The Heights 01/27/2014 by The Heights

WORK HARD

‘THE CLEAN HOUSE’ GOLDEN GIRL

FEATURES

ARTS & REVIEW

SPORTS

Student employees reveal ups and downs of working on campus, B10

A “metaphysical Connecticut” comes to the Bonn Studio Theater, A10

McKenzie Meehan made her mark at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, B1

www.bcheights.com

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

HEIGHTS

THE

established

1919

Monday, January 27, 2014

Vol. XCV, No. 3

UGBC 2014-15 candidate teams announced by EC Three teams set to campaign in UGBC elections BY NATHAN MCGUIRE Asst. News Editor

The Elections Committee (EC) released the names of the candidates running for UGBC president and vice-president on Sunday night, one week after the pool was reopened following the prospect of an uncontested election at the initial filing deadline. The teams running for president and vice president, respectively, are Nanci FioreChettiar, Student Assembly senator and A&S ’15, and Chris Marchese, SA senator and A&S ’15; Robert Watt, A&S ’16, and Michael Moazampour, A&S ’16; and Lucas Levine, A&S ’15, and Vance Vegara, A&S ’15. At the 5 p.m. filing deadline, four teams had filed for candidacy, but one team dropped out by the end of the day. Fiore-Chettiar and Marchese were originally the only team running, but they encouraged the EC to reopen the applicant pool to avoid an uncontested election. The EC decided last Monday to extend the initial Jan. 16 deadline. In an email to undergraduate students on Jan. 20, the EC encouraged students to consider running and assured potential candidates that they did not have to attend the usually mandatory informational meeting in December in order to be eligible. According to an email statement released last week by Rachel Fagut, co-chair of the EC and CSOM ’14, the EC, the Student

Programs Office (SPO), and Fiore-Chettiar and Marchese felt that it would be a disservice to the student body for the election to go uncontested. It was reported last week that the EC thought the recent amendment to UGBC’s programming ability and changes in the campaign timeline might have discouraged potential candidates from running. In December, the Student Assembly (SA) voted 38-1 to separate programming from the student government. Fiore-Chettiar abstained from the vote. Marchese, now her running mate, supported the amendment. In an interview after the vote, Fiore-Chettiar expressed concern about the process that lead to the amendment and the prospect that the change would not be implemented properly. Currently, the change is being organized and will take effect in the fall. This year’s campaign season comes about two months earlier and is shorter than in past years. The changes were generated within the EC and passed through SPO administrators, with the reasoning that a sooner election would allow the elected officials more time to transition into their new roles. The shortening of the campaign period was a result of SPO’s assertion that the length of past elections was detrimental both to the student body’s interest in the election and to the candidates’ well being. Another change in the elections code will prevent teams from campaigning in residence halls outside of time periods specified by the EC. For instance, candidates will only be permitted to campaign in Upper Campus and College Road dormitories on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. The EC’s election code states that the

See UGBC Elections, A4

CONNOR FARLEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Last Thursday, members of the BC community who support keeping the Campus School on BC’s campus gathered in St. Ignatius.

Campus School parents host prayer service BY MARY ROSE FISSINGER Special Projects Editor Handcrafted signs bearing messages such as, “Please Save Boston College Campus School” and “We work best when we work together, hand in hand, Campus School and Boston College” adorned the altar of St. Ignatius Church Thursday night at the prayer service organized by Campus School parents. Several hundred parents, siblings, volunteers, faculty members, and other supporters came in from the singledigit temperatures outside to fill over half of the 950-person capacity nave. Every attendee was given an electronic candle to hold as the service began with

an introduction from co-chairwomen of the Parent Advisory Committee Kristen Morin and Laura Yorke. “The mission of tonight is not about what could happen, it’s about what we have and what we want to continue to have, and to pray for the progress that we’re making,” Morin began. “We hope you all leave here knowing how much you’re loved, how much our school is loved, and how much it needs to stay here at BC and nowhere else.” They then introduced Rev. Ronald K. Tacelli, S.J., to deliver the opening remarks. Tacelli, who is the relative of a Campus School student, has been a vocal opponent to the school’s potential relocation to the Kennedy Day School.

Students gather in Lyons for spring involvement fair BY ALEXIA LAFATA For The Heights This past Thursday, 102 student organizations and almost 900 students gathered in Lyons for the second semester Student Fair. Students at the fair were greeted with information about a wide variety of student-run organizations, including performance groups, preprofessional clubs, international clubs, service clubs, and more. Adrienne Dumpe of the student programs office (SPO) and Ricky Knapp, vice president of the Division of Student Organizations and A&S ’14, were at the forefront in organizing the fair. “[The Division of Student Organizations] acts as an advocate and resource for all student organizations on campus,” Knapp said. His main goal was to help connect the many student clubs to the student body, and the Student Activities Fair

BY ANDREW SKARAS Heights Editor Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on the fires that were set in Stokes Hall and Gasson Hall on Nov. 9.

“The Council also recognizes that individual members will act according to their convictions on these complex matters,” the resolution reads. An online petition by the BC club Eagles for Israel seeks the administration’s approval to withdraw the University’s institutional membership with the ASA. “We are deeply committed to the values of academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas and consider the resolution a threat to these values that are basic to the ideals of education,” the petition reads. “Since its founding in 1863, the objective of Boston College has been to foster academic excellence and emulate the values and principles of our Jesuit, Catholic tradition. We urge [University President

On Dec. 30, Pengliang Yue, A&S ’15, appeared in the Newton District Court in a Probable Cause Hearing regarding the fires set in Gasson and Stokes Halls last November. No judgment was issued from the hearing, however, and it was set to be continued on Jan. 31. Yue was arraigned in that court on Nov. 27 on nine counts—three counts of attempted arson, four counts of destruction of property, one count of arson, and one count of disorderly conduct—to which he pled not guilty, according to court documents. The Commonwealth requested that bail be set to $5,000 and the defense requested that it be set at $2,000. Citing his lack of a criminal record, bail was set to $2,500 cash with conditions—Yue was ordered to stay away from Boston College and surrender his passport to the Probation Department. He was further forbidden from possessing any incendiary devices, from consuming alcohol, and from leaving the state of Massachusetts. Yue is also required to report to probation one day per week, submit to random alcohol screenings, and continue to live in his apartment on Commonwealth Ave. According to the police report filed by BCPD with the Newton District Court, the police department received a dispatch at 9:47 p.m. on Nov. 9 for a fire in Gasson Hall. Officers Bueno, Gannon, and Holland responded to the dispatch. Gannon observed two wooden

See ASA, A4

See Fires, A4

TATIANA PETROVICK / HEIGHTS STAFF

Nearly 900 students and 102 student orgainzations attended the student activities fair.

American Studies Association boycotts Israeli colleges BY REBECCA MORETTI Heights Staff

On Dec. 4, 2013, the American Studies Association (ASA) issued a resolution calling for an academic boycott of Israeli universities, encouraging its member institutions, which include Boston College, to act in support of the boycott. According to the organization’s website, the ASA is a “scholarly organization devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history.” The ASA contains 13 chapters, including The New England American Studies Association chapter, of which BC is currently a member. The organization also includes 2,200 library, university, and other institutional subscribers as well as 5,000 individual members, who receive ASA publications such as The American Quarterly and the

ASA newsletter. According to the ASA National Council, the recent boycott on Israel emerges from “the context of U.S. military and other support for Israel; Israel’s violation of international law and UN resolutions; the documented impact of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian scholars and students; the extent to which Israeli institutions of higher education are a party to state policies that violate human rights; and finally, the support of such a resolution by a majority of ASA members.” “There is no effective or substantive academic freedom for Palestinian students and scholars under conditions of Israeli occupation,” the ASA’s resolution reads. “Whereas the American Studies Association is dedicated to the right of students and scholars to pursue education and

See Campus School, A4

Student to be tried for setting ﬁres

plays a crucial role in this connection. Knapp mainly worked on advertising the fair to freshman and transfer students, but any Boston College student was welcome. Representing their heritages at the fair were culture groups like the Hawaii Club, Asian Caucus, Taiwanese Cultural Organization, Japan Club, and Brazilian Club, among others. Various a cappella groups like the Acoustics, Shaan, Voices of Imani, Beats, and the Bostonians were also present. Comedy groups like Hello … Shovelhead! and the Committee for Creative Enactments (CCE) also made appearances at the fair. The CCE, a murder mystery and improv comedy group on campus, does not make any cuts during auditions and is committed to welcoming all lovers of comedy. Students looking to join pre-pro-

See Involvement Fair, A4

He began his remarks by calling all to remember why they were there—not to criticize other facilities that serve those with special needs, but to pray that the Campus School remain at BC. He asked God to “open the minds and hearts” of those who will ultimately decide if the Campus School is to stay in Campion Hall, and he stressed the “unique good” that the Campus School does for all those involved with it. “Lord, your presence in and through these beautiful children has already blessed BC and blessed its life for many, many years,” he said. “We pray tonight that your presence in this campus and

research without undue state interference, repression, and military violence, and in keeping with the spirit of its previous statements supports the right of students and scholars to intellectual freedom and to political dissent as citizens and scholars,” the resolution reads. “It is resolved that the ASA endorses and will honor the call of Palestinian civil society for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.” A letter signed by the eight past presidents of the ASA called the boycott “antithetical to the mission of free and open inquiry for which a scholarly organization stands.” The resolution does not apply to individual Israeli scholars engaged in ordinary forms of academic exchange, and collaboration on research and publications between individual scholars does not fall under the ASA boycott.

TopTHREE

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 27, 2014

things to do on campus this week

Afghanistan Lecture

Tuesday Time: 5 p.m. Location: Higgins 300

Yale University associate professor of political science Jason Lyall will speak on aid, violence, and post-2014 Afghanistan for the Afghanistan After 2014 lecture series, sponsored by the Boston College Institute for the Liberal Arts.

Professors & Pastries

Wednesday Time: 3:30 p.m. Location: Stokes S140

The Academic Advising Center’s recurring program returns for an event called “Suddenly It’s Summer.” Students can mingle with professors, receive advice, and enjoy complementary desserts.

Lecture & Performance Wednesday Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Gasson 100

The Institute for the Liberal Arts and the music department will sponsor a lecture and performance entitled, “John Cage and the Experimental American Tradition” given by Stephen Drury, artistic director of the Callithumpian Consort.

FEATURED STORY

Lerner receives grant for child development study BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor Having dedicated nearly 30 years to researching youth and adolescent development—18 of which were spent at Boston College’s Lynch of School of Education—Jacqueline Lerner, professor of applied developmental and educational psychology, has been awarded a $1.96 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to study moral development in children and teens. The research project is a three-year longitudinal study titled, “Doing the Right Thing: Intentional Self-Regulation and the Promotion of Character Development,” and it focuses particularly on children’s sense of moral responsibility. “One of the things I think everybody knows is that youth have moral knowledge … what’s right and wrong,” Lerner said. “We hope that our youth do the right thing, but at the same time we know they fall short of that. They engage in risk, they’re not always honest—so there’s this disconnect between moral knowledge and knowing the right thing and actually doing it in some kids.” The grant will finance a collaborative research team split between BC and Tufts University comprised of about 15-20 members ranging from post-doctoral researchers, current doctoral students, undergraduates, and data analysts. Data for the study will be collected from observing approximately 900 students in fifth, seventh, and ninth grade over the course

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Professor Jacqueline Lerner was awarded nearly $2 million for her psychology research. of three years. The study is an extension of research Lerner has compiled over several decades on positive youth development, and it aims to address what she has defined as the “Five Cs” of children’s developmental psychology—a model of analyzing social and moral maturation that encompasses confidence, competence, caring, character, and connection. “So now what we’re doing is digging deeper into that ‘C’ of character,” Lerner said. “We have some hunches and hypotheses about what keeps youth engaged in the kinds of activities and thinking that helps them stay on track in terms of their honesty, their diligence,

their goal-directedness, so that they can be considered to be developing high character.” Lerner’s research on youth self-regulation and adolescent virtuous behavior was highly developed during a study conducted by her and her husband Richard M. Lerner, the Bergstrom chair in Applied Developmental Science and the director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University. Funded by the National 4-H Council in 2002, Lerner and a team of researchers embarked on a large-scale, 10-year study that tracked 7,000 adolescent students across 42 states to observe the internal values and strengths that influence

POLICE BLOTTER

1/21/14-1/24/14

Tuesday, January 21

Wednesday, January 22

10:29 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny in Corcoran Commons.

11:07 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance in Fenwick Hall.

2:13 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny in Stayer Hall.

7:12 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in O’Neill Library. The student was later transported to a medical facility.

2:23 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Gasson Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility. 4:21 p.m. - A report was filed regarding an officer assisting another police agency off campus. 10:28 p.m. - A report was filed regarding vandalism to a residence in Williams Hall. 11:20 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Williams Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility.

9:53 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Conte Forum. The student was later transported to a medical facility. 10:28 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance in Cheverus Hall.

Applications for incoming freshmen at the University of Colorado Boulder have increased by 33 percent overall this year, according to The Huffington Post. Kevin MacLennan, the university’s admissions director, attributed the spike in applications for the class of 2018 to the school’s moving to the Common Application and visiting 120 more high schools during recruiting trips. The recent legalization of marijuana in the state of Colorado, he said, was not a reason his office recognized as a contributor to the application increase. “I don’t know,” MacLennan said of whether the new marijuana law affected the number of applications. “One of the things is we’re not getting a lot of questions from families about that. We don’t have any mechanism of tracking that. I just don’t know.” MacLennan said that the univer-

1:18 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a past larceny in Lyons Hall. 6:38 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC employee in McElroy Commons. 8:53 p.m.. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Fenwick Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility.

Friday, January 24 2:17 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious person in the Hillsides parking area.

Thursday, January 23 12:32 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a lost parking transponder off campus.

College Corner NEWS FROM UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY BY JULIE ORENSTEIN Assoc. News Editor

one to act morally. The study led Lerner to develop the “Five Cs” model, and it has provided researchers a method to define, measure, and promote positive youth development. “I still approach [the study] with the same developmental system that I’ve used to guide my three decades of research,” she said. “And that is I believe youth develop in a context—and they have reciprocal relationships with the people and events and things in a context, and we always have to look closely at what’s going on in their families, lives, and schools at a school setting. “The thing that’s different about this grant is that it digs deeper into one of the aspects of positive youth development that my 10-year study found to be very important … So we did a longitudinal study to find out that there’s certain internal strengths and ‘external assets,’ we call them, that when they combine across development, a child or teen can develop these ‘Five Cs.’” Lerner believes the study will lend insight into the relationships between a child’s environment and his or her inclination to act morally. “We’re going to examine what’s in the context in terms of their role models and their experiences,” Lerner said. The team of researchers will examine children’s internal strengths, self-regulation, goal-setting abilities, and hopeful futures—all areas of study that the 4-H study found to be critical to child development— to assess moral decision making. 

sity was encouraged by the increase in applications, and that it is typical for schools to experience a 25 to 30 percent rise in applications in its first year using the Common App. Applications from out-of-state students rose 43 percent for CU Boulder, while international applications increased by 65 percent. “A couple of things are contributing heavily to this,” he said. “Our move to the Common Application significantly increased our reach in terms of applications, so we expected this. That coupled with an enhanced recruitment plan that gave us an even wider outreach and a larger outreach than we’ve ever had paid off as well.” CU spokesman Ryan Huff said he did not think legal marijuana made a “measurable impact” on application numbers. He acknowledged that most incoming freshmen are only 18 or 19 years old, and state law requires people to be at least 21 years old to consume marijuana. 

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

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 Connor Farley, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights. com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk. Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Connor Mellas, Sports Editor, at (617) 5520189, or email 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 John Wiley, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com. For future events, email 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 Eleanor Hildebrandt, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com. CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Marc Francis, 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.

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

VOICES FROM THE DUSTBOWL “What’s your least favorite abbreviation used at BC?”

“CSOM and its connotation.” —Nicole Strik, A&S ’17

“CoRo.” —Joe Arquillo, A&S ’17

“The Rat.” —Carson Truesdell, CSOM ’17

“Mozz stix—it doesn’t take that long to say ‘mozzarella.’” —Brian O’Neal, A&S ’16

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 27, 2014

Slowing our lives ADRIANA MARIELLA When I pick up a newspaper, I’m not comforted by the feel of its pages or by the familiar smell of the newsprint. Instead, I’m reminded that the thing I’m holding represents a “dying” industry (sorry, Heights), leaving me nostalgic for a mythic golden age of well-crafted, long-form journalism and the “good-withyour-handsness” that I imagine my grandparents’ generation had. In this perhaps figment past, people took pride in the process of creation, not just the in final product. I often find myself paralyzed by this kind of nostalgia, and seeing as a first column prompts some kind of introduction, I thought I would talk about it. In order to look forward, I’m constantly looking backward. I admire people who do things by hand, who really know how to do what they do. They are true masters of their crafts—a rarity in an economy that often demands quantity over quality. No matter the craft, whether it’s writing or art or carpentry, it takes time and care. The whole concept of craft seems antithetical to a world truncated to 140 characters. I don’t mean to say that nobody is good at what he or she does anymore. It’s arguable that scientists are better at what they do now than they ever were before, and tech powerhouses in Silicon Valley prove every day the power of human ingenuity. People still have crafts, but what those crafts are and how people go about doing them is changing every day, thanks to the speed and ease of technology. I’m not a Luddite—I tweet voraciously and have at times Instagrammed more than five pictures in one day (#aggressive)—but I often resent technology for disconnecting us, literally, from the things we do. French literary theorist Roland Barthes lamented the use of plastic instead of wood in children’s toys in his Mythologies. He mourned the superior tactile quality of wood as well as the loss of craftsmanship that the shift to plastic seemed to represent. It’s the same kind of unsettling and crude unnaturalness that Barthes saw in plastic that I see in virtual substitutes for real life—they seem to corrupt some sacred hierarchy of quality and authenticity. Although I know doing things “the old fashioned way” is generally less efficient, I’m scared that we no longer see the value of the tactile. Being able to do it that way demonstrates true mastery. I’m not suggesting we start doing things the way they “used to do it,” but if we always rely on technology to fill in ability gaps, we’ll have jacks-of-all-trades but masters of none. I know that my tech-phobia makes this sound like another “kids-these-days” column that sees Doomsday edging nearer with every new tweet, but I don’t mean it that way. I think we need to rethink our priorities. As students who spend four years engrossed in subjects that might seem “impractical,” we especially should be reluctant to see the book phased out for its digital counterpart or the careful, intellectual process of writing deemed too time consuming. It will be increasingly difficult for us to use our passions in the workplace if we don’t slow down our demand for quantity enough to appreciate the quality that results from time and finesse. While this might be the millennial in me talking, thinking I’ve been endowed with this right to a fulfilling vocation that I’m passionate about, I think the implications of forgetting to remember the distinction between the virtual and the tangible is as unsettling now as it was for Barthes in the 1950s, and for good reason. We are what we do.

Adriana Mariella is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at news@bcheights.com.

Energy Usage Per Resident Fall Semester 2013 Newton

Upper

392 kWh 374 kWh

CoRo 234 kWh Lower The Hill The Mods

BY JENNIFER HEINE Heights Staff

606 kWh 667 kWh 1365 kWh JORDAN PENTALERI / HIEGHTS GRAPHIC

Annual NRG games offer prizes, push for energy use awareness BY JENNIFER HEINE Heights Staff

The Boston College residence hall communities will soon go head to head as the annual NRG Games kick off this week. The event, coordinated by the Office of Sustainability, the EcoPledge student organization, and the BC Energy Department, pits the communities against one another for the next five weeks as they compete to reduce their energy usage. “It’s an opportunity for students in Res Halls to be able to look at the way they’re using energy, power, electricity, and so on and see if there are ways in which they can do a better job at not using so much power,” said BC Sustainability Program Director Robert Pion. The competition uses kilowatt hours, determining a baseline usage per community and comparing the various communities by these measurements. The winning residence community will have its name featured on a trophy, in addition to being awarded either a cash prize to be used for an end-of-year party or a public water-filling station. A breakdown of the residence halls’ utility projections reveals a majority of the usage, about 60 percent, is electrical, the focus of the NRG Games’ competition. Electrical energy is not reduced to turning off the lights, though—it includes such appliances as a hot water heater for residents’ showers. According to Pion, small changes can make a huge difference when it comes to conserving resources. In some cases, residents might be wasting energy without realizing it. “If you’re taking extra long showers, if you’re leaving your personal devices plugged in and they don’t need to be, if you’re using an incandescent bulb instead of an LED bulb or a compact fluorescent bulb, you’re using up a lot more energy than you need to be,” he said. “If you’re leaving their TV on all day, just using it as background, can you just leave

Cultural events set for Lunar New Year

it off for a few hours?” Sometimes problems with the building itself can result in wasted energy. “If someone has an issue with it being too hot or too cold, put in a work order,” Pion said. “Have the facilities people come in and take a look at it to make sure the thermostat is working properly, and then we can make some adjustments if necessary. “If people put in a work order, at least we can see if there is a pattern developing in a particular area or a particular building that

“We all have to think about the ways in which we use our resources. It’s something our parents have all told us: shut off the lights, don’t use so much hot water. We continue that here.” - Robert Pion Director of BC Sustainability Program really says, we should fix that. It’s a benefit for the student and a benefit for the University, we’re addressing problems that haven’t been addressed.” The weekly results will be available on a live dashboard on the Office of Sustainability website, accessible through the BC page. The office will also post the weekly results on the website as well as on its Facebook page, so students will be able to see how their residential community stands in the competition. Aside from an online presence, the NRG Games organizers have been working on promoting the event to an even greater extent

this year. “What we’re trying to do is to reach out to as many people as possible to let them know about the NRG Games,” Pion said. They have also reached out to a variety of organizations as well as the residential communities themselves to promote the NRG Games. “We have been working with other student organizations like EcoPledge and Eco Reps to have them publicize it,” said Varsha Ramesh, communications contact for the Office of Sustainability and A&S ’16. “Also we have reached out to RAs and RDs so that they can pass info along to their residents.” They also credit student volunteers with helping to bring the event directly to residence halls. “There are about six student volunteers who are responsible for sharing tips on how to save energy within their residence halls and motivating them to just participate in the games,” Ramesh said. Ultimately, they hope that the NRG Games help to set a precedent for conservation. “We all have to think about the ways in which we use our resources,” Pion said. “It’s something our parents have all told us: shut off the lights, don’t use so much hot water. We continue that here.” By making conservation a competition, they hope students will be more inclined to take part. “Our goal is mainly to make people more aware of simple ways to cut down our energy consumption,” Ramesh said. “By giving people a cash or prize incentive during these five weeks, we hope to help them realize that it’s not that hard to just save a little energy. If everyone pays attention to their usage it makes a big difference.” Pion agreed. “It’s helping to raise awareness in a way that’s light,” he said. “It’s a fun experience. If we get people to think just a little differently about how they view electricity in their room, then I think that’s making some

Although Jan. 1 has come and gone, the New Year’s celebrations will continue at Boston College as five of the culture clubs within the Asian Caucus will host a four-day series of events commemorating the Lunar New Year. The holiday, one of the most prominent in many Asian cultures, marks the beginning of a new zodiac calendar and falls on different days depending on lunar cycles, hence its name. “The best way to describe it in Asia is a combination of Christmas, New Year, July Fourth—that kind of atmosphere,” said Eric Phung, CSOM ’14 and president of the Vietnamese Students Association. “It’s a weeklong celebration. The Lunar New Year is probably the most important holiday in Asian culture.” Although not every Asian culture celebrates the holiday, many of them do, and so the BC version of Lunar New Year will feature contributions from a host of different cultural clubs. The event was planned through collaboration between the Vietnamese Students Association, Taiwanese Cultural Organization, Chinese Students Association, Korean Students Association, and Southeast Asian Student Association, as well as their respective presidents: Phung; Max Chou, CSOM ’14; Alice Chen, CSOM ’14; Woogeon Kim, A&S ’14; and Benjamin Tan, CSOM ’15. Given the cultural diversity of its organizers, the event will feature some of the differences between the various types of Lunar New Year celebrations. “We all do celebrate some aspect of Lunar New Year, but we all celebrate it in a different way, and by collaborating we’re also highlighting the differences,” Phung said. “For example, in Korea it’s more of a quiet, laid-back holiday—you spend time indoors, spend time with your family—while for Vietnamese culture or Chinese culture, it’s more of an outdoor, public holiday.”

