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
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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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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