have it for a fleeting moment and get your heart ripped out of your chest.

Don’t get your hopes up, kids.

Don’t root for blowouts by any means, but they’re not as bad as you might think. n

EDITOR’S

PICKS On Saturday afternoon, lacrosse will travel to Chapel Hill to face off against the best of the ACC, No. 2 North Carolina. Will the Eagles pull off their second-straight upset?

Or will the Tar Heels defend their turf?

RILEY OVEREND

Sports Edtior

Fresh off an upset win over No. 15 Louisville, the Eagles have the momentum necessary to take down the No. 2 Tar Heels. UNC has one of the best offenses in the country, and the team has scored 53 goals over its last three contests. But BC has two attackers—Kate Weeks and Sam Apuzzo— with more goals this season than the Tar Heels’ top scorer, Molly Hendrick .

Ultimately, it’ll come down to defense, where UN C holds the slight advantage between the pipes.

PREDICTION UNC 12 BC 10

ANNABEL STEELE

Assoc. Sports Edtior

The Eagles may have just earned a win over No. 15 Louisville, but their lucky streak won’t last against the No. 2 Tar Heels. BC has struggled against top-ranked teams so far this season, losing badly to No. 5 Syracuse and No. 1 Maryland. UNC is too good for BC to pull off an upset right now. The Tar Heels have only lost once this season, a 13-10 defeat to Maryland, and have won five-straight games, most by at least 10 goals. The Eagles will put up a strong fight, but in the end UNC will wear them down for another dominant victory.

PREDICTION UNC 18 BC 7

ANDY BACKSTROM

Asst. Sports Edtior

Almost exactly two years ago, BC took on then-No. 2 North Carolina. The Eagles scored a pair of goals late in the second half to force overtime. And not long after that, Mikaela Rix netted the gamewinner. On Saturday, this year’s group will come close to replicating that performance.

Led by the three-headed attack of Kate Weeks, Sam Apuzzo, and Kayla O’Connor, the Eagles will erase UNC’s multi-goal, second-half lead.

A game-winner in the final minutes will complete the comeback, sealing BC’s second consecutive top-15 win.

PREDICTION BC 16 UNC 15

SCOREBOARD M. HOCKEY BC 3 | BU 2 BC|FITZGERALD 2G

LACROSSE

BC|O’CONNOR 5G

BU|GREENWAY G

BC 14 | LOU 11 LOU|KOLOSKI 4G

ZOe Fanning | Heights Editor

3/18 BASEBALL

BOSTON, MA

BC|ADAMS R

3/18 M. HOCKEY NEWTON, MA

BC|FITZGERALD G

BC 4 | LOU 6

LOU|MCCLURE 9K

BC 3 | UML 4

3/18 BASEBALL LOUISVILLE, KY

UML|GAMBARDELLA G

3/18

BOSTON, MA

BC|BIGRAS 2H 2R

BASEBALL BC|BALDELLI 2R

BC 3 | LOU 5 LOU|MCKAY 2R

BC 10 | NU 7 NU|MCCONNELL R

3/19 LOUISVILLE, KY

3/21 BOSTON, MA

SPORTS

B8 THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017

FOOTBALL

BY RILEY OVEREND Sports Editor A typical day in the bubble for Boston College football is filled with the shrieks of whistles regulating spring practice drills, echoes of pads colliding with pads, and the occasional boom of head coach Steve Addazio’s voice. On Tuesday, though, the usual sounds were replaced by a strange silence brought upon by the presence of about 20 NFL scouts on hand for Pro Day. Six Eagles took part in this year’s Pro Day, headlined by defensive back John Johnson and linebacker Matt Milano, both of whom attended the NFL Combine earlier this month and have frequented Mock Draft lists.

Defensive end Kavalec, running back Myles Willis, quarterback Patrick Towles, and wide receiver David Dudeck (Class of 2016) also participated in Tuesday’s activities.

The day started with weight ro om e v alu ations and l ater moved to the Alumni turf field for the 40-yard dash and position-specific workouts. At each step of the way, scouts from the New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts , Houston

Texans, and more teams followed with clipboards, taking notes on the pro candidates.

When Johnson b egan his defensive back drills, you could hear a pin drop inside the bubble.

