The Heights 03/20/2014

HOW IT WENT WRONG

OPEN LATE

‘FOR COLORED GIRLS’

SPORTS

METRO

SCENE

A breakdown of Steve Donahue’s unsuccessful fourth season, A8

MBTA will launch Late Night Pilot Program to extend public transport, B8

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HEIGHTS

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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

The cast members discuss their experience generating racial dialogue through the show, B1

established

1919

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Vol. XCV, No. 15

Campus School offers alternate marathon for ‘bandit’ runners

BY SAMANTHA COSTANZO Heights Editor

The Campus School Volunteers of Boston College (CSVBC) have a long tradition of running in the Boston Marathon as bandits, or unregistered runners, to raise funds for the Campus School. This year, their plans have changed. Instead of running in the marathon as usual, the Campus School will be hosting its own, separate marathon on Sunday, April 13, the week before the big race.

“The Boston Marathon is probably the most inclusive marathon, historically, when it comes to bandit runners,” said Sean Schofield, volunteer coordinator for the Campus School. “It’s part of our culture … they always realized that we had a team and always turned a blind

eye because they knew we were running for a good cause.”

As a result of last year’s bombing, however, the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) has tightened security measures and stated that it will crack down on bandit runners in this year’s marathon.

While many charities sign up for special status with the BAA to receive registered numbers for runners who do not have a fast enough time to qualify for the race, Schofield said that this was not an option for the CSVBC team.

“We’ve applied for that, but that only gives you 15 numbers … and for each one of those numbers you have to raise at least $5,000,” Schofield said. “That’s out of the reach of most University students for fundraising.”

Instead, the Campus School will

stage its own marathon in the same way it conducts its usual Sunday morning training runs.

While there will be no police detail on the course and streets will not be shut down, Schofield and the officers are confident that the run will be conducted in a safe manner.

“We already do a 21-mile run, and in the grand scheme of things this isn’t really that much different … it’s never been an issue in our 21-mile runs,” said Brianne Shannon, treasurer and CSOM ’14.

Runners will not be completely on their own, however: the Campus School will provide water stations along the way as well as other on-course support.

“We always have vans going up and EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Campus School, A3

On Tuesday, an information session was held for CSVBC runners on the 2014 Boston Marathon.

PSBC to host heritage weekend

BC FIRES DONAHUE

BY ALEX FAIRCHILD Heights Editor

When Boston College athletic director Brad Bates came to BC in October 2012, he inherited a basketball team led by Steve Donahue, a bunch of sophomores, and a pair of talented freshmen. Despite low attendance at games and a team that finished just below .500, Bates was hopeful that Donahue was close to getting the team and the program back to national prominence.

“Throughout last year, I was cautiously optimistic, especially in the way they finished the season, so like a lot of fans I was really optimistic heading into this year,” Bates said.

While the team got off to a shaky start, dropping four of its first five, results picked

up after a trip to Madison Square Garden, but a rough December ensued.

Although Bates gave Donahue what he labeled a “vote of confidence” around the season’s midway point, results began to falter—and that confidence did, too.

Nothing was changing. The team was coming close, but not close enough. Donahue kept saying the Eagles were close.

He claimed the pieces to the puzzle were present in the process of being placed, but then ACC play began.

The meat of the schedule produced a close game with Clemson, an overtime defeat to Notre Dame, a loss on a buzzerbeater to Georgia Tech, and another fourpoint loss to the Fighting Irish. A pattern was established. Even though BC’s run of form was reversed when it beat Syracuse, the No. 1 team in the country at the time,

that triumph was just a blip on the radar.

The body of work Donahue produced led to Bates’ decision to fire Donahue: the wins were not coming, and Bates had to make a change.

“In trying to project the future, you have to take what information you have at your fingertips and make a decision in the best interest of the program, and we’ve decided to make a change in our leader-

BY JENNIFER SUH Heights Staff

neighboring Allston-Brighton area.

The BC chapter was created in 2007 and has now grown to include over 30 student-mentors who volunteer at one of six locations for an hour and a half each week.

On the opposite wall of the exhibit hang photographs of eight girls from the participating schools. Like the BC students on the other wall, these girls hold up signs explaining why they are strong.

“I am strong because I have faith in my religion,” read the sign of an 8-yearold student at St. Columbkille Partnership School, a Catholic elementary school located in Brighton.

“I am strong because … I’m active! I

The Philippine Society of B oston College (PSBC) begins its annual Friends and Family Weekend today with its first event, Iskwelahang BC at 5:30 p.m. in McGuinn 521.

“Friends and Family Weekend is a chance for our friends, families, alumni, and current students to get together, reminisce, and also make new memories,” said Yna Aggabo, AHANA Caucus Representative of PSBC and CSOM ’16.

The weekend, themed “No’on at Ngayon,” or “Then and Now,” will have an event each day from today until Sunday to celebrate the past, present, and future of the Philippines, and what it means to be of Philippine heritage today.

Charlotte Shih and Micah Sy, members of the productions, coordinators of PSBC, and A&S ’14, decided upon the weekend’s theme to be a modern day serenade.

“We’re excited about the entire weekend as a whole, because we all have a lot of time and energy into making it a fun and enlightening event for our membership, the BC community, and all of our friends and family,” Aggabo said.

Today’s event, Iskwelahang BC, was planned and organized by the PSBC freshmen representatives, Shirley Peng, A&S, ’17; Ryan Romanos, CSOM, ’17; and Isabella Rosales, CSON, ’17. The event will feature arts and crafts activities involving traditional Filipino Christmas lanterns, Easter eggs, tote bags, and picture frames.

The Friends and Family Banquet will be held tomorrow evening in the Heights Room at 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. The buffet-style dinner will feature Filipino food from BC Dining, free t-shirts, a photo booth, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winner and photojournalist Cheryl Diaz Meyer. The banquet is open to all but requires an online RSVP. The PSBC, which has had the longest-running culture show on campus, will host its 22nd annual culture show, A Modern-Day Harana, in Gasson 100 at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The show will feature traditional and modern Filipino dances that were choreographed and performed by PSBC members, who prepared by attending nightly practices for a month.

“Our culture show is a dance show-

See SWSG, A3

See PSBC, A3

See Donahue, A3

Converse CEO talks management

BY CAROLYN FREEMAN Heights Staff “We sell two and a half pairs of this product every second of the day,” Jim Calhoun said as he lifted up his foot and showed his black, high-top sneaker to the audience. The All-Star sneaker was an unexpected addition to Calhoun’s suit, but as he said, Chucks are infinitely versatile because they are more about the individual than they are about the statement they make.

Calhoun, who has been president and CEO of Converse since May 2011, spoke in Fulton 511 on March 19 at a Manager’s Studio event hosted by the Carroll School of Management. Before coming to Converse, Calhoun worked at Walt Disney, Nautica, Wilson Sporting Goods, and Nike. The 90-minute event was split into a 45-minute interview and a 45-minute question-and-answer period. Bob Radin, who teaches graduate courses in management, moderated the lecture.

The discussion started with a Converse promotional video. There was one phrase emblazoned on many walls and buildings in the loud, colorful video: “Shoes are boring. Wear sneakers.”

“We’re pretty marketing-friendly, so we usually try to start lots of our presentations with a video to cleanse the palate and get you into the Converse frame of mind, so

See Calhoun, A2

EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The BC chapter of Strong Women, Strong Girls opened its ‘I am Strong’ gallery in response to a study on female decline in self-confidence.

‘I am Strong’ gallery opens in O’Neill

BY NATHAN MCGUIRE Asst. News Editor

The Level One Gallery in O’Neill Library is currently displaying a photography-based exhibit that aims to portray what it means to be a woman in contemporary society.

The Boston College chapter of the national non-profit Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG) created the exhibit in response to a 2012 study that found female students lose self-confidence during their four years at BC. “The study sheds light upon a very important issue on campus,” wrote Abigail Blaisdell, the SWSG member who designed the exhibit and WCAS ’15, on a paper tacked to the exhibit wall.

“As females we all share a bond that

only we can understand,” continued Blaisdell. “We are strong and proud to be who we are, and we should never be afraid to show it.”

The exhibit features eight female BC students on one side of the room and eight young girls from local elementary schools on the other. Each woman holds up a sign explaining why she is strong.

“I am strong because I’m not afraid to be myself,” read a sign held by Courtney McMann, A&S ’15.

“I am strong because I believe in the goodness of all people,” read another held

by Christina Johnsrud, A&S ’14.

The mission of SWSG is to create communities of strong and successful women and build relationships between college undergraduate women and atrisk girls in grades 3 through 5 in the

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things to do on campus this week

Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated senior writer and BC ’03, will speak about his career path and experience in the sports media business on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Fulton Honors Library. The event is sponsored by the AHANA Management Academy.

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Shaw Leadership Program will host an event on awareness about homeless veterans and mental health entitled “America’s Forgotten Heroes.” It will be held Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Stokes S195 and feature a series of three 25-minute “TED”-style talks.

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On Friday at 7:15 p.m., Boston College Hillel will host a party to celebrate the bat mitzvah of Molly Boigon, LSOE ’16. Earlier that evening, Boigon will have the first bat mitzvah service in the history of BC’s MultiFaith Center, and only the second in the University’s history.

of

Home, not Calhoun emphasizes passion for brand a house Calhoun, from A1

Alex Gaynor I awoke to a Facebook newsfeed ablaze with crazed statues and messages: it is officially housing season.

Did you get a Mod? Did you even get a pick time? What will this mean for my ability to enjoy my senior year? These were many of the undercover questions that my classmates seemed to be conveying through their jubilant or bitter remarks. Ingesting all of these emotions, I have realized that the housing process at Boston College—whether you are its biggest fan or its worst enemy— brings to a light a lot of questions about a home itself.

What constitutes a home? Is it simply four walls constructed of various materials and contingent on the climate, region, and socio-economic capacity of the owner? Or is it something deeper that perhaps transcends cement, kitchen tiles, and a nicely color-coordinated living room? This obviously brings into question people who do not have the luxury of having those four walls of shelter as well as people who can lose their homes at the drop of a hat. Is home dependent on familial structure or certain groups of people? Children from divorced families often have two homes, and thus it could be difficult to define what exactly home is for them.

I see the concept of a home as less of a situational and physical construct and more as one associated with emotional connections.

Through spending time with a friend in the Philippines who lives with her eight children in a tiny house next to a polluted creek that frequently floods their entire living space, I’ve seen quite a different nature of what a home could mean. For her, home is reliant on family and the people around you, and less about physical space and materials. She sees her home not as a risky structure in a slum, but as a place where family and friends can congregate and (as trite as it may sound), spread love and hospitality out to everyone. A similar theme flows into situations of broken homes and people who frequently move. While people and places may change, what is constant is the support that people can feel no matter where they are physically located.

Maybe it would be fun if your home next year were in the Mods.

But wouldn’t it also be extremely life-giving if your home were simply a place where you were free to be your best self and soak up the wisdom and love of your fellow human beings? Putting less of a focus on where or what a home should be only sets one up for disappoint and at times, a lack of fulfillment.

Selling your house and living in a tent on Brighton campus may be a far-fetched idea of what I am attempting to convey—but I would like to contend with the common idea that place necessarily creates sacred space along with worthwhile relationships. To think in broader terms, perhaps our home isn’t just in whatever dorm we are placed in—it is the character of the community that is also part of that space. This applies to BC campus as a whole, and even to Boston itself. It is all about perspective and personal definition. By redefining our own conceptions of what a home is, we can become more adaptable and start to feel as if the world itself is our home, granted that we are able to engage the connections that await.

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

I thought, why not bring that same thing here?” said Calhoun, who owns about 40 pairs of Converse sneakers. “We also play it about 10 times louder.”

Calhoun first talked about what experiences he has had that led him in the direction of consumer products.

He was in many organizations and played a lot of sports, but did not excel in one particular area. From basketball, he learned that the most important thing is to understand his own role and to get the ball to the best player so he could shoot.

“I learned how to be a really good teammate,” Calhoun said. “I think that got me really used to understanding organizations. As I look back on it, I think that’s the greatest lesson in terms of the formation of understanding that concept of team.”

In about a year, Converse Headquarters will relocate from North Andover, Mass. to Boston. Although the move out of the suburbs will only be about 28 miles, it will mean a big change for the employees. When thinking about the move, Calhoun thought about whether it would be convenient for both the current and future workforce, and how it will affect consumers. Calhoun predicts that this will be the biggest decision of his career.

“If we’re going to be a company whose values start with what the consumer decides, we better know what it is that consumer decides, we better know our consumers,” he said.

“And you look around and you see trees and lakes, and you don’t see any consumers.”

Converse is a company that pro-

motes pushing itself to the point of failure in order to learn from it.

Calhoun learned the importance of failure after taking a job at Nautica that he hated. After quitting that job and spending some time unemployed, he learned what kind of jobs he should take. That moment of failure was the most valuable part of his career, he said.

“At Converse, we fail a lot—we actually celebrate it,” he said. “We talk about this concept of failing forward—failing and learning about it and encouraging people to push themselves to the point where you can fail.”

When Calhoun worked at Nike, he was unexpectedly promoted because the company was expanding so fast. He loved his job and did not want to move into the higher leadership role. He was like a player who did not want to retire, but then got forced into coaching, he said. But after he began to work in this new position, he found that he loved it.

“I found a passion for it,” he said. “I had way more passion to bring out the best in others and pull people together and create common goals and then achieve them—I got way more of a thrill out of that than I ever did being on the product piece.”

Converse’s forefront mission is to the meet the demands of its consumers, which has rescued the brand from bankruptcy three times. People are very passionate about Converse—virtually everyone who works at Converse has been a consumer of the brand at one point, Calhoun said.

“Whether it was a cute little baby picture where their mother or father put them in Chucks, or whether they actually were Chuck kids, or punk, or creative, or just wore them for fash-

ion, that’s a pretty powerful thing,” he said. “Not many brands can say that their employees were consumers. So, there’s a real passion that motivates people.”

Although the brand has nearly succumbed many times, it continues to survive. Calhoun describes the company as “a cockroach that never dies.” The consumer is the driving force behind its success—marketing has shifted away from athletics and more toward a youthful, alternative style in response to what the corporation saw the consumers wearing.

This shift was led by failure after Nike, which bought Converse in 2003, nearly put the company out of business. It was the punk-rock, Ramones fans and starving artists—“the folks that zigged when the culture zagged”—that kept the brand alive, Calhoun said. But the sneaker isn’t seen as retro, or vintage—wearers see them as an extension of themselves, Calhoun said.

“Nike is all about, ‘If you wear this, you’re going to be just like LeBron,’” he said. “We’re like, ‘If you wear this, you’re you.’” n

Rev. John O’Malley, S.J., professor of theology at Georgetown University and the keynote speaker for the Arts and Sciences Dean’s Colloquium, spoke to a gathering of students and faculty on the importance of the humanistic tradition in current-day college education on Tuesday in the Murray Function Room.

“The humanistic aim was to produce a certain kind of person,” he said. “The Jesuits bought the humanistic propaganda, hook, line and sinker.”

He described the origins of the studia humanitates, or human letters, a concept the Jesuits emphasized in numerous schools and universities. O’Malley highlighted the importance of the humanities in education, rather than the one-track approach from many universities.

“Universities did not care about the speculative, thoughtful, spiritual growth of the student,” he said. “Like many schools today, ‘getting ahead’ seemed to be its core value.”

O’Malley expressed concerns with the growing disapproval of the humanistic approach to edu-

cation, especially within Jesuit universities.

He aimed to reintroduce the relative importance of cura personalis and “men and women for others” in today’s high-powered collegiate atmospheres. He described the rapid increase and downfall of the Jesuit humanistic tradition in education since fifth century Athens.

“In the 13th century everything changed, and changed radically,” O’Malley said.

The university was created and has changed little in its fundamental qualities, such as the presence of curricula, textbooks, faculty, and deans.

O’Malley argued that the Jesuit tradition adopting studia humanitates catapulted the world of education into a realm previously unknown.

“The humanistic education was a necessary prerequisite for satisfying life,” he said. “No other type of educational approach has been so focused on bettering both the body and the soul of its students.”

He discussed the importance of rhetoric, which has been emphasized within the Jesuit humanistic tradition since its origins. This rhetoric illuminates the curiosity,

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emily sadeghian / heights editor

Converse CEO Jim Calhoun talked about his career in consumer products.

O’Malley traces Jesuit humanistic education

By Kristin Nichols Heights Staff

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imaginations, and open-mindedness of the students, he said.

