The Heights 01/19/12 by The Heights

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With a debt over $5 billion, the MBTA has plans for some unpopular changes, D1

Will the new year bring on-field success to Boston College athletics? B1

This week, The Scene highlights the nine funniest memes you need to know! C1

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Vol. XCIII, No. 1

BC ordered to hand over Belfast tapes, will not appeal ruling Judge William G. Young will review 24 subpoenaed Belfast Project interviews By David Cote News Editor

Editor’s Note: This story is part of an ongoing series chronicling the subpoena of the Belfast Project. In the most recent development regarding the Belfast Project, an oral history project held by the Burns Library chronicling a period known as “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland that lasted from 1969 to 1998, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, Dec. 27 that Boston

College must turn over tapes relevant to the investigation of the disappearance of Jean McConville, who was killed by the IRA in 1972. BC will not appeal the ruling, according to University Spokesman Jack Dunn. Judge William G. Young made the ruling based mainly on a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom that asserts full compliance between the two countries during criminal investigations. Because the interviewees were promised confidentiality until death, many

Goldschmidt named new head of C21

activists have claimed that turning over the tapes could set a precedent that would discourage further oral history projects from being undertaken, and jeopardize the well-being of those who did participate. The interviews, which were conducted from 2001 to 2006, chronicle the activities of former IRA members during The Troubles, which ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. “We recognize that the U.S. government has a compelling interest in responding to a treaty obligation regarding a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom,” Dunn said. “We have asked that the judge consider our compelling interest in protecting academic research

and the enterprise of oral history.” Dunn emphasized that the University had no interest in interfering with a criminal investigation, but reserved the right to appeal the ruling at a later date. “We did not appeal Judge Young’s ruling because we felt it represented the best legal option at our disposal,” Dunn said. Young stated in his ruling that he would not immediately turn over the tapes to federal authorities, but would review all of the interview transcripts, and decide which tapes were relevant to the investigation of the disappearance of McConville specifically. Upon reviewing all of the tapes, Young will decide which

must be turned over to British authorities for investigation. A timeline for the review has not been released. Tapes of particular interest are those of interviews with former IRA member Dolours Price, who announced last spring that during her interview she revealed information relating to the disappearance of McConville that may implicate high ranking Sinn Fein politician Gerry Adams. Other tapes of interviews with a deceased former IRA member, Brendan Hughes, were already handed over. In the tape, Hughes alleged that Adams or-

See Subpoena, A4

Early action applicants up by 6 percent

stokes sprouts over break

By Samantha Costanzo

By Molly LaPoint

Asst. News Editor

Heights Editor

One of Boston College’s most distinctive facets is also one of its more obscure: the 10-year old organization called Church in the 21st Century (C21). However, its new director, Erik Goldschmidt, is doing all he can to make C21 a bigger part of student life at BC. University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. founded the organization in 2002 on the heels of the Sept. 11 attacks and the emergence of a wide-reaching sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Church. “It was supposed to be a temporary program at the time, aiming to bring people together in a constructive way to look at concerns and questions in the church and have constructive conversations,” Goldschmidt said. “People were really getting dejected —they needed practical but also pastoral conversations that just weren’t happening otherwise.” C21 has focused on exploring a few primary areas since its inception and hopes to continue exploring those same topics under Goldschmidt. The four areas to be investigated include ways of handing down the faith to younger Catholics, relationships between laymen and women and the clergy, sexuality and the Catholic tradition, and the intellectual tradition of Catholicism. “From here, some of the goals now are building on the core focal areas and trying to involve students, trying to reach out to students and have conversations that are helpful to them and meaningful for their formation during their time at BC,” Goldschmidt said. As a BC alumnus who was a first-year graduate student when C21 was founded, Goldschmidt is enthusiastic about continuing to serve the BC community through C21. “Fr. Leahy and C21 had a very hopeful

The number of early action applicants this year increased by six percent over last year, despite some changes in other universities’ policies that might have indicated it would decrease. This year, Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Virginia reinstated early action. Though students who apply early to UVA were not faced with restrictions, Harvard and Princeton instated singlechoice policies such as the ones already in place at Yale and Stanford. This meant students who chose to apply early action to one of those schools could not apply early action or early decision to any other school. As a result, it was predicted that Boston College’s early application pool would decrease in number. This year, however, 6,580 students applied early to BC, as opposed to last year’s 6,201. Georgetown and Notre Dame also saw increases in the number of early applications. “The impact I was expecting volumewise did not materialize,” said John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admissions. Despite the increase in numbers, there was a difference in the application pool. “We clearly saw in our early pool fewer of the high fliers, the top one

See C21, A4

photo courtesy of gary wayne gilbert

Erik Goldschmidt, a former Lynch School faculty member, has been named C21 director.

graham beck / heights editor

Stokes Hall grew significantly while students were home for winter break. The 183,000 square foot classroom and administrative building, which began construction in the Fall of 2010, is slated to be completed in the Fall of 2012 as part of the Master Plan.

See Admissions, A4

‘Sub Turri’ celebrates 100th anniversary Arrupe sends Yearbook hopes to photograph 100 percent of seniors By David Cote News Editor

Sub Turri, one of the oldest organizations on Boston College’s campus, will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. As part of that celebration, student leaders of the yearbook have stated their hope that 100 percent of BC seniors will have their senior portraits taken in honor of the 100th edition. Rachel Gregorio, Senior Editor-inChief of Sub Turri and A&S ’12, spoke about the yearbook’s goal. “So far, we’re only up to 35 percent of seniors photographed for this year, so it’s a lofty goal, but we want to make sure seniors know about the opportunity,” Gregorio said. “Photographers will be here for the next two weeks, until Jan. 27, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and it’s free for any seniors to participate.” On a typical year, Gregorio said that the yearbook gets between 60 and 70 percent of seniors photographed. Though the yearbook has done the same marketing and notification system this year as in the past, Gregorio stated that part of the reason this year’s participation has been lacking may be due to

the construction on Stokes Hall, which potentially decreases the amount of time seniors spend around McElroy Hall, where the yearbook office is located. “Getting your senior portrait taken is really important,” Gregorio said. “You don’t want to be the person who’s not pictured, you want to be in there with your classmates and be able to look back on the publication years from now. It makes a nice compilation of our four years here.” Sub Turri’s first edition was printed in 1913, and the yearbook has been printed

annually by a staff of editors in the years since. Currently, the yearbook staff is comprised of around 40 editors, who begin work in September to meet deadlines in November, December, and February. The entire book is finished by March of each year to be ready for printing, and is available for preorder until the end of January. Because of its long existence, the year-

See Sub Turri, A4

photo courtesy of sub turri

’Sub Turri’ will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a vintage-themed, 504 page yearbook.

students to 9 communities By Andrew Millette Assoc. News Editor

While the majority of Boston College students were enjoying their last days of winter break from the comfort of their homes, Arrupe International Immersion Program participants were living in the midst of abject poverty in nine different communities across Latin America. Sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Arrupe International Immersion Program sends teams of 14 to 16 students and BCaffiliated Arrupe Mentors to locations across Latin America each year for seven to nine days. This year was the first where students were sent to nine communities, an increase of one from last year. Programs took place in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Belize, Jamaica, Ecuador, and three different locations in Mexico. Each Arrupe program is unique, as each group’s two student leaders and Arrupe Mentors plan their group’s experience independently. Service organizations based in the program areas that partner with Campus Ministry help run daily activities

See Arrupe, A5

TopTHREE

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

things to do on campus this week

the

Burst the Heart Open Ongoing Time: 9 a.m.

Location: the Burns Library

Boston College’s exhibit of Irish paintings and book art continues through Jan. 20 in the Fine Print and Irish rooms of the Burns Library. The companion exhibit, “Painter, Illustrator, Author: Irish Art in the Twentieth Century,” seeks to understand the works of prominent Irish artists as they appear in books.

Textbooks for Second Semester on Sale Now

Monday-Saturday Time: 9 a.m. Location: McElroy bookstore

The BC Bookstore will be selling and renting textbooks for second semester classes throughout this week. If you drop a class, be sure to return your books before Jan. 25.

Boston College Men’s Basketball vs. Wake Forest

Saturday Time: 12 p.m. Location: Conte Forum Coach Donahue and the men’s basektball team will take on Wake Forest this Saturday in an exciting ACC matchup.

University

In ws e N

Five universities to test out new bulk e-textbook buying program

On Campus Lynch School of Education professor awarded for inspiring students to excel Janet E. Helms, the Augustus Long Professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology and director of the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education (LSOE), is the latest of 15 professors to be honored for being an inspirational educator by the Gail McKnight Beckman Trust. “These outstanding faculty members have inspired their former students to change the world,” Dr. Carol Goodheart, Beckman Trust Committee Member, said in a statement. Helms was also the first recipient of the Janet E. Helms Award for Mentoring and Scholarship in Professional Psychology, which was created in her honor in 1991 by the Columbia University Teachers College. Throughout her career, Helms has been recognized for her research and teaching contributions to the field of psychology by the American Psychological Association and the Association of Black Psychologists.

Cornell University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, the University of Virginia, and the University of Wisconsin have jointly negotiated an e-textbook deal in a process led by Internet2. The deal, made with the McGraw-Hill publishing company, would eventually require students to pay a materials fee that would allow the universities to buy e-textbooks at a steep discount instead of purchasing hard copies themselves. For now, the program is being piloted in select courses at each university. Students at Indiana University, which piloted a similar program recently, saved about $25 per book.

Newton teacher arrested on child pornography charges last Tuesday David Ettlinger, 34, taught second grade at Underwood Elementary school in Newton until he was arrested on Tuesday for two counts of possession of child pornography. Ettlinger, who has taught in the Newton School District for 12 years, is not believed to ever have assaulted any of his students, according to Newton School Superintendent David Fleishman. Fleishman also stated that Ettlinger, like all other teachers, has been Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) checked every three years since being hired and was a well-respected teacher.

By Cathryn Woodruff Heights Editor

photo courtesy of zygmunt plater

Environmental Law allows undergrads to learn more about the law and later take electives at BC Law School. environmental law and those simply interested in the basic structure of our legal system or who desire to learn enough to get them through life with some knowledge about the law. Plater hopes to attract some chemistry students this semester. “Their explanations and understanding of scientific principle could enrich the class as we discuss how the scientific questions are applicable to the courtroom,”

Plater said. The class, Plater said, is “not the scary kind of teaching.” Rather, it is the relaxed and small environment commonly found in modern law schools, which encourages students to ask daring questions as they learn. “It was a great course that laid the foundations of environmental law by exploring our country’s most significant environmental statutes

and historical cases,” Zack Rokos, A&S ’13, said. “We also did many hypothetical cases that pertained to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, RCRA, CERCLA, and many more.” The most notable aspect of the course is that for the past five years, undergraduates who perform satisfactorily in this course, UN256, are eligible to take upper-level land and environment electives at BC Law School. As a result, certain students from the undergraduate class are able to register for dozens of law electives through the BC Law School. “Since many students are freshmen, sophomores, and juniors,” Plater said, “this opportunity is as practicable as it is unique. The law professors of those courses note with pleasure the participation and performance of these undergraduates in their classes. Needless to say there is no other program in the nation that provides this option for undergraduates.” The teachers of each section are able to adapt the course however they want and tailor it to the specific interests of the students. There are still slots available for this semester. “The law is too important to leave it up to lawyers,” Plater said. “Every citizen needs to know enough about the legal system to use it and not be used by it.” n

Police Blotter

Voices from the Dustbowl

1/16/12-1/18/12

“What’s the first thing you do at BC when you get back from vacation?”

Monday, January 16 12:53 a.m. - A report was filed regarding two underage intoxicated students who were transported to the BC Primary Care facility in a BCPD cruiser. 5:10 a.m. - A report was filed regarding fire alarm activation at the Newton Law Library. The Newton Fire Department also responded. The cause was determined to be a frozen pipe. There was no actual fire. 11:12 a.m. - An officer noticed that a lamppost near the Middle Campus main gate had been knocked over. A witness reported observing an 18-wheeler truck knocking over the lamppost while making a U-turn. The truck was located and the operator admitted that he had struck the lamppost.

Tuesday, January 17 1:32 a.m. - While on patrol an officer observed a male carrying boxes out of Stuart Hall on Newton Campus. It was confimed that the person in question was assisting a BC employee who was moving out of her office. 11:04 a.m. - A report was filed regarding the unauthorized use of a BC ID. The matter will be referred to Auxiliary Services for resolution.

1:12 p.m. - A report was filed regarding

assistance provided to the MBTA Police with a problem on the rail. MBTA Police responded and and took control of the situation. The problem was corrected and service was restored.

“Febreeze my room.” —Mary Aidan Hanrahan, A&S ’15

10:43 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding the theft of a backpack containing an iPhone, BC ID, and clothing from an unlocked locker in the Plex. A detective will investigate further.

Wednesday, January 18 12:34 a.m. - A report was filed on a suspicious person observed exiting a building. An indirect connection to BC was located. An inspection of the building showed that all appeared to be in order. A detective will investigate further.

“Clean my room.” —Meidema Sanchez, A&S ’13

1:09 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding an intoxicated student on College Road who was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital by ambulance. Two other students were transported to the Primary Care Center by a BCPD cruiser. 5:11 p.m. - An officer and the Newton Fire Department responded to a fire alarm activation at Lawrence House. The cause for activation was the failure of the alarm technician to take the system off-line before a test was conducted.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

Mostly Sunny 28°

Friday

32° Partly Cloudy 19°

Saturday

32° Snow 25°

“Catch up with friends.” —Katherine Scully,

36° Cloudy 32°

Source: National Weather Service

A Guide to Your Newspaper The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call David Cote, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or e-mail news@ bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk. Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Greg Joyce, Sports Editor, at (617) 552-0189, or e-mail sports@bcheights.com. Arts Events The Heights covers a multitude of events both on and off campus – including concerts, movies, theatrical performances, and more. Call Brennan Carley, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or e-mail arts@ bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk. Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact Taylour Kumpf, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or e-mail eic@ bcheights.com. CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Dan Ottaunick, General Manager at (617) 552-0547. Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

CSOM ’15

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Undergraduates given unique opportunities after law class

Rather, it is designed to give students of all majors and levels of intellect a basic understanding of law. This, Plater says, is pertinent as a citizen of the United States. Because environmental law is a legal structure that is built little by little, everyone can see it as a clear, coherent process. This is why the course has been so successful thus far—it is all-encompassing, appealing to those interested in

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featured story

This year marks the 20th anniversary of a unique class offered at Boston College, “Environmental Law and Policy.” This class does not fit the mold of a typical college class. It offers a unique class setting and subsequent opportunities to continue the exploration of law electives without the attachment of a law major or pre-law label. Each year, Zygmunt Jan Broel Plater, the BC law professor who sponsors the undergraduate spring course, weeds through applications from senior law students from the BC, Harvard, and Boston University law schools to assemble and train an extremely bright and dedicated group of teachers for the undergraduate class. The course is unique in its trust in student teachers to run the classroom, which so far, Plater says, has been a huge success. “The teachers work in teams,” Plater said, “and the results have been quite remarkable. Thus far, more than 2,000 BC undergraduates have taken the course.” The class presumes no legal knowledge or training, which allows a diverse crop of students to enroll. Plater stresses that the course is not designed simply for students destined for law school.

Four Day Weather Forecast

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

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Romney now lacks opposition

Consider

This...

Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

Sean Talia And so it continues. On Monday, Jon Huntsman became the third major Republican nominee hopeful to drop his bid to compete against President Barack Obama this November, following suit behind the likes of Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain, both of whom called it quits in the past month and a half. Unfortunately for Republicans, however, this doesn’t just mark the weeding out of another pitifully unqualified candidate—it marks the withdrawal of the last, and perhaps only, sane and sensible runner in this mad race. After garnering a mere 17 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, some 20 percentage points behind Mitt Romney and six points behind Ron Paul, Huntsman decided that the game was up. He had totally neglected to campaign in Iowa, so he had a predictably dismal performance in the primary there, winning a mere fraction of one percentage point. His unwillingness to pander to the evangelical masses, a strategy that seems to be working quite well for Rick Santorum, also meant that failure in South Carolina was a foregone conclusion. If he wanted to stay afloat, Huntsman needed a strong showing in the Granite State, which is not how things played out. As the former, wildly popular gover nor of Utah and former ambassador to China (under President Obama, no less) and as the one candidate who never really seemed to enjoy shoving his own foot in his mouth, Huntsman seemed like a legitimate and well-qualified alternative to Romney. The libertarian Cato Institute praised him for his tax policies, giving him a “B” rating on their governor report card, a higher rating than Romney had earned during his first term as governor of Massachusetts. But he was also a believer in evolution and global warming and a supporter of civil unions between same-sex couples , none of which a large proportion of the Republican base want anything to do with. Huntsman was also not big on curbing spending—anathema to fiscal conservatives—and, in fact, per capita spending in Utah increased by more than 10 percent during his tenure as governor, one of the highest rates of increase in the nation. In light of the recent debtceiling crisis in which the inability of our Congress to reach across the aisle nearly led to a default on our national debt, one would have thought that Huntsman’s centrist policies might have given him a certain aura of electability, something which the remaining candidates visibly lack. But either those who have been voting in the Republican primaries are suffering from collective amnesia, or bipartisanship simply counts for nothing in their minds. Gingrich hasn’t been making much noise of late, and Paul has rightfully earned the title of perennial loser, so it looks as though we’re left with a battle between Romney and Santorum. And unless by some perverted, abhorrent, nightmarish twist of fate Santorum ends up the nominee, it will in all likelihood be Romney who brings home the bacon. Whether or not any of them will be able to take down Obama is still an entirely separate matter, of course, but with Huntsman having fallen by the wayside, the remaining contenders have a better shot at availing themselves of the opportunity to do so.

Sean Talia is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at news@bcheights. com.

photo courtesy of creative commons

As a civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. often met with political leaders like Lyndon B. Johnson (above).

Gathering will be held in King’s memory, scholarship to be awarded Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy lives on through remembrance and change By Devon Sanford Heights Editor

Next Monday, Jan. 23, the Office for University Mission and Ministry will host the 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Gathering. The event will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s strides in civil rights and honor his memory. Hosted in Gasson 100, the event will begin at 7:30 p.m. The United Voices of Freedom, a joint musical effort of Boston College choirs and singers, will be featured at the gathering. This year’s group is composed of the Voices of Imani, the Liturgy Arts Group, Against the Current, and other campus singers. Faculty, students, and the public are welcome to the free gathering next week. The Office for University Mission and Ministry, ALC, Black Student Forum, and other groups on campus have worked hard to commemorate King’s memory over the years. The youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and a prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. was a social justice advocate who strove for equality and peace. Assassinated on April 4, 1968 while leading a protest march in Memphis, Tenn., MLK is now commemorated as a leader in the movement towards racial equality. For over 30 years, students at BC have worked hard to celebrate MLK’s memory, enhance multi-cultural education and understanding on campus, and share in his dream of social justice and equality. On Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Committee will present the 30th Annual Martin Luther King Jr.

Scholarship Ceremony. Hosted in Robsham Theater at 4:00 p.m., the event awards a junior at BC of African-American descent who exemplifies King’s spirit and demonstrates academic excellence. According to the MLK Memorial Committee website, the committee has worked hard to raise substantial funds for scholarship recipients. In 1982, the award was around $500. A year later, the award’s amount doubled. By 1990, Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., then University President Boston College, insured a scholarship award equal to 75 percent of senior year tuition. The committee has continued to work to raise funds for the junior scholarship recipient over the past 20 years. The Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship ceremony has been awarded to exemplary students since 1982. In 1979 and 1980,

before MLK Day became a national holiday, Donald Brown, director of AHANA Student Programs, led efforts to hold a prayer service in King’s memory. By 1982, faculty members of BC planned to schedule annual dinners that would feature a notable guest speaker. That same year, the group also decided to establish a scholarship for a junior BC student. Thirty years later, the scholarship ceremony features Charles J. Ogletree, Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, as the keynote speaker. The ceremony is open to alumni, parents, and friends and a reception will follow the event. At 2:00 p.m., a panel discussion will precede the scholarship ceremony in the Murray Function Room. Scholarship winners, prior finalists, and members of the committee will be in attendance to commemorate the occasion. n

photo courtesy of creative commons

Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered in 1968. He would have been 83 this year.

