The Heights May 2, 2016

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JUICE GETS SQUEEZED TWO MUCH FOR TECH

EC DOES IT FEATURES

ARTS & REVIEW

SPORTS

BC’s Elections Committee is coming off of a hectic year, A4

The BC band was pulled off the stage in the middle of its set Thursday night, C6

Birdball took two of three from lowly Virginia Tech over the weekend, B1

www.bcheights.com

HE

established

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Monday, May 2, 2016

Vol. XCVII, No. 25

ABBY PAULSON / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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ABBY PAULSON / HEIGHTS EDITOR

MOVING ON UP

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Gi`ek\ij kf Y\ @ejkXcc\[ `e :fiZfiXe :fddfej DREW HOO / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

9P JFG?@< I<8I;FE E\nj <[`kfi Thomas Napoli, Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) president and MCAS ’16, and Olivia Hussey, UGBC executive vice president and MCAS ’17, set out to accomplish various improvements on campus throughout their term, including expanding resources for LGBTQ and AHANA students and improving students’ relationship with the administration. In a year marked by clashes between students and the administration, UGBC was often able to form a bridge. Though it did not accomplish all of the policy goals that it had hoped to, it believes that actions it took this year will make it possible for future generations to make change. Napoli and Hussey began in September with the “big five” goals—expanding mental health resources and awareness, protecting free-expres-

sion rights, increasing resources for LGBTQ students, creating a more inclusive environment for AHANA students, and improving the first-year transition process. In each of these areas, they experienced successes and failures. Napoli and Hussey plan on releasing a comprehensive summary to their term later this week. “Progress does come in small steps,” Napoli said. Much of Napoli and Hussey’s campaign in the spring of 2015 focused on the free-expression policy, an addition to the Student Guide that would make it possible for students to protest and distribute fliers on campus. The original proposal also suggested that the University form a Committee for Free Expression. After two protracted semesters of regular meetings and discussions, the policy aspect was ultimately rejected, though the formatting was changed. Napoli and Hussey later released a demonstration form to make it easier

for students in non-registered groups to protest. But, this was later declared irrelevant after the University’s policy changed to allow individual students to protest on campus. Although they were unable to change the student guide to expand freedom of expression, Hussey said this has been the most active year for protests on BC’s campus since she’s been at BC. All nine demonstrations that students applied for were approved by the Dean of Students Office, Napoli said. Napoli and Hussey also created the incubator phase program, a proposal to allow more student organizations to have expression rights. This will probably be approved for the 2016-17 school year, they said. Change has come in small steps for the LGBTQ community as well. This year, UGBC was unable to change gender identity and gender expression

See UGBC, A3

@ejkXccXk`fe \og\Zk\[ kf fZZli `e Ale\ 9 P J FG?@< I <8I;FE E\nj <[`kfi After years of promises, printers will be installed on the second floor of Corcoran Commons in June, according to Thomas Napoli, Undergraduate Government of Boston College president and MCAS ’16, and Olivia Hussey, UGBC executive vice president and MCAS ’17. UGBC has been working with IT Services to get the printers installed in Corcoran Commons. Matt Hugo, a UGBC senator and MCAS ’16, and the Campus Improvement committee drafted a proposal for additional printers around campus in the spring of 2015, but it was received with negative feedback by ITS and the administration for financial and logistical reasons. The University responded to the request by adding printers to O’Neill Library, said Joey Dorion, a UGBC senator and MCAS ’17. But when students continued to complain on UGBC’s suggestion Web

site, Campus Voice, the Student Assembly realized that a different course of action needed to be taken. When Napoli and Hussey were elected as president and v ice president la st spring, they chose to address the issue. “By no means was it just us who ended up doing that,” Hussey said. “That is the result of a long line of UGBC-ers coming in and saying students really want it.” The printers, which Hussey said have been part of UGBC presidential platforms for the past decade, were purchased earlier this semester. Because of logistical holdups—electrical outlets, wireless Internet routers, bureaucratic holdups , and zoning laws—the installation date has been repeatedly pushed back for the past few months. Hussey said that all parties involved in the planning process have given final approval for the installation. “ We were re ally committe d to actually making it happen,” she said. “This is not just another campaign promise to get people excited. This is something that could actually make a major difference in the daily lives of students.”

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ather Marcel Uwineza’s story is a long one, he warned early on in the interview. “I can spend whole nights thinking about it,” he added, fidgeting in his seat as he sat up straighter on the floral couch of Ricci House. He then started his 40-minute summary of his experiences in the Rwandan Genocide, and how he transitioned from being raised by Catholic parents, to hating the Church, and finally to dedicating his life to the Church.

Uwineza is a Ph.D. student in the theology department at Boston College studying systematic theology—a branch of theology that encompasses many different fields of the subject, he explained. While accepted into five other institutions, including Notre Dame, to pursue his Ph.D., Uwineza ultimately chose BC, even though he doesn’t like winter. “This is a small place, but really a home,” he said. Uwineza was born in Ruhango, Rwanda, and raised in a Catholic family. So, from a very early age, he was connected to the Church. His mother and father, he said with a reminiscent

smile, helped the poor in his neighborhood by sponsoring many children to go to school. Some of those children, however, then turned against his family during the Rwandan Genocide, which began in April 1994. “So sometimes the good we do is not returned, sadly,” he said. The Church itself played a controversial role in the genocide, in fact, supporting an interim government which carried out an enormous amount of the killing—largely in the interest of supporting politicians with Church ties. This apparent moral sanctioning of the mass killing left Uwineza apprehensive about

the Church and its intentions. On April 13, 1994, his house was burned, and he was forced to flee with his mother, two brothers, and sister. His father had been killed already because of false allegations that he had been corroborating with the rebels of Kagame. His family sought refuge in a church, where the parish priest promptly kicked them out. But in hindsight, this may have been a blessing, as many people were killed in that very church the next day. He was able to survive because a man named Joseph Kabera hid him and his family in a beehive compound. With bees comes stinging, and I couldn’t

help but ask about this. We shared a laugh that promptly trailed off as he responded: “The bees were more friendly than human beings at that time.” During the genocide against the Tutsi, if someone was found to be hiding Tutsi by the militia (interahamwe), either he would be killed together, or he could pay for his life to be spared. Uwineza’s family soon put Kabera in the danger of having to face this trade off, and decided to leave the bee compound upon learning that it would be searched the follow-

See Uwineza, A8

A2

THE HEIGHTS

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Top

things to do on campus this week

UGBC is hosting a finals stress survival guide event on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on O’Neill Plaza. There will be information about mental health resources on campus as well as free pizza and Insomnia Cookies. There will also be puppies on the Quad from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

NEWS BRIEFS B\ccp IXe ,b Gfjk$KiXejgcXek

Eamonn Kelly, LGSOE ’17, underwent a double lung transplant six months ago. This past Saturday, however, Kelly participated in a charity 5K for St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton to raise money for student scholarships and financial aid. Kelly currently has a lung capacity that is 85 to 90 percent of that of a healthy person. He suffers from cystic fibrosis, a disease that affects the digestive system and lungs. The disease affects over 30,000 Americans. Kelly’s transplant was a life-saving procedure. “After the operation I thought this would be a good milestone,� Kelly said to The Big Stor y. “But this is also a big event for the school, which has been so supportive of me and is such a wonderful community.� Kelly began his rehabilitation and training after his double lung transplant by running just 15 seconds at a time. Throughout his training, he slowly moved his way up to three miles. Kelly said that he ran to support the students at his school. He also said, however, that he ran in honor of the person who donated his or her lungs to save his life. “If people see what I am doing, perhaps it will inspire them to become organ donors and give other people the same second chance as me,� Kelly said.

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Tim van Opijnen, a researcher and an assistant professor of biology at Boston College, has been awarded a five-year, $10 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to study how antibiotic-resistant bacteria affect the immune system. Van Opijnen uses robotics to study bacteria and antibiotic resistance. The challenge his research seeks to remedy is how infectious organisms have adapted to the drugs designed to kill them. Van Opijnen will use genomic research techniques to analyze millions of genetic sequences and identify gene functions in bacteria. The process he developed, Tn-seq, will help to identify genes in bacteria that cause them to survive antibiotics and the diseasefighting immune system. “We want to comprehensively determine how bacteria interact with the immune system of the patient and how these interactions permit or prevent the evolution of antibiotic resistance,� van Opijnen said to the Office of News and Public Affairs. Van Opijnen will work with evolutionary biologists, infectious disease specialists, computer scientists, and mathematicians to improve the efficiency of data analytics in the field of biology. The project is a chance for his research to cross over into other disciplines, which is often a rarity, van Opijnen said. “I am very exc3ited about this collaboration with Tim,� Jose Bento, assistant professor of computer science, said. “It is focused on solving a pressing problem and coming up with solid new ideas that might help solve other new problems.�

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Monday, May 2, 2016

The Shea Center for Entrepreneurship is hosting a yearend event to celebrate its first year and the 2016 venture competition winners on Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Fulton Honors Library. The winners of the competition will be announced at the event.

2

The chemistry department is hosting a speaker series on Tuesday at 4 p.m in Merkert 130. The series will feature individuals from industrial organizations and from the private sector, including BoehringerIngelheim, Strem Chemicals, and Abbott Laboratories.

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DZB`YY\e KXcbj :c`dXk\ :_Xe^\# 8Zk`m`jd 9P :?I@J ILJJF 8jjk% E\nj <[`kfi Bill McKibben, an environmentalist, author, and journalist, found himself “mildly depressedâ€? Thursday night in Higgins 300, when spoke about the global implications of climate change. He had just returned from visiting coastal areas that are the most vulnerable to climate change. McKibben is the founder and leader of the anti-carbon campaign group 350.org and has written several books about climate change. He was featured in Rolling Stone last November, discussing his campaign against the Keystone XL pipeline. In 2013, he won the Gandhi Peace Award for his work spreading awareness of the negative eects of climate change. The event was organized by Carolyn Townsend, MCAS ’17, and Haley Shewfelt, MCAS ’18, the director and assistant director of Environment and Sustainability Programming in the Undergraduate Government of Boston College, under the division of the Environmental Caucus. McKibben had just returned from visiting a few low-lying island nations and coral reefs in the South PaciďŹ c. These are the areas most vulnerable to climate change, as they are most susceptible to sealevel rise, McKibben said. He witnessed ďŹ rsthand the desperation of climate refugees along the coast. As he traveled, he noticed that impoverished people across the

world are negatively impacted by climate change. “The people who are most affected by climate change are the people who least caused it,â€? he said. McKibben detailed the science behind climate change. He said that the melting glaciers will cause unprecedented sea-level rise. Increasingly warm temperatures allow for more water vapor to stay in the atmosphere, causing more frequent and stronger storms. “We knew things would be bad, but we didn’t know how fast it would play out,â€? he said. “Change is coming faster and at a much larger scale than we expected.â€? McKibben then pointed out how the greediness of the fossil fuel industry has played a large role in environmental degradation. “Fights are always about money and power,â€? he said. Exxon and other fossil fuel companies knew about climate change for years but spent millions of dollars to keep it under wraps, according to McKibben. It was more profitable and better for their business models to not publicize scientiďŹ c ďŹ ndings about carbon emissions in relation to climate change. McKibben said that these companies built their oil empires with the expectation that the environment would change. They speciďŹ cally constructed their equipment—pipelines, for example—to last through changing climate conditions. He said that he and his organization had to ďŹ gure out how to stand up to moneyed

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Bill McKibben spoke about the global implications of climate change. fossil fuel interests. McKibben believes alternative forms of energy are becoming more practical with new developments in technology. The price of solar panels has decreased by 80 percent, and more Americans are installing solar panels than mining coal, he said. “It is now very possible to imagine a world run in democratic forms of power,â€? he said. McKibben then emphasized the importance of activism around the world. In his travels, he found young people who were enthusiastic about speaking out about climate change. “They’re very much your brothers and sisters in this ďŹ ght,â€? he said. “I am so happy to hear students are heading to Father Leahy’s house to sleep in.â€? McKibben also cited Pope Francis’ recent environmental encyclical, Laudato Si, in his talk.

