The Heights April 6, 2017

HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

EST. 1919

WWW.BCHEIGHTS.COM

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

BC’s Moonshot: New Science Institute Planned

BY CONNOR MURPHY News Editor Boston College plans to construct a state-of-the-art Institute for Integrated Sciences and Society (IISS) in the current location of Cushing Hall, likely to be finished around 2021 or 2022, according to Vice Provost for Research and Academic Planning Thomas Chiles.

The IISS is a key aspect of the document that will come out of BC’s University Strategic Planning Initiative, the process undertaken over the past year to set the goals of the University for the next decade. Last month, The

Heights obtained the mission statement of the IISS contained in the USPI, which will not be made publicly available until later this year. The document is still awaiting final approval by the Board of Trustees.

The IISS will soon enter an approximately 18-month development and design phase, after which it will take 18 months to two years to build.

Though he declined to put a specific dollar figure on the project, Chiles said the IISS is “one of the largest strategic investments the University has ever taken.”

“This is a big bet,” Chiles said.

“This is basically BC’s moonshot, in

my opinion.”

The IISS mission statement calls for a cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach to solving many of the world’s most complex problems, including rises in terrorism, mass migration, revolutionary and social movements, threats to cybersecurity, and pandemics.

An IISS-like project has been in the works for some time. It was included in BC’s last strategic planning effort, the University Assessment and Planning Initiative, and a webpage was set up with a leadership team and general overview, but those plans were

A FIRST GLANCE AT PLANS FOR THE STATE-OF-THE-ART INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATED SCIENCES AND SOCIETY

Could open as soon as 2021 or 2022 One of BC’s largest investments ever Planned for the site of Cushing Hall Could lead to majors in data science, medical humanities, and global public health Possible base of an engineering program

See IISS, A3

New Plex Named for Connell Family CSON donors give $50 million as part of ‘Light the World.’

BY MICHAEL SULLIVAN Editor-in-Chief

O’Malley Speaks at Rally Without naming BC, the former governor supported divestment.

BY BARRETTE JANNEY Editorial Assistant Martin O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland, delivered the keynote speech at a divestment rally held Tuesday by Climate Justice at Boston College (CJBC). He advocated for divestment from financial holdings in fossil fuels, but did not specifically call for BC to do so.

Originally scheduled to be held on O’Neill Plaza, about 100 students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered instead in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room, where the rally was moved due to inclement weather.

“How can we be men and women for others if our Jesuit university is silent on

the most important issue of our time,” read one of the many signs posted throughout the room. The “most important issue” was climate change and particularly BC’s continued investments in companies that perpetuate the issue of fossil fuels that degrade the environment.

“Climate change is not a joke. It affects everyone and everything,” said Sissi Liu, a member of CJBC and MCAS ’17.

O’Malley began by urging the crowd that individual action is about leadership and that, although the dire circumstances of today’s environmental destruction can be discouraging, there is opportunity to rebuild and make new.

“Darkness is a great canvas,” O’Malley said, referring to the Trump administration’s recent actions to dismantle environmental progress by removing

See O’Malley, A3

Boston College’s next building will receive a familiar name.

Following a donation of $50 million as part of the “Light the World” campaign, the University will name the replacement for the Flynn Recreation Complex after BC trustee associate Margot C. Connell and her family. Last February, BC Athletics announced the construction of three new buildings—including the baseball and softball fields on Brighton and an indoor practice facility—which noted that the Connell family made the lead donation for the Plex’s replacement, but did not mention that they would receive naming rights.

The new building is scheduled to open in fall of 2019.

“Margot has been a matriarch of the BC

community who has witnessed first-hand the positive effects that a Jesuit education of the mind, body, and spirit can have on students,” said University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J in a release. “We are grateful to her for her generosity in naming this facility.”

Construction on the new Plex has already begun on the former site of Edmond’s Hall. Amenities include four wood-floor basketball courts, three indoor tennis courts, multipurpose rooms for various fitness classes, a jogging track, and a stateof-the-art fitness center. Controversy, however, has surrounded its plans for a new pool, which members of BC swimming and diving, including former head coach Tom Groden, have called insufficient and a threat to the program’s future.

“There are so many students at BC who, while being stars in high school, will not play sports at the Division I level,” Connell said.

“So, to have another opportunity to participate in their sport—other through club or recreational activities—or simply to be able to swim if they want to or to try yoga, run,

or shoot baskets, is very important to their well-being and overall development.”

The Connell family also endowed the School of Nursing in 2001 with a $10 million gift following the death of Connell’s husband, William, BC ’59.

Margot, a native of Swampscott, Mass., and a graduate of Michigan State University, serves as chairwoman of Connell Limited Partnerships, a company that repurposes metal and makes industrial equipment, and a director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

William served as chairman of BC’s Board of Trustees from 1981 to ’84 and was the chairman and CEO of Connell Limited Partnership.

The current Plex is named after William J. Flynn, BC ’39, who served as BC’s Director of Athletics from 1957 to 1990. With a $25 student recreation fee beginning in the 1960s, Flynn built the Plex in 1972. BC’s student-athlete scholarship fund also bears Flynn’s name. It is unclear at this time if his name will be dedicated elsewhere on campus. 

RENDERING COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

A rendering of the new Plex, scheduled to open in the fall of 2019 on the area previously occupied by Edmond’s Hall

With No Better Alternative, ITS Turns In-House to Replace UIS

BY ALEC GREANEY A1 Editor This is the third and final part of a three-part 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.’

There’s a saying that circulates around those in the know about Boston College’s student information system: “UIS will be replaced when the Mods are knocked down.”

Carried in on trains in 1970 and dropped into place by cranes, the Mods weren’t so much temporary apartments as boxcars that could legally be inhabited in their early days. Along the way, they have been given just enough cosmetic adjustments to keep them around another few years—and still

they reside in the middle of Lower Campus, making up a field of 39 temporary houses that are coming up on age 50.

UIS, which was also born in the ’70s, has also been sustained through tweaks over the course of its lifetime. BC’s Information Technology Services (ITS) has kept it alive through numerous technological innovations over the decades—including the development and rise of the internet—and functioning in an age when technology changes as fast as the weather in New England.

In the words of Bernie Gleason, the head of Information Technology in the ’80s and ’90s and the creator of BC’s custom ‘University Information System,’ “Technology is changing all the time. I could probably predict what buildings would look like in five years, but not technology.”

Of course, no one predicted the Mods would become the hottest commodity in the annual on-campus housing lottery,

while the rumors of an updated course registration system have remained wistful hopes of registering students twice a year—but that’s set to change. “[It] is no longer a rumor,” said Scott Cann, BC’s technology director of ITS Support. “It’s actually happening.”

It is happening, slowly and gradually breaking the punchline of the joke. There are plenty of students who never had a real issue with UIS after getting over the initial learning curve, including Riya Thomas, MCAS ’20.

“I don’t mind it,” she said. “I do not feel that it is a system that needs to be completely deleted or replaced, it just needs modifications … [When I used it for my] second semester it was pretty easy, it was not stressful.”

Some, like, Alex Moger, MCAS ’17, even enjoy the system—he still recalls the first time he used it at orientation, during the period when incoming students go to the

Rat and, with the help of a faculty adviser, register for their first BC courses.

“I remember my first thought was it felt like playing one of those old video games with the green lettering, the black background, just all very retro,” he said. “It was all very cool … I’m fine with UIS, I think it’s kinda fun.”

But then others have had far more complicated experiences. Maddy Karsten, MCAS ’19, for example, ran into a multiday issue this past Winter Break. She was seeking an override into two different courses, and received permission from both professors—she just needed to log on with UIS. But she couldn’t—even after trying multiple approaches and consulting multiple help guides.

After reaching out to one of her professors, Karsten thought she found the answer.

They told her that she had an immunization hold on her record, meaning she had to visit her doctor’s office at home in the two

days before she was due to fly back to BC. She managed to get the record and keep her flight, but upon arriving at University Health Services, she was told she did not actually have a hold—there was a glitch in the system.

Karsten ended up getting into the classes, though she hasn’t forgotten the headache of those couple weeks.

“Safe to say I am ready for an updated system,” she said.

ITS knows that its system is outdated— it’s as eager to replace it as anyone, though not enough to rush the process. ITS also understands that its primary clients, teenage and early-20s undergraduates, have little experience using tech such as terminals.

The department therefore provides multiple services to help students registering in a manner it knows they have little experience with, including a live chat and telephone

See UIS, A8

THE STARTUP ISSUE

In the world of Boston startups and beyond, BC students and alumni are making waves, A4.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

SCENE: Online Wilderness

Lynnea Bolin discusses bringing the outside online through photography........................B2

SPORTS: Half Nelson

Jack Nelson improved to 3-0, getting a win in the opening round of the Beanpot........B8

INDEX

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

Vol. XCVIII, No. 20 METRO......................A4 SPORTS......................B8 © 2017, The Heights, Inc. OPINIONS................... A6 www.bcheights.com

The Heights

A2

TOP

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things to do on campus this week

1

Carol Newsom, C. H. Candler Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, will give a presentation titled “Climate Change as a Consequence of Human Presence: A Dialogue Between Anthropology and Biblical Studies” tonight from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Heights Room.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

2

The Office of International Programs will host an event titled “BC Stories from Abroad,” in which students who have studied abroad will talk about their experiences. The event is for freshman who are interested in learning about study abroad programs. The event will take place in the Yellow Room in Stuart House tonight at 7 p.m.

3

The Career Center will hold its last career fair before the end of the semester, the Just in Time Career & Internship Fair, on Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Heights Room. The organizations in attendance are actively recruiting for immediate full-time positions or summer internships.

NEWS Panel Discusses Struggles of Intersectional Identities BRIEFS

By Abigail Druhot

BC Hosts Ethics Conference

Boston College will be hosting “Toward a Culture of University Ethics,” a national conference focused on the ethical issues surrounding college campuses, from April 5 to 7. Scholars and educational leaders will discuss and assess university culture as well as various policies and practices that affect the campus community.

Organized by Rev. James F. Keenan, S.J., Canisius Professor of Theology, the conference is meant to spark a national conversation about “university ethics.” Around 200 attendees representing more than 30 colleges and universities are expected to be at the conference.

Yesterday at 7 p.m., the conference kicked off with the talk, “Know Thyself: Socrates and Sports at the Corporate University,” given by Pulitzer Prize winning author Taylor Branch. Today, the keynote address will be given by Ruth Simmons, previous president of Brown University and Smith College. She will discuss race, gender, and ethics at the University at 9 a.m. in the Conte Forum Shea Room.

“We have an extraordinary group of national leaders, and the structure of the conference is to have the experts talk about the topics,” Keenan said to The Chronicle.

The remainder of the conference will consist of panel discussions featuring representatives from Pennsylvania State University, Wheelock College, Lesley University, and Loyola University Maryland, among others.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Jesuit Institute, Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Institute for the Liberal Arts, and Lowell Humanities Series.

Lonabocker to Retire Louise Lonabocker, executive director of Student Services and University registrar, will retire from Boston College at the end of the semester. Lonabocker, one of the founding members of BC’s enrollment management team, will retire after 46 years at the University.

During her time at BC, she has served thousands of BC students, faculty, and three University presidents.

Her position consisted of keeping records of the University relating to financial aid, registration, class scheduling, and course evaluations.

Lonabocker accepted a secretarial position in the Office of Undergraduate Admission 46 years ago, expecting to be at BC for a year or two and then relocate. As she worked at the University, she became increasingly attached to it.

“My colleague Louise is, quite frankly, an amazing woman who has definitely ‘set the world aflame’ in her years of service to Boston College,” Rita Owens, a senior lecturer in the Carroll School of Management and former executive director of academic technology, said to The Chronicle.

“She’s the kind of person who spreads good will and helps so many individuals, usually behind the scenes, never seeking attention or accolades.”

Lonabocker looks forward to continuing her volunteer work with the Brookline Food Pantry and the Tanglewood Glass House.

“Boston College is a wonderful community of dedicated teachers and scholars, students ready to set the world aflame, and colleagues, like me, who never even think about leaving,” Lonabocker said to The Chronicle. “I never aspired to this career, but what a great career it has turned out to be. I can honestly say I never dreaded Monday mornings, or any other day.”

Heights Staff

Some students with intersectional identities feel that Boston College is not doing enough to support them, according to four panelists who spoke about the issue on Wednesday night. The panelists spoke at an event titled “Identity Through Intersectionality,” which was sponsored by the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) and the Women and Gender committee of the Undergraduate Government of BC. The discussion focused on how intersectionality was lacking at BC, and also on each panelist’s personal experience with intersectionality. Each panelist wrote the pronouns they prefer on the board behind them: Joon Park, MCAS ’18, identifying as they/their/them; Anne Williams, MCAS ’17, as she/her/hers; Tara Cotumaccio, MCAS ’17, as she/her/hers; and Taraun Frontis, CSOM ’19, as he/him/his.

Williams started off mentioning that although her women and gender studies minor has been a place for discussion of intersectionality, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

“I feel the place the discussion is probably most lacking is in the classroom,” she said. “Besides my explicitly feminist

classes, we’ve never really talked about the intersecting identities that comprise a person or a society or why that’s important.”

Williams also talked about the changing salience of some of her identities since some came to the forefront upon entering college, some came completely into existence, and some were put on the backburner.

“I question, ‘What does it mean to be a woman?’” she said. “‘What does it mean to be a survivor? Am I making up my mental illness? Am I making up my sexuality?’ All of these intersected.”

Williams felt that these identities have come to the forefront of her mind, where as her identity of being a student has faded to the background.

Park echoed Williams on the idea of lacking outlets for intersectionality at BC. “I found that when I was speaking about the intersections of my queerness and my Asian-American identity that one, I was tokenized, and two, people deemed me to be a little too sensitive about certain issues,” they said.

Park also touched on the importance of race in their intersectionality in the past.

“No shame to the Korean commu-

nity, but it’s not the most progressive in handling LGBTQ+ issues, and so, I grew up heavily ostracized by my Korean classmates … Because I associated queerness to be a white concept, and also wanted to appear to be more white, I did this at the expense of my Asian identity,” they said.

Cotumaccio voiced her opinion that of the groups she is apart of, including GLC and Council for Student with Disabilities, a lot of the leadership is too focused on one issue. Additionally, when she came to college, the salience of many of her identities shifted as well.

“After joining Council for Students with Disabilities, [my visual impairment] is now one of the most significant parts of my identity, and something that I not only feel like I can strongly tell others about, but also I can … have the power of connecting with other students with disabilities,” she said.

Frontis, who identified as black and queer, mentioned the struggle he faces with feeling like he has to pick one part of his identity.

“I feel like intersectionality lacks in almost every aspect socially, especially in the black community,” he said. “For me, I’m black and queer, but I have to choose one.”

He also mentioned that being from the diverse area of New York, he was not always fully conscious of some of the parts of his identity.

“Since I’m from New York, being black was not a major part of my identity,” he said. “Then, I came here, and I was black.”

Frontis and Park both think BC is not doing enough to support intersectionality.

Akosua Achampong and Christina King, future UGBC president and executive vice president, both MCAS ’18, respectively, gave closing comments highlighting their plans to deal with intersectionality.

“There are so many parts of ourselves that we don’t share with each other and understanding that when we deal with everyone is important,” Achampong said.

In a final question from the audience, someone asked what advice the panelists would give to people looking to focus on the importance of intersectionality in their lives.

“Even if you don’t find the ideal intersectional space, if you can find people you can trust, speak your truth, even if your voice shakes,” Williams said. n

Steve Eisman Explains Beating the Global Economy

By Joshua Holtz Heights Staff Steve Eisman, the basis for Mark Baum, Steve Carell’s character in the 2015 film The Big Short, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at Boston College on Wednesday, describing the 2008 financial crisis as a perfect storm of fraud and incompetence.

Eisman was one of the first investors to foresee the burst of the housing bubble, and the subsequent near-implosion of the entire financial industry. He and others “shorted”—or bet against—the market, making millions of dollars off of financial firms in the process.

“I wasn’t worried that I’d be wrong—I was always worried that the government would bail the [biggest banks] out before I could make money,” Eisman said.

Eisman is now a managing director and portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, a private investment management firm. The event was sponsored by the BC Economics Association with the support of the economics department, Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, and the Woods College of Advancing Studies.

Some have criticized investors like Eisman, who, by shorting the U.S. housing market, made millions of dollars due to the incompetence of the biggest banks and financial firms while the economy plunged into a deep recession.

Eisman, however, compared his actions to that of a hypothetical investor shorting Enron, an energy firm which collapsed

due to corruption and corporate fraud in 2001.

“It’s not my fault that [the housing market] was a fraud,” Eisman said. “I just recognized it.”

Eisman said that three elements were necessary for the financial cataclysm of 2008 to occur:too much leverage, a massive asset class primed to explode, and the ownership of that asset class by “too-bigto-fail” firms.

“Unfortunately for Planet Earth, we had all three,” Eisman said.

Leverage—a financial firm’s debt-to-asset ratio—skyrocketed in the United States in the early years of the new millennium.

Wall Street’s spectacular successes in the ’90s caused investors to discount the possibility of even a slight decline in profits, Eisman said.

“Between 1997 and 2007, leverage in the financial system more than tripled. In 2002, Citigroup’s assets reached $1 trillion, and the bank was leveraged 22:1,” Eisman said. “Five years later, [assets] had grown to $2 trillion and 22:1 became 35:1.”

Eisman said that this pattern was closely replicated by every other large financial institution in the U.S. and Europe as the industry made more money every year, while increasing their leverage, without experiencing any noticeable decline in profits—or any notice of the potential risk.

“They mistook leverage for genius,” Eisman said.

By 2006, leverage at the biggest banks was at the highest point in history. Most financial firms were enjoying debt-to-as-

set ratios ranging from 35:1 to a staggering 50:1. At the same time, unbeknownst to most in the industry, an entire class of critical assets—subprime housing loans—was nearing implosion, Eisman said.