Monday marked the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday, which included celebrations across the country honoring King’s service in bringing about racial equality. While students were preparing for classes starting the following day, here are a few ways the holiday was celebrated this year in the nation’s capital and a few facts from celebrations throughout the years: - Since the completion of its construction this past summer, the $120 million Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. was open to the public. The monument is located less than a mile from the Lincoln Memorial, where King made his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. President Obama attended the memorial’s formal dedication. According to the National Park Service, the memorial has already seen over 100,000 visitors. The National Park Service offered educational programs throughout the day. - President Obama celebrated the holiday by planning a visit to the Browne Education Campus in Washington for a morning service project. - Michelle Obama celebrated the holiday at the Let Freedom Ring Celebration at the famous Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The event, also co-hosted by Georgetown University, showcased a musical celebration of King’s legacy. Clarence Jones, King’s speechwriter, was also honored with an award. - In many remembrance speeches throughout the day, it was recognized that Martin Luther King Jr. was the youngest person to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. - For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, artist Faith Ringgold

launched a special Google doodle, showcasing King joined by lines of text to other African Americans. The text, showcased in red, white, and blue ribbons, quotes his “I have a dream” passage. - To precede holiday celebrations this year, there was a wreath-laying ceremony at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial a day before the national holiday that honors Martin Luther King’s 83rd birthday. - The Martin Luther King Jr. parade took place in Anacostia, Washington, D.C., marking the end of a five-year hiatus. Lamont Peterson, boxing champion, served as grand marshal. - In Maryland, the Martin Luther King Day of Service for Kids took place at the National Children’s Museum Launch Zone, where children made their own “I Have A Dream” catchers and honored King’s service by engaging in the “Valentines for Veterans” service project. - The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. honored King’s legacy with special events throughout the weekend, including student sit-ins and a Freedom Riders Roundtable Discussion that visitors could participate in. - At the Washington National Cathedral, visitors could attend a celebration in the form of a service, song, and spoken words. The presentation was called “King In Our Midst.” At the 14th annual concert, performers included the WPAS Children of the Gospel Choir, Urban Nation H.I.P.–H.O.P. Choir, Malcolm X Dancers & Drummers, Toby Keith, and other local school choirs. King delivered his final Sunday sermon at the Washington National Cathedral before his assasination in 1968. -Anna Patrick n

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2011

MCAT will be lengthened in 2015 to include more subjects By Brigid Wright For The Heights

As the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) plans major changes in the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), Boston College prepares its own program to accommodate students. The current test covers an extensive amount of material, from organic chemistry to biology. BC’s pre-medical curriculum is sensitive to this expansive amount of knowledge and helps students who are considering medical school choose and succeed in the necessary courses. According to the AAMC and Kaplan Test Prep, by 2015, the MCATs will cover even more science material, such as biochemistry and statistics, taking about two hours longer to complete. This makes a challenging test even more strenuous for potential applicants. In a survey conducted by Kaplan in 2011, 73 percent of medical school admissions officers said that they believed the changes being proposed would

help students during medical school. However, the question of whether or not universities with pre-med programs will be able to provide adequate resources to prepare their students is a concern. According to Kaplan, BC

“Liberal arts students, like English or history majors, will have to take more courses when applying to medical school. They would need to take a lot more sciences.” -Robert Wolff Director of BC’s Pre-med Program students comprise one of the highest applicant pools in the country. The upcoming changes in the exam will primarily affect current freshmen and sopho-

mores, requiring them to retain e ven more knowle dge than before. “Our pre-medical program already advises students to take coursework in these areas [biochemistry and statistics], so I don’t see much of a problem,” Robert Wolff, director of BC’s pre-med program, said. The program also suggests appropriate course listings in these departments and provides detailed packets on how premed students can maximize their four years of undergraduate education. Wolff ’s main concern regarding the proposed changes is that the overwhelming science requirements might strain nonscience majors. “Liberal arts students, like English or history majors, will have to take more courses when applying to medical school,” Wolff said. “They would need to take more sciences-that’s a lot.” The AAMC’s committee for the fifth review of the MCATs provided reasons for change in their proposal of the new test.

It argues that the new material “communicates the need for students who are prepared to deal with the human and social issues of medicine,” and they stress the necessity of intensive reading in a variety of topics to prepare for medical school. B C ’s pre-med staff is al-

ready planning ahead for these changes, although it is unclear whether these changes will be made on time, if at all. Students are strongly advised, though not required, to take a class in biochemistry and statistics, as well as courses in sociology and psychology.

“As [the new material] becomes more specific, we certainly will keep our pre-medical students at BC well-informed,” Wolff said. The committee for revision will meet with the AAMC board for approval of these changes in February 2012. n

school admissions offices believe the

changes will help students in

medical scho ol. woogeon kim / heights editor

New director hopes to continue C21’s success BC hopes judge will exercise discretion From C21, A1

approach to addressing really difficult issues. When the opportunity opened up for me to be the next director, I was like, ‘Absolutely, I would love to be there,’” he said. In the coming years, C21 has two major goals besides furthering discussion on its original four topics. Goldschmidt says the first is to keep up the work that has been done by C21 in the past.

“I’m coming in new and seeing they’ve been doing such amazing work,” Goldschmidt said. “It’s now a matter of building on that. One way is to involve more students.” Besides publishing C21 Resources, C21 currently hosts a variety of events, such as the popular Agape Latte series and presentations by BC faculty, and now has a smart phone app available. The organization also gets advice from a student advisory council that provides feedback used to plan events for next fall, according to

Goldschmidt. Because C21 is unique to BC, not a chapter of an organization that can be found on campuses across the country, its next goal is to introduce its philosophy to other Catholic universities. “The goal is both to deepen our work at BC but also to expand the scope of it across the country,” Goldschmidt said. “The idea is to renew the church and to find ways we can do that at Boston College.” To this end, Goldschmidt says

that C21 hopes to collaborate with other Catholic universities to create versions of its magazine, C21 Resources, that fit the needs and environment of each university. Before becoming the director of C21, Goldschmidt served in a variety of positions in BC’s Lynch School of Education and then as executive vice president of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, a non-profit organization that works to strengthen Catholic philanthropy. n

to two percent,” Mahoney said. “However, the total number went up and the quality of our pool was absolutely wonderful. Maybe our market share of the next tier down increased ever so slightly.” Though there were fewer students at the very top, the Presidential Scholars program will remain unaffected. “Our other fear was that the Presidential Scholar pool would be affected, but that just wasn’t the case,” Mahoney said. The acceptance rate for early action decreased from 44 to 40 percent. “The EA pool is very strong, thus the acceptance rate is higher than at regular decision,” Mahoney said. The number of applicants to the College of Arts and Sciences remained almost even with last year, but the other three smaller undergraduate schools saw in-

creases. Applications to the Carroll School of Management and the Connell School of Nursing both increased 15 percent, and the Lynch School of Education saw a 34 percent increase in applicants. This could be because some students and their families are thinking more pragmatically about how their degrees might affect their post-college plans in uncertain economic times. “It could be somewhat economy driven,” Mahoney said. In addition, though the exact number is not yet official, the total number of applicants to BC has exceeded 34,000, compared with last year’s 32,974 applications. Now that students have been accepted, programs have started to help them learn more about the University. O ver winter break, there were 50 alumnihosted programs for accepted students across the countr y,

ruling, and asserted that the University should have fought the ruling or destroyed the tapes entirely. “If they weren’t prepared to fight to the bitter end like us, then why did Boston College get involved in this kind of project at all?” Moloney told reporters for The Associated Press. In a recent interview with RTE

The first Admitted Eagle Day will occur Jan. 22, and will give those admitted a chance to come to campus. This year, some changes have been made. Usually, there are seven or eight

check-in points across campus where students are welcomed. This year, however, the welcome for all students will be held in Conte Forum. It will feature a keynote speaker, Rev. Jeremy Clarke, S.J., a professor in the history department. In addition, an Admitted Eagle Team has been created to answer any questions attendees might have. Forty members of the Student Admissions Program (SAP), predominantly freshmen and sophomores, were selected through an application process to be stationed throughout the campus in gold fleece vests so someone will always be near to assist the accepted students. Following this program, members of SAP will be contacting the accepted students to reach out to them on an individual level. “The challenge of early action is, without being overbearing, keeping in contact with accepted students,” Mahoney said. n

dered the murder of McConville, a widowed mother of 10 who was believed to be an informant for the British security forces. However, the University holds 24 other interviews with living former members of the IRA that may or may not be of use in the investigation into McConville’s disappearance. “Our hope is that Judge Young, upon reviewing the remaining 24 interviews, will determine that they, in light of their benefit as academic research, will remain protected in Burns Library until the death of the participants,” Dunn said. The subpoenas that were brought to the attention of BC last summer were initiated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The U.S. Department of Justice acted on behalf of the UK in subpoenaing the tapes and has represented the interests of the UK in the intervening months. Irish journalist Ed Moloney and former IRA member Anthony McIntyre, who participated extensively in researching the Belfast Project, appealed for a stay on Young’s ruling. McIntyre and Moloney also filed a formal complaint against the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which will be heard on Tuesday, Jan. 24. McIntyre and Moloney both expressed their displeasure with BC’s decision not to appeal the

1913

1922

1932

1940

1968

1972

1982

1992

Total applications have exceeded 34,000 From Admissions, A1

From Subpoena, A1

which current students attended while they were home for the holidays.

“The total number went up and the quality of our pool was absolutely wonderful. Maybe our market share of the next tier down increased ever so slightly.” -John Mahoney Director of Undergraduate Admission

“Our hope is that Judge Young, upon reviewing the remaining 24 interviews, will determine that they, in light of their benefit as academic research, will remain protected in Burns Library until the death of the participants.” -Jack Dunn University Spokesman News, McIntyre said he fears revenge attacks against his home and family if the tapes are released to the British security forces. The appeal issued by Moloney and McIntyre will likely not be heard by an appeals court until March, and Young has not yet released information about which tapes will be made available to British authorities. n

Yearbook chronicles BC’s history across a century book has chronicled student and academic life at BC for well over half of its history, and acts as one of the premier record keepers of BC’s history. Beyond senior portraits, the yearbook includes sections regarding current events around the nation and around BC, student life, events like Homecoming and

Arts Fest, academics, club and varsity sports, and a large variety of student clubs and organizations. As a second part of their celebration of 100 years of publication, Sub Turri will be inviting each of the past 50 editors-in-chief to an alumni banquet in April. The yearbooks, which will be 504 pages long, must be preordered for $120 and will be available for pickup in May. n

1951

1962

From Sub Turri, A1

‘Sub Turri’ will print its 100th edition in 2012. Pictured above are the covers of several ‘Sub Turri’ yearbooks from a variety of decades. ‘Sub Turri’ has acted as one of the primary record keepers of the University’s history.

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

photos courtesy of david cronin

One Arrupe group of Boston College students visited the National Palace in Guatemala, a cultural center of the country (above left). Students in the El Salvador Arrupe group raised money for the children in the community they visited.

Immersion trips to South America encourage discussion and reflection From Arrupe, A1 once the groups are in their respective countries. Most programs over winter break fell into the “education-based immersion” category. This means that students met with community leaders from local government, churches, and organizations involved in social welfare to discuss social, economic, political, and religious aspects of life in the community. They also stayed with families in the area to get a true sense of what life was like for the average member of the community. A couple of programs, including those in Belize and Puebla, Mexico, were “service-based immersions,” where students would work along

side the local members of the communities building houses or doing

“It’s less about any kind of service, and more about getting to know people, hearing their story and their perspective on their lives and struggles.” -Kelly Sardon-Garrity Campus Minister for International Programs agricultural work. Though service is incorporated into a few of the trips, it is not at

the heart of the program. “It’s less about any kind of service, and more about getting to know people, hearing their story and their perspective on their lives and struggles,” said Kelly SardonGarrity, campus minister for international programs. Despite each program’s unique nature, all the programs are bound by the common goal of getting to know the individuals in each community and trying to answer certain questions. “How do these people survive and flourish? What are their needs? How can we be together in solidarity? Hopefully each trip asks these questions,” Sardon-Garrity said. While building relationships with local community members, Arrupe participants also come to know themselves. “There’s an in-

vitation to each person to gain an awareness of self. At the center of all of that is a question: How am I moving towards love in my life and in my aspirations for the future?” Sardon-Garrity said. Reflection did not start or end in Latin America for participants. Participating in the Arrupe International Immersion program is a long process that requires a summer of fundraising and weekly meetings during the fall semester preceding the trip. Common topics of discussion at these meetings are human dignity and Ignatian discernment. A retreat follows the trip. “Overall there tends to be real enthusiasm when people arrive home. Students are invigorated. They want to do something,” Sardon-Garrity said.

This sense of enthusiasm carries participants into the final stage of the program: solidarity projects.

“Overall there tends to be a real enthusiasm when people arrive home. Students are invigorated. They want to do something.” -Kelly Sardon-Garrity Campus Minister for International Programs “We challenge students to consider how can they can integrate the key learning points about what was so powerful about their trip

into their lives here,” Sardon-Garrity said. Arrupe groups can respond to this challenge in any way they choose. Last year’s El Salvador group’s solidarity project was cleaning bathrooms on campus to raise money for a scholarship fund in the country they came to know. “They wanted to do something to raise money for the kids in the community, but also to connect more deeply with the experience of someone who immigrates from an area like El Salvador to this country,” Sardon-Garrity said. As participants return from their winter break trips, they will begin to plan how they can best share their experience with the BC community this semester. n

The Heights

Editorials

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Departure as an inspiration

Thursday, January 19, 2012

It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues. -Abraham Lincoln (1809-1965), past President of the United States

Kuechly’s choice to enter the NFL draft is one that honors his hard work, younger teammates can take a cue Over winter break, Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly officially declared for the 2012 NFL Draft, meaning he will forgo his senior year in Chestnut Hill. While the decision will certainly impact the composition of the 2012 football team, The Heights commends Kuechly’s decision as a student following his dreams through hard work and dedication. Playing in the NFL is something that the junior has always wanted

“The Heights commends Kuechly’s decision as a student following his dreams through hard work and dedication.” to do, and this move is another step in achieving that dream. Kuechly is likely to be selected in the first round,

a possibility that could disappear in the blink of an eye with the smallest of injuries or setbacks in the future. The Heights recognizes that there are no guarantees in life, and Kuechly is making the right decision for himself and his family as he continues pursuing greatness. While the loss of a junior captain from the team could be a negative, it could also open a door for another player to step into a leadership role. Younger players can aspire to follow the track that Kuechly did by quietly making a difference on and off the field. The Heights hopes that Kuechly’s decision does not affect the team’s morale in a negative manner, and instead encourages other players on the team to fill the gap left by Kuechly. In the coming months, Kuechly will be continuing his work ethic to prepare for the NFL Combine and the draft, and The Heights wishes him the best of luck in doing so.

‘SubTurri’ reaches landmark anniversary BC Seniors should acknowledge this occasion by having their senior portraits taken

Sub Turri, one of the oldest organizations on Boston College’s campus, will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. In honor of the 100th edition, student leaders of the yearbook

“In honor of the 100th edition, student leaders of the yearbook hope to have 100 percent of the senior class sit to have their senior potraits taken.” hope to have 100 percent of the senior class sit to have their senior portraits taken. The Heights commends this

goal, and we encourage seniors to help Sub Turri in this effort. Only 35 percent of seniors have been photographed so far, and photographers will only be here until Jan. 27, so The Heights encourages members of the senior class to make the trek to McElroy 103 sooner rather than later. Keep in mind that the yearbook is something you’ll be able to look back on years from now. Don’t be the person who’s not pictured. The Heights would also like to congratulate Sub Turri on 100 years of excellence in chronicling student and academic life at BC. Because of its long existence, it is truly one of the premier record keepers of BC’s history.

Implications of the subpoena

The future of the Belfast Project endangers the enterprise of oral history After months of legal discussion, Boston College has decided to discontinue its attempts to quash the United Kingdom’s subpoena of the Belfast Project after Judge William G. Young demanded the release of tapes relating to the disappearance of Jean McConville. Although the inter viewees were promised relative confidentiality until their death in exchange for public silence, Dolours Price chose to become

“Once under the impression of anonymity, some partcipants have said they now fear revenge on their families, those they mentioned in their interviews, and themselves” vocal about her contribution and attracted the eyes of British authorities to the entirety of the Belfast Project. The struggle for the Belfast tapes is not over with BC’s exit. Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre, two Irish citizens involved in conducting the interviews, have appealed the judge’s ruling and continue to fight the subpoena.

Price may be one woman, but her comments have brought about a series of events that could endanger the lives of those involved with the project and the enterprise of oral history as a whole. Once under the impression of anonymity, some participants have said they now fear revenge on their families, those they mentioned in their interviews, and themselves, if the tapes are released. The Heights believes that releasing tapes unrelated to the murder of McConville would be a mistake, and would endanger the lives of those involved and the reputation of oral history as a whole. It is imperative that Young exercise extreme caution when reviewing the Belfast Project, and choose to release only those tapes that provide information into McConville’s disappearance specifically. If he fails to do so, this issue may serve as a warning to future historians, who may be wary of the precedent set by his decision. While The Heights would never encourage interference in a criminal investigation and wholeheartedly supports the release of tapes directly related to McConville’s disappearance, it is imperative that Young realize that the future of the enterprise of oral history lies in his hands and exercise extreme discretion in his future decisions.