“The Pope would be out there with a sleeping bag as well,� he said. Political change starts with people, according to McKibben. He mentioned Hillary Clinton’s wavering position on the Keystone Pipeline as an example. Just a few years ago, Clinton was a fervent supporter of the pipeline. But as she campaigned for the 2016 presidency and talked to young voters who were unhappy with her position, she changed her position on the issue, and now opposes the pipeline. This shows the power of public opinion, McKibben said. McKibben ended by directly addressing Climate Justice at Boston College, which hosted Thursday night’s sleep-out in front of Leahy’s home, Barat House. “There’s nothing radical about what you are doing,� he said. “The radicals work at oil companies.� „

JXc\j D\Xek kf Ê@ejg`i\ @ek\i\jk#Ë ?f]]dXe JXpj 9P 9I@>@; B<CC<P =fi k_\ ?\`^_kj On Friday afternoon, Je Homan, a renowned sales executive, entrepreneur, and visiting lecturer, spoke about the four steps of persuasion—attention, interest, desire, and action. Hosted by the Sales and Business Development Club of Boston College, 20 students from all schools were invited to hear Homan speak. Homan has spoken at BC before for the Sales Club, but most students who attended his lecture this year had never heard him before. He engaged the audience by relating the business of sales to the everyday lives of students through relatable examples he called paradigms. He began by explaining how when he attended Cornell University, he wished someone would have come to speak about the sales business. In order to prevent BC students from feeling the same way, he decided to share his guidance, advice, and wisdom. Having his entire career postgraduation in sales, Hoffman is the president and founder of M.J. Hoffman and Associates, which reaches a range of clients, including the Boston Celtics, Google, and Microsoft.

What is the purpose of sales? “Inspiring interest where none exists,â€? Homan said. As a mix between a science and an art, he began by introducing the acronym AIDA as the four steps of sales—attention, interest, desire, and action. These four words are the pathway to selling your product. But Homan didn’t limit his presentation to the sales ďŹ eld. Instead he emphasized using the art of persuasion in one’s current life, through networking, interviews, and how we as students present ourselves. An important aspect of the AIDA method is that each step must come one at a time. You cannot skip a step or combine steps because each level provides entrance to the next. Starting with attention, Homan introduced the topic of social paradigms, which are the roles that people often fall into when in sales, with the most common being buddy/buddy, host/guest, buyer/seller, and interviewer/ candidate. Oftentimes, there are actions that people fall into when placed into these social paradigms, and Homan explained that it is vital to be aware of the paradigms we play into. He said that sales is a mix of both art and science.

POLICE BLOTTER Wednesday, April 27 4:41 p.m. - A report was ďŹ led regarding a ďŹ re in Stuart Hall. 6:31 p.m. - A report was ďŹ led regarding a suspicious circumstance at the BCPD headquarters.

“You need to be creative and conversational and like people, but when it comes to art and science, the longer you have a relationship in business the more art is required, because the [more] you get to know the person ... more creativity is required,â€? he said. Attention is the first step to sales, followed by persuasion and the process of breaking through to a customer. The ďŹ rst step to grabbing attention is often through phone or email, and Homan oered tips on how to best grab someone’s attention. He said that the timing of the call or email is key. Email between ďŹ ve minutes before or after every hour. This is when meetings end, lunch breaks begin, and when people check their smartphones for emails. With the change of technology in smartphones comes the change in the connection rate with a customer. With email, there are a few key notes to remember that Homan pointed out. The email needs to ďŹ t on the screen of a smartphone, about three sentences. Keep it concise, remove adjectives and adverbs, have a brief subject line that references a date and time, and have a deďŹ nitive closing. Call in the late afternoon, he said, and later in the week. Friday

afternoon is ideal. Whomever you are trying to reach will be a little tired, and your call, if done correctly, can be that bright light to wake them up, Homan said. The goal of these emails and calls is to grab the person’s attention. Once that is achieved, he said, move on to grab their interest. Make them want to know more, but also provide a deďŹ nitive answer to what they want, Homan said. He used the analogy of a movie trailer to explain how to get someone’s attention. “Be the source of tension and then its relief,â€? Homan said. Once interest is achieved, move on to the concept of making them desire whatever you are providing, but never, he said, through manipulation. If you want someone interested in you, show interest in them. “Demonstrate the behavior you wish to inspire,â€? Homan said. He said that to get the client to spend his or her money it is important to be a genuine person. By always being authentic, Homan said, you can allow the customer or client to listen to what you are saying. This will lead them to take action, which in sales means spend money. “Be patient with people, but impatient with your goals and purposes,â€? he said. „

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CORRECTIONS In the article “Let’s Talk About Sex,� it stated that Yolanda Hobin sees five to seven students per day, but she actually sees five to seven students per week.

4/27/16 - 4/29/16

7:09 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a well-being check at Fenwick Hall.

What is your favorite study spot for finals?

Friday, April 29 5:30 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a property conďŹ scation from the Beacon Garage.

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10:11 p.m. - A report was filed regarding vandalism to a residence at Voute Hall.

Thursday, April 28 7:01 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny from a building at Cushing Hall.

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—Source: The Boston College Police Department

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 2, 2016

A3

SOPHIE REARDON / HEIGHTS EDITOR

EXgfc`# ?ljj\p :cfj\ Flk K\id f] JdXcc Jk\gj# Dfi\ <[lZXk`fe Napoli, Hussey, from A1 in BC’s non-discrimination clause, although a bill was passed in the Student Assembly over a year ago. The Queer Peers Program and the GLBTQ Undergraduate Society were also institutionalized this year, following a time of tension between LGBTQ leaders and the administration. Last semester, following several highprofile protests, Napoli and Hussey, along with Afua Laast, UGBC vice president of diversity and inclusion and LSOE ’16, addressed the University Board of Trustees with a working proposal about addressing problems of diversity on campus. At the Dec. 7 meeting, they discussed institutional racism and inclusivity, using student narratives. They set a Jan. 19 deadline for the University to respond to the plan, but the University did not adopt an official plan of action by that date. This year’s leadership also hoped to improve mental health resources on campus. They were unable to implement a mental health awareness program due to a lack of support from the Office of Health Promotion. But, they were able to assist in adding two more counselors in the University Counseling Services, starting next year. It should not end

there, Hussey said. “In my opinion, there are never enough resources, so that is tough because I think every year you can come back and advocate in different ways,” she said. A lot of the goals that they accomplished, she said, were because of their outlined goals going into their term. Although not every goal on Napoli and Hussey’s 42-page platform was reached, it did help guide them throughout their term, Hussey said. Despite a lack of success in shifting University policy, they were also able to accomplish things that were not on their original platform, including events like Politicizing Beyonce, SLAM! the Stigma, and Bring It to the Table. They are both proud of bridging the gap between students and administrators. Napoli and Hussey helped to organize events such as the information town hall meetings and BC Looking Forward, which brought in high-level administrators to engage with students. “We’re proud of the organization for really pushing along as an advocate for students,” Napoli said. Napoli and Hussey also aimed to improve student life on campus. UGBC met with BC Dining Services to advocate for continued avocados in the dining halls, for example. They

also helped to make the first floor of O’Neill Library open 24 hours a day. “We have our big advocacy goals, and then we also wanted to do stuff that really impacts students on a day-to-day level,” Hussey said. Over the course of the academic year, UGBC held over 90 events on campus, including mental health advocate Kevin Breel and the What I Be photo campaign. “We hope that going to an event can make you think or change your perspective and hopefully improve the students’ BC experience,” Hussey said. Napoli said he wished that they had been more transparent insofar as informing the student body of what UGBC was doing behind the scenes. For example, not many students know that they worked with Dining Services to get healthier food at Late Night. “That’s something that we started to learn in the second half of the year—communication was really difficult because UGBC already has a stigma, what students think about it, how students interact with the organization,” Napoli said. He said that they tried to implement an outreach program. They did a March Madness policy bracket to try to better understand what students wanted to see on campus. He hopes that future president Russell Simons

and EVP Meredith McCaffrey, both MCAS ’17, will continue to try to institutionalize such outreach programs. Hussey said that such communication would also allow for students to understand why UGBC cannot accomplish certain goals. She said that during their term, she and Napoli tried to communicate with the student body through interviews, articles, and newsletters, but she sees that there is room for improvement in being transparent with students. Napoli and Hussey were, however, able to do a lot of preliminary research and organize several meetings to get the conversation going on some of these issues. For example, they met with Vice President for Human Resources David Trainor about gender identity. “This is a conversation that’s probably going to be had for the next three to five years,” Napoli said. “Progress can be like a trickle, especially at BC.” Similarly, many of the goals that Napoli and Hussey accomplished had been in the works for many years. For example, the installation of printers in Corcoran Commons was an initiative started almost 10 years ago. “So by no means was it just us who ended up doing that,” she said. “That is the result of a long line of UGBC-ers coming in and saying students really want it.”

In order to get these long-term goals accomplished, Napoli said, the administration needs to see a well-researched, well-written proposal to understand what the effects of the new initiative will be. “They also need a degree, I think, of social pressure—knowing that students want this,” he said. Through their various programs and the two Evening with the Deans held this semester, Hussey said, the administration has been able to see what the students really care about. “The administrators hear direct feedback from students who aren’t necessarily in UGBC, and if you hear the same themes more than once and from different groups of students, you have no choice but to listen and respond,” Hussey said. A lot of their work, Napoli noted, however, does not require so much response. A lot of the work that they did simply required emailing administrators and setting up meetings to get things accomplished. As for the future of UGBC, the next president and executive vice-president are highly qualified for the positions, Napoli said. “I think they have a really comprehensive understanding of how politics at BC works,” he said. “I don’t think they really need our advice.”

>C: I\Z\`m\j k_\ )'(- Ê<m\i kf <oZ\cË 8nXi[ 9P K8PCFI JK% ><ID8@E 8jjfZ% E\nj <[`kfi In its 12th year of existence, the GLTBQ Leadership Council is the recipient of the 2016 Ever to Excel Award for its outstanding contribution to Boston College in areas such as education, social justice, service, and safety. The award is the first the group has received from the administration since its founding year. The Office of Student Involvement (OSI) awards 16 groups, individuals, and faculty every year for their contributions to the BC community. The award that GLC received could be given to student groups that are not considered official student organizations by OSI. Last year, the award was given to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. GLC was nominated for the award by Mark Miceli, the associate director of human engagement, Mark D’Angelo, the graduate assistant for LGBTQ student outreach and support, and Nick Minieri, chair of GLC and CSOM ’16. “GLC works tirelessly to make our campus a more inclusive space for queer students, thereby improving their college experiences and actualizing BC’s Jesuit mission and pastoral ideas,” D’Angelo said. In the past year, GLC has worked to increase programming for students of other identities. The group has held a bisexual student panel and an asexual student panel to educate about the different groups students could identify with. GLC also added a Latinx panel, to highlight Latino LGBTQ experiences, as well as a Black Queer student panel. GLC has also added an LGBTQ roundtable in the Dean of Students Office. Members of GLC meet monthly with administrators who deal with LGBTQ issues on campus. The round table was created by Collin Pratt, director of policy for GLC and MCAS ’17, in order to talk about the quality of student life or any upcoming events or proposals. “It gives us a new avenue to speak about our problems or issues directly,” Minieri said. GLC also moved to get the Dean of Students Office to take over the GLTBQ Undergraduate Society and Queer Peers, a

group of mentors who are available to have conversations with students about LGBTQ matters. This change will be implemented for the 2016-17 academic year. The GLTBQ Undergraduate Society and Queer Peers were created by students in GLC and were previously completely studentrun. Next year, they will be implemented as permanent and legitimate programs by the University. Minieri said that GLC has been advocating for the Dean of Students Office to take over the programs for years. In January, GLC also planned to have Laverne Cox, an actress and transgender advocate, speak on campus. It was considered a significant accomplishment to have the University approve her visit, Minieri said. Due to a filming conflict, Cox had to cancel, but GLC is working to get her to speak next year. GLC also hopes to continue with their initiative to add gender identity to the nondiscrimination clause. The group drafted a report on gender expression and identity in February, but little progress has been made in the last year, Minieri said. GLC hopes to receive definitive answers from the administration in the coming year. “I think it’s important to acknowledge the hard work of all of our student organizations do when we can, even if that work is not always visible to the greater community,” Miceli said in an email. The group will also be working to add a gender non-conforming option to University document,. It also hopes to change the singlestall bathrooms in Gasson and Campion to gender neutral. Minieri thinks that the Ever to Excel Award is a step in a positive direction for GLC, and hopes that it will encourage other faculty or students to reach out to the group. He also hopes that the award will encourage leaders in the future to continue the work that their predecessors have already done. “I see that as an award for the work we have been doing in the past 10 years or since we have been created,” Minieri said. “Finally, we are being recognized by the institution saying ‘this is a great organization, we do support and love the things they are doing.’"