The celebrations will begin on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in the Quad. Members of the participating organizations will hand out red envelopes to students, in accordance with tradition. “Usually in Asian cultures it’s an elderly person, such as a grandpa or grandma, giving you a gift of money in a red envelope, and that’s supposed to signify goodwill,” Phung said. “What we want to do is spread that to the whole campus. We’ll be handing out red envelopes with special gifts inside and also information on the New Year. It’s more to signify the gift-giving aspect of Lunar New Year.” On Thursday, the organizations will decorate Corcoran Commons in a Lunar New Year style. They will also host a variety show in the Walsh Function Room, featuring the AHANA Collective Theatre acting group and sketch comedy club Asinine. A lion dance, a dance often performed at Lunar New Year celebrations, will be performed at the third event of the series. The cultural clubs will come together on Friday to work with Nights on the Heights and Electronic State of Mind (ESM), an electronic music club with an event in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room. ESM will DJ the event, which will feature booths, traditional lanterns, and games from the cultural clubs. “Friday night we’ll be emulating more of a carnival or festival experience,” Phung said. The celebration will end on Saturday, Feb. 1. Although the Lunar New Year week celebrates Asian culture, its organizers emphasize that it is welcome to the entire BC community. “It’s more based on joy, on getting together with the community in celebration, getting together with old friends and going to lunch or dinner with them,” Phung said. “There are no cultural boundaries to be able to experience this atmosphere, and we wanted to bring this unique experience to Boston College.” 

Study shows nurse visits help mothers BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor

A leader in the field of research on postpartum depression and early mother-child interaction, professor emeritus of Boston College and former nursing research professor in the Connell School of Nursing June Andrews Horowitz has contributed two more significant studies on clinical depression following childbirth for women. Having earned her Master of Science in Advanced Psychiatric Nursing from Rutgers University and later a Ph.D. from New York University, Horowitz’s works have been featured in more than 30 publications—the latest was published in the Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. As a senior scientist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) Center for Excellence in Nursing, Horowitz authored a comprehensive evaluation of new mothers selected from a 5,169-patient screening between BWH and Massachusetts General Hospital. The 134 mothers who screened positively were asked to participate in an interview conducted by an experienced psychiatric nurse. If the mother was then found to be experiencing postpartum depression, she was asked to partake in a study that consisted of having one-hour house visits from advanced nurses. The objective of the study, the reports reads, was “to test the efficacy of the relationship-focused behavioral coaching intervention of Communicating and Relating Effectively (CARE) in increasing maternalinfant relational effectiveness between depressed mothers and their infants during the first 9 months postpartum.” To assess whether home visits had an effect on the mothers, groups were divided into random clinical trials (RCT) with three phases and varying intervals ranging from six weeks to nine months. The groups were also randomized into treatment and control groups: the treatment group received coaching from the nurse on how to behave

around their newborn children, while the control group received no coaching. The first stage of the study consisted of recruiting from the two major Boston-area hospitals; the second stage commenced the RCT home visits; and the third stage focused on gathering information from focus groups and individual interviews with mothers after their home visits to understand their experiences while participating in the study. The data showed that home visits from nurses—regardless of whether or not they coached the mothers on child interaction—resulted in a higher quality of mother-infant relationships, and it suggested that home visits from nurses led to a positive effect for all participants. “Treatment and control groups had significant increases in quality of mother-infant interaction and decreases in depression severity,” the study reads. “Qualitative findings indicated presence of the nurse, empathic listening, focused attention and self-reflection during data collection, directions for videorecorded interaction, and assistance with referrals likely contributed to improvements for both groups.” Horowitz’s latest research on postnatal depression and mothers’ behavior toward infants focuses on bringing CARE intervention—a system of relationship-focused behavioral nursing—to mothers, and it uses specific tools of measurement, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, to gauge depression among observations. “Several participants from the treatment and control groups described how important the CARE study was to them as a source of support during the postpartum period,” the study reads. “Control group mothers indicated that they received support and benefit from the nurse home visits.” Horowitz has since left the University for a position as associate dean at the Thomas Jefferson University School of Nursing in Philadelphia but continues to remain active in the field of nursing. 

The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2014

Student suspended after admitting to acts of arson Fires, from A1

connor farley / heights editor

Undergraduates and parents of special needs students gave testimonies in support of BC keeping the Campus School on University grounds.

Parents, students reflect on Campus School Campus School, from A1 in the Campus School and in these children may continue for many, many years to come.” Following these remarks, an organist from the local church of one of the families played “On Eagle’s Wings” before co-presidents of the Campus School Volunteers of BC Chris Marino, A&S ’14, and Chelsea Beyrand, LSOE ’14, approached the podium to speak about their experiences with the Campus School. Marino spoke of his first exposure to the Campus School as a senior at St. Sebastian’s High School in Needham, Mass. He became involved with the Campus School almost immediately after arriving at BC as a freshman, and he referred to his Campus School buddy as his closest friend at BC. He closed by calling the Campus School the epitome of the Jesuit motto “men and women for others,” and by expressing his hope that future BC students will have the chance to find a second family in the Campus School and be transformed by it. Beyrand began by quoting the hit song “Just the Way You Are,” and then admitting that though it was out of character for her to seek inspiration in Bruno Mars, she felt the song’s chorus perfectly described the Campus School, a place where labels are cast aside and pure, agapic love is everywhere. She, like Marino and a sign perched on the altar, invoked the Jesuit motto of “men and women for others,” claiming that the Campus School taught her its true meaning. She, too, spoke of the family she has found at the Campus School and of the importance of that family not only to her, but to all of BC, also. John McDargh of the theology department then took the podium and related a story about one of the first classes he taught at BC in order to illustrate how he believes the Campus School’s presence impacts life at BC for all, not just for those who volunteer there. He was teaching in 10 Campion, a classroom that, 35 years ago, looked out directly at the driveway connecting Roberts Center to where the vans dropped

off Campus School students each morning. One day, he noticed a student looking out the window for the majority of the class. As he was leaving at the end of the hour, McDargh asked the student what he had been looking at that was more interesting than his lecture. The student replied, “Oh, Professor, I heard everything you said. You were talking about William James. And James’ idea was that to be a human being once was to live a strenuous life, a life to pass them beyond the stars, a challenging life, and well, Professor, you were saying it, but I was seeing it.” McDargh asked him what he meant and he replied, “The entire 30 minutes I watched one of the students of the Campus School walk the length of the classroom. It took him 30 minutes to walk about 30 feet. That’s the strenuous life.” This experience, McDargh said, opened his eyes to the power of the Campus School’s presence. Next, three Campus School faculty members spoke to the crowd. The first, Kara Moyer, a classroom teacher, elaborated on how being a part of the BC campus makes the Campus School special. She spoke about how going to the Plex and the Chocolate Bar, and climbing the Million Dollar Stairs are activities that unite the BC student with the Campus School student. She also stressed the importance of the volunteers’ presence. “Not enough can be said about the number of volunteers that enrich the lives of the students on a daily basis,” she said. “The volunteers provide an integral level of enthusiasm and support for the entire program. Our program is enhanced through their daily interaction, events, and fundraisers. The commitment of these undergraduate volunteers is truly instrumental to the success and culture of our program.” Next, a teacher’s assistant, Megan Hennessey, BC ’12, spoke of her experience as an undergraduate at BC. Her discovery of the Campus School in October of her freshman year kept her from sending out a transfer application to Penn State University, as her involvement there enabled her to feel truly at home at BC. As a student-athlete, she said, she had extremely limited free

time, and she loved that the Campus School’s proximity enabled her to get involved despite her hectic schedule. She added that it was the Campus School that inspired her to run the Boston Marathon last year, and the Campus School that helped her heal after she witnessed the bombs explode just as she crossed the finish line. The final faculty member to speak, physical therapist Carol Dove, began on a lighter note: “I have a long commute, and I share a very small office with four or five other people at any given time,” she said. “I’ve been without a raise or updated equipment, and I’ve even laid on the bathroom floors to take on and off the toilet supports. But I love my job, and every student that passes through. None of us have a glamorous job, but we all have the prefect job.” Dove said that it is not the facilities that make a place great, and that the spirit of the Campus School and the good that it does is present all of the time in the lives of those who encounter it. As the prayer service neared its end, the 11-year-old brother of a Campus School student played a piece on the piano, followed by special intentions offered by Kelly Sutton, a Campus School parent. The intentions included Campus School students past and present, parents, siblings, teachers, and caregivers of special needs children, all special needs children everywhere, and the BC administrators as they deliberate over the Campus School’s future. A prayer for hope by alumna Beth Brady and a closing prayer by Rev. Don Weiss, the father of a Campus School student, brought the evening to a close. Morin considered the event a great success , especially considering the night’s cold temp eratures . S e veral families had stayed in the Chestnut Hill area after the school day ended in order to make it to the 6:30 p.m. start time, she said. She also expressed gratitude to the large number of volunteers and family members of students that helped organize the event. “It took a village,” she said. n

Three teams will vie in UGBC race

Eagles for Israel members protest recent ASA boycott ASA, from A1 William P. Leahy, S.J.] and BC’s American Studies Program faculty to uphold these values by ending BC’s ties to the ASA and denouncing the use of an academic boycott.” “No matter your views on the issues posed by the Arab-Israeli [and] IsraeliPalestinian conflict, we must unite as members of the Boston College community to defend academic freedom and push our school to take a stance against this boycott by the ASA, which has already received condemnation from over 200 universities nationwide,” said Michael Woodbury, CSOM ’14 and copresident of Eagles for Israel. Bard College, Brandeis University, Indiana University, Kenyon College, Penn State Harrisburg, and University of Texas at Dallas have withdrawn their membership from the ASA, and over 200 American universities have expressed their position rejecting the boycott. In the Boston area, presidents of colleges—including Harvard, BU, Tufts, and MIT—have issued public statements

condemning the boycott. “The ASA has not gone on record against universities in any other country: not against those that enforce laws against homosexuality, not against those that have rejected freedom of speech, not against those that systematically restrict access to higher education by race, religion or gender,” said Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth in a publicly-issued statement on the university’s website. This month, 134 members of Congress consisting of of 69 Democrats and 65 Republicans signed a letter to Curtis Marez, ASA president, accusing the association of engaging in a “morally dishonest double standard.” “Like all democracies, Israel is not perfect,” the congressional letter stated. “But to single out Israel, while leaving relationships with universities in autocratic and repressive countries intact, suggests thinly veiled bigotry and bias.” The ASA defends its position, stating on its website that the resolution is in keeping with the ASA’s continued commitment to ethical research. n

Student clubs showcased in spring involvement fair Involvement Fair, from A1

UGBC Elections, from A1 candidate teams will have a $300 spending limit for the primary campaign and an additional $150 for the general election, if they advance to it. Candidates are responsible for funding their own campaigns, and they cannot exceed the spending limits or risk sanctions. Teams can distribute t-shirts, but they must purchase them through the EC—they are permitted to use a maximum of three banners, placed on the Stokes lawn, on the Commonwealth Ave. parking garage, and on either Newton or Upper Campus. The code states that all campaign materials must be approved by SPO, and that no materials that go against BC’s Jesuit values will be approved. The official campaign season will only last 10 days, from Feb. 10 to 19. Voting will open on Feb. 18 and run until 8 p.m. on Feb. 19. The election results will be released that evening. n

chairs in Gasson 100 on fire, which he was able to extinguish with his boot. The overlooking balcony door was open and there were ashes on the floor and railing, according to the police report written by Holland. At 9:59 p.m., there was a second dispatch for an active fire alarm in Stokes Hall. Officer Joey Marano, who wrote the second police report, responded to find that the smoke detector by room 451 in Stokes North had been triggered. In the nearby cubicles, he found smoke five feet from the ceiling and a chair and desk on fire in cubicle 420D. The Newton Fire Department determined that the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system. Marano also found that cubicles 320A and D had papers lit on fire, but they smoldered out on their own. On Nov. 26, Yue was brought into the BCPD office for an interview with Deputy Chief of Police Thomas Atkinson and Detective Sergeant David Flaherty, who wrote the report submitted to the court. During the first part of the interview, Yue maintained his original story that he left O’Neill Library around 9:30 p.m., walked past the north side of Gasson Hall, and waited for the bus at the College Road bus stop. After Yue finished giving his account, Atkinson and Flaherty left the room for 10 minutes, before returning to confront Yue about the accuracy of his story. After this, Yue confessed that he had lit the fires. Before he was on campus, he ate dinner at a friend’s house, where he consumed both beer and vodka. In order to print a ticket for a career event, Yue went to the O’Neill library. Upon leaving the library around 9:30 p.m., he was approached by some acquaintances who invited him to a party. When he declined their invitation, Yue was ridiculed by them for not going to the party, which he said made him very upset.

“Yue reported continuing to the bus stop, but realized he had missed the most recent bus,” read the report. “He reported being underdressed for the weather and tried to enter Lyons Hall (where he is a student employee) to warm up. Upon finding that building locked, he proceeded to Gasson Hall where he found the north side doors unlocked. He entered and went to the second floor where he used the restroom. “Upon exiting, he discovered the door to the balcony overlooking room 100 unsecured,” the report continued. “He entered the area and discovered some papers. Having found a lighter in his pocket earlier, he decided to light the papers on fire. After doing so, he was surprised by how quickly the flames expanded and tried to stomp them out with his feet. He was unable to do so and threw them over the railing to the area below. He reported observing them burn more heavily and catch the chairs on fire. He reported panicking and fleeing the area heading back towards the bus stop.” Upon leaving Gasson, Yue realized that he missed the bus again and went into Stokes Hall, where he said that he got lost and wandered around the second, third, and fourth floors. “He reported getting lost on what he thought might have been the second floor,” read the report. “While on that floor, he lit some stacks of paper on fire and ran from that area, again getting lost. He reported going up a floor and lighting another area on fire.” Yue said that he left Stokes Hall and returned to his apartment via the Commonwealth Ave. bus. After taking his statement, the BCPD had him sign a written statement and consent to a search of his phone. University administrators came to the BCPD office and suspended him before he was arrested by BCPD. n

tatiana petrovick / heights staff

Culture clubs and other student organizations particpated in last Thursday’s involvement fair.

fessional clubs were welcomed with a selection of groups including AHANA Pre-Law Association, Bellarmine PreLaw Society, Marketing Academy, Math Society, Finance Academy, Pre-Dental Society, and others. Pre-L aw Society member Chris Marchese, A&S ’15, said that Bellarmine strives to ignite a passion for law. “We connect undergraduate students to resources to discover if they want to go into law,” he said. Service groups like charity: water were also present at the fair. charity: water is a global organization that raises money to solve water crises. Last year the group raised money to build sanitation wells in India, and it continues to fund water projects in developing countries throughout the world. BC Reads, another service group, works toward promoting literacy in the greater Boston area. AIDS Awareness Committee is a new service group on campus that seeks to spread awareness about the social and

medical issues tied to HIV/AIDS. Currently, it is in the process of putting together a benefit concert and is looking to bring in speakers to discuss various public health and social issues related to AIDS. The Student Marshall Arts Club (SMAC), another new organization on campus, is dedicated to providing students with Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, and GoJu-Ryu classes throughout the semester. Member Zach DiCostanzo, A&S ’15, said that the club is looking to expand and to bring in more professional instructors like the Brazilian jiujitsu instructor from Cambridge they had last year. Among the political clubs on campus are the College Democrats of Boston College, Boston College Republicans, and No Labels. No Labels is a bipartisan political club that aims to demonstrate the danger of polarization in politics. “It’s easier to say you’re a Democrat or Republican because there are more values assigned to each side,” said member Cole Rabinowitz, A&S ’14. “But more people are actually moderate.” n

CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, January 17, 2014

The Heights The Heights

A5 A5

Monday, January 27, 2014

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.

Takeout can eat up your savings. Pack your own lunch instead of going out. $6 saved a day x 5 days a week x 10 years x 6% interest = $19,592. That could be money in your pocket. Small changes today. Big bucks tomorrow. Go to feedthepig.org for free savings tips.

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The Heights

Lerner’s grant reflects research achievements

Monday, January 27, 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY Character, in many ways, is everything in leadership. It is made up of many things, but I would say character is really integrity. -Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), General of the Army and 34th U.S. president

LSOE professor’s work promotes better understanding of youth moral development After 18 years as a professor of applied developmental and educational psychology in the Lynch School of Education and nearly three decades of researching child development, Jacqueline Lerner has been awarded a $1.96 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to fund a three-year longitudinal study on moral development in youth. Upon submitting a short proposal for the project to the John Templeton Foundation—a funding catalyst that largely promotes the study of character and virtue development—Lerner was invited by the foundation to submit a long-form proposal and was then selected to receive a grant that would fully fund her three-year project. Lerner’s longstanding accomplishments analyzing positive youth development and her innovative approach to assessing, measuring, and defining children’s moral knowledge have left an indelible mark on the field of child psychology and have led to breakthrough developments in the understanding of morality-based decision making in youths. Having developed the “Five Cs”

model of positive youth development in a former study backed by the National 4-H Council in 2002, Ler ner expands b oth her ow n catalogue of published research and the University’s place in educating students in applied psychological development. Lerner’s research on youth selfregulation and adolescent virtuous behavior is regarded by many as being at the forefront of its kind, and rightly so, given her extensive list of publications on the subject. The size of the grant and the study itself will allow Lerner to lead a team of about 15 to 20 members, including post-doctoral researchers, current doctoral students, undergraduates, and data analysts—and doing so will aid parents, teachers, and mental health specialists in fostering a positive environment for children. Focusing more specifically on character development, Lerner’s new study will not only provide outlets for other professors, child psychologists, and other practitioners of mental health to understand youth development more completely, but will also directly promote positive youth development.

Record turnout marks successful spring fair UGBC has streamlined RSO application process, attracted students to spring involvement fair Despite recent, unsuccessful attempts at a second semester student-run activities fair, this year’s Spring Involvement Fair in the Rat was filled with both organizations and students last Thursday. This second activities fair gave freshmen, transfer students, and international students an opportunity to preview the variety of student organizations Boston College has to offer in a short amount of time. To help students who might feel as if they missed their chance to get involved after the first Student Involvement Fair passed in September, the second fair provided another open invitation to join an

In addition, the student organizations division under the new structure of UGBC has expedited the process for student groups to become a registered student organization (RSO), encouraging more students to start their own RSOs. organization. This opportunity is especially important for freshmen, as they are more likely to have adjusted to college life in January, as opposed to the beginning of September when committing to a club might have seemed overwhelming after only having been on campus for a week. In addition, the student organizations division under the new structure of UGBC has expedited the process for student groups to become a registered student organization (RSO), encouraging more students to start their own RSOs. Instead of the Student Programs Office‘s (SPO) running the approval process unilaterally, the student organization division now acts as a student mediator between the applicants and SPO. The student organizations divi-

sion now accepts submissions on a rolling basis, approving organizations in as little as three weeks, whereas before this academic year, students were required to wait until April 1 to submit applications for new RSOs, and their applications would often not be approved until the summer months. This process made it very difficult for students starting clubs to plan for the year ahead, as they had very little time between notification of their club’s approval and the beginning of the school year. The new process encourages more students to apply and allows for students to put their ideas into action within the same academic year—a crucial development, as students are only on campus for four years and need time to establish the club’s credibility and train solid leadership to keep the club running in the future. The new student organizations division also helps applicants during the submission process by reviewing applications and providing constructive feedback to those applicants who have a feasible idea but need to further develop their prospective organization’s mission. The division often sends applications back to students with the possibility of approving them later. Before the submissions could be accepted on a rolling basis, a rejected application would have to wait until the next year to be re-submitted. The division has further changed the process so the applicants’ required interview with the division is conducted before they must turn in their prospective organization’s constitution so as to guide applicants in the right direction when writing a constitution. This slight change has expedited the approval process even more, as fewer constitutions are sent back to applicants to be rewritten. The interview also allows applicants to ask any other questions they may have about the approval process, better preparing them for the next steps. The division has restructured the application process to resemble a mentor-mentee relationship between UGBC and the applicants, which provides a more welcoming environment for those wishing to create an RSO.

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The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2014

The language of discourse

Ben Olcott Mod Concerts - This weekend saw a performance of a variety not often seen at Boston College. While most performances take place in more standard venues—Robsham Theater, the Bonn Studio Theater, or even Conte Forum—this one took place in the Mods … and it wasn’t the infamous Strip Mod performance, either. A student musician, Times New Roman, was the first in a series of Mod Concerts, hosted by Chorduroy, a music compilation group at BC. Though we were not in attendance, we at TU/TD really like the idea of a Mod Concert series. It’s really great to hear a showcase of BC’s vast musical talent, and who doesn’t love a good reason to go to the Mods on a weekend night … well, another good reason, that is. Hillside Sandwiches - It has come to our attention that Lower has recently started serving some of the delicious sandwiches formerly reserved solely for the domain of Hillside at lunch time. Given that those sandwiches have been described by sources close to TU/TD as “the chronic,” “dank a.f.,” and “straight-up delicious,” this is a welcome addition to an otherwise dull lunchtime selection.