The Heights The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Taylour Kumpf, Editor-in-Chief Daniel Ottaunick, General Manager Lindsay Grossman, Managing Editor

Contributors: Andrew Schweiger

Samantha Cohen/ Heights Illustration

Letter to the Editor The truth behind the Belfast Project Misinformed, or maliciously misleading, characterizes much of the commentary to date on the Belfast Project. Interviewees in that oral history undertaking understood that divulging their participation could potentially compromise the underlying premise that such testimony remain undisclosed until the time of their demise. That important need for discretion was honored by all surviving participants, with the notable exception of one, Dolours Price, who chose to publicly volunteer her involvement while making some provocative statements. Given how the details she freely disclosed entailed references to a yet unresolved crime, the PSNI or some arm of British law enforcement sought to employ an enforceable Anglo-American legal assistance treaty to seek discovery of that information through the issuance of a subpoena by a U.S. federal court. Despite the fact that the subpoena was in no small part a direct result of this disclosure, and despite Ms. Price’s refusal to assist in its efforts, Boston College promptly sought to protect that participant from the consequence of her disclosures by moving to quash the subpoena that sought access to the Price interview materials. The subpoena also demanded the delivery of the Brendan Hughes interviews, likely because they were thought to contain information related to some of the Price account. The demand for the Hughes material was curious as he was deceased and had previously assented to the posthumous access to his file by those who would utilize the oral history. It was therefore available for the asking by any creditable researcher or government official. Presumably at the behest of British law enforcement, a subsequent subpoena was issued in August targeting any materials among the Belfast Project interviews that made reference to the abduction or death of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10 who was killed by members of the IRA for being an informant. According to press accounts, Price informed a reporter that she drove the car in which Jean McConville was delivered to her death. BC again promptly filed a motion to quash. Last month, the Court denied the University’s motion to quash the subpoenas, but did accept Boston College’s request to fashion a procedure that would both honor the obligations of the United States under its treaty with the UK, and recognize the significant interests of Boston College in protecting the integrity of its oral history project. Despite the U.S. government’s arguments that the Court had no discretion in the face of an international treaty, BC’s arguments in opposition to the subpoenas succeeded in convincing the Court to engage in a “balancing test” to weigh the competing

interests of law enforcement against the academy’s interests in maintaining the confidentiality of academic research, through an “in camera” review of the contested materials. Thus, the Court has articulated a legal and procedural basis for possibly denying the disclosure of the materials. No one knows more about the contents of the interviews of former IRA members than the interviewer himself, Anthony McIntyre, who declined the Court’s request to disclose which of the interviews were potentially responsive, thereby requiring BC’s to provide all the IRA interviews to the Court for its review. As of this writing, the Court has not acceded to the government’s request that all the responsive interviews be turned over to British law enforcement. Upon its initial in camera review, the Court, which has access to sealed information about the underlying criminal investigation that BC does not have, ruled that the Price materials had to be turned over given their relevance to the investigation. The Court has not ruled on the remaining interviews in question, and our hope is that these remaining materials under the Judge’s review will not have to be released. That is one reason why Boston College chose not to appeal the Court’s decision, deeming this option to be the better course to protect the interests of interviewees and to help preserve the Court’s recognition of the important interests in protecting academic research more broadly than had been previously recognized in law. There have been people who have faulted BC for not adopting this or that particular stratagem, and we appreciate how expressions of concern have sometimes been prompted by either an honest difference of opinion over how best to serve all concerned, or simply by the failure to understand the need to respect American law while still seeking the desired outcome. But the suggestion by former Project Director Ed Moloney that BC, defying the Court, should preemptively burn the transcripts is an example of just how unhinged the dialogue has become in some quarters. Universities do not engage in either the burning of books or in the torching of transcripts. Rather, we have engaged in legal proceedings in the hope of securing a favorable legal outcome. That is our plan, and we hope that it will prove successful for the sake of the peace and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland, and the enterprise of oral history in the United States and abroad. Thomas E. Hachey Robert K. O’Neill University Professor of History Burns Librarian Executive Director of Irish Programs

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The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 200 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages. The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted

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

Business and Operations

Editorial Eleanor Hildebrandt, Copy Editor David Cote, News Editor Greg Joyce, Sports Editor Therese Tully, Features Editor Brennan Carley, Arts & Review Editor Charlotte Parish, Metro Editor Elise Taylor, Opinions Editor Molly LaPoint, Special Projects Editor Jae Hyung (Daniel) Lee, Photo Editor Maggie Burdge, Layout Editor

Woogeon Kim, Graphics Editor Katie McClurg, Online Manager Michelle Tomassi, Assoc. Copy Editor Chris Grimaldi, Asst. Copy Editor Andrew Millette, Assoc. News Editor Samantha Costanzo, Asst. News Editor Christopher Marino, Assoc. Sports Editor Austin Tedesco, Asst. Sports Editor Alexandra Schaeffer, Asst. Features Editor Taylor Cavallo, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

Dan Siering, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Marc Francis, Asst. Metro Editor Graham Beck, Asst. Photo Editor Mary Rose Fissinger, Asst. Layout Editor Joseph Castlen, Asst. Graphics Editor David Riemer, Asst. Online Manager Devon Sanford, Editorial Assistant Cathryn Woodruff, Executive Assistant

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The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Opinions

Removed from Responsibility

Thumbs Up Marye Moran Syllabus Week– Ah, that wo n d e r f u l t i m e o f yea r where school has begun but work hasn’t. Enjoy it while it lasts, because it’s just a matter of time until we have to emerge from vacation mindset back into “Oh crap I’m hungover, this ten page paper is due in an hour and I still haven’t done my Spanish Manual” mode. Wikipedia Blackout- To p ro te s t a ga i n s t S O PA , Wikipedia shut itself down yesterday. TU/TD didn’t think this was a big deal, until they had to waste two minutes looking up Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on the White House’s internet archives instead of spending two seconds on Wikipedia. Touche, Wikipedia, for taking a stand, and capitalizing on TU/TD’s short attention span to prove a point. Beauty and Brains- Senior boys, cherish your romantic options at Boston Col lege because it might not get better. According to College Prowler, BC ranks in the top 30 schools for three categories: hottest girls (19th overall) smartest girls (23rd overall) and most athletic girls (8th overall), whereas boys only placed in the top 30 for most athletic. Although TU/TD certainly does not believe that BC girls are better than the boys (we seem to be all on the same attractive and intellectual level) props must be given to the ladies for being nationally recognized as the best and the brightest.

Thumbs Down Little Wittle Newtie-A recent profile on Newt Gringrich in The New Yorker revealed some interesting facts about the floundering GOP candidate, namely that his wife fixes his hair every morning. Someone fixed our hair too, except it was our mom and we were five. G.O.P.? GOP? Gop?- Rumor has it that The Wall Street Journal is no longer going to use the phrase “GOP” to describe the Republican party as they feel it may confuse readers. Huh. Either a slew of middle schoolers from the Valley have suddenly become the main readers of The Wall Street Journal, or America’s IQ has taken a nosedive. Treadmill Trample- Between the combination of New Year’s resolutions and potential body humiliation on Spring Break, the Plex has started to resemble Walmart on Black Friday crossed with Jamal’s childhood village in Slumdog Millionaire. It’s hot, it smells like puke and old socks, and most of all, its a conflict hotspot. TU/TD witnessed a catfight over an elliptical yesterday and a frightenly eerie standoff over a weight machine. It needs to get warm enough to run aroung the Res, for all our sakes.

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I was in Managua, Nicaragua, looking at a 10-year old girl who was recently hospitalized for an infection and diarrhea, who was donning heavily worn clothing and no shoes at all, and who had a 25 percent chance of being illiterate, according to statistics for that population. She was in a tiny house without running water, which had been donated to her family by a local charity. As I saw her, my initial impression was of how lucky she was. Compared to some of her neighbors, she was lucky. There are huge numbers of Nicaraguans without such amenities, who would not have been able to access the medical care that she was, and who would have even more minimalistic living conditions. However, back home in the U.S., had I seen that same girl in New York or Massachusetts, my reaction would not be one of happiness. I would instead be horrified at her low standard of living, sad that she had to suffer from such preventable ailments, and shocked that she was so likely to have only minimal education. Despite what we say and what we can reason, our sense of morality and human rights is relative. Logically we might claim that all people are equal, regardless of location and circumstances of birth, but we certainly don’t act on that judgment. Like the force of gravity, our level of caring decreases in strength with greater distance. Personally, I think that my direct family members deserve to go to private school, to get presents on Christmas and their birthdays, and to be able to occasionally splurge on a pair of boots or a DVD set. Members

of my community should have good public schools, and yes, my family participates in toy drives to ensure that nearby children get a new doll on Christmas morning. Outside of the country, though, when we’re talking about kids I’ve never seen before, kids that become an abstract idea rather than individuals, a pair of $2 flipflops means they’re pretty well off, and access to any form of education is a plus. If I hear about a Nicaraguan family who recently gained access to running water, I think of this as a great event. If I hear that my nextdoor neighbor has only just gained that amenity, though, I’d be filled with shock and confusion that they managed to last without this basic feature of life. If we’re being objective, (but as we’ve already established, that’s not really in our nature), we’re pretty bad people. How can I think that my sister is completely deserving of a $75 Christmas present, something fun but with no utility, when that amount of money could save a life if donated to a third-world country? There’s absolutely no way to justify not donating those funds. However, ironic as it sounds, being logical about that would make you go crazy. If you care about every individual person equally, should you just divide up all your money and give every impoverished person a penny? That’s the fair, logical thing to do, but it would make no impact. You’d make more of a difference giving a hundred dollars to a select few, or paying a few thousand to put one person through school and make a significant impact on that one life. This all makes sense, but somehow, selfishness pervades. I can in no way justify spending any money, ever, on something with no utility. The funds allocated for my dorm room decorations could have gone toward malaria vaccines for four people,

and my sushi takeout from Fin’s could have bought a backpack for an inner-city student, and the new boots I bought could have fed a child in Nicaragua for six months. Each time I spend money on one of those things, or anything that’s not entirely necessary, I’m being pretty cruel. And yet, it’s entirely socially acceptable. Everyone cares about the people closest to them, and ultimately, against all reason, we deem them more deserving than anyone farther removed from us. It’s natural to sympathize with those similar to us—we have a biological compulsion to protect our kin, and relate to, and thus sympathize, more easily with those most akin to us. Even when you watch the commercials soliciting donations for individuals in third-world countries, they don’t just show the terrifyingly thin starving individuals. They show those images to convey the gravity, but then also show the bright faces of children who look like those close to us, ones that make the problem seem personal. Once the face reminds us of our brother, or neighbor, or friend, we come closer to really caring about the cause. We’re bad people. There’s just no way to justify a Spring Break trip or RV to Notre Dame or purchase of a new iPhone when that money could save lives. Though it’s unsettling to accept this seriously flawed morality, we’re cold for a reason. If we cared about all people equally, were as heartbroken at a stranger’s death as we would be for a relative’s, we just could not function. We don’t see everyone as equally deserving, and barely care about people until we see them, but honestly, the world is a better place for it. Marye Moran is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

My five Love Languages

John Blakeslee The first few days of a new semester are always exciting. It’s a time to catch up with old friends, start new classes, and begin making promises to yourself that you will never keep. On the first day of class, I found myself in the bookstore, maneuvering through the book stacks with the deftness of an inebriated bear. Equipped with a plastic basket and a repertoire of apologies, I clumsily completed my shopping and eventually took my place in line to pay. In line, I noticed a book entitled, The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts. I was intrigued but skeptical. The book reminded me of a time in high school when I was duped into studying a foreign language on the basis that it was a “romance language,” a label that later proved to be terribly misleading. Nevertheless, I picked it up and started reading. According to the book, people speak in different love “languages,” meaning they interpret the love of another in different ways. For example, the first language is “words of affirmation.” Some people apparently like to hear their loved ones say, “I love you.” The second love language is “quality time.” In other words, time that one might consider to be well spent. The third is “receiving gifts,” which every person in the world enjoys. The fourth is “acts of service,” which I didn’t know was a part of love but sounds like a “Go Army” commercial, so I’m all about it. The fifth is “physical touch,” which I don’t need to explain. If you couldn’t already tell, none of these observations struck me as particularly insightful. They seem old and

Party Time

BY BEN VADNAL

stale. This is a new semester. It’s time for a new way to approach your love life. Therefore, after about 20 minutes of consideration, I present to you my five languages of love. LANGUAGE 1: NODS OF AFFIR MATION: Talk is cheap but can cost you dearly. Try affirming someone you love and you will likely end up sounding like an idiot. You might find some inventive way of avoiding the word “love” like saying, “I really care about you” or “You look nice in that hat.” If you actually tell someone you love him or her,

there is a 74 percent chance it blows up in your face. Instead, try nodding at the person. Give them an affirmative “chin bob” to let them know that they look nice today or a forced smile when they get you that well-meaning but completely useless Valentine’s present. A cocked eyebrow is always a nice way to say, “I appreciate you.” It’s a low risk/low reward strategy. Just the way I like it. LANGUAGE 2: FRENCH This one is pretty easy. It’s just French. It’s the only love language that is actually a language and not a stupid metaphor. People naturally associate French things with love: French wine, French kissing, and French fries are all incredibly sensual things. Why not use the language more often? You don’t have to be fluent. Just memorize a few phrases and two lines of some poem. Casually throw it out in conversation and you will be well on your way to wooing whomever you please. LANGUAGE 3: QUALITY DIS-

TANCE TIME Sometimes you just need to take a break. Too often I see couples canoodling about campus with their wide, puppy-dog eyes and their sweet nothings whispers. This is where quality distance time comes in. Sometimes you just need to go somewhere else. Take some “me” time. Perhaps you could work out a system where you date the person every other month or when you go to the movies, the two of you sit in different rows. If you get really fluent in this language, one of you might transfer to another school. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Quality distance settles everyone else’s stomach. LANGUAGE 4: PLANTING SEEDS OF DOUBT This one is a favorite of mine. Every now and then, plant a few seeds of doubt into your significant other’s mind. Maybe mention before you go off to class how you think the Moon landing was entirely staged. Perhaps you might suggest that you’re probably the reincarnation of Joseph Stalin. Or just make a few references to the impending rapture. It’s a way of keeping the other person on their toes. Let them wonder if the kid they met in 4Boston is actually just a crazy person waiting to explode. If they’re still onboard after you say some weird stuff like that, then they must be crazy for you. LANGUAGE 5: VUVUZELA KID Never, ever, admit to being the kid who plays the Vuvuzela out of their window on lower campus at night. Everyone hates that person. No one will love you. Give these five love languages a shot and you’ll be a regular Casanova come springtime. Or at least I think you will. It has to work eventually, right? John Blakeslee is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

Reflecting on the End

Brian Palumbo “The Hunting is over; Excellence is here.” I’d like to attribute that quote to one of my roommates, as his play on words provides a perfect title to kick off the final semester of my college career. It was just three years ago when I was a freshman, returning from my first winter break, ready to see where the spring semester would take me. I remember walking into the door at Hardey Hall with one of my friends blasting the new Akon song he had discovered over break. Now, I have those same feelings of a new semester and a new beginning, but I know that next fall I will not be attending Boston College. I know it’s true, yet it does not feel like it; well, at least not yet. I have been reminded time and again from either my teachers or parents that our time is coming to an end because the questions I receive are no longer, “Did you get an 8 man?... Are you going abroad?… Do you have a mod?” Rather, they have become, “What are you doing next year?” And this pertains to every aspect of my and any senior’s life. What city are you going to live in next year? What are you and your boyfriend/ girlfriend going to do next year? Do you have a job lined up for next year? It’s all about next year. The list goes on and on. Do I blame anyone for asking those questions? Absolutely not, but I think we still reserve the right to not want to answer those questions. Next year is not tomorrow. The beginning of this column reads as if I were in denial that I am graduating. That is simply not the case. No matter which side of the spectrum a senior falls on, be

it “ready to graduate” or “ready to leave BC,” the truth is that we have a little under four months remaining together, no more and no less. Why not take advantage of it to the best of our abilities? That can mean so many things. We can take advantage and go out every night. We can take advantage and try to receive the best grades possible, or we can take advantage and make sure we spend time with the people who are important to us. The way I look at, we cannot go wrong. These are four months in which we have absolutely nothing to lose because come June we will have graduated to “set the world aflame.” If there is any time in my life where I can do exactly what I want to do, I think that this is it. I know that next year I will not be able to go next door if none of my roommates are home, and if next door is empty, go downstairs and plug in a code to see if people are around to hang out. It is truly unfortunate. I hope that my friends post-college give out house keys as freely as my college friends gave out room codes, but I just don’t see that happening. Nor will I go to a dining hall where it is inevitable I will see a friend or hopefully “run into” a girl I am interested in. Every student lives within a 10 minute walk of each other, and is only a bus ride away if he or she lives off campus. These are all small things that I came to appreciate last semester and summer, when I came to the realization that, sh—t, I really am graduating this year. It took a semester for me accept the fact that despite how it feels or does not feel, graduation is right around the corner. That is why I am kicking off this semester with an acknowledgment that it ends in graduation. It is cliche and obligatory, but it must be done. Who knows what is in store for this final semester of college? I know the lines at Mary Ann’s are going to be too long, everyone will continue to ask about next year, and we aren’t going to have a Spring Concert, but at the end of the day, it is going to be a great freaking time. Brian Palumbo is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

SPORTS The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

ACC TITLE FOR SOCCER? WILL WOMEN ’S While both the men and women’s soccer teams finished the year with solid seasons, the next step will be bringing home some hardware. Neither team was able to bring home any championships, however, next season’s teams will look to progress. With the loss of senior goalkeeper Jillian Mastroianni and five other seniors, the women’s team will now rely on a cast of different players led by top scorer Kristie Mewis. On the men’s side, head coach Ed Kelly is a little better off, as the team will be retaining the majority of its leaders. While both teams have the core necessary to make an impact, they will need to focus more on their league performance in order to win the ACC Championship.

WILL MEN’S HOCKEY MAKE IT TO TAMPA IN APRIL?

HOCKEY RETURN TO THE FROZEN FOUR?

Nick rellas / heights staff

Though this year’s team has a different look than last year’s squad that made it all the way to Erie, Pa. for the Frozen Four, the one constant is the talent that remains. The Eagles currently stand tied for first at the top of the Hockey East standings, and they are poised to make another run at a national championship. Offensively, two freshmen are leading the way for BC. Alex Carpenter has racked up 13 goals and 12 assists, while classmate Emily Field has recorded 18 points of her own. Meanwhile, Corinne Boyles has stepped in between the pipes without a problem, as she holds a 1.88 goals against average. With that combination, and the fact that the Eagles have faced a tough schedule, they are primed for another run at the Frozen Four.

While this year’s men’s ice hockey team has a number of new faces, it has eliminated many of the doubts entering the season. Fans were curious as to who would do the scoring, and that role has been answered in this first half: everyone. The team currently has eight players with 15 or more points, and this element of the team makes the No. 4 Eagles a contender. BC also seems driven by its early tournament exit last season. The biggest question moving forward will be how head coach Jerry York handles the goaltending situation with Parker Milner, Brian Billet, and emerging senior Chris Venti.

BIG QUESTIONS

FOR 2012

HOW WILL THE OFFENSE LOOK UNDER MARTIN? With a new offensive coordinator in Doug Martin, the 2012 Boston College football team is likely to have a new-look offense come September. For much of the season in 2011, the Eagles struggled to score touchdowns, but Martin brings with him a history of implementing an explosive air attack with his past teams. If Martin can get Chase Rettig to buy into his playbook, the results could be impressive. Aside from the passing game, BC has four talented options at the running back spot, and Martin will look to find a way to utilize them all by playing to their strengths. Whether it is Montel Harris and Tahj Kimble using their speed, or Andre Williams and Deuce Finch using their power, Martin will have plenty of viable options to complement the air attack.

By gREG joyce sports editor chris marino assoc. sports editor austin tedesco asst. sports editor

’

CAN WOMEN S BASKETBALL TURN IT AROUND IN 2012?

Graham beck / heights editor

The women’s b a s ketball team hasn’t won an ACC game yet, but they’re only losing one senior this year and the young players have shown promise. Sophomore Katie Zenevitch has held her own in the post, and her classmate Tiffany Ruffin is developing a nice outside game. The duo is a good sign for the future of the program and future success. The team is stacked with talented freshmen and sophomores ready to break out.

WILL CHASE MAKE THE JUMP? Entering last season, Superfans were excited to see the development of sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig. After being thrown into the fire his freshman season, Rettig could not find a consistent rhythm with the offense. The expectations for the sophomore were extremely high during the preseason, but he never looked comfortable. The alex installment of hybrid quarterback trautwig / heights Josh Bordner seemed to increase senior staff production toward the end of the season, giving the Eagles a new dimension to give Rettig opportunities. The most important thing the team needs from Rettig is consistency throughout the season, rather than the erratic glimpses of brilliance from this past season.

CAN field hockey, lax, and volleyball have postseason success? The women’s field hockey team will lose Courtney Tavener, Carla Tamer, and Anna Wetherall to graduation: all of their top three scorers heading into 2012. The younger players are going to have a huge scoring gap to fill if they’re going to make a run in the ACC tournament. Lacrosse brings a No. 8 ranking into preseason, and returns back almost all of its offense. It will be able to tune up in the regular season against four Top Six teams in the ACC. Come tournament time, they should be hitting their stride and will be poised to break out of the first round after falling short this season. Volleyball loses three key seniors, but will look to come back strong with an impressive group of underclassmen waiting to emerge.