All eyes were on the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder as he displayed elite athleticism in coverage and solid hands in several drills. Johnson’s size and build make him an intriguing prospect, one who could make an immediate impact for a team looking to shore up its secondary.

While he’s not considered a hard-hitting tackler, Johnson can cover a lot of ground quickly and possesses great ball skills in coverage. As a junior, he became a key cog for a BC defense that ranked first in the country in total yards (254.3 per game).

Johnson recorded 64 tackles, two forced fumbles, and three interceptions, the last of which ranked seventh in the ACC. In the Holy War matchup against No. 5 Notre Dame at Fenway Park, he had a career night with six tackles, a forced fumble, and a clutch interception in the end zone.

During his senior season, he was named a captain and a recipient of the Jay McGillis Memorial Scholarship Award.

Johnson led the Eagles with 56 solo tackles and three interceptions, taking over as the top dog in the secondary in the wake of Justin Simmons’ departure to the NFL. In his final collegiate game, he went out with a bang by recording a career-high 12 tackles in BC’s 36-30 victory in the Quick Lane Bowl over Maryland—the same team that passed up on Johnson, a local recruit from West Hyattsville, Md., out of high school.

Johnson appeared to have put on a few additional pounds of muscle since the Bowl win back in December. Starting Jan. 1, he moved down to Portofino Island Resort in Pensacola, Fla., to train at EXOS in the months leading up to the Combine.

“If you look at the top guys who did the best at the Combine, it’s all EXOS guys,” Johnson said.

“Of all the defensive backs, I think I was the best one there. We had Leonard Fournette there, a bunch of other first rounders.”

With a regimented workout program and a standout performance in the Senior Bowl, Johnson has significantly improved his draft stock over the offseason. So much so that the most pressing question for Johnson isn’t whether or not he’ll get

drafted—it’s where he will end up playing.

Johnson entered college as a corner, moved to strong safety at the end of his junior year, and finished his career at free safety.

Many NFL Draft websites list him as a safety, but he has received mi xe d fe e dback from teams about his future position.

“S ome te ams said, ‘John, you’re not a safety, get that out of your head, you’re a corner,’” Johnson said. “Other teams asked me what I like best. The feedback going into [the Draft] has just been an open-ended thing—I’m a defensive back, and I have to be ready to do both.”

Meanwhile, Towles took a different approach on a possible position change. There have been whispers that the 6-foot-5 quarterback, who lost nearly 25 pounds since the Quick Lane Bowl, could possibly be a tight end at the next level.

“It’s been mentioned,” Towles said. “But I’m gonna play quarterback until they tell me I can’t, and then I’ll seek out other options.”

Kentucky’s former “Mr. Football” has trained intensely in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., over the past 10 weeks, slimming down to 241

See Birdball vs. Huskies, B6

See Hockey Bounce Back, B6

BC’s Five-Game Losing Skid Ends With NU Win Although the ground is still covered with piles of snow as we enter the spring, Boston College baseball experienced its first action up north this season on the road against Northeastern. After back-to-back weekends against top-five opponents and ACC foes Florida State and Louisville, the Eagles looked to snag a mid-week victory against a weak Huskies club.

With a difficult schedule, BC has struggled out of the gate coming off its NCAA Super Regional appearance last season. While the offense continues to scuffle as it has in the past, the pitching staff has adjusted to the loss of its two best pitchers and one of its best relievers. Although the staff carried them last year, the Eagles had a 4.54 team ERA coming into action on Tuesday, ranking toward the bottom of the conference.

BC really needed to take advantage

INSIDE SPORTS

against Northeastern to turn around its season. Fortunately for the Eagles, they did—earning a 10-7 win over the Huskies.

The Eagles (7-5, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) capitalized on the Huskies’ (7-11) mistakes throughout the afternoon.

In the top of first, after a one-out single by Johnny Adams, Northeastern starter Sean Mellen struggled with his control. Mellen walked Donovan Casey and Gian Martellini to load the bases, followed by another free pass to Mitch Bigras that forced in the first run of the game. While Mellen retired the next hitter, Brian Dempsey, with a strikeout, he then threw a wild pitch that allowed Casey to score and hit Jake Goodreau with a pitch in the same at bat to reload the bases. Mellen received no help from his defense either, as Huskies right fielder Cam Walsh allowed two more Eagles to score.