Discourse is a favorite term of sociologists, literary critics, and linguists, and is, unfortunately, typically deployed abstractly, alongside slews of jargon, and, of course, (needlessly) highfalutin complexity. It’s discussed with a range of other, equally convoluted concepts, many with Latinate or French names like semiotics and un enonce (blame Michel Foucault, et. al). These, too, are about as opaque as a hunk of lead—often, not even Supermannish intellects can penetrate them. Which is all too bad, because discourse is pragmatic and important. Discourse, and this is my Clark Kentish definition, is the set of and interplay between words and tones in specific contexts. Even that’s damnably abstract, so I’ll give an example. Let’s say I drop something in a grocery store, a glass jar of jelly, and an employee swiftly arrives to help clean. When he/she is finished, I will say, if I’m not totally rude (most people aren’t), “Thank you,” and I might even include a “ma’am”, or a “sir.” If I don’t, my tone, my inflection, will most like say sir or ma’am for me (everyone knows his or her polite, formal “thank you” tone), and I’ll use that tone because I want to convey my genuine thanks to this unfamiliar person. Now let’s say I drop a jar of jelly in my house, where I live with five of my best friends. After five minutes of being completely bashed for klutziness, one of them will help me clean up the mess. When we’re done cleaning, I’ll say, “thanks,” sort of flatly, as a matter of course and habit, if I even say it at all, and maybe “dude” after that if it’s an exceptionally annoying cleanup. There’s a reason for the difference that has nothing to do with my being less thankful for my roommate’s help. My roommate and I are very familiar, we’re in the privacy of our home, and we live in in such close proximity that, if we were to treat each other like grocers all the time, we’d never stop saying “thank you” in that polite,

formal way. That’s exhausting because it’s not indicative of our closeness—the diction is incongruous with our friendship. Conveyance of thanks is somewhat implicit at this point in our relationship. We both know the silence is not a reflection of my antipathy. These are discourses. The former is the formal conversation between an unfamiliar serviced and servicer, the latter is the informal conversation between a familiar serviced and servicer. Discourses provide texture to fundamental social structures for better or for worse. Discourses between college students that assume mutual appreciation of learning and bodily/emotional respect are infused with patience, bonhomie, and open-mindedness and are transmitted with phrases suggesting empathetic dialogue like, “I appreciate your opinion, but here’s mine,” or, “I get where you’re coming from, but here’s what I think,” are pretty obviously good. Discourses between college students that assume mutual rampant hedonism, hubris, xenophobia, general ignorance, and are transmitted with phrases like, “that’s gay,” or, “you’re weird,” are pretty obviously bad. In these above examples, I’m nodding specifically to peer-to-peer, conversational discourse—the kind of communication that occurs on dorm couches, walks to class, and in the Rat—because this is the most unconscious, corruptible, and for us, ubiquitous type of discourse. Discourses can be good and appropriate in one context but not deployed in another, making them bad. For a relatively innocuous example, if I’d responded to the grocer helping me clean up the jelly with a “thanks, dude,” I would deservedly be called rude. Discourses are dangerous when we fail to recognize they are being used in the wrong context and especially sinister when there are no obvious repercussions for their use. I feel obliged to acknowledge that I know I’ve simplified morals and ethics to simple, binary bad/good. There is a whole other discussion on racist, bigoted discourses in which moral and ethical consequences cannot be so simplified, but that’s not mine for now. My discussion for now is a good discourse bleeding out of its context and interfering with another discourse negatively. That discourse bleeding out of its

context is digital, Internet communication, and the other discourse is the aforementioned physical, peer-to-peer conversational discourse. Internet communication is not inherently bad at all—in fact, it’s good within its context. The Internet, by design, engenders speedy and voluminous communication. That’s its modus operandi, and we love it for that. But that speed and volume, the structure as a whole, is lent to abbreviation and coded language (composed of it, too, as computer science majors know). Type in www.bc.edu on your browser, and you’re taking part. Whether it’s because the first users of the Internet were the computer people using this abbreviation, or because typing out full sentences is more tiring than speaking full sentences, or because the speediness of the Internet nudges communicators toward speed, I’m not sure, but abbreviation and coded language dominates Internet discourse. It goes beyond “lol,” “np,” or “ttyl.” Thoughts get abbreviated. Self-editing is the rule. Twitter celebrates abbreviation and coding with hashtags and a character count. To convey meaning properly in this discourse, interlocutors are obligated to use the codes. When this form of discourse is massively popular, as Twitter is now and as AIM was a decade ago, everyone can use the codes and know instantly which meanings are conveyed. Meanings are tailored to translate well to a wide audience. The issue is that, because we use this discourse so often and use it as primary means to communicate with others, we use it in all conversing discourses, and most dangerously in peer-to-peer physical discourse, where these codes are meaningless. Conveying in this context is all about elucidation and elaboration, but increasingly, we’re content with speaking in an Internettish, coded, abbreviated sense, and it’s as inappropriate as saying “thanks, dude” to a grocer, or “thank you, sir” to your roommate. There is no obvious repercussion for it, yet (no one takes blame in our society, it’s too private), but damage is being inflicted. Conversation, clarity, and intimacy are eroding.

Ben Olcott is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.

The paradox of pressing pause LIFO - This might be a little obscure for all of you non-business types out there, but please bear with us for a minute because we really need to get this off of our chests. We hate LIFO. We really hate LIFO. It makes no sense as a method for accounting for inventory. What normal and reasonable person sells the most recent item they have acquired, rather than the one they have had in stock for the longest amount of time? It would be like receiving monthly shipments of Nutella and eating the newest jar, even if there is some left from last month … ok, maybe that was a bad example— who doesn’t finish the whole jar of Nutella each month—but you get the point. It is completely nonsensical. It would be like a Ford dealer having cars from 2014 on the lot and cars from 1963 on the books—absolutely ludicrous. Steaks and Cheeses - We have recently caught wind of a serious controversy that has struck BC’s campus—no, it’s not the number of cash registers open during busy times in the Rat or how sometimes the first floor doors in Mac are locked during the middle of the day. The question at hand is one far more serious than that—what is the proper pluralization of the quintessential BC late night delicacy, the Steak and Cheese? One camp argues that it should be Steak and Cheeses. The other side of this heated debate says just as vehemently that it should be Steaks and Cheese. We think that there is really only one logical and reasonable way to settle this debate. What is the soul and essence of the Steak and Cheese—what is its main ingredient? Any reasonable person would have to admit that it is the steak, rather than the cheese. Thus, on an ontological level, since the nature of food is in the steak and not the cheese, it would only be reasonable to emphasize that part of the name and so pluralize that word in the compound name. Problem solved.

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Tiffany Ashtoncourt Recently, I was asked how it is that I don’t run out of ideas to write about. I thought about it for a second. “It’s not like I don’t run out of ideas.” I was asked again, and so I replied that it’s probably a combination of two things: I love to talk (which is a good thing in this case!) and, secondly, there are literally so many things to talk about, ranging from the completely serious to the completely fun and irreverent. But today, I want to start a little dialogue on something that, like life, lies somewhere in between these two extremes. It is an activity that everyone partakes in but no one admits to—a habit so taboo that the shame associated with its discovery causes a panic and so every measure is taken to ensure that no one finds out the truth. Committed at the most clandestine hours of the night with only the individual and his or her computer as witnesses, you know those who have done it and you’re probably one of them, too—let’s talk about procrastination. Procrastination is a little difficult to talk about, not only because of how personally it affects people, but also because of how much of a paradox it is. I mean, it’s an activity marked by inactivity, and after a long period of nothing there’s a great rush to do something—anything really—to finish whatever you’ve been putting off. Even successful procrastination is inextricably tied with its exact opposite, since failure to cram is of course not desirable, but success feels similar to failure, hollow and always mingled with a measure of regret, because, no matter how well you do or how much praise you earn, you will always feel that you could have done better. So why do we do it? Are we just a bunch of masochistic hamsters, running frantically in circles expecting to get

Bird Flew

somewhere new? First, I put humanity on a slightly higher pedestal than hamsters, and I think that part of the problem is habit, but part of it is also because of the pros of procrastination. Sometimes delaying something can give you an opportunity to think of what to write or how to solve an equation. It can also increase the quality of your creation by giving a little breathing space for reflection and ultimately allow inspiration to come in. Personally, I like to feel somewhat inspired whenever I do something, especially if it’s for a class that I really enjoy, but it can be a little difficult to feel excited and creative if you have to write a 20 page paper that is worth 35 percent of your grade while studying for two other exams and solving problem sets in the same week. So, a little time for reflection is welcome. That being said, let’s get really real, everyone. Procrastination is not reflection or some spectacular meditative experience used to summon inspiration. Procrastination is just pressing pause, saying you’ll get back to it, and actually not getting back to it until the last minute when you cram your brains out and pray to a higher power that somehow you’ll make it through. The reason that I would advise against blurring the lines between inspiration and procrastination is of course due to personal experience. Like so many others, I have struggled with procrastination, and I will admit to cramming for a few exams and papers, but what really made me restructure my study habits was what happened after my procrastination had some unexpected results. During spring finals last year, I delayed writing a term paper because I really wanted to write something worthwhile and “inspired,” so I delayed writing the paper until inspiration struck, and the paper was written just in the nick of time … Unfortunately, although I had made the deadline for my paper, I neglected to study for my final the following day. I remember walking into the final, having not slept the night before, and sitting nervously in my seat where I promptly began praying/silently crying

to God to please “just let me get through this one test” and saying that “I promise I’ll never do it again!” Despite the fact that I had not properly prepared for that final, I received an A in the course and what I felt was a second chance for my academic life. However, that lucky break was not what stopped my procrastination. What really stopped it was when I began listing the things that I had to do for the week, and I found myself thinking “Oh, I don’t have to do that paper now … I could write like a page an hour and be done with it, so I’ll do it the day before. It’s only 6 pages!” That feeling of absolute complacency and unabashed bravado in my ability to cram woke me up and made me remember how just a few months before, I was pleading to have the chance to do things the right way and the opportunity to honor the education I have been fortunate to receive. I have not procrastinated since then, and I wish that I could have drawn the distinction between procrastination and inspiration earlier, because what I have come to believe is that procrastination is not something to admire, take lightly, or beat yourself up over. Procrastination is simply the easiest way for us not to tap into true inspiration. After all, how is it that miraculously right before showtime, we’re “in the zone?” Probably, we spend so much time overthinking that only when faced with absolute failure do we actually turn to our true source of creativity and be in “spirit.” In my case, my great-grandmother and mother are my sources, for although they could not have the higher education they craved (my Abuela because of her gender and my mother because of a stroke), their love of learning never left, and they did everything to ensure that I had the chance to pursue my dreams. It’s not always easy and, although sometimes just sitting down and not delaying an endeavor is at once thrilling and absolutely terrifying, it feels a lot better than the paradox of pressing pause.

Tiffany Ashtoncourt is a staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

BY DOLAN BORTNER

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

An eye for an eye? Jaclyn Susskind As Nelson Mandela walked down the dirt path from Robben Island Prison, it was not anger that rushed through his veins; it was not abhorrence that propelled him forth; it was not revenge that filled his soul. Uniquely—and admirably—as Mandela finally marched toward his freedom, he said, “I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” Revenge is a compulsive emotion. While many seek vengeance to serve justice, revenge can be rash and conducted out of rage, and, at times, justice cannot always be found. Mandela would never regain the 27 years he spent within the confines of prison—likewise, lost lives can never be brought back. By the end of this month, Attorney General Eric Holder will make his final decision whether to seek the death penealty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, responsible for the April bombing in Boston. And so, the question of justice is brought in. Would the death penalty provide the people of Boston and America a sense of fair play? Can we really ever get justice for what Tsarnaev and his brother did? Interestingly, The Boston Globe has sought to dissuade Holder from seeking the death penalty, though the horror and pain of that day is strongest and most condensed within its community. The Globe conducted a poll in September, revealing that 57 percent of residents in Boston “favored a sentence of life without parole if Tsarnaev is convicted.” Meanwhile, 33 percent believed death was the most fitting punishment. The search for justice has grown complicated, it appears. Only 18 states in America, including Massachusetts, have eliminated capital punishment—however, the federal government is capable of overriding the wishes of the citizens of Massachusetts. I cannot say what I believe the most just punishment would be, for the execution of any life is too horrific for my own imagination—however, we must temporarily ignore our sense of morality and humanity. Is it right for Tsarnaev to tread this earth, though confined for the rest of his life within prison walls, while three innocent lives were brutally taken? Would his death send a message to the world? If America does not implement the death penalty on a terrorist, then when would we? Holder must weigh many facts—three deaths, 260 injuries, and hundreds and thousands of lives touched and frightened. I sit here questioning what the panic must have been like at the scene of the crime and how one heals from such fear. Holder must evaluate the evidence, the facts, and the consequences that remain because of Tsarnaev’s actions. The New York Times reported that Holder must evaluate the role Tsarnaev played in the bombing, as he worked underneath the will of his brother; he must evaluate the “strength of evidence against the defendant”; and he must take into consideration the wishes of the victims’ families. Yet, even if Holder may wish to implement the death penalty, only the 12 Massachusetts jurors can determine if death will be his punishment. Would Tsarnaev’s death truly heal us all? I beg to differ. Does he deserve to live? I think not. Regardless of whether Dzhokhar’s brother guided him in the bombing, Dzhokhar must pay for his actions. Perhaps his brother truly led him to commit the crime that he did, but that is no excuse. Perhaps the recent death of Mandela can teach us all something—perhaps Holder will take some of Mandela’s wisdom as he decides how to punish Tsarnaev. Wouldn’t death be an easy way out for Tsarnaev, I ask? He would never have to live with the guilt of his crime—he would never feel the pain, sorrow, and blame of his actions as they would eat away at his soul. After WWII, the Allies sought to punish those responsible through the Nuremburg Trials. However, after the end of the apartheid government in South Africa, Mandela’s democratic government sought a different path to some sort of justice. His attention was paid to the victims, not the perpetrators. He sought to heal his victims, and he did so through his Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Victims told their stories, and the perpetrators told their own. A process of “truth and reconciliation” ensued—the rules of the commission proclaimed that if the perpetrator spoke truly about his actions, he could receive amnesty in return. And, thus, a process of healing resulted. I have come to realize that justice can never be served. Even if Tsarnaev is killed, the memories of the bombing will haunt all those who were touched, and the innocent lives of those lost will never be regained. The words of Mandela reverberate in my mind, for we all will have lost the battle if we believe justice is our victory. Our victory is leaving the “bitterness and hatred behind.” Now, we need to heal.

Jaclyn Susskind is a staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 27, 2014

Beattie’s adaptation fails to bring ‘Frankenstein’ to life BY AMY CHAPPELHOW For The Heights

When Frankenstein’s monster meets God’s guardians of the world, the Order of the Gargoyles—yes, gargoyles—they tell the creature that he shouldn’t pick a certain set of weapons because they are ungainly and crude. Of course, he takes them for that very reason. This is one of a number of blatant analoI, FRANKENSTEIN gies to the Stuart Beattie creature throughout the film, but it stands up very well as a symbol for I, Frankenstein itself: this movie is as crude and obvious as it get. After a quick journey through the traditional Frankenstein story from the nineteenth century, I, Frankenstein jumps to the modern day as Frankenstein’s creature becomes involved in a war between good and evil. Prince Naberius (Bill Nighy) and his demon henchies have been searching for Aaron Eckhart’s monster for hundreds of years in order to set in motion their dastardly plan. The Order of the Gargoyles, however, led by their Queen, Leonore (Miranda Otto),

are God’s way of facing demons on earth and the duty of protecting the creature falls on them. A sexy blonde, Terra (Yvonne Stahovski), provides the eye candy and the science expertise for the film as the creature slowly becomes disillusioned with the goodies and the baddies and is left with no one to trust but Terra. This version of the rehashed Mary Shelley story was adapted and directed by Stuart Beattie, who’s previously written sequels to blockbuster films like Pirates of the Caribbean and G.I. Joe. The story itself, however, comes from a graphic novel written by Kevin Grevioux who is most recognizable as the werewolf Raze from Underworld, which he co-wrote. It seems that Grevioux serves as the real center of Beattie’s movie as the entire production follows the style he has become known for through the Underworld movies and his other supernatural endeavors. This is the major problem with I, Frankenstein: it has no originality. The supernatural battle, the sets (especially the demons’ lair), Nighy doing evil and the attempts at gothic sincerity are a carbon copy of the Underworld series. Meanwhile, the religious element can’t help but be compared to Francis Lawrence’s Constantine. Even Leonore’s genius idea

of naming the creature Adam is not only another example of the movies’ transparent symbolism but again takes its cue from elsewhere—in this case, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These predecessors to the film did it better—Bill Nighy doesn’t even look like he’s enjoying his hilariously badly written lines. Even if one attempted to emotionally invest in any of the stereotypical characters, Beattie gives his audience very little chance. Within minutes, the movie tells us the entire backstory of the creature and the supernatural battle, introduces our protagonist to the gargoyles, has the obligatory training montage, and moves to the present day. Beattie’s apparent disinterest in creating any complexity for I, Frankenstein is clear from the beginning. It seems his cast realized this, as none of the actors move beyond using one or two facial expressions, despite having proved their worth in other films. Aaron Eckhart, for example, proved how well he could do the dubious hero in The Dark Knight under the strong hand of Christopher Nolan. Eckhart’s creature, however, is dull, the definition of one-dimensional as he broods his way through the story. Other members of the crew seem to have followed Beattie’s lazy production

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIONSGATE STUDIOS

‘I, Frankenstein’ lacks originality and does not stand out among today’s supernatural films. values. Ross Emery is the director of film’s photography and, despite his good work on The Matrix, his photography is unremarkable. Although the best scene in the film—a battle between the gargoyles and the demons against the backdrop of the gothic gargoyle—is visually stunning, the success of the cinematography has much more to do with the special effects than photography. Furthermore, Cappi Ireland’s costume design is not only dull, but poorly executed.

Leonore and the other gargoyles’ costumes in particular look straight off the rails of a fancy dress store. An uninteresting screenplay, dull production values, and simply bad directing gave I, Frankenstein little chance of wowing its audiences. Perhaps the fact that the movie industry is drowning in supernatural stories at the moment makes the film seem unoriginal, but it’s likely that a creation as awful as this would have floundered regardless. 

‘Her’ reflects on love and technology

1 PHOTOS COURTESY OF CUBE VISION

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REPORT TITLE

AP PHOTO / WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Spike Jonze explores the connection between romantic relationships and modern technology in his aesthetically stunning film, ‘Her.’ BY MAGDALENA LACHOWICZ For The Heights

Far too often, movies have a tendency to be about themselves, locked in their own world with little to connect them back to reality. They are mostly stories, retellings of histories and, despite their ability to be phenomenal as such, there is little to be retained outside of it. What Spike Jonze accomHER plishes in Spike Jonze directing Her is exactly the opposite: he manages to craft a story that is not about the story—instead it explores the implications of what is being shown. The movie is not about the relationship between Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) and Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), or the effects it has on Theodore’s existence. Instead it raises questions about human existence and what it means—what makes it beautiful and what makes it tragic. In the throes of the final stages of his divorce, Theodore purchases himself the latest and greatest operating system, aptly named the OS1. Personalized to his own preferences and lifestyle, his OS turns into Samantha, an intuitive AI that behaves and interacts just as any person would, and convincingly so. The chemistry between the two is palpable and the writing here is spot-on, catching all the little moments that signify the growth of a romantic relationship. The audience will find it hard not to

identify with the lonely Theodore and his quest for that someone to make him whole, despite the unorthodox situation. Although Samantha is only an OS, she feels real, and Johansson gives her a life that convinces even the viewer that she is much more than just sophisticated programming. Shot as if through an Instagram filter, the film is filled with sweeping imagery of Theodore and his surroundings. The aesthetic of Her screams hipster, but not in a way that is badgering or displeasing—instead, it helps soften the blow of the futuristic aspects of the world, making it more believable and accessible to the viewer. It is hard not to imagine presentday living quarters and offices evolving into the highly modernized spaces that the characters dwell in and that the technology presented would be entirely plausible in a few decades, if not sooner. Although soft around the edges and at times utopian, the near future portrayed is stunningly familiar, with the cinematography only enhancing this slightly romanticized portrayal and giving way for the film’s more poignant moments to shine unhindered. Despite the expert writing and pleasing aesthetics, Her does suffer from gratuity. There are more than a handful of scenes that stray into the realm of excess, leaving the viewer wishing for things to just get a move on, especially the more intimate scenes. Furthermore, the character development is fairly non-existent, with quite a few significant characters falling under the curse of the forgettable. Amy Adams plays

Amy, a good friend of Theodore’s, and while the bond between the two is present, there is not much driving her growth as a person, despite the changes that transpire for her throughout the film. Her importance lies in what she has to say, not who she is or why she is important to the narrative, leaving her to be a parrot for the message of the film. This does not work against the film, however, as the message is what truly shines here, in spite of the nondescript feel of the characters involved in portraying it. The strength of Her does not necessarily lie in this story—it’s a typical love story with the exception of Samantha being what she is. It is a story of healing and heartbreak: nothing that has not been told before. However, what makes the tale here so poignant is not the way it’s told, or who (or what) it involves, but the questions it raises. What is it that constitutes a true relationship? And what makes human existence—so fleeting and short—worthwhile? Is it that warm body to sleep next to at night, or as Amy puts it, the experience of joy? By the credits, none of what transpired in the film mattered and the relationship between Samantha and Theodore was dandelion tuft in the wind. What sticks here is the implication of their bond, the implication of Amy taking back her happiness, as does Theodore. The movie is not about Samantha, Theodore, or Amy. It is about the lives that many live right here, right now. It implores: is it so wrong to live a joyous life? And so Amy answers: “We are only here briefly, and in this moment I want to allow myself joy.” 

WEEKEND GROSS

WEEKS IN RELEASE

1. RIDE ALONG

21.1

2. LONE SURVIVOR

12.6

3. THE NUT JOB

12.3

4. FROZEN

9.0

5. JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT

8.8

6. I, FRANKENSTEIN

8.2

7. AMERICAN HUSTLE

7.1

8. AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

5.0

9. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

5.0

3 3

2 PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMETT / FURLA FILMS

PHOTO COURTESY OF GULFSTREAM PICTURES

BESTSELLERS OF HARDCOVER FICTION 1. THE INVENTION OF WINGS Sue Monk Kidd 2. THE GOLDFINCH Donna Tartt 3. FIRST LOVE James Patterson 4. THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN Mitch Albom 5. SYCAMORE ROW John Grisham

6. THE DEAD IN THEIR VAULTED ARCHES Alan Bradley 7. GONE GIRL Gilian Flynn 8. STAND UP GUY Stuart Woods 9.COMMAND AUTHORITY Tom Clancy & Mark Greany

‘Jack Ryan’ falls in the shadows of its action ﬁlm predecessors BY LOGAN WREN For The Heights

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, the newest adventure of the Tom Clancy character, is a grab bag of an action film: it contains many popular elements of the genre, even some appreciable ones, but it lacks originality and tries too much. The film keeps the viewer in a state of perpetual deja vu—remembering what was probJACK RYAN ably a betKenneth Branagh ter film— since near every scene resembles something out of the Bourne, Die Hard, or even Dark Knight series. The plot is a combination of elements from any Cold War and technology terrorism film: Russian Viktor Cherevin, played by the estimable Kenneth Branagh—who also happens, rather unexpectedly, to be the director of the film—is vengeful toward the United States for past wrongs and plans its downfall with a twofold bombing and economic attack on Wall Street. Standing in the way of America’s imminent destruction, albeit a dubious destruc-

tion from the start, is Jack Ryan (Chris Pine), London School of Economics wiz, C.I.A. analyst, and international defender. While Pine possesses a great amount of talent, his writers have done him a disservice in this film and render his character unexplainably inconsistent, using his naivety as an academic one minute (“I’m just an economist!”) and his battle-ready grit and know-how another. Characters can and should be complicated, but this movie can’t seem to put its thumb on Ryan. Inevitably, Ryan’s fiance Cathy, played by Keira Knightley, gets caught up in his fight against the Russians. Her capture and swift return are perhaps the most unnecessary part of the plot and seem to serve no purpose other than to test the couple’s already forced, uncomfortable, and odd relationship. Maybe it is just Knightley, whose cheekbones fend off admirers with the threat of puncture wounds, but I felt no chemistry between these two actors. In fact, I felt more between Branagh and Knightley during a dinner scene wherein they discuss Russian poetry and American stereotypes (as well as, for no reason whatsoever, a mention of Cheverin’s debilitating scoliosis).

