The Heights 11/14/2013

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Women’s basketball beat Hofstra on Tuesday for its first win of the season, A9

The city of Boston is seeking a chance to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, B10

With the release of Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP, The Scene looks at the multiple personas of musical shape-shifters, B1

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Vol. XCIV, No. 43

WRC events address body image issues

BY NATHAN MCGUIRE Heights Staff AND

MARY ROSE FISSINGER

Heights Editor Editor’s Note: This story is part of an ongoing series about body issues and health on campus.

DREW HOO / HEIGHTS STAFF

Veterans, families, and ROTC students gathered on Monday to reflect on the sacrifices of service men and women. Rev. Robert Keane, S.J. discussed his work as a military chaplain.

BC RECOGNIZES VETERANS’ SERVICE

BY ANNA OLCOTT For The Heights As the bright sun streamed into the roof of the tent, a laugh could be heard from a crowd of veterans, families, and ROTC students as Rev. Robert Keane, S.J. spoke at Monday’s Veterans Day memorial ceremony.

As he honored the veterans and lightly joked about his time sleeping in Bapst Library while an undergraduate student at Boston College, Keane also spoke on his role as a military chaplain in the U.S. Navy.

The purpose of this event, held on the Burns Library Lawn, was both to recognize and honor BC veterans and discuss the place of Jesuits and the Society of Jesus in military chaplaincy.

After a detailed introduction by an ROTC student that outlined Keane’s 23-year career in the U.S. Navy

and his work in the New England Jesuit Community, Keane addressed his place as a Jesuit chaplain.

He opened his speech at the otherwise solemn event with a joke about his time at BC and by acknowledging how humbled he felt speaking at his alma mater. Humor and humility remained common threads throughout his talk, as he explored his own experiences within the Catholic chaplaincy and the U.S. Navy.

Though Keane acknowledged the shock that some feel at seeing a Jesuit in uniform, he maintained that Jesuits can easily pursue their missions while serving as chaplains. He cited some earlier examples of Jesuit chaplains, such as Superior General Diego Lainez, who succeeded Ignatius of Loyola, and the very founder of BC, Rev. John McElroy, S.J. “A Jesuit in the military chaplaincy is actually

perfectly consistent with our history and our spirituality,” he said.

In accordance with the Jesuit principle of traveling to the farthest corners of the earth to serve where needed, as a member of military service, a chaplain is able to do just that. As a chaplain, Keane traveled to six continents and served a wide range of people.

Keane also applied the principles of the U.S. Navy, such as “improvise, adapt, and overcome” to his own Jesuit mission in order to gain the attention of one of his superiors. “Learning new tricks, and adapting to unfamiliar surroundings, are behaviors not unknown to Jesuit missionaries,” Keane said.

Despite the fact that 25 percent of all military members identify themselves as Catholic, only 8 percent of

See Veterans Day, A3

One hundred and fifty students adorned in teal t-shirts with the slogan “I love my body” are making their way around campus this week, donning their shirts in support of the Women’s Resource Center’s Love Your Body Week.

“Seeing 150 or so other people saying, ‘I love my body,’ gives other people permission to say, ‘I love my body too,’” said Emma Moriarty, co-director of the week and A&S ’14.

During each of the WRC’s events in the past three days, those teal t-shirts have mixed in with lecture halls full of other students and faculty.

To kick off the week’s events, director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program Sharlene Hesse-Biber gave a talk Monday night on her book, The Cult of Thinness.

Her speech investigated the roots of eating disorders, how they manifest themselves, and why they are so prevalent, especially at Boston College.

Immediately following this event, at BC Ignites on Monday evening, four female student speakers shared personal stories about their struggles with body image.

Each speaker brought a unique experience to the podium, revealing how body image issues can manifest themselves in a variety of ways and intensities.

See Love Your Body Week, A3

McElroy chef honored as Cook of the Year Mazier, 30-year vet of BC Dining, is first winner from a college

BY ANDREW SKARAS Asst. News Editor When Marlon Mazier started working for BC Dining Services 30 years ago, he began as a dish washer in what is now the Player’s Club in Walsh Hall. Now, he serves as the first line cook in McElroy Commons and was recognized in October by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA) as Cook of the Year. On Tuesday, Bob Luz, president of the MRA, came to BC to present the award to Mazier, who could not make it to the award ceremony in October.

At the presentation in the kitchen of McElroy, Mike Forcier, general manager

of Dining Services in McElroy, introduced Mazier and praised his work in the kitchen.

“What we say all the time about Marlon is that he makes my job and the managers’ job so easy,” Forcier said. “If Marlon could get the combination to the safe, I wouldn’t even need to come in in the morning because he really does do a great job running the staff, running the place. Although he won Cook of the Year, he clearly goes far well above cooking.”

Before presenting the award, Luz explained the range of the membership of the MRA and the competition that Mazier faced. In the food and beverage industry, there are over 15,000 operators employing over 300,000 workers. He described the nomination and selection process and the competition Mazier faced.

“Passion was the word that always came

out in all the feedback [the selection committee] saw about [Mazier], service to the guest, and most importantly, service to [his] team,” Luz said. “This is the first time this has ever gone to a non-traditional restaurant.”

After Luz presented the award, Mazier gave short remarks thanking his crew and BC Dining Services in McElroy.

As the first cook, Mazier is responsible for running the day crew in McElroy. Giving background to his responsibilities in the kitchen, Forcier said that Mazier is the person that the managers look to for guidance and leadership.

“He puts people in the right places and he builds morale here,” Forcier said. “His leadership is one of the reasons I believe we are so successful. He is so much more than his title as ‘first cook.’ He is a great delegator. He

See Mazier, A3

Heights Staff “Earthquake observatories have become much more than just bricks and mortar of a building that records earthquakes,” said associate professor of earth and environmental sciences Alan Kafka, who was recently appointed as the new director of the Weston Observatory, which is located 10 miles away from Boston College’s main campus. “We’ve evolved into being an intersecting network, social and technical network, communications network, all about earthquakes and earthquake information.”