With only one hit in the inning, BC had a 4-0 lead before the Huskies came

MICHAEL SULLIVAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Donovan Casey (30) earned the save for the Eagles with two innings of relief pitching. to bat, thanks to three walks, a hit batsman, and an error.

BC added to its lead in the third. Martellini led off the inning with a double to left and Chris Balogh walked, allowing Dempsey to drive in Martellini with an

POINT/COUNTERPOINT: Best Way to Lose? BASEBALL: BC Suffers Late-Game Scare Whether it’s losing by 30 or dropping a game in the final seconds, the Eagles have done it all. But what’s worse?.....B7

ANNABEL STEELE

RBI single for the fifth run. Mellen failed to make it out of the inning, as he was pulled after walking Anthony Maselli to load the bases with only one out.

See Pro Day, B6

BASEBALL

For The Heights

Hockey Will Come Back

Spring is finally here.

Yes, it’s official. All the signs of spring have arrived—the temperature climbing into the 50s, the snow melting, sunlight until later in the evening, and some damn good postseason sports to watch.

I’m not one for making a bracket, but I enjoy watching March Madness just as much as the next sports fan.

I mean, it’s a pretty sweet gig for the fans—nonstop good basketball and, if you’re so inclined, the perfect opportunity to try to earn a few extra dollars through gambling. (For the record, I am not so inclined.)

If basketball just isn’t your thing, no worries there—you’ve still got hockey. Just don’t expect to see any players clad in maroon and gold hoisting up any trophies this year.

While Boston College women’s hockey lost in the Frozen Four, men’s hockey didn’t even qualify for the NCAA Tournament this year. It’s the first time since 2008-09 that the Eagles didn’t make the big dance, the third time since 2000, and only the sixth time in head coach Jerry York’s tenure on the Heights.

What does it mean for the Eagles moving forward? To make a basketball comparison, are the Eagles more like Duke or Syracuse—a temporary setback or a sign of things to come?

Duke men’s basketball entered the 2016-17 season highly lauded as one of the country’s most dangerous teams. It wasn’t totally smooth sailing for the Blue Devils, but they entered the NCAA Tournament as the ACC champs with a No. 2 seed and dreams of another national championship.

That dream was abruptly ended by the University of South Carolina in the Round of 32.

Even when considering this season’s outcome, it’s unlikely that Duke will see a major drop-off in talent and production in the coming years. This was a momentary setback—sure, it’s disappointing for Blue Devils fans, but next season Duke will be just as good as it was this year. (And, as an added bonus, next year the Blue Devils won’t have to deal with the great tripping wonder, Grayson Allen.) And Duke has talent ready to light up Cameron Indoor Stadium next year—two of its three recruits, Wendell Carter and Gary Trent, Jr., are five-stars, while Alex O’Connell is a four-star recruit.

Syracuse, though, is a different story. The Orange has been to 38 NCAA Tournaments, six Final Fours, and three national championship games, winning just one. But recently the team has dealt with its fair share of adversity—an NCAA investigation, a self-imposed postseason ban, and a Final Four loss last year. This year, the Orange didn’t even earn a tournament bid. Instead, Syracuse played in the worst consolation prize ever, the NIT. Adding insult to injury, the Orange lost to Ole Miss in the second round. And just this past weekend, Mike Hopkins—Syracuse assistant coach, recruiter, and, supposedly, heir apparent to Jim Boeheim—announced he is taking the head coaching gig at Washington next year.

Unlike Duke, it’s fair to wonder whether this season represents the start of a down period for Syracuse.

Sure, Boeheim is a fantastic coach— bringing his 10th-seeded Orange to the Final Four last year was impressive, to say the least—and just got extended with the news that Hopkins is leaving. But that move can be seen as reassurance to recruits who may have been alarmed at Hopkins’ departure.

And with all of the adversity of the past couple years, Syracuse not making the tournament, an embarrassing-

ABBY PAULSON | CREATIVE DIRECTOR

BY JIMMY MITCHELL

@HEIGHTSSPORTS

The Eagles got off to a 10-run lead against Northeastern, but in the final two innings, they almost gave it away................B6

SCOREBOARD............................ B7

EDITOR’S PICKS.......................... B7