“Especially important were the Jesuits pedagogical innovations, among which was the principle that learning was not a passive activity, but required active engagement,” O’Malley said. “It was not enough, for instance, to read a speech by Cicero. Students had to deliver it. They had to stretch their inner selves.

“So what’s the point?” O’Malley asked. “What’s the importance of the humanities within the Jesuit education?”

He then introduced five unique basic goals valued today from a Jesuit education. The first point hinges on promoting the openmindedness and acceptance of differences.

The “fly in the bottle” goal of Jesuit educators is meant to “help the fly escape the bottle.” In other words, the aim was described as encouraging students to expand their awareness beyond their normal comfort zones of thinking.

The topics of heritage and perspective were also included. “We can’t understand ourselves fully without the knowledge of our past,” he said. “Cultural enrichment is key in the humanistic tradition.”

Additionally, the spirit of service was a key argument, O’Malley noted. “We are not born for ourselves alone,” he said.

O’Malley stressed eloquentia perfecta, or the ability to iterate exactly what one wants to say and represent one’s intent flawlessly.

This would arise through the study of great literature and rhetoric He concluded his discussion of the present-day goals of the Jesuit education with the spirit of finesse.

This teaches the student the ability to move within relations and interactions with his peers with an explicit acceptance of the unknown and imperfections in each of these encounters.

“Is the Jesuit humanistic tradition compatible with the high powered atmosphere of Boston College?” O’Malley asked. “Absolutely, but it must come from a faculty who is inspired and focused on being the best teachers they can be, both inside and outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, as well as outside, I want to help the students have satisfying lives.

“The Jesuit education has not, and will not, fail,” he said. “The ball, my dear colleagues, is in our court.” n

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-inChief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com.

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Pippin reflects on political philosophy

At what point do you realize that you need to do spring cleaning?

“When I find monthold Panera Bread in my fridge.”

—Colleen Reynolds, A&S ’17

juseub yoon / heights staff

University of Chicago professor Robert Pippin spoke on Tuesday night.

“When my clothes start piling up.”

—Angel Jehng, CSOM ’16

“When I can’t navigate to my bed anymore.”

—Michael Lipari, CSOM ’16 “When you forget what your carpet looks like.”

—Derek Szymonifka, CSOM ’17

The Heights

Thursday, March 20, 2014

A3

Donahue fired after four years as head coach Donahue, from A1 ship,” Bates said.

The decision did not come without controversy. After his team’s loss in the first round of the ACC Tournament, Donahue said, “I can’t wait to get back on the court and get better and get ready for next year. I just think we are so darned close with all the things we discussed.”

A report last Thursday from Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel said that Donahue was set to return for another year as coach, but the school’s athletic department did not make an official statement, and players, students, and alumni went into last weekend with no definitive answer about Donahue’s future.

Rumors of an announcement came on Monday, but silence followed, until an ESPN report saying Donahue had been fired was

released on Tuesday afternoon.

BC Athletics was quick to confirm the report, and Donahue was left without work.

The hunt to find the coach that will bring titles to the program has already begun. Bates has a list of names in mind, he said, but is in no rush to make a decision. “[There’s] no drop-dead date,” Bates said. “We’ve just got to do this right. When you have a decision of this magnitude, you got to make sure you get the right fit.”

Bates will have to compete with other schools in his search for a new head coach, as Virginia Tech, Washington State, and South Florida are all major programs with vacancies. He does believe that he has something special to sell at BC. “At a school like Boston College, there is clearly weight towards integrity, there’s weight towards winning and competitive

success, there’s weight towards retention and graduation, but there’s so much more that goes into the leadership of a basketball program,” Bates said.

Recruiting will be an issue as well. Quite a few talented players from the area surrounding the school have passed up BC for opportunities at other programs.

“There’s certainly a context that would make recruiting challenging, I think, in the next year and a half,” Bates said.

In his search, Bates said that the style of play will not matter, as long as he can get a winner. Many argue that Skinner was, in part, let go due to the way his offense was run, and that Donahue was hired because his teams would produce a palatable brand of basketball.

While Donahue may have led what was at times a deadly attack, the defense was not up to par, resulting in loss after loss.

Over the coming days, Bates will take the pulse of a program that has produced the faintest of heartbeats since Sean Williams’ goaltend in the waning seconds of a Sweet Sixteen overtime clash with Villanova. He will talk to each player, the strength coach, the trainer, the academic support, and anyone else who is involved with the program on a daily basis.

With the future of the staff up to the new head coach, and rumors of player exits surrounding the team, the new face of the program next fall will have a lot of weight on his shoulders to improve a floundering team and start building a new one. The next coach will inherit a team, just as Bates inherited the program.

Bates made a change off the floor, and come November, it will become the new coach’s responsibility to make a change on it. n

Emily Fahey / Heights Editor

On Tuesday, Brad Bates announced BC would begin the search for a new coach.

SWSG opens photography exhibit SWSG, from A1 support others!” read the sign of a 10-year-old girl from Thomas A. Edison School.

“I am strong because I see with my heart, not with my eyes,” read another held by a 9-year-old at St. Columbkille.

The photographs aim to show viewers that although these women come from diverse backgrounds and circumstances, they are all united in a unique bond.

The national organization of SWSG aims to foster leadership skills, a sense of community, and a commitment to service among three generations of women—elementary school girls, college undergraduates, and professional

Emily sadeghian / Heights Editor

CSVBC runners were urged to participate in a separate Campus School marathon due to increased BAA security measures.

Campus School urges ‘bandit’ runners to run separate race Campus School, from A1 down the course,” said Max Jackson, co-vice president and A&S ’14.

In an email sent to prospective Campus School marathon runners last night, CSVBC confirmed that the run will cover the same route as the official Boston Marathon, ending at the painted finish line on Boylston St. near Copley Square.

Schofield said that the Campus S cho ol’s marathon w a s meant to be an informal end to the work its runners have been putting in since the beginning of the year.

“We want it to be big, we want it to be fun—but also, it’s casual,” Schofield said.

While runners provide the Campus School with fundraising, he said, it only seemed fair to give them some opportunity

to see their training to completion.

“For a lot of people, running the marathon or running by BC is one of your top one to three moments as a BC student,” said Jackson, who ran the marathon last year. “Trying to preserve that is very important to us.”

To this end, CSVBC will be campaigning for students who are not planning to run the marathon to come out and support their classmates and replicate the Marathon Monday experience for those runners as much as possible.

Another concern is that many runners who originally planned to run the Boston Marathon will not run at all this year.

“We anticipate that we’re going to lose a lot, but we’re hoping for those folks who’ve come too far to back out now, we want to make sure we’ll be there for

them,” Schofield said.

When the announcement to run a separate marathon went out, 350 people were on the Campus School marathon team’s listserv.

“Even if we lose people, I feel like the ones left are going to be so dedicated and really care, that we’re just going to have a stronger team,” said Paige Marino, secretary and A&S ’15.

Despite this possibility, CSVBC is still committed to making the most of the situation.

“It’s a very different year,” said Chelsea Beyrand, co-president and LSOE ’14. “The bottom line here is that we’re respecting what the BAA, what the Boston police, what the city of Boston want us to do. We all want to support the city, and this year our way of supporting them is to run a weekend earlier and then being on the sidelines.” n

Filipino society to host culture show PSBC, from A1 case of traditional Filipino dances such as Sua Sua, Carinosa, and Tinikling with some set to modern music as a nod to the theme of ‘Then and Now,’ as well as modern dances,” Aggabo said.

Children from Iskwelahang Pilipino, a non-profit Filipino cultural school in the Greater Boston area, will also perform their Rondalla Doors dance at the show.

C o nt i nu i n g a n i n i t i at i v e

started last semester, PSBC will be collecting donations at the banquet and the culture show to raise funds for Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts.

The weekend will conclude with a Filipino Mass on Sunday in the School of Theology and Ministry Chapel on Brighton Campus at 11 a.m., followed by a reception and lunch with Filipino food. “ The imp or t ance of thi s we ekend is to embrace and spread Filipino culture to Boston

College through dance, food, and art, while also connecting with our alumni, friends and family,” Aggabo said.

Planning and organizing for the Friends and Family Weekend began last year after the elections for the current executive board. The e-board members discussed past heritage events at their weekly meetings and also spoke with administrators from the Student Programs Office and Bureau of Conferences, Aggabo said. n

women. The program operates in Boston, Pittsburg, and Miami.

Women’s self-esteem has becoming an increasingly talked about topic on campus since last February, when The Heights reported that a survey administered by the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment (IRPA) to freshmen and senior students revealed data that indicated female students experience a decline in self-confidence during their four years at BC. An ad hoc faculty committee on undergraduate women was subsequently formed to offer a recommendation on how BC could work to create a more supportive environment for women.

The committee’s report advocated for an increase in women mentorship programs, better communication about the opportunities available for women at BC, and more forums designed to discuss the topic of women’s self-esteem.

B C ’s chapter of SWSG— which has existed here for seven years—hopes that its photography exhibit will bring more awareness to its cause, in addition to showing viewers what it means to be a woman.

The O’Neill exhibit—the photographs of young girls peering across the room at those of BC women—is simple, yet stands as something visible to all those who enter the room. n

The Heights

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Editorials

Thursday, March 20, 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Students should respect marathon changes

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

-H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), American journalist, satirist, and social critic

Campus School has made the best out of the situation, students should still support runners Due to the heightened security surrounding the Boston Marathon in response to last year’s bombing, the Campus School Volunteers of Boston College (CSVBC) will not be permitted to maintain their long-standing tradition of participating in the marathon as bandit runners. As a result, the Campus School will host its own marathon on April 13, the week before the official Boston Marathon.

Charities can register with the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) to run in the marathon, but this option is beyond the reach of the Campus School team. Registration with the BAA supplies a charity team with a limited number of bib numbers, and each runner is required to raise at least $5,000—an amount that is not feasible for many BC students—according to Sean Schofield, volunteer coordinator for the Campus School.

The BAA’s decision to tighten security in light of last year’s tragedy is understandable, though its effect on the Campus School is unfortunate.

Still, the Campus School’s decision to host its own marathon to honor the hard work of its runners is wise.

Training for a marathon is physically grueling and mentally fatiguing— the uncommon dedication required to face such a challenge should not go unrecognized.

The Campus School’s marathon listserv included 350 people before the announcement that they would not be

able to partake in the official marathon, but many runners will likely be discouraged from running in the Campus School’s marathon and either choose to forgo running a marathon this year or seek to run at another official location.

These reactions are understandable. It is admirable that the Campus School is trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation outside of its control, but students should respond to the change in whatever way best works for them.

Some runners, however, may be tempted to eschew the marathon’s tightened security and try to jump in as a bandit runner anyway. Those who would consider doing so should remember that security officials are striving to maintain the enjoyable atmosphere of Marathon Monday while still assuring the safety of all—which is no easy task. Ignoring regulations would only serve to make the already difficult job of maintaining the public safety even more arduous.

Students who do ultimately decide to run in the Campus School’s marathon should run with pride.

Running 26.2 miles is a monumental accomplishment, no matter the date or format. While the separate Campus School marathon will likely not have the atmosphere that many runners had imagined while training, BC students should take the time to stand along Comm. Ave. on April 13 to support the Campus School runners nonetheless.

Campus Voice ought to connect UGBC, students

While site is important, its flawed relaunch reflects broader problems with UGBC’s use of social media UGBC relaunched Campus Voice, a website that provides a forum for students to create and support initiatives meant to improve the BC community, this week. Once proposed ideas receive 50 or more votes of support from other students, UGBC is notified and the issues will, they promise, receive immediate attention. Students can vote for a single cause up to three times, and anyone who votes will be kept informed of his or her particular issue’s status through emails from UGBC. While the site’s goals—including increased transparency, accountability, and dialogue between UGBC and the student body—are well intentioned, the execution of the site launch has been flawed so far. There was very little publicity about the site going live to receive new student suggestions after being inactive since 2009, and much of the campus remains uninformed about the initiative. Also, there was no immediate post on the UGBC Facebook page about the website, and a tweet sent out Tuesday night contained the wrong URL for the website and was not corrected until the next day.

Current UGBC president and executive vice president Matt Nacier and Matt Alonsozana, both A&S ’14, have made it a point of emphasis to utilize social media to connect with students, yet UGBC’s communication through social media about the Campus Voice site has been subpar. Another UGBC initiative, Plexapalooza, has received much more attention on the organization’s social media pages, and UGBC should devote that sort of attention to ensure that students are made aware of what Campus Voice offers them.

Another of the site’s major flaws is the lack of clarity about how voting works. Students are informed that they can vote for a particular issue

one, two, or three times, yet are not told how many overall votes they have.

After a student votes for an issue, he or she is told how many votes he or she has remaining, and based on this number, it appears that each student has five total votes. This remains uncertain, however, as before the launch, the number of votes was set at 10, according to Matt Hugo, UGBC senator and A&S ’16.

Further, students can remove their votes from a given proposal at any time, and the fact that votes are returned after voting for an issue is closed is not made immediately clear. In general, there is very little information on the website about the voting process, and the site’s terms of service page lacks many key facts of which voting students should be made aware.

Now that the programming division has been divested from UGBC, it would behoove the Student Assembly (SA) and other remaining UGBC branches to facilitate better connections with the student body. The organization’s primary purpose, without programming, is advocacy. Therefore, the idea needs to be planted in students’ minds now that they should go to UGBC with meaningful proposals. In order to take UGBC and its ability to bring about change seriously, students must believe that their concerns could be acted upon legitimately. Campus Voice seeks to accomplish this, but it needs to be implemented more publicly using social media. Chris Marchese, president pro tempore of the SA, executive vice president-elect, and A&S ’15, has been central in the coordination of the site’s relaunch this year, and he and Nanci Fiore-Chettiar, presidentelect and A&S ’15, must ensure that Campus Voice’s mission is carried out effectively moving forward.

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Letter to the Editor BC should stand up for children in judicial process When I graduated from Boston College in May of 2012, I had grown a bit weary of our school’s unofficial rallying cry: “Men and Women for Others.” It felt cliche and overused, and I wondered if some students simply used it as a blanket statement to cover any and all of the service work done by the BC community.

Since then, however, I have gained a greater understanding of just how significant the “others” are.

After graduation I joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and I remain in the program today in my second year. Immediately after BC I moved to Los Angeles, where I worked among the communities of Santa Monica and Venice helping the homeless and mentally ill prepare themselves for the job search and reentry into the workforce. After deciding to stay with JVC for a second year, I moved to Washington, D.C., where I work now for an organization called The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.

The Campaign works on behalf some of the most “othered” individuals of our society. We are the national campaign working to end the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole—a population so marginalized that many in this country don’t even know it exists, and many who do are unaware that the U.S. is the only country in the world that imposes the sentence. No other nation tells its children—of any age—that they are irredeemable, that society has given up on them, and that there is nothing they can do for the rest of their life but while away months, years, and decades in prison.

I am not the only BC representative here in the office.

Among a staff of 10, three of us hold degrees from BC. The Campaign was founded by BC grad Jody Kent Lavy, and her first hire as the organization grew was James Puzo, another Eagle. It’s both surprising and not at the same time: who would think that one small organization engaging in hyper-specific national-level advocacy would feature three graduates of the same school? But at the same time, who that is familiar with the ethos of BC would be surprised to find three of her graduates working for those society has given up on?

Working to change the national landscape is not easy, and when dealing with the finality of “life in prison,” it’s sometimes hard to find hope in the situation. And yet progress continues. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled three times in the last decade that children are “constitutionally different” from adults and should not be subject to our

country’s harshest sentences. Most recently in June 2012, the Court ruled in Miller vs. Alabama that mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional when imposed upon children. Then just this past December, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that any such sentence—mandatory or otherwise—is a violation of the state constitution. Through these and other judicial and legislative actions across the country we see increasing momentum toward a criminal justice system that treats kids as kids, holding them accountable in age appropriate ways.

I invite you, the BC community, to help end this practice.

As men and women for others, we represent nearly every state in the country and a demographic that will soon be making the decisions that shape this country’s future.

March has been designated Juvenile Justice Month of Faith and Healing, a unique opportunity for the worlds of faith and criminal justice to intersect. The Campaign and many other juvenile justice organizations are working alongside faith-based organizations to raise awareness of juvenile justice issues in our country. It is a unique opportunity for BC as a Jesuit institution to engage in a social justice issue from a different angle, and to help raise awareness of this practice.