Eisman explained that, at the time, the subprime mortgage industry was based on a continuous debt cycle. Prospective homeowners signed mortgage papers that promised a “teaser rate” of around 3 percent interest, and after 2 or 3 years their rates would be increased to around 9 percent.

Banks, however, only underwrote the loans based on the teaser rate, because lenders knew that since borrowers could only afford to pay 3 percent, they would have to refinance their mortgages, to retain a low interest rate, every 3 to 5 years—paying a fee for the privilege, Eisman said.

“This works only as long as people can refinance [their mortgages], but if something were to happen—to stop the refinancing [cycle]—it would be a disaster,” Eisman said.

Throughout the early 2000s, mortgage delinquency rates had been exceptionally low, causing the losses built into risk calculations to be lower than anticipated. Loan underwriters began loosening their lending standards to increase revenue—by 2006, every consumer who was able to “breathe” was given a housing loan, Eisman said.

Few realized that the reason default rates were so low was large part due to the expansion of the housing bubble itself—homeowners are very unlikely to default on their mortgages when the values of their homes keep increasing, Eisman said.

“In 2006, you had maximum deterioration of underwriting standards and maximum housing prices—obviously a recipe for disaster,” Eisman said.

By the time the housing loans originated in early 2006 and had been securitized and sold to financial firms, Eisman began to notice that the loans backing those securities were defaulting in increasing numbers.

He began shorting them—betting against the health of those ailing securities—in the fall of 2006.

In 2007, the the meltdown now known as the Great Recession began in earnest.

Investors quit buying mortgage-backed securities, securitizers stopped buying loans, and loan originators ended the refinancing of mortgage rates that kept the industry afloat, Eisman said.

“It was a freak show—by the fall of 2008, the [U.S. financial] system was on the verge of collapse,” Eisman said.

Mortgage defaults skyrocketed. Deeply leveraged financial institutions across the U.S. suffered catastrophic—and increasing—losses. Not only did individual banks face oblivion, but the entire economy faced collapse. Eventually, biggest banks and investment firms were “bailed out” by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve—which was a necessary step, Eisman argued.

“Any industrial company with a commercial paper program would have had to file for bankruptcy, and 10 percent unemployment would have become 30 percent unemployment,” Eisman said. “As distasteful as it was, we did have to bail [the biggest banks] out.” n

Wednesday, April 5

POLICE BLOTTER: 4/3/17 – 4/5/17 Monday, April 3

9:58 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident at McElroy Commons.

7:09 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a a traffic crash at O’Neill plaza.

7:35 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a traffic crash off campus.

Tuesday, April 4

1:35 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance at Claver Hall.

1:01 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident at Cushing Hall.

4:14 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny over $250 by single scheme at O’Neill Library.

1:57 a.m. - A report was filed regarding property found at Higgins Hall.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

CORRECTIONS What is one instrument you wish you could play?

“Piano because I tried to learn it, but it’s really hard to learn.”

—Qihao Hu, MCAS ’20

“Probably the saxophone because I always wanted to in middle school.”

—Katie Stepsis, CSOM ’19

“I wish I could play the didgeridoo because it would make me look suave.”

—Jon Bailey, MCAS ’20

“I wish I could play the sax because it’s a dope instrument.”

—Henry Johnson, MCAS ’20

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

The Heights

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Institute Could Open in 4 or 5 Years IISS, from A1

Jake Evans / Heights Staff

Uwineza Talks Genocide

By Katie Murphy Heights Staff Rev. Marcel Uwineza, S.J., has endured more hardships than most people can even imagine, but regardless of this difficult life, he opened his talk with the idea of forgiveness.

“Forgiveness leads to freedom, if you forget everything else [from this talk] remember this,” he said.

Uwineza is a Jesuit priest, a student in the Boston College School of Ministry and Theology, and a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. As part of a special Easter Agape Latte, Uwineza spoke about his experiences during the genocide and what led him to forgive the perpetrators.

Uwineza was born in Ruhango, one of the central provinces of Rwanda. He was raised in a large Catholic family, with four brothers and two sisters.

There are three ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Hutu, which make up 85 percent of the population, the Tutsi, 14 percent of the population, and the Twa, 1 percent.

Uwineza and his family are Tutsi and part of the targeted group during the genocide.

Uwineza explained that the tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi groups stems from Tutsis being in power for most of Rwanda’s history and when Germany, and later Belgium, colonized Rwanda, they favored the Tutsis and gave them better treatment.

The balance of power shifted when the Rwanda held democratic elections and a Hutu president.

Uwineza explained that he began to sense the tensions between the two groups when he was in elementary school. The teacher would ask the Tutsis in the class to raise their hands and identify themselves, and after school, the teacher would tell the Hutu children that the Tutsis that had raised their hands were people to be wary of.

These tensions between the different groups escalated in the years before the genocide began and, in 1992, Uwineza’s father was killed by Hutus.

On April 6, 1994, the killings of Tutsis began.

Uwineza explained his suspicions that the genocide was premeditated because of the speed and effectiveness of the murder and the pre-dug mass graves.

A week after the genocide began near the capital city of Kigali, the killings reached Uwineza’s home town. Two of his brothers and one of his sisters were visiting their aunt when Uwineza and the rest of his family went to the local church and to seek refuge.

A3

The priest, a Hutu, turned them away and said “I have no place for Tutsis here, you go away.”

After being turned away by the priest, they ran into one of their neighbors, a Hutu named Joseph Kabera, who offered to hide Uwineza and his family in the compound where he kept his bee hives.

Kabera would bring them food at 3 a.m. when everyone else, including his own wife, was asleep and could not catch him.

Eventually, others in the village became suspicious and Uwineza and his family had to leave.

They decided to go to the district office and see if they could find help there.

On the way, they were discovered by a group of Hutus and Uwineza’s mother was beaten so badly she almost died. By chance, the group got called away, and Uwineza and his family were able to escape to the district office.

There, they met with the mayor, who was half Tutsi and half Hutu. His mixed ethnicity gave him empathy for the Tutsis in trouble and he allowed Uwineza and his family to stay in the town hall for a few days.

When they were on buses to the cathedral, they were stopped by a roadblock and told they needed to show Hutu identity cards, which none of them had, in order to pass.

Luckily, a priest came out of a chapel on the side of the road and paid for the buses to pass through. After this, Uwineza lived in the cathedral until early June, when Tutsi rebels liberated them.

Shortly after the genocide was over, Uwineza’s mother died and he learned of the deaths of his two brothers and sister that were not with him throughout the genocide.

For a few years, he was not able to return to Church, but with the help of a friend from school and his uncle, he began praying and going to Church regularly.

Uwineza fell in love with the Jesuit order, joined, and became a priest. After he finished his novitiate, Uwineza returned to his childhood home and visited his parents and siblings graves. While there, the man who killed his brothers and sister came to see him and ask for forgiveness. The man got down on his knees in front of Uwineza and pleaded to be forgiven. Uwineza embraced the man and told him that he forgave him.

Uwineza said that forgiving the man freed him of all the hate he had been holding onto and felt like “chains falling off.”

“When I was about to say to him, ‘I forgive you,’ I felt free. This was one of the freest moments of my life,” he said. n

derailed in part by the financial crisis.

The page was last updated on Dec. 5, 2007. Directing BC’s integrated sciences goals has been Chiles’s primary focus as a vice provost, a position he took on in 2013 in addition to his role as chairperson of the biology department.

Chiles said that an examination of faculty’s biggest areas of strength revealed that BC had the most expertise and intellectual property in energy, the environment, and health, challenges that “lie at the root of expressions of violence, inequality, disease, and the displacement of peoples around the globe,” according to the mission statement. These themes were left purposely broad to keep the ISS flexible and “nimble,” Chiles said.

“The problems are such now that need to be addressed that science and engineering alone aren’t going to be sufficient,” he said.

“We need to integrate into this the social sciences and the humanities.”

Chiles gave the example of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has lasted years despite a normal outbreak length of just a few weeks. Despite the fact that the U.S. put a lot of science into the problem, relief programs did not understand that the economics of the region meant it lacked health care infrastructure, and civil war racked the whole region. Western medicine had no platform to work in, Chiles said, until it figured out a lot of other factors.

The new building will be “space unlike this campus has ever seen before,” he said, featuring a layout designed to maximize collaboration among multiple disciplines.

There will be entrepreneurial labs and makerspaces, and ideas will come up organically from faculty and students. A biology lab

interested in developing a device for making diagnoses, for example, could enlist a material science or physics lab next door to help build the prototype, and then work with implementation scientists upstairs to do field testing. Federal and private sources of money are now funding largely crossdisciplinary research work, and BC, Chiles said, needs to respond to that.

“That’s very different from the traditional way of how we’ve done science,” he said—departments are usually in different buildings, with siloed disciplines and, in some cases, siloed faculty.

At the same time, the academic profile of the student body has shifted. Chiles indicated that more students—about 25 percent—now have a major related to a science field, and about 40 percent of high school seniors indicate an interest in STEM. He said BC applicants also now indicate more of an interest in solving complex problems.

In addition to the actual building, the IISS, which will operate independently of any of BC’s schools and will likely be administered out of the Office of the Provost and Chiles’ office, could facilitate the addition of new majors and academic programs. One idea is to launch a minor, and eventually a major, in data science. BC’s current global public health program will likely expand to a minor and then a major. Medical humanities, currently a minor, could become a major. Chiles is also exploring engineering, a longtime goal for BC, though he did not specify a timeline or detail how it would be developed.

It will also lead to additional faculty hires across disciplines, although there is no breakdown yet of where their assignments will be. Chiles stressed that the IISS is not specifically science-centric—putting it in Cushing Hall’s current location allows

for close proximity to the School of Social Work, the Lynch School of Education, and the Carroll School of Management, in addition to the Merkert Chemistry Center and Higgins Hall. There’s also enough space that there could be room for an additional building at some point. Science departments will remain in their existing buildings.

Chiles said that when BC started to put the IISS together, it had three overarching goals. One was that it needed to be distinctive. With Boston having one of the biggest pharma and health care industries in the world, setting apart health from what’s already offered is important for the University, he said. The “and Society” part of the IISS is about making sure that what the institute does impacts society, aligning it with BC’s Jesuit mission. That was not a specific goal when the idea was first launched in 2007, Chiles said.

Part of the goal also relates to student formation, and helping BC students figure out what they want to do. Chiles calls them “applied tools.” The IISS could offer classes on design thinking and human-centered design.

“Regardless of their major, regardless of their ideas for how they want to impact the world, there are some basic tools, and a language that you need to acquire, in order to see your ideas actually get out in the field,” he said.

For Chiles, the IISS will help not only BC’s general reputation, but also recruitment of top faculty and students. Chiles came here in 1992, but he said this is the most exciting time he’s been at BC. “It’ll be one of the largest investments, but we have to do it,” Chiles said. “We have to do it to maintain our reputation as a leading university, and we have to do it because it speaks to our mission.” n

O’Malley Joins CJBC in Protest O’Malley, from A1 Lizzy Barrett / Heights Editor

‘Glee’ Star on Upbringing

By Sydney Koehler Heights Staff After feeling like an outcast during his childhood, Alex Newell used drag to express himself and discover his identity.

On Monday night, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College invited Newell, a former regular on TV series Glee and current musician, to discuss his life and career, and how the two have been influenced by race and sexuality.

A native of Lynn, Mass., Newell didn’t have the lifestyle that he does now. He was an only child of a single mother, after his father died when he was 6. He spent most of his childhood alone while his mother was working the night shift as a nurse in order to provide.

“Since I grew up with a single mother, my brain always leans to the feminine side,” Newell said.

According to Newell, much of his youth was spent pushing his mother away, in fear that she wouldn’t accept him if she found out that he was gay.

Newell grew up in and around church.

Though he knew from a very young age that he was gay, he hesitated to come out because he was unsure of how those around him would react.

When Newell came out to his mother, however, she told him that she loves him regardless, and he will always be her son no matter what.

Newell was bullied from a young age for how he talked, walked, and acted, but he could never understand why his peers would pick on him. Now, he said, he realizes that their hatred stemmed from a lack of understanding.

“Growing up, I hated math,” he said. “I hated math because I didn’t understand it.”

Throughout his life, Newell learned that when people don’t understand something, their first instinct is to dislike it. Being gay, he said, he has experienced this countless times.

Motivated by these experiences, he embarked on a lifetime journey of figuring out who he truly is. Much of this self-discovery took place through his involvement in The Glee Project and as a cast member on Glee.

“I thought I was going to be a gospel

artist before I came on The Glee Project,” Newell said.

But his plans quickly changed. Newell had been involved in musical theater for some time before joining The Glee Project.

As a male soprano, he had always been more inclined toward female roles because they better fit his voice. He performed his first drag performance on national television as part of the show.

“At that moment, I knew I was never going to be a gospel artist,” Newell said.

Aside from the obvious challenges of the competitive atmosphere on the show, Newell was also forced to come to terms with himself.

“The Glee Project was one of the best times of my life,” he said. “I learned so much about myself. But it was hard to go from being a fake person on stage to a real person on screen—in order to do that, you really need to know who you are.”

On the show, Newell said, he found himself clammering to be noticed, as he wasn’t used to being out of the spotlight, but during The Glee Project, he was always in the bottom three.

Newell used drag as a way to stand out on the show.

“Drag is a way of expressing myself,” he said. “My gender and sexuality don’t define who I am and neither does what I wear.”

Although Newell didn’t win The Glee Project, he eventually became a series regular on Glee. He played the character Unique Adams, a transgender student from 2012 until 2015.

“When I became a series regular on Glee, that was a pivotal moment for me,” he said.

“I finally felt like I was truly enough.”

Newell’s experiences on Glee, especially playing a transgender character, taught him a lot about body image and self love.

“Being on the show revealed to me what my own identity is in my sexuality,” he said.

“It’s hard to be black and gay and effeminate.

I have to fight for a lot in my life.”

According to Newell, life in Hollywood is centered around stereotypes, and his identity doesn’t always correlate with the expectation.

“I’m a lot of things, and none of them are ‘normal,’ but I truly believe that there is no ‘normal,’” he said. n

regulations.

He said, however, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A push toward green building, LEED certification, and an overall goal of carbon neutrality has begun to have an effect on politics, and such an effect leads to hope for the future of the planet.

“We all have an obligation to see, to judge, to act,” O’Malley said.

“Maybe next year at BC we can give up fossil fuels for lent,” he added in conclusion.

The rally, CJBC’s second of the semester following a post-inauguration walkout in January, featured Sachem Wampatuck Wompimeequin of the Mattakeeset tribe of the Massachusett nation, who also appeared at an event in Dec. 2016, as well as several other activists in the BC community.

University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in an email earlier this semester that BC’s position remains that the most effective way to fight the effects of climate change is through eco-friendly initiatives and reductions in energy consumption, rather than fossil fuel divestment.

Matthew Barad, a Standing Rock activist and MCAS ’20, opened the rally with an impassioned call to accept accusations of entitlement, as we are all entitled to ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—ideals that call for the eradication of enslavement to fossil fuels. He expressed how the inadequate amount of change regarding environmental destruction that has occurred over the past 10 years are depressing but ultimately curable by organizing and remaining steadfast in efforts for change.

Wompimeequin next took to the podium to articulate the dire need for indigenous people to be included in the conversations, actions, and policies concerning them. Environmental agencies continue to fail in their efforts because of this exclusion of indigenous people, and grassroots movements are the only true way to spark effective change for them.

“Reformation must be at the forefront,” Wompimeequin said.

Amelie Daigle, GMCAS ’18, represented Eradicate BC Racism at the event and built on the idea of bottom-to-top change through encouraging every rally attendee to connect by any and every means and from there gather momentum for organization and progress.

“Tomorrow’s problems will be solved from the bottom,” Daigle said. n

The Heights

A4

Thursday, April 6, 2017

THE STARTUP ISSUE

Photos Courtesy of 1950 Collective

1950 Collective Merges Fashion With Social Justice

By Madeleine D’Angelo Metro Editor

Angela Jin, CSOM ’17, and Nishiki Maredia both love One Direction.

The two classmates at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas didn’t know each other well. But one thing they shared was a love of the hearthrob boy band from London. In August 2014, the summer after her freshman year at Boston College, Jin heard that One Direction had a concert in Houston. Despite not knowing Maredia well, Jin invited her to take the two-anda-half-hour drive to see their idols.

But it wasn’t enough to just see One Direction in action—no, their love for the popular boy band ran too deep for that.

So the two fans created an elaborate plan to meet Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Co. in the flesh—just to see if it would work.

Their desperate attempt, which involved creating fake backstage passes, resulted in a near-arrest. Instead, they were promptly escorted from the premises after getting within 100 feet of the band.

In the following months, the two kept in touch while Jin returned to the Northeast and Maredia stayed at home to begin attending the University of Texas at Austin.

Throughout the conversations about their many passions, one thing kept bugging them: the slim pickings available in the world of One Direction merchandise.

Not only were the items expensive—the prices of some official t-shirts ran as high as $40—the more affordable options were just ugly. For older fans of the band who cared about their own presentation just as much as expressing their fandom, there weren’t any good alternatives for mature and fashionable merchandise. As fans of One Direction on the older side of the spectrum, Jin and Mareida realized that they had stumbled across an untapped, hungry niche market. With no alternative, they decided to seize it for themselves.

In Jan. 2015, they launched 1950 Collective, a t-shirt company focused on selling fashionable fandom merchandise.

The name was inspired by the number of miles between Austin and Boston. This company would be the way they could keep in touch and channel their creative energies, especially on the days when they didn’t feel like doing anything else.

“We were both like, ‘This is a good passion project to distract us from the mental health issues we’re dealing with,” Jin said. “And that was kind of how it got started.”