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

:A9: Jc\\gj Flk Xk F]ÔZ\ f] k_\ Gi\j`[\ek kf <e]fiZ\ >fXc f] <[lZXk`fe# ;`m\jkd\ek 9P :?I@J ILJJF 8jjk% E\nj <[`kfi Following environmental activist Bill McKibben’s talk on climate change Thursday night, Climate Justice at Boston College (CJBC) held a vigil and slept out in front of the office of University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. After McKibben’s talk ended, CJBC led a procession of about 15 people to Leahy’s office on College Road. The goal of the sleep-out was to educate the BC community about the implications of climate change, including the reality of climate refugees. Ultimately, the group hopes the University will divest from fossil fuels. Last year, CJBC was approved as a registered student organization, after several attempts since 2012. “We have had very little real interaction with the administration in a productive way,” Elisa Tedeschi, MCAS

’16, said. “We keep trying to raise the question of divestment … and they don’t want to consider it.” Last year, CJBC delivered a letter to Leahy, asking for BC to divest from fossil fuels. According to CJBC member Delia Ridge Creamer, MCAS ’16, the administration has not acknowledged the group since. The sleep-out, she said, serves to remind the administration that the group is still passionate about the cause. Members of CJBC set up a table on Stokes Lawn on Thursday afternoon to encourage students to join with the group in camping on Leahy’s lawn. They held signs that said “Ask me why I am sleeping on the president’s lawn.” The sleep-out began with a vigil honoring climate refugees across the world. Participants lit candles and stood in a circle, saying a prayer and singing songs. The group then opened up a discussion, in which people shared their

thoughts about McKibben’s talk and Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical Laudato Si. “Investing in fossil fuels—we have blood on our hands,” Joan Hwang, MCAS ’18, said. “We won’t stop fighting for it because it is what’s right.” The U.S. just saw its first climate refugees, an indigenous tribe in Louisiana, Hwang said. Due to sea-level rise, the tribe’s members have been displaced from their homes. “They don’t have a choice in the matter, but we do,” Hwang said. “Tonight we’ve brought our bodies in front of Father Leahy’s doorsteps in solidarity with those in the world who are suffering the consequences of climate change, which we’ve contributed to.” After the vigil ended, students began to pull out their sleeping bags to stay in front of Leahy’s house for the night. “I am proud of CJBC for being the voice for divestment on campus,” Hwang said.

THE HEIGHTS

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Monday, May 2, 2016

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It’s not a stretch to say that things didn’t necessarily go as planned during this past Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) presidential election cycle. “It was definitely the most hectic elections season I’ve had during my time here,” said Casey Doyle, incoming co-chair on the EC and CSOM ’17. Hectic might even be an understatement—the election pack seemed constantly in flux, jumping from four teams down to two, then down to one “satirical” team, and eventually back up to six, all over the course of a few weeks. Sweating it out at the center of this madness was the EC, a group that operates independently of UGBC to organize and execute undergraduate elections—most notably the presidential election. Consisting of 15 students and one graduate assistant, the EC’s agenda fills up quickly during the election each spring, featuring responsibilities ranging from managing debates, overseeing campaigning activities, and, of course, presiding over the voting process. After some discussion of all the responsibilities the EC takes on every year, it was pretty surprising to see about how little is truly known about it—particularly that it was an independent body from UGBC. A somewhat unostentatious

group , its members insisted that they get that all the time. “Yeah, nobody knows that,” said Rachel Mills, a current co-chair of the committee alongside Adam Rosenbloom, both MCAS ’16, visibly not shocked by my own surprise at hearing that the EC operates independently of UGBC. “It’s kind of important to have an organization outside of UGBC to run the UGBC elections, just to prevent any conflict of interest issues. So us being kind of the rule makers, we can’t be a part of UGBC.” “It’s not that we don’t like them or anything,” assured Tyler Waddell, an EC member and CSOM ’17. “We just feel it’s safer and makes for a more fair election.” The EC likes the UGBC so much, in fact, that its coordinating goes well beyond that of the centerpiece president/ EVP elections. The fall brings freshman elections, and in the spring, along with presidential elections, the annual caucus elections require a large amount of organization. For those unfamiliar, the caucus elections are set in place to designate a student representative for each category—from academic, to cultural, to social, and beyond—of student organization. Unlike the presidential elections, which are decided by a popular vote, the caucuses are a different kind of referendum. “We have these little town hall de-

bates where people who want to run for those positions will meet in a classroom, along with the presidents and vice presidents of those clubs [in each category],” explained Mills said of the caucus system. “The presidents and vice presidents then choose the candidate that they feel will best represent those interests in UGBC.” More than anything else, however, the primary function of the EC is to serve as a vehicle for fair elections and the processes that surround those elections. Not least among these is monitoring the residence hall campaigning which, done in excess, had been deemed a bit of a nuisance in the past. In other words, its around to make sure everyone plays fair. Which is exactly what made this last election so interesting. On the eve of the election this semester, the news broke to the EC that one of the teams had been widely soliciting votes using social media—a blatant transgression against the code all candidates had been informed of prior to campaigning began. When this news broke—or, fell on the lap of an EC member who was solicited—the Committee sprung into action. The team of Nikita Patel, CSOM ’17, and Joseph Arquillo, LSOE ’17, was docked 70 points for soliciting votes through Facebook messages—including to one of the members of the EC. “We met and determined it was falling in a certain tier, which is negative

votes,” explained Tyler Waddell, a committee member of the EC and CSOM ’17. The reason why the controversial negative rules are a thing? You can thank past candidates for that. “People campaigning would just break all of the rules on Friday at the very end, because the only things that we had to work with were taking away ResHall campaigning, confiscating T-shirts, taking down banners,” Mills said. “By the last day, it doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s definitely a last resort.” Fortunately, precedent saved the day on this occasion—built into the candidate campaigning code, a sanction pyramid was recently written that evaluates the basis for punishment based upon levels within the framework. The punishments themselves, however, are strictly matters of discretion—and for good reason. Evaluation of degree of sanction prevents a certain “gaming” of the sanction system by candidates. “Obviously we’re not trying to decide an election on taking away votes,” Waddell said. “But at the same time, you could think, ‘oh, if I send 1,000 Facebook messages and 200 of them actually vote for me, and the Elections Committee takes away 25 votes, that’s worth it.’ So, it has to be enough to make it kind of hurt.” The committee had flirted with the idea of assigning certain vote penalties to certain actions, but decided against it

in the interest of avoiding this potential for “calculated” cheating. “You’d have teams saying, ‘Oh, I think it’s worth 60 votes to do this or that,’” Mills explained. With this need for discretion in mind, the EC decided to take a poll of the committee as to how many votes should be detracted. From here, an average was taken, and the magnitude of the sanction was determined. All high-stress decisions aside, the EC undoubtedly handled past election cycle gracefully—an accomplishment that it attributes to the precedent of prior years. Between the 15 of them, their allocation of responsibilities, along with the thoroughness of their work, lends itself to a strong track record of success. This track record, however, also lends itself beyond University politics. The team prides itself on the food selection it has been known to provide. “Yeah, that’s my job,” Waddell said, taking credit for the exquisite roast beef sandwiches featured at this year’s UGBC kickoff event. Other keys to success? “We had good leadership this year,” Romano said with a glance in the direction of Rachel and Rosenbloom, eliciting a smile and blush from the graduating duo. “Thank you,” Mills responded—and rightfully so, after the longest and most confusing election period in recent history.

8 :fXjk$kf$:fXjk 9`b\ Aflie\p D\Xjli\[ `e Jkfi`\j# Efk D`c\j 9P ;A I<:EP =fi K_\ ?\`^_kj After graduation in May, Paul Sherban, MCAS ’16, doesn’t have stereotypical plans. He won’t immediately be getting a job, nor will he be attending grad school. Rather, he will be biking from Lancaster, Pa., to an undetermined destination on the West Coast. Along the course of this ride, Sherban will be interviewing and capturing the stories of Americans across the nation and publishing them in a brand new project of his own creation, operating under the name of Untold Stories. “Right now, [Untold Stories] doesn’t have a solid name or a solidified format, I just want to get out there and do it,” Sherban said. “But I know that I want to meet people that I’ve never met before, and more than that, I want to record their stories. I want to create this collection of voices, because all of it is so real and is truly American.” In other words, Sherban hopes to be a storyteller, an agent for connecting the long and diverse narrative of the American spirit. “I want to serve as a middleman between people and the world, I want people to tell me their stories,” Sherban said. “I want to capture the American

voice, because it is all a part of the human experience.” Sherban is looking for ward to encompassing a breadth of the human experience—all 4,000 miles of it. “I love talking to people,” he said. “And I’m really excited when I think about projects like this.” This trip began as an idea planted in a dinner conversation Sherban had with an old friend. Complaining that they didn’t want to get jobs after college, Sherban’s friend suggested that they run across the country to get away from it all and to experience the “real America.” Although the trip has been changed from running to biking (for physical and logistical purposes), and Sherban’s friend is no longer able to join him, Sherban is still eager to saddle up for the ride. “I think biking across the country is definitely the move,” Sherban said. “This whole project is about other people, so I think that by biking I can move quickly enough to progress, but not so fast that I miss out on things. Plus, I need to be alive if I want to talk to people at the end of the day, which I wouldn’t be if I [were] running.” Although Sherban is currently going at this project alone, he is actively

searching for a partner to follow him in his adventures. Unfortunately, his original partner is no longer able to make the time commitment to the trip, and Sherban has been forced to approach the trip as a solo venture. Though not necessarily enough to alter his plans to bike, Sherban certainly doesn’t underestimate the importance of a partner. “This makes me realize how much more planning I need to do,” he said. “This is the stuff that’s really important.” Logistical details aside, this trip is meant to create something uniquely human and distinctly American. Although he hopes to end in the vicinity of San Francisco, Sherban will be taking the trip one day at a time. After all, he is biking from September to March, and doesn’t want to lose sight of the overall goal of Untold Stories. “This trip is more about the people than the biking,” he said. “I’m not looking for anything specific, nor do I have any expectations. I just want to prompt people and see what they have to say in an indiscriminate way.” While Sherban’s collected and deliberate manner served him well, there was no hiding the hint of nervousness that he had throughout talking about the process.

The physical component obviously being essential to the success of Untold Stories, Sherban is justifiably anxious about the concept of pedaling across a vast country with no long-term plan and well over 4,000 miles to cover. Along with this worry, however, comes an incentive to succeed. “I’m definitely concerned,” he said.

“But I know that, hopefully, once I find another person to ride with me, I’ll stay motivated out there on the road to keep moving and to keep the project going.” As the old cross-country biking adage goes: “You’re going to wake up in one place and fall asleep in another, and it’s what you do in the miles between those two points that matters.”

AMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Sherban plans to bike across the country upon graduation, collecting stories along the way

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Mike Sacco suddenly goes from joking around to waving his hands and then quietly bowing his head, instantly getting the attention of the 15 or so students in front of him. I can tell that he has done this many, many times before. “I would like to start today’s class with the Examenito. It is based on the Examen, which as many of you know is an Ignatian spiritual practice used by men and women to reflect….” This little spiel is Sacco in a moment — slightly playful, very measured, an embodiment of Boston College’s Ignatian values, but with every word chosen to be entirely inclusive. Sacco speaks to make sure he is understood. This takes many different forms. He gestures big with his hands, he speaks in metaphors — about ducks and chefs and other things that seem like unusual choices for metaphors; he communicates in the lingo of his students, using words like “humble brag” and “BC Bro;” he calls students by the names their peers give them — it’s not unusual to hear him call someone by their last name in class; his students easily call him “Sacco;” he bolsters his statements with numbers, seamlessly weaving statistics into conversation, not just random, ra-ra BC stats, but data put to use in a very real way, qualified

by comparisons to peer institutions or national data. But every one of these methods is to make sure that the maximum number of people are understanding him. This is no different on a Tuesday afternoon in late March. Sacco sits in front of me in a picturesque office in Rahner House on College Road. Gasson is quite literally glowing in the late-afternoon sunlight through the window over his right shoulder. He’s behind a huge, dark, curved desk, but only because I need to have my phone plugged in so I can record him — I can tell he would prefer that we were just hanging out on one of the two couches in his office. Sacco and I met at the end of my freshman year. We didn’t even meet, really. I just became aware of who he was. He was giving a presentation to a leadership program I was in — a talk that was pretty impactful for me, though just an average day for him. “I like to joke that I have my clicker and I travel,” he said. Sacco is the director of the Center for Student Formation, an office at BC that, at its most basic level, is a center to give support to students in their academic, social, and spiritual growth, and to collaborate with other departments throughout the University to assist with designing and implementing new programming. For Sacco, this means his job takes