I would encourage you to learn more about children sentenced to die in prison, and especially to engage in the issue this month. Reach out to your service organization or prayer group, raise the issue as an intention during your weekly service, or work to organize an interfaith prayer service that sheds more light on those society has given up on. I would also point you to the YouTube video “God Cries When We Sentence Youth to Die in Prison,” which is highlighted on our website and features faith leaders from several different traditions speaking on the issue. Sharing it among your networks and on social media can go a long way toward educating others.

For more information on the issue, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and Juvenile Justice Month of Faith and Healing, please visit fairsentencingofyouth.org or email me at mgritzmacher@fairsentencingofyouth.org.

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The Heights

Thursday, March 20, 2014

A5

Read, repeat

Victoria Mariconti Spring - For all of you who have not been paying attention, we at TU/TD really like to complain about the cold, the snow, the ice, and generally anything under 50 degrees. Hailing from a much warmer place in the U.S. than the frigid Chestnut Hill, Mass., we have struggled through this very long and difficult winter. So, for those of you who have not been crossing off days on the calendar and keeping a countdown until the first day of spring (we aren’t saying that we have, but we aren’t saying that we haven’t, either), let it be known that today is indeed the first day of spring, the veritable vernal equinox. Now we are just waiting for the weather to get the message.

Donahue’s Departure - Now, we are not claiming to be experts—or even remotely knowledgeable— about basketball, coaching, college athletics, or sports in general. We do, however, know a horrible record when we see one and, looking at Donahue’s career at Boston College, we see more than one. His departure has been a long time coming. Now, Bates is faced with the uneviable task of finding a replacement coach.

On the bright side, he would have to work very hard to do worse than what we have now. gOOGLE wATCH - In many ways, Google is like Apple—their designers and engineers are holed up in the mystical palaces of Silicon Valley that are their corporate headquarters, designing the next product that no one yet knows is what they have always wanted.

This time, it’s the smart watch.

In the past year, Google has been working on an Android-powered watch with several hardware companies and hopes to launch it in the near future. It is quite likely that Apple is not far behind on a project of their own, perhaps the iWatch.

The Housing Lottery - It’s housing selection at BC this week and next, so this is the obligatory Thumbs Down to the selection process, ResLife, and all the drama that it causes. There’s nothing new to say about it, so we are going to leave it at that.

Laptop Stickers - Some people like to decorate their laptops t a stef ully w ith a well- pl ace d sticker that expresses their support in a cause or otherwise adds to the aesthetics of the laptop.

Other people cover every square inch of available space on their laptops with the enthusiasm of a freshman guy who gets into a Mod for the first time. While we don’t personally like anything to ruin the beauty and aesthetic of the natural curves and clean lines of a laptop, we can understand putting a sticker on a laptop, but absolutely cannot get behind all of those people who cover their laptops with distracting stickers.

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You must work for this one. “It’s said that some time ago, a Columbia University instructor used to ask a harsh two-part question. One: ‘What book did you most dislike in the course?’ Two: ‘What intellectual or categorical flaws in you does that dislike point to?’” (“On the Uses of a Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students” by Mark Edmundson).

God have mercy on us for our damnable, blase attitudes.

Sometimes it feels like we live in a modern-day Versailles. Have you ever been to Versailles? If you’ve been to the house(s) that Louis built, you know that the lifestyle undertaken there was designed to sate and intimidate one into incurious complicity.

We put up with our little inconveniences, and in return we receive comforts, diversion, and, hopefully, a job. Sometimes the academic palaces and perfect campus mani-pedi don’t seem real. Have you ever walked around campus at 4 a.m.? On a weekday? Do you know how much landscaping gets done in the dark?

Have mercy on us for the phones sitting on top of the desk during class.

At what point did it become acceptable to just leave the thing under the professor’s nose? Actually, that’s better—it’s at least an honest gesture. Rather than attempt to conceal the boredom and short-attention span, announce it with integrity, with courage.

Forgive us when we pay hundreds to travel halfway around the world to “serve” but cannot manage to look at the woman who sits in rags in the damp corridors of the New York subway on a snowy February

day. Be not angry when the contents of our stomachs line the sidewalks on Monday morning—just in time for the tours.

All of this too cliche for you? One more time—what did you most dislike, and what intellectual or categorical flaws in you does that dislike point to? This generation of students will join the ranks of unoriginal practitioners of originality and novelty. The uncompromising and flighty search for the new arrests what progress might otherwise be achieved by honoring—steeping in—the old. The great jazz trumpeter Clark Terry had but three words to describe his philosophy for learning to improvise, “Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate.” By all means, tear down foundations, question custom, reevaluate principles—but there’s no foundation to tear down unless you build it first.

This process of building, destroying, and recreating is an immemorial concept—it exists outside the domain of human history and time. The variations in which this theme plays out are unique in that each individual will encounter the cycle mediated through her own “I.” Even now, in our climate-controlled world, we can still reconnect to the seasonal rhythms that apportion a time for all things. Some of these rhythms are natural and inherent in our bodies. Others are chosen, ascribed to, historical. On campus a substantial group of students, faculty, and staff are quietly attempting to live a season of the Catholic tradition, the period of 40 days known as Lent.

If you attended Catholic grade school or grew up in an actively practicing family, “Lent” likely elicits ambiguous feelings at best. Every year it sneaks up too quickly.

First it’s Christmas, and then bam! Ash Wednesday, meatless Fridays, and the same insipid homilies about breast-beating and garment rending. Why all the drear and fasting—what could personal discomfort do for one’s relationship with God? Haven’t

we been through this enough times? It’s bad enough that we live it—now we have to read about it … again? And the marathon of Holy Week hasn’t even come up yet!

Why repeat the ritual, why privilege practices that seem empty and medieval? (And this is, admittedly, a very stereotypical portrayal of Lent, but the popular image, nonetheless.)

Lent and a select number of other well-worn rituals of our year remain relevant practices and topics of conversation because we return to them as different people. In contrast to a restless environment that values new experience and almost always jettisons what is old because it is old, the return to sources of consistency and stability is a reliable means of measuring personal growth. The same text can hold wildly different meanings for the same person at 20 and 45. Do not engage the ritual or encounter the season with expectations that the content will be different—there will inevitably be a Good Shepherd, an unbearably long reading of the Passion, Jesus will die, and He will rise, and the cycle begins again. Do engage it with the expectation that you are not who you were last year, and you will find something of novelty in the ritual because it was imported through you. And if you are not Catholic and this discussion doesn’t apply, then read this as a caution to differentiate between the authentically cliche and the recurrent themes that demand more than apathy and blase-ness. The depth to which we are capable of reading a text is only a reflection of the depth we bring to it. Finally, “Repeat old incantations of humanity fables and legends because this is how you will attain the good you will not attain” (Przeslanie Pana Cogito by Zbigniew Herbert).

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

Losing my religion

Stephen Sikora While I had doubts about the existence of God before entering college, I considered myself a Christian and checked off the Protestant Methodist box on my application. Still, I had some apprehension in attending Boston College—a religious, Jesuit, Catholic institution.

So, it came much to my surprise that nearly as soon as I stepped on campus, my faith in Christianity and God started to wane.

I took both sections of Philosophy of the Person my first year at BC, not because I was interested in the subject, but solely as a means to fulfill the Core curriculum that’s a major part of BC’s Jesuit identity. I hadn’t previously taken a philosophy course, though I quickly came to enjoy the deep and abstract thinking required of the class as a contrast to the quantitative work present in my economics and finance courses.

We read a number of proofs for the existence of God, and as any good intro philosophy class allows, we examined each side of the argument. After both class discussions and my own thinking, I realized I sided more with arguments against God. I recall writing an essay disputing St. Thomas Aquinas’ five proofs of existence, my finishing line reading, “Couldn’t God have left more compelling evidence [for his existence]?” Little did I know this marked an important turning point in my educational journey—it was the first time I seriously considered the distinct possibility that God didn’t exist.

These thoughts continued during a twosemester Religious Quest class my sophomore year that compared Islam and Christianity.

It was my first exposure to Islam besides what I’d seen and read in the news, and I also learned extensively about Christianity. Never before had I gained such a detailed perspective on the origins, sects, and traditions of

Lecture Hall

the two religions. The power of community provided by each faith throughout history was immense, and based on their shared teachings of peace and worship, it was easy to see why each has thrived and accumulated millions of members worldwide.

A major point of the class was how similar the religions are, and indeed, they are more similar than I’d have ever thought. But by examining them so closely, I also studied their many differences. And those differences, most historians agree, have contributed to millions of deaths around the world—not only between the two religions (The Crusades), but also due to intra-religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants (30 Years’ War) and Sunni and Shiite Muslims (Iran vs. Saudi Arabia & Iraq).

After a great deal of reflection undertaken both as a requirement inside the classroom and on my own, I came away with two conclusions. One, no higher being would ever tolerate millions of people being killed over the right way to worship him. Two, the differences between each religion made it unlikely that followers of both could be accepted into the same afterlife, meaning that, if there were a God, millions would be left out of eternal life—in my view, an unjust punishment for having the “wrong” belief.

Due to those two required core classes, by the second half of my sophomore year I had enough qualitative reasons for not believing in God. A class I took the following semester supplied me with more technical explanations. I enrolled in evolutionary economics, a course that discussed how humans have developed certain traits through evolution.

Evolutionary psychologists believe that sexual selection and preference has shaped much of how we behave today, explaining behaviors such as riskier tendencies in men compared to women, outward displays of fitness to attract mates, and, ultimately, the development of a creative and intelligent human mind.

As one can imagine, the class required intensive reflection on views of human behavior that we’d previously considered to be quite basic. We also expanded our knowledge by

reading a number of evolutionary passages, including a section from Richard Dawkins’ book, The Selfish Gene (emphasis on gene).

His work, in addition to meticulously explaining how natural selection works down to the genetic level, offered a solid explanation of how life began without a creator.

By the end of the semester, I fully believed evolution as a fact for the first time. Further, as someone who finds the existence of God and evolution mutually exclusive, it was much harder for me to identify with the Christian faith. But I was not yet committed to saying I didn’t believe in God. That changed the next semester, the first of my junior year. I registered for Philosophy of Existence to fulfill my minor in the subject—a route I would never have pursued had I gone to a different school. We studied a number of existentialist philosophers, some who based their philosophies in religion, and others who didn’t. Two of the latter were Sartre and Nietzsche, known atheist scholars.

Sartre wrote that the essence of being human is being free, while Nietzsche famously said, “God is dead … and we have killed him.” They both provided a view of the world in which mankind had created the notion of God. By the end of the class, and after deep contemplation, I finally realized what I truly believed—there is no God. Both the idea of a higher being, and the many religions of the world, were founded by man to inspire hope and influence human behavior.

Despite entering college as a Christian, two months from now I will graduate this Jesuit, Catholic school as an atheist. Ironically, the basis of that belief was developed in classes I was required to take based on Jesuit values and ideals—the education of the whole person through BC’s core curriculum. The Jesuits don’t teach students what to think.

They teach them how to think. Above all else, that’s what college is for. And I’m grateful that I chose BC as the place to learn that.

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

BY PAT HUGHES

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.

Filtering your friends Kristy Barnes Log onto Facebook, look all the way to your left, and click the “Birthdays” tab. Now, honestly ask yourself how many of those people are you going to write to, either on their walls or via message. Out of that number, ask how many you would say “Happy Birthday” to in person. Finally, out of that number, for how many did you actually know it was their birthday without Facebook informing you?

You might see where this is going. But, in case you have justified every one of those, navigate on over to your own Facebook page. Click the “All Friends” button and type a random letter into the space bar. Can you honestly say you would be comfortable wishing every single one of those people a happy birthday, in person? Do you know the actual birthday of even 20 percent?

If you are honest with yourself, it probably becomes overwhelmingly clear that your Facebook is a little cluttered, but that, then, begs the question—just how many Facebook friends should you have? Well, assuming your Facebook friends are actually friends—which is what the title implies—the magic number is 150, according to the experts. In other words, that is the number of meaningful relationships, or true friendships, you are able to hold at any given point (give or take a few for the introverts who consider Netflix their best friend and the extroverts who consider everyone their best friend).

Where did this number come from? It was determined 10 years ago by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist, after studying the Christmas-card-sending habits of the English. Dunbar determined that the people to whom one sends cards during the holiday season are those with whom they maintain meaningful enough relationships that they are willing to put the investment of time—and money—into wishing a “Merry Christmas.”

While seemingly based on an arbitrary habit of one specific—and often overly polite—society, the number actually appears over and over again in both current and past societies. In today’s world, many companies have noticed a decrease in productivity and community once the number of employees surpassed 150. The size of the smallest military unit, the company, has continued to be around 150 for all of Western military history.

Even ancient hunter-gatherer communities all over the world are known to have been comprised of a number that, without fail, hovers around 150 people. In today’s society, this number is, of course, flexible in certain cases, but only in one direction. While it is common for someone to have fewer than 150 relationships, this number has been biologically determined to be the maximum. Believe it or not, the science behind the number relies on brain size. Scientists believe—and have substantial proof—that brain size evolved in primates to allow them to become social and stopped evolving when social capacity exceeded its beneficial use. In other words, social activity was beneficial to man for survival, but having too many in a group caused competition for food and resources. Thus, through evolution and natural selection, mankind has arrived at a brain size—and a social capacity—that has facilitated survival and reproduction for thousands of years.

So, now that your relationship capabilities have been reduced to mere scientific fact, the question remains: What are the implications of this fact? What exactly happens if you try to defy nature? After all, the years of education are the most social you experience, and your Facebook clearly states that you are quite the social butterfly. Well, if you attempt to maintain a high number of relationships, you become stretched too thin. Relationships become casual and depth is lost. Furthermore, so is the sense of loyalty, responsibility and belonging. Sure, maybe 300 people know your name, but how many of those will know you at your best and at your worst, will know your hopes and dreams, will know the inner workings of your soul? And more importantly, how many of those would you want to know these things?

As Dunbar explains, the 150 is made of “the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them at a bar, ” and, while one can assume the number increases as the drink intake does, it is unlikely those are the people you want to form meaningful relationships with anyway. So drop those who don’t matter, and put effort into those who do. After all, it’s only natural.

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

The Heights

A6

Thursday, March 20, 2014

POINT COUNTERPOINT

Who will be more important in A tournament run?

Gaudreau’s offense will be essential

Demko will need to step up in goal

By Tommy Meloro

By Tom DeVoto

Heights Staff It’s no secret that Thatcher Demko didn’t have the best Hockey East quarterfinals, posting a .833 save percentage in three games against Notre Dame. But as Boston College moves forward toward the NCAA Tournament, it’s not imperative for Demko to pitch a shutout in every round for BC to advance. It’ll be up to the Eagles’ offense to produce in a way that it was unable to do in the Hockey East Tournament, and the player that will be most crucial in that endeavor is Johnny Hockey himself—Johnny Gaudreau.

Let’s say that as the NCAAs begin, Demko looks like he did against Notre Dame—he lets up an early soft goal, looks tentative in net, and gives up a backbreaking late goal in the first period.

If that’s the case, what can BC head coach Jerry York do? York isn’t stuck playing his freshman goaltender. Sitting on the end of his bench, York has a veteran whom he deemed able to compete with Demko for the starting job throughout most of the first half of the year before Demko simply took over. Brian Billett—who went 12-3-1, had a .920 save percentage, and let up an average of 2.42 goals per game—hasn’t started in net since Feb. 15 against Vermont, when he backstopped the Eagles to the Hockey East regular season title.

Don’t let that lack of action fool you, though—if York had to, he could make the switch in the oneand-done format, and Billett has proved capable of keeping BC close in almost any game.

On the offensive side of the puck, the Eagles are obviously a deep team, with three of the nation’s top six scorers on their first line. On any given night, the energy that drives an average of 4.05 goals per game can come from any given player. BC has a number of different ways it can score—its tape-to-tape passing is beautiful to watch, its third and fourth lines work hard near the crease, and the power play excels at spreading the ice and finding space to work. Yet, in BC’s past four games, Notre Dame jammed up BC’s offense, holding the Eagles to just nine scores and an average of 2.25 goals per game.

The blueprint for how to beat BC wasn’t

anything new—the Irish simply clogged up the middle of the ice, were physical along the boards, and utilized a ferocious transition offense to overwhelm the Eagles. What was different from other teams is that Notre Dame, despite being the eight seed in the Hockey East, is a talented, senior-laden team with a goaltender who plays out of his mind, Steven Summerhays. Not many other teams that BC played this year had all of those characteristics, but in the NCAAs, that won’t be the case. Minnesota, Notre Dame, and Union are just three of the teams that could stand in the way of the Eagles’ quest for star number six, and all are talented enough to knock off BC, except in one case—and that case’s name is Johnny Hockey.