Despite not expecting much beyond a sense of personal fulfillment, Jin and Madeira received a loan of $2,000 from Jin’s parents to launch their first collection of stylish One Direction merchandise. The shirts, all designed by Jin using Photoshop, were simple, but true to their fandom. In the classic nature of any popular graphic tee, the names of the band members were emblazoned across the fronts and backs of the shirts in bold fonts, and some featured fan art or clean pictures of Malik or Styles. Jin and Maredia ensured that the shirts were ethically made in the United States, choosing a New Hampshirebased manufacturer. Although that made the prices of the shirts higher than than the unofficial merchandise on the market, the quality of each piece was better. The items were an immediate success, and within the first seven weeks, Jin and Maredia had repaid the loan—and more.

As the number of orders placed increased, Jin and Maredia began reaching out for advice on handling their newfound

success. Instead of turning to the startup world in Boston—Jin explained that the mostly “older white men” who populate the startup community “didn’t see the value” in a fashion startup that catered to boy band fans—Jin turned to the BC community.

She took counsel from any BC professor or graduate who was willing to help, seeing if their advice might apply.

Jin and Maredia worked with that advice and found their way as the months passed, learning to delegate tasks and even outsource when the funds were available.

Early in the business, Jin would be stuck on College Road every Friday night. Her roommate would come back to the sight of packing tape in her hair and mountains of boxes for orders to be shipped.

With the advice she received, Jin instead redistributed the packing and shipping of the products to a nearby warehouse. The duo eased their burden even more when they took on Meredith Riley, CSOM ’18, as the operations manager for 1950 Collective—she became in charge of global shipping and customer service.

Jin and Maredia also expanded their collection, tapping into the vibrant social interest in the One Direction community. As a group of mainly adolescent and young adult females, the two said, One Direction fans were “coming to an age of understanding” and expressing interest in “causative issues” like feminism and Black Lives Matter. “[Maredia and I] were like ‘Oh okay, everybody pretty much thinks that if you like One Direction, there is no way that you care about Black Lives Matter or that you are interested in delving into intersectionality,’ but there’s a huge overlap,” Jin said. “Not only can we attest to that personally, but we can see that in just what people are tweeting and interested in and creating accounts for.”

The pair released a small feministinspired collection, just to test the waters, which sold out immediately. From there, they continued unveiling items connected to charity and activism, eventually launching an eight-piece social justice collection. The simple yet trendy designs bear politically relevant statements like “No ban no wall,” and “My body my choice,” and 100 percent of the profits from each shirt go to the charity that inspired the shirt, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Border Angels.

Giving back is not unusual for 1950 Collective. Since the brand’s launch, Jin and Maredia have donated 10 percent of their profits to carefully selected organizations and causes—most recently Polaris Project, the Flint water crisis, and Syrian refugees. They held a brief campaign in which they donated a plain, white t-shirt to Austin’s homeless community for every shirt sold. Jin noted that this charitable focus not only stems from the Jesuit ideal of giving back, but more strongly from both the founders’ personal backgrounds.

“Growing up, our parents [were] immigrants, they didn’t grow up with a lot, and when they came to America both of our families really struggled financially, but my parents and Nishiki’s never failed to give back with even what little they had then,” Jin said. “And that was just something that was always ingrained in us growing up.”

But Jin and Maredia are not only concerned with using 1950 Collective to make a more global impact through the funds they donate to charities, but also on the intimate interactions and conversations

that they have with their customers. Each customer who places an order or signs up for 1950 Collective’s mailing list gets a personal email which invites them to reach out to Jin and Maredia with any questions that they might have. When they first included the message, the pair was unsure if anyone would read it—let alone respond—and were delighted when their customers began reaching out to them.

“The platform centers around so many women of different backgrounds,” Maredia said. “So when they reach out to us … that is what I think is the best part of 1950, because a lot of them view Angela and I as like a big-sister-type brand because we definitely don’t have a commercial or cooperate type view with 1950.”

Jin and Maredia even guided a customer who reached out for advice on mental health issues, something that both founders were willing to discuss with the girl. Although careful to explain that they were not licensed medical professionals, they passed along the tips that they had learned, and gave “safe advice without overstepping.” A month later, the girl reached out to Jin and Maredia again, explaining that she had taken their advice, and was on the path to recovery.

“That was such a satisfying thing to know that because we shared our story … it helped someone,” Jin said. “And that’s something that I would never expect to do from a One Direction t-shirt company [that started] as a joke. Having a real impact.”

Jin and Maredia’s impact has been noted nationally, too—on April 5, they were awarded the Glamour 2017 College Women of the Year Award. But even with the clear success of 1950 Collective, Jin and Maredia are unsure of the company’s future as Jin looks toward graduation and Maredia looks toward spending time abroad during her junior year. Maredia explained that they never looked at the company as “an end goal.” Although they both love their fashion startup, it is just as much of a stepping stone and learning experience as it is a successful business.

Over the past two and a half years, Jin and Maredia have learned more than they can tell, perhaps most importantly the confidence to understand that they can learn to do anything that they put their minds to.

“No one, even in the corporate world, knows 100 percent of what they’re doing,” Maredia said. “We’re all learning as we go.”

Regardless of 1950 Collective’s future, Jin and Maredia’s eagerness to learn has primed the duo to tackle whatever project next grabs them. The two are thinking about starting an AsianAmerican PR agency, aiming to bring the community into an entertainment industry where they are severely underrepresented. But they aren’t closing the door on expanding this business or jumping at whatever niche market falls into their lap again.

One thing is for sure: Jin and Maredia will not measure their success based upon numbers and profit. That’ll come from seeing a video of a customer in Holland dancing around in one of their “Hoetic Justice” shirts, or knowing their donations helped someone in need. Either way, Jin and Maredia will search for that sense of personal fulfillment wherever they land.

Even if that’s on the wrong side of the fence at a One Direction concert. n

The Heights

Thursday, April 6, 2017

A5

Splendid Spoon Delivers a New Life to Your Doorstep

By William Batchelor Asst. Metro Editor Nicole Centeno, BC ’05, has often wondered what life might be like if there was a nutritious meal waiting for her every day when lunch rolled around. Instead of choking down a lunch salad composed of wilting greens and soggy vegetables, Centeno imagined indulging in a steaming and aromatic bowl of chickpea soup that would nourish the mind and body. But in her busy day-to-day life, spending hours in the kitchen bringing the meals she envisioned to life was impractical.

Speculating that others might have the same vision bouncing around their minds, Centeno founded “Splendid Spoon”, a company that she hoped would solve the lunch problems of customers across the country by delivering plant-based meals to their doorsteps every week.

Motivated by scientific research that shows increasing your daily vegetable intake is the simplest way to improve your health, Centeno developed Splendid Spoon as a national meal delivery service.

Based on the idea that small changes can make a big difference in one’s life, Splendid Spoon’s wellness program provides nourishing vegan, gluten-free, and GMO-free meals to customers who can reap the benefits of intermittent fasting.

Centeno oversees a staff of eight at Splendid Spoon’s headquarters in New York City, where she works as its CEO. Her core responsibilities, which include communicating the brand’s message to

press and investors as well as product development, provide her with the perfect vantage point from which she can ensure that the company runs smoothly.

The rest of her team manages day-today operations, and experiments with new recipes in the test kitchen. Splendid Spoon meals are prepared by the company’s manufacturer in Hudson Valley, N.Y., and shipped to 40,000 customers in each of the contiguous 48 states. Though the majority of Splendid Spoon’s customers reside in the Northeast, the company has a strong presence in cities like Miami and Los Angeles.

Af ter growing up in western Massachusetts, Centeno viewed going to school in Boston as a big step in her life.

She remembers the “specialness” of Boston College, a school which she describes as always having been an aspiration for her. Centeno attributes much of Splendid Spoon’s beginnings to her time as a biology major at BC. She spent many hours in the lab of Thomas Seyfried, a professor of biology, researching the effects of intermittent fasting as a treatment for epilepsy.

“My interest on the powerful impact of diet on one’s health crystallized while I was conducting research on diet therapy in college,” Centeno said.

Shortly after graduating from BC, Centeno made the move to the Big Apple, where she began work with tech magazine Wired. As a media strategist, Centeno worked closely with publisher Condé Nast creating marketing programs to sell to brands like Samsung and American

Express. During her time at Wired, Centeno realized she wasn’t exploring food the way that she had in college, leaving a void in her life. Hesitant to quit her stable job, Centeno instead took her salary and enrolled in night classes at the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center). There she learned even more about the discipline and art of cooking, preparing herself for the business that she would soon start But even with that preparation, it wasn’t easy for Centeno to make the jump—people often ask her when she realized it was the right time. For her, she remained in deep contact with her intuition, which told her when it was time to make big decisions, and when it was time to hold back. Plus, she had a little surprise on the way.

“Shortly after I got pregnant with my first son, I knew it was time for me to launch Splendid Spoon,” Centeno said.

For Centeno, New York was the ideal environment to start her first business. The vibrant city is at the forefront of wellness trends, making it the perfect place for a health-related startup. Centeno knew that if Splendid Spoon succeeded in New York, it would be a market signal for the company to eventually expand nationally.

Splendid Spoon’s most popular wellness plan is a two-fold system called The Program. For $95 a week, customers receive 10 packaged plant-based meals.

Five of those meals are part of the five-day swap, where you replace your lunch during the week for a wholesome and satisfying vegan bowl. Dishes like Thai coconut

curry with mushrooms and eggplant are not only filling, but also full of bold flavors and textures.

The other five meals are part of the one-day cleanse. Centeno explains that the intention behind this part of the plan is helping the consumer connect with clean eating habits for one full day, giving the body a rest from processed food and excess sugar. Unique drinkable soups like parsnip apple and butternut turmeric are bottled and perfect for a meal on the go.

Both the broths and the soups are dense with nutrients, and made with just the right balance of complex carbs, fats, and proteins.

In 2016, Centeno published her own cookbook based on many of the recipes that made Splendid Spoon a success. The Soup Cleanse Cookbook introduced those unfamiliar with the concept of a weekly soup cleanse to the simple and delicious recipes that could get them through the day.

Sathish Naadimuthu, the chief marketing officer of Splendid Spoon, works closely with Centeno on strategy and growth for the company. Naadimuthu oversees all the marketing elements of the company, including advertising and customer acquisitions.

Prior to being CMO of Splendid Spoon, Naadimuthu founded Goods of Record, a startup focused on men’s accessories that failed to take off. While at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Naadimuthu received an email from Centeno, who reached out to the career office at Wharton to recruit

graduate students to Splendid Spoon.

Naadimuthu immediately saw potential in the business, and felt he could bring useful skills to the company.

“I have always had an interest in wellness, and the issues Splendid Spoon aims to solve really resonated with me,” Naadimuthu said.

According to Centeno, Splendid Spoon customers are primarily women ranging from age 24 to 55. The company, however, expects to branch out to more men in the future. Naadimuthu believes that Splendid Spoon is a perfect fit for anyone, regardless of gender, who wants to make a big change in their eating habits, but needs a practical and convenient option.

Naadimuthu thinks sky is the limit for the business. He and Centeno have big ambitions on where they want to go with Splendid Spoon, and even believe it could be a billion dollar company in the future.

In the future, Centeno hopes to explore partnerships with companies, and look into different distribution models for Splendid Spoon meals. She hopes one day Splendid Spoon bowls will be available in every airport or on every flight—moments when people tend to not look after themselves.

Centeno’s ultimate goal is the same as it was while studying in Seyfried’s lab: to share the impact of diet on health. With Splendid Spoon, Centeno wants to teach people about caring for themselves in the long term, a goal that isn’t as daunting as it sounds.

Actually, it’s as easy as opening a box on your porch. n

Photos courtesy of splendid spoon

Football Alum’s CompuCog Makes Memorizing Easy

By Leo Confalone Opinions Editor Harris Williams, BC ’14, CGSOM ’16, was in his dorm room preparing for Boston College’s next football game.

The 6-foot-3 offensive lineman sat at his desk, flipping through two separate decks of cards.

In one stack, the blank spaces on the cards were filled with hand-drawn symbols and arrows representing his offensive plays—the blocking schemes, where the receivers and running backs were headed, and so on. In the other stack, Williams had the plays that BC’s defense would run against its offense in practice. He went through each set countless times, analyzing each card to memorize his positions and movements.

This tedious process, coupled with watching hours of game film, was Williams’ routine for learning not only his plays, but his opponents’ as well. After playing under five different offensive coordinators during his time at BC—not to mention two head coaches in Frank Spaziani and Steve Addazio— Williams hatched an idea for a better alternative.

As a computer science major, his football woes inspired him to develop a virtual way for players to learn playbooks.

Williams began coding his idea during his senior year at BC, and after getting his MBA, realized he could monetize this creation. CompuCog, short for Computational Cognition, was born.

Through CompuCog, which Williams and Ribhi El-Zaru, MCAS ’18, founded with Eric Wilson, a senior and football player at St. Anselm College, and Josh Kershaw, a current football coach and former classmate, the innovators hope to revolutionize how athletes train, and eventually to expand to the world beyond the field.

Kershaw, who was two years older than Williams at the Proctor Academy in

Andover, N.H., was the reason Williams for players when they fail to execute a workable and marketable product. began playing the sport in the first place. play correctly. There is even a mobile After this development, CompuCog Williams had never played football prior app that allows players to view and work began the beta-testing phase for the to high school, but when Kershaw saw his through plays on their phones. It’s a little software with a small group of high large figure walking around campus, he like Madden, but more useful. school teams on Jan. 1. While there are convinced him to go out for the team.

“The idea is to be able to play an entire no paying users of Mental Rep thus far, “I was going to do kayaking, but he game while you’re walking in between Williams anticipates that they will begin was the guy who got me into playing classes,” Williams said. selling the product in the near future. football” Williams said.

Because of Williams and his coAlong their journey to marketability, And it was a good thing he did. founders’ expertise in playing football, the CompuCog team has taken advantage Williams received multiple awards and their decision to make software for of resources within the BC community honors during his high school career, and the sport was an obvious one. In fact, to help grow its company. Last summer, was captain of the team during his senior it is this first-hand experience that sets the founders participated in the Soaring season. He was originally committed to CompuCog apart from its competitors.

Startup Circle accelerator program, which play at Stanford, but gives BC students the ended up accepting opportunity to work a scholarship offer Say goodbye to flashcards and videos, because with this applicaw ith exp er ience d to play at BC after an tion’s software, players can memorize the intricacies of a playbook alumni to develop injury forced him to and improve their with maximum efficiency. change his plans. startups.

El-Zaru, also a After reaching the computer science Players and coaches can simulate each play through interactive final round of last year’s major, entered the Shea Center Venture graphics—it’s like real practice, but on your phone or computer. picture last year, Competition with an after a professor who unfinished product, knew about Williams’ the CompuCog team With a program that can alert players of their mistakes, CompuCog project brought the hopes to blow the can help correct athletes before they even set foot on the turf. two together—he had judges away with this been familiar with Williams from his “What gives us our competitive edge year with its refined and improved experience as a videographer for BC is we’ve actually been there and blocked software. football. against first-round draft picks, played “We’re here to take it,” El-Zaru said.

The company’s primary project is against All-Americans, and we know But having this sort of confidence called Mental Rep. This digital football what to put into our software to make it isn’t always easy. The startup world is fast training program, which is an evolved really help out an athlete,” Williams said.

-paced and always changing, and El-Zaru version of Williams’ original idea, allows “We’re not just mimicking what we think described the degree of uncertainty that football coaches to input playbooks— we see on TV.” he has experienced during his time with both their own and their opponents’— Similarly, the CompuCog team’s CompuCog. into a cloud accessible to each member of experience playing college football has “One of the things that every startup the team. The software then uses artificial given knowledge of the expectations founder said is that what you think is intelligence to generate an animated and practices of top coaches, meaning going to happen in two months, probably graphic of all 22 positions. The icons, their software is tailored to be useful won’t. Everything is going to be different representing players, move and make to coaches at high school, college, and and dynamic, and you have to be on your decisions realistically as plays are carried professional levels. feet and ready to adapt,” El-Zaru said. out in real time.

This past May, Williams developed In dealing with these challenges, Players can analyze their assignments the back end, or the essential algorithms, Williams has drawn upon the lessons and directly interact with the program of Mental Rep. After El-Zaru became a of perseverance that he learned while by controlling their position’s icon using part of the team, the two worked last playing football at BC. the mouse. Mental Rep includes detailed summer to develop the front end, or “Playing football here, the coaches textual descriptions for each position’s input ability and user interface, of the have taught me a lot just in terms of role within a play, and provides feedback program, which transformed it into a being gritty, because … not a lot goes

Learn

Simulate Coach

your way,” Williams said. “We’ve applied to maybe 10 different competitions, and we’ve only gotten accepted by one. It’s very tough, and we’ve just kept at the grindstone and just keep going at it.”

While football, with its play-by-play nature, was the ideal first sport to tackle with CompuCog, the company doesn’t plan on stopping there. The adaptable core of Mental Rep gives the software a range of potential applications.

Its founders believe that it can help athletes in other sports, such as soccer, basketball, and lacrosse, improve their training methods as well.

But the world of sp ort isn’t CompuCog’s final destination either, as the team has even larger plans for the expansion of its software. In what Williams described as the startup’s “utopic vision,” its founders have their sights set on revolutionizing the fields of armed service and general job training, and perhaps even early childhood education.

“If you think about how a 12-year-old learns long division and mathematics, and how there is a set of assignments that they have to perform, we can apply our algorithm to that, to teach them how learn mathematics,” Williams said.

In teaching children to read, for example, Williams described that just as a child must sound out individual syllables to correctly read a word, a football player has to move a certain way to execute a play correctly. Mental Rep is capable of analyzing these requirements and providing guidance and feedback for students and athletes alike, suggesting that it could serve as a valuable tool for educators in the future.