As a geophysicist with a specialty in seismology, Kafka acknowledges the Weston Observatory as part of the long Jesuit legacy and an active, ongoing earthquake research institution since the early

1930s. Although nowadays seismographs are digitally transmitted through computer systems not only in the building but also around the New England region and on a global scale, the observatory has also been carrying on the tradition of recording worldwide earthquakes on paper using older instruments. “This is our lab,” Kafka said. “It’s Boston College just as the lab down the hall for geochemistry.”

Emphasizing the Jesuit interest in seismology throughout history, which prompted Jesuit scientists to undertake the project not long after the development of seismographs, Kafka attributed the observatory’s sustainability to the extensive network of professional scholars around the world. “It’s deeply rooted in the history of Boston College,” he said. “Part of why I say it’s a priceless resource is that we are one of the Jesuit earthquake observatories

Students awarded $10K to produce film on loyalty

BY JENNIFER HEINE

Kafka named new director of Weston Observatory

BY SOO JUNG RHEE

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAX PRIO

Adisa Duke and Max Prio are part of a BC student group making a Hyundai commercial.

Heights Staff

SANJAY SETRU / FOR THE HEIGHTS

Professor Alan Kafka was recently appointed the observatory’s new director. that has maintained and moved forward into the 21st century.”

The observatory research covers all aspects of earth science, primarily studying earthquakes in the Eastern U.S.—their predictions and monitoring of the earthquakes in the New England area serve as an education and public outreach branch.

See Kafka, A3

Five undergraduates in the Boston College Film Department have become finalists in Hyundai’s “Lens of Loyalty” film contest, comprising just one of seven university teams awarded $10,000 to produce a short film.

As one of Hyundai’s 25 sponsored collegiate football programs, BC was offered the opportunity to enter the contest earlier in the year. John Michalczyk, a professor in the Fine Arts Department, first contacted the five students—Max Prio, CSOM ’16; Stephan Panico, A&S ’15; John Blanford, BC ’13; Adisa Duke, A&S ’15; and Nick Genovese, A&S ’16—earlier this year.

“We had known each other and worked with each other before,” Prio said. “We just knew how passionate we were about film, and thought it would be a productive, creative team.”

In order to enter the contest, the team wrote a 500-word treatment outlining their idea for the film, then given the opportunity to execute it, and based on their piece, the five became one of only seven teams

selected to win the $10,000.

In keeping with the contest’s theme of loyalty, the students created a story centered around lifelong loyalty to BC. “It’s the story of a Superfan at birth, whose parents bring him to his first BC football game, then we see him in his life as he grows older, and it comes full circle when he had his first child, and brings her to her first football game,” Prio said.

He described the whirlwind that followed their success. Although each of the finalists was granted 40 days after the announcement to create the film, the BC team ended up with closer to 20, after the process of obtaining the money and equipment. Additionally, because of the size of the Film Department at BC relative to that of some other universities, the team needed to rent some of the filming equipment.

But the situation has also stimulated a generosity the team hadn’t expected.

“I’ve made maybe 50 phone calls to different companies and told them what we’re doing, told them about the whole project, and they’ve really helped us in so many

See Film Competition, A3

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

A Guide to Your Newspaper

things to do on campus this week

1 2 3 Secrets and Leaks

Fat Talk: How it Hurts

Today Time: 5:30 p.m.

Location: Higgins 300

The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy is hosting a panel featuring Rahul Sagar, assistant professor of politics at Princeton University. The panel will discuss state secrecy and the problems associated with it in modern society.

Crisis in Syria

Today Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Fulton 511

As a part of Love Your Body Week, a week focused on body image and health, the Women’s Resource Center, in conjunction with the Office of Health Promotion, is hosting a discussion on how body disparagement fuels distress over body image.

Friday Time: Noon Location: Devlin 026

The Political Science Department is hosting a panel discussion on the crisis in Syria. With the conflict in its third year, the panel will discuss the latest developments and the opportunities for the hostilities to end.

FEATURED EVENT

Hesse-Biber compares changes in body image

BY ANNA OLCOTT For The Heights Cult, though generally understood as some form of extreme religious worship group, holds a double meaning in the title of Sharlene Hesse-Biber’s new book, The Cult of Thinness. In a talk given on Monday night to kick off Love Your Body Week and begin the speaker series for the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Hesse-Biber, a professor in the sociology department, spoke on the issues regarding eating disorders within and outside of Boston College.

While “cult” maintains its original definition in her title, Hesse-Biber also refers to “cultivation theory,” which social scientists believe may be the root cause of the increase in eating disorders over the past several decades.

“The theory posits that the more media a person is exposed to, that they will begin to view the mass media images as realistic,” she said. “More than that, it says that these images really have an impact on how men and women, but in particular, how women feel about their bodies.”

Hesse-Biber began her research on the root causes of eating disorders in society after getting a call from Weston Jenks, a psychological counselor at BC. Jenks told Hesse-Biber about the large amounts of female students seeking help at BC for their irregular eating patterns and problems, and asked her to find out the cause of this issue.

Since that call, Hesse-Biber has conducted numerous surveys and interviews to get to the bottom of this important issue. As she learned more about the students plagued with eating disorders at BC,

JEN BISHOP / HEIGHTS STAFF

Hesse-Biber, a professor of sociology, dicussed changes in images of the ideal female body. she explored the contributing factors like the BC environment, the media, and attitudes that society has impressed upon women for several decades. Her goal is to find the source of these issues and to curb them before they disrupt the development of young women.

According to Hesse-Biber, a good portion of the furthering of women’s body image issues is attributed to basic theories of capitalism in a patriarchal society. If women feel negatively about their appearance, the market to improve those aspects of their appearance widens.