Graham beck / heights editor

’

HOW MANY ACC WINS FOR MEN S BASKETBALL? The men’s basketball team has six home games left and, after defeating Clemson and Virginia Tech this week, all are possible wins except the game against Duke. Chalk up at least four wins right there since they could slip up against another team besides the vaunted Blue Devils. This young team may have more trouble on the road, especially with turnovers, but wins at Georgia Tech and Wake Forest won’t be too challenging. Expect Lonnie Jackson and Jordan Daniels to join center Dennis Clifford in the ranks of alex trautwig / heights senior staff ACC Freshman of the Week on the way to a total of eight conference wins and a .500 record in the ACC. Wait, that can’t be right. Wasn’t this team supposed to go 0-16 in conference play? I guess no one told head coach Steve Donahue and his squad. With an 8-8 record, they could avoid Duke and UNC to open the conference tournament and add another win in March. With a strong start to non-conference play next fall, this group could be on its way to bringing the Eagles back to the big dance. The next two months will be a huge step towards laying the groundwork for that journey.

alex trautwig / heights senior staff

WHERE WILL KUECHLY GO IN THE NFL DRAFT?

alex trautwig / heights senior staff

WHAT WILL YEAR TWO UNDER GAMBINO LOOK LIKE?

With year two under head coach Mike Gambino approaching for the Boston College baseball team, the Eagles have nowhere to go but up. The 2011 team was plagued with injury and youth, finishing with a record of 17-33. This year’s squad is once again a young team, loaded with 10 freshmen. But that incoming class is Gambino’s first full group of recruits, so it will be interesting to see how they perform in the always-challenging ACC. Last year’s pitching staff was depleted by the end of the season, so new and rejuvenated arms will be key to this year’s success. Led by tri-captains Anthony Melchionda, Kyle Prohovich, and Rob Moir, the Eagles will begin their schedule in just under a month.

WILL SOFTBALL FIND SUCCESS UNDER NEW HEAD COACH ASHLEY OBREST?

WILL THERE BE A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOR BC?

The Boston College softball team will be playing for a new head coach in 2012, as former Eagle Ashley Obrest was hired in the offseason to lead her alma mater. Coming off a 15-31 season in 2011, the Eagles will be led by two ACC Softball Preseason All-Conference Team members: senior Brittany Wilkins and sophomore Tory Speer. Wilkins connected for 13 home runs in 2011, while Speer was honored as the ACC Freshman of the Year. Both Wilkins and Speer will be leaned on heavily for power in the lineup throughout the year.

i nside S ports this issue

Eagles come back to tie Huskies

Ashley Motherwell scored a third-period goal for the women’s hockey team Tuesday night.....B2

The Luke Kuechly era at Boston College is officially over. Now, his sights are set on this spring’s NFL Draft. While prospects must now go through the gauntlet of the combine, individual team workouts, and interviews, Kuechly’s college career almost guarantees him as an early-to-mid first round pick. ESPN’s draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. has him as the top linebacker prospect and No. 10 overall prospect. A number of teams could use his instinct and leadership from the position, and many analysts believe that he could land with either the Arizona Cardinals or Philadelphia Eagles. While many hoped that the captain would remain with the Eagles, Kuechly clearly was in the best position to take his career to the next level, and he will leave the Heights as the most decorated defensive player in the school’s history.

Ruling on Momah an unfair one

Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams rank in the top five right now, and both are looking for revenge after last season. With Minnesota-Duluth the favorite for the men’s championship and the women trailing three good teams in the polls, it would be a big upset if either team brought home a national championship. After the 2011 season, Boston College could use some magic in 2012, and there’s always the sailing team.

Ifeanyi Momah’s appeal for a sixth year of eligibility was denied by the NCAA............................B3

Editors’ Picks..............................B3 Game of the Week............................B3

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Venti shines at Frozen Fenway in first career start By Chris Marino

Assoc. Sports Editor

NICK RELLAS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Ashley Motherwell took a redirect from Meagan Mangene to score the equalizer, giving her team a point to stay in first place in Hockey East.

Eagles fight back for crucial point in tie By Greg Joyce Sports Editor

While students were adjusting to life back on campus and beginning new classes with the Boston College 1 start of the se1 Northeastern mester, it was more of the same for the No. 4 Boston College women’s hockey team on Tuesday night at Kelley Rink. In their third battle of the season with No. 7 Northeastern, the Eagles came back from a 1-0 deficit to tie the game in the third period, earning themselves another important point in the heated Hockey East standings. The two teams came into the game tied for first place, but 65 minutes were not enough to give one side the upper hand in a race for the top spot. After a scoreless first period, the Huskies tried to make their surge in the second period when Lucie Povova scored off a rebound halfway through the frame. The 1-0 score held through the end of the period, and Northeastern was on track to steal a win on the road. BC would not go that easily, however, as it evened the score 6:38 into the third. The score was set up off a faceoff won by Meagan Mangene, and from there the Eagles used fluid puck movement to finish off the scoring opportunity. Mary Restuccia took the puck from

the top of the zone and sent a pass into the middle, where Mangene was able to redirect the puck to Ashley Motherwell. The junior fired the puck into the back of the net to tie the game, good for her seventh goal of the season. In overtime, neither team was able to get the puck between the pipes, thanks to both goaltenders. BC’s Corinne Boyles finished with 40 saves, while Northeastern’s Florence Schelling racked up 31 of her own. “I thought it was a great battle back,” head coach Katie King Crowley said of her team’s perseverance after being down. “I really thought overall it was just a great hockey game. Pretty up and down, both teams had opportunities, both goalies played really well. I think if you were up in the stands, it was a pretty good hockey game to watch. I was really happy with the way our kids battled back.” Though the two teams were forced to settle for the tie and are still in a knot atop the Hockey East standings, the tie was still a beneficial result for the home team. If BC and Northeastern finish the regular season in a tie for first place, the Eagles will have the tiebreaker, secured by the point from the tie. BC won the first two meetings between the rivals, and after Tuesday’s game they will still meet once more in the first round of the Beanpot.

Even if the Huskies win that game, the Eagles will maintain the tiebreaker advantage given the head-to-head results. “It was huge,” Crowley said of getting the point. “Now we’re still tied for first place. We’ll end up playing them one more time at least in the Beanpot. They’ve become a big rival with us this year, and we won the first two, which is nice. So if it does come down to a tiebreaker, we win out.” With the heated contest coming on the first day of classes for players, the tie was even more impressive given the distractions of getting back into the swing of daily life as a college student. Crowley said she did think it was tough to have a game on that night, but credited her team for maintaining its focus. “You do have time over break to kind of get adjusted,” she said. “To play on the first day of classes is always kind of tough, to get back into classes and then to get going with the game. But I thought our kids adjusted well, and I really thought we played pretty well.” Now with the schedule back to normal in the new semester, Crowley’s team can turn their attention to the home stretch of the regular season. “We got 10 more games left,” she said. “There are things we’ve got to take care of, and [then we’ll] make a run at it.” n

Many kids growing up in the Boston area dream of playing under the lights at Fenway Park. Not many, however, dream of playing hockey in America’s most beloved ballpark. For Boston College senior and Needham, Mass. native Chris Venti, his dreams came true on Saturday night’s Frozen Fenway. The goaltender, after relieving freshman Brian Billet in Friday’s shocking loss to UMass, was given the nod in the team’s outdoor matchup with Northeastern. Not only did he play, but he was one of the most important factors in the Eagles’ close 2-1 victory. “It was a dream come true,” he said. “I grew up in Needham. It’s only 15 minutes away from here. Coming to Red Sox games all the time with my family and knowing the culture of the Sox, it’s a special building to play in. Honestly, even more special was getting my first start for Boston College and being a playing part of a game. It was a very special night for me.” While he didn’t face too many shots, Venti was solid between the pipes, outplaying NU goaltender Chris Rawlings. He finished the night with 14 saves. Head coach Jerry York knew the importance of bouncing back from what he called the team’s worst loss of the season, and decided to go with the hot hand. “Chris Venti got action last [Friday] up at UMass, and I just had a thought process after the game that I had to roll the dice and come right back with Chris,” York said. “And he really played well in his first start at Boston College. I think that was one of the keys to our game, solid goaltending.” The senior, who has spent much of his BC career cheering his teammates on from the bench and becoming an important figure for the Eagles’ practices, made his first start at one of the greatest venues in sports. His humility was evident when he expressed excitement in not only playing at Fenway, but also having the chance to play alongside his teammates. Growing up in the area, Venti reflected positively on being a Red Sox fan and at-

tending games with his family. He even joked when describing his youth baseball career. “I’d say one of my better [memories] was when my father took me to the home run derby when the All-Star game was here,” he said. “That was pretty good because I used to be a baseball player, too. I could hit them out. I was a lot bigger than I am now. If anybody knows me, I was a bit chubby as a kid.” The hometown kid had his chance to play the sport he loves, and no one was more excited for the senior than his teammates. “I think I speak for our entire team when I say that it’s well-deserved, but I still don’t think it does him justice,” said junior Chris Kreider. “He’s easily one of the hardest working players I’ve ever played hockey with and I’ve ever played organized sports with. It kind of warms your heart to see him get a start and get a win and play as well as he did in this situation.” Although Venti only saw half as many shots as Rawlings, he showed his confidence and eagerness to play after the game when asked if he preferred the lack of action for getting acclimated to playign in a game. “Honestly, I’d rather get one shot right at the first second, so I can jump into it,” he said. “Coach Logan and goalie coaches that I’ve had in the past helped me with the mental game, and John Muse and Parker [Milner] and I always talk about the mental part of the game and keeping ourselves into it. Whether it’s just taking a little stroll to the corner or telling yourself, ‘Just stay in it. Keep having fun.’” This mentality may be the element that the Eagles need between the pipes as they look for another shot at the national championship. With so much success in his first career start, Venti has proven to Superfans that he can play in the Hockey East. After the game, York said that he plans to continue using the hot hand mentality displayed Saturday, and it would appear that this makes Venti a serious contender for more playing time this season. Who says dreams can’t come true? n

For more coverage of

frozen fenway visit the heights sports blog at www.heightssports.tumblr.com

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR; joseph castlen / heights photo illustration

The Heights

Editors’ Picks

Thursday, January 19, 2012 The Week Ahead Men’s basketball hosts Wake Forest. Men’s hockey has a series with Maine. Women’s hockey hosts Providence. Women’s basketball tries to end a losing streak against FSU tonight. On Sunday, the two Super Bowl teams will be decided in the conference championships.

Standings

Recap from Last

Greg Joyce

0-0

Chris Marino

0-0

Austin Tedesco

0-0

Heights staff

0-0

Wake Forest vs. Boston College

News Editor “I hate this.”

Men’s Basketball vs. Wake Forest

Greg Joyce Sports Editor

Chris Marino Assoc. Sports Editor

Austin Tedesco Asst. Sports Editor

David Cote

News Editor

Split

Maine

No. 4 Women’s Hockey vs. Providence

Women’s Basketball vs. Florida State

FSU

Who will face off in the Super Bowl?

Pats and 49ers

Pats and Giants

Ravens and Giants

Pats and Giants

No. 4 Men’s Hockey at Maine

Basketball

Men’s basketball lost to Providence. Men’s hockey was shocked by Lowell, 3-2. Women’s hockey split its series with Mercyhurst. Robert Griffin III took home the Heisman Trophy. The Knicks took down the Celtics on Christmas day.

Guest Editor: David Cote

This Week’s Games

Game of the Week

Boston College men’s basketball (7-10, 2-1 ACC) will play host to Wake Forest (10-7, 1-2) this Saturday afternoon. The Eagles are coming off their second straight ACC victory with a two-point win over Virginia Tech and will be playing NC State tonight. Freshman Dennis Clifford led the way for BC with 15 points and seven rebounds on his way to ACC Rookie of the Week. In two league games, the center has averaged 15 points and 5.5 rebounds. The Demon Deacons have a two-game losing streak and visit Duke before travelling to Conte Forum.

Saturday, 12 p.m.

Inconsistent ruling by NCAA hurts Momah redshirted with a knee injury. The NCAA may be preventing Momah from receiving a sixth year over a dispute on whether or not he missed the 2009 season because of reasons outside of his control. The NCAA might be concerned that Momah’s position change had more to do with the redshirt than the knee injury did. If BC can prove this Austin Tedesco is not the case in its appeal, hopefully the NCAA will change its decision. After two season-ending injuries outside Even if these hypothetical concerns of of his control, Boston College wide receiver the NCAA are true, they do not warrant Ifeanyi Momah has been subjected to the withholding Momah from the fourth year mercy of the NCAA crapshoot and came out of football he deserves. Head football coach at the wrong end of yet another inconsistent Frank Spaziani expressed his disagreement ruling by the organization. It was announced with the ruling to The Globe this week. this week that Momah, who missed all of the “If any kid deserves a chance to get to the 2009 season due to a knee injury and only next level, it is him,” Spaziani said. “I don’t appeared in the 2011 opener before being care if he gets sidelined for the year, another year and will not be granted a plays some place sixth year of eligibility else. He deserves a after applying for a chance to play out medical hardship. BC his career as far as is appealing the decihe can take it.” sion, but precedent Momah served shows that Momah as a captain and deserved the hardship a leader during outright. his time at BC, Just last season, he has earned his University of Houston degree, and now quarterback Case he deserves the Keenum was granted chance to earn a the same hardship spot in the NFL. after redshirting his If the NCAA does freshman season and not appeal its missing his senior ruling, it will make season with a torn it very difficult ligament in his third for the talented game. Houston origiGraham beck / heights editor wide receiver to nally thought Keenum Momah missed all but one game last season. get drafted. Rarely was a longshot for the do pro teams take sixth year, but after proving that a shoulder risks on players coming off season-ending injury was the reason for his first redshirt the injuries, and if so they are usually picked NCAA allowed Keenum to play. All other up late in the draft. Given time to recover accounts of the hardship being granted, such and another full season back at BC, Momah as Florida Atlantic’s Jeff Blanchard in 2010 could be sitting high on draft boards this and Purdue’s Robert Marve earlier this week, time next year just like Houston’s Keenum. include two full seasons missed because of Overturning this decision would hurt no injury. Every account of the hardship being one, but ignoring the appeal would provide granted matches up with Momah’s situation. an unnecessary setback to a good, talented A few recent rejections of the hardship by kid who has worked hard to get to where he the NCAA include athletes who redshirted is. It is another example of the NCAA showwithout injury such as Ball State’s Madaris ing a lack of concern for Division I athletes Grant, who took the typical freshman year while being more concerned with itself. redshirt. In 2008, Cincinnati quarterback Momah has met all of the qualifications for Ben Mauk was denied the hardship after the hardship, and keeping him off the field missing two full seasons to injury, but the this fall would just be another example of reason behind his first missed season was the NCAA making inconsistent, arbitrary seen as ambiguous by the NCAA. rulings that make little sense. They can either The committee behind the decision allow Momah to stay at school and have the issued a statement saying, “The committee proper final season he deserves building was unable to identify compelling factors toward a pro career, or they can ignore his that might be viewed as beyond the control request and mistreat yet another student of the student-athlete and the University of athlete. Cincinnati.” It is possible that Momah is facing the Austin Tedesco is the Assistant Sports same issue with the NCAA that Mauk did. Editor for The Heights. He can be reached Momah was in the process of being moved to a defensive lineman in 2009 before being at sports@bcheights.com.

alex trautwig / heights editor

Dennis Clifford, measuring in at 7-feet, will be a key presence on the post in tonight’s game at NC State, according to head coach Steve Donahue.

BC tries for third straight at NC State By Austin Tedesco Asst. Sports Editor

No one really saw this coming, and tonight the magic can continue. After two straight home wins against Clemson and Virginia Tech, the Boston College men’s basketball team heads down to Raleigh to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack. A win would give this young group its first road conference win and a 3-1 record in the ACC, trailing only Duke. The Eagles face a NC State team also holding a 2-1 conference record coming off a blowout win against Wake Forest. Head coach Steve Donahue spoke about the importance of the team notching its first conference road win of the season after falling short against North Carolina in Chapel Hill to open ACC play. In the wins over Clemson and Virginia Tech, the Eagles held significant leads heading into the game’s final minutes that were eventually cut into, resulting in just two-point wins in each contest. After their struggling start, the Eagles’ two ACC wins this early have been impressive, but managing turnovers and holding onto the lead late in the game on the road will be key for tonight’s matchup. Also important for the Eagles tonight will be the play of Dennis Clifford. Donahue said that the Wolfpack’s biggest strength is its size, and NC State doesn’t start a single player under 6-foot-5. This could cause problems for smaller BC guards like Jordan Daniels, Gabe Moton, and Lonnie Jackson. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like the Wolfpack have a definite answer for Clifford, who was just named ACC Freshman of the Week. NC State’s Richard Howell will start off against Clifford tonight and the BC 7-footer has four inches on Howell, so

his hot shooting from the field should continue. Clifford had no trouble getting his shot off in the post, and he fired with great accuracy against Clemson and Virginia Tech. The Eagle offense should begin with Clifford and forward Ryan Anderson inside and open up plays for the guards on the perimeter. Since NC State began conference play, it has only been playing seven men consistently with just one front court player coming off the bench in their 6-foot-9 center DeShawn Painter. If BC can get the ball in the post and force the Wolfpack bigs into early foul trouble, then it could really open this game up. Guards Jackson and Matt Humphrey

The Eagle offense should begin with Clifford and forward Ryan Anderson inside and open up plays for the guards on the perimeter. will need to step up and find ways to score against the tough defensive matchups facing them. After some inconsistent early play, Humphrey has been a big part of the Eagles’ success lately. Instead of relying on three-point shots, Humphrey is driving the ball, setting his teammates up to score, defending well, and hitting the glass hard for rebounds. His all-around performance has been big for BC, and it will need to continue tonight on the road. Jackson struggled to find a good rhythm against the Hokies on Saturday, but between his ability to hit threes and attack the lane, he is one of the most

dynamic scorers BC has. With Patrick Heckmann still trying to play through aggravated injuries and John Cahill out for a few feeks, Jackson will need to continue to be a big part of the BC offense. Donahue said that Eddie Odio, Moton, and Danny Rubin could see more time because of injuries to Heckmann and Cahill, and their play off the bench could be the difference in the game. Donahue has relied on a good rotation of players with multiple substitutions in the past two wins. Rubin hasn’t seen much playing time this season, and Odio has been used as more of a role player. Moton shared the point guard duties with Daniels against Clemson and Virginia Tech, but he’s struggled to get the offense going the same way Daniels does. If Moton can provide an easy transition to Donahue’s motion system when Daniels leaves the floor, then BC should be able to cut down the turnovers that are still plaguing them late into the season. Although the offense has started clicking and shots are falling at high percentages lately, turnovers have still held the Eagles back. Their 19 turnovers against Clemson almost cost them the game and 15 against Virginia Tech also hurt. Sometimes good shots are passed up, sometimes players are trying to do too much, and other times it just looks like young, inexperienced mistakes. Now that shots are falling, rebounding has been cleaned up, and communication is stronger on the defensive end, all the Eagles need to do is clean up the turnovers to be a force in the ACC. In a tough environment on the road tonight, it’s going to take a complete team effort to stretch their win streak even further and keep the magic going before they return home this Saturday. n

in case you missed it... By Chris Marino

Assoc. Sports Editor Junior Luke Kuechly declared for the NFL Draft via phone conference on Jan. 6. The captain led the nation in tackles this season with 191, including 102 solo stops. He ends his Boston College career as both the ACC and program leader with 532 total tackles. The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year leaves after a strong junior campaign in which he was awarded the Butkus Trophy, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi Award, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. He was a unanimous selection to the all-ACC first-team defense and was twice named a consensus All-American. “Over the past

couple of weeks, I sat down with my parents, talked to different coaches at Boston College, the people I felt are closest to me and have the best thing at heart for me,” Kuechly said. “And after the past couple of weeks, I came up with the decision to forego my senior year and head into the NFL Draft this year.” Defensive end Max Holloway declared for the NFL Draft on Jan. 12. The potential fifth-year senior was one of the top performers on last season’s football team. He finished with 47 tackles, as well as eight tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups, and an interception. One of his most memorable moments of the 2011 season came when he knocked down a fourth down pass

attempt to seal the win against NC State. “I love Boston College, and I have earned my degree,” Holloway said. “I’m excited about moving on to the next chapter in my life.” Senior Donnie Fletcher, who entered the season as a potential NFL Draft candidate, has been invited to participate in this year’s Senior Bowl. The defensive back officially announced his intent to join the North squad on Jan. 17. “We’re excited to see Donnie perform in front of the NFL’s top decision makers here at the Senior Bowl,” said Senior Bowl President and CEO Steve Hale. Fletcher finished his final season for the Eagles with 35 tackles, four pass breakups, and one interception. In his career, he

accumulated 181 tackles and 10 interceptions. Head coach Frank Spaziani announced the addition of Jim Bollman to his staff on Jan. 6. The former Ohio State offensive coordinator’s official position is offensive line coach/running game coordinator. Bollman coached ten offensive linemen that made NFL rosters during his decade-long tenure with the Buckeyes. He also coached for two seasons with the Chicago Bears as the tight ends coach. “I am very excited about this opportunity,” Bollman said. “One of the most important and rewarding parts of my career has been working with outstanding people, and I look forward to working with Frank Spaziani and his staff. ” n

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Album Review

Taste debate

The bawse returns

Diabetic deen

Rick Ross’ new mixtape cements his status page c5

should paula apologize? page C3

Spring music preview

The shins

James Mercer and crew return with a bang page c7

Thursday, January 19, 2012

“If camera lenses are round. How come pictures come out rectangular?”