So whether it turns up in your local elementary school, or helps the football team of your alma mater bring home a championship, Mental Rep may soon become a household name. And Williams and the team at CompuCog will continue working to make sure you don’t forget it. n

The Heights

A6

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Editorials

Recent Investments and Innovations Will Put BC on Top Boston College has recently announced a series of commendable investments and innovations.

The University received a donation of $50 million as a part of its “Light the World” campaign from Margot C. Connell and her family to build the replacement for the Flynn Recreation Complex, which is scheduled to open in 2019. BC Athletics has also announced the construction of baseball and softball fields on Brighton and an indoor practice facility.

The new Plex, which will include four wood-floor basketball courts, three indoor tennis courts, multipurpose rooms for various fitness classes, a jogging track, and a state-of-the-art fitness center, is a much needed improvement to campus. The current Plex, which was built in 1972, is noticeably outdated. The new Plex will allow for the expansion of recreational activities at BC and will create further opportunities for students to improve their health and fitness.

These new facilities will also serve as a likely draw for admissions and athletic recruiting at BC. Student recreation is sometimes an important consideration for students in deciding where to attend college, and the

construction of the new plex will likely raise the University’s appeal among potential Eagles. The same can be said for potential student-athletes, who will likely be more inclined to continue their careers at a university with improved athletic resources.

BC also plans to build an Institute for Integrated Sciences and Society (IISS), one of the largest investments in the University’s history. This new and revolutionary concept will involve the construction of a building designed to promote collaboration between the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and business programs at BC to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems. The specific areas the institute hopes to focus on are energy, environment, and health.

The IISS will help BC to put its many resources and faculty and student expertise to good use in developing solutions to problems such as terrorism, mass migration, threats to cybersecurity, and pandemics. Complex issues such as these require cross-discipline approaches to develop comprehensive solutions, and therefore the mission of the IISS will help the University to continue to have a growing impact on society.

Furthermore, the founding of

the IISS will most likely bring with it multiple new academic programs. Although the institute will operate independently of BC’s four main schools, it may result in the creation of a data science major or minor, as well as the elevation of the current medical humanities minor to a major. BC’s global public health program will also likely grow to offer a minor and then a major. In the long term, the institute may represent a means for BC to establish an engineering program, an academic offering at many other major universities that the University currently lacks.

After going through a rocky patch in the early 2000s, BC Information and Technology Services (ITS) has been working to innovate itself and consistently improve.

Evident in the construction of the Computer Center on Brighton Campus, the implementation of the eduroam wi-fi system, and the addition of resources such as Google Apps, ITS has been working hard to stay ahead of the curve of technology. The ongoing development of a BC-specific course registration program is an exciting and necessary project that will help improve and modernize the University in the near future.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.”

- Bill Clinton

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The Heights

Thursday, April 6, 2017

A7

No Two Calories the Same

Alex Brunstad At Least You Tried - You have to give a man credit for trying. Martin O’Malley is a man who tried, and although he failed, still remains an awesome person. The visiting professor at the Boston College Law School took the time to give a speech about divestment and climate change to BC students, despite his other commitments.

He showed that he genuinely cares about promoting a progressive message, and is using his time at BC not just to make money, but to advocate for what’s right as well. In the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination race, although he was never a likely victor, he was true to his message and did not shy away on the debate stage when he was overshadowed by the election’s two frontrunners. Sometimes, it’s fun to root for the underdog. Kudos to you, Martin. Keep being awesome.

Catholicism and Breaks - BC is a Catholic institution largely only by name and the length of its breaks.

Although students spend most of their days breaking just about every Catholic value imaginable, around Easter time, BC’s religious identity comes out in full force, and students are given a relatively long period of escape from their classes, campus, and awful BC dining food.

Being Hungry at 8:03 p.m. - At around 7:57 p.m. (although the website says 8:00), BC dining closes its doors in Mac. The sliding doors come together prematurely and suddenly, and hungry students hoping to sneak in at the last minute and eat a dinner not consisting of fried foods often have their spirits crushed at the sight of the gray barrier in front of them. The sliding doors by the entrance to the food at Mac have claimed countless freshmen diets over the years. For whatever reason, BC Dining feels that it is entirely necessary to shut down its entire operation for 30 minutes in order to put out trays of mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders.

Just got out of your dance practice and feeling famished at 8:09? Sorry ’bout it. Just complete a three-hour and hunger-inducing study session in O’Neill at 8:23? Better look elsewhere. The impenetrable walls that block the entrance to the food at Mac represent yet another barrier to the general happiness of freshman across campus. If BC Dining is going to change anything, it should probably address the fact that some people get hungry at 8:14. And they really also should get recyclable cups. Seriously though what in the world is going on this school wastes so much paper I’m pissed. If you’re not going to let me get food at 8:17, at least don’t force me to destroy this planet every single time I want something to drink. This University has a lot of problems, but many of the ones involving Mac seem like simple enough fixes to me.

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The usage of calorie counting apps has been on the rise, particularly on Boston College’s campus. Although powerful apps such as MyFitnessPal can provide nutritional information and motivation for those who wish to be more conscientious about their dietary decisions, setting rigid “limits” can make the user feel limited to “safe” foods that apps deem healthy. This mentality can quickly lead to an unhealthy obsession with comparing our calories consumed to calories expended in order to stick within the bounds of an unforgiving caloric goal.

Aside from the fact that restriction rarely results in long-term success, the idea of comparing “calories in” to “calories out” has been entirely oversimplified to the point of misunderstanding.

All calories are not created equal. The nutrients found in certain calories play profound roles in our metabolisms. A recent study conducted by the University of Florida found that participants with lower bodymass indexes and body-fat compositions ate more antioxidants than confederates with higher numbers. Even though both groups ate roughly the same amount of calories, the results demonstrate how consuming proper nutrients rather than “empty calories” proves more beneficial in attaining weightloss goals.

Wake Forest University also conducted a study in which two groups of monkeys were fed the same amount of calories, while their food differed in nutrient composition.

The monkeys given foods high in trans fat gained four times as much weight as the healthier group, and held 30 percent more visceral fat than the animals who ate meals containing plant-based fat. If all calories were the same, then both groups eating the same number of calories should exhibit similar health results.

Applied to our diets today, consuming 500 calories of mozzarella sticks from Late Night will have more pejorative impacts upon our bodies than consuming a 500-

calorie meal of vegetables, fruits, fish, or whole grains. Calorie-counting devices fail to account for this discrepancy between the relative quality of calories, misleading the user to believe that eating the caloric equivalent of fruit in cupcakes will provide the same health consequences.

Furthermore, not only is this perception of “caloric equivalency” incorrect, but our measurement standard of the calories themselves is outdated. Food manufacturing companies still rely on the Atwater system, which ascribes four calories per gram to proteins and carbohydrates, nine calories per gram to fats, and seven calories per gram to alcohol. The Atwater system treats all fats the same, while we know now, as shown by Wake Forest’s study, that they simply aren’t. Plant-based fats have drastically different impacts upon our health than fats found in processed foods.

Carmody continued that highly processed foods, for example, require less energy to be digested, thus rendering reported caloric values inaccurate by as much as 50 percent. Calorie counting apps fail to take this into consideration by underreporting the actual amount of calories in processed foods, further contributing to the myth of caloric equivalency. On the bright side, however, the reverse applies to nutrient-dense foods. A serving of almonds, for instance, is reported to contain 32 percent fewer calories than the Atwater formula predicts.

The three types of calories our bodies need—carbohydrates, fats, and proteins— each serve an important and unique role in the maintenance of our health. If we restrict all of our calories to proteins and fats, neglecting carbohydrates, we risk feeling fatigued and injuring proper brain function.

Although muscles can utilize fatty and amino acids when carbohydrate intake is depleted, the brain cannot. It cannot store energy, and its cells require double the amount of energy of all other cells. Its only source of energy comes from blood sugar, which relies upon carbohydrates to regulate and maintain normal levels. A severely carbrestricted diet can result in slower auditory, visual, and thought-processing speeds, and impair long-term memory storage.

Similarly, a diet deficient in proteins and fats can result in muscle atrophy, brittle

nails, dull skin, weak immune systems, and hormonal imbalances. Yet calorie–counting apps simply assign an (inaccurate) numerical value to the foods we consume, as if our metabolic rates, digestive systems, and genetics are universal and concrete sciences.

Not only do calorie trackers leave little room for inter-personal variability, but they also leave little flexibility for realistically healthy lifestyles—that is, in ascribing to a food a certain numerical value, it becomes either a “good” or “bad” food. In reality, however, there are no bad foods, just bad diets.

For instance, it is crucial to eat not just carbohydrates or protein before or after a workout, but rather a combination of the two. Pairing them results in a slow, steady release of glucose for an extended period of time, while the protein alone facilitates muscle synthesis. Some great examples include snacking on peanut butter or almond butter with a whole-grain Nature Valley bar and pairing nuts with raisins or a fruit.

Fats are essential in our diets, too, as they support cell growth, facilitate the absorption of nutrients, and manufacture necessary hormones. Fatty acids are crucial for protein synthesis, and are often found in avocados, seafood, chia seeds, flaxseed oil, and spinach. The avocado toast topped with sliced eggs served at Hillside Cafe and acai bowls from Addie’s are both great options.

With that being said, the typical college student should not feel pressured to eat perfectly healthily all the time. The occasional ice cream or late-night indulgence can fit into a balanced and varied diet.

When we allow ourselves to occasionally indulge, we do not limit ourselves to unattainable standards, and are less likely, then, to eat “sugar-free” or “low-carb” foods which are, in the long run, worse for our health than eating junk food in moderation (When companies subtract from the product something such as sugar, they inevitably sneak in another flavor-filler such as artificial sweeteners or saturated fats).

In setting our goals realistically and actively deciding not to restrict ourselves, we end up physically and mentally healthier as a result.

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

The Case for Creative Funding

Carolyn Freeman In mid-March, the Associated Press published an article about a virtual reality project taking place on Boston College’s campus, inside Connolly House. Twentytwo students with a range of academic backgrounds—business, English, psychology, computer science—have created a way to understand the story of James Joyce’s Ulysses without having to read a single word. The group has turned the narrative of the story into a video game only accessible through a virtual reality headset.

Once the player straps on the headset, they are taken into Morello Tower, where the book begins.

The game is called Joycestick, and it’s an unusual and creative way to look at a historic novel. It was also a risky endeavor: the premise of a virtual reality Ulysses could have been wildly unpopular in academic circles, or the challenging coding could have proved to be impossible. But the risk was worth it, and the program has succeeded.

The Associated Press is a wire service, so the article was disseminated to major newspapers internationally, as close as Boston and as far as London. BC almost never gets this kind of international attention, and when it does, it is more likely to be about sports, or the death of a prominent administrator, or the lack of disability services on campus. Attention is rarely given to BC’s creative efforts. With the exception of Joycestick, innovative, off-the-beaten-path endeavors at BC are hardly public knowledge.

To get the funding for the project, Joe Nugent, an associate professor in the English department who heads the program, patched together several different grant programs, taking from an Advanced Technology Innovation Grant from the Academic Technology Advisory Board and a Teaching and Mentoring

Grant from the Office of the Provost, as well as from several donors. The game is an expensive endeavor (some estimates place yearly funding at high five-figures), and an international one—students have most recently gone to Rome to present the project, and plans are in the works to go to both Singapore and Dublin. The project also requires esoteric and costly materials. Just one of the virtual reality headsets costs nearly $1,000.

Individual students who may want to start a creative project (albeit on a smaller scale than Joycestick) can’t do this as easily.

Nugent has taught a class on Ulysses for several years and used his reputation to convince the University to let go of its dollars. BC offers advanced study grants during summers to students, but this comes with the strings of “skill acquisition” attached. For the advanced study grant for the arts, the implication is that the money will be used to pay for a class.

During the school year, there isn’t a streamlined way for students to apply for grants for creative projects. Grants are fairly readily available for research projects, but there is nothing institutionalized that encourages students to create, and maybe fail, and get back up and keep trying.

Across the River Charles, the Office for the Arts at Harvard University offers developmental grants for student artists and creators. Each year, the program funds over 100 projects that involve up to 2,500 students, primarily undergraduates. BC is not Harvard, in terms of both finances and legacy, but the program could be replicated in a way here. An injection of money to students who concentrate in the arts or humanities could fund the type of innovation that is so applauded in Joycestick.

The closest thing to institutionalized innovation that Chestnut Hill has to offer is the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship, which funds risk-taking, business-oriented students. The Shea Center provides training and funding for students who want to jump into the choppy waters of the startup culture.

The Shea Center is an effective way for students to experiment with an unregi-

mented project, while knowing that the University is behind them. Unfortunately, the support is limited to those students who want to innovate in the business sector. It’s been successful, too, with apps like EchoME, named one of the best student-run businesses in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The success of the Shea Center serves as a case study for the benefits of encouraging innovation and creativity. If it works in BC’s business sector, it ought to be able to work in BC’s art sector as well. A grant or program specifically meant to encourage innovation in the arts would upend the common sentiment that BC stifles creativity. Joycestick’s success is predicated on its originality, and ushered along by funding.

It proves that this can work here.

Joycestick works because several people believed in it enough to fund it, and to keep funding it. It has brought international attention to the University and is an example of what the digital humanities could be. It’s a worthwhile investment for BC to create a program where creative and motivated students can come together for a singular mission. A grant that is meant specifically for purposes of creativity, for things like Joycestick, would spur students to take risks and grow beyond the shade of BC’s campus.

The connections made among the 22 students creating the game will spur careers and growth. Like neuron connections inside a brain, the students’ ideas bounce off each other and grow bigger, from a classroom into a career. Joycestick is not just a new way to understand James Joyce, but also a new way to understand education and how people learn.

There could be many more Joycesticks, but nothing can grow in a desert. The future of the creativity of BC students rests on the willingness of the administration to plant some seed money. To bring further renown to the University, and perhaps even boost its reputation, it must fund measures of creative risk.

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 Turn for the Worst Josh Behrens

The Boston College experience takes a turn somewhere around junior year. For the first couple years of BC, the neverending narrative is “men and women for others.” As a starry-eyed freshman, you’re encouraged by cohorts of OLs, professors, and administrators to “get involved,” so that your BC experience means more than simply going to class and getting a diploma. According to them, joining 4Boston, Pulse, or other volunteer organizations is integral to being a student at BC because it is the natural extension of Jesuit ideals taught in the classroom. To learn about Jesuit ideals is to go out and do.

This Jesuit curriculum is transformative in every sense of the word. Freshmen leave Perspectives classes with new questions about what it means to be a just person, but then are able to parcel through their questions while they volunteer to rectify injustices all over Boston with 4Boston, or all over America and the world in Appalachia and Arrupe. An entirely new lens through which to see the world is constructed through vigorous classroom discussions, solitary contemplation, and, of course, service.

This lens prioritizes justice on an everyday level, pushing BC students to find little ways to make the world around them a slightly better place. It manifests in the strangest of ways, like holding doors open for literally everyone or having grace and patience for a frustrating roommate.

As has been noted ad nauseum, the BC experience isn’t perfect, but thought-provoking classes and extracurricular service truly do have an impact.

The BC experience affects more than just the small day-to-day moments, though, and often transforms what students want to do for the rest of their lives.

Jesuit ideals run deeper than door holding.

At their core, they call for a radical reconsideration of one’s whole lifestyle to ensure that injustice has no place in relationships, consumption, or career choices.

But around junior year, all of these Jesuit ideals get cast aside as internship frenzy sets in—the psychotic scramble to find a temporary position that will pave the way for a (hopefully) lucrative career.

Previous concerns about justice and ethics are discarded as everyone desperately tries to get hired by any firm possible. BC students march in droves to investment banks and consulting firms, the likes of which would make Ignatius queasy with their morally dubious business practices and complicity in market manipulation.

I recognize that these firms often pay the highest salaries, and are the best choices financially for students postgraduation, especially with the mountains of student debt many of us have to saddle. My qualm isn’t with the choice of individual students, but rather with the culture that’s created surrounding internships and careers in general. Something is lost junior and senior year at BC between all of the recruitment reps, career fairs, LinkedIn headshots, and networking meet-and-greets. There’s a tangible apathy that begins to pervade the student body in regards to service and social justice, and “men and women for others” becomes “men and women for themselves.”

BC’s incessant focus on personal enrichment through the internship race cheapens all of the lessons before about service of humanity as a whole, and makes experiences like 4Boston and Appa simply feel like stepping-stones to a future career.

It’s tough because I recognize the pragmatic necessity of career fairs of wealthy corporations eager to hire promising young undergrads. Often, they are the only jobs available to us. Or, the only good-paying jobs, I should say.

Maybe I’m being too naïve expecting BC to better promote careers that make the world a better place, and don’t just seek profits at the expense of people. The reality is that there isn’t a whole lot of money in our economy for altruism.

I still cling to the ideals I was taught freshman and sophomore year about justice and equality that opened up my worldview and encouraged me to serve in whatever capacity I could. I just feel lost when look out into the ”real world” and try to imagine how I’ll live them out there.

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

The Heights

A8

Thursday, April 6, 2017

In Opening Week, Terra Ignites Boston With Italian Grill The fourth restaurant in Eataly keeps its menu down-to-earth.

By Madeleine D’Angelo Metro Editor If you think that Eataly Boston—which boasts three full restaurants, several specialty counters, and fresh produce—could not have anything else to offer customers, it might just be time to think again.

Ascend to the top level of Eataly, and be dazzled by the soft lights dangling from the ceiling. They give the restaurant a warm glow, and perfectly complement the sun streaming in from the skylight and the roaring fire in the center of the restaurant’s open kitchen. Soft touches of brass and mirrored glass glimmer throughout the space, and greenery drips from the walls, accompanied

by decorations like antiqued gardening tools and chipped earthenware pots. The smoky smell of a fire burning away weaves through the room, the perfect final touch to the rustic escape. This escape is Terra.