many forms. There’s the “travelling clicker” piece of his job, speaking at Parents Weekend and to new staff about how to supervise and deal with students, and guest speaking to various student groups. There’s also the less fun, behind-thescenes stuff like dealing with IT to make sure that its server is working and that we are designing databases for students to sign up for programs, keeping an eye on the budget, emailing, and going to meetings. And then, there is what he, arguably, is best known for — running or assisting at some of BC’s more popular programs, like Halftime and Freshmen League. He’s also my professor for a once-aweek Cross Currents seminar, Thinking About Gender. Freshmen League is a program designed for freshmen boys led by junior and senior “Captains.” It helps them get to know other guys outside of their floor, gives them something to do, and gives them access to upperclassmen mentors. It seems like a pretty simple formula, but when Sacco and his colleagues were starting it even they didn’t realize that they were tapping into something pretty significant. What started out as an engagement initiative quickly turned into helping students recalibrate their masculine construct within the BC community. This sounds very lofty and academic, but when Sacco explains it, it makes a

lot of sense. “B oston College students were highly successful in high school — all of them,” Sacco said. “Men, women, everybody. And they come to BC being very accomplished. This happens at most other colleges. Coming in as a first-year student you lose a lot of power, you lose a lot of influence, you’re not familiar with surroundings.” Pair this with a contemporary culture that doesn’t give men as much permission to seek help or express weakness as female students, and the result can be some pretty bad decision-making and suffering grades. “I think it helps our culture because BC students are organizational kids and so far as they are very good at reading the organization, figuring out what the rules are and, for better or for worse, often times they will conform to that set expectation,” he said. “And, at its best, Freshmen League resets the masculine rules at Boston College and it creates spaces for first-year men, and junior and senior captains, to express themselves in authentic, vulnerable ways that, at least in my research and experience, are not as prevalent on this campus.” Cameron Granger, CSOM ’16, is a two-year Freshmen League captain and is also using Sacco as his senior thesis adviser. Even though he knows Sacco in many capacities, he thinks he gets most excited when he tells people about Freshmen League especially when they

have not heard about it before. Sacco is not the only administrator who deserves credit for a program that now attracts hundreds of students, but he does have a unique relationship with it. He recently finished his dissertation to get his Ph.D., using Freshmen League as a case study—hence his ease with tossing in theory and statistics while he talks about the program. If I make this sound academic and critical, I’m not capturing Sacco. Talking to him about students and students about him, there is a two-way flow of gratitude. “My favorite thing about working with Mike is seeing his work ethic in everything he decides to do,” Granger said. “At first it can be a bit intimidating, but he has a way of inspiring everyone around him to push themselves to do something positive.” This attitude makes students invite him into their lives — former students often contact him to tell him about getting jobs, getting married, or having kids. After offhandedly telling me this incredibly touching fact, that, frankly he should consider ver y high flattery—what better measure is there of an educator who is reaching their students?—Sacco added one more sentence, much quieter than before: “It’s a real privilege, this work, to be invited into a person’s life.”

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 2, 2016

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After meeting for breakfast in Mac, my lab partner and I took an Uber to Fenway. Boston was just waking up to a gray Sunday morning, but we had already leaped out of the backseat and were walking determinedly toward Blick Art Materials. We strode into the store on a mission to buy materials for our final poster presentation in our introductory biology lab. You wouldn’t think the two laughing friends running around Blick’s were the same two nervous students who had dressed in blue lab coats and purple latex gloves on the first day of class. Everyone who’s taken a science lab at Boston College would agree that the extra hours working in lab and writing reports for an apathetic TA to give you an arbitrary grade in a one-credit course is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. But they’re getting too far ahead of themselves—everyone in lab knows that your entire experience in the course depends on who’s assigned to be your lab partner on the first day. Being lab partners with a total stranger definitely makes you more aware of being your brother’s keeper just to cover yourself. The lab experience is a gamble—your performance depends on how well you and your partner work together, so if he or she slacks or is too overbearing, both of your grades suffer. I guess the seeds that produce stereotypically neurotic and socially inept scientists are planted in these poor lab experiences. Memories of previous chemistry lab experiences floated on the outskirts of my mind as I walked into

KELSEY MCGEE / HEIGHTS EDITOR

bio lab for the first time. I desperately wanted to shrug off the past, to remind myself that this class was in a subject area I was interested in, to hold my head up high and give myself a fresh start. Because of the structure of the class, students worked in groups of three for the semester. I practically linked arms with my two friends as we walked into the lab room, only to have our small band forced apart and scattered in different directions. I was assigned to work with two people I’d never met before, but reminded myself I would just have to deal with the hand I was dealt. Our group of three worked fine for the first week, but when the third person in our group suddenly withdrew from the class, we were left as the only duo in bio lab. I cautiously

approached this new dynamic, always trying to do my fair share of the work and silently hoping my partner wouldn’t be too judging of me. While we had to do more work than the other groups, we learned to support each other with each experiment we performed, presentation we prepared, and report we wrote. It turned out that we shared common interests but were still able to learn something new from each other. For example, I learned some Russian vocabulary from my lab partner, and she learned just how bad organic chemistry was from me. With the blooming of the first buds of spring came the realization that bio lab was coming to a close. Students and TAs alike became more lighthearted, joking around

a little bit more and playing their Spotify playlists a little bit louder. When it came time to start working on our final poster presentation, we already knew that we would put as much effort as possible into this assignment, as we had for all the other ones. So the idea was to go to Blick’s, get everything we needed, and head back to campus. After running around like kids in a candy store and checking cardstock, glue sticks, and push pins off our shopping list, we stopped by a table display next to the cashiers. The shiny covers of coloring books drew us to the shelf, and with a knowing smile we threw two Lost Ocean coloring books and two boxes of colored pencils into our basket and continued to the register. We left Blick’s with three

plastic bags of art supplies and a celebratory gift to commemorate the end of our semester in lab. It wasn’t until I was back in my dorm that I was able to take a closer look at the coloring book. The full title was Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure & Coloring Book. I like to think the title is symbolic of the somewhat-masochistic journey that is lab. You’re assigned to a lab bench, paired with a partner and told to perform an experiment that no one knows the outcome of. It’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll get lost somewhere along the way and not have a clue about what you’re doing, but having a friend with you is always a comforting thought. And even if you don’t get the experimental results you expected, you can always walk away

with matching coloring books. You might think it’s sad that I make friends in my classes, but I honestly prefer meeting other people that way instead of at dimly lit parties that reek of sweat and alcohol. I was downright lucky that I had such a positive experience in bio lab, but it also goes to show that you can meet new people and make friendships in the most serendipitous of places. I like to think we ended up leaving Blick’s with more than just cardstock, glue, and coloring books—we left with a newfound friendship, too.

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THE HEIGHTS

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EDITORIALS

QUOTE OF THE DAY

>C:Ëj <m\i kf <oZ\c 8nXi[ J_flc[ C\X[ kf KXe^`Yc\ :_Xe^\ The 2016 Ever to Excel award was given to the GLBTQ Leadership Council for its contributions to the Boston College community. This annual award is given by the Office of Student Involvement and is meant to honor the most impactful groups on campus in areas such as service and education. GLC , which is par t of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC), is receiving this award for the work its done over this past year, such as the programming its implemented for many different students and the creation of an LGBTQ roundtable in the Dean of Student’s office. These new programs have shown many students how they can identify with GLC’s mission and get involved. In turn, this has expanded the influence of GLC and helped bring it to students’ attention. Giving this award to GLC is a big step for the administration and the student body. Since GLC’s official creation 12 years ago, the group has never received an award or acknowledgement such as this. The award demonstrates not only that GLC has accomplished a number of good things this year, but also that the administration has openly recognized its work and lended it approval. After many years of working, GLC has now received an official commendation that should bring about further cooperation. This recognition should also translate into increased support from faculty while giving GLC more exposure. Hopefully, this bodes well for the initiatives GLC is planning for next year. While the Ever to Excel award is a great acknowledgement of past success, the best way to support GLC is to help it work toward its future goals. Some past efforts at advocacy for LGBTQ issues

have not achieved the success previously mentioned. Last year’s attempt to encourage the creation of an LGBTQ resource center was never fulfilled. Now that the administration has officially recognized the group, it should begin working to find middle ground with GLC on some of the issues that have been contentious. This award sends the message that the administration should work to produce the tangible success and goals that GLC has set out. Communication between the group and the administration is of paramount importance to achieving any of these goals. One of the biggest goals for next year is the inclusion of gender identity in the non-dis-

K_\ f]Ô Z`Xc i\Zf^e`k`fe k_Xk k_`j XnXi[ Yi`e^j `j `dgfikXek# Ylk n_Xk i\Xccp dXkk\ij `j XZZfdgc`j_`e^ ]lkli\ ^fXcj# jlZ_ Xj \ogXe[`e^ k_\ efe$ [`jZi`d`eXk`fe ZcXlj\% crimination clause. The clause has already been expanded to include sexual orientation, but does not include anything about gender identity. This is something that GLC has been advocating on behalf of for the past year and hopes will be accomplished soon. There have not been many definitive answers from the administration regarding this issue and GLC hopes for more information from the administration. This award should hopefully lead to further cooperation between the two groups, and more progress can be made. The official recognition that this award brings is important, but what really matters is accomplishing these future goals.

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Bike BC, a bike-sharing program, has just introduced its pilot program. The program will allow students to borrow bikes from the Comm. Ave. garage for free and keep them for three days. The purpose of this is to promote an eco-friendly method of transportation while also providing a cost-free service to students. Students will have to receive bike safety training and sign a liability waiver before being able to use the service. Once this training occurs, students will be free to use the bike as they wish for three days. As the program goes through its pilot program, steps should be taken to ensure that it is implemented in the best way possible and that students are both encouraged and incentivized to participate. Although it remains to be seen whether this new program will be a success, it still provides a useful example of how student groups should find avenues of cooperation with administrative groups. Bike BC is a student organization that has partnered with O’Neill Library to provide these bikes for the students. By partnering with an established part of Boston College like the library, the group receives support that it otherwise wouldn’t. This means that its efforts have a better chance of finding success. Attempts that might have never gotten off of the ground are given legitimacy through these sorts of partnerships. Increasing sustainability and eco-friendliness on campus has been a contentious issue in recent years, and there has not been much success on the part of environmental activists at BC. Calls for divestment and other sustainability initiatives have received little official response. While the recent announcement

The views expressed in the above editorials represent the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by the Editorial Board. A list of the mem-

“In explaining any puzzling Washington phenomenon, always choose stupidity over conspiracy, incompetence over cunning. Anything else gives them too much credit.” -Charles Krauthammer

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Tough Truths and the BC History Core: A Response to “Students’ Petition Calls for Changes in the Core” College students should feel righteous indignation, and they should hold their institutions accountable for addressing the systemic inequalities and injustices that those institutions’ own mission statements profess to abhor. Students should speak up and speak out; they should demonstrate; and they should circulate petitions. These truths are dear to me. Accordingly, I read with interest the article in yesterday’s Heights by Shannon Longworth and a similar piece by Pei-Ling Lee in the BC Gavel on April 24 recounting how students in Meghan Sweeney’s class, The Challenge of Justice, examined BC’s Core curriculum and the history department’s contributions to it and issued the charge of Eurocentrism. There is truth in that accusation: Legacies of European actions and perspectives are legion in our classrooms and in the wider world. Yet these articles seem unaware of some realities on our campus that are also worth pondering. A number of departments have taken significant steps over the past decade to rectify the pedagogical injustice about which the students legitimately complain. I cannot speak for others, but I would like to clarify two things about the history Core program and invite readers—students, faculty, and administrators—to engage with our department as we continue long-term processes of self-redefinition. Point of Clarification #1: The Eurocentric rhetoric to which Professor Sweeney’s students objected came from a 1991 statement that remains part of the University’s literature but which the history department long ago abandoned. In 2007, we crafted a new Core mission statement, which has appeared on the history Core website ever since. I was puzzled that the students did not consult our site. For the record, here are

a few passages from our current statement: “History Core courses examine the complex historical processes that lie behind modernday transnational relationships, values, and ideas “ and “all history Core courses trace the political, social, economic, and cultural changes that created the modern world. As part of the Core Curriculum, these courses seek to broaden students’ intellectual horizons by exposing them to new places, periods, and perspectives.” Point of Clarification #2: We are thrilled to have “African Diaspora in the World I and II” as a Core option next year, but history faculty have also spent a decade globalizing the frameworks and content of their preexisting Core courses, and building new ones. Here are some recent history Core sequences: Asia and the World I and II Atlantic Worlds I and II Globalization I and II Latin America and the World I and II Our faculty also teach Complex Problems and Enduring Questions Core Renewal Pilots that put questions of race, gender, social justice, and global interactions center stage. Is there truth to the charge of lingering Eurocentrism in the Core curriculum? Absolutely. But while we continue to address that problem, we should bear in mind that students and faculty have pushed—for years—against that old paradigm. Students concerned about injustice have battles to fight, but they also have allies, perhaps more than they realize. So, let’s talk.