Gaudreau is the best player in college hockey today. His vision on the ice is impeccable, his speed uncatchable, and his skill unparalleled. When Gaudreau is on his game, his presence changes the complexion of the entire game. If teams attack Gaudreau, he dishes to the open teammate, and if they back off and give him space, he makes defenders and goalies look downright silly with his vast array of skill moves. Against Notre Dame in the Hockey East quarterfinals, Gaudreau had one night when the Fighting Irish were unable to contain him—the game BC won 4-2, with Gaudreau involved in all four goals. In Notre Dame’s two wins, Gaudreau tallied just one point—an assist on Patrick Brown’s goal in the third period of Game One to make the score 7-2.

Demko is an important part of BC’s run to Philadelphia, make no mistake, but he is also a replaceable part. Billett is a perfectly capable backup, able to step in at a moment’s notice should Demko look like he is faltering. Gaudreau, on the other hand, is irreplaceable. At the top of his game, there is no team in the nation able to contain both him and the rest of the Eagles’ offense. If Gaudreau is at his best for the four games starting March 28, the Eagles will hoist that trophy, no matter who might stand in their way. In a tournament wherein the team with the most skill generally comes out on top, the most skillful individual in college hockey needs to come through for the Eagles. n

Heights Staff Offense wins games. Defense wins championships.

The old saying holds true across every major sport.

One would be hard-pressed to find a championship team at any level that lacked a lights-out defensive unit.

In hockey, one of the most important positions on the ice is goaltender. Whereas a strong offensive attack can sneak a team into the postseason, the goalie pulls his team through the Frozen Four.

Now, the youngest team in the country has to rely on the youngest player in the country to take it to the biggest stage in its sport. That team is Boston College, and that player is Thatcher Demko.

After starting the year in a platoon role splitting time with junior Brian Billet, Demko took over the starting job midway through the season and blossomed into the No. 1 goalie prospect that many experts project him to be.

He faltered in the Hockey East quarterfinals against Notre Dame, though, getting pulled in Game One and giving up numerous soft goals. This can’t be a cause for concern, though, as it is the first time Demko has truly slumped as a collegiate athlete.

The conference quarterfinals took place in three straight days and Demko started each of the three games, giving him a workload that he had not yet experienced at BC. Demko started in two games on consecutive days just once this season in a doubleheader against UMass-Lowell. The layoff between now and the NCAA tournament could prove to be the best thing for the freshman, as he can use the time off to rejuvenate and refocus himself.

The good news for Demko is that BC will not have to play on three consecutive days again—the worst that would happen is two games back-to-back in the regional rounds of the tournament.

There are generally 18 skaters (12 forwards, six defensemen) on a team, each of them with the ability to score. Only one player at a time, however, can play goalie.

If Johnny Gaudreau is having an off night, chances are that any one of BC’s countless offensive weapons will step up to fill the void. Johnny Hockey is the Eagles’ offensive motor, but plenty of other players are more

than capable of converting chances on their own.

With Kevin Hayes and Bill Arnold among the top six in scoring in the country, and the Ryan Fitzgerald, Patrick Brown, and Austin Cangelosi line starting to contribute more often offensively, goal scoring should not be BC’s primary concern.

Although he’s struggled as of late, it can’t be forgotten that Demko is still statistically one of the best goalies in Division I hockey. Demko is 14th in goals-against average, despite the fact that he did not play in many of BC’s “gimme” games earlier in the season, including contests against Bowling Green, Penn State and Army. He is one of three freshmen in the top 15, but the two other freshmen are already 21 years old.

Furthermore, as the youngest player in college hockey, Demko is allowed to experience growing pains. While they might have been ill timed, Demko’s challenges against Notre Dame are no indication of how he will fare in the upcoming tournament.

With the 2014 NHL Draft just a few months away, Demko will not get a better chance than the one he’s been given to prove his worth to professional teams.

People will be watching, and a standout performance could seriously affect his potential draft stock. Expect his level of play to increase as he approaches the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the location of the finals and the building in which he hopes to hear his name called in late June.

Although Demko hasn’t been nearly as solid as he has in the past, he is far from the only issue heading into postseason play. BC’s defensive corps have not done much to cover for Demko, often leaving opposing forwards uncovered as they stare down a wide-open net.

On multiple occasions against Notre Dame, BC gave up goals in the last 10 seconds of a period, leaving Demko hanging out to dry.

Although goal scoring and setting the tone offensively are important, Gaudreau doesn’t have to be the player to do it. In fact, the Eagles might be better off receiving additional production from people not named Gaudreau, Hayes and Arnold. But there can only be one goalie, and Demko is the best one on the Eagles’ roster. His play, and the play of the defense as a whole, will be the key for the Eagles to make a run in the NCAA tournament. n

Looking outside of Hockey East

Donahue failed to turn BC basketball around Donahue, from A8 for 60 free throws. When the Eagles needed to stop Bryce Cotton from scoring down the stretch, Donahue left sophomore guard Joe Rahon on an island only to get blown by time and time again, with Cotton either sinking a shot or heading to the line by driving straight past Rahon or a switching BC big in the pick-and-roll.

The Eagles, already a slow-moving and unsure train wreck on defense, were playing catch-up with the rest of the country, and they were doing it under the wrong scheme. Working off a perception of his team’s serious depth and versatility throughout the preseason, Donahue installed a switch-everything defense that also included formation shifts between trapping presses and zones. For the first two years with this squad, BC struggled to guard in its half-court man defense, so Donahue tried something new.

It went horribly wrong. Lonnie Jackson got hurt, Dennis Clifford wasn’t playing, Patrick Heckmann and Garland Owens were set on short leashes, and suddenly Ryan Anderson and Eddie Odio were stuck switching onto guards and attempting to box out much more athletic big men for 30-plus minutes, and they got gassed. Each loss early in the year was the result of allowing too many second-chance points, too many free throws, too many open paths to the rim, or a combination of all three.

“It’s been a hard transition for us,” Donahue said after a loss to Toledo in the third game of the season, “and way harder than I saw coming, because I didn’t see it in the first four scrimmages.”

So BC wasn’t ready to play when the season started, and the schedule became an unforgiving gauntlet from there. Hardly any legitimate adjustments were made during a home stand against Toledo and Florida Atlantic, with a loss in the first game and a narrow win in the second, and when the changes happened they were too late. There was a promising win against Washington at Madison Square Garden that hinted at the offense’s potential to make up for a porous defense with each player contributing, but that faded quickly.

The Eagles eventually stopped switching screens defensively, but they had to learn the new system on the fly against tough non-conference play and then their ACC opponents.

It was practically a lost cause.

Hanlan’s Untapped Potential The one hope for BC, despite the atrocious defense and rebounding, was that maybe star guard Olivier Hanlan could help provide enough offense to make up for those shortfalls. It didn’t happen.

Hanlan mentioned repeatedly during the preseason that he was focusing more on his playmaking ability heading into the year.

It’s something that NBA scouts had pointed out—everyone saw that Hanlan could score, but could he distribute?

“Last year I scored the ball a lot, but my assists per game were kind of low,” Hanlan said before the season. “I was really just working on that. Just coming off ball screens and making it easy for my teammates to get open shots and everything. Going and being at the Chris Paul camp and talking to Chris Paul—he’s the best in the league at finding his guys and picking his spots.”

Except the Eagles didn’t need Paul running the point, they needed Derrick Rose. Hanlan continually held off his aggressive scoring ability until the second half of games, choosing instead to dish the ball off his drives or coming off screens. He averaged more than 18 points per game, but there was potential for more. With other players struggling to score, it put BC at a disadvantage going into halftime. The Eagles either trailed unnecessarily or they didn’t lead by as much as they should have. There was a four-game stretch during the middle of the season in which the Eagles posted first-half point totals of 24 against Auburn, 17 against VCU, 25 against Harvard, and 17 against Clemson.

Donahue was asked about Hanlan’s mental shift to being more of a playmaker a few days before the season began, and he paused before answering. Sitting hunched over a chair in his office, he rubbed his hand across his face and talked slowly, with some concern.

“Yeah, I’d like to see him get more people involved, but he has a unique skill that we can’t overlook,” Donahue said. “He scores in different ways against almost anybody. He’s maybe our best standstill shooter as well. I don’t want to overdo it with trying to get everybody involved, because his natural instinct is to go by somebody and score. And if it’s the right decision, which a lot of times it is, there’s no reason for him to kick it to somebody else if he in turn has a high percentage shot.”

But Hanlan did kick it out, repeatedly, and Donahue was unable to change that.

Column, from A8

emily Fahey / heights editor

After four years at Boston College and a record of 54-76, Steve Donahue has been fired.

Lack Of Improvement The Eagles lost 10 games this season by five points or fewer. Although the team got off to a crippling start, things weren’t unsalvageable. Donahue didn’t do himself many favors with some of his decisions from the sideline, though.

The lineup of Rahon, Hanlan, Heckmann, Anderson, and K.C. Caudill played about a quarter of BC’s minutes during the last five games of the season, according to KenPom. com, but Heckmann and Caudill saw varying minutes all season. Despite plugging in just two new players into the rotation—freshmen Owens and Will Magarity—Donahue couldn’t settle on a reliable substitution pattern until late in the year. Heckmann and Owens especially, despite strong play at times, consistently had their minutes jerked around. Donahue planned on working with plenty of depth heading into the year, but when the actual games started BC rarely went further than seven-deep, with headscratching combinations or rotations.

There was also, of course, the constant whistling. Rather than letting the BC offense flow off the instincts of his now veteran players, Donahue couldn’t stop himself from micromanaging possessions from his post on the sideline. His players couldn’t go long into a possession without

checking the bench for his inevitable instruction—even offensive threats like Hanlan and Anderson.

The help defense also never saw significant improvement. BC allowed opponents to shoot 38 percent from beyond the arc, which ranked 317th in the country, according to KenPom.com, mainly because of horrendous rotations and a lack of communication. Opposing teams, on average, shot better than BC 3-point specialist Jackson, who had a tremendous year from long-range. BC’s current players were never going to become lockdown defenders in a man defense—except maybe Owens, who was rarely used to shut down opponents’ best scorers—but that doesn’t mean the help defense should have been as dreadful as it was. Even at the end of the year, a few swings of the ball could jumble the BC defense into a frenzy.

The End Eight is the number that mattered most.

Right behind that was 54-76, Donahue’s career record in Chestnut Hill. The firing wasn’t just about those numbers, though.

This team failed, and it didn’t just fail because it didn’t win. It didn’t fail because of recruiting or attendance. It failed because its coach failed, repeatedly, to properly put his team in a position to win. n

face to face with a top-notch non-conference team for the first time since October, likely in the NCAA quarterfinal round.

It’s not just the Big 10 opponents that the Eagles have to look out for. Teams like Union, Ferris State, Quinnipiac, and even Wisconsin have been building their resumes in their own conference schedules.

While it was easy to let them do their thing during the regular season, casually watching their names move in and around the top 10, the Eagles and their fans could have a rude awakening when they step outside of the Hockey East bubble and onto the even bigger stage.

Sure, the Eagles are a very different team from the last time they faced a Big 10 opponent, but all of the time for growth that BC has had this year has also benefitted their competitors.

With the schedule pushing all of the high profile non-conference games to the beginning of the season, dominant teams emerge in each of the major conferences without the respective powers ever being tested against each other after the first few weeks of the season. With very limited television coverage and such a regional focus in the media—Boston news outlets only providing updates on Hockey East, if they cover college hockey at all—it is as though the teams exist in completely different leagues for the better part of the season.

Right now, within the safe boundaries of the Hockey East bubble, it would be easy to brush off a couple of losses to Notre Dame—write the Irish off as a weak spot for the Eagles, say that Demko had a bad weekend and Steven Summerhays had a good one, and move on, feeling optimistic, even confident about the Eagles moving forward. In 11 days, however, that bubble will pop, bringing in opponents who can no longer be overlooked, and a new, even bigger set of bumps, and very possibly even roadblocks, on the way to a national championship.

Marly Morgus is the Assoc. Sports Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

EDITORS’ EDITORS’PICKS PICKS

Thursday, March 20, 2014 The Week Ahead

Standings

Baseball has a three-game series against Wake Forest this weekend. Women’s tennis takes on Pittsburgh on Friday. No. 5 women’s lacrosse goes head to head with No. 1 North Carolina on Newton Campus on Saturday. While the Eagles have been eliminated from the Hockey East Tournament, the semifinals and final will be played this weekend at TD Garden.

A7

Game of the Week

Recap from Last Week

CONNOR MELLAS

22-10

ALEX FAIRCHILD

22-10

MARLY MORGUS

21-11

HEIGHTS STAFF

21-11

Baseball dropped all three games to Virginia, though one went to extra innings. Men’s hockey was eliminated from the Hockey East Tournament in the quarterfinals after dropping two of three games to Notre Dame. No. 5 lacrosse pulled off a road win at Canisius. Virginia won the ACC basketball tournament.

Women’s Lacrosse

Boston vs.

UNC College

Guest Editor: Kayla Famolare

The Boston College women’s lacrosse team is off to a roaring start, starting the season by winning seven of its first eight games. The only loss of the season so far was to No. 2 Syracuse on Feb. 26.

The Eagles will be tested again, however, when the North Carolina Tar Heels descend upon Newton Campus this Saturday. With an undefeated start through nine games, the Heels are currently the No. 1 team in the nation and have already pulled off big wins against Florida, Notre Dame, and Virginia, all of which are among the top 15 teams in the nation.

Copy Editor

“KAYLA FAMOLARE! WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS!” CONNOR MELLAS

This Week’s Games

Sports Editor

Baseball: BC vs. Wake Forest (series)

MARLY MORGUS Assoc. Sports Editor

ALEX FAIRCHILD

KAYLA FAMOLARE

Asst. Sports Editor

Copy Editor

3-0 BC

2-1 Wake

2-1 Wake

2-1 Wake

W. Tennis: BC vs. Pittsburgh

Pitt

BC

BC

BC

Lacrosse: No. 5 BC vs. No. 1 North Carolina

BC

BC

UNC

UNC

Who will win the Hockey East Tournament?

Notre Dame

UMass Lowell

Notre Dame

Providence

16 Albany 8 Colorado 9 Pittsburgh 5 VCU 12 SF Austin 4 UCLA 13 Tulsa 6 Ohio State 11 Dayton 3 Syracuse 14 W. Michigan 7 New Mexico 10 Stanford 2 Kansas 15 E. Kentuc.

1 Virginia 16 Coastal Car. 8 Memphis 9 GW 5 Cincinnati 12 Harvard 4 Michigan St. 13 Delaware 6 N. Carolina 11 Providence 3 Iowa St. 14 NC Central 7 Connecticut 10 St. Joe’s 2 Villanova 15 Milwaukee

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Florida

Arizona

2014

1 Florida

Saturday, 1 p.m., Newton Campus

Florida Pittsburgh UCLA

BRACKET

VCU UCLA UCLA

Arizona OK State Arizona Oklahoma SD State SD State

Arizona

UCLA

Baylor

Dayton Baylor

Dayton

Virginia

W. Mich.

Creighton Wisconsin

New Mex.

Wisconsin

Kansas

Virginia

Wichita St. Kentucky

Virginia Memphis

Kentucky

Champion: Virginia

Virginia Harvard

Louisville NC State

Louisville

Louisville

Mich. St.

Louisville

Mich. St. Virginia

Louisville UMass

Providence Duke

Iowa St.

’Nova Conn. ’Nova ’Nova

Mich.

PICKS FROM THE HEIGHTS SPORTS EDITORS

9 OK State 5 Oklahoma 12 N Dakota St. 4 San Diego St. 13 New Mex. St. 6 Baylor 11 Nebraska 3 Creighton 14 Louisiana

2 Wisconsin 15 American 1 Wichita St. 16 Cal Poly 8 Kentucky 9 Kansas St. 5 Saint Louis 12 NC State 4 Louisville 13 Manhattan 6 UMass 11 Iowa/Tenn.

3 Duke

Duke

Iowa St.

8 Gonzaga

10 BYU

Wisconsin

New Mex.

16 Weber St.

7 Oregon

BYU

New Mexico

1 Arizona

14 Mercer

Ariz. St. Mich.

Mich.