Terra officially opened to the public on Tuesday, allowing diners to finally have the chance to visit this much-anticipated Italian grill-themed restaurant. Drawing inspiration from the simplicity of woodburning cooking, Terra will offer a menu that emphasizes the links between the earth, produce, and the meal that results.

Located on the third floor of the Prudential Center’s signature restaurant, Terra is set apart from the hustle and bustle of the ever-popular marketplace. Unlike Eataly Boston’s first three restaurants—La Piazza, La Pizza & La Pasta, and Il Pesce—Terra will offer diners a completely immersive experience, removing them from the hectic city world and relaxing them into a smoke-

infused culinary adventure. As famed chef and Eataly partner Mario Batali explained on the Terra Press Preview on Friday while clad in bright orange Crocs and pink cargo shorts, this calm and grounded atmosphere is exactly point of the Terra restaurant.

But this ethos is not only embodied in the layout and organization of Terra, eliminates stressful and “cacophonous noise” from the kitchen. It is also found in the centerpiece behind Terra: the roaring fire.

“As you’ll notice that opposed to the intense scenes behind the scenes of restaurant where you see chefs working furiously over sautée pans, the cooking over open fire is more of a gently laying down of something and then watch[ing] it,” Batali said. “There is no Iron Chef, there is no Gordon Ramsey, there are no judges, this is all about the simple food of fire, and it doesn’t involve a lot of movement. It’s put the food down, let it cook, turn it over, put it down, let it cook,

Madeleine D’angelo / heights editor

Terra offers an immersive experience, through themed sections like Bruschetta, and Secondi as an expression of simplicity.

pair it with condiments and sauces and vegetables. This is the maximum expression of simplicity.”

In an era where diners might judge a dish based solely upon its intricate presentation over its taste, straightforward has gained a bad reputation. But at Terra, that simplicity results in food that is mouthwatering and delicious.

Organized into sections such as Spiedini (things on skewers), Bruschetta (things on bread), Primi (things with pasta), and Secondi (things with meat), the Terra menu features seasonal dishes that highlight the ingredients in the dish over fanciful technique and preparation. This means that in the Funghi Trombetta trumpet mushroom skewers, the earthiness of the mushroom is paired with the sharpness of garlic and just a touch of salt. The grilled Gambertto Selcatico shrimp skewer features the perfect amount of char and just a touch of chili powder.

And while Terra’s fire is put to good use on the juicy meats and sausages on the menu, the smokiness also finds its way into more unexpected places, like the pasta section. The smoky flavor elevates ordinary dishes, like spaghetti al pomodoro, which features smoked tomatoes that lend the traditional tomato sauce another layer of complexity.

As Batali noted, each menu item at Terra is a “celebration of raw product” where the produce comes first in importance, the fire second, and the technique third. Batali underscored the special importance of the local producers, a value that Eataly Boston has espoused since its opening on Nov. 29, 2016, in the Terra ethos. For Batali, John Nagle and Island Creek Oysters, the local

fisherman who provide the seafood found of Terra’s menu, and the many others that Eataly Boston works with are the “true heroes of the restaurant complex.”

Eataly partner Lidia Bastianich described the ethos behind Terra by pointing to the large square fire roaring in the center of the kitchen, and elaborating on the primal way of cooking that it embodied.

Much like Bastianich’s own grandmother, who harnessed the versatility of cooking over a fire, the Terra chefs will have the culinary world at their fingertips through this one tool, as long as they have access to the prime ingredients that is. Bastianich then explained that this quality comforts the diners as well.

“I think that people today are very conscious about recognizing what they’re eating,” Bastianich said. “Industrial food, big food, has kind of been prepared for us, and we don’t know that’s in there. So this is kind of an assurance from your local artisans and farmers that that is pure and honest, the cooking, I think it gives a sense of comfort to people to eat, to enjoy, and a feeling that they’re nurturing themselves.”

But diners who visit Terra will not only leave Terra feeling nurtured, they will feel completely stuffed as well. As Batali noted, the siren call of these local and simply prepared items are impossible to resist. ”When you talk to an Italian about the most delicious thing, it is the thing that expresses the smell of the wind as it blows across wherever you happen to be born on a Thursday afternoon,” Batali said. “It’s about capturing the flavor of the sea, of this particular Yankee part of the world, it’s one of the greatest opportunities, something that we are not going to squander.” n

Upgrades for Kronos, Student Account System in Near Future UIS, from A1

hotline from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and support help desk in O’Neill Library.

A couple years ago, they also set up a module at registration.bc.edu that emulates UIS without the need to download a terminal—a main issue that many students run into as the machines they use become further distanced from the old language UIS was written in. It also benefits students studying abroad, who might have difficulty accessing registration. Those students receive an email a couple weeks before registration with their picktime, registration codes, and overall information, including a link to registration.bc.edu. The Office of Student Services also includes the link in their newsletter and website, though specifically does not advertise it—the site can only handle 200 students at once, according to Louise Lonabocker, the head of Student Services, who recently announced her upcoming retirement.

“The desktop client should be used and registration.bc.edu is just a backup for anyone who is unable to download the client,” she said in an email.

Students have tried their hand at helping ease the task of getting the courses you want. A couple years back, one student created a website called eagleclasscheck.com, which allowed students to enter the code of a course that had filled. If a spot opened up in the course, the user received an email to notify them. That site, however, has ceased to be maintained.

Last year, Kevin Sullivan, CSOM ’17, and Richard Lucas, BC ’15, launched an app called EagleScribe, a similar tool to help students find open courses. Users have the ability to search for and save up to three courses on their iPhone or Android, and will then get a notification if a spot becomes available.

The problem, as Lonabocker pointed out, is that it isn’t a BC service, even if Sullivan and Co. did get some pointers from ITS on how to make the app more efficient.

“It’s nice, but it’s not supported,” she said.

“It’s written by students, and if the student leaves, who’s going to support it?”

Lonabocker has other ideas for a new system that would ideally make such a notification app redundant. One of her main hopes for the new system is a formalized way to handle waitlists, since that isn’t something built into UIS—hence leading 4,500 unique users to register with EagleScribe as of January. Waitlists are currently a free-for-all by department, with some leaving it to the professors to interact directly with students over email, while others, such as the computer science department, require students to appear in person on the day of their registration to add their name to a list.

Lonabocker has also been talking about the idea of a “shopping basket, similar to Amazon.com” since at least 2005. That is a vision she still holds on to, as is the faint possibility that a new system will be avail-

able within the next year. needs, BC would have to adjust more of its stone, the Portal is tentatively on track to That seems unlikely as things stand now, own operations and even roll back some be retired soon. but a new system is on the horizon—one systems, including financial aid.

“I’d say inside of the next year. But that’s even the original developer of UIS believes “We had just installed a financial aid a guess, I’m speaking for a large number needs to come to fruition. system, which is one of the most compli- of people who are working hard on it,” “The whole orientation of the thing cated systems a university can implement,” he said. has to change,” Gleason said a few weeks said Michael Bourque, the vice president The beta version, however, is already ago, now long-retired but still interested of ITS. “If we wanted to now go get a single available to access online at bcservices. in university technology, writing a four- integrated system, we’d have to regress bc.edu. It is a more modern-looking site page, single-spaced report detailing his our financial aid system. It would be like pointing to 183 different services, though thoughts on BC course registration. One taking one step forward to then take one many of the links have yet to be properly of his possible considerations for the future step backward.” established. The main difference between included implementing a new registration By 2012, BC didn’t want to compro- how Agora Portal functioned and how ITS system via the cloud and following a trend mise. envisions this new service catalog is that a of having a third-party provider host the The University brought in an outside user will not have to be logged in to see the software-as-a-service (SaaS). This would firm for a second opinion, and that firm whole list of services. Many services—the mean that BC would find an already-active agreed: BC’s best move was to march ones with little icons of locks—will prompt registration program to use—like Canvas ahead on its own, without the consortium a user to log on at a certain point, but they for homework and grades posting and that had left the development team in the can still see some information about it beIMLeagues for intramural management. lurch. ITS grabbed the code completed up fore entering any credentials. As a part of With the right needs, it can be a quick and to that point while it was still open-source this, ITS has also been increasing its single relatively easy fix. and tucked it away to work on. sign-on capability, meaning that once a For course registration, however, it In the meantime, ITS had plenty on user logs in for one service, the browser will would be far more complicated. First of all, its plate. In the fall of 2014, the Univer- remember them automatically if they move there are few or no standalone course reg- sity transitioned to Google Apps, a radical to use another service. istration systems that could accommodate change from the email and storage previ“I don’t want to call it a portal replacethe broad needs of a university like BC, ously provided. In the fall of 2015, ITS made ment, because it’s really not,” Cann said. which has over 14,000 students who need campus-wide WiFi upgrades, modernizing “We want to create one place where people to register each semester. Such a system infrastructure, improving security, and re- start from, and then everything that they typically comes as a piece of an need to do is searchable or entire student information syslinked from there … I hate tem, like the ones from Oracle the phrase one-stop shopand Ellucian that BC considered ping, but that’s what it is.” adopting in the late-2000s.

ITS is also currently Georgetown is one school working on updating the that decided to make a switch student account system and to such a system. In 2009, continuing to update the - Michael Bourque, BC’s VP of ITS, on the look and feel of the main Georgetown implemented a university-wide system called new course registration system being designed website, www.bc.edu, which Banna—an Ellucian product received its first major overthat provides students with haul since 2006 at the beginself-service registration. The administration quiring a connection to eduroam (officially, ning of last year. They are a few months there is currently looking into moving to the “ed-joo-rome”), which allows students from from rolling out a new student account next version, since the service provider and other universities with the same credential system—another replacement of an old technology aren’t supported on all modern system to connect. The department has framework that Gleason initially wrote, platforms. even worked to boost cell phone reception according to Bourque.

“It gives us a moment to look at out- in certain areas across campus.

Kronos, the system which student business priorities and ask whether or not The newest change visible to the student employees of the University use to log the product suits the need or whether or body in the past couple weeks has been with their hours, is yet another system close to not there is another product that has been the Course Information and Schedule, a an update. In many ways, Kronos parallels developed in the last seven years,” said An- searchable catalog that was added to Agora UIS—it is an old system (though not nearly namarie Bianco, Georgetown’s University Portal in 2013 as an alternative to the print as old) that requires Internet Explorer and registrar. booklet for browsing course offerings. The a specific Java program to run, though Bianco, who worked at the City College new page includes a fresh look and adds in students can make use of a Citrix app of New York before making the move to a new Syllabus Search program replacing called ‘Kronos Access’ that will launch it Georgetown, had experience with a 1970s the old eSyllabus, allowing professors to for them. This upgrade, which is currently legacy system there, too—and she knows post their syllabi for the upcoming semester in testing and is due to go live in June, will the difficulty in making a change to a web prior to registration. eliminate the need to use Citrix, according portal.

Since its development in the late-’90s, to ITS, making it far easier for students to “Especially when you have a system that Agora Portal has become a more and log hours on their own machines. does everything you need it to, finding a more crucial tool for students to use the Once the dust settles a bit on these product that can fit all those requirements more than 60 services offered, from course projects, ITS already has its next move into a prepackaged product is hard,” she information, to financial aid, to housing planned: officially, finally, at long last, turnsaid. registration. But while many services have ing its full attention to replacing UIS. As Bianco said, the main difficulty, historically been hosted on the Agora Por“It has begun,” Bourque said. besides being relatively expensive, relatively tal, the Course Information and Schedule There is no firm timetable set for its outdated, and relatively unsteady business is one of the first to make a move to a new release, though Bourque says it is due to investments for the future, is a lack of cus- host: BC Services. come out over the next few years. It is still tomization. While the big vendor systems This is the future home of BC systems, early for Bourque to commit to the specifare designed with a certain amount of the planned replacement for Agora Por- ics, though he confirmed that some sort flexibility to meet slightly different client tal. Although Cann says nothing is set in of shopping cart is being worked into the

“We hope to see this used by a wider set of colleges and universities.”

design. He said that there are also potential plans to release the student information system beyond Chestnut Hill—one unnamed school has already shown interest, he said.

“We hope to see this be used by a wider set of colleges and universities, and hope to foster a community that can help support it for the future,” Bourque said. “When we got involved with this consortium, our hope was we’d have at least more than us.

But our feeling was, if it ended up being just us, we could do it, because we’ve done it for 35 years.”

And then, Bourque said, that’s pretty much it for that whole area. ITS’ job certainly won’t be finished after it completes the student information system. There’s always more to be done—more than time allows. But the completion of that system marks an informal point where ITS will have caught up. Their next steps will be returning to revamp systems that were already redone during Bourque’s tenure.

Though UIS may not have changed much during that time, registration overall has become easier since we last covered the topic in-depth in 2005. BC flirted for several years with a successful run of PEPS, an online professor evaluation system helping students get a better idea of the type of professor they were signing up for. Instead of browsing through a course catalog to look for a certain keyword in a class, the descriptions of nearly 4,600 courses are a quick search away. And for someone standing in that long, long Woods College line on the first day of add/drop, they now have the ability to pull out their phone and constantly check to see if their desired course fills, minimizing time they might waste in the line.

And even that practice might be a thing of the past in a couple years. Sarah Piepgrass, an academic & student services specialist for WCAS, said she hopes the new system would allow undergraduates to self-register. Cann couldn’t confirm this is a definite part of the plan, but couldn’t see a reason it wouldn’t be.

The goal is to design a system that can fit BC’s specific needs as well as and better than Gleason’s UIS. Nothing created these days could be expected to last nearly as long, but ITS is still striving for something that will be as dependable.

In a nutshell, that’s the biggest reason why UIS lives on. BC may seem like it’s behind other universities in technology if you merely glance at the one system, but the University is working on a whole different technological timeline, one that the deathdefying UIS shifted BC to years ago by appearing earlier and being stable for longer.

Its unparalleled durability has helped to give ITS more freedom to ride a new wave of momentum in the 21st century.

So even if UIS’ days are numbered, the mark it has left at Boston College isn’t going away.

After all, it has been a hell of a run. n

COLUMN

MUSIC MYSTERIES

DO OUR FAVORITE SONGS HAVE CLEAR LYRICAL INTENT OR DO THEY LACK MEANING? PAGE B3

REVIEW

REVIEW

FUELED BY LOSS, THIS ALBUM LYRICALLY FULFILLS AN EMOTIONAL QUEST FOR CLOSURE, PAGE B4

THE GRITTY TV THRILLER CONTINUES TO DELIVER IN ITS FIFTH SEASON, PAGE B4

‘A CROW LOOKED AT ME’

‘Prison Break’ THURSDAY | APRIL 6, 2017

THE

MEG DOLAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

B2

e Bringin n i g the Outdo o rs Onl THE HEIGHTS

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

Lynnea Bolin guides her followers through the peaks and valleys of her Instagram photographs.

BY JACOB SCHICK

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Social media today is so diverse and pervasive that keeping track of your Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter is so complex, it’s an artform. This rings true for campuses like Boston College, where all of your peers are as technologically literate and connected. The “you” that potential friends, romantic interests, graduate schools, and employers will scrutinize when they search for you online must be meticulously crafted.

Lynnea Bolin, CSOM ’19, focuses on making her online presence more than just a pretty summation of her life, but an appreciative aesthetic foray into the world around her.

Bolin is the seldom-seen woman behind the camera of her self-made Instagram, @ elbexo. She populates her account of over 1,400 followers with stunning pictures that capture a common theme of the wilderness—regardless of whether she takes the photos inside or outdoors.

Belying her eventual status as a management and entrepreneurship double major, Bolin started her account when she was in sixth grade. She has since deleted many of the pictures from back then as a number of them were, as Bolin titles them, “awkward middle school posts.” The @elbexo account

that followers now see is the product of Bolin’s primary passions. Her snapshots of mountains, forests, rivers, and waterfalls were all taken while hiking. Bolin doesn’t journey far from BC’s campus just to get that one extra follower, or 100 more of those little red hearts. As Bolin describes, her environmental account is only a derivation of her desire to document her adventures.

“The motivation is completely intrinsic—has nothing to do with Instagram or even photography for that matter,” she said.

“I get all of my joy from just being in the outdoors, the pictures and the Instagram stuff always comes second to that.”

When asked how she got started with the photography aspect of her mountainous obsession, a nostalgic twinkle lept into her eye. When Bolin was 13 years old, she received her first camera, a Nikon D40, from her father. She and her friends from back home in Westchester County, N.Y., became interested in photography at about the same time, and all were self-taught. Bolin shot past the learning curve by hundreds of days spent adventuring with her companions, taking pictures and videos of each other, and the vast expanses of nature.

Unlike most artists, Bolin doesn’t have a process. For Bolin, a good picture captures the sight that her eye takes in—she doesn’t

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LYNNEA BOLIN

feel the need to set up expensive equipment, or lie in wait for hours for the “perfect” shot.

Her goal is to capture a moment that means something to her. Every day, people witness extraordinarily beautiful things through their own eyes, and Bolin seeks to capture a picture that shows “what it’s all about.” Bolin elaborated on her sometimes spontaneous desires to record these shots.

“Some of my pictures are from my camera, some are just my iPhone,” she said.

“It’s like I see a moment and I’m like ‘I really want to remember this right now’ and I’ll take the picture.”

In order to more fully capture the moment, Bolin also includes captions on each of her Instagram posts. She crafts these captions to fit with the mood of the picture itself, and also with what she was feeling when she took the picture. Sometimes the captions are serious, but Bolin isn’t hesitant to go for something funny or unusual. An example of the latter is one of her latest posts, a landscape photograph of her friend standing on top of a mountain in Boulder, Col. Bolin captioned this picture, “Not available on the app store.” As soon as she took the picture, the words she used leaped into her mind. She recalled her feelings at that very moment.