There are car chases, bad guys walking in bird formation down the sidewalk with sunglasses on, and instantly granted requests for impossible information (“I want the plans for the three bottom floors of this building in my hands yesterday!”), but I found Kevin Costner’s role as the wise mentor Thomas Harper to be the most annoyingly trite element. I know that my dad might laugh at lines such as “This is geopolitics, not couples therapy,” but the jokes of this old hand, who seemed more bored with the film than I was, resulted in silence in the theater I attended. One particularly exasperated man walked out as that line was spoken, and four more people would follow before the credits. I wish I could tell you more about the plot other than Russian baddy vs. American blue-eyes, but I am sure that no one, not even an economist from the London School of Economics, can fully grasp the elements of Cheverin’s plot against America. The writers themselves seem to have filled in their own abundant confusions about an economic crisis that would destroy America with whisperings of algorithms, world markets, and assets, cool computer graphics during encryption processes, and Ryan’s summations of the

dubious threats of this half-formed plot with doom and gloom statements, like “if this goes through, the United States will be in a second Great Depression.” Sure, Ryan, sure. Overall, this movie contains all the elements that have made other action films great. It has some humor, a beautiful woman (no matter how much she terrifies me, Keira still makes any movie more attractive), a handsome hero who has brains and brawn,

a weathered sage, explosions, espionage, and evil Russian men who like to make references to Napoleon and Romantic poets. Unfortunately, it does a poor job of fitting these elements together. The writing is cheap, the plot vague, and the premise flawed. Branagh should be glad that he has good actors in this film (including himself)—otherwise, it might be totally irredeemable. The first half might still be. 

COURTESY OF SKYDANCE PRODUCTIONS

Despite a strong cast of actors, ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’ suffers from predictability.

The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2014

‘Clean House’ comes to Bonn ‘The Clean House,’ from A10

Frank Micelotta / Invision / AP

No matter what the results are, The Grammys are important for generating discussion about today’s music, not just for dictating our taste.

The results are in: a case for The Grammys Ryan Dowd The Grammys are over. Madonna once again forced herself back into relevance. The Beatles sort of got back together. LL Cool J continued to be really earnest about music, and people, bless their hearts, continued to claim that the Grammys are a sham, a waste of time, and that they don’t matter. Admittedly, at the time of writing this, the Grammys have yet to begin. But for my part, the results aren’t important. Maybe Macklemore and Ryan Lewis pulled a heist out from under the coastal kings of Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar. Maybe Lorde took the crown from right under Beyonce’s (the queen’s) nose. What’s important is that awards were handed out and that across the country people rose up in righteous anger declaring the monotony of modern music. Kanye West fans and (hopefully) Kanye himself took to Twitter and I’m hoping the streets to right the wrongs done to his snubbed Yeezus. Today, people will hold up Yeezus and whatever else they feel was wronged and declare that because the Grammys supposedly got it wrong here, they are discredited forever. I’m hard pressed to find an award show more maligned than the Grammys. The Oscars get some flak for being backwards and conservative (see The King’s Speech over The Social Network), but the Grammys have always rewarded those who harken back to the good old days (see Mumford & Sons). The Grammys reward safely. Maybe that changed this year, but I doubt it.

Despite our protests, the Grammys do bring something to the table—the proverbial table where we sit and discuss music. It drops an authoritative Grammy on the table in hopes of officially marking the best music of the year. Then someone bangs the table and the arguments begin anew. People are upset by award shows for two possible reasons. They think the award show got it wrong, or they just hate the idea of award shows. I understand why people despise award shows. I understand the hypocrisy of artists who bow to the high and glorious power of “art” as awards for said “art” are cycled between the same artists year after year. There’s a notion that in particular the Grammys are the worst offenders of this hypocrisy, because music is an art form practiced more widely than film or television. Comparatively, it’s easy to find the best shows and movies. You can just go to the movie theater or turn on your television. But maybe some ragtag band of 16-year-old kids are banging away at a new sound, that who knows, may even deserve a Grammy. Maybe some unknown upstart in Chicago really was the best rapper this year. There’s a particular notion when it comes to music, that the Grammys are not where the best music happens, that these artists don’t deserve awards, that no artists in fact deserve awards, that a Grammy doesn’t matter, that the Grammys shouldn’t be. I think that’s a novel idea, but why stop there? Why not get rid of the lot of “Best of 2013” lists polluting the web in December. Why even rate albums? Why keep track of what’s good or not? Let’s just let art be art. There’s a reason The Heights rates

albums, movies, and anything we can get our rate-hungry hands on. There’s a reason a lot of arguments between friends revolve around who gets to be the DJ. We watch the Grammys to confirm our tastes. We watch to validate the countless hours we’ve spent listening to “Royals” or the countless times we’ve argued that “22” is the worst thing to happen to music since Bieber crossed the border. The Grammys seemingly stand in the way of an artistic utopia—a world where art is just art and seedy corporations mind their own damn business. And while the Grammys often miss the mark, like I’m guessing they did last night, the Grammys are still important. Sure the Grammys exist so the music industry can sell more albums, but the Grammys also exist so we can hate the Grammys. Album ratings exist so you can disagree with them. Ratings, and yes, the Grammys make the proverbial table fun. The Grammys proudly bear the tag of “the establishment.” The Grammys ignorantly wear the black hat. And without it, talking and writing about music wouldn’t be nearly as fun. Sure, the Grammys hand out awards to what they deem is best, but these awards don’t really matter. A Grammy doesn’t matter, but the Grammys do. It doesn’t really matter whom the awards go to, only that we can continue to argue about them—that really matters.

Ryan Dowd is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

Maisie Laud, A&S ’16, gave arguably the strongest performance in the overall incredible show, playing Virginia, Lane’s sister: a housewife who loves to clean—a trait she also develops with potent mixture of suffering and humor, since a house can be sparklingly clean only if it is empty. Virginia’s clean house is reminiscent of her empty life, with no job, no kids, and a husband who’s merely “adequate.” Laud highlights Virginia’s desperation as she offers to clean Lane’s house for Matilde, longing to be needed by her younger sister, even in secrecy. Laud endowed Virginia with the voice of everyone’s favorite great-aunt—her morbid streak comes out like the squeak of a mouse, and her timid interjections are perfectly timed. Virginia provides the perfect foil for her uptight sister and in the end is able to help Lane reconnect with her softer side. Ruhl’s play contains an element of mystical realism, which allows for some of funniest moments of the play. For example, when the sisters were having a tense but perfectly cordial cup of coffee together, in an instant the lighting changed and a projection popped up on the screen saying “Lane and Virgina experience a primal moment in which they are 7 and 9 years old again.” The scene was reminiscent of Cady’s fantasies in Mean Girls, and ended as quickly as it had begun. These descriptive projections occurred throughout the play—for example, “Matlide tries to think up the perfect joke”—and add a fun glimpse into the characters’ inner lives. The climax of the play comes when Lane’s long-absent husband, a surgeon named Charles, runs off with his mastectomy patient Ana, a much older woman. Charles and Ana (played by Joe Meade, A&S ’15, and Thais Menendez A&S’14, respectively) are perfect soul mates, madly in love from the moment they meet. Meade and Menendez create the

textbook romance, having eyes for no one but each other and a magnetism that is almost palpable. So in love are Charles and Ana that they cannot imagine anyone, even the slighted Lane, being left out of their happiness, and they soon hire Matilde to work with them, splitting her time between their house and Lane’s. The two actors also play Matilde’s parents in her fantasies and beautifully express without words the love and laughter that the family used to share. Matilde’s grief over her lost parents is echoed by her present situation as she is torn between the two houses, a complex emotion that Shrikian eloquently displayed. Lane’s psyche cannot handle the betrayal of her once-perfect husband. In one scene, she fires Matilde and pictures Charles and Ana having a romantic evening. As Matilde prepares to leave she turns and says, “Who are they?” clearly sharing Lane’s vision. Small moments of surrealism litter the play but are treated as run-of-the-mill incidents, making the imagined seem ordinary, such as when Charles throws his shirt from Ana’s balcony and it lands in Lane’s laundry basket below. The essential message The Clean House conveys to audiences was the reality that cleanliness or simplicity are rarely what makes us happy in the end. When Ana’s breast cancer returns, each character must grapple with the reality of death and loss—a theme that recurs in many of Ruhl’s plays. Ana’s grace and strength stay with her to the end, even as Charles goes to extremes to keep his love alive. And Lane’s redemption comes in her willingness to accept the messy relationships of her life. A clean house does not always mean a happy house. Sometimes we have to get dirty—throw the apples off the balcony like Ana, or let our inner mess show like Virginia, or tell a dirty joke like Matilde—and live through the chaos. McEntee and his crew delivered a beautiful and powerful mess in The Clean House. n

emily sadeghian / heights editor

The BC Theatre Department brought a ‘metaphysical Connecticut’ to the Bonn Studio Theatre.

Baden’s solo, collaborative works explore the many faces of photography Baden, from A10 all the other pictures,” Baden said. For Baden, “Every Day” is the study of mortality and obsession, an investigation into the difference between trying to be perfect and being human. “All the potential variables in the project are turned into constants, except one, which is the aging process,” he said. To control the process, Baden has cut his hair the same way for the past 28 years. He intentionally keeps his facial hair closely trimmed, and he has worked to shoot from the same angle and in the same lighting for each portrait of himself. Somedays, he’ll make a mistake in shooting the picture, and others, a technical problem will surface. Thirteen years ago, Baden was diagnosed with cancer, and he lost much of his hair while being treated with chemotherapy and recovering, dramatically altering his appearance in the photo series.

“It’s all in the project,” he said. “I couldn’t help that.” Baden has recently worked to take the project outside itself. In one of his introductory courses, he has students photoshop his image from the day they were born. He is currently planning an exhibition of these photos, opening at BC on Feb. 1. While the outlet might have changed, the process remains the same for the photography professor. “I doubt it everyday,” he said. Uncertainty, according to Baden, is a critical part of his work. “If I see a friend, and I say, ‘How’s your work going?’ and they say ‘Oh, it’s totally going great, it’s under control,’ I’m suspicious,” he said. “I think that artwork comes out of doubt, and it comes out of questioning.” Outside his work with “Every Day,” Baden describes himself as a street photographer. In 2009, as an extension of this role, he began a project photographing scenes

from the front seat of his car. His work with cars recently garnered the attention of The Wheels Project, a collaboration of five photographers and one graphic artist operating primarily out of the greater Boston area. “When they say The Wheels Project, it’s not specifically cars,” Baden said. “It’s anything with wheels besides planes and trains, so that would include cars, motorcycles, skateboards, bicycles, and I think that The Wheels Project is about documenting that kind of wheel culture, how we get around, what we do to our cars in terms of personalization or making them stand out.” Baden was invited by the group to show his work this winter at the 2014 Wheels Project exhibition at the Lincoln Arts Project gallery in Waltham, Mass. He is one of three veteran photographers featured in the project. The show runs Jan. 16 through Feb. 22. Baden’s work with The Wheels Project mostly consists of subjects he happens upon while driving. In one instance, he grabbed

an image of a Hood Milk truck as it drove by, with a splash on the milk printed on the truck seemingly suspended over his dashboard. In another, a bus drove by with an ad on the side for VH1’s Mob Wives. Baden played with the perspective of the ad, centered on one women angrily clawing toward another—it reminded him of the Sistine Chapel, namely Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. “I would use the car as if it was a kind of space capsule, and the window would be a moving film screen,” Baden said. “I would try to integrate the dashboard and the control panel with the things going by.” About half a dozen of the pictures in The Wheels Project 2014 exhibition will include Baden’s face in the image, leaving something of a signature on the photographs. “They’re part of the idea, but they’re different—they’re personalized as well,” he said. Over his 42 years as a photographer,

Baden has seen the photography changed dramatically, most recently with the introduction of Smartphones and invasive institutional surveillance. “I find it amusing that people are—in my experience of 40-plus years—more suspicious than ever about a individual walking down the street with a camera, and yet we are on camera all the time by entities that we have no control over,” Baden said. Few people, however, have lived so publicly as Baden. On Feb. 23 of this year, he will have taken 9,862 pictures of his face as part of the “Every Day” project. “The idea of making the picture my face means less to me than it used to,” Baden said. He recalls one incident when an elderly man, blind for t10 years, purchased a set of prints from the “Every Day” series, based on the dates of his grandchildren’s birthdays. Feb. 23, 1987 was a day never to be repeated for photographer Karl Baden, and if nothing else, there’s wonder in that. n

Times New Roman reveals new singles, music video at Mod show Mod Series, from A10 over prerecorded voice parts to create rather elaborate textures to his songs. Bolton had two dedicated “songs for the ladies,” as he called them, at Thurday’s show, “Passion” and “Let’s Stay Together.” During “Passion,” he slowed down his crooning lyrics and encouraged the audience to sing along—at one point, the crowd swayed to Roman’s softer, sensual flow on the track (“I like it in the moonlight / I like it when the stars shine”). Before his performance of “Detroit 2 Boston,” Bolton addressed his audience in a moment of honesty: “I come from music. It’s in my blood.” Bolton hails from Detroit, and the song describes his transition from his hometown to Beantown. The song is one of Roman’s most relatable, telling the story of a college student who moves away from home—feeling some sense of loss, finding new friends, and realigning an identity. Peeling back his boisterous stage persona, Bolton had moments of rare vulnerability laced within his performance. At face, he’s an ambitious young artist, eager to please crowds and put out his work, but Thursday’s performance showed off a more compelling dimension to Bolton’s work—what came out was the meticulous producer and music aficionado.

Few people in the Mod would have noticed if Bolton scaled back a few tracks from the demo, simplifying the performance for an already eager crowd, but Bolton seems to really believe in this music. He’s a perfectionist who lives for crisp execution, and while it’s clear he’s had most of his lyrics built well into his psyche, he presented them with a clear sense of newness, and at times, urgency. The show ended with a showing of Bolton’s new music video, “Diamonds,” which was screened simultaneously with his performance of the song. The video features Bolton and his “darlin,’” with scenes of the couple walking the city streets, ice skating, and having a good time, despite her preoccupation with the glitz and glam of fame. It’s clear that Bolton had fun with the video—it was a charming yet relatively conservative portrayal of young love. This and Bolton’s frequent appeals to Motown throughout the performance suggested one of the more interesting points of the Times New Roman persona—there’s something very old-fashioned about it all. Bolton, Lyle, and Araromiq started the Chorduroy Mod Series with classic zeal and experimental vibes, and while plenty of “experimental” things happen at the Mods, Bolton’s sense of class, and careful execution, made for a night at the Mods worth remembering. n

John Wiley / Heights Editor

The first in Chorduroy’s new Mod Concert Series, Times New Roman’s Thursday show featured performances of “Bizarre” and “Passion.”

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ARTS&REVIEW THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 27, 2014

MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2014

THE FINER THINGS

‘The Clean House’

Two truths and a lie

Director Billy McEntee, A&S ‘14, brings brilliantly chaotic cast of characters to the Bonn Theatre BY ANNIE MCEWAN

ARIANA IGNERI

For The Heights

I don’t like chocolate. I was born in India. I’ve never read Harry Potter. Two truths and a lie—I’ve used this same combination of phrases the past couple weeks in my first classes and club meetings, which inevitably began with a round of awkward icebreakers. For some, this puzzle shouldn’t be hard to solve. For others, it might be. No matter how well you’re acquainted with me, though, one of the truths is still surprising. Truth is, I’ve never read Harry Potter—never picked up one of J.K. Rowling’s beloved books of magic and wizardry. Never. What’s worse—I don’t know if I’ve watched all the movies either, but before you pull out your wand and broom and get angry with me for being an under informed Muggle, let me explain. My mom never took me to the theater to see Sorcerer’s Stone or to the library to read Chamber of Secrets. I wasn’t raised with Harry Potter. And that’s really all there is to it. Growing up, as the oldest kid in the family, I had no one to show me what was cool when it came to books, movies, and music. And since my parents weren’t into those sorts of things, my understanding of what was relevant or even classic in the arts world was weak, to say the least. I knew just a handful of songs by The Beatles, I’d watched only a scene or two from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I had no idea who Audrey Hepburn was. I hadn’t seen the “Thriller” music video until sometime in high school, and I never saw an entire episode of Seinfeld. I missed, and in many ways, am still missing, important insights on popular culture—not just of my generation, but of our society throughout history as well. I’m at a deficit, and I know that. What I don’t know is where this lack of knowledge leaves me now. Am I irrevocably lost or is there hope for my seemingly uncultured soul? (Professor Braman, I’m specifically asking you.) I’ve never had a problem admitting I don’t know something. In and of itself, it’s not a bad thing, because if you know that you don’t know, there’s always the possibility of learning—of discovering and becoming informed. I am not hopeless. While I’ve been at Boston College, I’ve thrown myself into the arts completely, trying to remedy the failings of my adolescence while simultaneously keeping up with what’s current. I’ve listened to recent albums I probably wouldn’t have before, like Blood Orange’s Cupid Deluxe, and I’ve shuffled through some songs I really should’ve heard a long time ago too. (Thank you, Sean Keeley, for making me that Bob Dylan CD.) I’ve visited contemporary art exhibits, including Mario Testino’s In Your Face at the MFA and Mike Kelley’s gallery at PS1, and I’ve seen more traditional ones as well, like Edgar Degas’ Looking Under The Nude. I’ve checked out both new Hobbit movies, despite not wanting to, and I’ve finally made it through all nine hours of Lord of the Rings, more or less unscathed. I’ve learned to take advantage of everything that this school and this city has to offer, from ballets at the Opera House, to musicals at the Wang Theatre, to tiny acoustic concerts in Robsham. Suffice it to say, I’m more artistically cultured than ever—all thanks to the people I’ve met, the classes I’ve taken, and the organizations I’ve involved myself with over the last two and a half years. Even now, though, I’m not going to say I’m as knowledgeable about the arts as I should be. There’s a whole lot I still don’t know, which basically just means, there’s a whole lot out there for me to go and explore—starting with a book or two of Harry Potter.

As the audience wound its way into the seats of the Bonn Theatre, a “metaphysical Connecticut” (as the playbill explained) lay before them. A clean, white house—with harsh corners and no evidence of true inhabitation—waited on the stage, resembling the biting cold of the New England winter. This was the setting for the theatre department’s production of Sarah Ruhl’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Clean House, directed by Billy McEntee, A&S ’14. The play left the audience crying, from laughter and heartbreak, as the show’s cast of five sought after the perfect joke, the perfect love, and the perfect performance. The Clean House tells the story of a doctor named Lane (Amanda Melvin, A&S’17), and her newly hired Brazilian maid, Matilde (Taleen Shrikian, A&S ’15). The play opens with Shrikian, bathed in warm light, telling what is clearly a very dirty joke in Portuguese. Following Matilde’s introduction, we meet Lane (Amanda Melvin, A&S ’17), who explains—in a straight monologue style that is repeated throughout the show—that for the past month her new maid has simply refused to clean, and her solution has been to put Matilde on antidepressants. Lane is a very prestigious doctor at a very prestigious hospital and is the epitome of the Type-A personality, the kind often seen in O’Neill Library until 3 a.m., determined to write that perfect paper. As Billy so accurately described in his director’s note, “There are many Lanes on the Heights … we are intelligent students and fiercely diligent … but as with Lane this can sometimes mean intimacy takes a backseat to schedules.” Melvin, in her first year as a member of the BC theatre department, embraced Lane’s very adult anxiety, anger, and pain wholeheartedly, leaving the audience shocked as the occasional inadvertent F-bomb flew out of her carefully controlled mouth. Lane’s new maid Matilde throws a wrench into her well-ordered life. Matilde is the child of the two funniest people in Brazil, but she was orphaned when her mother died laughing at her father’s joke. Matilde’s search for humor often gets in the way of her cleaning duties, along with beautifully choreographed sequences of her parents as she imagines them throughout the play. Shrikian portrayed Matilde’s dueling grief and love of humor with subtlety, picking up on the bittersweet reality of a young woman living out of her element.

Ariana Igneri is the Assoc. Arts & Review editor of The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

See ‘The Clean House,’ A9

EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

28 years later: Baden, ‘Every Day,’ and The Wheels Project BY JOHN WILEY

Arts & Review Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF KARL BADEN

Baden’s work is currently featured in the ‘Wheels Project 2014’ exhibition in Waltham, MA.

