The Heights will return on Sept. 6, 2012. Good luck with finals and have a good summer! Rushed out
summer in the city a pop culture summer
sports
metro
the scene
Montel Harris dismissed from team for multiple team violations, C10
Eight seasonal sensations that will pass through Boston as quickly as the good weather, D1
Taking a look at ways to burn time during the warmest months, C1
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Vol. XCIII, No. 25
Famous Fine House will be repurposed to townhouses By Darren Ranck Heights Senior Staff
For the past century, 45 Selkirk Road, known by the Brighton community as the Fine House, has served a number of purposes. It opened its doors as an elementary school for the blind in the late 1800s. In the mid-1900s, a new buyer added a few bathrooms and made several other renovations to turn it into a single family home. Its third buyer gave the house purpose in the Boston College community, where it has served as a popular off-campus housing option for the past decade. With yet another buyer, the house makes its fourth transition, which will become its most transformative yet, as the historical Fine House will undergo major repurposing to
Ticket prices raised for next academic year
become four townhomes. “We knew by December that we would be the last residents,” said Nate Gersten, one of the seven current residents of the Fine House and CSOM ’13. “We tried to open it up to as expansive an amount of people in the BC and Brighton community as possible. We wanted people to know that when they came here that it was a classy event.” Gersten and his roommates were made aware of the pending plans in August when they signed a nine-month lease. Originally, Gersten said, the house was no longer on the market, but discrepancies between proposed plans and the demands of both the zoning board of Brighton and Brighton-
See Fine House, A4
Athletics will provide $40 Superfan discount By Austin Tedesco Heights Editor
students to sign the petition. “By no means is the economy favorable, and actions must be done to make ends meet,” Fedor said in an e-mail. “I think most people would agree with that. However, I am against the new changes and thus signed the petition because I do not believe that such changes are a fair way for a business to break even. If real companies do not make enough revenue, they reassess and adjust their business model in an effort to regain those losses. This is what BCDS is attempting to do, but the burden is ultimately felt by students. Rather than cutting costs from the inside by better managing operations, BCDS is simply raising the costs of our mandatory meal plan.” Helen Wechsler, director of Dining
The Boston College Athletic Department announced recently that there will be changes to the prices of student season tickets next season for football, men’s basketball, and men’s ice hockey. A Superfan package, which has not been offered since 2000, will be reinstated and can now be purchased by students for next season. The package will provide students with season tickets to all three revenue sports with a $40 discount from the price of buying the three packages individually. The addition of this new package, as well as retaining the ability to purchase these tickets through a student’s online account on Agora, is seen as a major positive by the Athletic Department, especially for BC’s most avid student sports fans. “We’ve done the three sport packages in the past,” said Jamie DiLoreto, associate athletics director of external operations. “I’ve been here at BC for 20 years and from ’93 up to around 2000 we always gave an option to bill tickets to the student account and choose the three sport package. We really feel as though we want to reward our most loyal supporters of athletics and provide that opportunity with the discount. Our goal was to take a look at that and ask, ‘How do we create a Superfan package that covers all three sports?’ and our goal there would be that we can provide a discount to our most loyal supporters.” In addition to the new Superfan package, prices for football and men’s ice hockey
See Petition, A4
See Tickets, A5
graham beck / heights editor
The Fine House (above) will be renovated into four separate townhouses in the coming year.
Students start petition against proposed dining changes Hillside patrons are protesting BC Dining’s changes and price increase By Devon Sanford Heights Editor
To say Boston College students are not pleased about some of next year’s changes on campus is putting it somewhat mildly. In response to the recently announced adjustments to the mandatory residential dining plan, students are signing an online petition that calls for a stop “to the unreasonable increases and changes in the mandatory meal plan.” Next fall, BC Dining Services will be modifying the current “A La Carte” system. The mandatory residential dining plan will be raised to $4,818, compared
to this year’s $4,724 cost. Three new mini marts will be added to campus, located in the upper part of Corcoran Commons, in one half of the Chocolate Bar, and near the Stuart Dining Hall on Newton Campus. And, to many students’ dismay, Hillside Cafe will be removed from the list of locations on campus accepting mandatory residential plan funds. To compensate for the changes, BC Dining will move $100 from the mandatory residential plan to dining bucks to give students more discretionary buying power. Next year, students will have $350 to use at the Chocolate Bar, Mini Marts, Hillside Cafe, concessions, and vending machines.