“This is something you can’t get from just looking on your phone,” Bolin said.

“Something you can’t get from looking on social media is that feeling of being outside—it’s an amazing thing.”

Along with spontaneous pictures of moments and thematically oriented captions, Bolin strives to maintain cohesion on her account through the use of editing. She admitted to using Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or even just a filter on her photographs.

The process of editing is fun for Bolin, and stimulates her already well-developed creativity, as she can change the entire mood of a picture by altering the saturation.

Putting her CSOM experience to good use, Bolin has begun stepping into the real world of marketing and design. She has interned for Fluent Grp., a marketing agency that seeks to build connections with college students, and MSD, a marketing company that focuses on brand strategy for its clients.

Bolin is also a New York Times Collegiate Marketing representative, brainstorming potential marketing strategies to raise

subscription levels in millennials. Using these experiences with already established companies, Bolin and her friends are trying to get their own visual marketing/consulting agency off the ground. Her startup, 429 Collective (429co), works on branding and general strategy for artistic clients. They have been helping their clients with videography, graphic design, marketing, writing, blog posts, and more for the past six months of the 429co’s lifespan.

Bolin’s Instagram account, work as an intern, and with her newest project might signify that she has been doing this for a long time. But Bolin had to put her love for the outdoors and her knack for photography on the backburner in high school. Instead, she focused on grades, extracurriculars, and applications—anything to get her into a college of choice. And that left little time for anything else, especially a time-intensive activity like hiking. But she shed the formulated presentation of herself, as she does on social media today. During her senior year of high school, Bolin found time and motivation. A friend she grew close with reignited her love for the outdoors, and they spent many days hiking the nearby Catskill Mountains together.

While the inspiration to return to the outdoors came from a high school friend, the push for taking up photography again came from a more professional source. Bolin names as her photographic muse someone outside of the world of professional photography—Jedidiah Jenkins, a writer for Wilderness Collective employs a style she tries to emulate with her posts to Instagram.

Jenkins, while not a master of Instagram aesthetics, always entrances Bolin with his lengthy captions. In his posts, Jenkins tries to share the feeling he had when he took the photo—each picture is a moment and each picture is special to him. His unapologetic authenticity is something Bolin strives for with her account.

“I try to keep my posts very authentic,” she said. “I just want them to really represent and do justice to the moments that I took them in.”

Bolin tries to mainly post landscapes or moments with her friends that inspire her.

But in spite of her best efforts, sometimes the pictures she likes the most don’t get the most likes. Instead, the few selfies or per-

sonal photos garner the highest number of those tiny red hearts. Her personal theory for this phenomenon is that, even though a lot of her followers are avid hikers or lovers of the wilderness, the broader trend of Instagram accounts convey a cohesive visual that is very different from her own.

Bolin believes that the nature of people’s followings contribute to this practice. For the average Instagram user, many of the people they follow are just their friends.

The majority of these friends have similar accounts that they use to take pictures of themselves, their friends, or their food.

These smaller personal accounts far outweigh in number the few “big” accounts.

There are accounts that have thousands, or even tens of thousands of followers that post very artistic photos, but Bolin says they can sometimes be lost among the sea of average users. For this reason, Bolin believes that most of her followers are accustomed to seeing and liking their friends’ pictures of parties, beach days, and brunches. When she posts a rare photo of herself, it is more in line with habit to like it.

Many professional and amateur photographers are always searching and questing for the elusive perfect photo. Some are never satisfied—nothing they capture can meet the vision they have in their head. For Bolin, this is not the case. In fact, she has already taken the perfect picture. What’s more, by her own admission, this picture isn’t even close to perfect. The picture is of the familiar blue-pink sky after sunset, taken on an iPhone through the noticeably cracked window of a moving car. The images aren’t very sharp, and the passing trees are blurry.

But to hear Bolin describe it, and why it is perfection in her eyes, is almost magical.

“I was just completely at bliss in that moment—I can even remember the song that we were listening to [“Everything” by City of the Sun],” Bolin said. “I had just seen one of the best sunsets of my life and coming down off that feeling I just felt so relaxed” For her, the picture represents the utter peace she felt, the surreality of the moment, and the clarity with which she was experiencing her surroundings. It didn’t receive very many likes, but that isn’t what matters. Perfection, for Bolin, lies not in the quality of the picture, but in the quality of the moment. 

The Heights

Thursday, April 6, 2017

B3

The Stigmatization of Nerd Culture

Isabella Dow

20th Century Television

Embracing nerd culture is a lifestyle choice that everyone should earnestly consider.

Everyone can agree that stigmatization is undeniably dreadful, and is at least partially responsible for the suffering of people in various walks of life. While that insidious tendency of humanity applies to a troubling spectrum of issues, one manifestation of it seems a bit less important, yet remains annoying nonetheless.

I’m talking about how various presentations of art, music, or popular culture may not be considered socially acceptable to be associated with. Every day, I’m confronted with notions of what’s “cool” or “uncool” or “the cool form of uncool,” and I’m confused and exhausted. Nevertheless, I will venture into an argument about the validity of artistic tastes in an area which might elicit a few eye rolls: the stigmatization of nerd culture.

Now, I think that many are under the impression that being a “nerd” is a title that only belongs to the infamous 400-pound hackers of the world. But I can assure you, the nerds walk among us. In fact, they’re a lot more common than you would think. If we define the term “nerd” to mean taking a more intense interest in something than the average person does, then we would be lucky to be considered a nerd. After all, in any given form of art or entertainment, maybe the nerds invested in it know something that the rest of us don’t.

It’s a bit like how everyone loves

to hate Nickleback. No, that gravelly voice does not make me wanna be a “Rockstar,” and when any establishment plays one of his songs, I, too, must repress the urge to “Burn It To the Ground.” But the principle of having the most socially acceptable opinion of anything be centered around hating it is unsettling. It’s like walking into a minefield whenever anyone asks, in a grim and mildly threatening manner, what your opinion is about this band or that TV show. I’d like to remove this harrowing experience from our collective lives, and instead suggest the merits of keeping an open mind when people admire seemingly preposterous interests.

The strange thing is that there are fandoms out there that seem to be considered socially acceptable. I have yet to hear people get laughed at for being a Harry Potter fan. I’m pretty sure Game of Thrones fans have little to worry about when confessing their undying love for the television program. But if you’re a Whovian (a Doctor Who enthusiast)? Yikes, better strike that admission from the record, because even The Big Bang Theory makes reference to that intergalactic show, and boy, is that show ever nerdy!

It’s expected and encouraged for everyone to make up their mind about their artistic preferences and interests. But it’s another thing entirely to place certain interpretations or opinions on a pedestal and crush everyone else under the weight of conforming to those tastes.

We’re even capable of stigmatizing preferences that are so widespread, people get annoyed with them. Case in point, if you drink too much

Starbucks and incorporate too many quotes from the TV show Friends into your vocabulary, then congratulations, you’re “basic”. And let’s not even start with the hipsters of society. Go eat some more deconstructed, bacon-topped cupcakes, or come up with some obscure type of punk harp music to confuse everyone. Even if there’s some truth to these preference-based stereotypes, they can get out of hand and result in a blanket of scorn for what are ultimately unimportant distinctions.

Of course, many nerds, however they’re labeled, take pride in their obsessions. Some flaunt it through exaggerated displays of fandom, while others snicker about it amongst themselves more discretely. But this tendency to reduce individuals down to stock identities and judge them in one manner or another is a prolific issue, and one that may alienate segments of people from each other, and from art forms they might actually turn out to enjoy.

If you bring up rhetorical analysis, figure skating, or anything else in the plethora of infatuations that consist of my interests, I can jabber on about them at length in more detail than you ever wanted to hear.

And that’s a quality that belongs to everyone and their unruly scope of interests pertaining to art or other things.

But as long as you refrain from making any and every conversation revolve around Darth Vader, I see no reason to rain on your parade. After all, we’re all nerds in our own way.

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

Music Mysteries Vol. 1: What Is That?

Jacob Schick I recently became a proud subscriber to Spotify Premium. In order to get the most for my money, I created a 72-hour playlist that I force upon all of the other Heights editors within earshot of my speaker during the long nights we spend making this newspaper for the dozens of dedicated readers at Boston College. And my parents.

This playlist is mostly composed of my “old people” music from the ’50s through the ’80s. One of these gems is the masterpiece that is “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t I Do That)” by Meat Loaf. Now, because I don’t do anything halfway (except for exercise, school work, and some other third thing), I don’t have the single edit of that song on my playlist.

Nay, I have the full 11-minute, 59-second album version. This lengthy tune came on randomly toward the end of the night, and a conversation started about if the various people in the room would do anything for love, even that. Most questioned what that is. That is to say, what is the thing Meat Loaf wouldn’t do for love?

I found no easy answer. He gives four examples throughout the song of things he won’t do, like “Forget the way you feel right now,” “Forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight,” “Do it better than I do it with you,” and of course “Stop dreaming of you every night of my life.”

But he doesn’t seem to single any of these examples out as THAT which he won’t do,

nor does he tell us if there are other things he wouldn’t do for love either. Throughout this passion project of a track, Meat Loaf alludes to that, but doesn’t tell the listener outright.

This is, in part, what makes “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” so enjoyable. Each listener, in between lengthy instrumentals, operatic vocals, and general Meat-Loafiness, can speculate on what it is that Meat Loaf won’t do for love, and also what they themselves would or would not do. It makes it personal, for each person, each and every time.

Another one of my favorite mysteries in media is the narcissistic subject of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.” Most everyone knows this song, and its surrounding mystery. Who is the person who is so conceited that he thinks this song is about him? Simon has played up the mystery over the years, revealing that it’s not about one man, but three. She has also revealed that each verse is about a different person, and that the subject of the second verse is Warren Beatty. Yet, very few people really know who these other two men are.

Aside from Simon, the only person who has confirmed knowledge is Dick Ebersol, and he paid $50,000 to charity for the information.

Still, “You’re So Vain” gets a great deal of airtime to this day. This is partly due to its quality as a song—though, while it’s good, it’s not that good. The reason so many people know the tune is because of its mystery. Every ’70s rock fan has their own theory as to who she is singing about, but the mystery is part of the fun.

The great thing about this mystery is that we probably won’t know for a long time.

Simon continues to drop hints, but no one has been able to put all of the pieces to-

CALEB GRIEGO Arts & Review Editor In her first U.S. solo exhibition, Paris-based artist Charlotte Moth presents a group of recent works in sculpture, photography, and film at the MIT List Visual Arts Center.

Using architectural spaces in which we live and the objects that surround us, Moth’s analog photographs of buildings and interiors represent a collection of images she calls the Travelogue. These photographs serve as a source of many of her installations, variously grouped into slide projections, sculptural wall works, or table assemblages. This exhibit makes even mundane aspects of life of intellectual merit.

gether. Everyone loves a puzzle, especially a puzzle with a concrete answer that no one has been smart enough to solve. Another point for the Simon mystery—the answer is relatively harmless. It’s not very important. For example, no one knows who the Zodiac killer is, but whoever it is, he killed people. That kind of sucks.

Simon is just calling a few people conceited. No skin off Beatty’s back, that’s for sure. By the way, I subscribe to the theory that candidate for Republican presidential nominee Ted Cruz is in fact the Zodiac killer. I mean, have you ever seen Ted Cruz and the Zodiac killer in the same room? I didn’t think so. “Book ’em, Danno!”

This has been Volume One in a unplanned series of columns titled Mysteries in Media. Lots of songs, movies, and television shows have unsolved mysteries that are rife with speculation. I plan to examine them on a maybe-regular basis.

While I try to sprinkle in a few jokes, there is a larger theme I’m trying to convey here. I think these mysteries are an important thing to discuss, because I think there is a very important reason that people like mysteries.

I believe that people think that maybe if they can solve a small mystery, like what Meat Loaf wouldn’t do for love, if they can learn something that they didn’t already know, they might be able to unlock the solution to a bigger thing, a more important and pressing puzzle. They might get the key to the lock we all share. I think that what I mean was best said by Sammy Davis, Jr.: “The ultimate mystery is one’s own self.”

Jacob Schick is the assoc. arts & review editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

429 Records

Iris Records

What won’t Meat Loaf do for love? And who does Carly Simon think is so vain?

JACOB SCHICK

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor This weekend, a new movie called Colossal hits theaters.

The movie stars Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis. Colossal is about Hathaway’s character, Gloria, and her realization that she can control a giant monster that has been terrorizing various cities around the world.

Her ability to influence the monster’s actions is connected to her current mental breakdown. Colossal looks like it will be a great mix of comedy and action.

I hope that there will be a couple of action scenes à la Pacific Rim, but regardless, Colossal promises to be a small indie movie with a big story.

ISABELLA DOW

Asst. Arts & Review Editor Returning with their sixth studio album, the Cold War Kids will release L.A. Divine this Friday, complete with a new group of moody and confrontational songs embedded in everyday experience. The band has had some changes in personnel, most recently with a new lead guitarist, yet they consistently deliver authentic and musically varied albums that have garnered them esteem within the modern blues rock genre.

With their new singles ranging from the optimistic and upbeat “Love is Mystical,” and the more angsty, bittersweet “So Tied Up,” fans are bound to be impressed by the band’s latest musical installment.

THIS WEEKEND IN ARTS: EDITORS’ PICKS

THE HEIGHTS

B4

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

Misleading Criticisms Haunt ‘Ghost in the Shell’

BY TOMAS GUARNA For The Heights

Though reviews can be bearers of truth, they can also mislead. Ghost in the Shell has a 45-percent score on RottenTomatoes. com. The reviews are all around the same: it lacks the “magic” of the original 1995 anime film, Hollywood messes everything up, and casting Scarlett Johansson to play the main character in a Japanese story is a racist, unforgivable aspect, even though they address this fact in the beginning of the film. This popular reception, based more on political clichés than on the movie itself, however, fails to see Ghost in the Shell for what it really is: an American interpretation of an iconic Japanese manga, whose

Hollywood production doesn’t fall short of being politically charged.

Set in a futuristic world where it’s normal for people to receive robotic augmentations, the plot follows a young refugee, Motoko Kusanagi (Johansson), who survives a terrorist attack. After her body is deemed unusable, her brain is implanted in a robotic body, which gives her inhuman physical skills and an ability to become invisible. This operation is performed by Hanka Robotics, the company that leads these augmentation practices. The corporation’s CEO decides for her to join Section 9, an anti-terrorist operations group that responds to the government. Here, she attains the rank of Major, which she adopts as her own name.

As part of Section 9, Major is sent to

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GHOST IN THE SHELL RUPERT SANDERS DISTRIBUTED BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES RELEASE MAR. 31, 2017 OUR RATING

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stop a cyber-terrorist who is murdering people linked to a specific Hanka Robotics operation. This mission leads Major to make discoveries about the world she lives in, her past, and her identity—in other words, “the ghost in the shell.”

The movie manages to cover several complex themes effectively and with a depth close to the one those themes deserve. The question of the ethical boundaries of science is constantly present, and makes us wonder about the future of humanity—can it be fully rationalized? Where should the line between robots and humans be set?

Furthermore, the film touches upon contemporary topics, such as the value of life in relation to migrant people, the fight against terrorism, state surveillance, and ideological persecution. In bringing these reflections, the so-called “Westernization” of the movie shines at its best light. The condescending non-issue of a Japanese story being adapted by American filmmakers is deemed absurd when Rupert Sanders’ version manages to take the 1989 manga to a different, yet not less, interesting place that speaks to the contemporary Western political context.

The deep reflections, however, are often limited by the movie’s extreme factual density. The movie is overwhelmingly fast-paced, where substantive moments are reduced almost to snapshots and characters have not too credible realizations about what to do next, or where to find someone. These flaws in the script are commonplace in the genre, yet the weight of the philosophical questions and the characters in this film

CHART TOPPERS

force us to judge the script at a higher standard. Moreover, director Rupert Sanders’ choice to economize with story and character development to devote more time to fight scenes is at least questionable. Scenes with gunshots are too long, and meaningful conversations happen in glimpses.

While the movie honors the genre in the occasional weakness of its script, it also honors the genre with the incredible landscaping of a dystopian, Tokyo-inspired metropolis. Sanders’ work follows the aesthetic reference line of the Blade Runner universe, mixing mundane characters of urban life like street butchers and stray dogs with a plethora of digital interfaces set in every surface and cyborgs in every corner. The movie also does an impeccable job at producing subdued special effects, making robotic augmentations seem natural and destructive human-like machines believable.

Johansson flawlessly interprets a character that manages to convince the audience of emotional breakthroughs in an agile, action-packed film. Her skill is best showcased in the first scenes, where her character is introduced to an alien body, giving Johansson the opportunity to show us her best portrayal of vulnerability.

In a nutshell, the critical masses denouncing the movie’s “problematic” nature could do well by watching the movie. Then, they would probably be able to appreciate it as a ground-breaking piece that expands a Japanese masterpiece’s reach to a Western audience, while managing to retain the message of the original work and successfully making it relevant to today’s reality. 

‘Prison Break’ Poised for Daring, Dangerous Escape

BY ISABELLA DOW

Asst. Arts & Review Editor Fox’s gritty TV thriller, Prison Break, returned to the screen for a limited fifth season entitled “The Event Series”, and the show’s characteristic mix of sentimental drama thrown into a harsh and violent world created an entertaining episode. Many of those watching the premiere were fans of the show when it was on almost a decade ago, and have returned with tentative optimism to find out what happened after the protagonist, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), was unceremoniously killed off by a brain tumor in the original series finale. Given the massively unpopular ending to a show that was once so compelling, the show made up for its lackluster history and delivered a new story of conspiracy and action that will restore dignity to a once gripping show.