Feb. 23, 1987 was a day never to be repeated for photographer Karl Baden—and yet every day for the past 27 years, 10 months, and four days, this is precisely what he’s tried to do. The day after Andy Warhol’s death, Baden started a project that’s grown into a lifelong obsession: Each day, he tries to take the same picture of himself, and each day, he fails. “Really, I know that it’s a Sisyphean task,” Baden said. “I will fail at what I’m trying to do, but that’s not the point.” Baden first imagined the “Every Day” project in in 1975, a year after receiving his B.A. in fine arts from Syracuse University “It’s funny, because in 1975, I had this idea—I had just graduated college—and I thought, what if I took a picture of my face everyday for the rest of my life?,” Baden said. “And I made the mistake of telling a friend, and she said, ‘That’s a stupid idea.’ And I

said, ‘Oh, okay.’” He didn’t do it. “It was the kind of thing that rattled around in my brain literally for years,” he said. When he finally began the “Every Day” project, Baden was in his mid-30s, a teacher at the Phillips Academy in Andover who for the first time had the resources to settle down and open his own studio. Over the last quarter century, the “Every Day” project has grown into a radical photographic series, with the many faces of Karl Baden cropping up around in exhibitions across the country. Baden has been on the Boston College faculty since 1989, and he continues to teach photography today. He plans to continue living the “Every Day” project for the rest of his life. “The background’s the same, the lighting’s the same, the camera’s the same, the lens is the same, the distance is the same, so that every picture is as close as I can get to

See Baden, A9

Times New Roman rocks 37B at ﬁrst concert of Mod Series BY MICHELLE TOMASSI

Asst. Arts & Review Editor AND JOHN WILEY

Arts & Review Editor Mod 37B had a special guest last Thursday evening—and no, it wasn’t BCPD. William Bolton, CSOM ’16, an unusual voice from Detroit, kicked off the Chorduroy Mod Series, appearing under the pseudonym Times New Roman. Something of a wild Thursday night crowd flooded the Mod, and it quickly became apparent what they were so manic about. Loud chatter grew into an anxious chant as the audience stood waiting, calling out what would become the mantra of the night: “Roman.” Bolton rushed down the staircase of the Mod and pushed through the crowd as the band sounded off a quick jazz interlude, and bang. With the crash of a cymbal, Bolton sprang into verse, swinging around the mic stand as opened the performance with “Bizarre,” a track off his Satisfaction demo. “Homie, you should know that I’m from Motown / Yes, I’ve got that soul sound and I’ll never slow down,” he yelled, in a tone slightly more aggressive, and distinctly hip-hop, than the cool, level vocals delivered on his demo. Clad in his signature camo print pants, Bolton wasted little time entering into what proved a lively and energetic performance. Bolton’s style is a unique blend of soul and hip-hop, and Thursday’s performance

I NSIDE ARTS THIS ISSUE

especially showed off his growing talent as an emcee. Bolton played guitar through most of the performance, and he was accompanied by Victor Araromiq, A&S ’17, on the drums and Daniel Lyle, A&S ’16, on the keys and controller. Together the three students were able to create layers of jazzy undertones and smooth beats. The group was remarkably capable of recreating the sounds of Bolton’s studio work and invigorating it in the closed space. Chorduroy, the sponsor of the concert, produces music compilations featuring Boston College musicians, and he welcomed Bolton, Lyle, and Araromiq as three of BC’s rising artists. Bolton released his Satisfaction demo in October, aggressively promoting the CD by distributing it door-to-door. He has been featured in various performances throughout campus, including last spring’s BC Underground segment of Arts Fest. Those in attendance on Thursday were able to get a taste of some of Bolton’s unreleased work, songs such as “Feel This Way,” “The Garden,” and “Let’s Stay Together,” the last of which is expected to be released Valentine’s Day. Bolton’s fusion of smooth rap verses and upbeat choruses showcased the versatility of his voice, and suggested some promising singles to be released in the future. He kept exceptional control of his voice in the loud, unconventional performance space, at moments overlaying more complex vocals

See Mod Series, A9

Why the Grammys still matter

The awards show allows viewers to not just accept the results, but to challenge them, A9

JOHN WILEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

William Bolton, CSOM ’16, revealed his new music video ‘Diamonds’ at his show on Thursday.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Chris Pine and Keira Knightley are unable to save the action ﬁlm from mediocrity, A8

Bestsellers...............................A8 Box Office Report........................A8

SPORTS The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2014

BC’s progress report: the grades are in

Connor Mellas Dear Mr. and Mrs. Boston College men’s hockey team, As you’re certainly aware, at this time of year—with college hockey trophy season lurking just around the corner—it is customary to give the parents of our teams an update on their squads’ progress throughout the season so far. Just as the parents of Boston University, Maine, Providence, and the other Hockey East teams enrolled in our class are eligible for a season review, as the parents of BC men’s hockey, you’re entitled to a full report card of your team’s performance. For your convenience, BC’s progress report has been broken into five sections—offense, defense, special teams, goaltending, and fan appeal—and is graded on a standard A to F, 4.0 scale. Offense: To be completely honest, the consistently lethal goal-scoring efficiency displayed by your team has exceeded our wildest expectations. Through 25 games, BC has scored 112 times—20 more goals than the No. 1 team in our school, Minnesota. While many components have led to your team’s success, a few notable players have made huge contributions. Junior winger Johnny Gaudreau—or “Johnny Hockey”—has led the team with 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points and has built up a 20-game point streak. He’s been playing exceptionally well with his linemates, winger Kevin Hayes, who has dramatically improved from last year, and center Bill Arnold—the seniors have scored 45 and 36 points, respectively. As a trio, your team’s best forwards fill the top-three spots for Hockey East scoring leaders. The older boys have led your team so far this year, but the freshmen have been settling in quickly and contributing, too. Ryan Fitzgerald and Austin Cangelosi have excelled, scoring 21 and 18 points, respectively. Adam Gilmour has started to come into his own recently, scoring three goals in the month of January, and Chris Calnan, one of his linemates, has recorded nine points on the season and definitely has more to give as he continues to settle into the team. Going forward, we imagine it will be difficult for the offense to improve on its performance thus far, but continued success will mean maintaining the same rapid goal-scoring pace and finding more goals from other lines. Grade: A Defense: Coming into the season, we knew transitioning to life without seniors Patrick Wey, Cam Spiro, and Patch Alber would be difficult for your team. This said, an influx of freshman talent has made the process far easier than expected, and the defense has had a fairly solid season. Returners Isaac MacLeod, Michael Matheson, and Teddy Doherty have worked well with freshmen Ian McCoshen, Scott Savage, and Steve Santini, and the defensive pairings have helped hold opponents to 58 goals on the season. Of the defensemen who have played 10 games or more, McCoshen has the highest plus-minus at plus-20, and Doherty has the lowest at plus-7. Given the youthfulness of the pairings, it’s not surprising—though it is somewhat concerning—that your team’s defense has struggled with focus in some games. Giving up five goals to Holy Cross and four goals to Boston University were low points, and allowing 4-15-1 Penn State two goals on Saturday night nearly blew a 10-game undefeated streak. Additionally—despite Santini’s plus-19—after being disqualified from two games, the 6-foot-2, 201-pound defenseman has been flagged as someone who has difficulty playing with others. To improve, the defense needs to work on retaining focus and cutting down on superfluous penalties, and must avoid playing down to other team’s levels. Grade: B+

See Column, B4

Meehan Scores gold Connor Mellas | Sports Editor

6 20

Goals scored in four games for the U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team

Goals scored in 23 games for Boston College It began with an email. She had been hoping for—but not expecting—an invitation to training camp, and a few days after the end of her sophomore season, there it was, sitting in her inbox. It was impossible to predict what the call up would bring for McKenzie Meehan—her selection sparked more questions than answers. Would she survive roster cuts? Make the tournament team? Get playing time? Would the goal-scoring consistency she’d displayed all season—and all of her life—translate at an even higher level? Could she do this? Several weeks after opening that email, Meehan, having tied for Golden Boot at the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, would know the answers. Last December, two weeks and a day after the BC women’s soccer team ended its NCAA tournament run with a disappointing 4-0 loss to

Florida State in the Elite Eight, Meehan began her first day of training camp with the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team in Sunrise, Fla. At 5-foot-5, Meehan is a relatively averagesized player. She isn’t the strongest, the fastest, or the flashiest, and she doesn’t provide many assists—only one for the Eagles in the 2013 season. Meehan is a natural finisher, and she does it efficiently—over, and over, and over again—just like clockwork. Over the course of the 2013 season, Meehan found the back of the net 20 times in 23 games for the Eagles. That goal hoard was large enough to break the BC women’s soccer single-season scoring record, tie Meehan for sixth in the country for goals scored by Division I women’s soccer players, and put that invitation in her inbox. Meehan wasn’t the only clinical finisher invited to camp, though. University of Florida

freshman Savannah Jordan scored 22 goals in 24 games. Makenzy Doniak, a sophomore at the University of Virginia, scored 20 goals in 26 games. And then there was Lindsey Horan, a 19-year-old professional forward for Paris SaintGermain FC. While Meehan was selected for camp, going any further, or getting any playing time, was far from guaranteed. The pressure was on. A week after the start of her camp, U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team coach Michelle French faced a dilemma shared by all coaches with an abundance of talent at their disposal: roster cuts. The number of camp invitees—27—somehow needed to drop to magic number 20, the amount of players the U.S. U-20 team would bring in its final fight for World Cup

See Meehan, B4

The streak goes on: BC edges Penn State to stay undefeated By Mike Hoff For The Heights

When Boston College played Penn State in the Three Rivers Classic Final in Pittsburgh in December, BC forward Destry Straight scored a hat trick in an 8-2 win. Saturday night, further east in Pennsylvania, Straight was a healthy scratch, BC gave up its first shorthanded goal of the year and only got goals from one line, and the Eagles were outshot and pushed around occasionally by a Nittany Lions team seeking revenge and playing in front of a packed house in the biggest game in Pegula Ice Arena’s young history. The Eagles weren’t awful, but they were far from their best. Penn State likely couldn’t play better than it did Saturday night. Still, BC’s top line of Hobey Baker nominees Kevin Hayes, Johnny Gaudreau, and Bill Arnold, along with timely goaltending from freshman Thatcher Demko, sent the rest of the No. 2ranked Eagles home east with a 3-2 win in a rare January non-conference matchup. Arnold, the trio’s pivot, put up his second playmaker (three assists) of the season and got the primary helper on each of the Eagles’ goals. The senior also won 21 of his 34 faceoff draws. He was the game’s second star, though. Arnold’s classmate and high-school teammate Kevin Hayes put away the game’s

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first and last goal—each with one touch of the puck, and each largely due to Arnold’s work—to take the game’s first honor. The two Massachusetts natives opened scoring just over 7:30 into the game. Arnold beat Penn State defenseman Conor Varley with a ruthless outside-to-inside move at the hashmarks, but slipped while attempting to backhand the skittering puck. Hayes, trailing, cleaned up and banged in a rebound that bounced off both Nittany Lions goaltender Eamon McAdam and the goal line, but the puck found enough white in the net for just long enough to give BC a 1-0 lead at 7:40. Gaudreau picked up the secondary assist, extending his point streak to 20 games. Gaudreau added BC’s second goal over a period later during 4-on-4 play with just under four minutes to play in the second frame. After intercepting a Penn State pass, Gaudreau gave the puck to Arnold, and both Flames’ prospects took advantage of the extra ice. The duo was too fast for the opposing defensive pair of Luke Juha and Mike Williamson, and by the time Juha caught up with Arnold, Gaudreau was already driving to McAdam’s net. Arnold slid the puck under Juha’s stick, and Gaudreau, initially at the left post, baited McAdam long enough that once

See Men’s Hockey, B2

The rough stretch gets even rougher

The BC women’s basketball team suffered a disappointing 56-50 loss to Wake Forest.......B3

Emily Fahey/ heights Editor

Johnny Gaudreau is leading the country with 50 points scored through 25 games played.

No problem with New Hampshire

The No.7 BC women’s hockey team beat UNH away from home to improve to 18-4-3.......B5

Roundup.............................B5 Sports in Short..........................B2

The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2014

BC picks up difficult road victory against ruthless Nittany Lions Men’s Hockey, from B1 the forward was able to get to his backhand, it was elementary. Aside from those two superior highlights, the Eagles were, at least, played to a match by Penn State’s skaters for the first 40 minutes. BC was outshot in each of the first two frames, but finished the Nittany Lions, along with the game, with a lead because of its freshman goaltender. Starting for the third game in a row, Demko held off an early onslaught from the opposition and allowed BC to score the game’s first goal on BC’s first sequence of shots. The tying goal allowed by Demko was questioned. At 6:45 into the second, Nittany Lions forward Eric Schied successfully hacked the equalizer out from underneath Demko’s leg pads. The usually collected Demko was not so to the officials, but the call stood upon video review, as did Hayes’ earlier goal. The only other blemish on the California native’s sheet for the night was Taylor Holstrom’s short-handed goal in the third period, which came after Demko denied all overtures to extend the Eagles’ stay in central Pennsylvania by five minutes. Hayes’ second tally of the night was the eventual game winner. Penn State forward Jonathan Milley received a major boarding penalty after he pushed the game’s atmosphere from testy to dangerous by hitting BC defenseman Steve Santini from behind. At 4:28 in

the third, just 22 seconds later, Hayes buried a one-timer from the slot after Arnold emerged from a battle for the puck behind McAdam and put it on Hayes’ tape. Just 30 seconds after that, though, Eagles’ blueliner Teddy Doherty tripped Penn State forward Tommy Olcyzk from behind when Olcyzk had a clear path to the net. Demko calmly stoned the resulting penalty shot, even as Olcyzk, over five years Demko’s elder, baited the freshman to declare. Demko didn’t, and even after Holstrom’s goal, BC left with a victory. The win was Demko’s third in as many games, the fourth time he has led the Eagles to a victory in a hostile environment, and the second time—the other came on Dec. 7 at UNH—in which he was a major factor in the victory. A highly touted newcomer entering the season, Demko has shown signs of living up to the hype in the last week and a half. Saturday evening wasn’t as easy as most nights have been this season for head coach Jerry York’s team, and it wasn’t even a conference game. Yet due to maybe the best line York has had—in his words—“in decades,” along with some timely goaltending and Northeastern’s loss at Notre Dame, BC pushed up the national rankings and further entrenched its spot on top of Hockey East. In that way, it was a pretty regular winter weekend for the No.2 team in the country. n

emily fahey / heights editor

College hockey’s best offense was held to three goals for the first time in four games by Penn State, but still emerged victorious.

Field’s last-gasp game-winner earns Eagles sweep of UNH Wildcats By Molly Connor For The Heights

graham beck / heights senior staff

SPORTS in SHORT

BC’s attack produced eight goals in its weekend series, as goaltender Corinne Boyles tallied 60 saves against the UNH attack.

ACC Men’s Basketball Standings Team

Syracuse Pittsburgh Virginia Duke Wake Forest Florida State Clemson NC State Maryland UNC Georgia Tech Notre Dame Miami Boston College Virginia Tech

Conference 6-0 6-1 6-1 5-2 4-3 4-3 4-3 3-4 3-4 2-4 2-5 2-5 2-5 1-5 1-6

Overall 19-0 18-2 15-5 16-4 14-6 13-6 13-6 13-7 11-9 12-7 11-9 11-9 10-9 5-14 8-11

It came down to the final minutes, but the No. 7 Boston College women’s hockey team managed to scrape off a fifth straight win on Sunday afternoon. After beating UNH at home on Saturday, the team headed to Durham, New Hampshire to face the Wildcats—a Hockey East foe that dealt the Eagles their only conference loss back in October—on their own turf. At Whittemore Center, the two teams met to settle the fate of this weekend’s home-and-home series. Despite securing a dominant 5-2 victory the day before in Conte Forum, the Eagles got off to a rough start in the first period, allowing the Wildcats to strike first. Less than two minutes into the game, UNH’s Kayla Mork put a shot past BC goalie Corinne Boyles to score the first goal of the afternoon and set the tone for the rest of the first period in which the Wildcats doubled the Eagles’ shot total, firing off 14 to BC’s seven. Three minutes after the first goal, BC’s Taylor Wasylk put up an answer to Mork’s move by netting a goal off of a rebound on Kate Leary’s shot. In the two games against UNH alone, Wasylk tallied three goals and two assists, proving to be a vital force for the Eagles’ offense. The goal was her eighth of the season and brought the teams to a tie, the score at 1-1. Wasylk’s goal was not enough to entirely shift the momentum in BC’s favor, and UNH controlled the game for most of the first period. Penalties cost the Eagles during the period as Kaliya Johnson was sent to the penalty box twice for boarding and hitting after the whistle. UNH’s Jess Ryan was able to take advantage of the second power play, finding an opening and firing a wrister past Boyles to put the Wildcats in the lead with under a minute remaining in the period before heading into the first intermission. BC also had an opportunity on the power play during the first frame, but the Eagles failed to capitalize on their man advantage. The Eagles entered the middle frame trailing the Wildcats 2-1, but would not stay down for long. Two minutes into the period, Leary skated into Wildcat territory and lost control of the puck, but teammate Emily Pfalzer was there to

Numbers to Know

3 The number of points Johnny Gaudreau needs to best last season’s Division I college hockey points leader.

3.1

The average number of assists per game for both Joe Rahon and Olivier Hanlan.

.937 Corinne Boyles’ Hockey East-leading save percentage.

pick it up and fire a shot from the right faceoff dot, past UNH goalie Vilma Vaattovaara. Pfalzer’s goal knotted the score at 2-2, and the competitors remained even for the remainder of the period. The Eagles were not without chances in the middle frame, as two power plays came their way. As has been the story through much of the season, though, the power play failed to convert on man-advantage opportunites. The two teams remained even in that aspect as well as the Eagles took a penalty of their own during the period, but stayed strong on that element of special teams, holding off each of New Hampshire’s scoring attempts to mainain the tie. The third period saw many failed attempts and a penalty on both sides as each team remained scoreless through much of the remaining 20 minutes. With the score tied and just two minutes left, though, the Eagles were determined to out-score their competitors and come away with the valuable conference win. Junior Emily Field tipped a shot by teammate Haley McLean past Vaattovaara, scoring a game-winning goal that settled the score at 3-2 and extended BC’s unbeaten streak to (7-0-2). It was not the same dominant performance that the Eagles had exerted the day before at home–UNH outshot BC 33-23–but ultimately the Eagles came out on top. Boyles was vital in the Eagles’ winning effort. Throughout the season, she has consistently demonstrated her ability to hold off her opponents, and Sunday proved no exception as she tallied 31 saves in the Eagles’ win and improved her personal record to 15-4-2 on the season. There were two multi-point performances from Eagles, as Wasylk tallied a goal and an assist and Leary notched two assists, proving that BC can still be productive on offense in the absence of top goal-scorer Haley Skarupa as she recovers from injury. With the win the Eagles extended their lead at the top of Hockey East standings, the second place Boston University Terriers clocking in nine points behind the dominant BC team. While the Eagles have only one Hockey East loss, the Terriers have tallied five this season. After its winning weekend, the No. 7 BC women’s hockey team will head home to face Providence, currently fifth in Hockey East, on Feb. 1. n

Quote of the Week

“Her goal-scoring success during her Boston College season certainly translated into success at the international level with us during World Cup Qualifying.” – USWNT U-20 coach Michelle French on Meehan

The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2014

Emily Fahey / Heights Editor

key stats

10 3 32

quote of the Game

BC’s 3-point percentage Number of steals Kristen Doherty had

“I’ve got to give our kids so much credit, they fought, they battled, they followed the defensive game plan, and I thought the shooting went well. We held a hell of a team like Wake to 56 points ... I know we could have won this one.”

- Erik Johnson Women’s basketball head coach

Wake Forest’s field-goal percentage

Standouts

Memorable Play Early in the game, Kristen Doherty sprinted back on defense on a Wake Forest 2-on1 fast break. She took a defensive charge on Dearica Hamby. The charge energized the BC bench and fueled the Eagles’ run in the early first half.

Prime Performance Dearica Hamby

kristen doherty Emily fahey / heights editor

Emily Fahey/ Heights Editor

Kristen Doherty led BC with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Dearica Hamby scored 21 points and collected 16 rebounds for Wake.

Dearica Hamby, a junior forward at 6foot-3, is Wake’s biggest body. She led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed 16 boards, six of which were offensive. She also tallied four assists and two steals.

BC women’s basketball continues to struggle with third loss in three games By Brian Brooks For The Heights

The shrill sound of a whistle reverberated around Conte Forum. Foul. Again. Boston College’s Kristen Doherty looked on haplessly as teammate Katie Zenevitch jogged off the court after notching her fourth foul with just eight minutes to play in the second half. While Zenevitch, who would foul out later in the game, may not have had the best statistical day, her defensive presence was sorely missed in the post as Wake Forest clawed its way back from a nine-point second half deficit to pull out the win, 56-50. The Eagles, with four players committing at least four fouls, were in foul trouble from the onset of the game, putting the Demon Deacons on the charity stripe for bonus shots with six to play in the first half and seven in the second. Wake, while shooting just 65 percent from the line, had ample opportunity, scoring 20 points—over a third of its total on the afternoon—uncontested from 15 feet. BC was also dominated on the boards, gathering 15 fewer missed shots than its opponent. The Deacons rebounding attack was led by junior forward Dearica Hamby, who collected 16 boards and 21 points on her way to a double-double. Hamby made her presence known down low from the onset of the game, collecting a lob pass from Kandice Ball over the head of Eagles’ defenders and muscling her way to a bucket on Wake’s first possession. Hamby would make a routine out of what would prove to be a go-to play in the Deacon’s offensive arsenal.

Undersized Wake point guard Chelsea Douglas also put on a show, totaling 18 points on a mixture of runners in the lane and dribble-move step-back jumpers from around 17 feet. Despite her small 5-foot5 frame, Douglas played with a scorer’s mentality, fearlessly attacking the rim. Offensively, the Eagles played their usual variety of basketball, passing the ball around the perimeter of Wake’s 3-2 zone, looking for holes in the defense that they could drive into, letting Wake collapse, and kicking the ball back out for an open three. Up until that part, the offensive script worked beautifully, went off without a hitch. Unfortunately for BC, points weren’t coming from long range. BC shot a mere 2-20 from deep, as usual sharpshooters Nicole Boudreau and Kristen Doherty were 0-4 and 0-5 from three point range, respectively. The Eagles are a team that live and die by the three ball, and on Sunday afternoon, it simply was not working for them. Over the course of the game, BC did manage to jump out to a pair of big leads but was never able to hold on to them. After Wake’s opening bucket, the Eagles scored nine straight points behind a pair of jumpers from junior guard Lauren Engeln and a pair of layups from Kat Cooper and Kristen Doherty. During that run, Doherty—BC’s highest scorer with 12 on the day—caught a pass at the top of the key and attacked the lane, getting to the rack and capping the drive with a left-handed finger roll finish, complete with an and-1 free throw. The Deacons, however, were undeterred, playing tough basketball and taking a four-point lead

into the locker room at half time. In the second half, BC sprinted back out ahead, playing great defense, forcing Wake to take bad shots and on one occasion, a shot clock violation. Picking it up defensively translated well to the offensive side of the court as Kambria Gabriel blocked two consecutive Wake Forest shot attempts in one possession and dished the turnover to Kelly Hughes on the wing. Hughes then took the ball coast to coast to finish the layup, getting fouled and finishing the three-point play in the process to give the Eagles their biggest lead of the night, 39-31. Hamby led the Deacons roaring back with 15 points of her own in the second half, two of which came via a highlight in-the-air put-back that she kissed high off the glass as the tides started to turn against BC. A couple of key turnovers, including an offensive charge from Boudreau, put Wake right back in the game. The Deacons took the lead 49-48 off a deep three from junior guard Millesa Calicott and never looked back, letting the time run off with 2:30 to play. As the game clock ticked down, BC was forced to foul, putting Wake’s Karima Gabriel on the line several times. Gabriel sunk her free throws, putting the nail in BC’s coffin as her team won, 56-50. “What we saw tonight was an example of our team fighting, but we’re not quite there yet in some ways,” said head coach Erik Johnson. “We’re dealing with a lot of injuries, but I’ve got to give our kids so much credit, they fought, they battled, and they followed the defensive game plan … I know we could have won this one.” n

Emily Fahey / Heights Editor

Nicole Boudreau struggled to find her shooting groove, finishing three for 13 from the field.