Hesse-Biber also posits that as women have become more successful, they have begun to shrink. Every year, Miss America winners weigh less in relation to their height than the year before, contributing to this link between success and thinness. Im-

ages of beauty went from ideals like Marilyn Monroe to Twiggy, an extremely successful, ultra-thin model.

“You become light, you win,” she said.

In her research on eating disorders, HesseBiber created a spectrum to categorize the severity of eating disorders, ranging from normal to diagnosed disorders. In the center of this spectrum, however, lies EDNOS: eating disorder not otherwise specified. This culturally-induced eating problem that she claims is plaguing the BC women, however, is a precursor to a more serious problem.

This middle ground involves binge-eating and obsessive behaviors toward eating.

Although psychiatric research supports a more biological reasoning for eating disorders among young women, attributing their cause to chemical imbalances, psychosexual

POLICE BLOTTER

11/8/13-11/10/13

Friday, November 8 8:47 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an elevator entrapment in Conte Forum.

11:30 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was transported to a medical facility by ambulance from Keyes South.

11:43 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was transported to a medical facility by ambulance from Keyes South.

Saturday, November 9 12:05 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an elevator entrapment in Voute Hall.

1:45 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was transported to a medical facility by ambulance from Vanderslice Hall.

3:56 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in McGuinn Hall.

9:46 p.m. - A report was filed regarding arson in Gasson Hall.

9:59 p.m. - A report was filed regarding arson in Stokes Hall.

Sunday, November 10 12:28 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a non-BC affiliate who was transported to a medical facility by ambulance from

College Corner NEWS FROM UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

BY JENNIFER SUH Heights Staff While hig h s cho ol student s struggle to complete the Common Application and supplements this fall, community colleges have a problem of their own: enrolling new students and retaining them, according to an article from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The recession caused enrollment in college campuses to grow more than 10 percent, but in 2011, as the economy began improving, enrollment percentages started to decrease. Enrollment is significant for community colleges, because students pay tuition, which makes up a crucial part of profit for colleges, as well as providing revenue for the state.

Community colleges must now find a means of attracting students using “a much more strategic appro ach,” according to Pe ter S .

Bryant, a senior vice president at

development, and dysfunctional families, Hesse-Biber found these factors had little correlation to her subjects. After giving them a written Eating Attitudes test, many who experienced none of these problems were still prone to eating disorders, and she was determined to discover why.

After following a series of women through their years at BC and in the years following their graduation, a major theme among these women was control. HesseBiber argues that due to the importance society places on thinness, women see their eating disorders as a way to regulate all aspects of their lives toward success.

Delia, one of these women Hesse-Biber followed who suffered from an eating disorder, explained her complacency with her disease.

“I know I have an eating disorder … I don’t care,” she said. “My eating disorder is my tool. You know when I go into Mary Ann’s, it’s who’s looking at me, and not at her.”

These factors that contribute to women’s body image issues both in society and at BC are not fleeting issues, Hesse-Biber stated. The relationship between success, thinness, and body image arise from a young age, before women are even aware of them.

Although some women got better in the college environment, some also got worse, and faced a greater risk of eating disorders after college.

“The women that got better were able to become more autonomous during college, and they were able to be relational and really have good relationships with others,” Hesse-Biber said. “It was the balance between being autonomous and being relational that was really the key.” 

the consulting firm Noel-Levitz.

One way is for community colleges to recruit like other institutions of higher education by targeting students not only from the local areas, but from beyond, as well.

Manchester Community College, located in Connecticut, recently hired students this year to call applicants from a list of more than 2,000. The college is also becoming more active on social media to engage with its applicants.

The marketing aspect of enrollment is playing a larger role these days, as colleges need to adjust to the changing needs and interests of the students each year. What makes recruiting more difficult is that students have a variety of options besides attending community colleges, such as online programs, for-profit institutions, or simply not attending college. On top of that, presidents of community colleges are making retention not just a goal, but an imperative. 

Cheverus Hall.

2:53 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was transported by ambulance to a medical facility from Edmond’s Hall.

7:21 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a non-BC affiliate who was transported to a medical facility by ambulance from the Cadigan Alumni Center.

3:55 p.m. - A report was filed regarding vandalism to Keyes North.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story?

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Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact David Cote, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com.

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The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2013. All rights reserved.

CORRECTIONS This correction is in reference to the issue dated Nov. 11, 2013, Vol. XCIV, No. 42.

The article headlined “Reineke brings home BC’s second straight sailing national title” incorrectly stated that it was BC’s second straight national title. It was actually BC’s third straight national title.

VOICES FROM THE DUSTBOWL “What is the cutest baby animal?”

“A sea otter....”

—Lily Whitehouse, A&S ’16

“Puppies ... duh.”

—Lily Peng, A&S ’17

“Polar bears.”

—Conor Morris, A&S ’14

“Koala bears.”

—Lamont Gross, A&S ’15

The Heights

Thursday, November 14, 2013

A3

Undergrads to create short film, sponsored by Hyundai Film Competition, from A1 ways,” Prio said. “We’ve gotten discounts, we’ve had samples of software and equipment sent to us to use on the set.

“I can’t express how much gratitude I have for all the people who have come through for us. It’s really been a collaboration of so many minds. They understand that this is a huge opportunity for us, and we’re trying to make the best of it and really use everything in our reach to make it the best product we can make.”

At this point, the team is in the final stages of the process. “We’ve worked endlessly, over the past four weeks, but now we’re winding down,” Prio said last week. “We’re shooting to have a pretty close to picture-locked product close to the end of this week, and we’re trying to get it out to our composer as soon as possible so he can start brainstorming.

Even when I’m not actually planning it, or shooting it, it’s always on my mind. So I definitely want to give him the time to let his creativity roam.”

Panico’s off-campus house was used for many of the scenes, to represent both the main character’s childhood home and his first house with his wife, as well as a base for the actors and crew. But the team also filmed on campus, at sites such as the St. Ignatius statue, Linden Lane, and especially Alumni Stadium.