The action begins upon T-Bag’s (Robert Knepper) cringeworthy release from prison after the time he’s spent as a “model citizen,” which is a grotesquely amusing statement coming from a sadistic and ruthless convicted killer. Nevertheless, he receives a crinkled envelope from an unknown source, which contains a blurry-looking photo of the supposedly dead and buried Schofield. When T-Bag appears at the house of Scofield’s brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), the danger and confusion of the characters’ former lives on the run seep into their shiny new ones.

The show proceeds to show us what we already know: Burrows exhumes Scofield’s grave one night to find, not a corpse—but

an empty business suit. As pathetic as this substitute for closure seems, the viewer warms to the implications of this finding, as that suit reminds them of Scofield’s first quest to break his brother out from behind bars at the start of the series. With Burrows reeling, some cliché codebreaking and online searching ensues, and the viewer begrudgingly tolerates it as they’re told that Schofield has actually been detained in a Yemeni prison. Yemen is a strange choice to set the impending events of the shot, but seems as good a place as any to opaquely lock up an undead protagonist. While this choice of setting gives the viewer a sense of déjà vu given the slew of exotic prisons the characters have fled in the past, this iteration of the show attempts to stay relevant by involving the issues surrounding Middle Eastern terrorism. Pulling together a host of atrocious phenomena, such as armed street gangs and an inescapable prison, the characters seem to have their work cut out for them as the show moves forward.

The show’s revival of viewers’ old favorite characters serves as a crucial thread of constancy in the midst of an ambiguous storyline. T-Bag has retained his snakish charm, C-Note (Rockmond Dunbar) is still levelheaded and stoic, and Lincoln has once again become wrapped in some unspecified web of disaster, which paints the events to come as organic continuations of the characters’ lives. What is less clear is how any of these characters ended up in their current situations. Frequently one of the show’s main antagonists, T-Bag, seems to be getting a life full of sunshine and roses.

Why anyone would let him out of prison is beyond the realm of comprehension, and furthermore, the loose cannon character receives an invitation to have surgery on his prosthetic mannequin hand to replace it with a fully functioning bionic hand, which looks like it belongs on a cyborg.

As long-time fans of the show will know, T-Bag’s hand was sawed off during his first prison escape, and restoring it has unnerving implications for what the man will try next.

For a show that has a lot of explaining to do, the episode left the viewer with a lot of unanswered questions. While expected from the first episode of the sequel

series, the viewer obtained an even more burning set of questions through the episode’s skirting of long-standing inquiries. Given the neat progression of events, the viewer develops a sense that someone is pulling the strings, while remaining in the dark about whether Scofield has a master plan or if some evil, omnipotent force is to blame for the complicated, dangerous landscape that the characters must muddle through. Paired with the anticipation of discovering how Scofield went from literal death to metaphorical death, the show is sure to entertain viewers by prodding their favorite characters just a few episodes more. 

For The Heights

Sometimes the best music has the worst of inspirations. Kurt Cobain drew must of the emotion of his music from the terrible stomach pain he experienced. Elton John wrote “Candle in the Wind” after Princess Diana’s tragic death. Musician Phil Elverum has channelled the emotion from his wife’s death into his new album, A Crow Looked At Me. In the GoFundMe page created to pay for his wife’s medical bills, Elverum broke the news.

“Geneviève died today at 1 pm.,” Elverum

wrote. “It’s all very sad and surreal. So much is left unfinished for her. She was a firehose of brilliant ideas that never turned off. We loved her and everything is weird now.”

A Crow Looked at Me is the eighth release of Mount Eerie, Phil Elverum’s solo project. Written two months after the his wife succumbed to Stage Four pancreatic cancer, it is a statement about emptiness— the vacuum left by the death of a loved one.

Every inch of this album is fueled by that notion and is brought out in Elverum’s ability to convey feeling through sound. This reality is repeatedly captured in Elverum’s poetic and emotionally stirring lines. Its simple

MUSIC

A CROW LOOKED AT ME MOUNT EERIE PRODUCED BY P.W. ELVERUM & SUN RELEASE MAR. 24, 2017 OUR RATING

P.W. ELVERUM & SUN

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

TOP ALBUMS

1 More Life Drake 2 Divide Ed Sheeran 3 Tremaine The Album Trey Songz 4 Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack 5 Hardwired To Self-Destruct Metallica

Source: Billboard.com

MUSIC VIDEO BARRETTE JANNEY

“HUMBLE” KENDRICK LAMAR

TELEVISION

PRISON BREAK PAUL SCHERING PRODUCED BY FOX RELEASE APR. 4, 2017 OUR RATING

FOX

Dark Wings, Dark Words in ‘A Crow Looked at Me’

BY TOMAS GUARNA

TOP SINGLES

acoustics, which adorn every song, reinforce a sense of raw grief and anguish.

A Crow Looked at Me wonders how to live after the death of a loved one. It navigates through the desperate questions and the hopeless lamentation of someone grieving, with powerful and devastating answers and consolations. Elverum’s lyrics are sincere and powerful, and they lead us through the episodes of his new life as Castrée’s widow and his motherless daughter’s father. The songs are arranged in a way that they portray Everum’s transformation and his situation in his new place in the world.

“Real Death,” the record’s opener, is about the hopelessness that comes after the death (“It’s dumb / And I don’t want to learn anything from this”). Its lyrics’ accuracy and earnestness strike as melancholically familiar to anyone. “Seaweed” and “Ravens” are reflections on her memory, and her tragic death. In “Forest Fire,” Elverum starts to ask himself how to live without his wife, only to go back to lamenting in “Swims”.

The interesting choice of the crow, as if a harbinger of death, is brought up in the song bearing its name. In “Crow,” he wonders, “Sweet kid, what is this world we’re giving you? / Smoldering and fascist with no mother / Are you dreaming about a crow?”

He narrates a hiking trip to a hill above a lake, where he hears his daughter say the word “crow” in her sleep. This track adopts that notion of anguish and loss, but also a

sort of sinister resentment of death.

Reaching out to listeners who share his pain, Elverum speak about his role as a widower, and how others relate to it in “My Chasm.” He describes himself as a “a container of stories” about his dead wife, and mentions he now wields “the power to transform a grocery store aisle into a canyon of pity and confusion” and “mutual aching to leave.”

“Emptiness Pt. 2” introduces listeners to the mountains, a place that Elverum finds interesting to return to in many of the songs.

He describes his journey through grief as climbing up a mountain in complete loneliness. The penultimate song, “Soria Moria”, also follows this theme. Soria Moria is the name of a painting Elverum saw in a museum in Oslo, Norway, where a kid looks to a castle across a canyon. To Elverum, Soria Moria is possible exit to his grief, “Soria Moria is a real traversable space / I’m an arrow now / Mid-air.”

Elverum’s words are sung in whispers, and are accompanied by little more than his acoustic guitar and a piano. Recorded in the home shared with his wife, the record replicates the lo-fi sound habitual to Mount Eerie, but in a much somber light. The weak and shy vocals show us an artist that is completely consumed by a cruel, unforgiving world. A Crow Looked at Me is a powerful album that shows us Elverum in his most vulnerable light, as someone trying to float in the immensity of loss. 

Irreverence is the clear intention of Kendrick Lamar’s music video for “Humble.” Is it the gratif ying kind of irreverence that instills a sense of delicious rebellion against norms, the kind of blasphemy we crave and revel in?

No, it isn’t. And that’s only preface for the multitude of issues that plague Lamar’s latest creation.

With it s single and music video release both on March 30, “Humble” stands as the chief song promoting Lamar’s next untitled project.

The video opens with single stream of light focused on Kendrick L amar, a figure clad in pope-like garb against a shadowy backdrop.

The scratch of a record inaugurates the beat drop into the song, with Lamar delivering his vehement first lines with an abrupt crack of the neck that resembles an exorcism.

The rest of the mini film reflects this abnormality. Flashes of essentially-naked women counting money and then sitting in a salon surrounding Lamar counter the random scenarios in which he stands among men with flaming heads and atop a car swinging at golf balls.

The peculiarity culminates in its obvious allusion to the Last Supper, equipped with Lamar as the rapper-turned-savior.

For the most part, the various clips of Lamar are alluring within themselves, but they fail to string together coherently and have no true place in the narrative of the song.

The transitions between clips include a constantly panning camera to capture shifting perspectives, but this tactic results simply in a headache rather than any real innovation.

Lamar’s execution of “Humble” indicates his need to follow the principle of his own lyrics—to quit reaching for visual artistry his music cannot command and be humble. 

SINGLE REVIEWS BY BARRETTE JANNEY CASHMERE CAT FT. MO & SOPHIE “9 (After Coachella)” Released on March 31, “9 (After Coachella)” melds an initially tropical vibration with a journey through the inner workings of a discombobulated machine. The dissonance of shattering glass, snapping, and the robotic xylophone accompaniment elevate the single’s message of longing and romantic confusion.

ART HOUSE FT. NATASHA BEDINGFIELD “Love Looks Like”

THE CHAINSMOKERS “The One” The Chainsmokers’ latest hit “The One” follows their typical formula of EDM interludes paired with the vocals of Andrew Taggart, one half of the less-than-dynamic duo, and the angelic vocals of some featured female. The song deviates slightly with its heavier use of piano to convey the idea of a failing relationship.

“Love Looks Like” might at first sound like another cookie-cutter portrayal of falling in love. The vocals of Natasha Bedingfield tweak the archetype by utilizing an effective crescendo. Bedingfield’s voice, with potent choral support, creates a contagious fullness of sound.

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Small changes today. Big bucks tomorrow. Go to feedthepig.org for free savings tips.

The Heights

B6

Thursday, April 6, 2017

BASEBALL

Behind Strong Outing by Nelson, BC Tops Huskies in Beanpot Baseball Beanpot, from B8

Kaitlin Meeks / Heights Staff

Sophomore catcher Gian Martellini strides forward in an at-bat during BC’s victory in the Beanpot semifinals on Wednesday.

single and a stolen base. Following a hit-by-pitch and a walk, Chris Balogh came into the game to pinch hit for Dante Baldelli with the bases loaded.

Balogh crushed a double to right field that brought two runners home and tripled the Eagles’ lead, which was all the support that the pitching staff needed.

Lefty reliever Zach Stromberg followed Nelson’s lead on the mound and slammed the door shut on the Huskies.

Stromberg threw three scoreless innings and struck out five batters, only allowing two Huskies to reach base. It marks the third-consecutive for Stromberg in which he didn’t allow a run.

In the ninth inning, the Eagles capped off a strong performance with a cherry on top.

Dominic Hardaway, who came into the game as Balogh’s defensive replacement, got his first hit of the season and stole second to get into scoring position.

Johnny Adams brought him home with a double, and Adams himself scored on a subsequent single from Strem.

John Witkowski gave up one run in the bottom half of the ninth inning, but the Eagles had enough of a cushion at that point to hold their lead.

Though weather forced the homegame-to-be away from BC, Gambino said his players didn’t mind making the short bus trip into downtown Boston.

Their reward for going with the flow and getting a victory? Another chance to win some hardware in the Baseball Beanpot final against Harvard University later this month at Fenway Park.

The Crimson advanced to the championship game with a 7-3 victory over Massachussetts on Wednesday.

“That’s one of the greatest things about this program,” Gambino said.

“This isn’t a place where you have to create adversity to teach toughness— it just happens. It’s part of our lives. It didn’t faze these guys at all.” n

Georgetown’s Hire of Ewing Could Serve as Lesson for BC Ewing Hire, from B8 the Thompsons. Then the rumors started: They’re going to interview Ewing for the job. Sure enough, earlier this week the report broke that Georgetown had officially hired Ewing as the next head coach.

Now personally, I think this is great news for Georgetown fans.

Sure, I understand why some people might be apprehensive about it.

Ewing has no head coaching experience, so it’s understandable that fans are nervous about charging this man with righting the ship.

Plus, hiring Ewing sends a message that although the Thompsons are no longer officially head coaches, the school can’t really move on from the Thompson legacy.

Choosing a member of the powerhouse teams of the 1980s might be a nostalgia move—but it also might be a symptom of something more serious, like the elder Thompson still controlling the program.

After all, while no longer an official member of the staff, he’s still

involved—he sits courtside at every game and is friends with Georgetown president John DeGioia. You can bet he’s still got sway where it matters.

Yeah, I’ll grant that fans might be concerned, and that their concerns aren’t totally unfounded. But on the whole, I think this is a really good move for Georgetown.

While there’s pressure on any head coach, Ewing has a relatively light load of it. With the way Georgetown has been playing for the past couple of years, there’s not really anywhere to go but up for the Hoyas. And even if his first year is rocky, that’s okay—nobody expects absolute perfection right from the start.

Plus, while it’s true that Ewing has no head coaching experience, it’s flat-out wrong to say he has no experience at all. He has been an assistant coach since 2002, working with four different teams—the Wizards, the Rockets, the Magic, and the Hornets, with whom he earned the title associ-

SOFTBALL

Eagles Edge Bulldogs SB at Bryant, from B8 out. Friedt was keen on keeping the Bulldogs from pulling away with an early lead and struck out the side to round out the second frame.

The Eagles were scoreless in the third, despite Coroneos stealing second immediately after hitting a single.

Friedt also managed to shut out Bryant for the third inning in a row.

In the fourth, Cortez hit a single to start off the inning. Monroe flied out to left field, but Cortez had enough time to scamper to second. Moore hit a double down the right-field line, allowing the senior to make it to third. Then, DiEmmanuele hit another double, scoring Cortez and giving the Eagles the lead.

Nicole Zukowski led off the back half of the inning with a single. But Bryant’s hopes for retribution were quickly dashed, as Friedt struck out the next two hitters. In the top of the fifth, Murphy and Sharabba both singled, giving BC a chance to add to its lead. Yet Murphy was caught stealing, and a Cortez ground ball ended the inning.

Jessica Dreswick replaced Friedt, who logged seven strikeouts and only allowed two runs in her four innings of work. Dreswick continued to hold the Bulldogs scoreless.

Chimento doubled to start the sixth. Her strong showing was short lived, as Moore flied out to center and Chimento was thrown out on her way to third. DiEmmanuele singled and stole second, but it wouldn’t matter.

Chloe Dubocq was robbed of a linedrive hit to finish the sixth inning.

Dreswick wasn’t fazed by the quick turnaround, though, as she quickly retired the Bulldogs, one-two-three.

The seventh inning was both quick

and scoreless for both teams, as the first three hitters for both BC and Bryant failed to reach base.

Overall, Dreswick didn’t allow a hit over three innings of work, retiring the final eight batters in order to preserve the 1-0 victory. It marked her second save of the season.

Dreswick’s outing was typical for the junior, as she has become the bonafide workhouse of the Eagles’ rotation. Last week, she logged 12 innings in a doubleheader sweep of Syracuse. In total, she finished 3-0 with 15 strikeouts and only two walks, earning ACC Player of the Week honors.

Last year, Dreswick showed flashes of this brilliance, most notably during her no-hitter against North Carolina State University last April. BC’s ace made history by throwing the program’s first no-hitter in conference play, and the second overall.

But this year has brought new levels of consistency for the Flemington, N.J. native. She now boasts a 2.00 earned run average, down from her 2.47 ERA from last season. Not to mention that she has only gotten better as the season has progressed and her innings totals have increased.

In fact, she hasn’t allowed a run in her last 15 innings of work. And while she struggled at times with her command early in the 2017 campaign, she hasn’t issued more than two walks since March 3. It’s safe to say that she’s clicking at the right time, and ACC teams must be scared facing Dreswick down the stretch. As a duo, Dreswick and Friedt are even more intimidating.

Friedt and Dreswick combined for 10 strikeouts, en route to the Eagles’ sixth shutout of the season, and their eighth win over Bryant in program history. n

ate head coach. And he’s been very open in the past about his desire to land a head coaching gig. Pat Riley, Ewing’s coach on the Knicks and current president of the Heat, praised Ewing’s drive to become a head coach.

“Of all the players who have gone from superstardom to putting in the time and paying their dues to becoming a head coach, Patrick deserves this probably more than any player ever,” he said to NBA.com.

But one of the biggest reasons why hiring Ewing is a good move for Georgetown is simple: recruiting.

Ewing was a college star who went on to have a Hall of Fame career. He won two Olympic gold medals with the national team and was a member of the 1992 Dream Team. He was a superstar, an incredible figure in basketball for years. He was dazzling.

You can bet that high school athletes will probably know the name Patrick Ewing. Even if the players aren’t as familiar with his career, their parents definitely are. When

Ewing comes calling, recruits will want to listen to what he has to say.

After all, wouldn’t you? If a man with his resume thinks you’re worth it, it’s an honor. And if he can turn the tide at Georgetown over his first couple of seasons, recruits will want to come even more now that they’ve got a Hall of Famer as a coach at a program that is on the ups.

If the Ewing experiment pays off—and I’m betting it will—I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more schools in tricky positions call on illustrious alumni to come take charge. While BC doesn’t really have a comparable superstar to call up, someone like Jared Dudley might be an interesting option a few years down the road.

After all, Dudley helped guide the Eagles to the Sweet 16 as a player, and has had a legitimately productive career as a pro. Currently he plays for the Phoenix Suns, where he has taken on a leadership position and played an integral role on the team. Throughout his career he has been hailed for his determi-

nation and leadership.

What’s more, he already revealed that he wants to be a college head coach.

Plus, Dudley has shown that he remains invested in BC Athletics.

In addition to showing some love for former Eagles on Twitter, he has speculated that BC will retire his number as soon as he retires from the pros.

His consistent focus on BC means he might be pretty interested in joining the men’s basketball coaching staff. Having a BC grad and former NBA player on the coaching staff will only serve to boost recruiting for the Eagles.

Look forward to the Ewing experiment in Georgetown. It’ll bring the Hoyas back to national prominence and it might just spell something to look forward to in future years on the Heights.

