The Heights 01/31/2013

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TAR-HEELED

MBTA UPDATES

SPORTS

METRO

SCENE

Men’s basketball outdueled at home by UNC, A10

Proposed changes include an effort to keep the T open until 2 a.m., B10

The Canadian rocker sisters make hearts throb on their latest release, B5

TEGAN AND SARA

HEIGHTS

www.bcheights.com

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

established

1919

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Vol. XCIV, No. 4

Light the World campaign hits

$1 billion

Largest Jesuit fundraising campaign now 2/3 complete BY SAMANTHA COSTANZO Special Projects Editor Boston College announced today that it has raised $1 billion for its Light the World campaign, which aims to raise $1.5 billion for University development by 2015. The campaign’s major initiatives, in addition to raising $1.5 billion, are to increase the number of alumni who donate annually to 40,000; to increase the number of legacy and estate gifts; and to expand volunteer service to BC. “Campaign gifts go to support the entire University,” said Vice President for Development Thomas Lockerby. “Our effort is to match each donor’s passion with a particular aspect of the University that means the most to them, because BC is such a complex and vibrant place.” These combined funds have been earmarked for improvements in six major areas: $300 million for undergraduate financial aid; $575 million for academics; $125 million for Jesuit, Catholic heritage and student

formation; $100 million for athletics; $225 million for new building projects; and $175 million in annual giving. Light the World is the largest fundraising campaign in the history of Jesuit, Catholic education. Traditionally, university fundraising campaigns aim to double the amount of money raised in the previous campaign. This would have meant $880 million for BC—twice the $440 million it raised in the “Ever to Excel” campaign that ended in 2003. “The campaign goal was an outcome of the University’s strategic planning process,” said Senior Vice President for University Advancement Jim Husson. This process included input from University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., as well as the University’s trustees, faculty, deans, the larger University community, and an outside consulting company. After gauging both the donor potential and interest for the campaign, the University officially launched Light the World in October 2008.

GOAL: $1.5 billion

Mass. senator takes on international role CAMPAIGN FUNDS TO DATE

See GLC Social, A4

See Kerry, A4

JORDAN PENTALERI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT News Editor

See ALC Ball, A4

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

GLC’s Freshman Outreach Head Coordinator Martin Casiano talked at Monday’s Spring Welcome Social about BC’s GLBTQ resources.

Social highlights GLBTQ resources at BC For The Heights Both the graduate and undergraduate GLBTQ communities of Boston College came together on Monday night for the first-ever Spring Welcome Social. Sponsored by the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC), in conjunction with Allies and support groups Prism and Horizon, the event sought to promote the resources available at BC for students who identify as GLBTQ. The social began on an optimistic

note with Jill Claridge, GLC co-director of programming and LSOE ’13. A leader in the “Ellen 2 BC” effort, Claridge publicized four action teams currently being developed, and encouraged attendees at the social to consider applying. “The GLC cannot reach the entire campus on our own,” Claridge said. “We hope that bringing Ellen DeGeneres here, as an GLBTQ icon, would help us to raise awareness and to educate the BC community as a whole about GLBTQ resources.” David Riemer, president of Allies and A&S ’14, promoted the endeavors

News Editor

on the part of the Allies organization to advocate for the GLBTQ community at BC, including an upcoming Valentine’s Day awareness event and a day of silence. “Our aim is to facilitate discussion and really open people’s eyes to what it means to be gay at BC. We seek to foster a better, more tolerant atmosphere,” Riemer said. Representatives from support groups Prism and Horizon were also on hand to discuss the services their programs offer to

The $1.5 billion that the University hopes to raise is divided amongst six areas: undergraduate financial aid; academics; Jesuit, Catholic heritage & student formation; athletics; new building projects; and annual giving.