7 Texas 10 Arizona St. 2 Michigan 15 Wofford

MAGGIE BURDGE / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

W. Tennis

scoreboard

BC GT

Dedham, MA 3/14 3 4

BAseball BC UVA

Charlottesville, VA 3/14 1 8

7 0

w. lacrosse

CRONIN 2 H 1 R BC TOWNS 3 H 2 R CU

lafayette, la 2/14

M. Hockey

1 6

BORR 1 W SANDERS 2 W

BC ND

1 3

TRIVIGNO 1 G STYNER 1 G 1 A

Chestnut Hill, MA 3/15 W. Tennis

M. tennis

BORR 2 W BC KUREY 2 W SH

10 7

BC WON ALL MATCHES

BC ND

Potsdam, NY 3/15

Buffalo, NY 3/15 w. hockey RIX 3 G KOTAS 2 G

BC CU

Chestnut Hill, 3/16 Boston, Mama 11/11 2 4

Newton, MAVA 11/09 charlottesville, 3/15

baseball BC UVA

GAUDREAU 0 PTS SUMMERHAYS 30 SVS

2 3

HENNESSY 3 H MCCARTHY 2 G

sports

a8

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Fired Emily Fahey / Heights Editor And Graham Beck / Heights Senior Staff

How Steve Donahue and his team failed on the court this season

By Austin Tedesco Heights Editor Brad Bates wasn’t going to say it directly—as is the case with most of the nation’s athletic directors, especially those in major conferences, details and specifics can be somewhat of a rarity—but the number that concerned him most on Tuesday was eight.

There were talks of matrices and weighted variables indicating the trajectory of Boston College’s men’s basketball program.

Nothing mattered more when Bates informed former head coach Steve Donahue that he’d been fired, though, than the Eagles’ 8-24 record this season.

This BC team failed. A total of eight wins was simply unacceptable. When the season ended last Wednesday, it was up to Bates to determine how much of that failure was the responsibility of

Donahue, and how much confidence he had that Donahue could turn things around. He decided that he didn’t have enough, so Donahue was shown the door.

Although he’s often referred to as a “great Xs and Os” guy—and he is—there were very tangible failures on the court this year for which Donahue was responsible, and they all contributed to one of the worst seasons in program history.

Here is how the wheels fell off, and where they haphazardly landed.

Unprepared from the start It may seem like ages ago that this was a hot conversation topic, but college basketball underwent some significant changes in rule enforcement heading into the 2013-14 season. Hand-checks were

finally going to be enforced, and Donahue’s team failed to adjust.

After the season-opening overtime loss at Providence, Donahue said that when the Eagles tried out their new defensive straggles—which will be addressed shortly—during preseason scrimmages with officials, everything went fine. The excessive hand-check calls didn’t come, BC’s defense played well, and the adjustment was promising. BC didn’t even get into the bonus.

Other coaches called Donahue saying how much trouble they were having with defense under the new rule enforcement, and he didn’t understand.

So BC went down to Providence unprepared for what would be one of the ugliest games of the college basketball season. Six players fouled out, 55 fouls were called, and the teams combined

See Donahue, A6

Overlooked during regular season, non-conference foes pose roadblocks

Marly Morgus With the way that the Boston College men’s hockey team’s schedule is set up, it’s easy to get caught up in the Hockey East.

The last time that the Eagles played a game against a non-conference opponent, apart from a brief stint in the holiday tournament series in the Three Rivers Classic, was on Nov. 29, when BC was upset by Holy Cross.

That’s just how the scheduling works.

The teams play all of their out of conference games in the beginning of the season, then move into conference play—it’s a clear contrast with the typical NCAA football sched-

ule, in which the non-conference matchups are better dispersed throughout the season.

Basically, for three months, the conferences are in their own worlds. Certain teams establish themselves as powerhouses along the way, but are rarely tested against their equivalents from other conferences beyond the first few games.

BC finished its non-Hockey East play on that low note, but since that day in November, the Eagles have pulled together a record of 16-3-2 against Hockey East teams, with all three of those losses coming within about two weeks of each other and all of them to Notre Dame—two during the opening round of the Hockey East tournament last weekend and one as the last game of the regular season.

For a while there, the Eagles were riding high as the kings of Hockey East. Johnny Gaudreau had his 31-game point streak, and linemates Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes

i nside S ports this issue

came together with Gaudreau to form one of the most formidable trios in all of college hockey. Meanwhile, Thatcher Demko established himself as the sole starter of the team and racked up one of the NCAA’s highest save percentages behind a couple of freshmen who starred in defensive pairings.

It was easy to forget how the season, and non-conference play, started out.

The Eagles entered the season with their tag line already laid out—the team lost some big contributors in last year’s senior class but had what some were calling the best freshman class in all of college hockey.

While nobody was sure exactly what to expect against Michigan, there were generally high hopes.

It didn’t work out in the opener. Eagles fans watched as the young team struggled to find its feet against a more established Michigan team. The final score was 3-1 in favor of the Wolverines.

Point/Counterpoint: Irreplaceable

Whose performance is vital for a run, Demko’s or Gaudreau’s?..........................A6

The next high profile game was the home opener against Wisconsin. Conte Forum was full and loud, welcoming the Badgers and bringing up memories of the 2010 National Championship victory—the final game of which was played against Wisconsin.

Meeting the Badgers for the first time since that game, the Eagles looked like a firing squad. Fifteen different players contributed a point in the 9-2 win in which it appeared that everything that could have gone wrong did for the Wisconsin club.

Maybe it was luck. Maybe BC’s offense had Wisconsin’s seasoned defense figured out just right. Whatever it was, it didn’t last.

Faced with its next Big 10 foe—the future conference champion Minnesota—the Eagles were forced down from the high that came with dominating Wisconsin as they failed to win either game, tying the first and losing the second 6-1.

The Big Dance:

March Madness has arrived, and the sports editors’ NCAA Tournament bracket has been filled out.......A7

And that was effectively the end of it.

While there were a couple more non-conference matchups to come, none of them held the same competition as that first stint against Big 10 programs. For the last four months, Hockey East has played in its corner while the Big 10 played in its own.

While the Eagles bullied the other Hockey East teams, Minnesota did something similar, racking up a 14-3-3 Big 10 record and heading into the first ever Big 10 tournament as the top seed.

The Golden Gophers, who took over the No. 1 national ranking from the Eagles after BC’s final regular season loss to Notre Dame two weekends ago, may win their conference tournament, and they may make a first round exit like the Eagles, but that doesn’t matter.

What will matter is when BC comes

See Column, A6

Editors’ Picks........................A7 Scoreboard.........................A7

Column

BC’s Art Space Crisis

White walls and closing venues for BC’s visual artists, Page B2 Album Review

‘My Krazy Life’

Los Angeles Rapper YG releases his first studio album, Page B4

Column

Missing Nirvana

The Cruel politics of the rock ‘n’ roll hall of fame, B4

THURSDAY< MARCH 20, 2014

THE

-For Colored Girls who have considered suicide when the Rainbow Is enuf

See page B2

jordan pentaleri / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

THE HEIGHTS

B2

WILEY’S FOLLIES

The crisis of BC’s art spaces

Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Scene

JOHN WILEY The closing of the Spring Student Art Show last Thursday in the basement of Bapst Library has left the gallery empty, and potentially, closed for good. For most students walking into the library, the shut wooden doors to the gallery might not have much meaning, but for artists on campus, the indefinite closing of the Bapst Gallery represents a greater trend of student work being pushed out of the University’s public spaces.

A short walk through the halls of Stokes gives an unflattering perspective on Boston College’s treatment of student work in its recent expansion. There’s no hint of modesty in Stokes Hall’s faux-Gothic facade or golden-plated elevator doors. And while the building was predominately built for the classroom and office space, the architect found plenty of room left over for a lavish two-floor atrium, expansive seating area, and coffee bar. If the administration was looking to cut costs, someone forgot to tell the designers of this $88 million complex.

How strange is it, then, that not even a dime of the largest investment BC has ever made toward the humanities went toward creating space for student work? It’s blank walls and empty spaces for the thousands of students and faculty who pass through the building everyday. The proverbial nail never even made it into the wall of this massive development, and the only exhibition space established in the building was an ad hoc area put together by the history department for a recent comic book showing on the third floor.

The white walls are closing in on campus organizations looking to arrange student exhibitions. The BC Library network has been the one venue on campus particularly open to accommodating these groups, but there’s only so much room for artwork in libraries. In many cases, the student works accepted into the libraries end up in spaces that are nearly impossible to find. The fact that the closing of a gallery tucked away in a creepy basement foyer poses a real problem to anyone demonstrates just how desperate the situation has become.

Moving outside the libraries and academic building to the University’s everchanging green spaces, there’s a similar problem of attractively laid out spaces with no real function. The trees on which banners once hung in the Main Quad are gone, and the pathways around the University have been reshaped to be so linearly oriented that BC’s outdoor spaces are no longer a venue for ideas and artwork.

What’s left is a very attractive campus with little to show. Students have no real way to claim space on their own campus, with flyers closely monitored, artistic spaces limited, pathways straightened, and even outdoor performances requiring approval.

Administrators seem remarkably untroubled by the fact that they’re creating an academic setting with virtually no space to share ideas.

BC continues to expand physically while simultaneously consolidating its outward appearance. The true identity of the University is hidden beneath a shallow facade maintained for little more than campus tours and information pamphlets.

When so much is done to keep studies inside the classroom, it’s no wonder that BC students seem so quick to separate their academic and social lives. The spirit of anti-intellectualism that so often characterizes the social culture at BC can be identified from the top down—the administration’s attitude that walls are best kept clean and quads are best kept tidy seems to reject everything a Jesuit education is said to promote.

Student and faculty artwork is now mostly confined to the fourth flour of Devlin Hall—and it belongs there no more than it belongs tucked away into the obscure corner of a library basement. Perhaps the closing of the Bapst Gallery will motivate students to challenge the University on its white-walled spaces. If BC is serious about investing in the humanities, providing more accessible and substantive areas for galleries in the University’s academic buildings is decidedly the next step. The way I look at it, the administration just unknowingly drove an $88 million nail into the wall. All that’s left is for someone to hang the frame.

John Wiley is the Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

BRECK WILLS / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

John Wiley, Arts & Review Editor | Ariana Igneri, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor | Michelle Tomassi, Asst. Arts & Review Editor

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tage manager Kim Fuller, A&S ’14, looked out to a packed Bonn Theatre Tuesday night. “ We sold out the dress rehearsal,” she said. Opening to a full audience in the smaller performance space—which accommodates approximately 70 people—isn’t unusual in itself. In the case of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, however, the Theatre Department had actually made arrangements to accommodate the bigger crowd. Two performances of the show were added to the schedule, and all six showings still sold out before 8 a.m. Monday. The production team then opened up the dress rehearsal to family and friends who couldn’t get tickets, only to discover that the Tuesday night performance quickly filled, as well.

“It’s just so different for BC—the school’s never done a play like this,” said Medina Geyer, A&S ’16, who plays Lady in Aqua in the show.

For Colored Girls is a choreopoem written by American playwright Ntozake Shange, was first performed in a California woman’s bar in 1975, and later opened on Broadway in 1976. John Houchin, an associate professor within the theatre department and the director of the BC production, was joined by guest artist Robbie McCauley, who was part of For Colored Girls’ Broadway cast. McCauley, the Monan professor in theatre arts at Boston College this semester, served as a dramaturg and acting teacher in the BC production of For Colored Girls, partnering with Houchin who has personally done extensive research on Black theatre.

“In her poems, Ntozake Shange told the story of black women who face the struggle to engage their lives as fully realized persons,” Houchin said in the production’s press release. “Almost 40 years later, this cast of Boston College women is giving their interpretation of how this poet’s voice speaks to them.”

For Colored Girls opened in Bonn Theatre Wednesday night and runs through Sunday—the show is performed by an eight-woman cast.

“Shows like this are sorely needed in the theatre department,” said cast member Monica Wright, A&S ’14, who has appeared previously in the BC productions of Reefer Madness, Spring Awakening, and Avenue Q. “Even if they don’t specifically cater to one minority group or another, I think it would be great if they included shows with maybe more characters of color, or open up to not just the theatre community, but to everybody who might be interested.”

“This is history being made, and I want to be in some textbooks,” said Toluwase Oladapo, A&S ’16, who was similarly excited by the possibility of

shows like For Colored Girls coming to BC. Raven Tillman, LSOE ’14, also sees the show as an opportunity to ignite conversations about race on campus, and how it plays a role in today’s society.

“There is definitely a lack of racial dialogue on campus, and further so a lack of the intersections of race and gender as far as a dialogue on campus,” she said. “I think seeing this production will shed light on that, and I really hope people will become empathetic toward the stories that weren’t just happening when this piece was written—they’re happening today.”

At the beginning of the production, the eight actors were encouraged to share personal experiences in a story circle. Virtually strangers, they were suddenly discussing race and identity in a very intimate setting. “When is the first time that you learned that you were black?” McCauley asked the cast.

While others answered with stories of identity and racism from their childhoods, Ashlie Pruitt, A&S ’15, who plays Lady in Blue in the production, gave a far more recent account.

“Mine was when I came to BC,” said Pruitt. “Of course, I knew I was black, but coming to BC and coming from a very diverse neighborhood and high school was a huge culture shock. I felt very uncomfortable—put out of my comfort zone. I realized being black is actually a thing, and not only something I should be proud of and acknowledge, but also look into, and investigate, and truly understand what it is to be black in America and at BC.” Listening to the responses, Oladapo noticed that no matter where each person came from, these experiences involved a sense of shared racial identity.

“The black story is honestly one story when it comes to America,” she said.

Traditionally, the 20 poems in For Colored Girls outline the experiences of seven women—in BC’s production, this number was brought to eight. While centered on the theme of self-love, the show addresses many unsavory dimensions of the American experience, including domestic violence, rape, suicide, and abortion.

“It has its old school aspects, but the content and the issues presented in the play are definitely relatable and applicable to lives today, the lives of black women—young black women, even today,” Pruitt said.

Despite the show’s historical connections, Georgia native Ashley Branch, A&S ’14—who plays Lady in Orange in the show—asserts that For Colored Girls is more universally resonant than the title might suggest, with themes concentric with the struggles of all types of

crowds, regardless of race or gender.

“Throughout the play, you deal with other, smaller themes that I feel like everyone is able to identify with,” said Branch. “Heartbreak, being betrayed, someone walking off with your identity—those are just a few of them.”

BC’s production of For Colored Girls is unusual in that it has included an international voice in the conversation of race in America. As an exchange student from the UK, Kate Henry, A&S ’14, was looking for a way to make connections with other members of the BC community and was able to find an extended support network with the cast of For Colored Girls.

“I feel like I’m really part of the black community, which is really nice,” she said. “In terms of the content of the play, I’ve had to think a lot about the issues—they’re issues of race, domestic abuse, infidelity. It’s really nice grappling with those issues that are faced by a lot of women.”

Henry’s first monologue deals generally with perceptions of black women, and she was able to connect these themes to a talk she attended at BC that discussed how the media visualizes women. Black women, she explained, are especially portrayed as animalistic and overly sexual, and her segment of the play addresses those issues as well.

Henry also discussed working with McCauley and the values of working with a professor and highly experienced actor. “I didn’t quite understand quite how experienced she was, but she’s played every role in the play, so she’s got that breadth of knowledge behind her,” Henry said. “She was able to offer insights into how we should get in touch with our own experience to get into those of the characters.”

Exploring challenging subjects, from abortion to rape, the play required the cast members to reach deep down and channel the emotions of their characters.

“One of the biggest themes in the play is an unspoken struggle,” said Sydney McNeal, A&S ’15. “I think that a lot of times [the AHANA community] isn’t given the opportunity to speak for itself, and I think that’s what’s so important—in a place where cultural appropriation can really be prevalent, we are speaking for ourselves.

“It is a performance, but it’s also very, very real for all of us,” McNeal said.

Oladapo believes that the structure of the play as a series of poems demands the honesty of

the actors. “I think it’s powerful because you don’t have anything to distract you—it’s straight to the point,” she said.

“You’re not thinking about ‘oh this guy is so fine,’ or you’re not thinking about her outfit. Sometimes in a dialogue, you can get lost in it, but when I’m telling you straight up, ‘Somebody raped me’ or ‘I got an abortion,’ that’s powerful.

It’s right in your face, and it’s to the point. The stuff we’re talking about is very powerful, and it would almost be somewhat comedic if we tried to act it out.”

“These are difficult topics,” Branch said. “You have to work very actively to feel those things in order to deliver those lines, but not to become consumed by the emotions that you have to allow yourself to feel.”

