BASKETBALL PREVIEW
BIG PAYOUT
DINNER AND A MOVIE
sports
Marketplace
THE SCENE
Breaking down the 2011-2012 men’s and women’s BC basketball squads, B1
Hometown Red Sox make millions in 2003 deal with the City of Boston, D1
Use a customized menu for some of your favorite foodie movies, C1
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Vol. XCII, No. 42
Spirit Day at campus school
UGBC rebrands image: four equal parts with ALC, GLC Unifying changes to be finalized next semester By Taylour Kumpf News Editor
Next semester, the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC), along with the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) will become equal parts of the UGBC, a change from their former, semi-autonomous states. With the elimination of the UGBC’s judicial branch at the end of last year, the rebranded image of UGBC will be that of four equal branches coming together to serve the needs of the student body and
graham beck / heights staff
Student athletes, cheerleaders, and Baldwin met with children from the Campus School (above) at their Spirit Day.
Spirit Day recognizes hard work of Campus School volunteers For The Heights
On Monday afternoon, Campus School children and young adults decked out in Boston College apparel crowded the plaza between Campion and Merkert for Campus School Spirit Day. Waving pompoms and holding decorated signs, the Campus School children waited to meet BC athletes and listen to the BC marching band. Campus School Spirit Day, an event presented by the Campus School Volunteers of
Boston College (CSVBC), was a day for celebration and BC spirit. “Spirit Day is an event we look forward to every year,” said Sean Schofield, Campus School Volunteers coordinator. “It’s a way to recognize all the hard work that the Campus School students and Campus School volunteers do, and of course, the student-athletes here at BC.… It’s a nice way to show BC pride.” The Campus School, located in Campion, was established in 1970 for students ages three to 21 with
multiple and severe special needs. The school is a privately-run, publicly-funded program that works to meet the educational, therapeutic, and health care needs of its students. This year, the Campus School has 43 enrolled students. “Because the school is publicly funded, there isn’t a lot of money,” said Lauren Koslow, vice president of Campus School Volunteers and CSOM ’12. “The money [the volunteers] are able to raise provides the
See Campus School, A4
Admins reflect on Pathways initiative Program to work out kinks next year By David Cote Heights Editor
See Pathways, A5
See Equal, A4
University looks past the labels when buying coffee By Daniel Tonkovich Heights Editor
By Devon Sanford
Since August, residents in HardeyCushing have experienced a new type of interaction with their Resident Assistants (RAs) as part of the Pathways Initiative. Developed by the Office of Residential Life, the program aims to foster community growth and development in smaller resident communities. “If you were to bottle it up it would be the integration of everything that is the academic experience,” said George Arey, interim director of Residential Life. “The three pieces, the social, the intellectual, and the spiritual are all being pulled together.” Specifically, the program lowers the resident-to-RA ratio, creates weekly programming options for residents, and aims to foster relationships between floormates and their RAs. “The grand scheme of things is that we want you, as a first year student, to know more people, to have a better social network, and to have an understanding of what it means to be a part of this institution,” Arey said. Now, two months into the pilot program, the Office of Residential Life has gained a significant amount of knowledge on how the program is shaping up. Program administrators have aimed to collect information from a variety of sources in order to evaluate and improve the program as it progresses through its first year of implementation. “We’re putting together some measures to really look at what the students are taking away from the experience of living in
make sure their voice is heard. The goal of this change is unification said Michael Kitlas, president of the UGBC and A&S ’12. “The discussion basically started last year,” he said. “[Micaela Mabida and Patrick Raab, former UGBC president and vice president, respectively, and BC ’11] had the first all-inclusive retreat. It was going well last year, but it didn’t carry through the whole year.” Kitlas said that he and Jill Long, vice president of the UGBC and A&S ’12, wanted to continue promoting a unified front. “We saw the value [in what Mabida and Raab started] and wanted to continue that this year,” he said. “We want to encourage people to step outside their comfort zones, we want to increase who we affect
The way Boston College picks its beans to fill the 7,000 cups of coffee purchased weekly in its dining facilities is likely to draw a nod of approval from Juan Valdez himself. The nod, however, would probably not stem from the sole fact that most of the coffee sold on campus is Fair Trade certified, but rather the thoughtfulness of the University’s coffee purchasing decisions. “I have never really been big on labels and purchasing just because they say ‘they are something,’” said Helen Wechsler, director of Dining Services. “Dining attempts to take a broader approach when selecting our suppliers. We want to have the whole picture of the companies with whom we do business. We don’t select suppliers just because they sell Fair Trade products, just like we don’t select suppliers solely on the grounds that they sell an organic or local product.” The phenomena of buying into a label has drawn criticism from some. In regards to coffee, Fair Trade has had its share of criticism for inefficiencies. A recent Financial Times editorial criticized Fair Trade for high certification fees charged to small farms and co-ops, causing some to enter into financing arrangements just to gain entry into the Fair Trade market or in extreme cases forgo certification alto-
Creative Commons
Dean Cycon of Dean’s Beans (above), one of the Fair Trade Coffee options on campus. gether due to prohibitive costs – arguably compromising farmers’ quality of life. The piece drew a sharp rebuttal from Fair Trade Canada, stating that the arguments were “highly flawed,” and defending not only the certification and just compensation assurance practices of Fair Trade, but noting that “Fair Trade is about much more than price.” But despite which side’s facts are correct in the argument of social justice for coffee farmers, Dining Services takes
See Dean’s Beans, A5
the 40-hour famine
photo courtesy of the VPSA Office
Posters from an Ohio University ad campaign (above) were sent out to students via e-mail.
Halloween costumes spark discussion on racial issues By Taylour Kumpf News Editor
Over a week after Halloween, administrators and student leaders are still talking about the holiday weekend – in the context of race. Two unrelated events – an Ohio ad campaign and a specific incident on campus – prompted discussions about the potential for certain Halloween costumes to be racially and culturally offensive. The pre-Halloween ad campaign, started by a student group at Ohio University and depicting students holding photos of different racial and ethnic stereotypes in costume, circulated around Boston College before the weekend. The campaign’s message, “We’re a culture, not a costume,” addressed the trend of turning ethnic and racial stereotypes into popular Halloween costumes. The ad’s message – to not reduce a culture to a caricature – was meant to apply to
all races and stereotypes, and not just during Halloween. “The campaign wasn’t something we’d seen before, and it spurred conversation,” said Alicia Martinez, vice president of the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) and A&S ’12. “These very offensive costumes have often gone unnoticed.” Michael Kitlas, president of the UGBC and A&S ’12, said there was more of a dialogue about these issues than in the past. “This year was different than other years because there was more feedback from students voicing concerns,” he said. “And, some RAs sent out e-mails [with the ad campaign’s message] to be more proactive.” With the campaign initiating the conversation on campus, a BC-specific incident – two non-black student-athletes donning blackface for Halloween – prompted a more formal discussion
See Halloween, A4
alexandra Gaynor / heights staff
The 40-Hour Famine display in O’Neill Plaza (above) is designed to raise students’ awareness of food shortages and inequalities. SEE PAGE A3 FOR FULL STORY.