“We were on the field for the past three games, we shot tons of footage of the fans having fun, doing their natural thing.

We brought in our actors and showed them what it was like to be BC Superfans, and we filmed them interacting with all the kids on campus and taught them all of

our traditions at the game,” Prio said.

“Brad Bates, the athletic director, helped us immensely,” he said. “Anything we needed, he was there, open arms. He was passionate about our idea, he saw how much we cared, so he really wanted to help us any way he could.”

He hopes the emotion of the BC students, on game day and beyond, comes through in the film. “Our editing suite is in my friend’s house, and so every once in a while his mom will pop her head in and watch some of the footage, and a tear will come to her eye,” Prio said. “And that’s not even the full product, so I hope that when it’s all put together, it’s going to be an amazing experience. That’s the goal, to make it itself a movie, but in three to four minutes, where you get tied into it, and you really understand what’s going on in our main character’s life, you really get how important BC is to us as students.”

Hyundai will retain the films until December, at which point the company will release all of the finalists on their advertising and social media outlets, an opportunity for the film students to gain national recognition.

“When I’m shooting it, I see it in my head, but it’s not the same in my head rather than actually on a computer,” Prio said. “Now that I see it on a screen, it’s so exciting, and to finally be able to show people what I’ve been thinking about for months. I’ve shown four or five people, and their faces just light up when they see it. That’s how I’ve been feeling, so to actually be able to share it with someone was the best feeling ever.”

“It’s been an incredible experience,” Prio said. “Exhausting, but amazing.” n

Love Your Body events reflect on causes of poor body image Love Your Body Week, from A1 Claire Aviles, A&S ’14, told her story about her recovery from an eating disorder by reading from her poem “Thin,” which was inspired by her struggles with recovery and her observations of eating disorders at BC. She revealed that her eating disorder didn’t stem from her desire to be thin, but rather from a deeper issue.

“Eating disorders are never the main issues,” she said. “They are a physical manifestation of other deeper issues.”

Each speaker spoke from a unique perspective, emphasizing how body image issues can transcend culture and race.

Jasmine Rose Olesco, A&S ’16, spoke about her struggles to accept her petite body, saying that the media’s stereotype of African-American women as tall and curvy made her feel out of place and left her wanting to change her appearance.

She soon realized, though, that reveling in her uniqueness is more powerful than trying to change it.

“Not one person is either average or normal,” she said. “We should all revel in our differences. If those that are said to be beautiful are not considered good enough to be put on the pages of magazines as they are, why [should] I kill myself with negative thoughts about my size?”

The next day, at “Beauty: The Real Beast,” professor Bonnie Rudner of the English department facilitated a presentation and discussion about how media manipulates our understanding of beauty.

She showed the audience a number of clips from popular Disney films including The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. The audience participated in an open discussion following the screening of the scenes.

The WRC also collaborated with the SANKOFA leadership program and the Freshman League to host an event Tuesday night geared specifically toward men.

Entitled “A Man For Others,” the program featured Michael Addis, a professor from Clark University who specializes in men’s mental health. His speech centered on the extreme taboo associated with talking about men’s emotional wellbeing, and the detrimental effects this taboo has on men individually and on society as a whole.

Addis introduced this topic by referencing the most famous line from one of America’s most overtly masculine films: “What’s the first rule of masculinity? Don’t talk about masculinity.”

He went on to provide examples of the ways which media and cultural norms perpetuate this concept of the ideal masculinity, citing examples such as the Jackass franchise, Men’s Health magazine, and men’s tendencies to “police” one another if they are deviating from society’s expectations of how men should act. Most of these, Addis claimed, are rooted in a fear of femininity, which leads to men equating words like “gay” and “girly” with insults.

He gave an example of a group of guys going out to a bar for a drink. He asked

the audience, which was mostly men, what color drink they are expected to order when at a bar. Members of the crowd yelled out colors such as “brown,” “gold,” and “clear.” When asked what color drinks girls can get at bars, audience members suggested, “red,” “blue,” and “rainbow.”

“All the fun-colored drinks, we can’t have!” he said. “If you went out with your friends to a bar, and you ordered a medori sour, which is green, would your friends not pummel you? They’d accuse you of being feminine, or gay. Because of the color of your drink. That’s absurd.”

He also gave examples of the way this “policing” happens in more subtle ways—namely, when men avoid emotionally charged topics—and how this can lead to men feeling alone and unhappy.

Addis ended the talk by outlining what people can do to reverse these trends, instructing the crowd to observe the behaviors that perpetuate these stereotypes, refuse to follow suit, call out those who police others’ actions, model self-care, and oppose sexism and homophobia.

“I think being aware of these unrealistic expectations in the media and society is very liberating,” said Jessica Stevens, co-director of the week and A&S ’14. “It’s easier to change the way you’re thinking when you have more awareness and understanding of what the culture is doing.”

The Women’s and Gender Studies program co-sponsored the event “Supersexed: Pop Culture Images of Women in a Hypersexed Society” on Wednesday night.

Gail Dines, an internationally renowned feminist, gave a presentation based on her new book, Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality.

Using images from pop culture magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Maxim, Dines argued that the media’s sexualizing of women has had a profound impact on our generation’s ideas about relationships and sexuality.

“We don’t have the capacity to look at [an image] and see it as a lie,” she said.

“When you look at print you can engage with the truth or falsity of it. You cannot engage with the concept of truth or falsity of an image. If it’s there, it’s there, and it looks real.”

People compare themselves to the flood of media images that depict the same body type—typically either a blonde and skinny female or a muscular male—even though the images are highly enhanced and manipulated with airbrushing and Photoshop, she said.

“I think people equate healthy with skinny, but healthy looks different on everyone,” Moriarty said. “Healthy can be skinny on one person and not on another.

I think there’s so much emphasis on physical appearance, because that’s what people first perceive.”