For Branch, these poems can’t be taken in isolation—being a part of the show means bringing Lady in Orange’s monologue into a conversation with her own struggles. “I learned that it’s okay to cry,” she said. “It’s okay to be angry,” she said. “It’s not easy to deal with, but it’s something that’s necessary.”

The cast of eight, encouraged from the production’s start to be uncommonly open with each other, eventually found solidarity in Shange’s words, growing necessarily close during a process which demanded they work together to confront some bigger issues.

McNeal commented on this sense of unity and the common themes that can arise from such diverse situations.

“As cliche as it sounds, we’re all like the rainbow with different colors, but then, at the end of the day, we present one message,” she said. 

BRECK WILLS / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

THIS WEEKEND in arts

BY: ARIANA IGNERI | ASSOCIATE ARTS & REVIEW EDITOR

ACAPILLOWFIGHT CAFE (SATURDAY 3/22, 7 P.M.)

‘PERMISSION TO BE GLOBAL’ (ONGOING)

The BC Acoustics is hosting a musical slumber party in Cushing 001. Clad in pajamas, the group will debut several new songs, skits, and freshman soloists. Admission is free.

Featuring the work of contemporary artists from across the Americas, the Museum of Fine Arts’ latest exhibit draws its pieces from the Ella Fontanals -Cisneros Collection and explores the idea of globalization. Admission is free with a BC ID.

‘DIVERGENT’ (ONGOING)

PLEXAPALOOZA 2014: FEATURING DJ ENFERNO (SATURDAY 3/22, 9 P.M.)

Based on the bestselling novel by Veronica Roth and starring actress Shailene Woodley, Divergent is an action-adventure film about a dystopia in which people are separated into factions based on their virtues. The movie opens this weekend.

‘FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF’ ( W E D N E S DAY 3 / 19 TO S U N DAY 3/23)

A play exploring various issues concerning black womanhood, For Colored Girls is being presented in the Bonn Studio Theater. Student tickets are sold out.

DJ Enferno is headlining this year’s Plexapalooza event, sponsored by UGBC, on Saturday night.

Tickets are $15 online through Robsham.

JOHN WILEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

THE GREATEST OPEN MIC NIGHT (THURSDAY 3/20, 8 P.M.)

Chorduroy, the Music Guild, and Timmy Global Health at Boston College, an organization that works to educate and empower students around the world, are hosting an open mic night in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room. Admission is free, but donations to the non-profit are encouraged.

ST YLUS PRESENTS: FRANZ WRIGHT (THURSDAY 3/20, 7 P.M.)

Pulitzer prize-winning poet Franz Wright will be reading some of his work, including pieces from the award-winning collection, Walking In Martha’s Vineyard, and answering questions in Devlin 101 on Thursday evening. Sponsored by BC’s literary magazine, Stylus, the event is free.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 20, 2014

OUTSIDE THE LINES

The Scene Kate Henry

(lady in brown)

B3

Monica Wright (lady in yellow)

Ashlie Pruitt (lady in blue)

It’s complicated: Toluwase oladapo growing tired of (lady in green) things you love

MICHELLE TOMASSI

“Just being part of a wider community of women who I can relate to and I can cherish their company, and having the director’s expertise, was a wonderful experience.”

Medina Geyer (lady in aqua)

“This play is about the experiences of eight black women, but they’re dealing with topics that are relevant in society for a lot of people.”

“Especially with the seating placed on stage, it’s very new, and I think it’s definitely more uncomfortable for the audience than it is for us, because we were told by the director and choreographer to own the space.”

“Just being completely open and vulnerable during these rehearsals and these warmups, yeah, it was an interesting process.”

“You might be punk-rock, you might be half-white, you might have grown up in a black neighborhood, poor neighborhood—anything. We are honestly the black story.”

Sydney McNeal

Ashley Branch

Raven Tillman

“My favorite aspect of the show is the incorporation of dance. I think it serves as a mirror for the messages in the play—and it’s non-verbal, which is something you don’t always encounter in a play.”

“I really hope people will connect to something in the play, whether it’s one of the monologues or they realize something about themselves.”

“I really hope people will become empathetic toward the stories that weren’t just happening when this piece was written—they’re happening today.”

(lady in purple)

(lady in orange)

(lady in red)

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

FASHION FORWARD

Comfortable becomes cool with ’90s-inspired fashion trend normcore Normcore brands itself not with labels but with nostalgic simplicity and individualism

THERESE TULLY We are all just one in seven billion—that’s it, each an insignificant speck on the face of the great spinning planet. Fashion usually teaches us that we must stand out, wear dresses made out of meat or swan puppets. I haven’t taken a math class since freshman year (and trust me, it didn’t go well), but I do know that really, the odds aren’t in our favor for this sort of pursuit unless we actually are Lady Gaga or Bjork.

That’s why the latest term to hit the fashion world is bringing hope and comfort to people: normcore. Normcore has a variety of definitions and is not easily pinned down. Some say it’s a fashion sense, others, a lifestyle, and still others, a personality type. Some argue that it doesn’t exist, some argue that it’s nothing new. What many can agree on, however, is that it’s not about being wildly overdone and individualistic. It’s a quieter sort of statement, a brandless blending of fashion. It’s not about being no one, but rather it’s about being anyone. It’s like being a tourist in a place.

Normcore has a decidedly ’90s feel and simplicity to it. Think Gap. Think boxy jeans, windbreakers, and sneakers. White, nondescript athletic socks and sandals. Turtlenecks, even. It’s an early ’90s revival with an off-brand baseball cap that’s getting attention from New York Magazine, Elle, and

Forbes, among other major publications. Imagine Steve Jobs or Jerry Seinfeld, two of normcore’s favorite poster boys. Normcore has removed itself from the oppressive weight of the overdone street style that has been cluttering the fashion world for the last few years. Rather than an overwrought, meticulously planned look from head to toe, normcore reads as far more effortless, though many would argue it’s really not.

It’s not an anti-fashion movement—don’t get me wrong. It’s still a style, a movement, a mass-produced designer idea that will be sold increasingly in stores across the world. It has the possibility of being a highly accessible sort of trend, though not for the faint of heart—or should I say, vain of shape. Rocking ill-fitting, light wash jeans with a white tee and touristy NY baseball cap sounds cool in theory, but it is not so easy to pull off. When we look back at early ’90s sitcoms, don’t we often cringe at the fit of the characters’ ensembles? (I’m looking at you, Topanga Lawrence.) What the Gap is producing that is normcore versus what the large designer brands will be producing under the same alleged trend will be different, of course.

So, take an unconventional fashion tip from Clueless. No, not from Cher or Dionne, but from Cher’s stepbrother Josh or Tai, pre-makeover, of course.

This is not the same rebellion that took place in the ’90s against conformity and consumerism, though for many of us that’s only a faint memory. This is our generation’s mini rebellion. It’s a stand against the need to stand out.

It’s taking fashion to a nonconventional place where people can be freer.

Some argue that’s simply hipster 2.0, with a ’90s rather than a ’70s vibe this time around. It seems this is believable. There are plenty of fashion bloggers who already feel cooler than you for rocking mom jeans and a turtleneck in a non-ironic way. The question is, will you be joining the nameless crowd? Is this just a way for our generation to feel connected? I can’t help but read some serious nostalgia in this trend. When fitting in becomes the goal rather than standing out, I get a naive, hopeful sense of people reaching out beyond their keyboards hoping to make a connection, even a surface one, with the people around them. This is something I can get behind—defining our generation’s fashion sense in the moment as a sort of dorky Steve Jobs imitation, letting the clothes get quiet so that we can hear each other. There is something I really like about this latest

trend, the simplicity of it. It’s hard to imagine normcore catching on in a big way outside of the sphere of fashion bloggers, however. I’ll throw on a turtleneck, sure, but I’m not sure that I can pull off a pair of boxy jeans.

I will be excited to see who latches onto this latest trend, and to see how the runway shows give us their own version of normcore—or lowlux as some are calling it in the strictly fashion sense. Although the Telegraph is calling President Barack Obama the poster boy for normcore in his denim on denim outfits and for his Gap-loving sensibilities, I’m really dying to see Lady Gaga rock the trend. Come on Gaga, I dare you: step out of the 12-inch heels, and let us see you in some Nikes.

Therese Tully is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NBC

Drawing from ’90s sitcoms like ‘Seinfeld,’ normcore welcomes back turtlenecks and boxy jeans.

It must be one of the scariest feelings in the world to suddenly grow tired of the one thing you love the most. To some extent, however, I can understand how this may happen—after all, it’s amazing that I haven’t yet tossed aside all of things that occupy my life on a daily basis. What if one day, my love for peanut butter, hummus, and honey mustard (separately, not together) cease?

Further, as much as I love Pinterest, sometimes I feel as though I’ve had enough. I’m never going to acquire all of these dresses, or bake every recipe that mentions the word “pumpkin.” Freshman year, I told my roommate/best friend/ source of infinite wisdom that I would eventually get sick of her—although I was joking (or was I?), I can’t help but wonder about the nature of our relationships, with people and things, and how we determine what gets to assume permanence in our lives.

A post I read recently on Bustle. com prompted all of this thinking, as it addressed the one fear I’ve been afraid to admit: becoming sick of reading. The post, written by Molly Labell, is titled, “I’m Sick of Reading. There, I said it.” I didn’t hesitate to click the link and find out what this girl had to say. Turns out, she provided a comedic, refreshing, and honest account about the occasional downsides of consuming so much literature. As a student constantly surrounded by book-loving English majors and professors alike, I haven’t been exposed to such a perspective before. Labell is a book reviewer, and she describes herself as a “lifelong reader”—she studied English in college, and reading has always been her favorite pastime. Labell describes a moment when she is bored and has some free time, yet, she can’t bring herself to read a book for fun.

“It’s happened, the thing I never thought could happen: I’m a little sick of reading,” Labell wrote. “I’m sick of prologues and introductions and figuring out the difference between the two.

I’m sick of characters tilting their heads to the sky.” Finally, someone isn’t afraid to admit it. As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, I do find value in literary analysis, and I think it’s possible to come to a book with new and fresh readings every time, even if it’s been passed through a million eyes before mine. But sometimes, it’s exhausting.

As a student who is usually reading three novels at once, along with textbook readings for my non-English classes, I’m not usually inclined to pick up a book from my “read for fun” pile if I happen to have a rare moment of down time.

Part of me feels guilty—after all, I’m supposed to love reading enough to want to make a career out of it, so why would I turn down a book? I always imagined myself potentially working for a publishing company and translating my favorite activity into an actual career, but what if my love gets diminished? Labell lists the many reasons that she loves what she does, and how some of her favorite people and places are found in books, but she makes a good point—“when you read books for a living, they’re no longer your friends: they’re your colleagues.”

This point stuck with me, mainly because I felt taken aback. I’d say that books can be some of my best friends, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to sacrifice that friendship for the sake of a career.

Labell gives a sense of hope at the end of her post, however, with a brief anecdote about Toni Morrison.

After reading eight of her books for a semester, she abandoned the author for a while, but recently revisited one of her novels and found herself more invested the second time. What Labell helped me realize is that maybe we don’t always need to have constant devotion to the things we love. A relationship with a passion, career, or even a hobby can benefit from taking breaks, getting sick of each other, and ignoring each other for a while. Sometimes I get sick of writing, and I get defeated when I sit down to write this column without any new ideas. Luckily, all it takes is one person’s story or an issue on campus to reignite my enthusiasm and remind me of all the reasons that I love what I do. As Labell explained, sometimes the activity we do for fun can seem more like a vocation than a vacation. But, I wouldn’t give up on that relationship just yet—a little time and patience can make all the difference between breaking up for good, and coming back stronger than ever before.

Michelle Tomassi is the Asst. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

B4

Thursday, March 20, 2014

THE CRITICAL CURMUDGEON

Channing falls just short of ‘Nirvana’ and Rock Hall of Fame

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1 Happy Pharrell Williams 2 Dark Horse Katy Perry feat. Juicy J 3 All of Me John Legend 4 Talk Dirty Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz 5 Pompeii Bastille 6 Team Lorde 7 Counting Stars OneRepublic

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PAUL BERGEN / GETTY IMAGES

After being told that he’d be inducted into the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of Nirvana, former drummer Chad Channing (left) was informed that he wouldn’t be honored with the band.

MATT MAZZARI If you’re having a good day and don’t want to read about some majorly disappointing material, stop here. Otherwise, get ready to board the next train to Bummer City—and that line ain’t got no stops.

So, it was announced this year that the iconic grunge band Nirvana is going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the ceremony next month. Basically everyone knows Nirvana as the three-piece group consisting of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic, but there’s one other player: Chad Channing, the group’s drummer during the recording of Bleach, Nirvana’s first-ever LP. Channing left the group in 1990, just a year before the band’s earth-shattering breakout hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Channing’s drumming appears on Nevermind in the track “Polly” (fun fact: this is Bob Dylan’s selfproclaimed “favorite Nirvana

song”), which was recorded while he was with the band. Some other Channing-inclusive songs have been recycled for anthologies such the 1992 compilation album Insecticide and several of the band’s live LPs. Long story short, a rumor began circulating that Channing was going to be honored with Nirvana by the Hall of Fame, and it picked up some serious speed. The original source was Future Rock Legends, a blog that exclusively follows Rock Hall news. Other media outlets started asking Channing how he felt about his pending-induction. In an interview with Radio.com, Channing’s response to these questions was heartwarming: “When I told me daughter about the induction, she was super excited for me! So much of my excitement about it is for her.” Nirvana’s management even got him a ticket, and Channing officially announced that he would be present at their request.

Pack your bags, folks, we’ve got a one-way ticket to Downer

Town!

At the beginning of this week, Channing was informed via text that he would actually not be honored with Nirvana at the ceremony. “Can you tell whoever looks after Chad Channing that he isn’t being inducted,” read the message received by Nirvana’s manager, “It is just Dave, Krist and Kurt.”

Oof. To get somebody’s hopes that high up only to be dashed in such a terse and impersonal way feels seriously wrong. I sincerely hope that Channing’s newest project, Before Cars, has a really great year to make up for this disappointment.

But I also want to talk about the decision itself.

You can’t totally blame the Rock Hall for this situation. For starters, it wasn’t the one who directly released the false information. While Future Rock Legends may have seemed reliable enough for Nirvana’s management and a number of music news

sources, the site itself claims no association with the actual Hall of Fame. Some of its information is speculative, as it claims to be based on voter polls and historical precedent. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that giving Channing a spot in the Hall for his participation in Nirvana would be a bit like bringing Pete Best in for The Beatles: While he may have been with the band during its formative years, he wasn’t present for what made the group what it’s known for today.

That said, Best wasn’t the original drummer for “the Beatles”—he technically only played with “The Quarrymen,” since the group had not made that transition yet. Plus, since Nirvana only ever recorded three studio albums before Cobain’s suicide, Channing has the distinct honor of being drummer for one third of the band’s LPs. Heck, Ronnie Wood is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones, and he can hardly claim that much, as he didn’t even join them until 12

years into the group’s career. He’s not even on Exile on Main Street, for crying out loud!

I also totally blame the Rock Hall for the way it handled the correction. What on earth were these people so busy with that they couldn’t give the guy a freaking phone call? Literally anything is better than “I texted him to tell you”—everyone knows that.

The takeaway of this story, for me at least, is that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is stupid. It inducts popular acts and artists with relatively little consideration given to their part in rock history.

Grunge is a shoot-off of punk music anyway, so you can tell it’s reaching outside of its genre for big names to keep this schtick going. What’s next: inducting ABBA? Yeah, I went there. …Ronnie Wood wasn’t even on Beggar’s Banquet!

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

Rapper YG opens up about ‘Krazy Life’ on average debut

BY HARRY MITCHELL Heights Staff Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and the rest of the crew at Top Dawg Entertainment continue to dominate the Los Angeles rap scene. As of late, however, Compton native YG has begun to make some noise.

Gaining the majority of his popularity from his 2013 hit singles “My N—a,” featuring Jeezy and Rich Homie Quan, and “Who Do You Love,” featuring Drake, YG finds his first studio album, My Krazy Life, faced with considerable expectation. Already several mixtapes into his career, YG actualizes all his promise with My Krazy Life. The album is packed with floor-shaking bass lines and distinctive stylistic features—it also includes a compelling storyline detailing his gang initiation, sexual experiences, and seemingly endless encounters with crime.