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 27, 2014

From Chestnut Hill to the Cayman Islands, the goals just keep coming Meehan, From B1 qualification. That Saturday, Meehan was told she was in—she would travel to George Town, Grand Cayman, in red and white stripes. The first week in the Cayman Islands was spent training and building team chemistry. After one rain-soaked boat trip to Sting Ray City and days of practice, the tournament began, with the ultimate goal of U-20 World Cup qualification just a few wins away. “Once the games started, we were all just focused on soccer,” Meehan said. Heading into the first game, Meehan’s expectations were tempered by the talent surrounding her. “I wasn’t expecting to start or any-

up two goals, but nerves led to mistakes as she tried to settle into the game. Then, 10 minutes after her introduction to the game, Meehan struck. Midge Purce, a freshman forward from Har vard, whipped a cross in Meehan’s direction. Pouncing on the opportunity, Meehan got a piece of the ball, toe poking it back post past Jamaica goalkeeper Chris-Ann Chambers. The goal launched her onto the board and French’s radar. With one group-stage game remaining, and her team already through to the next round, French decided to rest a few of the previous games’ starters. With the decision, Meehan replaced University of North Carolina freshman Summer Green in the starting 11 against Guatemala. Going into the tournament, Meehan never imagined she would net a hat trick for her country. With 16 minutes remaining in the U.S.’s 10-0 demolition of Guatemala, the forward had three goals in the bag, and a starting spot on lock down for the semifinals. Next up were the semifinals. It took a mere 13 minutes for Meehan to open up scoring against Trinidad and Tobago. The forward’s header marked the game winner and the goal that sent the U.S. through to the finals. Coming out of halftime, it would take longer—20 minutes—for Meehan to score, but she’d net her second goal of the 6-0 victory in the 65th minute. Having entered the tournament as a sideline player, Meehan had defied all expectations. “McKenzie is at her best when she’s faced up one-v-one in the final third of the field, with the opportunity to cross or finish,” French said in an email. “She is equally as dangerous due to her incredible ability to get herself in good goal-scoring positions, particularly inside the 18-yard box. Not only does she have a knack for getting in those positions, she’s also extremely efficient as a finisher.” The U.S. played Mexico in the championship match on Jan. 19. Meehan would start but not score in the 4-0 American

thing,” Meehan said. “I was just hoping that if I did get any time at all I could just contribute as a substitute.” Team USA’s first game was against Costa Rica. It was a drubbing, a 6-0 takedown in favor of the Americans. Meehan began the game sitting on the bench and ended the match still rooted to it, stuck without a chance to prove herself on the pitch. “It was a little bit disappointing, but you can only use three subs a game,” Meehan said. “So I was disappointed, but I was hoping that maybe the next game I would get a chance.” Two days later, in the 72nd minute of the U.S.’s game against Jamaica, Meehan got that elusive opportunity. Coming off the bench as a sub for Jordan, Meehan was tense. The U.S. was

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

In Team USA’s 10-0 route of Guatemala, Meehan scored first and netted a hat trick.

SEIZING A CHANCE Despite entering the tournament as a non-starter, Meehan earned big minutes by capitalizing on the ﬁrst opportunity she was given.

GAME 1

GAME 2

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

Meehan’s 20-goal sophomore effort broke BC women’s soccer’s single-season scoring record. victory. With the U.S. struggling for possession in the first half, Meehan shifted her game. “I did a lot of defensive pressure to help out,” Meehan said. “I think Mexico was a decent game. I feel like in the first half we didn’t have the ball as much.” Subbed off in the 62nd minute, Meehan finished the tournament as co-leader in goals scored with Mexico’s Tanya Samarzich, and the U.S. took home the gold medal. The U-20 Women’s World Cup is a little more than seven months away. Back at school, for Meehan, the goal becomes making a roster once again. “I really hope that I can keep a spot

GAME 3

on the team until the World Cup, but it’s a long way away and there’s going to be camps each month,” Meehan said. “So I can just hope that I get invited to the next camp every time and just work hard to keep proving myself.” Right now, it’s impossible for Meehan, or anyone else, to predict what will happen. There’s no shortage of talent in the U.S. development program, and despite her fantastic start to 2014, Meehan’s continued place on the team is no sure thing. From now until August, email-toemail, game-to-game, Meehan’s World Cup hopes will live by the goal, or die by the goal. 

GAME 4

GAME 5

USA’S TOTAL GOALS

COSTA RICA

JAMAICA

GUATEMALA

TRINIDAD

MEXICO

GOALS MINUTES

MEEHAN’S TOTALS: 4 GAMES, 267 MINUTES, 6 GOALS

Women’s basketball bit by Wolfpack BY EMILY MALCYNSKY For The Heights

Len’Nique Brown draine d a 3pointer for NC State less than three minutes into her team’s matchup with Boston College. After Katie Zenevitch hit a layup, Kody Burke put the Eagles down 12-2, before her teammate Myisha ColemanGoodwin nailed a triple, increasing her team’s lead over BC to 13 points. It was a hole the Eagles came close to crawling out of, but one that was ultimately too much. The Eagles tried to keep No. 24 NC State under pressure with persistence on Thursday, but eventually fell to the Wolfpack, losing 85-76. BC shot 46.4 percent (eight of 15) from its 3-point attempts and kept its opponents honest on the boards with 33 rebounds to NC State’s 35. NC State set the tone early, demonstrating a strong outside game by draining its first three shots from behind the arc. This forced BC to work hard to combat the Wolfpack’s strong offense throughout the first half. The Eagles were able to recover from their poor start. Freshman Kelly

Hughes’ first half contributions included three 3-pointers. Her affinity for triples continued in the second half, and by the end of the game she was six of 10 from behind the 3-point line. Her buckets helped the Eagles bring the score to 41-39 at the end of the first half. The Eagles had the opportunity to tie the game at the start of the second half, but failed to do so. Hughes picked the pocket of Krystal Barrett, but Kristen Doherty’s layup attempt at the other end was rejected by Markeisha Gatling. Gatling was key for the Wolfpack, giving the BC defense constant trouble and finishing the game with 27 points and eight rebounds. The Wolfpack maintained its lead throughout the second half, with BC battling hard to close the gap. In addition to Gatling, the NC State offense was powered by 6-foot-2 forward Kody Burke. The two of them accounted for 51 of their team’s 85 points, and their rebounding skills worked to keep the Eagles in check. Head coach Erik Johnson’s team was able to pull within one however, when Hughes nailed a 3-pointer moments later to cut the Wolfpack’s advantage

to one. Burke was able to counter with a triple on NC State’s next possession, though. A jumper from Zenevitch followed, cutting the Eagles’ deficit to two, and free throws from Nicole Boudreau did the same with less than 15 minutes remaining. But NC State went on a 14-3 run, which ended with a Lakeesa Daniel free throw with 9:45 remaining. BC kept the game as close as it could. Zenevitch and Doherty fought hard against the Wolfpack on defense and offense. Throughout the game, Zenevitch posted 19 points and Doherty had 10 points and four assists. On the defensive end, Doherty pulled down six rebounds, but both she and Zenevitch got into foul trouble. Each ended the game with four fouls, causing Zenevitch to spend time on the bench. During Zenevitch’s seated time, NC State managed six straight points to push back against the Eagle’s offensive momentum. The Eagles managed to come within seven points of the Wolfpack with a 3-pointer from Hughes, but continued efforts could not bring the game any closer, causing the Eagles to drop their second consecutive game. 

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

After an early-season surge in non-conference play, head coach Erik Johnson’s Eagles have struggled with ACC matchups.

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Junior Brian Billett has played in 15 games this season, recording a .767 win percentage.

Still room for improvement Column, From B1 Special Teams: Earlier in the season, we were extremely concerned about the productivity of BC’s power play. Sluggish, disjointed, and wildly ineffective, one of the most important part of your team’s game was simply not up to par with the rest of the class. Lately, though, with the reshuffling of personnel, the power play has seen a boost and has climbed to a 20.4 percent success rate. On the other hand, the Eagles’ penalty kill has flourished all season, killing 105 of 116 man advantages for a Division I hockey-leading 90.5 percent kill rate. With the power play showing improvement as of late and the penalty kill displaying consistency over the course of the season, BC’s special teams can advance their growth through continued scoring when on the man advantage, and by maintaining the same level of stinginess on the kill. Grade: B+ Goaltending: While all the members of your team have been working hard this season, two have been relentlessly competing against each other day in and day out—goalies Brian Billett and Thatcher Demko. Billett’s played more games this season, recording a .920 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average (GAA) in 15 appearances. The freshman, Demko, has played 10 games, but is coming on strong, starting the past three games and recording a .919 save percentage and 2.17 goals-against

average on the season. Both goaltenders have had good games and bad games, and looking ahead at the postseason fight, it’s essential for your team’s success that one heats up enough to command the net in the season’s final stretch. Grade: AFan Appeal: Well, your team certainly does have a penchant for the spectacular, doesn’t it? Judging by the noise in Conte Forum against BU a few weekends ago, the fans are certainty being entertained, and from Sports Center Top 10 plays to physics-defying backhanded goals to hat tricks to huge hits to nearly incomprehensible dekes—there’s certainly been a lot to see. We’re a little bit worried about how all the attention is affecting your team’s brother, the BC men’s basketball team, but regardless, it is our best judgment that the best way to elevate fan appeal to an even higher level and to receive extra credit would be through a tournament rematch with Minnesota. Grade: A Final notes and observations: The Eagles, the youngest team in school, are No.2 in their grade. To date, they’ve exceeded the expectations we held going into the season, but there’s still room for further improvement. In terms of final projects, a field trip to the Frozen Four would not be out of the question. Cumulative grade: A-

Connor Mellas is the Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2013

Productive first line aids redemption as Eagles defeat UNH By Jeanette Barone For The Heights

The Eagles’ drive to win was immediately apparent Saturday afternoon when the women’s ice hockey team looked to avenge its only Hockey East season loss to the University of New Hampshire. The drop of the puck released the deadly Eagles, who reclaimed their nest with a 5-3 victory, having been defeated by the Wildcats at Conte Forum in October. Boston College’s first line of Taylor Wasylk, Dana Trivigno, and Kate Leary was connecting at a lethal level with a total of three goals and five assists. The team started off strong with a goal halfway through the first period by Wasylk, tallying her sixth goal of the season. Wasylk forced the puck under freshman goalie Ashley Wilkes’ left arm, after catching a wrap-around pass from line-mate Trivigno. Just over five minutes later, Trivigno followed up with the team’s second goal of the period, with a wrist shot that she settled after a deflection from Wasylk’s stick. Less than two minutes after that, Wasylk was able to extend the Eagles’ lead to 3-0 via a five-hole slap shot from the top of the zone’s circle. “I thought our kids came out with a pretty big bang, especially scoring three goals in that first period and that’s always good to see,” said head coach Katie King Crowley. “I would like our second and third to be a little bit better.” The Wildcats came alive in the second period, firing 20 shots on goal, double that of BC. Jessica Hitchcock put UNH on the board at 2:55 after receiving a pass out front in the slot from assistant captain Hannah Armstrong. Her snipe to the top left corner of the net kept UNH’s energy flowing and hope alive. “Obviously our strengths were we picked it up in the second and the third, but you can’t win a hockey game when you don’t play all three periods,” said

Graham beck / heights senior staff

Kate Leary had an assist on Saturday afternoon against UNH, and her line was responsible for three of the Eagles’ five goals. UNH co-head coach Stephanie Jones. BC was able to sneak the puck past Wilkes with a power play goal by Kristyn Capizzano just 2:27 into the third period. After an initial save on Emily Pfalzer’s slap shot from just inside the blue line that was angled toward the goal by Trivigno, Capizzano capitalized on the gift-wrapped rebound delivered right into the slot. Less than two minutes later, Emily Pfalzer caught a perfect pass from Andie Anastos in the slot and made the goalie pay by firing the puck top left corner. With a four-goal lead on the Wild-

cats, the Eagles got too comfortable in their nest. Their defensive play deteriorated, and chaos broke out in front of senior goalie Corinne Boyles. A shooting gallery ensued with several shots blasted her way. Cassandra Vilgrain added a goal to the UNH tally after gathering a rebound at 8:04. It did not take UNH too long to make another quality play. Boyles broke down against Vilgrain by getting caught too far right, leaving the left side of the net wide open. Vilgrain took advantage of this mistake, instantly scoring off of a tape-to-tape feed from Heather Kash-

man at the top of the left circle “dot.” The physicality of the game added to the overall excitement and competitive atmosphere between the two teams. Over the course of 60 minutes, nine penalties were handed down, leaving both teams at a disadvantage several times. There were also numerous scraps and much trash talk exchanged between plays. Several players were sent to the box for penalties including hooking, crosschecking, and interference. At 2:27 in the third period, Trivigno and Nicole Gifford received minor match penalties for hitting after the whistle.

Winning a game without a strong final line of defense is difficult, and goaltending played a huge role in the outcome of the game. UNH out-shot BC, but Boyles was equal to the task. Boyles received several shots to the chest, which she easily handled, along with several low shots that she was able to stretch and save. Although she did struggle some with rebound control, she mostly managed to keep the puck out from between the pipes. “I thought Corinne was good today,” Crowley said. “The goals that they scored were tough ones where people were kind of wide open in front or open for one-timers, which are kind of point blank scoring opportunities for them.” Ashley Wilkes, the UNH freshman who averaged a .907 save percentage going into Saturday’s game, was able to help keep UNH alive throughout the three periods. She faced the five penalties against her teammates, deflecting several threatening shots by gracefully gliding from post to post. After the game, Jones had praise for Wilkes’ play. “I thought Ashley was on—like the rest of the team she probably didn’t have her best start—but she certainly saved us several times in the second and the third, so I was proud of Ashley,” she said. This season the Eagles have proven themselves by holding the top slot in the Hockey East standings with a 121-1 record. Their overall results are impressive as well at 17-4-3. Though BC did not end the game as well as they’d hoped, they were still able to pull out a solid win. “I think a lot of our focus needs to be on our mental side and finding ways to put teams away when we get up by three goals,” Crowley said. “And by saying that, I mean finding ways to score goals, not let them kind of creep back in and stay, hover right over us … Goal scoring, goal scoring, goal scoring, and being able to put these teams away.” n

Roundup

Kelly, Eagles put up strong showing at Dartmouth Invitational By Alex Fairchild Asst. Sports Editor

This weekend, the men’s swimming and diving team traveled to the Dartmouth Invite and saw Daniel Kelly triumph in the men’s 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.90. The sophomore shredded the pool, winning by nearly three-tenths of a second. Kelly anchored the men’s 200-yard medley relay team of Josh Williams, Andrew Stranick, and Timothy Benage. That relay team finished behind meet-winners Dartmouth with a time of 1:33.97. The men’s side incurred more success in the 200-yard freestyle, as Nick Henze secured a third place finish with a time of 1:43.45, and Stranick was the runner up in the 100-yard breaststroke. In the deep end, freshman Cole Malatesta scored 285.80, edging him into second place in the men’s 3m dive. After suffering a 4-3 defeat at Georgetown on Friday, the men’s tennis team was blanked by No. 1 Virginia, 7-0. The doubles pair of Alexandre Thirouin and Jonathan Raude won its match, but it was the Eagle’s only victory of the day, as the Cavaliers swept BC in singles. At Georgetown, the Hoyas took all three doubles matches. Philip Nelson, Matt Wagner, and Raude all won, as the team split singles play with its hosts. In its first home meet of the year, the women’s fencing team won four dual meets, beating MIT, Smith, Vassar, and Dartmouth. Freshman Renee Bichete, junior Cara Hall, and sophomore Olivia

Emily Fahey / Heights Editor

The men’s swimming and diving team was in Hanover this weekend competing with four other teams in the Dartmouth invitational. Adragna, who combined to go 46-8 in the meet, led the women’s Epee. Linda Zhang defeated two NCAA qualifies, highlighting the foil squad’s day. MIT, Vassar, Brown, and Brandeis defeated the men’s team, as BC only managed to beat Dartmouth on the meet. After the match, the men’s and women’s teams both sit in sixth in the

Northeast Fencing Conference. In the combined ranking, the program is tied for fifth with Tufts University. Junior Liv Westphal set the U-23 French national record in the 3000m at the John Thomas Terrier Invitational at Boston University in which nine Eagles met the ECAC standard. Westphal’s time of 9:16.34 saw her

finish third in the race and third fastest in school history. In the 5000m, Morgan Mueller took sixth, and Elizabeth O’Brien finished in 10th place, both meeting the ECAC standard. Claudia DiSomma placed third in the 1000m with a time of 2:54.47. Across town in Cambridge, Kristen McDonaugh competed in the Harvard

Multi meet. Jumping 1.70m in the high jump, she tied the fifth-best height in program history. The women’s tennis team won backto-back matches, beating Dartmouth 5-2 and Brown 4-3. Against the Big Green, the Eagles dominated doubles play, before winning four of the six singles matches. Freshman Lexi Borr, sophomore Katya Vasilyev, freshman Emily Safron, and sophomore Heini Salonen defeated their opponents in singles. On Friday, Brown won two of the three doubles games, but BC countered by winning four of six singles matches. Borr won her match 6-3, and sophomore Jenny Ren triumphed as well. Vasilyev contributed to the Eagles’ advantage with a win, and Emily Safron’s victory sealed BC’s triumph over the Bears. On Saturday at the UNH Carnival, the Eagles placed 15th out of 16 teams. Keith Schuman led the way for the men’s ski team, finishing in 20th in the giant slalom. Schuman was followed in the GS by teammate Ryan Barney, who came in 30th. Schuman performed well in the slalom, placing inside of the top 25 with Chase Ryan. Michelle Solomon and Taylor Burgart finished just outside of the team points in 42nd and 43rd, respectively, in the women’s giant slalom. Katie Cutting skied well in the women’s slalom, finishing in 28th place, while Kristie Ryan and Burgart clocked in just outside of the top 30. A second run disqualification by Brayton Pech kept her from finishing race for the Eagles. n

Women’s Hockey Notebook

With top scorer missing, Trivigno, Wasylk, and Boyles step up for BC By Tom Meloro For The Heights

Trivigno and Wasylk pick up the slack With Boston College facing its third straight game without leading scorer Haley Skarupa, it was fair to ask who would generate the offense. In Saturday’s game against UNH, the two players stepping up to the challenge were forwards Dana Trivigno and Taylor Wasylk, the second and first stars of the game, respectively. In the first period, the duo was unstoppable as the UNH defenders looked against them. Wasylk scored her sixth and seventh goals of the year in just under a seven-minute span, with those goals sandwiching Trivigno’s seventh goal of the season. Head coach Katie King Crowley put it best about the new linemates when she said, “it seemed like today they really started to gel and find each other … we’ve been waiting for more lines to step up, especially when we have Haley Skarupa out, so when your

leading scorer’s out, you need some help offensively, and those two really helped out today.” On each of Wasylk’s goals, Trivigno notched the primary assist, with Wasylk returning the favor on Trivigno’s goal. Wasylk’s first goal came from Trivigno wrapping around the net off a faceoff. Junior Kate Leary fired a shot at the net from the right circle that bounced off to the right of the net, where it was gathered by Trivigno and taken around behind. At the left post, Wasylk took the pass from Trivigno and slotted it under the outstretched arm of a diving Ashley Wilkes, UNH’s freshman goaltender. BC’s next goal was a product of hard work from Wasylk and a beautiful shot by Trivigno, as UNH tried to clear the puck around the boards. The puck deflected off Wasylk’s stick and out to the point where it was gathered by Trivigno, who slotted a wrist shot past Wilkes’ blocker and into the net. The third goal came thanks to some precocious defense as Meagan Mangene’s poke check in the offensive zone went right to Dana Trivigno.

Wasylk found some space and called for the puck . Trivigno delivered a perfect pass, and Wasylk one-timed a slapshot through Wilkes’ five-hole for the 3-0 first period lead, and a total of six points for the two players in the period. Trivigno had the primary assist on BC’s next goal, a power-play goal scored by Kristyn Capizzano. Though that was the only point recorded by either Trivigno or Wasylk for the rest of the game, their presence was felt every time they were on the ice, as they continued to generate chance after chance for BC. Boyles asserts her seniority Senior goaltender Corinne Boyles, who has been BC’s rock in net, earned the win in her 110th career game. In the first period, Wilkes got off to a slow start, letting up those three goals to Trivigno and Wasylk. Boyles faced much less of a challenge in the first, facing four shots and turning them all aside. The second period was slightly busier for Boyles, as she was hit with a

barrage of UNH shots, though not all were grade-A chances. Of the 20 shots she faced in the period, she saved 19 of them, while Wilkes turned aside all 10 BC shots in the second. The third period was more like the first, with Wilkes facing 13 shots and saving 11, letting up the first two goals of the period to make the score 5-1 BC. At that point, it seemed as if BC began to coast, and the Eagles let UNH back into the game. Boyles saved six shots and allowed two to hit the back of the net, leaving the final score at 5-3. Cassandra Vilgrain scored UNH’s second and third goals, with her first coming off pressure on Boyles. A defensive assignment error left Vilgrain out in front of Boyles with enough time to shoot, collect her own rebound, and put the puck into the far side of the net for UNH’s second of the game. Her second goal came on another defensive breakdown—Vilgrain was able to sneak behind the BC defense. With Boyles out of her crease, a quick pass from UNH forward Heather Kashman led to an easy one-time finish into a wide-open net. But that was as close

as the game would get, as Boyles stood strong at the finish to turn aside any other opportunities UNH had. Crowley was satisfied with the performance she got out of Boyles. “[There were]certainly breakdowns on our part, that we need to kinda clean up, that we’ll continue to talk to the kids about, but I thought Corinne made some saves when we needed her to, and that’s what we look for from our goaltenders,” Crowley said. Despite giving up five goals, it is hard to mention the goaltending of this game without commending Wilkes for her performance. Fighting through a poor start, Wilkes turned aside a number of excellent opportunities for the BC forwards, robbing a number of different players on breakaways. The second period especially, Wilkes was steady in net, killing off two BC power plays, as well as stopping BC after a few defensive breakdowns on UNH power plays. Although Saturday wasn’t her best day at the beginning of the game, it’s not hard to see Wilkes being a staple between the pipes for UNH for the next few years. n

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 27, 2014

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 27, 2014

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Taking advantage of life in Ecuador SAMANTHA HODGE

“Bienvenido a Quito, Ecuador,” my host mom announced as I walked into what I was supposed to call home for the next five months. The house was two stories and very charming. My host parents were even more charming and greeted me with the line, “mi casa es tu casa.” They spoke very little English but were excited to learn in exchange for teaching me more Spanish. They helped carry my bags to my room, which was quaint and very homey. Here, I found their cat named Nacho–I am a cat-lover, so I was definitely excited for a cuddle buddy. The next morning, my first real day in Quito, my host mom or “mama ecuatoriana” decided to give me a minitour of the city. As we drove down the street, the houses and buildings were of all colors, shapes, and sizes. She told me that the architecture was built in the old Spanish or Moorish style. Many of the shops and corner stores were old and seemed to shake unsteadily against the wind. My host mom explained to me that the houses and buildings are all packed together in a landform called the Guayllabamba river basin and are surrounded by the active volcano Pichincha. Pichincha is a beautiful volcano in the Andes Mountains that you can see from almost any point in the city. It is incredibly tall and a very popular tourist attraction because of its beauty and accessibility to climb. Moreover, she told me that Quito is divided between colonial architecture, the old Spanish style and a more modern and improved design. There is a mixture of well-preserved colonial cathedrals as well as smooth contemporary architecture that illustrates the history and evolution of the capital. As we stopped the car and got out, I noticed a tourist building titled, “Ecuador: ama la vida.” I found this slogan interesting but was not exactly sure what it meant. The sidewalks we walked on were sprinkled with people and there were vendors on every corner. Vendors were selling anything ranging from empanadas, a cultural stuffed pastry, to small packs of gum called chicles. They were of all ages, as I even saw 10-year-olds trying to sell candy or offering to shine your shoes with a makeshift container of supplies. Just by walking down the street, I could tell that Ecuadorian culture was very different. It was completely new, rich, scary, interesting, and beautiful. I could not wait to discover and experience it all. Our first weekend to ourselves, my Boston College group and I decided to visit a nearby town called Mindo. This town is known for its beautiful cloud forest, which holds 5 percent of the world’s bird population. This weekend trip to Mindo was amazing from beginning to end. We arrived at our destination and set up camp in a hostel called El Rocio. I had never slept in anything like it. There were beds with mosquito nets, and the back door opened to a terrace with hammocks overlooking a beautiful view of the town. The hostel was creaky and lacking in hot water but was still very charming and at an impeccable price. Once we were settled, we went to explore the cloud rainforest. We took a tarabita, or cable car, that ziplines across the top of the forest at about 500 feet in the air. The view was breathtaking. This cable car brought us to the starting point of our hike that then led to Santuario de las Cascadas, or five different waterfalls. As we walked, we heard the waterfalls before we saw them. It started off as a distant hum but as we came to the edge of the cascada, we could barely hear each other over the rush of water. We saw four of the five waterfalls and, although the water was freezing, we just had to get in. The floor was rocky, and at first the ice-cold water felt like pins and needles on our legs. Swimming in the waterfall was an incredible sensation, and I absolutely loved it. I loved it all. I then realized the meaning of the popular slogan, “Ecuador: ama la vida.” Ecuador is a place of opportunity, of authentic culture, of breathtaking landmarks and invaluable learning experiences. As I fell in love with Boston, I am also falling in love with Ecuador and cannot wait to experience it to the fullest. I wish “ama la vida” to all–love your life and all it has to offer.