See Light the World, A4

BY JENNIFER HEINE

BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT Senator John Kerry, BC Law ’76, was confirmed Tuesday as the next United States Secretary of State. Kerry will take over from current Secretary Hillary Clinton as she leaves the position following the conclusion of President Barack Obama’s first term. Kerry was confirmed with a vote of 94-3, with three Republicans—Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn from Texas and Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma—voting nay. Kerry went to Yale University for his undergraduate education, graduating in 1966 with a B.A. in political science. He then spent four years in the navy, returned from service in the Vietnam War in 1969, and was formally discharged in March of 1970. Kerry matriculated at BC Law in September of 1973, earning his J.D. in 1976. He had previously run for Congress in Massachusetts—winning the Democratic primary but losing to the Republican candidate, former Representative Paul Cronin—and so was already residing in the area. “Although my family lived in a lot of places as I was growing up, Boston’s always been home,” Kerry, then a presidential candidate, said in a 2003 interview with BC Law Magazine for its Fall/Winter issue. He went on to discuss his history at BC Law: “I was drawn to BC Law mostly because of Father [Robert] Drinan, whose first campaign for Congress I ended up chairing after I got out of the Navy and got involved in politics. In fact, the first time I ever came to BC Law was to meet with Father Drinan about his campaign.” Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J. served as dean of BC Law from 1956 to 1970, and then as a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from 1971 to 1981. Like Kerry, Drinan actively advocated against the Vietnam War. After graduating from BC, Kerry worked in the office of the District Attorney of Middlesex County until 1979. Kerry then ran alongside Michael Dukakis in his successful 1982 gubernatorial campaign, and served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts until 1985, when he transitioned to his long-term position as senator from Massachusetts. He has held the Massachusetts Senate seat since 1985, making him the seventh most senior U.S. senator. In addition, he has chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since January of 2009. As Kerry steps into his new role next week, he will bring his experience at BC Law with him. Kerry did a more recent interview with James F. Smith of BC Law Magazine for its Spring/Summer 2012 edi-

ALC plans masquerade The AHANA Leadership Committee (ALC) is putting on its first-ever themed ball to be held at the Westin Copley Hotel in downtown Boston on Saturday, Feb. 16, from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. the next morning. The ALC Ball is the second of the committee’s two major programming events of the school year, following the fall’s ALC Boat Cruise, and is both larger and more formal than the cruise. The theme of the ball this spring is “Masquerade,” and the planning committee intends to hand out masks at the event—as well as unveil a larger surprise. The ALC is asking attendees to find their own transportation to the event before the doors close at 10:30 p.m.—a relatively simple request, considering that the Westin Copley is located right by the MTBA Green Line’s Copley station. Buses back to BC after the event will be provided by the ALC. After the success of the casino theme at the boat cruise in October, the planning committee decided that they wanted to bring something new to the ball. “There is a surprise in store for this event as well,” said Gabriela Mejia, A&S ’13, adding that the surprise would not be revealed until the ball itself. “Our goal for every event that we’ve had, starting with last year—I saw a big push for this—is to get a lot more people to come, from different backgrounds,” Mejia said. “Socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, even international students, we’ve been able to kind of tap into that pool too—because that’s the point of our events, is to get as many people as we can together and celebrate everyone’s backgrounds.” Denise Pyfrom, A&S ’14, added that she was pleased by the turnout at the boat cruise, and expressed a hope that the crowd at the ball would be similarly diverse. A joint committee has been planning the ball since planning for last fall’s boat cruise commenced, but according to Pyfrom “heavy” planning began last November. Apart from Pyfrom and Mejia, the committee includes Esther Pacheco, A&S ’13; Alisha Wright, A&S ’15; Cristian Lopez, CSOM ’14; and Stanton

BC Law alum Kerry named Sec. of State

Student-taught language night classes kick into gear BY PARISA OVIEDO Heights Editor Northeastern University took the initiative, and now Boston College is following along. When Hannah Lee, A&S ’13, came back last year from her fall semester abroad, she was eager to continue practicing the French she had learned and become fluent in. However, as a student already double-majoring and trying to maintain a rigorous curriculum, she simply could not find space in her schedule to pick up a new class. “I wanted a place where you could speak and learn French or another language without having to take a full-time class,” Lee said. Having heard of a program at Northeastern in which students could take informal language classes, Lee created BC’s version: BC Nighttime

Education: Students Teaching Students (NESTS). “Having that alternative, especially at night when students have more time, was something that I thought our school really needed,” she said. BC NESTS is the newest program of three within Education for Students by Students (ESS), and, Lee noted, “fits perfectly with ESS’ mission statement of undergraduates teaching other undergraduates their knowledge.” BC NESTS began only last spring upon Lee’s return from her semester abroad, when she realized the necessity of such a program. “People are going abroad, becoming fluent in another language, and then losing their fluency upon return.” Over 50 applicants applied to teach in 10 available sections. Classes are taught by well-qualified undergraduate and graduate

See NESTS, A4

CHRISSY SUCHY / FOR THE HEIGHTS

Students gather in a Stokes classroom to learn a foreign language from a fellow student.


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