“Friend talks to crush. Oh God they’re going to date.”

“Someone calls you the wrong name. You don’t correct them.”

Woogeon kim / heights photo illustration

Make sure to find the time to read again

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Heights

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Scene and Heard

BY: Darren Ranck

Brennan Carley Over winter break, I did something I haven’t done since the end of the summer: I read a book for fun—and not just one book, mind you, but three. For college students who love to read, breaks not only offer a respite for the mind and the body, but also allow for some precious pleasure reading, which has become a rarity since I came to Boston College. I promised myself back in 2009 that I would make time to read in my busy schedule, but quickly lost sight of that promise once I became overwhelmed with homework and extracurricular activities. It always comes as a welcome surprise to find myself with abundant free time during vacations— it’s as if I’ve become so swamped that I don’t remember what reading for pleasure is like! Once I got home, I finally got around to picking up Mindy Kaling’s hilarious Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, a quasi memoir that also comes stuffed with humorous essays, thoughts, and advice. Kaling, a former Boston resident, reminisces on the area with fondness. Her writing is meandering but never anything short of a thrill to read. While I found Kaling’s book to be a quick read, I also noticed that I’ve had trouble completing the third book on my list—Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. Ever since I bought the book in early November, I have found it a challenge to tackle more than 15 pages at a time. Initially, I chalked it up to Murakami’s challenging style and intricate plot. The novel, on the surface at least, tells the tale of Aomame, an assassin, and Tengo, an author, two souls in Tokyo whose lives become interwoven in a series of elaborate connections. On the whole, 1Q84 requires intense concentration, as the author is adept at sliding in seemingly unimportant details that later resurface with a bite. As I reflect on the novel, what I’ve found with 1Q84 is that it doesn’t move at the lightning fast pace I’ve become so utterly entwined with as a college student. It goes without saying that BC students often juggle five or six different tasks at one time. Even while writing this, I’m listening to a podcast, checking Blackboard Vista, and printing a reading out. Yes, our generation is truly the distracted one. We all insist that it helps us to multitask, that there aren’t enough hours in the day, so juggling is the only way to get by. Sometimes classes rear their ugly heads and launch papers and exams at us in such a short period that sanity gets shelved in favor of studying. But at what cost? I don’t profess to be an expert on the matter, but my diminishing attention span at least makes me a firsthand witness to the troubles that can arise. As a kid without distractions, I was able to finish epic sagas in mere hours, with nothing more than a comfy chair, a blanket, and a glass of water to guide me through the lands of Middle Earth and Narnia. I trembled with fear at each mention of Count Olaf and clasped the chair as I imagined Coraline’s buttoneyed other-parents. I wish I could say that I was able to conquer my multitasking syndrome while reading 1Q84, but alas, my brain wanted something more immediately rewarding than the lush, grand vision that Murakami spreads out over 900 plus pages. “Haven’t you had that for two months already?” my dad asked me on the plane ride to Florida as I heaved the heavy hardcover out of my knapsack, ready to at least finish a sizable chunk of the novel before landing. Determined to prove him wrong, I set about tackling the novel as the plane began its ascent and started shaking, but then the flight attendant came by to ask what I wanted to drink, and, oh look, the in-flight movie is Dolphin Tale, and why won’t the guy by the window turn his phone off, and what time do we land, and why is the bathroom line so long, and…

Brennan Carley is the Arts & Review editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

1. WORK IT NO MORE In the worst news ever, genius comedy Work It has been cancelled. The show officially received the ax on Jan. 14, otherwise known as the day comedy died. The graceful, clever sitcom focused on two hulking men barely trying to disguise themselves as women in order to gain employment. Madcap! With any luck, a massive campaign will rise and bring back our beloved Work It, because what the world needs now is women believing that men with faces smeared with lipstick and stubble are women, too.

3. ‘SASSY’ HALEY JOEL

2. ELTON V. MADONNA

The proverbial claws are out as Britain’s crowned chanteur and the Material Girl (oh, let’s just call her “Material Woman”) square off over a Golden Globes victory. Madonna won the Golden Globe for best song in a film last Sunday over Elton John, and John wore his disappointment like a sour cat. Madonna rambled on for four minutes while Sir Elton stared her down, thus igniting the feud. Ever since Sir Elton’s obvious annoyance, the two have exchanged barbs. Who knew they had such a rivalry? Honestly, though, doesn’t their tiff make you want to watch W.E. and Gnomeo and Juliet? No?

Gone are the days of sneaking up behind an unsuspecting friend and whispering into his ear, “I see dead people,” but those days may return as Haley Joel Osment, star of the hit thriller The Sixth Sense, returns to film. Keeping his puberty years to himself (thank you for that, Haley Joel), he comes back to film as an Austinite bartender who falls for a lost-in-life girl in the film Sassy Pants. Osment has lost his precocious talent and replaced it with tats and a hipster bang, and while it’s impossible to gauge how he looks in the film, it’s always nice to see someone with talent return to film. Hope this pans out better than Secondhand Lions, Haley!

4. LANA ON ‘SNL’

The blogosphere continues to buzz about the crumbling foundation of the great Lana Del Rey after her painfully uncomfortable U.S. television premiere on Saturday Night Live. Despite leaking several highly promising tracks from her upcoming LP Born to Die, Del Rey failed to enrapture the masses with what should have been hypnotic, seductive performances. Instead she had to inflict us with awkward twirling, like she was Katniss in The Hunger Games, and a rough lower register. There’s still hope that her album will speak for her true talent, though, and maybe one day everyone will know it’s “Lana Del Rey” and not “Lana Del Ray.”

5. ANGRY BRIDES When one considers the landscape of the video game world, they surely yearn for a game about the repression of homemakers. That void has been filled at last. Facebook game Angry Brides, sponsored by Indian dating site Shaadi, features Indian wives bludgeoning their husbands with frying pans and other kitchen appliances. The creators claim it spreads awareness of the horrors of dowry-abuse, the abuse by a groom’s family to coerce the bride into paying money. I imagine another woman appreciating this awareness is Kate Middleton. Lord knows the royal family is trying to leech her dry.

@Pattonoswalt (patton oswalt, actor, ‘Young adult’)

Attend our Sunday meetings in McElroy 113 at 4:30 p.m. and try your hand at writing for the most fun section of the paper.

“Why’s everyone freaked out about wikipedia being shut down? we still have the lyrics to billy joel’s ‘we didn’t start the fire.’” @Scott_Tobias (Scott tobias, writer, ‘A.V. Club’)

“‘extremely loud and incredibly close’ opens nationwide this weekend. don’t panic. simply break the emergency seal on your ‘bucky larson’ dvd.” @billyeichner (Billy eichner, comedian and TV personality, ‘billy on the street’)

“i have a feeling rooney mara and octavia spencer don’t have a ton in common.” @nprmonkeysee (linda holmes, journalist, npr)

“you don’t have to kiss everyone. (lessons from ‘the bachelor’ often are helpful in life).” Submit your favorite tweets of the week for consideration at artseditors11@gmail.com.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Heights

Star value by Brennan Carley

Laura Dern shines brighter than most Following a surprising Golden Globe win for “Best Actress in a Comedy Series,” Dern has found herself vaulted back into the spotlight more than a decade after her star shone brightest. Her work on the HBO show Enlightened is worthy of the accolades. Though woefully underappreciated by the masses, Dern’s Amy Jellicoe is one of the most well-rounded characters to hit the small screen in years. She’s as real as they get—emotional and skittish, but never afraid to voice her opinions. Dern shares writing duties with Mike White (who also penned School of Rock), and the show recently wrapped up its debut season. Catch up on Enlightened to stay ahead of the curve, because Dern is rapidly becoming an awfully hot commodity.

Hollywood Horizons

The king of offbeat returns

Dan Siering

Fashion Forward

College students face outerwear dilemma A trendy, durable coat is essential when braving a northeastern winter

Therese Tully As a sophomore, I consider myself to have a lot of wisdom, at least more than the poor freshmen still trying to find their bearings. I learned a lot of lessons last year: Stuart is the best dining hall hands down, the second floor of Bapst is where it’s at if you need to get serious and still want to feel like you are at Hogwarts, nothing compares to Boston in the fall, the Reservoir is the ideal spot to run, The Heights is the greatest organization on campus, and, in the winter, coats are simply not optional. A few weekends ago, my North Face got stolen in a Mod. It was a sad night, and I shivered myself all the way home to CoRo after the BCPD came and broke up the shindig. The next day I woke up and still could not figure out how this happened. My friends and I had created a foolproof plan to take care of our precious outerwear during the winter nights. It had originated during a Snow Jam trip last year when we discovered that coat check was quite simply a rip off. We began tying the sleeves of our coats together and hiding them somewhere out of the way. The plan is a beautiful and necessary one. At a school where everyone owns a black pea coat or a black North Face, it is not such a stretch to believe that one would get stolen accidentally. While someone may steal a single jacket, no one is going to steal five jackets tied together. So I was lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that my fleece was in safety tied to another. But the fact is it was stolen, and since I have the need to always look for the best in people, I can’t assume someone stole it. They must have taken it by accident, right? Quite simply, I was devastated. As a poor college kid, I don’t have a few hundred bucks lying around to replace it, and my BC ID that was stolen along with it, though fortunately some kind soul turned that in (if it was you, I am very grateful). So I left this experience pretty annoyed. Was it the end of the world? No. But it was quite annoying, especially since the harsh Boston winter is descending upon us quickly and without warning. Yet, I believe that everything happens for a reason, so I began to muse as to what could be the meaning to this crime of fashion. So I got to thinking. Maybe the point is that I should get tougher and ditch the outerwear all together. It would definitely be easier. After all, I wouldn’t have to be concerned about keeping track of my own coat in the mountain that accumulates at any given party or event. Also, most of these winter coats, whether of the puffy or fleece variety, aren’t exactly figure flattering. Maybe the

fashion gods were just telling me that it is for the best that I simply freeze in the name of a cute outfit. But then I stepped outside, and discovered that not wearing a coat is practically a death sentence from now until June. So it must be something else. Then it hit me. Though this fleece was practical and warm and a no-brainer, it was not the most fashion forward option I could have chosen. Quite simply, I believe the universe was challenging me, and all of us, to stop wearing matching coats. It’s not like we don’t have any options. There are literally thousands of alternatives, and yet many of us choose the same two or three coats. It’s all a part of fitting in, being a part of this BC community. However, this only makes it that much easier to make a statement. A coat is such a simple change to make, and one that makes a huge impact. Ultimately, I have opted this New Year to utilize my alternative coat options. Let’s be honest, I have quite a few. Why not wear an army green fur trimmed waist cinching number that is sure to garner some more positive attention rather than have my own black North Face be lost in the sea of identical fleeces. We are united as a student body in so many ways, but our jackets doesn’t need to be one of them. So branch out, expand your horizons, and invest in a great new piece of outerwear. And hey, the post–Christmas sales are still going on, so take advantage and buy a few.

Therese Tully is a Heights Editor. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

Top: This tweed knee length jacket is a trendy alternative to typical, sometimes overplayed winter jackets seen frequently on campus. Bottom:The classic trench coat is always a go-to winter piece. Left: Fur collars and accents make a dramatic but fun statement.

Taste debate: vilLainization of Paula deen

Pro

Christine zhao

heights staff

Paula Deen and butter are practically synonymous. All of her recipes contain an atrocious amount of fatty ingredients, and always in excess. I don’t think anyone could possibly say that her recipes, delicious as they may turn out, are health-conscious. Now that she’s been diagnosed with diabetes, she’s the perfect example of the consequences of reckless eating and disregard for health. She argues to The New York Times that she’s “always promoted moderation,” but where is the moderation in four sticks of butter? Diabetes is a serious disease, without a doubt, but it is one that is usually preventable with a healthy diet. After years of ignoring her health, Paula Deen has finally had to promote moderation in earnest after the public unveiling of her condition. Though she doesn’t blame herself, she should. Of course no one deserves to suffer from diabetes, but there was too much she could have done differently. First of all, as someone afflicted with a disease that is highly influenced by nutrition, she should not be doling out waist-expanding, ultra high-calorie recipes to the public. She had three years to come clean, and instead, she chose to hide the truth. As a television personality, Paula has an obligation to the public, especially considering her role on the Food Network. In a country that is far past pleading ignorant to the ill effects of trans fats and decadent meals, she should set a better example for the many viewers who depend on her. Moreover, even after the revelation, her use of her disease as a promotion for a diabetes drug is despicable.

con

Charlotte parish

heights editor

Since when has a personal medical issue become a reason to lambast an entertainment icon? As much as one can detest the industry’s constant attention to celebrities’ personal lives, the line has usually been drawn at tragedies, small or large. The fact that Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes is a personal tragedy and a private medical issue. The fact that people are taking this opportunity to blame her for obesity in America is astounding. While the call for healthier eating is an admirable one, it is overstepping, rude, and just plain false to say that Deen’s recent diagnosis is proof that she should change her cooking philosophy and, therefore, a significant part of her profession. After all, her show and career as a chef have resided on gratuitous use of oils to produce deliciously sinful meals. Deen has never claimed to be a healthy chef. Her overuse of butter and constant stream of fried, battered, and cheese-smothered foods is as much a part of her showmanship and entertainment persona as Russell Brand’s ludicrous humor is a part of his comedic act. Critics cannot only now come out of the woodwork in force to say that her show is detrimental to American health after having supported her show with viewership. There is a lesson to be taken from Deen’s medical troubles and a warning for anyone who eats her buttersaturated concoctions on a daily basis. But if the media outlets are allowed to use her personal medical struggles to bash Deen as a person, then we are allowing them to go too far once more and comment on what is arguably the last frontier of privacy for stars.

In a cinematic world that is constantly being bombarded with enormous budgets and third dimensions, filmmaker Wes Anderson has firmly stood his ground. With a career spanning across almost two decades, the native Texan has accumulated a formidable fan base with his offbeat comedic narratives starring an impressive catalog of faithful collaborators. This past week, after almost a fiveyear hiatus, Anderson returned to the Hollywood scene with the release of a trailer for his latest project, Moonrise Kingdom. After viewing the trailer, avid Anderson fans like myself cannot help but be excited. Anderson’s aspirations as a filmmaker quickly took shape after he elected to stay instate and attend the University of Texas at Austin. It was there that Anderson became close friends with his roommate, future actor Owen Wilson. Bonding around a love for film, the two began working together while still in college, and wrote a screenplay for a short film titled Bottle Rocket, a quirky comedy about two brothers who perform a series of botched robberies. The 13 minute black and white project was received so well at its debut at the USA Film Festival in Dallas that Wilson and Anderson brought it to Sundance. At the famous film festival, Bottle Rocket caught the attention of producers Polly Platt and James L. Brooks, and Anderson was eventually given the funds to make the short into a feature length film. The longer Bottle Rocket, released in 1996, marked both the filmmaking debut for Anderson and the first acting role in a film for Owen and brother Luke Wilson. At the time, the film scored the worst test scores of any movie ever made at Columbia Pictures and eventfully bombed at the box office. Despite this fact, Bottle Rocket received almost unanimous praise from critics. Martin Scorsese, a glowing admirer of Anderson, has since said that it is one of his top 10 favorite films of the nineties. Riding the wave of critical approval, Anderson and the Wilson brothers continued to work together on several movies, focusing predominantly on comedic and at times serious conflicts amongst broken upper class families. These films included Rushmore, a film about a brilliant yet socially confused private high schooler; The Royal Tenenbaums, an ironic tale about the inner workings of a family of former child prodigies; and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which centers around a passionate yet delusional oceanographer and his misfit crew. During Anderson’s ascension amongst the Hollywood backchannels, the director accumulated both a loyal and star-studded group of frequent collaborators. Aside from the Wilson brothers, this list includes Bill Murray—who has been in every Anderson movie outside of Bottle Rocket—Jason Schwartzman, Adrian Brody, Willem Dafoe, and Anjelica Huston. Much like what fellow filmmaker Alexander Payne did this past year with The Descendants, 2012 looks to be a year in which Anderson will attempt to return to prominence after a lengthy hiatus. Moonrise Kingdom, which will be released on May 25, will be Anderson’s seventh and most highly anticipated film of his career. The story revolves around the search for two adolescent sweethearts after they conjure up the idea to run away into the wilderness during the summer in 1965 New England. Bruce Willis plays the bumbling cop assigned to search for the couple, while Frances McDormand and Bill Murray play the parents of the missing girl. Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, and Tilda Swinton also star. Aside from the shoddy holiday films that jam-pack credits for shock value, it’s hard to think of a more intimidating and talented lineup. The trailer strongly radiates Anderson’s signature style, including his use of primary colors and wide panoramic shots as well as his patented use of complex and quirky characters. The ending trailer scene depicts an underwear-clad Murray wielding an axe in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, as he remarks to nearby youngsters that he is going to find a tree to chop down. There might only be two minutes of footage released, but things are already looking quite promising for Moonrise Kingdom.

Dan Siering is the Asst. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

The Heights

MUSICALLY OBLIVIOUS EIGHTH GRADER

Have you ever had an awkward moment when in mentioning a band you like, someone misinterprets the group’s name for something totally different? This meme uses a photo of a popular Tumblr user, Emileina, and incorporates a quote that exposes the girl’s blatantly misinformed opinions about bands like Slightly Stoopid, The Shins, and Daft Punk. Though the meme’s creator has since ceased work on “Musically Oblivious Eighth Grader,” countless other web users have picked up the slack. Favorites include such gems as “Marilyn Manson? Never heard of her,” and “Kanye West? Isn’t that south of Florida?”

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Of all the Internet fads of 2011, nothing left viewers laughing quite as hard as the seemingly simple meme. These cartoonish caricatures provided some of the funniest, most realistic social commentaries in the world of entertainment. Inside, find eight of the year’s most insightful and applicable examples. By Brennan Carley arts & review editor Taylor Cavallo assoc. arts & review editor DAN Siering asst. arts & review editor

PHILOSORAPTOR

COLLEGE FRESHMAN

Perhaps the most insightful meme, Philosoraptor (the intellectual cousin of the more commonly known velociraptor) provides food for thought consisting of metaphysical insights and deep, burning questions that leave a reader scratching his head. Instead of spitting poison into the eyes of a bystander a la Jurassic Park, this raptor spits existential paradoxes. Perhaps distasteful or slightly offensive at times, the cartoon dino never seems to stop questioning the logical missteps and wordplays in the world around him.

While his comments might slightly offend a fourth of our student body, the College Freshman meme illustrates both the pure naivety and the unfounded hubris that we all acquired during our first year on campus. He is faced with a whole slough of problems that did not exist back when he was living at home with mom and dad. Whether he eats dinner is determined by the functionality of his microwave. On the other hand, the College Freshman is also very easily amused. Guys, did you just hear that?! The Professor said a dirty word!