After the announcement was released in Monday’s issue of The Heights, students began voicing their discontent on campus and online. The “BC Dining Services: Stop the Unreasonable Increases and Changes in the Mandatory Mealplan” petition was created on Monday afternoon. The petition calls on students to express their dissatisfaction of the changes. “By signing this petition, you’re saying that you want a better dining experience,” the petition reads. “You, the student, are demanding changes that benefit YOU, not the pockets of BC Dining. We’re tired of being charged exorbitant prices for food and a meal plan that is mandatory. We’re tired of not having a say in a better dining experience.” Since its release, the petition has reached more than 800 signatures. Collin Fedor, A&S ’15, was one of the first BC
Parents of Alex Grant sue nine men
Students on the move despite various injuries
Suit claims Grant was illegally provided alcohol
By Andrew Millette Assoc. News Editor
By David Cote
This is the final installment in a three part series on student disabilities at Boston College.
News Editor
The parents of Alex Grant, the Boston College student who drowned in an upstate New York creek last March, have filed a lawsuit against nine men they allege played a role in their son’s death by providing him and his childhood friend, Michael Perlow, with alcohol. The lawsuit was filed last Monday in Saratoga County Supreme Court and seeks $5 million to be paid to Grant’s parents, Kenneth and Deanna Grant, of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., for the loss of their son. The cause of action of the suit is listed as the wrongful death of Grant as the result of alcohol allegedly provided to him by the defendants. The defendants named in the suit are Seth Berger, Brendan Flynn, Ian Bain, Charles Sullivan, Brian Milazzo, Jonathan Hoeg, Bryan Connolly, Matthew Diaco and Nicholas Yedibalian, all identified as residents of Saratoga County. Grant visited Perlow at Skidmore College on Mar. 5, 2011. While there, he and Perlow attended an off-campus party. At the party, Grant and Perlow became separated, and Grant ended up lost on his way back to Perlow’s room. Surveillance cameras at a nearby train station showed Grant walking across the tracks in the early morning, and later footage showed him breaking into a small building and then leaving sometime later. After almost three days of searching, Grant was found dead in four feet of water. Police stated that hypothermia, combined with alcohol, may have explained Grant’s disorientation at the time of his
See Lawsuit, A4
natalie blardony / for the heights
Krystle Jiang (above) was awarded the Benigno and Corazon Aquino scholarship last night.
Jiang wins Aquino scholarship for academics and leadership By Brandon Stone Heights Staff
Last night the Benigno and Corazon Aquino scholarship was awarded to Krystle Jiang, A&S ’13. The ceremony took place in the Murray Function Room between 6 and 8:30 p.m. and featured Mario Lopez de Leon, Jr., Consul General at the Philippine Consulate in New York, as the keynote speaker. Boston College created the Asian American Scholarship (renamed the Aquino scholarship in 2010) in 1995 to recognize a college junior who has demonstrated superior academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, community service, and involvement with the AsianAmerican community. The scholarship was renamed to honor Benigno and Corazon Aquino, a Filipino husband and wife who led the struggle against dictatorship, repression, and injustice in their native Philippines. Benigno Aquino was elected as a senator in the Philippines before being
imprisoned and later exiled to the United States for his outspoken criticism of the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Benigno and his wife, Corazon, settled in Chestnut Hill before Benigno returned to the Philippines in 1983 to lead the fight for democracy. Tragically, Benigno was killed during the struggle. Upon her husband’s death, Corazon herself returned to the Philippines to lead the fight, and was elected as the Philippines first female president in 1983. She continued to advocate freedom and social justice until she passed away in 2009. The five finalists for the Aquino scholarship were: Krystle Jiang, A&S ’13; Jennifer Wanandi, A&S ’13; Terry Bustos, CSON ’13; Josh Li, CSOM ’13; and Ashley Nguyen, A&S ’13. The selection process includes application forms, essays, and interviews. As winner, Krystle Jiang will receive up to $20,000 toward her senior year tuition,
See Aquino, A4
No Boston College student is invincible. Accidents happen to everyone, which is evident by the number of casts and slings that can be seen around campus at various times. Though temporary disabilities are relatively short-lived for the students that have to deal with them, they still have a major impact on an injured student’s college experience. Paulette Durrett, assistant dean for students with disabilities in the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD), is tasked with aiding students who have temporary disabilities as well as permanent disabilities. “People with temporary disabilities aren’t really covered under legislation, so what can you do if somebody comes in with a broken ankle?” she said. “It just makes sense to accommodate them, and it shouldn’t be that big a drain on resources because it’s a temporary disability.” BC students who have gone through the experience of being temporarily disabled agree that accommodations are necessary to help deal with some of the complications a temporary physical ailment can bring about. “From Edmond’s to the B-line, it seems like it’s right there, but when you’re on crutches it’s like a mile in your eyes,” said a junior who has recovered from a knee injury. Physical mobility is obviously an issue for students with temporary physical disabilities. Offering accommodations that target this issue is one of the major ways in which Durrett aids temporarily disabled students. “A person may come in with a broken
See Disabilities, A4 daniel lee / heights editor