The voice of YG’s mother opens the record—she calls the rapper by his less familiar, government-issued name. (“Keenon Daequan motherf—cking Jackson! / I hope you ain’t outside hanging with them gangbangers / You gon’ end up in motherf—king jail, like your damn daddy!”) Thus, the story begins. YG ignores his mother’s request and succumbs to the influences of the streets. He

explains on “BPT,” the following track, “My whole family tried to save me but it didn’t work.” He continues by boasting about his experiences in unsavory detail.

The album presents a muddled, less coherent version of the storytelling listeners so greatly appreciated on Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid m.A.A.d City. On “Meet The Flockers,” the sixth track of the album, YG details a step-bystep process of executing a home robbery (a crime for which he was sentenced six months in prison in 2009), detailing what to steal and how to steal it. The portrayal of past actions continues in “Do It To Ya” and “Me & My B—h,” back-to-back songs in which the Compton rapper reminisces (quite graphically) about past sexual experiences.

Storytelling remains a common theme throughout the album, but it is difficult to gain any sort of valuable message. The rapper’s thorough descriptions of the past conclude with his arrest, but YG shows no sign of regret or desire to act any differently. If anything, his message is entirely in agreement with his past: he supports putting aside differences and simply having a good time.

In the third track , “I Just Wanna Party,” YG teams up with fellow Compton rappers ScHoolboy Q and Jay Rock, pro-

MY KRAZY LIFE YG PRODUCED BY DEF JAM RECORDINGS RELEASED MAR. 18, 2014 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEF JAM RECORDINGS

YG’s ‘Krazy Life’ offers listeners a look into the rapper’s past, but is inconsistent, leaving few lasting impressions. ducing a bass-heavy song with a captivating chorus, in which YG repeats the lyric “I just wanna party / I don’t wanna hurt nobody”—three times. He seems committed to this the idea of setting aside differences, featuring ScHoolboy Q, a former Crip, on the track—he is allegedly a member of the Bloods himself.

Kendrick Lamar appears on the album eight tracks later, telling a similar story in “Really Be (Smokin N Drinkin).” Kendrick and YG rap about life’s stresses and finding relief in smoking, drinking, and—well, partying.

The album concludes with a somewhat improperly placed apology to his mother on “Sorry Momma.” He raps over a smooth saxophone played by Terrace Martin and is accompanied by Ty Dolla $ign on the chorus.

The song’s laidback beat stands out from the rest of the album.

While the production and lyrics succeed, the placement of the song feels odd. The sincere apology and candid appreciation for his mother displayed in the song seems rather out of place concluding an album that glorifies acts of crime and disobedience.

He heavily contradicts his entire message in this final track.

O v e r a l l , Y G ’s 1 4 - t r a c k chronicle of past experience is somewhat muddled and lacks any substantive message. The album is missing diversity in its production, and it offers few notable songs.

YG gives his listeners a candid view of his “krazy” life with the help of many notable featured artists and producers. It’s an average debut album, best suited for a party or another occasion that doesn’t require really listening to the music. 

1 Frozen Soundtrack Various Artists 2 Spring Break 6 Luke Bryan 3 Mastermind Rick Ross 4 Lift Your Spirit Aloe Blacc 5GIRL Pharrell Williams Source: Billboard.com

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK

BY MELISSA ABI JAOUDE

“ONE MINUTE MORE” CAPITAL CITIES

Following its hit single “Safe and Sound,” Capital Cities released the lyric video for “One Minute More,” another song off its debut album, this past Monday. Keeping true to its quirky vibe, the singing duo paired the short song with a colorful video, delivering the lyrics in a way that seems like an animated, illustrated storybook—even a paper puppet show. Set to a vibrant blue background, a variety of images dance across the screen. Committing to the song’s lyric, “this life is an exploration,” the video represents many of the typical ideas associated with exploration and the frontiers. The clip repeatedly shows images of the moon, planets, and astronauts, adding stars to the background to give a feeling of outer space.

In time, these stars convert into bubbles, and a rather majesticwinged whale and an octopus enter the frame, giving an open ocean feel. Tigers, kangaroos, and elephants make several appearances, a clear nod to the terrestrial frontiers. It is interesting that the producers chose such a dark background, considering the constant repetition of “the sun does shine,” by the singers.

Aesthetically, the video comes together ver y well.

While the project sticks to one color pallet—using shades of orange, blue, and green—the vibrancy of these colors is absolutely beautiful. Many other lyric videos that tr y to get creative in presentation sacrifice the clarity of the words, compromising the lyrical approach for the visual.

This technique can work well, but it also largely defeats the purpose of these video. This video, however, manages to successfully deliver an attractive video, while keeping the lyrics “safe and sound.” 

SINGLE REVIEWS BY HARRY MITCHELL FRANK OCEAN FEAT. DIPLO, MICK JONES, & PAUL SIMON “Hero” Connecting the styles of R&B singer Frank Ocean, rockers Mick Jones and Paul Simonon from “The Clash,” and Diplo, the Converse Music label releases “Hero.” Ocean’s smooth voice matches with Jones’ drums and Simonon’s guitar riffs on the chorus followed by the surprising, beautiful emergence of voices from the West Los Angeles Children’s Choir.

COLDPLAY “Magic”

VINCE STAPLES FEAT. JAMES FAUNTLEROY “Nate” With the release of “Atlas” last fall, Coldplay ended a three-year hiatus, which started after the band’s Mylo Xyloto. The British rock group is releasing Ghost Stories on May 19. “Magic,” the second single off of the album, opens with an heavy bass line and hard-hitting snares, but lead singer Chris Martin’s striking vocals save the track, making it sound like classic Coldplay.

While gearing up to join Schoolboy Q for his Oxymoron tour, starting March 1, California rapper Vince Staples plans to release a new LP, Shyne Coldchain Vol. II. “Nate” is the lead single off the album, discussing Staples’ relationship with his father. It’s a solid track, benefiting from the work of Grammy Award-winning James Fauntleroy, who recorded the hook.

CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, January 17, 2014 Thursday, March 20, 2014

Community Help wanted $$ SPERM DONORS WANTED $$ Earn up to $1,200/month and give the gift of family through California Cryobank’s donor program. Convenient Cambridge location. Apply online: SPERMBANK.com.

Directions: The Sudoku is played over a 9x9 grid. In each row there are 9 slots, some of which are empty and need to be filled.

Each row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 to 9. You must follow these rules: · Number can appear only once in each row · Number can appear only once in each column · Number can appear only once in each 3x3 box · The number should appear only once on row, column or area.

The Heights The Heights

B5 B5

The Heights

B6

Bennet’s Banter

Supporting Menino Bennet Johnson It once seemed like Tom Menino would be Boston’s mayor for life. Earlier last year, after two decades of calling the shots in this city, Menino shocked the public by announcing he wouldn’t seek another term after battling with health issues over the years. As the longest-serving mayor in Boston’s 383-year history, Menino has successfully led Boston through many ups and downs, with a passionate focus across a wide range of issues.

Last Saturday, The Boston Globe reported that Menino has been diagnosed with an advanced form of an unknown cancer.

Although doctors do not know the source of the former mayor’s cancer, 71-year-old Menino began chemotherapy and is scheduled to have more sessions.

With his diagnosis, I believe that now is an appropriate time to take a step back and recognize many of the changes Menino brought to the city of Boston that affect us today. As the “urban mechanic,” some of Menino’s accomplishments include efforts to reduce crime, encourage diversity, and promote economic growth. Whether you are familiar with Menino’s work as mayor or not, we all experience his efforts to reinvent Boston on a daily basis.

When Menino took office in 1993, Boston was in an economic recession and had suffered its worst annual violent crime rate.

Despite low expectations, Menino worked hard to gain support from the Boston community.

He never looked back. Reelected four times, Menino never received less than 57 percent of the vote.

One of Boston’s critical issues in the ’80s was crime reduction. In order to lower crime in the city, Menino embraced the strategy of community policing, merging police forces with neighborhood leaders to avert crime.

Perhaps his biggest step in making neighborhoods safer was Operation Homefront, which was a 1998 program that made teachers, police officers, and churches work with families and discourage crime. His policy has been so successful that Boston’s violent crime rate has dropped by 50 percent since Menino took office, according to The Globe.

Menino also helped Boston neighborhoods by developing local infrastructure, including new parks, community centers, and roadways. In 1995, Menino brought the Main Street Program to Boston, which helped neighborhoods rebuild while still maintaining their Bostonian charm. In addition to the 20,000 housing units built between 2000 and 2010, Menino also led the plan to develop the Government Center garage, a cluster of massive buildings in front of TD Garden, and a new skyscraper near the edge of the Christian Science plaza.

He was also a key leader in the expansions of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts. All of these changes will be visible for a number of years to come.

Perhaps the most significant improvement to Boston was Menino’s economic plan. During the 1970s and 1980s, Boston experienced a recession with high racial violence and a decline in manufacturing industries. Starting in the 1980s, Menino helped Boston replace its dependence on manufacturing with jobs in financial services, technology, and healthcare industries.

Over the last 15 years, medical institutions have built more than 3.3 million square feet of new space for patient care and research, which has created more than 6,300 new jobs, according to Boston Redevelopment Authority data.

Throughout his reign as mayor, Menino was a strong individual and a symbol of hope for Boston. During the memorial service for the Boston Marathon bombing victims, he was a display of resilience as he pushed himself out of his wheelchair to proclaim, “We are one Boston.”

“I’ve never known Tom Menino to back down from a fight, and I don’t expect him to start now,” said current Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, in a statement. “Mayor Menino has always been here for the people of Boston, and we’re behind him today, 100 percent.”

Although he is no longer mayor, Menino’s display of strength is still evident today as he fights cancer. “My attitude, really, is we’ll get through this,” 71-year-old Menino told The Globe on Saturday.

The recent outpouring of support for Menino shows Boston’s gratitude for his work over the past two decades.

Boston thanks you, Tom Menino, for the large impact you’ve had on our city.

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

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Photo series examines suicide attempt survivors ‘Live Through This’, from B8 so much trouble obtaining approval to study suicide for each of the psychology degrees she earned. Stage began her speech by telling the audience of her uprooting herself to follow her partner to Tennessee. She revealed how her tumultuous relationship took a toll on her well-being as it turned abusive.

When she finally attempted to end her life, her mother encouraged her to lie to the doctors about her well-being. And she did. She convinced the doctors that she did not need medical attention.

After this life-changing event, Stage set out to study suicide through her masters and Ph.D. programs in the hopes of one day turning her research into aid for people who had been through traumatic events. Stage was repeatedly disappointed, however, after every advising professor turned her down when she proposed researching suicidal patients. As she took research into her own hands, she realized that there were no outlets or resources for suicide attempt survivors, and she recounted feeling alone.

In the beginning of the project, Stage recalled that she came into contact with most survivors through advertising on Craig’s List. Most of her posts, however, were removed from the website for being flagged as inappropriate due to the presence of the word “suicide.” She was able to complete just enough interviews and portraits through Craig’s List to get her project off the ground. From there, it was word of mouth. Stage points to the fact that a few friends even approached her about the project after hearing about it to tell her their own stories—friends she never knew had

Photo Courtesy of Dese’Rae L. Stage

Nicolle Guerra is one of the many individuals who was interviewed and photographed for Dese’Rae L. Stage’s series ‘Live Through This.’ ever attempted to their lives, highlighting for her the fact the mental illness and suicide remained a topic kept in the shadows.

Because of the shameful stigma surrounding suicide and mental illness, Stage said that she felt extremely isolated in the time when she needed understanding the most.

After discovering the striking lack of resources for suicide attempt survivors and people struggling with mental illness, Stage was inspired to share her story, hoping that it would bring

companionship to others sharing in her struggles. By having other survivors share their stories, she hopes to draw attention to the public health issue of suicide, the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. By getting people to talk about the issue and reminding the public that suicidal people are human beings too, Stage hopes to help society understand the issues surrounding suicide and to provide support for those experiencing the pain brought on by mental illness.

The survivors’ portraits vary greatly,

except for one detail—the survivors are looking straight into the camera lens. Stage explained that, throughout history, if people spoke out about their struggles with mental illness at all, they would do so anonymously. Stage hopes that having the survivors look straight into the viewers’ eyes will achieve a “transfer of empathy.”

By reading the victims’ stories beneath the picture, she hopes to drive the point home that anyone could be a suicide attempt victim—a brother, a friend, or a neighbor. n

Spritz technology will be featured on Galaxy S5 Spritz, from B8 way Spritz reduces the time in reading is by highlighting the “important” letter in a different color and centering it in the same position of the screen for every word that flashes by. Even the shape of the text used to present this stream of words has been carefully selected to maximize reading efficiency. Spritz says that a person can now look at one point and receive a stream of words in the exact position for which they would normally spend time searching, increasing reading speeds by hundreds of words per minute.

Although software developers are excited about Spritz, the company has not been very public until recently—it has been operating under what the company calls “Stealth Mode” for the majority of its beginning time.

“When you think you’ve got something really interesting, you work on something in ‘Stealth Mode’ until you’ve got it really fleshed out,” Locke said. “We had to write a lot of patents ideas around ideas to protect our intellectual property … and we do that in stealth mode so really nobody can figure out exactly what [we’re] up to.”

Spritz has experienced some large successes with major communication

and technology firms such as Samsung, to whom they will be releasing the first Software Development Kits (SKDs) in a few days. With SKDs, Locke said, “developers start writing software for [putting Spritz on their products].”

Locke added that their development with Samsung, “will manifest itself on the Galaxy S5 coming out in a couple months.”

Spritz, while based in Boston, is not only for English texts. Spritz already offers a number of other languages on their website for trial, but this is not as simple as hitting Google Translate.

Because Spritz identifies the particular letter by which people recognize a word, the whole process changes for the majority of languages.

“The algorithms and the way your eyes work in conjecture with your brain can be very different [for different languages],” Locke said of this process. “There is actually quite a bit of work involved with bringing Spritz to a different language.”

It is not too difficult for English speakers to imagine using Spritz in one of the romance languages, which use grammar and characters similar to those used in English. If one were to try Korean or Chinese, however, the task becomes much more difficult.

Photo Courtesy of Spritz

The speed-reading technology can be used in other languages besides English.

The average reading speed hovers around 220 words per minute. On its website, Spritz introduces people to the technology at 250 words per minute.

From there, readers are urged to experiment and try reading new content at higher speeds, the highest being 600 words per minute. Spritz claims that once a person feels comfortable

at a reading speed, there is no necessary practice to stay at that speed. A person could hypothetically walk away for months and then easily return to their former fastest speed. A few of the Spritz test subjects demonstrated an ability to read and comprehend texts at a speed of 900 words per minute, according to the company. n

St. Patrick’s Day Pride

Sarah Moore / Heights Editor

Thousands dressed in green and descended on South Boston this past Sunday to enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which is organized by the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 20, 2014

B7

Tolman releases plan to reduce college assaults

BY SARAH MOORE Heights Editor

Warren E. Tolman, former Democratic state senator and attorney general hopeful, wants to change the way Massachusetts colleges and universities address sexual assault if he’s elected. Last week, he released a five-point plan focused on transparency, accountability, and continued education that aims to adjust the response to an issue that occurs regularly on campuses across the nation.

“We’re blessed to have the finest institutions of higher education in the world right here in the Commonwealth, making Massachusetts a magnet for very talented students,” Tolman said in a press release.

“We will do all that we can to make sure that our schools are the safest.”

Tolman’s five-point plan emphasizes the necessity for colleges and universities to report all incidents of sexual assault, both on and off campus, in confidence that confrontation of the problem will lead to its solution. This element is verbalized in two of the plan’s points: increased transparency and standardized reporting.

“If you look at the range of occurrences of sexual assault based on reporting, there

are schools with tens of thousands of students that report incidents in the single digits, and schools with under two thousand students reporting more than twice that,” Tolman said in a conference call with student journalists. “This is a problem that cuts across all schools—I think we have a problem with underreporting and not comparing what is a sexual assault on campus A to what is classified as a sexual assault on campus B.” If he is elected, Tolman’s office plans to require each school in Massachusetts to submit annual Clery Act crime reports, which require the disclosure of campus crime to the Department of Education and to the attorney general so that students, faculty, and families can be informed on instances of assault. The plan also includes the creation of a Liaison on Campus Assault position that will work with other Attorney Generals as well as the Department of Education to investigate the annual reports.

Cooperation among colleges and universities in the form of an annual summit is at the top of Tolman’s list. The Attorney General’s office plans to bring together college leaders, presidents, campus police, students, athletic directors, coaches, and advocacy groups in order to address and im-

prove responses to campus sexual assault.