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of Ernest Moniz, U.S. Energy Secretary and strong proponent of environmental sustainability, as Commencement speaker seems to indicate a possible trend toward increased eco-friendly efforts, there has still been little action taken. Facing this, student groups have to work to find other methods of approaching the issue. There are a number of groups interested in promoting this cause. It is necessary that they focus their energy and find

9p ]`e[`e^ fe\ j`dgc\ nXp kf gifdfk\ jljkX`eXY`c`kp# 9`b\ 9: nXj XYc\ kf XZ_`\m\ X[d`e`jkiXk`m\ gXike\ij_`g Xe[ Zi\Xk\ k_`j Y`b\$j_Xi`e^ gif^iXd% Fk_\i jkl[\ek ^iflgj j_flc[ Xcjf [f k_`j% the best possible way to achieve something. Areas where groups can join together and cooperate with administrative support is the first step toward accomplishing some sort of tangible change. While Bike BC remains a relatively small initiative, it still exemplifies the way these efforts should be undertaken. By finding one simple way to promote sustainability, Bike BC was able to achieve administrative partnership and create this bike-sharing program. Other student groups should determine how they can also do this. By focusing on one program, groups can encourage support and find other ways to push BC toward a more ecofriendly campus.

bers of the Editorial Board can be found at bcheights. com/opinions.

HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College <jkXYc`j_\[ (0(0 :8IFCPE =I<<D8E# <[`kfi$`e$:_`\] Q8:? N@CE<I# >\e\iXc DXeX^\i D8>;8C<E JLCC@M8E# DXeX^`e^ <[`kfi

Monday, May 2, 2016

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 2, 2016

A7

Dfm`e^ GXjk k_\ Gi\al[`Z\ `e Fli :`kp 8 I\glYc`ZXe ]fi :c`ekfe D8KK?<N 9<;L>E@J THE LAST WEEK - I don’t know about you folks, but the thumb-meister has decided to forget about walking and will instead ride to his final week of classes on his horse Nuggets. Mustering for the final battle, I will trot my trusty steed back and forth in front of Gasson, declaring my victory over classes before riding blindly into the warped battlefield of finals. STAPLING A PAPER - When we swipe that card, hear that little electronic beep, and click on that line of text, a shiver runs down our spine. Page after page of warm paper is tranmorphalatized inside that giant grey box. We hold it in our hands, beholding the work we have created, the pile of utter nonsense and badly researched bologna sausage that some people might call a final paper. Pushing down on the stapler, we listen for that telltale click and then pull the pile of tree pulp free and see the small piece of metal in the corner. “It is done,” we whisper quietly, before falling to our knees. Clutching the paper to our chest, we grab the ankle of a passerby and look up at them, our eyes swimming with tears. Then we get kicked out of the library. LOOKING BACK TO WHEN THIS STARTED - As the end rapidly approaches, it’s worthwhile to take a couple of moments (roughly 285 words) to consider where you were before entering into the wild and wacky world of Boston College.

This past Marathon Monday I found myself sitting in a Stop & Shop parking lot listening to the last inning of the Red Sox game on the car radio. It wasn’t long after I pulled in that a young man approached on the driver’s side and drew my attention through the open window. “Hey man, sorry to bother you. My hunk of junk car over there ran out of gas. Could you spare anything?” I glanced over his shoulder at the beatenup Pontiac and pulled out my wallet. My mother always taught me that if you’re in a position to help someone, you do it. As I was asking him how much he thought it would take to fill the tank he said something that shocked me. “I know what you must be thinking, black kid coming up to your window like this….” It was then that I realized this encounter was going to cost more than a tank of gas, and I would be paying in innocence and naivety. I shook my head and downplayed his comment, telling him not to worry about it. But in the quiet of my heart I was wondering all sorts of things. I don’t think I look like a racist. And yet, something had made this kid feel like he had to qualify the color of his skin in order to ask for help from a member of his own community. My hometown of Weymouth doesn’t have a significant African-American population, just a few percent overall. So though I have hardly felt the tension up here, it comes as no surprise that race relations have been deteriorating in our country for the past few years. News story after news story of discrimination or violence elsewhere in the country might as well have been across the world. I certainly worried about it, but it didn’t seem real to someone who had grown up in a racially progressive region. Boston has patches of ugliness in its history, of course, like the busing crisis of the 1970s. But overall, the Northeast has always trended toward equality, from the 54th Massa-

chusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first African-American units in the Civil War, to Martin Luther King, Jr., earning his doctorate on our very own Commonwealth Avenue just down the way at Boston University. I naively didn’t think it was a problem up here, let alone in my own backyard. My mother was a little girl growing up in Boston during the busing crisis. And yet, some 20 years later, she brought me into the first generation seemingly destined to inherit a post-racist culture and desegregated society. Growing up, our generation’s idols weren’t chosen on the basis of skin color but by the conduct of their character and their ability to inspire or entertain us. We watched Full House and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, cheered for David Ortiz and Tom Brady. But somewhere along the line we got lost. Life has gotten harder in many ways and maybe this uptick in racism is just manifest scapegoating. More and more we seem to

N_\e n\ Xccfn fli ]\Xij Xe[ gi\al[`Z\j kf `ejlcXk\ fi [`m`[\ lj# n\ cfj\ jfd\ Zi`k`ZXc gXik f] n_Xk dXb\j lj _ldXe% be privileging ourselves and disdaining our neighbors. It seems some of the only moments during which we come together as a community are moments of tragedy. When we think back to the days after the Boston Marathon bombing, we each feel something a little different. We remember where we were and how we were affected. But we also remember shared experiences. We remember laying sneakers or flowers at the Copley Square memorial. And we remember the words of survivors, politicians, and people from all over the world mourning with us together. Perhaps one of the best-remembered phrases in the wake of the Marathon came from a man born on an island nation over 1,600 miles away. Ortiz stood on the field at the first home game since the attack surrounded by dignitaries and guests and said simply, “This is our f-cking city, and

no one is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.” I would bet my life there wasn’t a single person in that ballpark thinking “if only Big Papi were white.” Tragedy strips away the superficialities of our culture and calls us to acknowledge the sentiments of our souls. When Ortiz made that declaration it wasn’t about being white or black, or even about where you were born. It was about community. His statement reminds us that being American is a spirit and an endeavor. With the six letters of our city scrawled across his chest, Ortiz reminded us that Boston doesn’t belong to just anyone, it belongs to everyone. Not mine, not yours. Ours. And I didn’t realize it then, but maybe the city and her suburbs are struggling with racism just as much as anywhere else in the country. We spend so much time in the modern era worrying about external forces and threats like terrorism attempting to dictate our freedom that we often don’t realize the threat we pose to each other’s freedom. Some person or persons, event or accumulation of events over time made the man I met think he wasn’t free to be black or free to need help. Those freedoms and ones like them are integral to the long-term survival and prosperity of a community. Boston and her greater area cannot thrive if we allow ourselves to focus more on what makes us different than that which makes us similar. When he came up to my window, what I saw was a kid with a beat-up car who needed help, as I had been enough times in my life. I was fortunate enough to have a big brother to call, but maybe he didn’t. Maybe the only people he had to lean on were those around him, and he shouldn’t have had to qualify who he was in order to ask for help. When we allow our fears and prejudices to insulate or divide us, we lose some critical part of what makes us human. That, in turn, robs us of the opportunity to truly be a community. Boston is our city and we cannot allow anyone to take it from us, especially each other.

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K_\ I`^_k kf ;`\ N`k_ ;`^e`kp ACCIDENTALLY BITING OFF A SIZEABLE CHUNK OF NAIL - We hate to get too bodily-harm-focused here, but sometimes there are issues that the people really care about, and that’s what these thumbs are all about. You’re just sitting there, nervously chomping down on the old fingernails, when the old maxillary lateral incisor slices through a little bit more than expected. You move your hand but the nail is somehow stuck to your tooth and you pull even more at the nail. Casually attempting to hide your now-bleeding fingertip, you wipe it on your jeans and leave a sizeable red streak. You’ve made a terrible mistake. Your nervousness has led to behavior that should make you nervous which makes you even more nervous which contributes even further to this nervous-making nervous behavior. It’s all one giant circle. It’s all one big joke and you’re the punchline. It’s all … one … … … … … thumb. Gasp. You look down at your bleeding digit and realize that it’s your thumb you’ve been biting this whole time. The blood pooling around your nail begins to coagulate rapidly and then disappears into thin air. Your nail heals immediately. There’s something special about your thumbs. Something magical. You hold your hand in the air, fingers splayed. Closing your eyes, you focus on the world around you, feeling its ups and its downs with the tentacles of your mind. After a few seconds a wry smile crosses your lips. With one sharp movement you form a fist with your thumb jutting outward. Slowly you turn your hand until your thumb points to the ground. “Thumbs Down,” you whisper, realizing your untold power. Thunder cracks overhead. A hero has been born this day … or maybe a villain. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

D8;<C@E< ?8P My great-grandfather lay in bed wracked with pain during his final days battling prostate cancer. The disease had spread to various organs and he didn’t have much time left. He stopped eating and drinking to speed up the process because he didn’t want to suffer anymore. His nurses had him hooked up to a morphine drip and told him if he had enough morphine, his body would shut down. His wife, my great-grandmother, would bring him a glass of water with dinner every night. After she left the room, he would ask one of his children to empty the water cup and throw away the food for him. One Sunday night, my great-grandfather asked his daughter, my grandmother, to sit with him while he pressed the button on his IV drip to give himself a large dose of morphine. He said he was in serious pain and wanted it to stop. His body filled with the painkiller until his breath became very slow and shallow. His breathing stopped altogether by Monday morning. My grandmother told me this story over lunch a few weeks ago when I asked about her views on assisted-suicide practices. She said she doesn’t know how she would label what happened with her father, but felt it was the right thing to do in his case. He was a terminally ill patient, mentally competent at the time of his death, and wanted the pain to end. I completely agree with her stance. I brought up this conversation topic after sitting through Death and Dying, a sociology course taught by John B. Williamson, this semester. Oregon was the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide in 1994, and I’m surprised it hasn’t become legal

nationwide. Washington, Vermont, and Montana followed Oregon’s lead. California felt pressure to legalize physician-assisted suicide after the case of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old woman diagnosed with terminal brain cancer who wanted to take her own life. As a resident of California, she couldn’t request physician-assisted suicide, so she and her husband established residency in Oregon, where the process is legal. She obtained a prescription for lethal pills from a doctor, and her death created a big push for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in her home state. She should’ve been able to die in the peace of her own California home with her husband by her side. A lot of controversy surrounds the physician-assisted suicide debate, but there’s a key difference between assisted suicide and euthanasia. Assisted suicide involves providing the tools necessary for someone to kill him or herself or providing the person with the instructions to do so. Active euthanasia is the act of killing someone, and passive euthanasia is the act of letting someone die before he or she naturally should have. Assisted suicide requires the patient to actively participate in his or her own death. In the case of terminally ill patients, physician-assisted suicide would mean the patient must press the button to let the morphine flow or take lethal pills without the help of anyone else, although a doctor has to provide the patient the lethal drugs. Physician-assisted suicide ought to be legal because it is a human right to be in charge of one’s own body and make personal decisions about one’s own physical health. During the 2012 general election, Massachusetts put a “Death with Dignity Act” up for vote on the state ballot. The passage of the Death with Dignity Act would have allowed mentally healthy, terminally ill patients to decide to end their own lives. Some patients are in an excruciating amount of pain,

do not have the finances to pay for all of their medical bills, and know they are going to die soon and want to do it on their own terms. This initiative became known as Question 2, and I think it should’ve become state law, even a national one. The Death with Dignity Act garnered a lot of support but lost, 51 percent to 49 percent. I believe that despite this loss, laws similar to the Death with Dignity Act will continue to be passed in states around the country, but I think this issue needs to be taken up with the United States Supreme Court after the upcoming November election. When these types of issues are left to the states, it becomes a constant battle between supporters and people who oppose the issue. Legalization of gay marriage, an issue previously left to the states, made it to the national level this past year, and I hope this issue will triumph similarly in the coming year. Legalizing physician-assisted suicide in the United States would decrease death tourism in countries like the Netherlands, where physician-assisted suicide is legal. It would also minimize painful, botched suicide attempts, and give terminally ill patients one last piece of control. The legalization would also make it fair and accessible for terminally ill Americans who do not have the financial means to pack up and move to a state where the practice is legal. Maynard’s case was rare, and many patients do not have the funds or ability to move to find a doctor willing to help them to end their lives of sickness. I’m not arguing that all terminally ill patients should commit suicide, but I think they have a right to do so if they choose. I would want the right to choose when and how to die if I became terminally ill, and I think others, like my great-grandfather, should be provided with that right.