A GUIDE TO 2011’S BEST MEMES

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

This meme forces us to take a hard look in the mirror at how truly trivial our problems can be in the grand scheme of things. Phrases like “close out of random tab … music stops playing” are splashed in front of the image of a distressed-looking woman. Shown with a single teardrop dripping down her face, she is clearly agonized by the horrid situation. This is one of the most popular memes in existence, with upwards of a thousand iterations floating around, and it’s not hard to see why. It allows viewers to laugh at themselves, and what better form of therapy could there be?

HIPSTER ARIEL A spin-off of Hipster Kitty (another notable, veteran meme), Hipster Ariel takes one of Disney’s most well-loved princesses and gives her some new, trendy flavor. Mixing childhood memories with ironic jokes highlighting the hipster movement, this meme makes the most recognizable redheaded mermaid’s ocean life an epicenter of alternative, Brooklyn-esque living, topped with thick black glasses and all. The meme spread quickly, sprouting up in places such as Reddit and BuzzFeed, but also Time Magazine and New York Magazine. This Hipster Ariel trend sprouted other ‘Hipster’ variations, such as Hipster Disney Villains and Hipster Disney Princesses, in which Belle and Pocahontas, among other princesses, are featured. While the Hipster Ariel meme is certainly worth a gander (or many), the redheaded real girl who dresses up like the cartoon Hipster Ariel might be going a bit too far.

PARANOID PARROT

Poking fun at our deep-rooted apprehensions and our belief that Murphy’s Law may have some truth to it, the Paranoid Parrot expresses jokes about the dark inclination to believe that the worst possible outcome will occur in every life situation. Whether it’s our inherent fear of dark places, slow moving cars, or misquoting lyrics in our Facebook statuses, the Paranoid Parrot makes keen observations and social commentaries that demonstrates how truly fearful we all are of looking like a fool.

SCUMBAG STEVE “I’ll be there in ten minutes … shows up two hours later.” “Eats your Toaster Strudel … using two frosting packets.” Scumbag Steve is THAT guy. He is the meme that embodies every social violation or rude remark uttered by those random socialites who always find a way to get into the party. Being the antithesis of fellow meme Good Guy Greg, everything that Steve does is for his own benefit. Scumbag Steve is the kid who always eats the last piece without asking, continues playing even after being hit in dodge ball, and slowly walks across the street after you graciously allow him to cross. When making your list for potential groomsmen, Steve is dead last.

SOCIALLY AWKWARD PENGUIN

Socially Awkward Penguin—the one meme to which everyone can relate. The one meme which provokes countless proclamations of “I’ve done that,” “Story of my life,” or “So true …” in between fits of laughter. This penguin, another Advice Animal, sheds light on awkward or uncomfortable subtleties in social situations that everyone has been a part of, but ironically gives no advice. The hilarious overarching narrative of this meme instead illustrates a penguin character lacking knowledge of social nuances and normal self-confidence. Interestingly enough, the image used in the meme is that of an Adeli penguin, and is featured on the National Geographic Wild Animals site.

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Rick Ross’ mixtape gets listeners excited for 2012

Chart Toppers

By Taylor Cavallo

1 We Found Love Rihanna 2 Sexy And I Know It LMFAO 3 It Will Rain Bruno Mars 4 Set Fire To The Rain Adele 5 Good Feeling Flo Rida 6 One That Got Away Katy Perry 7 Ni**as in Paris Jay-Z & Kanye West 8 I Won’t Give Up Jason Mraz 9 Party Rock Anthem LMFAO 10 Someone Like You Adele

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Once you hear it, there’s no confusion about what’s to come: “M-m-m-maybach Music.” Yeah, you know what you’re in for. What soon follows is the deep, bellowing voice of big-bellied Miami rapper Rick Ross. After announcing that the release of his fifth album, God Forgives, I Don’t, would be delayed from December 2011 until sometime in 2012, much to the dismay of fans, Rozay needed to give us something to ease the disappointment. On Friday, Jan. 6, Ross’ mixtape Rich Forever was released online, which the rapper calls the “appetizer to God Forgives, I Don’t.” What is definitely noticeable about the album is the variety in style of each song, from straight up typical Maybach rap (i.e. “Stay Schemin’” and “New Bugatti”) to soft, or as soft as Ross can be, R&B ballads, as in “Mine Games” with Kelly Rowland. However, most striking about the bold mixtape are the widely varied collaborations; almost every song features another artist, including, but not limited to, John Legend, Diddy, Nas, and (of course) Drake. This seemingly strong dependence on other artists to produce a song should not be seen as a flaw of the mixtape at all. Instead it should be seen as a feature emphasizing the depth and variety of Ross’ music.

While his solo music is by no means unsatisfying (one simply has to listen to “B.M.F.” to rid himself of that idea), Ross is known for his collaborations with other artists, and this mixtape is no different. While each song has pretty much the same narrative, which can only be summed up briefly as “the struggle of the hustle,” it somehow doesn’t get old. “Stay Schemin’,” the mixtape’s first song, features Drake and French Montana and the song drops a subtle, but catchy beat. While Drake assumes the spotlight in this particular song with his tight verse, Ross’ opening verse and control of the chorus certainly sets a great tone for the piece. “Triple Beam Dreams” featuring Nas is a great song, which has the same beat and similar opening format to the opening of his fantastic song featuring Lil Wayne, “John (Chopper in the Car),” where Ross claims “I’m not a star.” As with any song Nas is a part of, it seems to have a deep meaning underneath his aggressive, highenergy rhymes, and his work on this song is nostalgic for fans of his work. It’s a mixture of his two most loved songs: the spitting and beat of “One Mic” with a message, as seen in “I Can.” Nas and Ross give us a Tony Montana-esque story of a drug dealer, who becomes sick of his work and grows bored of all the material things that come along with the job.

Singles

Rich forever Rick Ross produced by Maybach music released Jan. 6, 2012 Our rating A

Top Albums

courtesy of google.com

Rick Ross’ new mixtape not only displays numerous artists collaborations but also impressive solo tracks. The real “piece de resistance” of the mixtape is, without a doubt, “New Buggatti” featuring Diddy. The slightly Twilight Zone-esque background beat is a perfect accompaniment to Ross’ slightly more laid back verse at the opening of the song. As always, Ross and Diddy are talking about how hood, rich, and in demand they are, but there is certainly something special about this song, distinguishing it

from all other Rich Forever songs. Diddy is surprisingly hood in this particular song, so much so that I almost forgot he was Diddy. Their collaboration on this song is absolutely perfect, and I can already hear “New Bugatti” at college parties everywhere. As a break from all this Maybach rap, Ross offers us “London Skit,” spoken word poetry. He describes wealth and cashmere socks, but

with a hip hop twist, proclaiming at the end of his eloquent verse that, “We gon’ be rich foreva.” One thing that can certainly be said of Ross’ raps are the fantastic one-liners he spits (which are by no means limited to his raps … just Google his GQ interview. The man speaks in quotable lines). Unfortunately, most wouldn’t be appropriate to quote in this album review. n

1 21 Adele 2 Take Care Drake 3 El Camino The Black Keys 4 Hustlerz Ambition Young Jeezy 5 Mylo Xyloto Coldplay

Source: Billboard.com

Snow Patrol returns and remains true to their easy listening roots By Kira Mulshine For The Heights

After a three year hiatus, Snow Patrol celebrated the new year by releasing their sixth album,

Fallen Empires: a powerful collection of diverse but easy-listening alternative rock tracks. With this artistic compilation, the band extends their musical palette by incorporating wholesome chorale

voices, experimenting with electronic instruments, and including folk-like musical accompaniment that provides pleasing music for every listener, except perhaps the avid dub-step fanatic or R&B

Fallen Empires Snow patrol produced by Universal music group released jan. 10, 2012 Our rating A-

courtesy of google.com

Snow Patrol returns to the music scene with a collection of unquie songs that still radiate the band’s trademark sound.

fiend. Snow Patrol, which finds its roots at the University of Dundee in Northern Ireland, chose each musical medium wisely. Empires clearly shows off the band’s creativity and dedication as an album that is captivating in its entirety. Lead singer Gary Lightbody’s voice surfaces each song with a smooth sound that hypnotizes the listener into a reminiscent state, but not one full of gloom and regret over lost love. Instead, the band’s optimistic melodies lead your thoughts from regretful romance to thoughts of the endless possibilities you have now, despite lost love and repentance. The album’s already popular single “Called Out In the Dark” is a great example of this. With a chorus repeating the supportive message, “We are listening and we’re not blind / This is your life, this is your time,” this upbeat track graces you with a refreshing jolt of entitlement to your existence. Its repetitive and inspirational mantra will alter your state of mind, whether or not you welcome it, and with a general population

fearful of the current unpredictable state of society, this mantra should be welcomed readily. The opening track “I’ll Never Let Go” cannot be overlooked either. It begins with simple electronic beats, which are later accompanied by Gary’s genial vocals. Soon drums, bass, and electric guitar join him. They create a product that sounds nearly flawless in the alternative rock genre. By the end of this empowering track you are enjoying a feel-good rock band song similar to Snow Patrol’s past hits “Open Your Eyes” and “Crack the Shutters.” Snow Patrol produced a title track, “Fallen Empires” that accomplishes what I believe to be a new genre of alternative rock–“folk rock.” This track is stylistically similar to songs by the recently popular folk-masters Mumford & Sons, but the typical electric guitar and bass lines used in all of Snow Patrol’s masterpieces are still heard alongside the folk references. Surprisingly, Snow Patrol pulls off “folk rock”

with poise. This is a respectable accomplishment for a band that seemed permanently set in its artistic genre before Empires’ release last week. “The President” is a gentle song placed near the album’s finish. Lightbody sings of a specific heartbreak and dabbles upon the topic of regret. If and when you’ve experienced lost love you will immediately relate to this truthbaring and emotion-rendering track. Snow Patrol paints a picture of post-relationship passion perfectly as the melody builds up to a climax. If you listen closely to the honest lyrics while the instruments fade out, you will notice that Lightbody reaches an important resolution as the track concludes. It is apparent that Snow Patrol arranged each of their ingenious songs in a deliberate order to create an album that inspires, and I am certain that with the conclusion of Fallen Empires, you will feel ready to tackle anything and everything that comes your way. n

Though no ‘House of Balloons,’ The Weeknd’s new mixtape still entertains By Dan Ottaunick Heights Editor

Producing one album per year has become something of a rarity amongst current musicians. While bands of the 1960s would often release multiple albums each year, today’s artists often spend so many months touring that they have less time to create new music. These conventions, however, haven’t held back Abel Tesfaye, professionally known as “The Weeknd,” who, after bursting onto the music scene with the independently released House of Balloons last March, released his third mixtape of 2011 just in time for the new year. Despite the short periods of time between his three releases (his second mixtape, Thursday, dropped in August), Tesfaye has managed to create three collections with distinct sounds. While each work is unmistakably Tesfaye’s—his vacant, atmospheric beats and strained voice are remarkably his own—each manages to incorporate an amount of progression one would expect other artists to accomplish with

much more time. Yet Tesfaye is only 21, and is undoubtedly one of the most innovative rappers to emerge in recent years. While House of Balloons was met with widespread critical acclaim, Thursday was in some regards a disappointing second release. Although its tracks are mostly as good as those of its predecessor, much of the initial shock of House of Balloons had worn off by the time Thursday came out. Tesfaye’s lyrics capture a dark and grimy mood, and Thursday convinced many that their newness was critical to their relevancy. With Echoes of Silence, however, Tesfaye makes it clear that he is not attempting to imitate anything he has done in the past. This is a release that considers past themes in Tesfaye’s work, but incorporates a wide array of musical elements, ranging from the pop sensibilities of “Montreal,” which is one of the album’s standouts, to the existential vacancy of the title track. “XO/The Host” is a track representative of all of The Weeknd’s past works, filled with sex, drugs, and the darkest parties one can

imagine. “Evictions on your door, blame it on the weed, blame it on the booze / Blame it on the night life, light’s passin’ you, yeah / Just don’t blame it on me, that you wanna come and party.” This track, however, indicates one of the primary ways in which this release differs from previous mixtapes. While all of the elements of this dark lifestyle are still present, Tesfaye is embracing them like never before. He accepts no blame for whatever happens to those who delve into his realm, merely issuing warnings and using his own existence and stories as examples of what his world can do to others. “The Fall,” which is another of the album’s strongest tracks, brings us right back into the emptiness of the singer’s lifestyle. “My blunt full of B.C. / My cup full of Texas / Flowing on that OVO jet / Yeah I said it.” This track is successful because it highlights Tesfaye’s command of atmosphere in his music. The beat is composed of a slow drum rhythm, dull electronic sounds, and a wood block banging, all echoing while Tesfaye produces

slurred vocals. The sense of the vacancy in the lyrics is matched perfectly by the emptiness of the backing track. House of Balloons is full of self-aware descriptions of sex, drugs, and partying, and Thursday indicates an awareness of the depression of the narrative presence in these stories. In Echoes

of Silence, the narrative voice remains, but appears with more confidence, as though it is embracing the decrepitude of which it sings. Although Tesfaye may never be able to create an album filled with the shock of House of Balloons, it is clear that he isn’t attempting to do so, and is continuing to explore his abilities as

an artist. While Echoes of Silence is not as strong of a collection as House of Balloons, it is nonetheless a strong effort and well worth checking out. Editor’s note: This mixtape, along with all other referenced works by The Weeknd, are available for free download from the artist’s website.n

Echoes of silence The weeknd produced by self-released released Dec. 21, 2011 Our rating B+

courtesy of google.com

Continuing to ride the hype of his debut release, The Weeknd’s ‘Echoes of Silence’ provides fans with satisfactory sounds.

Radio singles by Brennan carley MNDR “#1 in Heaven”

Azealia Banks “Needsumluv feat. Machinedrum”

The Ting Tings “Hang It Up” After a critically acclaimed EP, Amanda Warner and Peter Wade are back in action with this pulsating, frenzied letter from a lover who has passed on to the other side to her former love. Who knew that reminiscing from the afterlife could be so full of sass and a killer chorus? It’s the type of song that Ke$ha wishes she could craft, but MNDR’s throaty vocals leave the “Tik Tok” singer’s songs far in the dust.

In preparation for their upcoming spring tour across the country, the “That’s Not My Name” group comes stomping back with a song that would find itself right at home in the nineties. Featuring the group’s trademark drum smashes and syncopated guitar playing, “Hang It Up” certainly sounds as if the group was inspired by an odd but appealing mixture of Culture Club and Jay-Z.

“Let me free your mind / Let me get you high” sings Harlem’s overnight sensation as a trippy beat supplied by producer Machinedrum throbs in the background. The song shows off a very different side of Banks. Here, she trades off her hilarious lyrics from smash hit “212” (of which two words could be published here) in favor of insightful R&B. Her voice is lovely and rich— could she be on track to be the next Lauryn Hill?

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Heights

Navigate spring’s hottest albums dr. dog be the void

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sleigh bells reign of terror

Dr. Dog, the quirky pop rock n’ roll band from Philadelphia, is set to release its new album Be The Void on Feb. 7 2012. Following Shame, Shame, an album tediously sculpted to perfection both lyrically and melodically, the band’s new album is rumored to expose a different, more creative sound: one that is more daring and reckless, exemplifying a profound sense of passionate rock n’ roll. This more invigorating, liberating-toned album will perhaps present the eager listener with a different impression of the younger Dr. Dog, one that breaks the band free of the expectation for a meticulously crafted sound. Although the sound on this album might be different, after the artistry exhibited on Shame, Shame, hopes are high nevertheless.

With an abundance of exciting album releases set for 2012, the Arts Editors have hand-picked a select bunch to look out for. From hip-hop to electronic pop, these six albums are guaranteed to be worth a listen in the upcoming year.

the shinsport of morrow

Miike snowhappy to you

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Judging from the two tastes the band has offered off their sophomore effort, Reign of Terror looks to be just as gigantic as Treats. The first single, “Born to Lose,” shows that the band has taken the time to craft a follow-up worthy of repeated listens. Lead singer Alexis Krauss’ vocals are as fuzzy and howling as ever, and audiences will be delighted to know that songs like “Comeback Kid” are surprisingly riff-laden and will certainly benefit from the assistance of Sleigh Bell’s onstage wall of amps. A warning though: Reign of Terror might just burst your eardrums, but it’ll be worth every second.

Miike Snow, hybridizers of high-energy pop and electronic sounds, are set to release their second album Happy to You in March 2012. Those expecting to hear another album filled with varied renditions of the quite popular single “Animal” will be slightly disappointed with the Swedish band’s sophomore album. Said to include full orchestras, marching and brass bands, this second album clearly presents a shift and growth in the band’s maturity, musical vision, and hopes for their sound. While the combination of marching bands and electronic pop may be hard to imagine, the album will be worth a listen nonetheless. courtesy of google.com

courtesy of google.com

odd futurethe of tape vol. 2 OFWGKTA, a long and aggressive acronym for the group more commonly known as Odd Future, has recently announced that their first major label album with Sony/RED will be released in the UK on Mar. 19, 2012, titled The OF Tape Vol. 2. Although we have all heard the solo work of Tyler the Creator, Syd tha Kid and Internet, this new album marks a reunion for the group featuring the same lineup of familiar faces, except of course Earl Sweatshirt, who remains MIA (last spotted in Samoa). With almost all members of the group back together working on this new creation, the sound is no doubt going to be as raw and hard-hitting as ever, equally as refreshing and exciting. The new album’s release conveniently coincides with a tour. Inconveniently for us, however, the tour will be in the UK (we have to wait for the U.S. tour, a few months after the Brits’). Lucky for us, their new Adult Swim TV show “Loiter Squad” will debut on Mar. 20.

courtesy of google.com

By: Brennan Carley—Arts Editor Taylor Cavallo—Assoc. Arts Editor Dan Siering—Asst. Arts Editor

After a five-year hiatus and a handful of side projects by front man James Mercer, The Shins, one of the knights of the early ’00s Indie Rock roundtable, will return to the music landscape this March with their fourth studio album, Port of Morrow. In 2007, the five-piece band out of Portland was perhaps the biggest group in the independent music scene, with their album Wincing the Night Away selling over 100,000 copies in the first week. Looking to return to prominence, The Shins have reemerged, equipped with a new label, Mercer’s own dubbed Aural Apothecary, and a catchy new single, “Simple Song.”

Nicki Minaj Pink Friday Roman Reloaded It’s no secret that her Minajesty blew up in 2011 with her pop crossover “Super Bass”— heck, even four-year-old British girls blew up singing that song. Over the past few months, new Minaj tracks have trickled out that showcase a gruffer side of the rapper, one that out-rapped Jay-Z and Kanye West on “Monster.” In songs like “Roman in Moscow” and “Stupid Hoe,” the rapper unleashes a chain of rhyming lines that hiss as they smash against the throbbing bassline. Fans of “Super Bass” might want to avert their eyes (and ears). courtesy of google.com

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS A7

Community Help wanted Are you comfortable with pets? Seeking companions for feline friends. Must have prior pet-sitting experience and references. Inquiries welcomed at helenfreitas@gmail.com

HELP WANTED Vo l u n t e e r s N e e d e d . S e e k i n g enthusiastic volunteers to serve as cheering section for intramural indoor soccer team. Customized t-shirts and face paint will be provided pending an interview process. Please direct inquiries to jmtravis@ gmail.com

Help Wanted Sperm Donors Wanted. Earn up to $1,200/month and help build families. Convenient Cambridge location. Apply online: www. SPERMBANK.com. Italian Tutor Needed Experienced Italian tutor needed one to two times a week to tutor beginning Italian on campus for Boston College student. E-mail hjmags33@yahoo.com.

Check out the B-Line at theb-line.tumblr.com

Directions: The Sudoku is played over a 9x9 grid. In each row there are 9 slots, some of which are empty and need to be filled. Each row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 to 9. You must follow these rules: 路 Number can appear only once in each row 路 Number can appear only once in each column 路 Number can appear only once in each 3x3 box 路 The number should appear only once on row, column or area.