“We want to ensure that colleges are looking at these incidents in the same manner and reporting them accordingly,” Tolman said in the conference call. “It’s very important that safety and wellbeing be first and foremost along with receiving a good education.”

“We need a comprehensive approach to change the culture of these campuses, because letting one more assault occur is unacceptable,” said Tolman according to the press release. “As attorney general, I will send a message to our colleges and universities that they need to be educating our young men and women to understand the signs of assault and intervene.”

Education strategies as well as increased accountability round out the plan, both of which will ensure that campuses are as supportive as possible in both intervention and prevention of incidents.

“Introducing male and female college students to bystander training to learn intervention strategies will be central to combating this scourge,” Tolman said.

“When a woman is more likely to be a victim of sexual assault if she goes to college, we have a serious problem that needs to be addressed." 

ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATE TOLMAN ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULTS: REQUIRE EACH SCHOOL TO SUBMIT ANNUAL CLERY ACT REPORTS CREATION OF A LIAISON ON CAMPUS ASSAULT POSITION BYSTANDER EDUCATION FOR MALE AND FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS

Officials believe nightlife will attract young professionals Late Night, from B8 Patrick’s administration and MBTA officials hope that modernizing Boston’s public transit system will help increase the city’s population of young professionals, may otherwise opt to live in cities that are known to keep later hours.

“From students to entrepreneurs to service employees, late night service will allow a wide cross-section of our vibrant population to better travel home from both work and play,” said MBTA General Manager Beverley Scott, according to a press release.

Indeed, Boston business owners are lauding the move to modernize the city’s nightlife, saying that it will both improve business and satisfy their customers’ needs.

Christine Corning, a manager at The Pour House, said that bar patrons will keep their tabs open later knowing that they have a cheap, safe way home. “I know that it will be great for business,” she said. Herself a patron at bars, Corning said that it will be nice “not having to worry” about catching the last T long before

she wants her night to be over.

Norm Laviolette, co-owner of both Improv.

Asylum and Laugh Boston, said that he is glad customers at his popular comedy venues will have a safe way to reach home after their late-night shows, which sometimes end well after midnight. “The issue is that the people attending those shows have to find other ways of getting home, because the T’s not running,” he said, and this can be a “recipe for disaster.”

In similar moves to modernize the city, Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09 recently announced the creation of a task force that will examine allowing bars and restaurants in the city to stay open later, and announced last week that a pilot program for food trucks to stay open until midnight on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays will launch on April 1. Food trucks selected for the pilot program will open for business in Copley Square, Boston University, or Northeastern University, locations selected based on foot traffic and safety.

“Food truck owners and customers have been asking for later hours for food trucks, and we’ve been listening,” Walsh said, according to

AP PHOTO / PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS

Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, has been working to improve the city’s nightlife. a press release from his office.

Should this pilot program receive positive feedback from food truck owners and the Mobile Food Truck Committee, it may be expanded to other areas throughout the city.

“I’ll be curious to see what happens,” said Melissa Gale, owner of The Cookie Monstah, a food truck that will be participating in the late-night pilot program. “This may prompt us to stay out a little bit later.”

Gale said that she is not certain the pilot program will have a significant effect on the hours kept by food trucks owners, many of whom may simply wish to keep their normal

hours. For those who wish to stay out later, however, Gale said that the pilot program will be “perfect.”

Moves to modernize the city were a crucial part of Walsh’s platform during his mayoral campaign, and he argued that improving the city’s culture would benefit Boston economically as well.

“An international business hub needs a truly cosmopolitan culture,” Walsh said in a March 7 press release.  Asst. Metro Editor Bennet Johnson contributed to this report.

BOSTON FOODIE Moksa serves as restaurant and nightclub Cambridge eatery incorporates rich ethnic culture

BY ADRIANA OLAYA

Heights Staff Cambridge restaurant Moksa is offering a new sort of dining and nightlife experience.

Since its opening in March of 2012, Moksa has added a new element of entertainment to the already buzzing Central Square, which boasts myriad dining, live music, theater, and nighttime venues, as well as a rich ethnic culture and vibe.

“Moksa’s location was very intentional,” said co-owner Solomon Chowdhury.

“I grew up in the Central Square area and know the neighborhood and surrounding culture and atmosphere very well. I knew I wanted a place in that specific area where lots of people could have fun.”

The restaurant itself capitalizes on the diversity of the area and offers Pan Asian cuisine, specializing in small plates, tapas, and sushi. While exploring diverse styles and flavors throughout the meal is something Moksa does gracefully and with ease, the many variations of dumplings and specialty sushi rolls are of a particularly masterful level, according to Chowdhury, who also states that the

restaurant is “perfect for large groups looking for a fun dining experience.” Further, Moksa offers “an amazing cocktail selection” that perfectly complements the dishes and has led to numerous beverage awards.

Moksa does not only act as a restaurant, however. Chowdhury described the place more as a “fun venue with a great food component.” The entrance to Moksa leads to a bar and lounge that flows into the dining area.

Such a multifaceted experience places Moksa in the position of a LOCATION: “one-stop evening 450 Massachusetts Ave. experience,” according to Chowdhury.

CUISINE: Moksa’s guests can Asian Tapas enjoy all nightlife options, including a SAMPLE DISH: nightclub called Naga Tuna Dumplings in the rear of the restaurant—that would

PHOTO COURTESY OF MOKSA

normally require multiple stops as the night progresses without ever having to leave the venue.

Such a unique and interesting place in turn attracts a unique cliental, as well as a cross between age groups. “The older crowd,” as Chowdhury puts it, frequents the bar and lounge in the front of the venue, while the “younger crowd,” particularly young professionals who are extremely prevalent in the Cambridge area, flock to Naga. The restaurant is the middle ground where members of both groups can mingle and enjoy a dining and drinking experience.

Moksa’s location in a prime nightlife center, as well as its ever-growing reputation, has led to a great deal of success. Moksa is consistently busy and humming with lovers of fun Pan Asian dining as well as those searching for a club and bar experience, young and old alike.

Chowdhury said that she is “always open” to future restaurant plans, but is currently focusing on Moksa and the other restaurants

currently under her ownership.

It is clear that Moksa has a particular draw for college students, especially while the temperatures remain chilly. Due to Moksa’s proximity to the Red Line, one T ride can bring BC students with a taste for sushi and tapas to an eatery that can satisfy that desire and allow them to enjoy a bar or nightclub afterward. As a result, students would have to face the cold for only short periods of time.

The nightclub is especially meant for college students and young professionals, and often books well-known, international DJs. Chowdhury calls the nightclub, Naga, “perfect for the college crowd” and hopes to attract more of that demographic in the future.

Though Cambridge and Central Square are filled with diverse restaurants and bars frequented by the many college students in Boston and Cambridge, Moksa gives itself a unique advantage through its innovative mixture of cuisine, drinks, and the bar and nightclub scene. 

T FOR TWO

Parade perspectives

SARAH MOORE Judging from the Natural Light cans that still litter Comm. Ave., I am probably not the only one struggling to recover from a long St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The crumpled memories of a past off-campus party—which almost create a path from Foster St. to the Mods—are not the only of their kind in the Boston area this week as the entire city seems to be dealing with the aftershock from the celebrations of the holiday.

As I stepped off of the T at Broadway on Sunday afternoon and attempted to make my way out of the depths of the Red Line station, I was overwhelmed—which is an irrational understatement. The sea of various shades of green I was surrounded by threatened to drown me in its fumes of Raspberry Rubinoff, but somehow I was able to escape the college-kid ridden train station and emerge to chain-link fences and barking police officers, suddenly understanding all at once the connotation that comes with the term “Southie.”

I had arrived at my first Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade, an event that I have now realized deserves to star in its own reality TV show. As I walked down the parade route, iPhone in hand, on assignment to document the event, I could almost feel the crime rate in the other neighborhoods of Boston drop as a majority of the city’s finest cheers-ed green solo cups in the parking lot of the D Street Shell gas station. The display of partyers sporting body glitter and shamrock face tattoos could only be accurately described as ratchet, a term that quite literally pains the English major in me, and led inevitably to only 10 arrests, according to the Boston Globe.

In addition to the arrests, which included charges ranging from assault and battery to carrying a dangerous weapon, Boston and state authorities also issued 293 citations for, you guessed it, public consumption of alcohol.

Although the common scene of multiple passed-out 20-somethings being carried over green, muscletee clad shoulders begs to disagree, Boston Police Department Spokeswoman Rachael McGuire told The Globe that the BPD was “happy that people were able to celebrate responsibly this year.” Despite the inability to not reek of cigarette smoke and Bud Light after a walk along the parade route, this year’s celebration was actually tamer than previous parades with both numbers of arrests and citations significantly fewer.

Although I will most likely retract this thought upon walking through the Mods this weekend, I may have taken for granted the degree of class most Boston College students generally maintain, and if I am able to look past the general drunken display of the parade watchers, this celebration is an incredibly unifying tradition.

The sea of emerald that so overwhelmed me on Sunday afternoon was made up of Bostonians—drunk and decked out in aggressive flair—but the city’s people either way. Although it may be a result of the Guinness, the camaraderie along the parade route was definitely impressive and it was almost heartwarming that so many people of so many ages could get behind one celebration.

Babies wrapped in Aran wool blankets sat side-by-side with older women wearing shamrock bobble headbands and college students sporting “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” shirts.

Everyone cheered together as floats passed, everyone stopped to pet the bulldog wearing a Patriots jersey, and everyone was wearing green.

The parade was very Boston— sometimes it wasn’t the prettiest, some people weren’t the most polite, and the atmosphere was frankly just a little much, but there was a definite underlying unison throughout the crowds. Irish or not, the Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade gave everyone an excuse to celebrate, a little excessively, together—and I look forward to joining the green adorned masses in 2015.

Sarah Moore is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

METRO

B8

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

EDGE OF TOWN

Keeping it real

LATE NIGHT Boston business owners laud efforts to modernize public transit and extend nightlife RYAN TOWEY | METRO EDITOR

RYAN TOWEY This week, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum announced that it had lent its beauty to the Google Cultural Institute, so that Internet users can take advantage of a virtual first-person walk-through of the museum, similar to the “street view” feature on Google Maps.

According to a press release from the museum, Steve Vinter, a site director for Google’s Cambridge Office, said that the Google Cultural Institute shares Isabella Stewart Gardner’s vision of her museum becoming one that would preserve art “for future generations to educate and enrich the public,” adding that art enthusiasts around the world can now enjoy her famous museum “through a few clicks of a mouse.”

No doubt, Gardner hoped that her museum would serve to entertain and educate the masses for years to come, but it is unclear that she would have been satisfied with her museum being available virtually.

Everyone is familiar with the famous art collector’s wishes for her museum, as laid out in her will—if the caretakers of the museum alter the museum’s public displays beyond what is necessary for its most essential upkeep, then the property and collection should be sold and the resulting money given to Harvard.

In other words, please don’t touch anything.

Of course, the creation of an online tour of the museum does not technically transgress any of her stipulations, but I like to think that Gardner’s will for her museum was not merely an arbitrary assertion of where she liked to keep her stuff.

Instead, she was endorsing an experience and advocating for a certain way that she felt patrons ought to enjoy her beautiful collection.

She wanted art lovers to walk through a lush courtyard, up the stairs, and along the ornate walls so that they would understand a unique connection between her museum’s architecture and its contents—a subtle kind of experiential art.

This is not to say that there are not great benefits to what the Google Cultural Institute is trying to do.

Now, a student in Japan or Australia can explore a museum that could otherwise be alien to them for the rest of their lives. People who cannot afford to travel across the country have the great opportunity to get at least a taste of Gardner’s creation.

But I fear that the negative effects will be great as well. I imagine a Boston College student sitting at his computer on a virtual tour of the Isabela Stewart Gardner Museum when he could easily be seeing it in person. Who can blame him? If society endorses the virtual as a sufficient substitute for the real, then why wouldn’t he stay cooped up in his dorm room?

According to an article in The Boston Globe, Gardner director Anne Hawley acknowledged the difference between a virtual experience of the museum and an actual visit. She hopes that the museum’s new online presence will encourage more visitors, but she cannot yet be sure this will happen.

If it ultimately does increase visitations to the museum, I am sure Gardner’s spirit will be more than satisfied with the result. But if my fears come true and she ultimately sees a BC student glued to his computer screen thinking he is getting the real deal, she will turn over in her grave.

BRECK WILLS / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

Currently, a Friday or Saturday night in Boston goes something like this: Frugal bar patrons hurriedly close their tabs around midnight so as to catch the last T home.

Those who choose not to catch the T are left to compete for a finite number of cabs on the street as bars close between 1 and 2 a.m.

Starting on Friday, March 28, however, the MBTA will launch its Late Night Pilot Program, in which all subway and Key Bus routes will run service for an extra hour and a half on Fridays and Saturdays, meaning that the last trains will now depart downtown stations at 2:30 a.m. on weekends. On Sunday through Thursday, the last trains will depart at 1 a.m.

“Late night T service is the result of listening to our citizens and trying to respond to their needs,” Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said in a press release.

“World class cities offer late night public transit, to support the workforce and a vibrant nightlife, and Boston is a world class city.”

The fare for a ride will not increase during the extended weekend hours. To cover the cost of the new service, the MBTA has launched a sponsorship program, which already includes The Boston Globe, the Boston Red Sox, and Dunkin’ Donuts. In addition, the Future Boston Alliance (FBA) is launching a crowd-sourcing effort to support the service.

See Late Night, B7

Spritz unveils new text-streaming technology Innovative progam will help individuals to increase reading speed

BY VINCE RUBERTONE Heights Staff Jamie Locke, vice president of operations for the text-streaming technology company Spritz, claimed he had seen the future when he first saw Spritz technology in action. With almost 20 years in the te chnolog y, Locke was impressed enough to draw out his checkbook for cofounders Frank Waldman and Maik Maurer, whom he had met through an acquaintance.

Spritz is a new technology aimed toward increasing reading

speed while retaining comprehension by eliminating the part of reading that takes up the most amount of time—actually moving one’s eyes from word to word.

The company describes itself as being based in text-streaming and focusing on increasing communication speed.

Maurer was working for a firm in Germany when the idea for Spritz came to him. Locke said that Maurer had to read a large amount of material on a regular basis, which led him to try to think of ways that he might be able to read that mate-

rial much more quickly while still comprehending it. “And so he started doing research into reading,” Locke said.

Locke said that Spritz is “all about efficiency and trying to cut through the things you have to read every single day a lot faster.”

Spritz takes words and identifies the individual letter of the word for which one’s eyes look. This letter is crucial to how brains recognize the word and then assign meaning to it.

Reading a sentence consists of recognizing multiple words and then putting their meanings in context with one another. The

See Spritz, B6

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPRITZ

Spritz claims to help readers comprehend up to 600 words per minute.

Photographer looks to quell suicide stigma

BY KELLY COLEMAN Heights Staff

Talking about suicide is taboo. It is uncomfortable. It is to be avoided. It is to be hidden.

These are the stigmas surrounding suicide that Dese’Rae L. Stage discovered during her own attempt to take her own life.

Stage is facilitating conversation about suicide and other facets of the issue with her photography series, “Live Through This.” The project is a series of portraits of suicide attempt survivors, whose pictures are snapped immediately after each individual recounts his or her own story, in order to capture the confusing mixture of pain and triumph each had just relived.

“Live Through This” seeks to help people struggling with depression, self-harm, and suicidal

R yan Towey is the Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@ bcheights.com

I NSIDE METRO THIS ISSUE

A Plan to Stave Off Sexual Assaults

Attorney General candidate Warren E. Tolman, a Democratic state senator, discussed his plan to decrease campus assaults last week.............B7

thoughts to not feel ashamed or alone, and aims to help others understand the struggles of those in the pictures. Stage is traveling around the country, stopping in cities to interview and photograph attempt survivors. For now, the series is not on display. “I wanted to focus on … meeting as many attempt survivors as possible,” Stage said.

She will be stationed in Boston from April 4 to 6 to conduct interviews and photograph suicide survivors of suicide in the area.

While Stage’s project commenced in late 2010, the journey leading up to the project began long before then. Stage told her story to an audience at a story-telling series called Story Collider in Brooklyn, N.Y. last week. The series was interested in Stage’s story because she had

See ‘Live Through This’, B6

Boston Foodie: Moksa .............................................................B7 Photos: St. Patrick’s Day hit Boston’s streets on Sunday............................B6