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E@:?FC8J ?@JJFE> The majority of Republican primary voters have spoken, and Donald Trump is their choice for presidential candidate. Barring a series of unlikely and, frankly, undemocratic steps taken by the Republican National Committee, he is headed irreversibly toward the nomination. However much of a victory this is for the disenchanted masses who voted for him, it puts millions of centrist Republicans in a difficult position. Trump has drawn the party far in the direction of dangerous intolerance on issues of immigration and religious liberty, far in the direction of conflict and chaos on issues of foreign policy, and far in the direction of crippling protectionism on issues of economic regulation. The reasonable Republican has been left stranded and candidate-less. But it’s time now to move past these wild primaries and consider the national election. Here there is a glimmer of hope. Finally, for the first time in this entire process, the choice is clear for the center-right voter. There is only one thing standing between Trump and the presidency, and that is Hillary Clinton. Many conservatives will balk at the concept of crossing party lines in a national election. We have our economic principles, our practical views on tax reform and government spending, and our allegiance to a free market, all of which we embrace with America’s long-term financial stability and competitiveness in mind, and we will never willingly throw them to the wayside while voting. The good news is that, in 2016, we may not have to. Though Bernie Sanders and a year of hard-fought primaries and debates have dragged her to the left, Clinton is, by nature, a centrist. Historically, Clinton has leaned toward more conservative macroeconomic and right-wing foreign policy agendas. It is only over the course of the last two years—also known as her most recent bid for the Democratic nomination—that she has started seriously preaching to the voters of the left, arguing for minimum wage increases and top-bracket tax spikes. And she has always been behind a more clear-cut, authoritative foreign policy, a high level of military spending, and a tough-on-terror approach, even while serving under Presdent Barack Obama as Secretary of State and being hampered by his administration’s international placidity. By these metrics, coupled with Clinton’s general business friendliness and understanding of international economic affairs, one could say the leading contender for the Democratic nomination is actually a moderate Republican, at least in the realm of fiscal and foreign policy—Clinton is a sheep dressed in wolf’s clothing. And even if these predictions of her economic friendliness, based on her pre-Sanders platform and her history, turn out to be nothing more than wishful thinking, there is the matter of international safety and stability to consider. At some point, though this should not be the case, voters may have to sacrifice allegiances to a certain type of domestic agenda in order to elect a president who is qualified to represent America on the global stage. The greatest danger facing this country is a not another financial collapse, but a collapse in American prestige on a global level, and the military conflicts that might erupt from heavy-handed, Trump-style diplomacy: full-scale ground war in the Middle East and the escalation of territorial tensions with China. The international community is watching this election with a combination of disbelief and concern. At some point, conservative voters have to understand that the current relative stability of the global system is at stake in this election. Basic diplomatic relationships and alliances that we take for granted might not survive a Trump presidency—conflicts that we can’t even conceive of now might be born. Clinton, on the other hand, is an internationally respected figure who knows how to navigate the American political scene and the international system. America under Clinton might not flourish economically the way it would under a true, avowed fiscal conservative, but it would certainly be safe. And as unfortunate as this choice is, conservative voters should consider crossing the aisle in November. Perhaps we won’t see economic recovery at the pace we desire, but we also won’t see the collapse of the modern world order. That’s a tradeoff some of us will be willing to make.

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THE HEIGHTS

A8

Monday, May 2, 2016

ÈK_\ ^\efZ`[\ nXj fe\ Y`^ gX^\% 9lk k_\i\ Xi\ dXep fk_\i gX^\j @ Xd ni`k`e^%É JAMES LUCEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Uwineza, from A1 ing day. He and his family left for Byimana. During the travel to the district office, his mother was seriously beaten and eventually killed by the militia. ife seemed disposable. The mayor, fearing the militias would follow through with threats to bomb the place, called for transportation to take everyone to a cathedral. This may be the reason that Uwineza is still alive. At the cathedral, they were asked to show their identity cards, which displays one’s ethnic affiliation. “If you showed your identity card during the genocide, basically you were selling yourself out,” he said. While the priest in Byimana kicked his family out of the first church where they sought refuge, the priest in this cathedral pleaded and paid for the Tutsi refugees’ safety. This priest risked his own life and saved Uwineza and his siblings. The compound of the cathedral, Uwineza sighed, was unimaginably crowded, unsanitary, and bleak. “Life was unbearable,” he repeated.

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He and his siblings endured this unbearable life for almost a month and a half, until June 2, 1994, when the rebels of Kagame came to rescue the surviving Tutsi. The rebels of Kagame were commanded by Paul Kagame, the sixth and current president of Rwanda, and ended the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi. While Uwineza was freed from the killers, he was “internally at war.” He called it the War of Hatred, this time when he hated the Church. Now, he said, he wants to help the Church in Rwanda, and the best way to do this is to work within the structure. After Uwineza and his siblings were rescued, his siblings were brutally murdered by a man in his village. They were thrown into a latrine. Though Uwineza had physically survived the tragedy that struck his country, he was left with hatred. He attended a Catholic school, Christ the King College, afterward. There, he met priests—wonderful, wounded, and some even contemplating if they should remain priests—for they had endured the unbear-

able as well, many losing their loved ones in the process. But there, he met an old priest who welcomed everyone, regardless of ethnicity. Uwineza’s family lived across from the Jesuit community, so whenever he went home for Holy days, he would go to the Jesuit center. The men there, he said, were impressive, despite their own brokenness. He began to feel like he could be one of them. “Their message of reconciliation, of trying to mend wounded people of all sorts, was central,” he said. fter Uwineza finished college, he joined the Jesuits. And afterward, during Holy days, something that shaped his understanding of forgiveness and God’s grace happened: He came face to face with the man who had murdered his siblings. “When I first saw him, I thought this man was coming to kill me … but he came towards me, knelt, I wasn’t sure what he was planning, looked at me in the eyes, was confused, then he added words and said, ‘Marcel, can you forgive me?’” he said. “I stood there for quite some time, not

A

knowing what to say. I found myself asking him to stand. And we embraced one another, and we shed tears. And all of the sudden I felt as if chains broke from my legs … . So that moment liberated me and probably liberated both of us,” he said. Uwineza then began a new chapter of his life, embracing religion and forgiveness, propelled by his desire to help the Church in Rwanda. The Church has instigated ways for the community to come together and communicate the tragedies that they have experienced, and has also helped orphans from the genocide and has built houses for the widows and the widowers of the genocide. Uwineza believes, however, that the Church must issue an official apology for the Rwandan genocide. “The honest responsibility of the Church [is] to say ‘We probably failed in the evangelization process and we ask for mercy,’” he said. e worked with prisoners who were suspected in participating in the genocide, and listened to their stories. He walked with killers he had hidden from, listened

H

to their “woundedness” and confessions as a priest. He had also begun working with women who had been raped during the genocide. Many of these women had contracted HIV and AIDS. Through working with them within the Jesuit AIDS center and giving them counseling, they were able to give them access to medical professionals who could give them treatment. Now, Uwineza is busy with his studies, having published more than 10 articles, and visiting different states in his free time. He has been to Illinois, California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, and even Iowa. His goal is to help the Society of Jesus and the Church, wherever they send him, but specifically the Church in Rwanda, or, as he calls it, “The wounded Church of Rwanda.” Uwineza has also found passion in the education of young and impoverished girls in Africa, operating under the maxim that, “if you educate a girl, you educate a whole village.” “The genocide was one big page,” Uwineza said. “But there are many other pages I am writing.”

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To: Incoming Freshmen You’ll be like a week in and already know like 47 people, give or take. This group will consist of: the 20 people on your floor, the 12 kids from your orientation, the five kids from your town, your state (if you’re from Idaho), or your country (if you’re from Colombia), and a grabbag of kids who did laundry with you the first time or have your same birthday. Here’s my humble advice. I think that as a collective, you guys should make a vow to never awkwardly stop saying hello (before or after you’ve met). I predict it will only enhance overall positive vibes. Also—without spreading yourself too thin—try to meet people outside of the circles you move in. Some of the greatest people I’ve met at Boston College were a product of me nervously tugging on the straps of my backpack and asking someone on a coffee date. They don’t have to fit your group aesthetic, they’re people you go out of your way to get to know because they are so interesting. Trust me, it works out. To: Whoever is buying spring at BC Dude let things die. I too, understand the satisfying ease of instant gratification. Let’s admit, however, it’s eerily dystopic. As soon as a plant starts to die you guys replace it. Where do they go? I keep picturing a cemetery of toasty, dejected trees. I’m gonna go ahead and read into this. I think it is healthy to acknowledge the natural processes of growth and decay in life. To: Professor Chopra One of the afternoons when I had my TA hours in 013, you mentioned a not-so-good film written by Matthew Weiner after he’d finished Mad Men. You said something along the lines of “not everything you make is going to be perfect, but you gotta make some bad stuff if you wanna be great.” It was like a tailored version of Ira Glass’

famous taste gap quote. That honest investment in my work coupled with your knack for humane storytelling in film has shaped my entire approach to filmmaking. Also, I think that five classes with you counts as a minor in “Chopra.” Thank you. To: Professor Wells First of all, thank you for giving me the idea for this column. Secondly, I admire your ability to oscillate gracefully from lofty ivory towers to the run-of-the-mill and mundane. I’ll explain. You’re the person I would go to if I had a question about Foucault, but I’d probably also go to you to ask what a “mortgage” means and “do I need one?” You mostly lead by example, and that’s very rare. Thank you so much. Now that I’m staying in the area, don’t be surprised if I show up at your office hours. To: Professor Ingram, a.k.a. Brett George Saunders says that when you read a good short story you come out “6 percent more awake to the world.” You do that when you teach. To: Entry doors in O’Neill Thx for providing me with the only upper body workout of my four years. To: People who hold the door open for you when you’re approx. 20 ft. away I appreciate the gesture, but please let go. To: Devlin 013 You have been my second home. To: Infinite Jest Reading you the last semester of my senior year was torturous at times but mostly incredible. I encourage anyone with a couple hundred hours to spare to read this book, especially while you’re here. We all need to be a little more like Mario. To: Student Programs Association Here are some of the clubs I failed to start. After School Club: We tend to dichotomize work and play at this school. I wish there was more bleeding of the academic into the social. We

should open spaces where people can chill and be friends and also talk about some deep stuff, nah? Midnight Rollerblading Club: I’d say this one is self-explanatory. However, it does have a twist. I believe the club would benefit from being selective and self-entitled. There will be backlash, and they must stay strong. BCollective: Erin Grunbeck and I started this club last year with the hopes of getting filmmakers and writers together at BC to produce outside of class. Please someone else take this on! We had so many people show interest but we lacked that CSOM-y drive. To: Walsh I love you in all your grit. Do you sublet to alumni? To: Friends Thnx for the mems <3 I’ll not text ya in public. Ly. To: Lower You open? To: All of y’all men and women for otherz It would be a copout to say I imagine you as a sea of salmon [shorts] and sunglass bands (What are those? And why is it that only preppy white boys can pull them off?). I think that’s just a lie we tell ourselves so we can share a common enemy. Jokes aside, the idea of masses of people engaging in the same activities is scary. Sometimes heritage and tradition are there for a justifiable reason, but a lot of times that reason doesn’t hold up anymore. When I avoided putting my idea of BC against my lived experience, I was much happier. I love this school for its majesty, for the people I met, the classes I took, and even for the ways it made me hate it. I’ll stop before I get choked up and drip more cheese on this. Thank you!

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JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

9P :?I@J ILJJF 8jjk% E\nj <[`kfi In the fall of 2016, Boston College will introduce an on-campus bike share. Bike BC, the student organization for the bicycling community on campus, held a barbecue on Sunday in The Mods to introduce the pilot program. The event featured a free bike repair clinic and safety session from Galen Mook, who does marketing and advocacy for Landry’s Bicycles. It also celebrated the end of the club’s second year at BC. Students who want to rent a bike will first have to attend a bicycle safety session. Bike BC is partnering with O’Neill Library, which will keep the keys for the bikes. Students will receive a key from the Library and will be able to unlock a bike from the rack in the Comm. Ave. Garage. Each bike will be equipped with a lock, a helmet, and safety lights. The group hopes to have all 10 bikes available for rent in the fall. The club received the funds for the bikes from Student

Organization Funding Committee, and the bikes were purchased at a discount from a local bike shop. Bike BC holds three group rides each semester along the Charles River Esplanade and the Arnold Arboretum. The group also holds safety clinics and maintenance sessions for bikers. The main purpose of the event was to promote the group’s bike-share pilot program to students who are interested in bicycle rentals. The pilot program will run through May 17. “The idea is to eventually provide every student with the opportunity for free,” Ryan Saunders, co-president of Bike BC and CSOM ’16, said. The event was also created to show the administration the amount of student interest in the program, Saunders said. “We are trying to prove people are interested in biking around campus,” Saunders said. “They don’t have the knowledge or means to do so. We want to show the administration that people are interested in biking.”