The week’s events continue today and conclude tomorrow with a student performance of Eve Ensler’s The Good Body at 7 p.m. in Cushing 001. n

daniel lee / heights senior staff

Wednesday’s ‘Religious Diversity and the Common Good’ was the last symposium arranged for the sesquicentennial celebration.

Symposium focuses on religious diversity

By Daniel Lee Heights Senior Staff As the closing Sesquicentennial Symposium, a daylong academic discussion on “Religious Diversity and the Common Good” sponsored by the Boisi Center was held in the Heights Room on Nov. 13. A number of scholars from different universities were invited to the symposium, which was divided into three sessions: Historical Trajectories (1863-2013), Contemporary Issues and Approaches, and the closing talk. E.J. Dionne Jr., a journalist and a professor at Georgetown University, was chosen as the keynote speaker.

Dionne opened his speech on the topic by making a reference to Pope Francis, calling him the “most visible religious leader in the world.” Dionne said that people have much to learn from Francis on the question of common good.

He talked about the relationship between religion and public life by criticizing President George W. Bush, who he said never explained during the 2000 presidential campaign how Christianity affected his philosophy—when he was asked which philosopher influenced him the most, Bush answered that Jesus Christ changed his heart. Dionne asserted that political candidates have the obligation to explain their religious conviction to the public

because the voters needs to know how the candidates would govern based on, or influenced by, their religions. Alan Wolfe, the director of the Boisi Center, mentioned later that there has been no politician who was comfortable with his own religiosity in public. Wolfe quoted Romney: “I’m not a Mormon, I’m an evangelical.”

Dionne further explained the significance of the religion in our public civic lives: “Pluralism demands that we [politicians and citizens] make our views intelligible to those who are not part of our tradition … that speaks to the entire community,” he said. “My faith [Catholicism], which is the definition of common good, creates an obligation to the poor that includes action by government … I actually do believe that.” Nonetheless, Dionne did not forget to include others with different spiritual background into the discussion: “When [we are] talking to libertarians, agnostics, or someone spiritual but not religious, we must make our case in terms that they can accept,” he said.

Civil rights Christianity was suggested by the speaker as an approach model of the common good, which he said “is not centered on the defeat of adversaries, but on the conversion—not a conversion to a particular faith, but to a new personal and social ethnic.” Dionne evaluated civil rights Christianity as an inducer of a broad

faith-inspired movement that includes pluralistic values.

Quoting Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words—“The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness”—Dionne considered “beloved community” as “the most powerful definition of the purposes of the politics of the common good.” The speaker continued quoting Michael Ignatieff ’s words as a significant perspective on politics: “‘Politics is not the continuation of war,’” he said. “‘It is an alternative to it. We care about politics … because its purpose is to save us from the very worst.’”

Dionne then moved on to the question of how we could connect common good and politics. He believed that politics is necessary in the pursuit of common good.

The speaker closed his keynote speech once again with the view of Francis, who has talked more about the unjust economy than the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage. Dionne said that the papal view against unjust economy is “our search for the common good.” According to Dionne, the pope is trying to balance between the magnitude of the culture war and realistic political-economic issues not by changing the Church doctrine but by emphasizing implication of the doctrines. n

Kafka takes over Weston Observatory Kafka, from A1

andrew skaras / heights editor

The president of the Mass. Restaurant Association honored Mazier in McElroy on Tuesday.

BC Dining chef recognized by restaurant association Mazier, from A1 knows where to put people. He has amazingly high standards. He holds all the people that report to him to the high standards and he lets them know when they fall short.”

For Mazier, the award came as a surprise, as he saw what he has done for BC Dining as a part of his job.

“I wake up every day and I come to work and I get paid to do my job,” Mazier said. “I was not expecting this award, I never thought I would win this. It means a lot because it shows the hard work that I do here is recognized.”

Luz further explained how unusual it was for someone from a university dining service to win the award. Although cooks from non-traditional restaurants have always been considered for the award, Luz said that Mazier was a rare candidate.

“What made Marlan stand out was that he strives for every guest 100 percent of the time,” Luz said. “He wants his meals to be perfect. It was also zest and his enthusiasm. It’s the effect that he has on his teammates—the people that work around him. He wants to exceed his guest’s expectation every time.”

Paul Rielly, production manager for McElroy Dining Services, offered some perspective as someone who works closely with Mazier on a day-to-day basis. He has worked with Mazier since 1985 when they were both in the Walsh Hall operation.

“He’s incredibly organized and very calm about how he works,” Rielly said. “He is able to move the people around him to where they need to work, whether we are shorthanded or fully staffed. He is dedicated and never changes his persona. You wouldn’t know if he is stressed out or not.” n

University honors veterans Veterans Day, from A1 military chaplains are Catholic priests. Keane sees this lack as a call to Jesuits to fill these positions and pursue the Jesuit tradition of serving those who desire spiritual guidance. “The need for priestly ministry among our services is very great indeed,” he said. “Fellow soldier Ignatius would certainly be sympathetic to Jesuits stepping forward to assist with this need.”

In addition, Keane addressed the growing population of young adults who are religiously unaffiliated and who are not seeking religious affiliation, colloquially referred to as “nones.”

“Jesuits have a long history of going to the un-churched and sharing their faith with any spiritual pilgrims they may meet,” he said. With

the presence of this growing group, Keane feels that Jesuits should have an increased presence in the military chaplaincy.

According to Keane, Jesuits have an extremely important role to play in military chaplaincy. “As Jesuits, we have the spirituality and the perspective of ministry which prepare us well to serve in these extraordinary circumstances,” he said.

The event proceeded with a roll call of the names of the fallen Boston College alumni since World War I and a benediction. As they listed the names of the BC alumni that perished in World War II, the longest list of them all, an infant in the audience fittingly began to wail. A traditional salute concluded the service. n

One of the ongoing research topics and Kafka’s research passions concerns the complicated and perplexing problem of why there still are underground seismic activities in the Eastern area of the U.S. even though it is not a plate boundary.