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

metro The Heights

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wicked Cultured

Slogging through Mitt

Charlotte Parish The writers of Saturday Night Live are currently crying with joy, prostrate at the altar of GOP political humor fodder. After the bounty of the 2008 presidential elections, they had to be wondering, ‘How could 2012 possibly live up to the comedic gold that was Sarah Palin?’ But fear not, the Republican primaries are equally hilarious, with the nearly caricatured candidates ranging from the ignorable, sadly departed Jon Huntsman to the offensive Rick Santorum to the fashion incapable (why does he always wear mom jeans?) Mitt Romney. Aside from his fashion choice to remain true to whiskered, high waisted jeans, I have to wonder why our former governor has not been embraced by the Republican Party with hugs and showers of peanuts. Rather, it seems that the higherups of party leadership have been fighting Romney at every turn. Instead of quickly uniting the party in a narrow field of candidates, politician after politician has been rumored to be running in the past year, and even now that the field of candidates is narrowed to five, the race has taken on a Romney versus The Rest tenor for reasons beyond his position as the frontrunner. Why is it that, despite Romney’s early declaration of intentions and long-standing position as a leader of the GOP, the Republicans still seem to be searching for what The Boston Globe calls an alternate, “Un-Mitt” candidate? For starters, Romney is the perfect political speaker: eloquently uninformative when facing uncomfortable, difficult, or unanswerable questions. When questioned about a definite timeframe for pulling out of Iraq during the New Hampshire debate, Romney parried by saying that things were impossible to predict without being in office and without the advice of knowledgeable persons. His only commitment was that it would be “as soon as possible,” which, despite being the most obvious answer to all parties, is the only answer one can give without being attacked for either pulling out too soon and leaving the new government unstable or else leaving troops too long and using up our resources. With this old-school tactic firmly in hand, Romney can clearly stay unruffled under heat, as shown again in South Carolina on Monday night. Although he certainly will not pull the most liberal of Democratic votes, Romney is arguably one of the most bipartisan, “across the isle” candidates – a topic that will inevitably be a central one again in this election. It still escapes me how Massachusetts, as a consistently Democratic state in presidential elections, could have picked both Mitt Romney as governor and Scott Brown as senator in the new millennium. However, this phenomenon demonstrates that something in Romney appeals to independent voters and Republicans. Plus, his stint in Massachusetts may have made voters hopeful that he is more liberalleaning than his competitors, enabling Romney to take the role of bipartisan candidate, should he so choose. At the very least, Romney has to be more widely accepted than Santorum, who arrived in New Hampshire to a mob chanting “bigot” and “shame.” I cringe to hear any of the GOP primary candidates’ responses to the question of whether they support gay marriage rights. Somehow, they all seem to have missed the notice that the United States has separation of church and state. Any religious connotations of marriage as being between a man and a woman do not apply to determinations of federal policy. One should consider that persons of all sexual orientations are citizens with equal rights. Yet, at least Romney is eloquent enough to employ that politician charm and skirt the issue as much as he can. Likewise, he is smart enough to refrain from suggesting that gay marriage wrecked the economy as Santorum did this fall. Regardless of the party leaders’ odd treatment of Romney’s bid for candidacy, it seems that momentum is rolling in favor of Massachusetts’ old governor. So someone please give him a new wardrobe, the mom jeans are seriously a problem. Charlotte Parish is the Metro Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com

Woogeon Kim / Heights Photo Illustration

Poor state funding prompts MBTA cuts, to the dismay of citizens and student groups By Charlotte Parish Metro Editor

With the Newton War Memorial Hall packed to “standing room only” capacity, 85 people came prepared to give their remarks at Newton’s town meeting Tuesday night, impassioned by the recent, controversial Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) proposal that would cut many service routes

and simultaneously increase prices. These drastic measures are being considered due to the $5.2 billion debt that Boston’s public transportation has incurred and the financial instability of the system that currently demonstrates itself unsustainable, as the MBTA projects that in 2013 operating costs will be up to $185 million below income if rates and services remain at their current levels. Newton’s town meeting, along with

Worcester’s on the same night, is the first of many meetings to be held in all Massachusetts towns where the MBTA have services available. The MBTA’s monetary struggles are many-fold, yet surprisingly do not reflect a lack of customer use, as ridership was recently recorded at an all-time high average of 1.3 million riders per weekday. The MBTA’s difficulties stem from paying back their debt interest before being able to take in revenue as well as the consistent underperformance of the Massachusetts sales tax. In 2000, as part of a major restructuring of MBTA funding called “Forward Funding,” the state

promised funds from assessments taxed in 175 cities and towns, as well as 20 percent of the statewide sales tax receipt. The latter, however, has consistently underperformed at levels below even the most conservative projections by the original Forward Funding project. Attempts over the past few years to streamline budgeting, cut excess, and utilize single-driver trains to reduce operating costs have not done enough to lower costs and pay back the interest on the debt, forcing the MBTA to consider these more drastic

See MBTA, D2

Homeless find hope in Haley House New Church Chocolate cookies only one chip in organization By Ariana Igneri For the Heights

The delectable Haley House chocolate chip cookies available in Boston College dining halls are certainly no hidden secret to BC students. However, the story behind the cookies, and even behind the Haley House itself, may be less familiar to the fans of these popular baked goods. The purpose of Haley House’s cookies is not just to provide a sweet chocolaty treat to students after a long day of classes. Rather, the cookies are important because their proceeds support the many social justice programs and initiatives that the House has established over its impressive 40-year history. The story of Haley House begins in 1966 with John and Kathe McKenna, a couple inspired by activists of their day and moved to action by the social, economical, and racial injustice that was so prevalent in the South End of Boston at the time. Beginning humbly in a small, rented apartment on Upton Street, the McKennas took in homeless and destitute men and offered them not only a warm meal, but also a place to sleep. Later, a generous financial gift enabled the couple to purchase 23 Dartmouth

Street, continuing their efforts and expanding their outreach. In honor of Leo Haley, a twenty-four year old activist and BC graduate, the new location received the name “Haley House.” On a late night in 1966, Haley was driving home when, led by compassion, he stopped to help a man lying in the road. He agreed to give him a ride home,

but soon after, the man revealed a knife, robbed him, and threatened Haley’s life. Although Haley survived the attack and identified the man to the authorities, the fatigue and stress from the night took a toll on his heart, which was already vulnerable due to preexisting conditions. The next

See Haley House, D3

management worries parishioners By Marc Francis Asst. Metro Editor

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Haley House Bakery represents only a small facet of the organization’s rehabilitation efforts.

“Today begins a months-long consultation on a proposal to strengthen our parishes for generations to come,” said Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley last month as he commanded a room of over 400 priests. Over the last decade the Archdiocese of Boston has witnessed waves of church closings, all while falling victim to the media spotlight as sex abuse accusations surfaced. O’Malley and the Catholic Church have agreed that it is time to make a movement for change and reverse the adverse effects of poor management. O ’Malle y hop e s to rebuild the Church’s damage d infrastructure. His plan calls for the streamlining of Church management, in which multiple parishes will share a single pastor. The parishes will be managed by teams of

See Church, D2

GetchaBooks for less By Christine Zhao Heights Staff

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A necessary part of classes, books are often an extra strain on the tight student budget.

i nside Metro this issue

On the Flip Side

As the cost of a private college education continues to beat its way through the ceilings of our parents’ and our own bank accounts, the astronomical prices for textbooks has become even more unbearable. A single textbook for a biology class can cost over one hundred dollars. The cost of the many books required for the average humanities course can easily add up, and by the end of it all, a student will probably spend somewhere around $300 to $500 on textbooks for each semester if they purchase them from the campus bookstore. However, recently, websites like Chegg and eBay’s Half.com have made it possible for busy college students to buy all their textbooks at much cheaper prices from the comfort of their dorm rooms. Rental sites like Chegg provide an alternate way to rent a book than through the campus

Should Elizabeth Brown respond to Scott Brown’s request for the pair to reject third party attack ads in the Mass. senate race?...................................................... D3

bookstore, which may not offer a rental option for some texts. Other websites, like GetchaBooks and FindersCheapers, go one step further: they compare prices for you across the board. GetchaBooks, like so many great Internet start-ups, began in a dorm room. Ricky Mondello was a freshman at Tufts University when he realized that what the campus bookstore charged him just didn’t make sense. “I spent $190 on a new physics textbook from my school bookstore. I needed the book quickly, and my friends told me if I bought it online, I wouldn’t have gotten it in time for classes. Turns out, that same book cost only $90 on Amazon.com, brand new, and absolutely would have made it in time.” He and one of the GetchaBooks co-founders, Mike White, decided that there should be a better way for students to buy their books,

See Books, D2

Restaurant Review: Teatro..........................................................D4 B C Alumni Spotlight ...................................................D2

The Heights

Subway Series

A bum tale of two cities Marc Francis After bombing another AP Physics exam and sweating my way through my crazy high school gym teacher’s class, I looked forward to a peaceful ride home on a Brooklyn-bound D train. I plugged my headphones in and just as I selected Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” (the best subway tune) on my iPod, the sounds of an amateur trumpet player penetrated my ears. Yes, the screeching altos of Mariah Carey were drowned out by none other than a New York City bum. It is important to recognize the issue of homelessness all over the country. In some cities, like New York, the homeless appear a bit more aggressive as they choose to make their issue known to all of the city’s inhabitants. Be it a Central Park daytime jogger or a young woman bundled up in her mink coat, the homeless approach everyone. Despite how many Mariah Carey moments have been interrupted over the years, I commend them for the perseverance and the pride displayed as they confront those smug New Yorkers. As I boarded the T in Chestnut Hill for the very first time, I immediately noticed the lack of performing passengers. I have to admit, I did not have to adjust the volume on my iPod once throughout the entire 40-minute ride to Boston—it was quite the treat. Upon exiting the train station, I realized I had lost my friends in the midst of a large crowd gathered outside the entrance. I had assumed there was an arrest or a fight of some sort taking place, but instead, the crowd was gathered around a juggler. The performer was wearing a blazer and the shiniest dress shoes I had ever seen. A multitude of dollar bills and coins flew over my head as the crowd cheered. After the performance came to a close, I noticed a homeless man on the street corner. He was grasping an empty beer bottle in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other; as people passed he muttered, “Money please”—not one member of the crowd paid attention to the struggling vagabond. The well-dressed juggler surely did not need the dollars tossed in his beret more than this man on the corner muttering to passing pedestrians. What a bummer. The bums in both New York and Boston seem to understand the intense competition that their lifestyle calls for. What is missing for the homeless is the opportunity—with all these “professional” street performers pleasing crowds and collecting the extra change in our pockets, the vagrant street performer loses a potential outlet for “profit” since citizens are giving away their loose change to other sources. Many of us have had that one encounter with a homeless person that remains forever engraved in our memories. For me, it involves the “diaper lady,” a nickname my family has ever-so-wittily coined. Every weekday at 7:30 a.m., I visited the local deli to buy breakfast, and I would encounter the diaper lady—an enormous woman who wore nothing but a bra and a larger-than-life diaper. One morning she followed me into the store. I could not shake her off no matter how many different aisles I visited. Customers began to burst into laughter at this humorous scene—a lady with a diaper chasing around a high school student. After I paid at the register, I turned around and handed her my change. As she clutched the coins her aloof expression turned into a sly one. She then smirked and left the store. Although our interactions with the homeless make for comical conversational tools, it is important to recognize that this population exists everywhere—no matter how big or small a city may be. Whether in Boston or New York, the social and economic factors that have forced the homeless into such a state are universal—if we choose to ignore them, we choose to ignore the possibility of falling victim to them. For all I know, I could end up as the Diaper Man.

Marc Francis is the Asst. Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Memory of Haley inspires philanthropic efforts Haley House, from D1 day, Haley, exhausted, was driving when he collapsed, crashed, and died instantly. Personally, the McKennas and the volunteers at Dartmouth Street knew little of Haley, but his final acts and his Good Samaritan spirit inspired them to name the Haley House in his honor. Mirroring Haley’s selfless character, Haley House first established itself as a soup kitchen, serving guests— sometimes more than a hundred at a time—coffee, bread, and soup. For six days a week, from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., Haley House opened its doors and welcomed those in need. Since then, the House has grown and has founded more programs, addressing an array of different issues to respond to the needs of the homeless. In 1979, they created a housing program that is both affordable and permanent, and in 1983, the Haley House started Noonday Farm in Winchendon Springs, Mass. This organic farm supplies fresh produce and food to the Haley House Soup

Kitchen, the Haley House Bakery Cafe, and local families who are without food. It also serves as a learning center and a living example of organic and sustainable farming. Next, in 1996, a bakery-training program was realized, followed by the addition of the previously— mentioned Haley House Bakery Cafe in 2005. The bakery seeks to promote the financial independence of the community by offering onthe-job training; it provides young people with an invaluable education in homemade, healthy cooking. The Bakery Cafe is also where the delicious chocolate chip indulgences are baked. Though Haley House has started a diverse array of programs to combat different and ever-changing issues, one thing remains constant in every one of the House’s efforts: their commitment to build and foster a caring community based on personal relationships. They use organic produce, baked goods, and hot meals as vehicles to bring people together, creating lasting relationships and changing lives.

The sale of Haley House’s cookies supports not only its extensive history, but also its bright future. But who could have known the incredible significance behind an average chocolate chip cookie? When BC students pick up a Haley

House cookie, they hold a great deal of power. They are providing a desperate homeless man with a hot cup of coffee and shelter from Boston’s frigid winters. They are supporting the growth of organic fruits and vegetables to nourish a

family that is unable to put a meal on the table. They are enabling a countless number of individuals to gain economic independence and, in turn, live a fulfilling life. They are changing the world, one chocolate morsel of goodness at a time. n

Courtesy of Google.com

Beginning by simply providing a warm place to sleep, Haley House now offers numerous services and employment.

Parishes can now expect to share one pastor Church, from D1

Courtesy of Google.com

Krewson, founder of FindersCheapers, hopes to have 22 million visitors to his site annually.

Websites reduce textbook costs Books, from D1 even if they are too lazy to Google different sources. The website is an innovative combination of convenience and cost-effectiveness. GetchaBooks works with the course catalogs of colleges in order to obtain lists of course materials. If students attend a school within the website’s register, all they must do is enter in the course number, and a list of the required books will come up. Then, unlike other websites of its kind, GetchaBooks automatically finds the cheapest and fastest ways to buy the book by looking at multiple sources, essentially doing all the dirty work for students. Other websites provide similar services to students, although founder James Krewson never intended for FindersCheapers to include textbooks. It started out as a hobby to improve his computer programming skills and to find cheap media products. Over time, the site has evolved and now includes an impressive 70 million consumer products. To use his database, students enter the ten or thirteen-digit ISBN number for their books (which is included on the Boston College bookstore’s course materials pages) and in return they receive a list of all the different sites that offer the book, as well as the prices. Like other price comparison websites, it cuts down

the work for the user. Unlike its peers, FindersCheapers has both real-time used and refurbished price checking, is updated daily, and represents an aggregation from major “brick and mortar” retailers. “I do not believe there is another price comparison website where you can price compare used or rental textbooks in real-time and also check, say, Wal-Mart or Target prices on graphing calculators,” Krewson said. Many college campuses have been cooperative with this new genre of websites, and professors often try to be understanding when a student needs to pick up a cheaper edition of a required text. Nevertheless, even with all of these new options, there’s still a pretty hefty price to pay to get everything you need for a class. GetchaBooks’ Ricky Mondello says he hopes that someday, sites like his own won’t be necessary anymore. At the same time, he hopes students will continue to use GetchaBooks. “My co-founders and I have poured our hearts into ensuring we have the fastest, easiest-to-use textbook website with the best prices” he said. Likewise, FindersCheapers is a lifelong project for Krewson, who hopes to eventually have 10 percent of U.S. internet users, or about 22 million people, visit his website at least once a year. n

priests, deacons, and laymen—“pastoral service teams” that will fuse programs across different parishes and determine if a church should shut down. He stated that “the proposal does not present a plan for the global closure or merging of parishes. In the proposal before us, any discussion about the closure or merging of parishes will be initiated at the local level, in the pastoral collaborative.” There appears to be no clear consensus among Catholic parishioners— opinions are scattered. Some believe that the archdiocese’s call for better management will prevent future church closings and protect the Church from the ongoing financial crisis. The plan will promote involvement among the laity, since there will be fewer pastoral leaders on church grounds. Many hope that such an increase in parishioner involvement will reverse the downward trend in Mass attendance. On the other hand, there are many who fear that the plan will produce a lack of leadership in the community, catalyzing the process of shutting down programs and churches. However, archdiocesan officials say that with this new plan, priests will be better able to minister, access resources, and properly serve the community. O’Malley stressed the need for such a plan by first addressing the misdirected focus of Massachusetts parishes. He pointed out that many churches are truly mission-based, yet many also possess a “consumer culture mentality” in which the parishioners come to church expecting to receive something in return. The Church is dedicated to serving the people who are present rather than extending an arm to all those who have abandoned their faith. He reminded the priests that Catholics are called to reach out to those who have lost their faith and provide them with knowledge and comfort. O’Malley stated his determination for success to his audience of priests: “I want to go on record today as say-

Person to Watch Sepsis is a disease that many Americans have never heard about. It is a disease in which the immune system overproduces an inflammatory response and effectively kills off healthy cells. It is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and continues to kill people every day. Dr. Kevin Tracey, Boston College ’79, is leading the fight against sepsis with groundbreaking research on the immune system. He has raised awareness of sepsis through conferences and meetings. Tracey is also the current president of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the research division of the Long Island Jewish Hospital system. Tracey credits his pathway into medicine to the curiosity of knowing how things work. T. Ross Kelly, Tracey’s organic chemistry professor, helped further his interest in science and medicine. Tracey worked in Kelly’s laboratory and was so passionate about research that he became conflicted in his future plans to attend medical school. Ultimately, he pursued a doctorate in medicine and became an accomplished neurosurgeon. However, it was one specific patient who changed how Tracey thought about tackling diseases and compelled him to drop his clinical career all together. An 11-month-old child named Janice came into the emergency unit of Cornell University

Hospital. The patient had severe burns after her grandmother accidently spilled boiling water on her. Tracey and a team of doctors eventually healed the severe burns but Janice suffered from a lack of oxygen, which led to widespread organ failure and eventual death. Tracey was puzzled by what had happened and decided to stop his clinical duties as a doctor and focus solely on research. He soon discovered that Janice’s death was

Who: Dr. Kevin Tracey, Boston College Class of 1979 What: President of the institute doing ground breaking research on sepsis Where: Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the research divison of the Long Island Jewish Hospital system Why it matters: Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in America and a major immune system illness.

ing to you that I and the staff of the Archdiocese will do whatever it takes to make this work. No doubt, there will be anticipated and unanticipated challenges. We will meet them, one-by -one, as they arise and try to do this in an organic way, taking the time needed to do this well.” The cardinal’s new plan aims to enable the Catholic community to take on the role of a disciple more efficiently than the current arrangement allows for. The archdiocese plans to resolve some of the issues the Church has been facing for years: poor Mass attendance, declining numbers of men and women entering a religious order, and widespread financial crises. They will hold 10 regional meetings throughout the next few months to survey the parish’s thoughts and concerns. Information regarding the grouping of parishes has not been released yet— more details will be revealed this spring. So far, it is known that parishes that are geographically close to each other have a high chance of entering the same cluster. Under this reorganization, it is evident that the laity and church staff will be given much more responsibility, including teaching religious education classes and participating in the general up-keeping of facilities. Hesitanc y among par ishioners at this time is understandable. The Catholic Church has gone through several changes throughout the years, the most recent being the introduction of the new English translation of the Roman Missal. Churchgoers all over the world are forced to change the way they have participated in the Mass for the last 40 years. O’Malley responded to any inhibitions by stating that “the temptation is to do things that are selfserving, that make our lives easier and more comfortable, that make us more popular. But being a father is always about making sacrifices for the sake of our family.” In this case, change is a sacrifice that must be carried out in order to redirect the path of an entire faith. n

By: Arjun Gajulapalli

caused by high levels of a certain protein called TNF that lead Janice’s immune system to attack healthy cells. He and his lab also learned of another protein involved in sepsis called HMGB-1. Conducting research at the Feinstein Institute, he was eventually named president in 2005. It seems as if Tracey would be satisfied with all of the work he has done. Yet, in his own words, “Doing science is just addictive. It is more like a hobby th a n a job.”