SPORTS

B1

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016 FOOTBALL

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With the final pick on the second night of the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected safety Justin Simmons, the first former Boston College player to be taken in the first three rounds since the Carolina Panthers picked Luke Kuechly ninth overall in 2012. Simmons was a four-year player and twoyear starter for the Eagles, playing mostly free safety but also seeing some time at cornerback

his junior year. He led one of the best defenses in the country this past fall, tallying 67 tackles and five interceptions, two of which came in a career day against Notre Dame. In his tweet announcing the pick, Broncos general manager John Elway cited him as being a “big rangy safety … with great cover skills.” Listed around 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, there has been some concern that Simmons is a bit too lanky, but his overall athleticism should allow him to make an impact at the professional level. He performed well at the NFL combine and BC’s Pro Day a couple months back, running a 4.61 at the former and a 4.53 at the latter. His ability to be a leader on the field and make big plays also seemed to contribute to his appeal. After losing safety David Brutton, Jr. to the

Washington Redskins in free agency this offseason, Simmons joins a roster that may have a place for him in the next couple years. Darian Stewart will likely get the start at free safety this fall for the team with the best defense in the NFL in 2015, both in terms of total yards and passing yards surrendered per game. He was the seventh safety selected overall in this year’s draft, and just the third free safety. One day after Simmons was drafted, three more members of the nation’s No. 1 defense joined the safety in the NFL. Linebacker Steven Daniels was selected in the seventh round by the Washington Redskins with the 232nd overall pick, while defensive tackle Connor Wujciak and defensive end Mehdi Abdesmad were signed as undrafted free agents by the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans, respectively.

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Daniels, a three-year starter for head coach Steve Addazio’s squad, earned All-ACC First Team recognition after leading the Eagles with 82 tackles, including 16 for a loss. One of his most impressive performances of the 2015 campaign came against then-No. 5 Clemson in October, when the senior tallied nine tackles, a sack, and an interception return of 18 yards. The Redskins were not expecting Daniels, one of their top-30 invites, to remain on the board in the seventh round, so general manager Scot McLoughan jumped at the opportunity to snag the hard-hitting linebacker. Wujciak caught the eyes of scouts with his strength and tackling ability last year, registering 12 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks on his way to All-ACC honors. Questions surrounded his ability to rush the passer against NFL offensive linemen, but his reputation as a consistent

tackler was hard for teams to overlook. He will be joining new head coach Doug Pederson in Philadelphia, where the Eagles are coming off of a 7-9 season that led to Chip Kelly’s firing. The team did not select any other defensive tackles in this year’s draft, but signed DT Destiny Vaeao from Washington State as an undrafted free agent. The Titans signed Mehdi Abdesmad following a senior campaign in which the defensive end recorded 15 tackles and five sacks for Don Brown’s defense. The 6-foot-7 lineman suffered season-ending injuries in 2013 and 2014 but stayed healthy in his final year to garner an All-ACC Honorable Mention. He will face a position battle at the bottom of the depth chart in Tennessee with fellow undrafted signee and defensive end Terrell Lathan from TCU.

BASEBALL

D@:?8<C JLCC@M8E Like many of you who cheer for Boston College and read my weekly rants, Roger Goodell makes me vomit. Not for Deflategate or his inability to accept the dangers of concussions, mind you. But for his disgusting comments with regard to the events that went down during the first round of the NFL Draft. Specifically, I’m talking about the legendary freefall of Laremy Tunsil. The offensive lineman from Ole Miss was projected to go as high as the No. 1 overall pick—that is, until the Los Angeles Rams traded up for a quarterback that isn’t worthy of trading away the future for. Tunsil’s talent is undeniable, and many believe he could be one of the NFL’s best linemen in a few short years. Yet his judgment have been a little more … let’s go with spotty. His junior year was marred by accusations from his stepfather, Lindsey Miller, who claimed Tunsil received improper benefits from agents. As a result, head coach Hugh Freeze was forced to sit him out against Tennessee-Martin before the NCAA suspended him. And, as you might’ve guessed, the eternally benevolent Mark Emmert did that anyway for seven games. Of course, anyone with a social media account knows that Tunsil’s draft stock tumbled on Thursday because of a video that surfaced on his own Twitter of the 21-year-old—can’t emphasize that enough—hitting a bong in a gas mask. At that point, the man who was then expected to be a perfect fit for the Baltimore Ravens at No. 6 would tumble even farther to the Miami Dolphins at 13. The freefall cost him an estimated $8-$12 million, a helluva lot of guaranteed money for a career in a profession that is only estimated to last, on average, four years. To make matters worse, text messages were leaked on Tunsil’s Instagram of him asking a staff member for help paying rent and his mother’s electricity bill, a whopping $305. He later admitted that yes, his head coach did give him money and those text messages are real. Where was His Royal Smugness? Lauding to all who would listen about how great this was for the NFL. “I think it’s all part of what makes the draft so exciting,” Goodell told ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning. “Clubs make decisions. Sometimes they take risks. Sometimes they do the right things. Sometimes they don’t, and we’ll see. Hopefully he is going to turn out to be a great young player.”

DUNN-KING ON TECH LIZZY BARRETT / HEIGHTS STAFF

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When head coach Mike Gambino took the Boston College baseball job six years ago, he brought with him a special formula which he thought BC could utilize to win games in the incredibly 1 Virginia Tech strong ACC. Understanding that BC doesn’t Boston College 4 attract the same-caliber talent as the southern schools, Gambino knew he had to attract the perfect combination of hard-working players, and build up a pitching staff and defense that could quiet the talented bats of the ACC. “Our team is built to pitch, play D, and then have a lineup that can fight and scrap for runs,” Gambino said after the game today. In the rubber match of a three game series against Virginia Tech (1530, 5-19 Atlantic Coast) on Sunday morning, BC (23-17, 9-13) played its ideal form of Birdball on its way to an impressive 4-1 victory in a game that barely took over two hours to finish. Junior starting pitcher Mike King had an outstanding game for the Eagles as he went the distance, allowing just five hits and one run with six strikeouts while only throwing 110 pitches. His two-seam fastball was touching just 90 miles per hour but showed incredible movement for the eager scouts sitting behind home plate, as he impressed in a different way than Saturday’s flame-throwing starter Justin Dunn, who tops out at 98 miles per hour.

“You can throw the radar gun away when King is on the mound because his fastball is unhittable with its late-life movement,” Gambino said. While he didn’t strike out batters with blazing heat like Dunn, King forced 12 groundouts with pitches that pounded the lower half of the zone. Junior shortstop, Johnny Adams, was a machine behind King, with seven assists recorded. Virginia Tech’s only run came in the fourth inning to make it a 4-1 game. The Hokies had runners on second and third with no outs, but King stuck to his game plan of forcing ground balls and it enabled him to get out of the jam with just one run coming on an RBI ground out to the BC shortstop Adams. For King, keeping the ball down in the zone was the difference. “In the past two weeks you could see that I had more fly balls than ground balls. Today, getting a lot of ground-ball outs felt good—it enabled me to get back to my former self,” King said. King cruised after his one blip in the fourth, in an otherwise near-perfect outing, allowing three singles spread out over the final five innings. Right through the end of the game, King showed re-

See Baseball, B4

DUNN

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See Laremy Tunsil, B2

INSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

Lacrosse: Orange Ousts Eagles

Softball: Sweeping Away Syracuse

For the second-consecutive year, the Eagles were bounced by Syracuse in the ACCs....B2

The Eagles will finish fourth in the ACC after sweeping Syracuse this weekend.........B2

TU/TD...................................B2 Sports in short............................B2 More baseball............................B4

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 2, 2016

C5

Voices of Imani

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As the only gospel group on campus, Voices of Imani took the opportunity to present a breadth of musical expression that took took the audience on an emotional, melodic journey Saturday night. It stuck to the roots of the club, which began in 1977 with a group of students who wanted to create a music group on campus in which they could come together, express their faith, and celebrate the rich tradition found in the black worship experience. Starting off with the uplifting “Troubles Don’t Last Always,” Voices of Imani continued to build up the energy at the beginning of the show by moving on to “Looking For You” and “Love You Like That.” The latter had one of the strongest solos of the concert, by freshman member Bryan Paula, MCAS ’19—quite a compliment given that this concert was filled with excellent solos. From these spirited pieces, the group moved on to the jazzy “Unbelievable.” This was an interesting piece that switched up the entire energy of the concert. It continued on this trend as it smoothly transitioned into “Peace and Love Medley,” an original composed by Voices’ own Jessica

Stephens, MCAS ’17. This was a wonderful piece and an impressive display of Stephens’ talent. The music and lyrics were perfectly matched. It even had a great rap solo, which Stephens delivered. The next medley, “Change the World,” built on the haunting undertones of the previous song, pulling on the audience’s emotions. The medley “Blackbird/Fly” slowly transitioned into an upbeat anthem. This piece served as great way to bring back the energy from the beginning of the show and then increase it even more. By the time it ended, most of the audience was on its feet, swaying and clapping along. This piece also featured wonderful solos by Paula Assou and Chloe Fasanmi, both MCAS ’18, as well as freestyle solos by the trumpet and saxophone players. With such a strong showing, Voices could have easily ended the show right then and there. It had one more surprise, however, in store for the audience—a cover of “Ultralight Beam” from Kanye West’s Life of Pablo. Despite the short time it had to prepare this piece, it was definitely the highlight of the show. It was an expertly arranged piece that had wonderful solos by Levi Pells, MCAS ’16, Eva Frimpong, MCAS ’18, Jacquelyn Andalcio, LSOE ’17, Assou, and Stephens. With this piece, Voices showed that it had been saving the best for last. Perhaps the finest strength of Voices of Imani is the sheer amount of energy its members bring to the stage. Each singer looks so engaged and moved by the music. It makes it difficult for the audience to remain disengaged. Furthermore, the large number of soloists was a great component to the event. Each performer was dynamic, with a unique presence and style on stage. It is also important to take a moment to compliment

David Altenor, BC ’09, and the current director of Voices of Imani. He played an integral part in transferring the energy on the stage to the audience, pushing it to chime in if it knew the words. Near the beginning of the show, he led a back-and-forth between the audience and the performers, which focused the show’s energy and capture the audience’s attention. The only problem with the show was that despite efforts to fix the microphones, the band often overpowered the choir. Though the venue may have made this impossible to change, it hurt the overall experience because it was at times difficult to hear the choir well. This was especially evident with the “Change the World” medley, which had another great solo, but unfortunately the choir was almost inaudible over the band. The silver lining, however, is that the band was consistently spot on. Despite the technical issues, Voices of Imani was able to create a fun, environment—one perfect for a beautiful Saturday afternoon concert on O'Neill Plaza.

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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While Arts Fest is mainly a time of celebration for the work that the school’s students have put into their distinct crafts throughout the semester, it also provides each year’s seniors with a chance to end their careers, personal and artistic, in an encouraging and loving setting. There is a sense of finality to each event over the course of three days, and that feeling certainly did not escape any performers at the Arts Fest Spoken Word program last Friday. As the Juice performance came to a close at 7:30 Friday n i g ht , A r t s Fest workers began to set up O’Neill Plaza for a night of spoken word performance. Like many open mics on campus, the evening was

a catchall for any and all forms of spoken word, meaning a wide variety of poems were read: improv poetry, rap, slam poetry, and even simple ramblings of the mind were all welcome. As one performer after another stepped up to the stage, one fact became increasingly clear: there’s no better place than Boston College to find immensely talented speakers. Arts Fest Spoken Word was run in the most traditional sense of an “open mic”—first, the sacrificial poet reads a poem to kick off the event, and the stage becomes free to anyone willing to brave the eyes of the audience. Any person could stand any number of times to

read, and many chose to do just that. And despite the fact that the event came to a relatively early close, the works of many artists found their way into the limelight. The stage lights were bright, but not so bright as to outshine the poets standing under them. High points of the evening (and there were many) included the work of both the experienced and the beginners. “Tales From the Friendzone,” written by Rusty Cosino, BC SLAM! member and MCAS ’19, had audience members rolling with laughter and then, heartbreak, as the last lines were delivered. On the other end of the spectrum, his “5 Responses to People Who Call Me a Hipster,” done entirely off the cuff, dropped jaws. Though the event was not BC SLAM!sponsored, many of its poets performed. Of note was Alex Hadley, MCAS ’16, performing “I Am a Machine.” Relating the reality of only being understood through numbers, be they height, weight, GPA, or otherwise, she reminded those who listened that they themselves are not just a number, but rather the sum of the memories they’ve made, forgotten, or almost had. As this was Hadley’s last BC open mic, it was clear that this last reading

was an emotional event for all. In fact, for more than one spokenword artist, Arts Fest 2016 was the last BC open mic ever. There’s a sense of electricity in the air on occasions such as this—onlookers and performers alike can feel it. Each word crackles with a little more energy, holds a little more weight, calls the end of a BC career one step closer. If nothing else, those who engage in spoken word are clearly quite in touch with their emotions—every person in the room felt the sense of simultaneous dread and freedom knowing that the next step of life was, for many,

close at hand. Events such as these make it abundantly clear that there is an untapped market of talent for performers on BC’s campus. It became more and more common as the night pressed on to hear the words “this is my first time,” but with every statement of these words came a poem or thought that was as polished as anyone’s. One fact has begun to stand out above the rest: the low level of BC student support and involvement in the art of spoken word is a true tragedy, because, if last Friday was any evidence, talent seems to be around every corner.