The question of whether earthquakes are predictable or have ever been successfully predicted has invoked skepticism among scientists, including Kafka himself, and has forced them to critique different possibilities of conjectures.

As a new director of the observatory, Kafka pictures the Weston Observatory as a leading research center aiming for three goals: seismic research, science education, and public outreach. In addition to the long-lived mission of studying the earthquakes, the observatory provides educational programs and tours to educate the public about the science behind the movement of the earth and its significance.

Seismographs are also placed in classrooms and public libraries to further promote earthquake awareness in the general public. “We are now all of these network[s] of intersecting circles,” Kafka said. “That, to me, is where the observatory of the 21st century is going. And we’re scientists, so we want to continue doing research but we want our research to be enlivened by the other parts of the network.”

Like all other independent research institutions, however, the Weston Observatory faces inevitable financial challenges such as funding and maintaining and supporting the equipment, as well as a need to inform the students of its existence and continue the attempt to integrate its purpose with academic science courses.

“I think that one of the keys to growth is to creatively grow all those different aspects of the observatory and to continue to be a priceless resource to Boston College,” Kafka said. He also explained his efforts to keep updating the website to be a readily available resource to students while struggling to publicize tours and colloquia despite its distance from the main campus.

“We have this great resource, and it’s interesting, and people feel really good about the Jesuit heritage over here and this is part of it,” Kafka said. “The challenge is how to bring that to students.” n

The Heights

A4

Give up Starbucks

Three panelists consider women’s role in the contemporary Church

By Julie Orenstein Heights Editor

Daniel Lee Before I write my last column for The Heights next week, my friend who is going abroad next semester suggested that I write about the life of studying abroad for the juniors who are going abroad in the spring.

Instead of giving you an instruction, I would like to try to tell you what I do in new environments.

I suppose many students who have begun preparing for their spring semester abroad are building great expectations, with excitement as well as some fear. I personally try not to build too fantastic of images of my future cities because, from my experiences, the expectations are always wrong. Also, from my friends’ experiences, abroad fantasies could make you very depressed when the reality doesn’t meet your standard. If the reality is way off your expectations, keep calm and ask for help.

Local friends, local institutions, and most importantly, the Boston College Office of International Programs (OIP) always offered me practical and satisfying solutions.

Before you jump on the plane, you must consider the exact reasons you are going abroad. In my honest opinion, if the purpose of your departure is to have some time off from BC and have the time of ‘hakuna matata,’ you would most likely waste the value of an international experience.

Hakuna matata is important, but being dropped in a foreign land is a reality. The fundamental objective of studying abroad is survival in every aspect of your health and security, emotional stability, social interaction, and your academic performance.

Failure in these basic aspects defeats the purpose of studying abroad in that you or I may not gain a truly meaningful experience.

From the moment I disembark from the plane, I pay close attention to the way people walk. Although it sounds funny, believe it or not, people in different cities walk differently—the point being that details of the way people behave, even casual walking, can tell you a lot of information about the city and the culture.

So, try to catch those little details of the culture. For me, these specifics give me more fun when I practice the details along side the natives.

The core of my strategy is to blend with the people around me.

With my distinctive black hair and skin color, I used to think how I look would delay the process of blending. Nonetheless, my eight years of blending tells me that how you perceive your environment matters more than looks. Disguising yourself is different though—disguising would be a violation of the social interaction aspect of studying abroad by deceiving your foreign friends.

An important part of blending is not to lose who you are. And, avoid Americans, except those who you can trust.

Before I open my mouth, the majority of new people I meet group me with the Asian characters. As soon as I talk, people forget or disregard my national background—this is how successful my blending has been. Ironically, my closest friends know how international or Korean I can be. Your foreign friends would still want American friends. I conceal where I’m from, but I don’t conceal who I am.

You are going to need to give up Starbucks coffees, though. Starbucks is a place for non-Americans trying something American, and the second reason—if you just genuinely like coffee. I sat at Starbucks only when I really missed BC and my friends.

The most challenging part of blending is mastering the language and getting rid of accents. After all those years, I still have unidentified accents in my English as much as I had strong American accents in German. After I took a course to learn standard German articulation, I felt more confident in socializing— and they loved it. When those little exotic details become natural, the feeling of satisfaction is inexplicable.

Be safe and enjoy being foreign.

You will miss your city when you are on the homebound flight.

Daniel Lee is a senior-staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at news@bcheights.com.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

tiffany law / Heights Staff

McAleese and her husband spoke on the benefits of an international education.

McAleeses discuss education abroad B y D an P erea -K ane For The Heights On Monday evening, students, faculty, and members of the local community had an opportunity to hear about international education from Mary and Martin McAleese, former president of Ireland and university chancellor of Dublin City University, respectively.

To start off the dialogue, Mar y talked about international education in the context of her own experience as a fellow at the University. “On a personal level, it is a wonderful experience to be here in America—inserted deeply into another culture,” she said. “It’s a going away without the comforts of home.”

She also talked about this in terms of her home country, which has a culture of hospitality and is thus a very popular place for American students to study abroad. Ireland also benefits from its membership in the European Union.

Martin also commented on what international education means to him. “When I think about international education, I think about the internationalization of college campuses and the globalization of the mindset of students,” he said. “These kinds of things are essential.”

Mar tin talke d ab out the world’s relation to education in particular, claiming that education is about preparing students to make a decent contribution and that, increasingly, this contribution is in a global marketplace. In particular, he stressed creativity, imagination, and innovation as the keys to doing good in the world and being lifelong learners.

Globalization could ameliorate the problems of the world today, Mary said. “I think that globally, the kind of problems we face have to do with fear and ignorance,” she said. “There is a danger that the more parochially and locally we think, the more we lose sight of how other people think.”