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

MBTA price raise most impacts elderly, disabled MBTA, from D1 options. Both plans that are currently under discussion pair service reductions with price increases. Under Scenario 1, prices will increase across the board for MBTA services by an average of 43 percent. The Green Line “E” train, Mattapan high speed train, and Commuter Rail will be removed from service on weekends (as well as after 10 p.m. on weekdays for the Commuter Rail), and upwards of 20 bus routes will be eliminated on weekends and weekdays. Under Scenario 2, prices will increase by only 35 percent with the same rail transportation cuts, but much more drastically cut bus routes with upwards of 100 routes eliminated. Scenario 1 is expected to have a net gain of $161 million annually (up 34 percent) with a $123.2 million increase in fare costs despite a projected 9 to 13 percent drop in current ridership, as well as $38.3 million operating cost savings. Meanwhile, Scenario 2 impacts about 20 million more riders, but projects a net gain of $165 million annually (up 35 percent) through an $86.6 increase in fare revenue and a $78.4 million savings in operating costs.

“These are difficult decisions for us; we don’t take it lightly,’’ said Jonathan R. Davis, the MBTA’s chief financial officer and acting general manager, to The Boston Globe earlier this month, in regards to the choice the MBTA faces in the coming months. However, the issue has become an emotional one for riders despite the emphasis on facts and figures, as these first two proposals both include the largest price increases for the elderly and disabled T riders, both of whom were well-represented and vocal at Tuesday night’s Newton town meeting. Senior prices would increase by 175 percent or 83.3 percent while the costs of THE RIDE–the MBTA’s service for persons who are mentally or physically disabled and cannot use public transportation– would increase by 125 percent and 500 percent under Scenario 1 or 50 percent and 150 percent depending on the service area of the rider. Members of the Newton community spoke strongly against the costs levied toward these two groups on Tuesday night, and although only 45 of the 85 people who signed up to give comments were able to do so before the meeting had to be adjourned, the majority of those speakers

had strong words about the unfairness of price increases on these demographics. It is not only adults who are getting riled up about these changes. Zach Tucker, a freshman at Emerson College, saw the notice about the MBTA’s plans on Jan. 3 during his winter break at home in Grafton, Mass., and created a website and Facebook page to oppose the changes by the early hours of Jan. 4. By the end of the day, his page for the group, Students Against T Cuts, already had 50 “likes.” “I’m not the only one who cares about this, what can I do to get other students involved?” Tucker said during a phone interview. Although Emerson College is not directly affected by the service cuts, Tucker said he felt inspired to bring the issue to students’ attention because, “It’s about being a good community member and looking after other people … it’s about solidarity.” Currently, Students Against T Cuts (lead by Tucker and Melanie Katz of Emerson College, and James Bensan of Northeastern University) aims to spread awareness about the issue and create chapters of the group across the city, beginning with Northeastern where Tucker is working with Bensan to tackle the

spread of information. On their website, Students Against T Cuts clearly outlines the MBTA plans and explains why, in their view, these cuts and fare hikes are not a proper solution. However, Tucker clarified that the group is not aiming to blame the MBTA for these issues, but rather believes that they have been forced into such drastic measures by inadequate help from the state government. To this effect, the group is currently promoting their letter-writing campaign. It is a unique effort because there is no formal letter for the campaign, but rather the site encourages people to personalize their online submissions, which Students Against T Cuts will then print, collate, and hand deliver in bulk to state government officials. This is a move that Tucker hopes will catch more attention and inspire more discussion than the traditional, individual submissions of a letter-writing campaign. In the face of such an enormous debt and few options that will not disrupt someone’s use of Boston’s public transportation system, the MBTA’s decision process will not be an easy one, and the time until the MBTA Board votes on its final decision in April will be crucial for groups such as Students Against T Cuts to make their position heard. n

Marc Francis is the Asst. Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

Andrew Schweiger is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

THE ISSUE:

The Massachusetts Senate elections for 2012 have placed Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren at the forefront of the race. Last week, a letter Brown wrote to Warren made news headlines as he requested the ban of third-party ads on the grounds that they misinform the public. Warren proposed crafting an enforceable agreement between both parties, outlining the blockage of third-party groups and independent groups that have spent millions campaigning for the two. If either party fails to honor the agreement, consequences of some sort will be imposed. The entire country eagerly awaits the outcome of such a move as the race for the Senate seat becomes more important the closer we get to the presidential election.

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Creating an honest campaign Restraints crush momentum In the upcoming Massachusetts senatorial race between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren, strategists are estimating that a hefty amount of $60 million will be spent on advertisements. The candidates are each expected to spend $20 million, while third party groups will put forth another $20 million to support their respective candidates. Brown recently asked Warren to join him in condemning negative ads by third party groups in this particular United States Senate campaign. According to The Boston Globe, Warren responded to Brown saying, “If you are serious about stopping the political games and . . . keeping out third party ads and independent groups, I’m ready.” This was a good call on Brown’s part for three reasons. First, it calls for a fair and honest campaign. Too often, election campaigns in the U.S. are smothered with smear tactics, most of which are through negative ads. With this denouncing of third party negative ads, it eliminates all of the “excess,” or those who are not key players in the election. These third parties usually have an agenda with their ads—specifically wanting the public to know which candidate does not support the organization’s major issues. It’s okay to voice an opinion, but it’s a different matter when it is done in a manner that is unauthorized and unendorsed by the candidate

Clara Kim is a senior staff writer for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@ bcheights.com.

Marc Francis Senate candidates Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren are taking the mudslinging and backhanded comments out of their upcoming election by asking all third party groups to stop running ads. This is a poor decision because they are not only insulting the people who have placed them into positions of power, but are also displaying their own weaknesses. One of the main reasons a politician is viewed as a role model is because he or she generally demonstrates poise and persistence when confronted with the media’s gossip, rumors, and misleading information. If a candidate cannot tolerate the pressures of media backlash, how can anyone expect him or her to withstand the legitimate anxieties and concerns that a senatorial position entails? Secondly, the impact on the morale of the candidates’ supporters will be colossal. The prospect of losing followers is an additional possibility. It should be kept in mind that support from the public is just as important after elections as it is before votes are cast. Once in office, a senator uses his supporters as a source of innovation. They provide him with the tools and ideas for change. Also, the third parties involved often do reveal the truth

Andrew Schweiger

about the candidates. Although Brown and Warren denounce the ads as misleading, one must wonder why the third parties inspired such sensitivity if they were genuinely “untrue.” Supporters have the right to voice their opinions of each candidate, regardless of the personal feelings of Warren and Brown. By rejecting enthusiasts, the winning senator will not be as well-liked or as successful as he or she could have been with the complete support of devotees. Lastly, one must ask, “What is a football game without the diehard fans?” The fans that go the extra mile in honor of the team they support make sports so popular. If fans were not allowed to cheer their team on and cast slurs at the opposing team, the number of tickets sold to attend games would drastically decrease. The same principle applies to a political race—the more restrictions imposed on candidates’ supporters, the less interested Americans will be in politics. One can expect the rest of the campaign to be nothing but a dry exchange of words between the candidates because it is the public and the media that bring the excitement, and excitement breeds optimization and involvement.

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they support. The third parties aren’t running for a Senate seat, so they shouldn’t help the candidates unless they ask for it. By doing this, it puts all organizations and individuals on the same level. Secondly, addressing this issue shows consciousness of their campaign on Brown and Warren’s part. Rather than allowing unaffiliated third parties to release negative advertisements of their opponent, they’re denouncing these actions altogether and are capping their campaign allotment for ads at $5 million, which is commendable. Candidates should spend money to advertise for their campaign, but advertisements can only do so much— candidates must be reasonable in how much money they allocate to ads because exorbitant amounts of money toward ads are futile. Brown and Warren are showing Massachusetts that they are conscious of campaign integrity and finances. Lastly, Brown and Warren are setting a standard which the rest of the country should follow. Candidates should run for election in a fair and honest manner, where everyone plays on the same level. Leave the smearing to the debates, where the candidates themselves can question their opponent in a professional manner—not third parties.

Redefining modern government

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines an autocracy as a government in which one person possesses unlimited power. However, this is a definition I simply cannot, nor will not, accept. No sane populace wants to be rendered absolutely powerless, and yet that is the direct result of a single person wielding unlimited power. Citizens of any state desire the freedoms, rights, and privileges intrinsically afforded to them as human beings. Thus, it should come as no surprise that passionate public protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria broke out with demands that political power be held by those who receive popular support from the citizen majority. Any supposed government in which one person wields complete authority without a single shred of accountability is not a government I’m willing to recognize. It was in December of 2010 that a college-educated Tunisian man burned himself to death in protest of the economic conditions in Tunisia, and in doing so literally provided the spark that began what has been famously nicknamed in the media as the Arab Spring. What the world has been witnessing over these many months is not the revolution against and collapse of numerous Middle Eastern autocracies, but the culminated suffering of abused populaces that are fully discovering self-awareness and revolting against the highly organized repression of their political states. Corruption and injustice were once the norm in Middle Eastern countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. Until very recently, their political leaders reigned unopposed through sheer force of will and power for decades. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia rose to the presidency in 1987 through a bloodless coup ‘d’etat. Ben Ali continued to hold the position of Tunisia’s presidency for the following 23 years during which serious questions pertaining to the legitimacy of presidential elections and human rights violations were not uncommon. Following the assassination of then-President Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1981, Hosni Mubarak assumed the presidency of Egypt for the next 30 years. Only after hundreds of thousands of Egyptians openly protested and clashed with secret police for 17 days did Mubarak resign, though political uncertainty persists as Egypt’s military continues to indefinitely hold power. Muammar Gaddafi, who rose to power through a military coup, incited a violent civil war rather than surrendering power of Libya. Efforts to stabilize the region are still being made. The unrest visually hit home after I watched a recent video depicting Syrian government snipers in the city of Homs enforce an unofficial curfew between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. (If you’re interested, it’s on YouTube under the title “Snipers Rule the Streets of Homs”). Anyone attempting to cross or use the street during that time is subsequently targeted. In the video, some citizens of Homs resort to throwing loaves of bread across the street to waiting neighbors while the harsh ricochet of sniper fire is clearly audible. I must have watched it three or four times, and the sound of the sniper fire seemed to only get all the more real each time I watched. Those snipers were not posted on the roofs of buildings because they thought it would be fun to shoot at unarmed civilians trying to cross the street, nor because they had gone rogue from the military. They were there because they had been ordered to enforce an unofficial curfew on anyone simply attempting to leave their homes between the arbitrary hours of 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. Thomas Jefferson, a colonial, wigwearing Anglo-American, stated back in 1787, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” Long after the life of Jefferson, his opinion on the tree of liberty is no less relevant today than it was 200 years ago. It is my sincere New Year’s wish that we, as a human community, are able to bear witness to undeniably real progress toward truly legitimate governments of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Emerson student Zach Tucker heard about the MBTA plans for service reductions (such as removal of the ferry) and price increases, and created Students Against T Cuts in protest.

Clara Kim

Questioning Conventions

The Heights

Thursday, January 19, 2012

BY CHARLOTTE PARISH

Right after the holidays when wallets have taken a hit, the best excursions to the city are the ones that cost the least. Luckily for college students, many events and museums are designed to entice the typical cash-strapped student, of which there are 600,000 attending institutions of higher learning in Boston alone. If you can brave the weather, the Frog

Pond makes an incredible deal for students on Tuesday nights with $2 skating admission (rentals are available inside but do cost extra). Although the frigid temperatures are awful for walking across campus, they have helped to freeze the rink and guaranteed that College Night will persevere despite the warm weather in December that forced a few weeks of

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Famous for burgers busting with toppings, Pour House makes meals that fit any bargain budget.

cancellations for the event. As soon as hot cocoa can’t keep you sufficiently warm and you’re searching for an inside location, head about five blocks west down Boylston Street until you reach the Christian Science Center. Although Mary Baker Eddy, whose final home was, coincidentally, in Chestnut Hill founded the Center in 1879 as a religious institute, it is now open to tourists and houses an incredible work of art known as the Mapparium. Upon entering the Mapparium, you are surrounded by a 30-foot sphere that is painted in an ornate stained glass globe of the world that can be viewed from a suspended bridge. Inside, there is a combination of music, spoken information, LED lights, and an exhibit to explain the history of the impressive structure, which was designed by Chester Lindsay Churchill. Spend as long as you want in this visually stunning room because admission is completely free. To round out the cheapest day in the city, some sustenance is required. There is no better place for a cheap yet delicious meal than Pour House. Conveniently located across from the Prudential Center, this restaurant’s signature specialities are its burgers: huge, tasty, unique, U.S. state-themed burgers that range from the artery-

Allston-Brighton Crime Reports 12/23/11 — 1/15/12

Boston Police Arrest 2nd Suspect Wanted in Connection with NonFatal Shooting at 15 Chester Street

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The Christian Science Center’s Mapparium is a barrage of stained glass and LED lights. clogging Idaho, which is topped with bacon and cheddar potato skins, to the flavorful Hawaii with grilled pineapple and teriyaki sauce. All of these burgers come in single, double, or triple patty variety, but none break the bank. The full basket, including fries and a pickle, averages $6 for a single and $8 for a triple. Of course, you can always come back

on a Saturday evening instead when burgers are half price if you’re seated after 6 p.m. As wonderful as the shops of Newbury Street and the Prudential Center are, the Frog Pond, Christian Science Center, and Pour House provide a much more interesting and inexpensive outing into the nooks and crannies of Boston.

Restaurant review

Teatro dresses dishes to impress

On Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, officers and detectives from the Brighton-Allston area, along with members of the Boston Police Swat Team executed a search warrant at 33 Tremlett Street in Dorchester. Upon entering the location, officers located a Boston man who was wanted in connection with a non-fatal shooting on Chester Street in Brighton. At about 10:21 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, officers from the Brighton-Allston area responded to an inside scene for two persons shot at 15 Chester Street in Allston. On arrival, officers located two males suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds. Both victims were later treated for non-life threatening injuries. A man was arrested and will be charged with Armed Assault in a Dwelling, Armed Robbery, and Assault with Intent to Murder. Seven days earlier, on Jan. 6, 2012, officers arrested a second man from Randolph and charged him with Armed Assault in a Dwelling, Armed Robbery, and Assault with Intent to Murder.

Identification Wanted: Bank Robbery Task Force Seeks to Identify Individual in Surveillance Image The Bank Robbery Task Force is seeking to identify the individual pictured in a surveillance image from a downtown Sovereign Bank. Detectives ask anyone with information to please contact 617-223-6407. On Jan. 5, 2012, at approximately 8:40 a.m., officers responded to 1 Beacon Street for a report of a bank robbery. The suspect is described as a white male, mid 20’s, 5’11’’, wearing a white hat and carrying a green nylon bag. The suspect fled toward the Park Street MBTA Station. No weapons were shown during the robbery. The Bank Robbery Task Force is actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is asked to call 617-223-6407. Community members wanting to assist this investigation anonymously can either call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1(800) 494TIPS). The Boston Police Department will stringently protect the identity of all individuals who wish to remain anonymous.

Cat Burglar Collared for “Catnapping” On Dec. 23 around 1:33 p.m., officers from Boston’s Distrioct 14 Police Department in Brighton responded to 28 Greylock Rd. in Brighton for a breaking and entering in progress. En route, officers were advised that the suspect had fled down Glenville St. from Greylock Road. Officers responded by going in the direction of the fleeing suspect and encountered someone matching his description at the intersection of Greylock and Glenville. There, the individual matching the suspect description was stopped but refused to speak to officers. Then the victim ran up to the officers and stated, “That’s the guy that stole my cat!”

The victim reported that he called 911 when he got back in his apartment with his cat and noticed his bedroom window open and the screen wide open. The suspect was then arrested and charged with Breaking and Entering a Dwelling House, and Larceny from a Building.

- Courtesy of the Boston Police Department, District 14 Gathered by Charlotte Parish, Metro Editor

HOUSE AD

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By Charlotte Parish Metro Editor

It takes an enormous feat of flexibility for a restaurant to lend itself to the random passerby from the park, the casual group for a girl’s night out to the movies, and the sophisticated couple off to enjoy the ballet at the Boston Opera House. Yet the culinary talents of Teatro does exactly that with dishes appealing to all the senses and sporting incredible prices, given the quality of experience received. Residing at 177 Tremont Street, Teatro has a prime location to gain the customers from the nearby Theater District, from the AMC movie theater right next door, as well as walk-ins from the busy Commons area, and deftly makes itself appealing to all. The decor immediately lends calmness to the restaurant, as the lighting is entirely hidden in the walls with a blue light projected onto a Renaissanceesque ceiling. The overall feel of the interior is 14th century elegance combined with a more modern sleekness, shown in the combination of scalloped wall decorations above clean, light color marble walls. Without bulky furnishings or light fixtures, Teatro makes the most of their smallish space in this design scheme. And although the tables are fairly close together (eavesdropping is an accidental necessity because of the proximity), the overall noise level was surprisingly low and the restaurant did not feel cramped. From the moment of walking in the door to receiving the check, the restaurant’s service is by far the highlight of a visit and brings the experience to another level. Head chef and co-owner Jaime Mammano has plenty of experience in fine-tuning and attention to detail in the restaurant business, which most likely accounts for the seamlessness of the wait staff. Teatro is actually one of six restaurants that Mammano has opened with Paul Roiff in Massachusetts alone–the South End’s Mistral being the oldest, in 1997, and Burlington, Mass.’s L’Andana being the newest in 2007. Mammano is nationally renowned for his talents, garnering recognition on numerous best restaurant lists for several of his locations, and has been featured on CNN and NBC. The reason that Teatro’s service goes above and beyond other restaurants is that the entire wait staff seems to be at your disposal, rather than one waiter assigned for all of the tables’ needs. With separate servers for drinks and clearing, runners bringing the food, a headwaiter, and the manager roaming to check on

tables, every diner at Teatro is treated like a VIP. This fantastic service makes it that much more pleasant to experience the absolutely amazing dishes, from starting with freshly made bread and oil dip while pursuing the menu to the saccharine finishers. Beginning the night, the Marsala-glazed veal meatball appetizer was a perfect warm up. Tender and spice-packed, the veal meatballs were an interesting take on their traditional hamburger relative and the corn polenta that garnished the side made the $6 starter an incredible dish. Not to be overshadowed, the dinner plates were equally flavorful and fresh. Although portions of the fettucelle (with rock shrimp, Location: 177 Tremont Street, Boston Cuisine: Italian Signature Dish: Marsala Veal Meatballs Atmosphere: 9 / 10 Price: $$$ Overall Experience: A

miniature tomatoes, and doused in a lemon butter sauce, priced at $20) and seared scallops (tossed with mushrooms, brussel sprouts, bacon, and flavored with a tantalizing apple butter, priced at $22) were not particularly large, the only reason that you would want more after clearing the plate is because they were so delicious, not because they left you hungry. Last but not least (in fact winning first prize in the eyes of any true chocoholic), the “al Buio” dark chocolate cake was impeccable with true, deep cacao flavor that forces diners to savor it. The most unique part of Teatro’s dinner menu is that the menu is split up by the size of the plate–ranging from Fresco and Caldo to Secondi and Pastas–and any of the largest dinner options can be had in a small plate, or Piattini size, for half price. With so many temptations on the menu, this is a highly recommended option. Of course, sharing sampler platters between diners means that you will have to fight off your fellow foodies for this delicious fare.