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

THE HEIGHTS

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

B7

POINT

EDITOR’S

COUNTERPOINT

DOES BC’S YEAR LOOK BETTER OR WORSE AFTER MARCH? UNC’S VICTORY OFFERS HOPE MAYBE ACC IS NOT THAT GOOD

BY RILEY OVEREND

Sports Editor

I love the transitive property. If a = b and b = c, then a = c. Used incorrectly, it can distort reality, reframe issues entirely, and make fans of struggling teams feel slightly better about their losing seasons.

Example: Boston College men’s basketball almost beat North Carolina. North Carolina won the national championship. Therefore, BC almost won the national championship.

Okay, so maybe it’s not a foolproof method of drawing conclusions based on relationships. But this year’s March Madness did make me feel better about the Eagles’ 2016-17 season, and even eased some of my concerns about the future of the program. The tournament validated the talent of the Tar Heels—the only perennial powerhouse that doesn’t rely on one-anddone recruits—a team, in fact, that BC almost upset back in January.

At times, it was magical. With the Eagles facing a double-digit deficit midway through the first half, freshman Ky Bowman single-handedly sparked a 10-0 run that tied the game at 27-27. When Bowman and his signature red hair went to the bench for a breather, his partner in crime, Jerome Robinson, stepped up. The 6-foot-5 sophomore poured in 13 second-half points to keep the game close while UNC’s frontcourt had a field day in the paint. BC’s undersized forwards ultimately couldn’t contain the Tar Heels’ big men, as Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks, and Isaiah Hicks combined for 56 points en route to a 90-82 win.

But the resounding story of that chilly Saturday afternoon was the Eagles’ young backcourt of Bowman and Robinson. The North Carolina natives left an impression on head coach Roy Williams, who couldn’t stop raving about their performances and marveled at how they slipped under his radar as recruits. Bowman, who previously committed to UNC for football, dropped 33 points—his third 30-plus-point game of the year—to complement Robinson’s 18.

And they did it all against defenders like Joel Berry III and Justin Jackson, who were celebrated for their lockdown perimeter defense in Monday’s national title game.

Pessimists might point out that the Eli Carter-led Eagles nearly took down the Tar Heels in 2015-16, narrowly falling, 68-65. But that team of two seasons ago never won a single ACC game.

Well, despite the fact that both UNC squads were ranked No. 9 and advanced to the national championship game, those two matchups were

completely different. In 2016, the Tar Heels were in the midst of a slump, prompting Williams to send a message to the team by benching Meeks and Jackson to start the game.

While UNC didn’t shoot terribly percentage-wise from the field (31 percent from 3-point range, 51 percent overall), the team played like trash. Williams was so frustrated with the effort that he collapsed in the second half due to a spell of benign positional vertigo. It took some hero ball from Jackson and Marcus Paige down the stretch to eke out a slim victory over a really, really bad BC lineup that was without Robinson.

In 2017, the Tar Heels actually played like the ninth-best team in the nation. UNC boasted four different scorers in double digits and shot 43 percent from behind the arc. The Heels hit hard and, each time, the Eagles punched back. They showed that they can compete at a high level when they’re clicking, and watching UNC cut down the nets on Monday night only proved that.

Some say that the Tar Heels’ tournament run overshadowed the fact that the ACC, as a whole, significantly underperformed in March.

Nine teams from the conference earned bids, yet only one remained in the Sweet 16. But I argue that the ACC’s poor tournament is a product of unlucky seeding and poor matchups, not a sign that the conference was deceivingly mediocre during the regular season.

No. 9 Virginia Tech was edged by an underrated Wisconsin team that went on to knock off No. 1 Villanova.

Duke was ousted by South Carolina, which later became the surprise of the tournament when it reached its firstever Final Four. Louisville was upset

by Michigan, a squad that looked like a “team of destiny” for the first two rounds of play. Notre Dame ran up against a tough West Virginia lineup that showed it could beat anyone in the country with its lethal full-court press. The list goes on.

You can’t just ignore the regular season when assessing the strength of the ACC this year. The conference was still the best in terms of RPI and success in nonconference play. The league finished with a winning record against every conference in the country except, oddly, the Big East. Toward the bottom, it had more depth than any other conference, and at the top, it lay claim to the eventual national champion. Watching an ACC team prevail in March Madness—let alone a team like UNC, which the Eagles went toe-to-toe with just a few months ago—should have made every BC fan feel a little more optimistic about the future of the program. 

BY ANDY BACKSTROM Asst. Sports Editor At one point this year, Boston College men’s basketball was ahead of Duke, Virginia, Louisville, and North Carolina in the ACC standings. Granted, it was one game into conference play and one day into the new year. But even as the Eagles would soon revert back to their home—the cellar of the league—fans were hopeful. After all, this was the ACC—the best conference in all of college basketball.

Or so they thought.

I don’t blame them. The conference was coming off a record-breaking March Madness. It tallied more tournament wins than any team in prior history. Not to mention that six ACC teams made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and four went on to the Elite Eight. More than a week remained before the national final, and the conference was guaranteed a chance to take home the championship.

Before this season started, Duke was voted as the preseason favorite to win the conference. Teams like Virginia and Syracuse rounded out the top-five. And North Carolina State was supposed to flirt with best, slotted to finish sixth in the league.

In actuality, the Blue Devils wouldn’t even crack the top-five. At times, NC State looked the worst team in the conference.

And it was the Notre Dames and Florida States that contended for the ACC’s regular season title.

While some were skeptical of the underwhelming play of the conference’s powerhouses, many chose to ignore it.

Instead, they adopted a philosophy defending the fluctuation in the standings.

People theorized that, since the ACC was so good, any team could beat anyone on any day. Some, myself included, even resorted to Reddit’s transitive circle—a diagram that shows how every team in the ACC has indirectly defeated the remaining 14.

Besides, the AP’s Top-25 poll reflected that the conference was indeed the best in the nation. Despite having more losses than the teams surrounding them in the rankings, UNC, Duke, and Louisville found their way into the top-10 by season’s end. Combined, those three teams totaled 23 losses. The other seven teams in the top-10? Just 26. Heck, Virginia was still in the poll’s rankings with 10 losses and a meager ACC Tournament performance.

When it came to March, reality began to settle in. The ACC sent nine teams to the NCAA Tournament, but only one made it to the Sweet Sixteen: UNC. Sure, the Tar Heels would go on to win the National Championship, but that by no means affirmed the conference’s superiority. By that logic, last year’s Big East was unrivaled and the American Athletic Conference of 2014 was greater than every Power Five conference.

The ACC’s shortcomings were exposed in the first two rounds of tournament play. A potentially revitalized Duke fell to South Carolina. Louisville and Notre Dame didn’t fare much better. And groups like Miami and Virginia Tech—the middle-of-the-pack teams in the conference—struggled to upend the allegedly weak Big Ten. Including Wake Forest’s loss in the First Four, the ACC was 7-8 going into the Sweet Sixteen. Even with the most teams in the field, it failed to pick up as many wins as the Pac-12, Big 12, and Big Ten. To make matters worse, it was the only conference out of the Power Five and Big East to post a sub-.500 record through the second round of the tournament.

BC’s postseason consisted of a day game in the ACC Tournament. But that doesn’t mean the program wasn’t affected by what transpired in the latter portion of March. Every time an ACC team was eliminated, the Eagles season looked that much worse.

Over the past two years, BC has won just as many ACC games. But for the most part, head coach Jim Christian has been cut some slack. He entered Chestnut Hill with one of the toughest jobs: rebuilding a David among a plethora of Goliaths.

Yet, now that we know that the ACC isn’t as almighty as originally advertised, Christian and the Eagles have some explaining to do.

Maybe all of the conference’s upsets this year were a testament to the fact that the majority of the teams in the ACC are mediocre. And if that’s the case, there is no reason why BC shouldn’t have been in the same conversation with the bulk of the conference.

Look at Wake Forest. Coming off of a dismal 2-16 conference record in 2016, the Demon Deacons worked their way back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years. Head coach Danny Manning was presented with the same problem that Christian faced—the challenge of creating a cohesive group of guys that can compete with the teams driven by marquee recruits.

Both Manning and Christian were hired in 2014. But, while the Eagles still dwell in the basement of the ACC, Wake Forest has already moved out.

For BC, the 2016-17 season was a sign of progress. The Eagles snapped a 666-day ACC losing streak, established the fifthhighest scoring backcourt in the Power Five, and, most importantly, found their identity. Hey, Christian’s group even gave the eventual national champions a scare.

But there is no time for moral victories.

Next year, Jerome Robinson will be a junior. And with the way Ky Bowman is playing, the All-ACC Freshman could very well leave early for the NBA. March uncovered the vulnerability of the ACC. The time is now for Christian to take advantage of it. 

PICKS The Eagles will look to extend their winning streak on Saturday against Duke. Can the Blue Devils slow down BC’s explosive offense? Or will the Eagles continue their success at home and send Duke home with another ACC loss?

RILEY OVEREND Sports Editor

First of all, can we all just take a moment and appreciate that midfielder Sam Apuzzo is second in the country in total points?

That’s incredible, and she has helped fuel a winning streak that can be easily extended on Saturday against Duke. The Blue Devils have struggled so far in ACC play, but a so-called “easy win” is too often deceiving.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Duke catches the Eagles a little too comfortable, meaning this game could be a lot closer than expected.

PREDICTION BC 12 Duke 11

ANNABEL STEELE

Assoc. Sports Editor

The Eagles are primed for another big ACC win.

Coming off a victory over No. 17 Virginia and playing in the Red Bandanna Game, BC will earn a big win over the struggling Blue Devils. Duke still doesn’t have a conference win and are hovering at .500 right now. The Blue Devils won’t find their first win against the Eagles. Look for plenty of goals from the Eagles’ attack, while tough defense will give Zoe Ochoa a relatively light workload. Duke will get a few past her, but it will be a blowout for BC, setting the tone for the end of the season.

PREDICTION BC 15 Duke 7

ANDY BACKSTROM

Asst. Sports Editor

Duke is the only team in the ACC that has yet to win a conference game. And there’s a reason why. The Blue Devils are averaging just 7.8 goals in ACC competition. Meanwhile every other team in the conference is posting double digits. It won’t get any easier when Duke faces off against BC, the 12th-highest scoring team in the nation. The Eagles have had an attacker score at least five goals in each of their last three ACC games. In the end, BC’s offense will be too much for the Blue Devils to handle.

PREDICTION BC 16 Duke 9

SCOREBOARD BASEBALL BC 6 | V T 10 BC|ALU 3 H

VT|STOFFEL HR

SOFTBALL

BC 2 | SYR 1

BC|DRESWICK 8 K

SYR|MARTIN RBI

ZOE FANNING / HEIGHTS EDITOR

4/1 BASEBALL

BLACKSBURG, VA

BC|CASEY 3 H

4/2 SOFTBALL PROVIDENCE, RI

BC|SHARABBA HR

BC 3 | V T 4

VT|OWENS 3 H

BC 2 | SYR 1

4/2 BASEBALL BLACKSBURG, VA

SYR|ROMERO 7 K

4/2

PROVIDENCE, RI

BC|CASEY HR

SOFTBALL BC|FRIEDT 7 K

BC 5 | NU 1

NU|HOLZWASSER 2 SB

4/5

BROOKLINE, MA

BC 1 | BRY 0 BRY|PAUL 5 K

4/5 SMITHFIELD, RI

B8 THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

Good Move, Georgetown

SPORTS

@HEIGHTSSPORTS

BASEBALL

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

ANNABEL STEELE Earlier this week, the University of North Carolina celebrated winning the men’s basketball national championship. The team had a joyful celebration in the locker room, while back in Chapel Hill, fans took to the streets and went wild as fireworks burst overhead.

Now, I was happy for UNC and its fans, but also bummed. It would be very nice if Boston College would win a national championship while I’m here, and although it’s at least possible, and maybe probable, that one of the hockey teams will, it’s a safe bet that it’ll be a while before men’s basketball is a serious contender.

On the bright side, though, BC isn’t the only Catholic school that was once upon a time good enough for the tournament, but is now going through a rough patch. Georgetown University is trying something new that, if it works out, bodes well for BC men’s basketball fans.

Georgetown used to be a national powerhouse. The legendary John Thompson, Jr., took over in 1972-73 and quickly turned a mediocre program at best into one of the country’s strongest teams.

The Hoyas only missed out on the NCAA Tournament six times over the course of Thompson’s 25-year career as official head coach.

In 1983-84, the Hoyas marched all the way through the regular season and tournament, accumulating a 34-3 record and winning the national championship. Patrick Ewing, future Hall of Famer with the New York Knicks, scored 608 points over the course of the season and averaged a double-double.

Even after Thompson stepped down as head coach, Georgetown continued to excel. (It’s worth noting that Thompson was still heavily involved in all decision-making even after stepping down.) After a rough couple of years with Craig Esherick at the helm, John Thompson III, nicknamed JT3, was named head coach, and Georgetown continued to consistently make the NCAA Tournament, including a run to the Final Four in 2006-07.

But recently, the Hoyas have been in a slump. For the past two seasons, they have posted losing records, including losses to area rival Maryland in consecutive years. And recruits have started to walk back their commitments.

It was clear something needed to change, so Georgetown finally fired JT3. Fans rejoiced, thinking that the school was ready to move on from

Their home opener was postponed yet again, but the Eagles still knocked off Northeastern in the Beanpot semis to solidify their path to another title game.

BY TOM DEVOTO Heights Senior Staff BROOKLINE, Mass. — Inclement weather in the Boston area forced a Boston College home game in the semifinals of the Baseball Beanpot away from the friendly confines of Shea Field to Friedman Diamond at Northeastern University.

In the first at-bat of the game, though, Donovan Casey made the Eagles feel right at home.

After working a full count with a keen eye, Casey got a pitch he liked and drove it well over the left-field fence. The ball rocketed off the net separating the field from the residential properties across Harrison Street—the homeowners should be thankful it was there.

“It’s fun starting off the game like that, right?” head coach Mike Gambino joked.

After that first run on the first at-bat of the game, the Eagles never looked back.

Starting pitcher Jack Nelson set the tone with

a scoreless outing and the bullpen followed suit en route to a 5-1 win for BC (9-17, 1-11 Atlantic Coast) over Northeastern (11-15, 4-2 Colonial Athletic). The Eagles broke a three-game losing streak with the win.

After Casey’s early blast, Wednesday’s contest was a battle of the quick-working, strike-throwing starting pitchers. Nelson and Northeastern’s Nate Borges kept the ball over the plate, and the position players behind them took care of the rest.

With five innings of shutout ball, Nelson turned in his best start of the season for the Eagles. The sophomore right-hander only allowed two baserunners, and neither got to third base on Nelson.

“We’re kinda getting used to Nelly doing that on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which is awesome,” Gambino said. “He has a great rhythm, great flow, he keeps the ball over the plate, and we can get back to the dugout.”

Casey started things off strong to support Nelson, but the pitcher didn’t receive any additional run support for the duration of

his outing. The Eagles had chances to bring runners home, but poor decisions on the basepaths neutralized their scoring chances.

Casey, of all people, was responsible for two of them.

With two outs in the third inning and Michael Strem at the plate, Casey tried to take advantage of a pitch in the dirt that skittered away from Northeastern catcher Michael Geaslen, but Geaslen recovered well and nabbed Casey at second base with a strong throw.

Then, with one out in the sixth inning and Casey on third base, Strem hit a hard ground ball to shortstop. Casey took an aggressive jump off the bag and started his momentum toward home, then got caught in the middle of the baseline before he was tagged out sliding back into third base.

The Eagles finally broke through in the seventh inning off a host of Northeastern relievers. Jake Alu started the rally with a

See Baseball Beanpot, B6

KAITLIN MEEKS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Donocan Casey (left, 30) led off the game with a home run, lending enough run support for starter Jack Nelson (right, 21) to earn his third win.

See Ewing Hire, B6 SOFTBALL

Friedt, Dreswick Combine for Shutout in Win at Bryant

BY NICOLE PLA Heights Staff Boston College softball rode a thre e-game winning streak into Wednesday’s matchup against Bryant. Coming into the game, the Eagles hadn’t lost to the Bulldogs since the 2010-11 season. That streak would continue, as BC edged Bryant, 1-0.

BC (21-12, 6-2 Atlantic Coast) was at bat in the top of the first inning, but failed to get off to a good start. First, Taylor Coroneos flied out to Helaina Michaud in right field. Annie Murphy and Chloe Sharabba didn’t have much better luck. The two grounded out to first, ending the top half of the first.

Br yant’s (5-25, 0-2 Northeast Conference) Tiffany Bell was the first player to get on base, when she singled down the left-field line. One base

INSIDE SPORTS

wasn’t enough for her, as she quickly stole second after Kendra Friedt struck out Rachel Monroe.

Bell may have felt too confident after stealing second, because she was then caught stealing third, ending the first inning with both teams scoreless.

The top of the second inning was looking better for the Eagles, as Tatiana Cortez got things going with a single. Jordan Chimento followed, reaching first and advancing Cortez to second. Allyson Moore also hit a single, but Cortez was caught on her sprint to third, leaving only two Eagles on base.

While the Eagles were hoping to get a run on the board, Lexi DiEmmanuele and Jules Trevino both struck

See SB vs. Bryant, B6

SHAAN BIJWADIA / HEIGHTS STAFF

Middle infielder Chloe Sharabba (4) crosses the plate as her teammates on the bench celebrate during a win last week.

SOFTBALL: BC Wins Fourth-Straight Game POINT/COUNTERPOINT: March Impacts BC? The Eagles beat Bryant, 1-0, thanks to a lights-out pitching Does BC’s season look better or worse after March Madness effort from Kendra Friedt and Jessica Dreswick....................B6 is finally over? Two editors debate the answer.....................B7

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

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