Samantha Hodge is a contributor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Student employees share routines, responsibilities, goals Workers, from B10 graduate research fellowship in the film department last year, so I kind of had TA responsibilities within that as well. Heights: What are your tasks as a TA? Prentice: We manage the equipment here, so if students need to check out equipment for their projects we check that out for them and make sure that they return that with proper wear and tear and with nothing missing. We also help students out with editing advice or filming advice. I’ll come to the end of classes and help the professor if necessary—basically anything the students need, we take care of so the professors don’t have to. A lot of these professors work at other universities and aren’t on campus much. Heights: How did you find out about this job, and why did you pick it? Prentice: The TAs are more or less selected to become a TA. Also having done the undergraduate research fellowship last year, I was really involved within the department itself. With that association and doing well in film classes, I became a TA. Heights: What was this fellowship about? Was it more research- or project-based? Prentice: It was with Professor Michalczyk, and basically I helped him work on his documentaries and do various film department tasks. I was camera operator on his most recent documentary and went into Boston to film some things. Heights: What would you say is one of the most challenging things about your job? Prentice: Usually trying to keep the students on track with getting their equipment in. Sometimes they’ll have it out for days and you’ll have to say, “Guys, you need to bring it in because a lot of other people need that.” You also get situations where they have an assignment due tomorrow and it’s the night before, and they say, “Hey, can you meet me at the film room to get some equipment?” But we have set hours for them to come in, so that’s probably the most challenging. Heights: What’s something you find especially interesting about the job that you might not find in another on campus? Prentice: I think it’s cool because you’re involved with their projects and you see what they’re working on, how they’re doing it. You can give them advice and sort

of be a mentor for students that need help, because it can be really complicated.

CRISTIAN LOPEZ

Cristian Lopez, CSOM ’14, has hopped around from job to job throughout his time at BC. A little bit of luck and his characteristic willingness to strike up a conversation with just about anyone eventually landed him his most recent gig in the Student Services office. Heights: How long have you been working in the Student Services office? Lopez: Since September. I was lucky to get a job here as a senior—they usually hire lowerclassmen here. Heights: Here at Student Services, you work in administration. What’s a usual day like? Lopez: I basically consider myself the personal assistant of Jane McGuire, who oversees pretty much the scheduling for all of Student Services. Mostly, it’s stocking up the closets … and running errands, because Student Services sends a lot of inter-office deliveries. It’s really anything. We do a lot of lunches where Jane will pay for the office to have lunch, so I’ll help set up for the lunches. Normally she has a card so that when we don’t do lunch, the workers can have a free lunch in the Rat so I’ll be downstairs swiping for everybody. A lot of random tasks like that. Heights: How did you get this job? It seems like one that not many people would know about. Lopez: Luck, definitely! I came in here in September, and the position was posted because the person she’d had for the past four years was graduating in the fall. It so happened that when I went to apply, she was there, and she’s normally not because she’s always running around. So I got to talk to her in person. We just clicked, and I didn’t even know she was Jane McGuire! But she liked me and pretty much hired me on the spot. It was nice. Heights: Is there anything that you find tricky about the job? Lopez: I would say that because Jane is in a position where she interacts with a lot of people here, and a lot of them just come in and grab something, I have to know who is allowed to do that and pay attention to things like that. Heights: What do you find most interesting about your job? Lopez: My job is more project-based. Jane will give me something like early on in the semester where I

had to do an Excel spreadsheet where I counted up all of the students in each major at Boston College to help her for a presentation. There’s no traditional day I would say. There’s no routine, which I like. Maybe some people wouldn’t.

RYAN DIKDAN

Ryan Dikdan, A&S ’15, is one of many students who are already contributing to science by helping a biochem professor conduct research in one of BC’s many on-campus labs. Heights: Which lab are you working in for this semester? Dikdan: The Chatterjee lab. I’m working on a project about … in layman’s terms, we’re trying to make a special protein so that we can turn it on and off with UV light. The protein’s involved with cancer—once the protein activates, the cell will kill itself, so if the cell becomes cancerous it has a self-defense mechanism if we turn this protein on. If one cell gets cancer you’re fine, but if it metastasizes and gets bigger it’s a problem. Heights: How long have you been working there? Dikdan: Just a week. Heights: How did you get this job? Dikdan: To see whether or not I liked research I emailed Dr. Burgess and worked in his lab last semester, so I knew how to do it. All I did was email a bunch of bio professors and go, “Hey, can I work in your lab?” They pretty much just tell you if they have room or not. I saw a lecture by Dr. Chatterjee ... on something I find very fascinating, protein engineering and incorporation of amino acids in the protein. So I emailed him and talked to him about working in his lab and doing a thesis next year. I kept bugging him about working there. Heights: So this research might lead to a thesis? Dikdan: I might get a paper published before that, which would be awesome. We’re working in a field that not too many people work in for some reason, although I think it has amazing potential. Heights: How did your previous lab experience prepare you for this one? Dikdan: All the basic techniques of biology are really similar. That’s the best part of working in a research lab. I took a bio lab course, but it’s different when you actually have a purpose and are working under a grad student. 

ROTC participants reap program beneﬁts after graduation BY CAROLINE KIRKWOOD Heights Staff While walking around Boston College’s campus on a Wednesday, one might notice the typical crowd of BC students spotted with young men and women in U.S. Army combat uniform. No, these are not guest lecturers or visitors from West Point, but just your everyday BC students who have chosen to be a part of Army ROTC. Army ROTC was officially instituted at BC in 1947. Due to growing controversy surrounding the Vietnam War, BC eliminated the ROTC program in 1974. A reestablishment of ROTC at BC occurred when a partnership and cross-enrollment agreement was made between Northeastern University and BC. Now Northeastern, BC, Simmons College, and Suffolk University are just a few of the universities that make up the 16-school Liberty Battalion in the greater Boston area. The members of Army ROTC at BC fall into two different groups of students: contracted cadets and participating cadets who are trying to decide if a commitment to ROTC is right for them. Contracted cadets will have a service obligation upon graduating college. In return, most are contracting in hopes of achieving an ROTC scholarship. They also are provided some money for books and a small monthly stipend. “Contracting and receiving a scholar-

ship will happen simultaneously, meaning a student will contract because he or she has been offered a scholarship,” said John O’Brien, senior military science instructor of the Army ROTC program at BC. This service obligation for contracted scholarship cadets includes four years of Army service as an active-duty officer or a Reserve officer, followed by four years of inactive service. The other group of students consists of those figuring out if they want to commit themselves to ROTC. “We will have freshmen who are all fully participating in ROTC, but some of them are just participating to see if they want to continue with it,” O’Brien said. Upon reaching their junior year, students then decide whether to become a contracted cadet or end their participation with ROTC, although students can become contracted as early as they wish. For many students, this eight-year military commitment can seem daunting and overwhelming. “An eight-year commitment seems really big to a lot of people, especially freshmen in college who have no idea what they even want to major in,” said Meredith Piro, A&S ’14. “But luckily, throughout ROTC you get guided towards making decisions that are right for you and that you are comfortable with.” There are many different reasons why students find themselves interested in the ROTC program at BC. “I stumbled upon ROTC during my high school senior spring as I was

looking for different ways to pay for my college education,” said Sarah Winglass, A&S ’14. “So that was what I was initially attracted to, along with the knowledge that it would offer a lot of career opportunities once I graduated.” Brian Coakley, A&S ’15, who joined ROTC in the summer going into his sophomore year, explained his own path. “I joined for a number of reasons.,” he said. “Many members of my family have a history in the military, with a brother enlisted in the Marine Corps serving in Afghanistan shortly before my involvement in this program. Also the long-term skills ranging from leadership, selfless service, and loyalty and the most obvious: to serve my country.” The program of Army ROTC involves military science classes, leadership labs, simulated training at local military bases, and physical training referred to as PT. These military science classes cover topics ranging from map reading, professional development, and tactics. PT occurs three times a week from 6:15 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. “PT usually ranges from a long run of about four to six miles, to upper body muscular endurance workouts, to core training,” said Coakley. Bill Lavelle, A&S ’17 explained how PT typically finishes up: “We almost always end with something called ‘Push-up Circle.’ For this final exercise, we partner up, put our feet on each other’s backs, and then do push-ups nonstop for 30 seconds.” This would then go on for as many rounds as the ROTC instruc-

tor in charge wished. During their senior year, cadets will find out which of the 16 branches of the Army they will be assigned to following graduation. These branches include military intelligence, infantry, armor, aviation, nursing, and Adjunct General (human resources). “Every one of our seniors got their first choice of assignment,” O’Brien said. “We don’t really gear our cadets to any specific branch— they get to choose what they want. The BC students get what they want historically.” “People often automatically think military equals boots on the ground, deployed for the rest of your life, but there are so many more aspects to the military than just that,” said Winglass, who will be commissioned in the branch of military intelligence upon graduation. Upon reflecting on the experience as members of ROTC at BC, these cadets feel that the program has created positive changes in their lives and shaped the people they have become. “ROTC instills an extreme level of confidence that most people never have an experience with,” Piro said. “We are getting this training in reacting to situations you haven’t foreseen, whether you are doing a battle drill on the ground or standing up and giving a brief and something goes wrong. It involves learning how to take care of others rather than just yourself, which leads to a whole new level of responsibility.” 

CLUB SERIES FEATURING BC’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

BC Swing Kids promote myriad dancing styles through weekly student-led open lessons BY CORINNE DUFFY Heights Editor Only one group of toe-tappin’ troops is devoted to spreading, teaching, and performing the partner-dancing style of the early through mid-20th century’s jazz age at Boston College—the BC Swing Kids. Founded in 1998, this “hep cat” club originally began in order to fill the swing dance void on campus. While this goal still holds relevance, “Swing” aims to provide a practice and performance outlet for all dancers, regardless of skill or grade level. “We want to teach,” said Andrew Carleton, president of BC Swing Kids and A&S ’14. “It’s a way to give people an opportunity to learn how to dance that they wouldn’t otherwise have.” Since its founding, Swing Kids has administered free lessons to and hosted socials

for interested individuals. “We also throw in a rookie dance—it’s a really good way to get exposed,” Carleton said. From there, those who express the desire to perform are put into choreographed dances that the club showcases several times throughout the year. In addition to Swing’s on-campus social dances, the club occasionally ventures off-campus to Boston Swing Central, an organization in Charleston that offers Friday night swing dancing. During first semester, the club hosted a winter dance, and its spring dance will be held on Mar. 28. Regarding competition and showcasing, Swing Kids will perform at the upcoming Arts Fest and battle various BC dance groups at Showdown in the spring. While swing dancing is typically associated with the jazzy style of the Roaring ’20s, BC Swing Kids incorporate both classic Lindy

Hop music and more contemporary songs in their routines. Often, they choose their background music based on an event’s theme and qualifications. There is a big distinction, therefore, between the pieces they choose for each event, and their selections range from ’20s music to P!nk songs and even singles from Kanye West’s Yeezus. Currently, Swing accommodates about 45 active members with an almost 2:1 female to male ratio. “It’s almost like cheerleading,” Carleton joked. While swing incorporates partner dancing, Carleton deems it unnecessary to attend practice or events with a partner. “You can come in by yourself—it’s really accessible to anyone who wants to join,” he said. The breadth of the club and its eagerness to grow can be problematic, however. “One disadvantage we have is by always looking

to expand, routine isn’t practiced as much and members aren’t involved in as many of the dances,” Carleton said. Therefore, the group attempts to practice as many times as possible—once to twice a week since September—in order to polish its different pieces. Regular lessons are held every Monday from 7 to 8 p.m. in the O’Connell dance studio. “We want to expose as many people as possible to dance,” Carleton said. “We have worked really well as an e-board to unify the club in the past two years.” The best way to get involved in BC Swing Kids is to attend one of the weekly Monday practices in O’Connell House. “When I joined, I joined halfway through my freshman year,” Carleton said. “It’s never too late to join, and it’s really a life-long skill to have.” 

THE HEIGHTS

AN OPEN LETTER

Advice for the spiritually lost ANDREA D’AVILA

I have been a spiritual person all of my life. I always have searched for explanations about the purpose of our lives, the creation of the universe, and the essence of our soul. But there was always something missing or not making sense. I felt like modern physicists who try to unify the Standard Model of Physics with General Relativity— quantum physics with gravity, and micro cosmos with macro cosmos, which seems an utterly impossible task, yet something inside me kept me searching for this unity. Amid this incessant search, I came across Kabbalah. It started out with a book, but before I could finish it I saw myself in my first class of Power of Kabbalah 1. From then on, I have practiced the kabbalistic wisdom and teachings every day of my life. One of the most special things that Kabbalah will teach you is how to become the master of your life. You learn how to get what you want and how to be who you want to be. Kabbalah means “to receive,” and its sole purpose is to teach us how to receive everything that we desire—and not to loose it. This is the beauty about Kabbalah: it is logical and practical. We are constantly thinking about what we want and how we are going to get it. Our desires are endless, but the good news is that the universe is limitless and we can have absolutely everything that we want. But the question is how we get what we want. Life is like a game: we can only win if we know the rules of the game, otherwise we will repeatedly make the same mistakes because we do not know what to expect from our moves. Here is a personal example: One of the fundamental precepts of Kabbalah is the concept of sharing. In order to share and to receive what we want, we must learn to restrict our reactivity. One day I was driving with my boyfriend to see his parents and we weren’t exactly in a good mood. The car was filled with silence until I heard his voice telling me that he had forgotten his mother’s present at home and we would have to go all the way back to get it. I could feel a burning of rage coming up to my stomach and to my throat. All I could think of was how forgetful and aloof he was, how impossible it was to be with a person like this, and how I had to think for two people because he doesn’t do his part. Literally a whole scene of my yelling at him and his answering back flashed before my eyes in a fraction of a second. But then I stopped for a moment and asked myself, “Is this really what I want? Do I want to be right or do I want to be happy?” This brief pause was vital for me to take a different path. I decided to apply the “proactive formula,” as the Kabbalists teach. I simply act in a constructive way. I answered back: “No problem, dear.” As I did so, the person that I was looking at transformed before my eyes. I looked at him and saw everything that I have seen in him in the first day we met: his beautiful and passionate eyes, his calm and caring personality, and the feeling of his healing hug came rushing in my mind, overtaking any reminiscence of anger from that moment. He looked at me, perplexed with my reaction, but I could see the innocent shame concealed in his expression. Instead of being angry, I got what I wanted from the situation: my boyfriend recognized his mistake, and I transformed my anger into a constructive opportunity to connect with genuine feelings that I had for him. I gave up being right and chose to be happy, because that is what matters. Kabbalah is an ancient spiritual wisdom and has been the keystone to the establishment of Judaism and Christianity, but its teachings are often different from religious dogmas. Thanks to the efforts of Karen and Rav Berg, the Kabbalah Centre became an international non-profit organization, which teaches hundreds of classes in many subjects to anyone willing to learn. If you ever sit at a Kabbalah class, you may be surprised to learn that you have the power to become the master of your life. Kabbalah has been a blessing to my life and many others. I became a happier and more fulfilled person, and so can you.

Andrea D’Avila is a contributor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Students’ research leads to discovery of lost art Pagodas, from B10 changed the way she currently conducts her research. “Google is not bad, but not everything is on Google,” she said. “The information is in the people. The best searches are searches for experts.” The students found this especially true when Nancy Berliner, the curator of Chinese art at the Museum of Fine Arts, gave a guest lecture at BC. Berliner proved to be a key source with information that was unavailable in online or even print resources. Sarah Malaske, A&S ’14, said that when she and a few students met Berliner for lunch, they asked if she had any information on the pagodas and were surprised to find that Berliner not only knew their location, but also had connections to Meeseen Loong, the Sotheby’s art dealer who brokered their sale from the Field Museum to a private dealer. Negotiations to sell the collection to both the Tou Se We Museum and Peabody Essex Museum in Salem fell through, resulting in the eventual private sale. Nonetheless, the conversation with Berliner and eventual contact with Loong helped finally solve the mystery

SAMANTHA COSTANZO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Students dicussed the history of the pagodas with art dealer Meeseen Loong, far left. of the pagodas. Now that the project is over, Clarke and Loong are working to organize an exhibition of the carvings for the centennial of the collection’s creation in 2015. Given that the orphans learned to carve the pagodas under the direction of a Jesuit priest, Clarke considers BC a

perfect place to host such an exhibition but expressed doubts about whether or not the University has enough space to do so. “We unfortunately have a paucity of display space at BC,” Clarke said. “For a Jesuit university that’s part of a tradition that supports aesthetic education, there’s no gallery space for smaller exhibitions.”

If BC proves an unviable option, Loong and Clarke will try to stage an exhibition at another location. While a discovery such as this is a tough act to follow, Clarke has a few ideas about where to send his next class of treasure hunters when he teaches the course again in the spring. The most promising destination so far is China’s ransacked Summer Palace, from which the heads of five bronze statues are still missing. With a few tweaks to how the teams of students conduct their research and better organization when it comes to working together and delegating tasks, a similar project could be successful, students said. “There was no organization at first,” Popio said. “Then we learned from our mistakes and started setting deadlines.” Malaske said that she gained more from the project than just new information or even better teamwork and research skills. “You always hear about BC kids getting inspired and doing something,” she said, saying that was something that she didn’t feel she had truly experienced until participating in this project. “This became such a cool opportunity because we showed interest. It’s exciting to feel like we did something.” 

PROFESSOR PROFILE

Bracher guides freshmen in classroom, retreats, dating BY CAROLINE HOPKINS

WHO:Elizabeth Danielle Taghian WHO: Bracher

For The Heights Her students know her as “Biz”—a fitting title for the woman often regarded as the “Best in the Biz.” That is, the business of guiding Boston College students to “be their most authentic selves,” a motto by which the inspiring woman enforces in her students every day. A ’91 Boston College graduate herself, now both teacher and associate director of the Office of First Year Experience, it is hard to believe that Elizabeth Bracher, BC ‘91, did not always see herself working with college students. Bracher grew up in rural Michigan, where her mother, father, and sister were all teachers. “Teaching and reading have always been a part of my life,” said Bracher, who admits that she initially entered BC with the intention of teaching high school students. When Bracher entered BC as a freshman, there was no orientation program and no Office of First Year Experience . “I was poorly advised at first to take an intermediate level of a class that turned out to be both unchallenging and uninspiring,” she said. It was not until several semesters into her college experience that Bracher realized that the key to inspiration was to take classes with inspiring professors—professors who would ask her the fundamental questions: “What are you good at?,” “What brings you joy?,” and “What does the world need you to be?” Finding a mentor at BC strongly shaped Bracher’s education. Working in research with her psychology professor, Bracher discovered her love of psychology and research, which she has come to appreciate as “bringing all the variables together rather than taking them apart.” Bracher now realizes how directly this

TEACHES: Courage Molecules TEACHES: to and Cells and Cancer Biology Know FOCUS: The biology of diEXPERIENCE: Associate cancerof the Ofﬁce of First rector Year Experience RESEARCH: Completed her postdoc at MassachuFUN FACT: Married a “BC settsshe General Hospital boy” met during herin Simonyear Powell’s lab junior EMILY FAHEY / PHOTO EDITOR

love of research plays into working with a class of freshman students at BC. “You can’t just survey a class of freshmen to find out who they are,” Bracher said. “You’ve got to consider all the variables they’re experiencing: their relationships here on campus, their relationships with family and friends at home, their experience inside the classroom—all that stuff plays into how a student experiences college.” Now working with First Year Experience, Bracher considers it her job to “help freshmen to be their most authentic selves.” Specifically, the Office of First Year Experience works closely with Orientation, 48 Hours, Convocation, and freshman advising. “I see my role in this department as bringing students into a life that is unique here at Boston College,” Bracher said. “You chose to be a part of this, now take part in it! I want to help foster students’ curiosity. I want to help them become better readers. I want to help

them become better friends. I want to help them become better lovers of life.” In addition to programming in the Office of First Year Experience, Bracher adores teaching the freshman course, Courage to Know. For those students who have taken the course with Bracher, the assignment that stands out in particular is the famous “Dating Assignment,” in which students are required to ask a peer out on a date without revealing it to be a class assignment, actually go on the date, and then write up their experience. Having herself married a “BC boy” that she met her junior year of college, Bracher explained, “The reason why I have the assignment is because I think BC students want to find love and commitment but are going about it upside down. They get to know one another in the dark after a few beers, when they ought to be getting to know one another sober and in the daylight.” Bracher is particularly fond of the as-

signment, as she has come to realize that many of her students ask a person on the date who they’ve been pining after and then come to realize by going on the date, “Wow, that wasn’t such a big deal.” Despite the dating assignment’s particular notoriety, Bracher disclosed that her favorite assignment to teach in Courage to Know is the “Backpack Assignment,” in which students are assigned to write about the “bricks” that they’re carrying around in their backpacks, meaning the expectations that they carry with them entering into college. “Most students say they love writing about this,” Bracher said. “It frees them up—plants the seed for them to change and to do what they actually love and what the world needs them to do.” Bracher’s advice to any students, at BC first year or otherwise: “Find yourself a mentor—someone who can speak to your growth over your four years and who can ask you those defining fundamental questions.” 