She discussed how this relates to the Northern Ireland peace process, which involved American lawmakers such as Bill Clinton and Tip O’Neill coming over to mediate and help resolve conflict between loyalists and nationalists. This led to a robust and functional peace process, according to Mary.

Martin added that he believes international education

can play a role in challenging stereotypes. “When we began to make the effort to work with the man across the street, we were able to engage them more fully,” he said. “I think we do challenge stereotypes and bring back challenges from abroad.”

Mary also mentioned how the Irish have long been a migrator y people, even before the potato famine of the 1840s.

Today in America, about 25 percent of citizens are of some Irish descent.

“Looking back to the famine, it’s hard to even imagine the despair that these people were in,” Martin said. “It was kind of a lost generation, but now we have second and third generations of these people who became a tremendous asset.”

Mary discussed why she decided to study canon law at the Gregorian University in Rome.

She had originally wanted to study English, but would only have been able to do so in Ottawa or Washington, so instead she choose to take up studies in Italy in order to be closer to home. She also addressed the importance of learning Italian there, a language that she could have in common with her peers at the university.

Martin stressed the importance of change. “I’m a firm believer that we should keep changing,” he said. “No matter what we’re doing in life, it can become monotonous and repetitive if we don’t change.”

At the same time, Mary said that one does not have to leave their country to develop a new mindset. “Basic fundamental pedagogy encourages students to be good thinkers,” she said.

“We must create the space for a more probative form of education.”

She focused on teaching as more important than research in the university setting. She explained that teaching and learning are the lifeblood of education and that she would like this to return to Irish higher education.

She also emphasized, in response to a question from Bill Warren, graduate student at the School of Theology and Ministry, that cost is a large concern in higher education nowadays, especially in America.

As a possible solution, she offered up the hope that perhaps innovations in technology will democratize education certification and allow more students to gain useful skills. n

Three central questions surrounding women and their role in the Catholic Church as it stands today guided the conversation Tuesday evening in an event featuring four prominent women in the Boston College theological community.

Vice Provost for Faculties and medieval religion scholar Patricia DeLeeuw moderated the discussion, which was entitled, “Women for a Contemporary Church,” and was hosted by the Church in the 21st Century Center (C21) in conjunction with the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) and the Women’s Resource Center (WRC).

DeLeeuw was first to pose questions to the three panelists, beginning by addressing the topic of Pope Francis and what he means for the Catholic Church and Catholic women, in particular.

Francine Cardman, an STM associate professor of historical theology and church history, pointed out that Francis seems to be a “man with a plan,” displaying humility, openness, and a commitment to the poor. “On women, he has a lot to learn,” Cardman said, calling Francis “surprisingly old-fashioned” when it comes to accepting women as more visible members of the Church. She acknowledged, however, that he is a

person who is open to learning, which will hopefully continue in his position as pope.

Megan McCabe, a doctoral student in theological ethics at BC, pointed out that, while many are excited about the new pope and what he will bring to the Church, people should be careful not to abandon those who are in need at the local level. Local problems, she said, are easily eclipsed by change at the top.

A second question that the panel spoke on was how they, as women, chose theology as a career path. All three panelists—Cardman, McCabe, and professor of theology M. Shawn Copeland—harkened back to a profound interest in theology while studying the topic in high school and college and wanting to engage it more deeply through further study.

“I had a desire for change,” Copeland said, going on to describe how she wanted to be a theologian at age 12 after writing a research paper on Pius XII. In the mid 1960s, immediately following the Second Vatican Council which addressed the Catholic Church in the modern era, Copeland said there was change in the air not just for the Church, but for society as a whole. “We needed to figure out what God had to say about this,” she said.

Cardman also pointed to the period around Vatican II as influential in her career choice.

“I thought anything was possible then,” she said.

The f inal que stion f rom DeLeeuw involved what gives the panelists hope about the future of the Catholic Church.

Cardman said that she hopes the Church moves toward helping and learning from the poor, acknowledging that if we help the poor, we help women, too.

McCabe referred back to a theme she discussed throughout the evening, that of communities . Communities of many kinds—women, multiple generations of theologians, and even just individuals that find the same issues troubling—were all sources of hope to which McCabe pointed. These communities can provide comfort and the knowledge that there is something bigger within theology than just the institutional Church structure.

The panel then answered more specific questions from the audience, addressing issues such as being responsible Catholics on the local level and making the Church more welcoming for younger people.

Copeland encouraged people to question their own spiritual lives and consider how they can nourish them on a daily basis, while McCabe suggested being open to listening to those who feel unwelcome in the Church and what they have to say in order to create a more meaningful local parish community. n

Juseub yoon / for the heights

Vice Provost Patricia DeLeeuw led a discussion on the current state of the Catholic Church and women’s evolving roles.

Panel focuses on global careers B y A rielle C edeno For The Heights

On Wednesday evening, the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), the Office of International Programs (OIP), and the Career Center hosted a panel addressing the pursuit of international careers.

“An inter national c are er is a series of related jobs that take place outside the United States or within the United States, with a substantial international focus,” said Adrienne Nussbaum, director of OISS. “The goal of this program is to help students understand the breadth and depth of what an international career can be, to think about the skills and competencies necessar y for pursuing an international career, and to highlight the resources on campus available to students.”

The panel featured five Boston College alumni, all with careers within the international arena or with an international fo cus : Karen Poto okian, an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice with previous work at the U.S. Department of Defense and A&S ’94; Bruno Donat, Office of the Special Envoy of the SecretaryGeneral for the Great Lakes with previous work at the United Nations and World Bank and A&S ’95; Kelly Hunsicker, Buyer for The TJX Companies and CSOM ’08; Caitlin Ferrarini, International Programs Manager at United Planet with previous work at Education First and LGSOE ’09; and Andrew Shirman,

Founder of Education In Sight and A&S ’10.

The panel emphasized the variety of international careers available to students—careers in government, business, communications, education, and healthcare, among others.