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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:8C<9 >I@<>F I am all for creative liberties being taken in shows or films with source material, but not all of these liberties are of equal merit. Game of Thrones’ first episode of season six has done harm to the world it lives in by breaking fundamental societal rules that serve as part of the fantasy bedrock of the show. The result is that the show is becoming less and less aware of its roots and more concerned with the flimsy spectacle of fantasy on screen. The scene in question is the murder of Prince Doran and his son Trystane at the hands of the Sand Snakes and Ellaria Sand. Homicide should not be cause for too much concern in a show that has left such a bloody footprint in the minds of viewers,

but these killings are more hazardous to the world than most. Westeros is a place rooted in tradition, honor, and loyalty. In a world where people are meant to grow up fast, learn to fight for their lives at a young age, and possibly ascend to the throne, one thing remains more or less a constant ally: family. When I say this I mean direct, nuclear family, rather than bannermen, who have proved to be quite fickle in the story. Without family, one is likely to be a Lommy, murdered by wildling raids, or enslaved along the shores of the Narrow Sea. The Starks have (had) family to rely on, the Lannisters have family to rely on, even the Boltons seem to count on each other. Some may argue that many of these relationships are strained and flawed. Though that may be true, these people, however flawed their relationships may be, stick together for better, or, more often, for worse. Others may point out how Daenerys sat by as Viserys was killed by the golden crown he so desired or how Tyrion murdered his father and was

falsely accused of murdering Joffrey. But one of these happened in the lawlessness of the Dothraki Sea and the other was brought to the royal court to condemn the kinslayer (Tyrion was in deep). These scenarios, though they challenge traditional Westerosi family dynamics, never kill the undercurrent of the importance of family and sticking together. But in Dorne, I guess things are different. (Some people gon’ die). Wasting Doran and his son was flat-out stupid. Not only does it undermine the notion that you should not murder your family, it also undercuts just how important family was to Dorne. Oberyn died trying to avenge the death of his sister Elia and her children in his duel with Gregor. For years, he planned and trained to take down the enemy without bringing any fury down on Dorne. He fought for his family because he loved his family. If anything, seeing his brother get shanked to death and his nephew speared in the face would cause a different kind of splitting pain in the head of The Viper.

Politically, the move is equally as simple-minded. Who in Westeros will want to deal with kinslayers? Additionally, they are all Sands, bastards with no real claim to the seat of Dorne by Westerosi law. And though the culture is different in Dorne, they are all women. After giving Myrcella a real kiss of death, Doran seemed like the reasonable man to do damage control on an event that surely would stir up some trouble. And if you are going to lop a few branches off of the family tree, why not have a plan a little more substantive and grounded than stand and fight? Their motivations should be more clear than some personal vendetta, especially when they have everything to lose. If getting back at the Lannisters for the trial-by-combat-gone-wrong was enough motivation, why kill your prince and his son? As renowned fighters and assassins, couldn’t these capable Sand Snakes crack some skulls on the DL? All the action in the show demonstrates that mindless killing is not only

hard to understand, but frustrating when taken into the context of the world built up around the show. Motivations were much clearer in the books. And I say this not as some book snob, touting them as better. I watch the show and read the books as two separate entities, but I will point out when the show breaks the fantasy rules that both forms of the story abide by. The despondent feeling that Game of Thrones is entering an era of inconsistency is one that I hope is untrue. The killing cannot serve as the crux of the narrative movement, so maybe the departure from the books is not the best idea, if the producers do not understand what the world is all about. Tyrion has said as much: “The mind needs books, just like a sword needs a whetstone, if it’s to keep its edge.”

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CLASSIFIEDS

THE HEIGHTS THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 17, 2014 Thursday, April 7, 2016 Monday, May 2, 2016

B5 B5 B3

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THE HEIGHTS

B4

Monday, May 2, 2016

BASEBALL

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markable consistency with his placement of pitches, as Virginia Tech failed to make any sort of solid contact with the ball. As King mowed down the Hokies’ lineup, the Eagles were able to avoid falling behind early like they did on Friday against the Hokies in their 5-0 loss. This enabled BC to play exactly the brand of baseball it wanted to on the offensive side. Gambino called for a sacrifice bunt to BC’s advantage three different times to move base runners along into scoring

position, before Adams, Mitch Bigras, and Dominic Hardaway each delivered timely singles to knock in the Eagles’ four runs. All four runs for the Eagles were scored with two outs, underscoring how BC executed its game plan of scrapping for runs. For the Hokies, Nic Enright, an inexperienced freshman starter who came in sporting a 7.93 earned run average through four starts, was on the mound. Enright lasted five innings for Virginia Tech allowing seven hits and all four runs. Just two of them, however, were earned as a result of two errors by the Hokies’ middle infield. The Eagles

did not hit Enright particularly hard, getting only one extra-base hit—a second-inning double by Gian Martellini—off him. BC was at its best today in a crucial conference game, putting forth an exciting and complete team effort. Great pitching was bolstered by timely hits and outstanding fielding, as well as catcher Nick Sciortino’s 15th time catching a runner stealing. When Birdball plays the way Gambino gameplans, it’s a fascinating sight. The Eagles’ combination of strategy, talent, and enthusiasm brought light to a cold and rainy Sunday morning.

TAYLOR PERISON / HEIGHTS STAFF

Mike King tossed his third career complete game in a 4-1 win over the Hokies on Sunday.

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A beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon brought the crowds out in force to the Birdcage, creating a vibrant, energetic environment 0 Virginia Tech for Boston ColBoston College 2 lege baseball to welcome Virginia Tech for the second game of its weekend series. The allure of an unclouded spring day, however, was not the only contributing factor to the uniquely special ambience of the game. Birdball played host to members of the United States Military in honor of the Wounded Warrior Project. Donned in full camouflage jerseys, the Eagles (2217, 8-13 Atlantic Coast), led by starting pitcher Justin Dunn, defeated the Hokies (15-29, 5-18) 2-0. Dunn, whose starts always draw a sea of radar guns from scouts from all across the majors, had a top-notch day on the mound. The right-handed junior threw a career-high 111 pitches and collected a career-high six strikeouts. Dunn additionally only gave up three hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings on his way to earning his second win of the season. In the few instances when a Hokie happened to end up on third, Dunn used his overpowering 96-mph fastball (which maintained its veloc-

ity into the sixth inning) to quash any hopes of scoring. “I was just coming out trying to give my team a shot to win,” Dunn said when asked about his performance. “My job was to get as many innings as I can, and put up as many zeroes as I could.” The most nerve-wracking moment of the game for the Eagles came in the top of the sixth when a tired Dunn loaded the bases with two outs. Head coach Mike Gambino summoned sophomore Bobby Skogsbergh from the pen in an effort to keep Virginia Tech off the board. In only two pitches, Skogsbergh got Hokie catcher Joe Freiday, Jr., to foul out to the catcher in order to preserve the shutout. Skogsbergh relieved ably, hurling 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief before senior Jesse Adams would come in to record the final two outs for the Eagles. The BC pitching staff as a whole only surrendered six hits and five walks as it combined for the shutout. On the offensive side, Birdball had trouble getting anything going against Virginia Tech sophomore Packy Naughton. While it has been a turbulent year for Naughton, who came into the day sporting a 7.50 ERA and a 2-6 record, he certainly looked far better on Saturday than his stats would suggest. With effective spotting of his fastball and good movement on his changeup,

Naughton kept BC off-balance. But Birdball took advantage of its opportunities with timely hitting. The Eagles notched one run with two outs in the bottom of the second when sophomore Mitch Bigras shot a ground ball over the glove of the diving first baseman to score junior Johnny Adams. The Eagles tallied one more in the fifth when junior Michael Strem came up on the winning end of a marathon at bat, shooting a single into left field in order to bring home Jake Palomaki. The two runs would prove to be all the Eagles needed to support the dominant pitching staff and leave Shea Field with a win. Gambino noted the impact of the large crowd on the game, while also highlighting Saturday’s special guests: the Wounded Warriors. “The atmosphere in the Birdcage this year has been awesome,” Gambino said. “Our boys get so fired up seeing all these students out there. We’ve got a huge home field advantage. … They believe they are honoring those men and women who gear up everyday … and they are proud of that.” The Eagles will need to continue to find sources of inspiration as the season winds down, and the race for a spot in the ACC postseason tournament heats up.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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LIZZY BARRETT / HEIGHTS STAFF

Justin Dunn (above) struck out six batters in 5 2/3 innings on Saturday while Mitch Bigras (below) had one of the team’s two RBIs.

Following an 18-6 blowout loss at home to Bryant University, Boston College baseball was eager to return to the field. Hav5 Virginia Tech ing recently Boston College 0 taken two out of three from then-No. 4 Louisville last weekend, the Eagles were ready to get back on track behind their ace Jacob Stevens in the first game of a crucial threegame series against last-place Virginia Tech. Stevens, however, uncharacteristically struggled, as did the rest of the team as a whole in the Eagles’ 5-0 loss Friday afternoon at Shea Field. Stevens and BC (21-17, 7-13 Atlantic Coast) made it through the first three innings fairly easily, allowing just one unearned run. After retiring the leadoff man in the fourth on two pitches, Stevens started to get into trouble. He hit the next batter, and Garrett Hudson followed by roping a double down the left-field line, putting two runners in scoring position with only one out. A brief mound visit by pitching coach Jim Foster didn’t help Stevens, as the very next pitch was smacked over the right center field wall by Joe Freiday, Jr., putting the Hokies up 4-0. Stevens was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Stevens’ tough outing rose his ERA a half run from 1.02 to 1.56 and dropped his record to 3-3. While the box score seems deceptive with only the one walk and a hit batter, Stevens struggled with control all day. He missed with a lot of pitches, in particular with his fastball, and Virginia Tech hitters were capitalizing on Stevens’ mistakes. The Hokies’ (1428, 5-17) hitters were hammering line drives all over the field and were able to knock the Eagles’ ace out of the game before the end of the fifth. “[Stevens] didn’t really have control of all his stuff,” head coach Mike Gambino said after the defeat. “He had some big misses and left some fastballs up in

the middle of the plate.” The offensive woes continued for the Eagles. While they were able to put the ball in play, striking out only three times against Virginia Tech pitching, they couldn’t find any holes in the field to string a few hits together. The Eagles’ biggest threat of the day came in the seventh inning down 5-0. After two quick outs, the Eagles showed some fight. Gabe Hernandez and pinch hitter Scott Braren worked consecutive walks, followed by Jake Palomaki getting plunked by Virginia Tech’s Kit Scheetz, who held the Eagles scoreless. While Palomaki would be Scheetz’ last hitter, Virginia Tech’s Jon Woodcock cleaned up the damage, retiring Nick Sciortino on two pitches as the Eagles left the bases loaded. While he was by no means dominant, Scheetz shut out the Eagles in 6 2/3 innings of work, surrendering just four hits and three walks while striking out only one BC hitter. “We did a great job with two strikes,” Gambino said. “We’ll score runs. As long as we continue to have good at bats and get good pitches to hit, our offense will score runs.” Getting ahead of hitters was a major key to Scheetz’ success. Many BC hitters were behind in the count down two strikes and forced to take defensive swings at borderline strikes. The Eagles put the ball in play, but it didn’t matter, as the Hokies had a flawless defensive showing with no errors on the afternoon. The loss Friday afternoon is definitely a frustrating one for the Eagles, who have now lost three in a row. Virginia Tech entered play last in the ACC standings and last in ERA at 6.68 as a collective unit. While Stevens wasn’t his usual dominant self, the Eagles’ offense once again struggled to get anything going offensively. The Eagles rank last in the ACC in batting average, hitting .262 as a team. All things considered, BC will need to turn it up this weekend if it wants any chance of staying competitive in the playoff hunt.

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