HE SAID, SHE SAID A few of my roommates have been sick for the past few months. They cough without covering their mouths, leave tissues everywhere, and wake me up at night to take more medicine or have a coughing ﬁt. I want to help, but I can’t afford to get sick myself. I’ve asked them to go to health services, but they refuse. How can I tell them they are affecting the well-being of the entire suite? Dealing with sick roommates is my least favorite aspect of college life. The nauseating sounds of their sniffles, their trembling coughs, and their overall messiness contribute to a disastrous experience for all. Although your roommates may be your best friends, it is not your responsibility to take care of them—if you are infected, you risk your physical, academic, and social well-being. When I am sick, I make an effort to isolate myself. I cancel dinner plans, do MARC FRANCIS not attend class, and abandon extracurricular duties. College illnesses not only bring about physical incapacities, but also cause a backup of work—making up two days of classwork, homework, housework, and other responsibilities is nearly impossible. Despite the fact that you do not want to get sick, do whatever you can to improve the healing process—without getting too close to your roommates, of course. It is necessary to approach the issue of their sickness while you are in the midst of assisting them with something, whether that be picking up medicine from the pharmacy or making them a bowl of soup. If they perceive that you are not just interested in eliminating their annoying presence from the dorm, but are truly concerned with their well-being, they will be much more receptive to seeking medical attention. It’s all about perception. Throughout your roommate’s sickness, you must also take care of yourself and your immune system. Frequently wash your hands, spray the dorm with Lysol, spray your roommates with Lysol, and do not share anything with each other. College is not meant to be a 5-star hotel experience—it is a test of your endurance, tolerance, and maturity to deal with every kind of issue.

First and foremost, let me assure you that the behavior of your roommates is unacceptable—your dorm (be it a double, a quad, an 8-man, or whatever configuration of a room ResLife stuck you in) is just as much yours as it is anyone else’s. If you don’t feel like the space promotes your overall health, it’s time to change the space. That being said, the space also belongs to the sick ones currently filling your trashcan with tissues. TRICIA TIEDT My first inclination? Find a new space for a while. If you’re not a homebody, don’t be in your room more than you have to be. Do homework in the library, camp out in Lower, grab a coffee with a friend who isn’t constantly coughing in your face. The more you can stay out of the room, the less likely you are to get sick. If you don’t want to be exiled due to illness, then it’s time to say something. When it comes to roommates, communication is key. If you aren’t comfortable, you have every right to speak up—and you should. It might be time to get an RA involved. It is also in no way your responsibility to take care of sick friends—you are not yet a parent. (A call to Mom in this situation probably wouldn’t hurt, though.) Whether you decide to take a stand and stay home or avoid that sickness like the plague (pun intended), make your health a priority. Carry hand sanitizer, wear that cold weather gear you have that’s currently stuffed under your bed, buy your own box of tissues. A tip from a roommate of my own? Leave some Clorox wipes in some prominent places—maybe they’ll take the hint.

Marc Francis is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Tricia Tiedt is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

The Heights

Monday, January 27, 2014

Fast approval for new RSOs Organizations, from B10 campus, and the use of MyBC organizational software, according to the SPO website. “I think one of the biggest benefits is having a table at both student involvement fairs,” Knapp said. Officially registered with the University in the late fall of 2011, the Outdoors Club is one of the newer clubs on campus, but it can attest to the inconvenience of the old submission process. “The hardest part about starting up for us was getting approved since we are considered a risk for the University,” said Matthew Rossi, president of the Outdoors Club and A&S ’14. “The lawyers just gave us some trouble.” According to Rossi, the last time the University approved an Outdoors Club on campus was in the 1950s. “We just want to do what we do and do it well in order to gain [SPO’s] trust,” said Robert Hatem, president-elect of the Outdoors Club and A&S ’15. Although the Outdoors Club is still in its infancy, its listserv consists of over 1,000 students. “Our ultimate goal is to get enough funding for a cabin—all of the other schools around here have one,” Rossi said. The Outdoors Club plans to continue educational programming on campus with workshops on fire safety and the safe hiking techniques. Additionally, the club intends to plan approximately one event each week. “We just want to get as many people involved as possible because clearly the interest is there,” Rossi said. Another club in its infancy includes Share Your Sport. “It’s one of my favorites we’ve approved this year,” Knapp said. “The club seeks to bridge the gap between student athletes and other students, so every Thursday night they bring in athletes to teach students how to play their sport.” “The best part about that club is that it was started by a freshman this fall,” Fiore-Chettiar added. “The student saw a problem he wanted to fix and he did it within a few weeks. The student organization division also approves chapters of nation-wide clubs like To Write Love on her Arms. “This is another good example of a club that is unique at BC,” Fiore-Chettiar said. “It falls under the category of mental health.” “Most people take the application process very seriously, but we have gotten a few joke submissions,” Knapp said. According to Knapp, the biggest reason for turning down a submission is a lack of uniqueness. “The last thing we want to do is dilute the pool of clubs and take away from another club that might have the same missions and goals as the prospective one,” Knapp said. “Another reason we might send back a submission is that we won’t get a long enough answer on an application,” Fiore-Chettiar said. “We are looking for length because it shows the person put a lot of effort into it.” “But just because we send a submission back does not mean we have rejected it,” Knapp said. Both Knapp and Fiore-Chettiar encourage anyone with an idea to send in an application, which can be found on the UGBC website under the student organization division. “Clubs are truly the best way to find your niche on this campus, even if you don’t come to BC knowing exactly what you want,” Fiore-Chettiar said. n

The H eights throughout the century

A look at cold weather wardrobes

Despite fleeting trends, winter fashion at BC remains unchanged By Caitlin Slotter Heights Staff Fashion is a prominent aspect of life at Boston College. We live in an environment in which we all strive to dress to impress, keep up with the latest trends, and advertise the most reputable brands possible. With the cold winter weather upon us, BC has been sporting the now-familiar plethora of Bean Boots, The North Face and Patagonia jackets, Lululemon leggings, and J. Crew sweaters. It seems like nothing ever changes from year to year. What about in years past? What winter fashion trends have taken BC by storm, and how has campus fashion changed throughout the years? As I looked back on previous editions of The Heights, I was surprised to find not how drastically different fashions of the past are from today, but rather how similar they are. Sure, there are multiple shortlived fads—trends that only lasted a season and today seem irrelevant. For example, the Jan. 18, 2000 article of “Tipping Your Hat to Winter Weather,” describes the newfound craze of wearing winter hats around campus. It notes that during that winter, many more students were wearing winter hats than the year before, and not just to keep warm, but simply because they liked wearing them. Alison Lawlor writes, “The most popular types seem to be the fleece caps that fit snuggly on one’s head and the light knit wool ones with earflaps and strings. Hand-knit hats, hats with bells, and hats with pompoms have also been sported about campus.” And that doesn’t just mean that hats were worn on the head–they were also worn as body accessories. As Lawlor writes, “Some wear the hats in pockets or attached to a belt.” Similarly, in her Jan. 29, 2002 article, Jessica Rosen writes, “fashionable winter clothing also fights off cold weather…Abercrombie may not sell snow boots, but there is a whole world of acceptable, even fashionable, clothing for the cold.” I highly doubt that students today would buy snow boots from Abercrombie, even if it were an option. Rosen recommends buying Columbia gear, saying that it’s relatively “common around campus.” The Arctic 180s earpiece, described as a “Polartec muff [that] hooks around the back of the neck, covering the ears from behind,” and fleeceneck gators, described as something

“much like a turtleneck minus the rest of the sweater and fit snuggly around the spot most people forget to cover up,” were recommended to students to help combat the cold. While Columbia is still a relevant brand on campus, I can’t remember the last time I saw an Arctic 180s earpiece or fleeceneck gator, bringing into doubt the longevity of trends like our beloved infinity scarves and knit head-wraps. However, despite these drastic changes in fashion trends, I was more surprised by how similar BC students’ fashion choices in any season have remained throughout the years. In the Jan. 29, 1996 edition of The Heights, Kristin Turick writes about how waking up last minute and going to class in “your well-worn jeans and your favorite t-shirt” completely stands out from the “suits and ties, skirts, and dresses…being worn (gasp!), not by the professors, but by the students themselves!” Turick wonders why BC students tend to dress up more, a trend that is still pervasive today, noting that girls tend to dress up more than guys and that people spend more or less time on their outfits depending on their mood. As Turick explains, “It seems some people are taking the old adage ‘Dress for success’ very seriously. While a skirt or tie isn’t going to raise your GPA on its own, it does make you more attractive, indicates an interest, and gets you noticed.” In a final intriguing find in The Heights from Jan. 21, 2010, Jordan Mendoza describes her recent experience in Paris, widely considered the fashion capital of the world, and compares it to fashion at BC. Mendoza notes, “perhaps the most striking difference between the fashion in Paris and, say, on campus here in Chestnut Hill is Paris’ sheer trendiness.” She compares the “ubiquitous lazy Boston College girl uniform of skinny jeans shoved into a pair of Uggs and a North Face” to Paris’s ultra-chic “knee-high boots with tortuous heels, high-waisted, slouchy pants that crop at the leg, tucked into tasseled ankle boots, plenty of camel scarves, all-black ensembles, and lots of fur.” It seems to me that despite various short-lived trends, BC students maintain a consistent fashion sense. While BC dressers may not always make the most chic or risky style choices, it’s undeniable that there is a certain comfort that goes along with sticking to the more well-known, mainstream brands we love. n

There are all sorts of winter activities from which I, a born and bred California girl, was denied as a child. I’ve never had a white Christmas, never skated on a pond, and certainly never gone sledding. That last one, however, was remedied earlier this week when some resourceful friends and I grabbed a bunch of garbage bags to slide on in lieu of sleds and scampered to the nearest hill. Lucky for us, it happened to be a two-minute walk from the Mod that served as our headquarters for the adventure. We could have trekked all the way to Brighton campus for even more slope options, but why bother when Main Campus has so many? Boston College is known for its hills. It’s the first thing people familiar with the campus mentioned when I was a senior in high school and asked them to tell me about it. While I admit to taking the park-

of those incredible people who uses that staircase as a workout. I always marvel at them as they bound up the steps with pure determination in their eyes. It’s probably a welcome alternative to the stuffiness of the Plex once the snow melts, but I certainly won’t be trying it any time soon. I don’t shy away from the Million Dollar Stairs entirely, though. Springtime is arguably the most beautiful time of year on our already scenic campus, and the best way to take advantage of that before it gets too hot to move is to save some time to stroll up the stairs. The feeling of a breeze that doesn’t bring the temperature down to zero and sunshine on my back after a long winter are always welcome companions, and the pink blossoms on the trees that line the way are pretty reminders that spring is finally here. I still don’t think there’s any view on campus quite like the one from the top of those stairs. Granted, the hills are not easy to love. Whether you’re on crutches for a few days

Kendra Kumor

or more permanently limited in terms of mobility, stairs and views and sledding are not realistic options. It’s fair to say that BC’s campus could, in certain areas, be made more accessible. It’s difficult enough to get used to the hills without those constraints, but it’s also worth the hassle. Yes, it’s sometimes a drag to have to walk up the stairs built into the hill near the parking garage to get to class, especially when my backpack is heavy and it’s well below 20 degrees outside. It is not, however, impossible to love. The ascent has become a part of my everyday routine. If I could add a daily slide down that same hill into my schedule—preferably on something more durable than a garbage bag—I don’t think I’d ever complain about a hill again.

Samantha Costanzo is the Asst. Features Editor for The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com.

Kendra Kumor is the Features Editor for The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com.

Learning to enjoy BC’s hilly campus, even in winter ing garage elevator last year to get to class almost every day, I’ve learned to enjoy the literal ups and downs of BC’s many hills. People say that the best part of living on Newton is that it feels like you’re “going home” after class, and living in Gabelli feels the same way. They’re both somewhat isolated—Newton, by the bus, and Gabelli, by the fact that it’s up on a hill. There’s a certain feeling that we live in our own little neighborhood up there. While living in Walsh last year was fun, being on “The Avenue,” as our Resident Director calls it, has the quiet surroundings I was used to before I went to college. It’s nice to go back to that, even if it does mean having to take a few staircases to get there. The most infamous of BC hills is naturally that of the Million Dollar Stairs. Imposing to both visitors and students alike, the walk up the stairs can feel like scaling Mount Everest in the winter and sap the energy out of you in the humid summer. Unless, of course, you’re one

Internship search creates unneeded stress, pressure

“So, do you know what you’re doing this summer?” This dreaded question has begun to bounce around the halls of Boston College … and let me remind you it’s only January. At BC there are myriad routes students can take to have what is considered a productive summer, but most of them involve one of two things: traveling or interning. It’s almost as if it is socially unacceptable to be taking up your old minimum-wage summer job back home. My boss at the Career Center gave me a look like I had just told her I ate my lunch out of the trash when I said I was considering going back home to the job I’ve held for the past four summers. Since when has summer turned into a time to see who can make the most money, travel the farthest, or get the most prestigious internship at a popular company in the city with the best nightlife? The summer break was originally built into the school year to give students a period of relaxation, a glorious three months to refuel so they can come back refreshed, not worn down from 40-hour plus work weeks filled with exhausting busywork. Part one of the internship fair was last Tuesday, and I was the girl handing you a name tag and ushering you toward the sign-in desk, wishing you good luck as you walked into a sea of a few hundred of your peers. And when I said “good luck,” I really meant it. Over 750 students and alumni attended that fair in the Heights room, on average you met four employers, and overall you were satisfied with your experience, according to the survey I politely handed you as you headed out of the room looking more frazzled than you did when you walked in. Not to be cynical or to put down the efforts of the Career Center (don’t fire me, boss), but how much do you think really got accomplished in that small of space and time? Your resume got placed into a pile along with about a hundred other kids’ resumes (something that could have been done electronically), and your face got mixed in with the hundreds of other students that frazzled recruiter saw that day, that week, or that year, who are all vying for the same position, probably a process he or she went through a mere year ago. It’s overwhelming when you think about how competitive the internship interviewing process is, especially in a city like Boston with over 250,000 college students all looking for a well-known company name to paste on their resumes. Who really wants to be answering phones, sending emails, and getting other employees coffee for the few months we can actually spend outside here in Boston anyway? I knew BC was filled with a hyper-competitive student body, but students are perhaps even more competitive when they aren’t on campus in the summer months. It’s as though half the reason people strive for the top internship or the most exotic travel plans is so they will have something substantial to say when the other half of the dreaded question comes around in the fall: “So, what did you do this summer?” I guess what I’m trying to say is the entire process of both obtaining an internship and actually completing one can be unsatisfying and not worth the few lines it will contribute to your resume. Especially for the younger classes, what’s so wrong with going back home to the job you’ve held for the past few years? It’s okay to take a step back from the competitive atmosphere of BC and look at your summer from the point of view of an overworked teenager and not from the point of view of your resume or future employers. When you do begin looking for an internship, though, make sure you realize that it should be about your discovering more about who you are and what you want to do for a career and not about proving to your peers that you can get a better job than them. I still can proudly say I am considering returning home this summer— and I don’t feel guilty about it.

campus quirks

Samantha Costanzo

Editor’s Column

features The Heights

B10

Monday, January 27, 2014

New clubs enjoy faster app process By Kendra Kumor Features Editor Boston College boasts over 200 registered student organizations (RSOs). Although BC students have been creating clubs on campus since the establishment of the University, the process by which students start RSOs has changed. In light of the student-run Student Involvement Fair that took place last Thursday in the Rat, students should be aware of the process each club must complete in order to make a difference for the student body. Until last year, according to the Student Program Office (SPO) website, in order to start an organization, students had to have turned in their submissions to register their club by April 1 of each academic year. “Now, we get submissions on a rolling basis. We can get up to three applications a week,” said Ricky Knapp, vice president for student organizations in UGBC and A&S ’14. Knapp’s division was established just last fall. “We decided that there needed to be an organization that looked out for the students in the process of starting a club,” Knapp said in reference to the old process that relied solely on SPO to approve student organizations. This new division in UGBC expedites the submission process. “I think the slow process and the fact students could only apply once a year discouraged a lot of people. Now a club can be approved in about three weeks,” said Nanci FioreChettiar, a board member for student organizations and A&S ’15. Although the student organization division has made the submission process faster, it is still an intensive and thorough one. Each submission must include a primary contact to answer any questions about the new organization; a name, mission, and vision of the organization; how the new organization will enhance student life; and proof that the new organization is unique and will not duplicate any of the current organizations’ purposes on BC’s campus. Additionally, each submission must include a constitution and at least 15 names of students who have shown interest in the prospective club. “We like to see that the student submitting the application has already gotten the ball rolling,” Fiore-Chettiar said. According to the UGBC website, any application submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday will be reviewed by the student organization board in a meeting on Sunday night. The next step is for the primary contact to be interviewed by the board. Finally, SPO will make the official approval and declare the prospective club an RSO. Clubs on campus who register as a student organization can take advantage of many benefits, including funding eligibility from the Student Organization Funding Committee (SOFC), the ability to advertise meetings and programs on

See Organizations, B9

Renee Bichette

Cristian Lopez Samantha costanzo / Heights Editor

Drew hoo/ Heights Staff

getting the job done

Katlyn Prentice

Ryan Dikdan juseub yoon / heights staff

By Samantha Costanzo Asst. Features Editor

Life as a Boston College student often entails more than balancing challenging classwork and a fulfilling social life. For many, just balancing those two is enough to make them want to cut back a little. But hundreds of students each year add another element to the mix: an on-campus job. Whether they’re working just to earn some extra spending money or to fulfill a work-study grant, these students manage to set aside about 10 hours per week to fill a variety of roles. From the dining halls to the labs, four student give an inside look at what it’s like to work on campus.

Renee Bichette

Although she’s only been working at Hillside since the beginning of this semester, Renee Bichette, A&S ’17, is already getting the hang of things at the everpopular dining location and helping to make sure that even rush hour isn’t too stressful. Heights: How long have you been an employee here at Hillside?

drew hoo / heights staff

Bichette: Two weeks. I just started working here this semester. Heights: How did you hear about this job and eventually get it? Bichette: One of my [fencing] teammates works at Hillside, and I was really looking for an on-campus job for my work-study. She said she worked here for lunch and the beginning of dinner and was like, “It’s really not that bad.” I emailed the manager and he was like, “Yeah, we need people!” I didn’t want to work at the dining halls—there are so many people there! Hillside’s smaller so you really don’t have to deal with the rush and stuff. Heights: What are your tasks here? Bichette: I pretty much do anything they need me to do. I’m usually behind the sandwich line and then sometimes I work at the coffee bar. Heights: What would you say, so far, is one of the most difficult things about adjusting to the job? Bichette: The coffee bar is actually really hard to do! I worked at Dunkin’ Donuts over the summer, but it was basic lattes, cappuccinos, coffee, but here they have all these different drinks that I’ve never even heard of. Having to know the combination of

drinks—and when you have 20 cups stacked up and you have to make all these drinks all at once, it’s really hard to manage. I’m like, “Oh no, there’s so many things I have to do!” Heights: Is there anything particularly interesting about the job? Bichette: I really like the people I work with because they’re all student employees. They’re not all my age, like some of them are grad students, but we all get along really well and it makes the job a lot more fun. I really like working here. There’s something else about Hillside that I really like, but I don’t know exactly what that is.

Katlyn Prentice

After a stint at BC’s cable TV services for the last few years, Katlyn Prentice, A&S ’14, has been putting her eventual film degree and experiences in the department’s undergraduate research program to work as a teaching assistant and mentor for this year’s Filmmaking 1 course. Heights: How long have you been a TA? Prentice: Officially, this year, but I also did an under-

See Workers, B7

After semester of searching, students see lost artwork in person By Samantha Costanzo Asst. Features Editor Crated in a secluded and nondescript warehouse in Somerville stand what are arguably among China’s greatest cultural treasures: 80 magnificently painted and intricately carved pagodas. Almost a century ago, orphans at the Tou Se We orphanage in what is now Shanghai carved the pagodas, which are replicas of actual buildings, for the 1915 Chicago World’s Fair. After that, however, the collected knowledge on these pagodas runs out. Very few people had heard about—much less seen—the carvings since then. The week before Christmas break began, when most students were taking finals to prove what they already know, students in two Boston College courses discovered something new: the location of around 80 of these pagodas.

After spending most of their semester tracking down the carvings, students in one of Rev. Jeremy Clarke, S.J.’s history classes and in one of Sheila Gallagher’s art classes got the opportunity to see the carvings in person. Before that week, the students had only seen photos of the lost pagodas in a book that was published in 1932 to accompany the pagodas during exhibitions. “It’s all been in black and white until now,” said Sam Zakowski, A&S ’16, as he moved from crate to crate examining the carvings. When Clarke first announced the project, some students were skeptical that it would ever gain momentum, much less reach such a tangible conclusion. “We’ve seen something almost no one’s seen, and because of this project a whole exhibit might happen,” said Mary

i nside FE ATURES this issue

Popio, A&S ’14. While the students were thrilled to finally view the pagodas, Clarke, who thought up the project after visiting the Tou Se We orphanage over the summer, was especially interested in how they reached that point in the first place. He challenged his class to use social media, web databases, and in-person interviews to find the pagodas. The class used a site called Media Kron to organize and share their research and photos with each other. “It’s a way of testing Media Kron,” Clarke said of the project. “Our observations will be very helpful to modify and transform how we use media.” Adeane Bregman, a BC art librarian who developed a research guide for the class and took part in the search herself, said that the project has completely

See Pagodas, B8

Samantha costanzo / Heights Editor

Clarke designed the virtual treasure hunt for long-lost carvings after a trip to China.

Heights Through the Century Fashion trends may come and go, but BC students’ style hasn’t changed much over the years...................................... B9

Foreign Affairs.................................B7 He Said/She Said.........................B8