The alumni explained the steps necessary to pursue a career abroad. Beyond exhausting the resources available on campus, the panelists encouraged pursuing entry-level internships in the field of interest, studying abroad in the desired location, and maintaining contacts abroad.

“Networking has been the most important aspect in my pursuit of an international career,” Shirman said. “Once you do go international—whether that is for an internship, study abroad program, or a job—developing a strong base of friends in different places around the world is key, as it will help you further your opportunities abroad.” Shirman worked for non-profit organization Teach for China before founding his own non-profit, Education In Sight, which seeks to bring eyeglasses to rural areas in the U.S. and China.

The panel also explained the importance of developing and maintaining relationships with students and faculty. “Don’t network only with potential employers, network with your peers, your classmates, your friends—developing these friendships now will prove to be immensely important later in life when you are all in the work force,” Donat said.

Within the spectrum of international careers, the panel highlighted the importance of cultivating certain skill sets including knowing multiple languages, being comfortable with public speaking, having successful interpersonal communication, and f lexibility.

“Listen twice more that you do sp eak ,” Dinot said. “Oftentimes, in the international world, you have no choice but to listen.”

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e p a n e l emphasized the importance of cultural sensitivity and appre c i ation while abro ad.

Especially when working internationally, it is important to be able to develop business and personal relationships, despite cultural difference.

“Maintaining a cultural open-mindedness, which you gain from experiences abroad or being friends with international students, can help you when pursuing an international career,” Ferrarini said. “You really do need to make personal connections with people–that may be the most important aspect of my job. It’s not just negotiating and buying, I have to build strong relationships with people, internally within the company, and externally with our sellers.”

This panel was a part of the larger program of International Education Week at BC, which seeks to highlight the importance of increasing awareness of the various cultures, peoples, and languages by addressing international education and exchange. n

CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Heights The Heights

Thursday, November 14, 2013

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

Personal Assistant needed to organize and help.

Basic computer skills needed, good with organization. Willing to pay $300 per week. Interested person should contact: lizzyjones06@ outlook.com.

Personal Assistant needed to organize and help.

Basic computer skills needed, good with organization. Willing to pay $300 per week. Interested person should contact: aadrain11@aol. com.

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

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

A5 A5

THE HEIGHTS

A6

Most recent BC Ignites strays from original vision

Thursday, November 14, 2013

QUOTE OF THE DAY A healthy attitude is contagious, but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.

-Tom Stoppard (1937-), Czech-born British playwright

Changes in location and marketing strategy led to an event narrower in scope than previous BC Ignites The third iteration of BC Ignites—a forum that was started last year by Conor Sullivan, GLSOE ’14, as a means for students with diverse opinions to speak honestly and publicly about controversial and difficult topics—was held on Monday night in conjunction with the Women’s Resource Center’s Love Your Body Week. Co-hosted by UGBC, this year’s forum focused on body image and confidence issues among Boston College students—the two BC Ignites events held in the fall and spring of the 2012-13 academic year were about diversity and GLBTQ issues, respectively. While neither of last year’s events was perfect, they each accomplished the basic intent of BC Ignites: to bring a diverse range of voices to bear on topics that are often ignored, especially at BC. While Monday’s event was successful in shedding light on a particular issue on BC’s campus, it failed to draw the broad range of perspectives delivered by former BC Ignites events.

The event featured four student speakers and one professor, Arissa Oh of the history department. It is true that BC Ignites has not, in the past, excluded faculty and administrators from speaking—the inaugural event’s lineup included Ines Maturana Sendoya, the director of the Office of AHANA Student Programs, who gave an introduction to the program and a brief summary of race and racism within the context of BC. It is crucial, however, that the forum remain focused on students’ voices. Oh’s presence was not a bad thing—indeed, her speech was thoughtful and nuanced. Because the event was marketed as “BC Ignites, Featuring Professor Oh,” and the program description on the WRC’s website stated that Oh would be giving the event’s “keynote

speech,” though, the focus was taken away from the student speakers.

Additionally, this BC Ignites was held in a Fulton lecture hall, rather than an open space like the first two versions.

Weather can, of course, be prohibitive, but the location nevertheless made Monday’s event more like a typical panel or lecture. The event, although well-attended, was less public than last year’s— passersby did not have the opportunity to drop in, and audience members who left early were much more disruptive.

Unfortunately, the range of speakers— who bravely discussed their own issues with body image and eating disorders—generally explored similar themes, and the series of talks did not reflect the topic’s diversity. For example, all of the speakers were women, leaving 48 percent of BC’s undergraduate population unacknowledged. Male students struggle with body image and confidence issues as well, and BC Ignites would have been the perfect forum to bring those problems to light.

Most significantly, Monday’s BC Ignites did not successfully open the door to discussion of body image and self-confidence as a broader issue. The event, overall, was limited in scope and did not address larger difficulties within the BC culture.

The BC Ignites planning team should look back to last year’s successful discussions when preparing for future events.

Earlier and more visible calls for speech submissions could encourage greater diversity of speeches, and the planning team should appreciate the previous location and marketing strategy as crucial components of the event. As a forum for conversation, BC Ignites is unique, and it is important that it remain that way.

EMILY DEVLIN / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

Saturday’s game honors resilient senior class This year’s seniors have led the turnaround after the end of a bowl streak and the firing of a head coach The Boston College football team has a chance to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2010 on Saturday, but that is not the only reason this week’s game is important. It will also be Senior Day for 18 of the Eagles, as they play at Alumni Stadium in front of a home crowd for the last time in their collegiate careers.

Few outgoing senior classes have been through as much as this group.

The combination of multiple recruiting classes, as well as transfers, has experienced plenty. They’ve been at BC when the bowl streak was snapped, playing through four-win and two-win seasons before their head coach, Frank Spaziani, was fired.

Rather than focus on individual success in their final season, the seniors have

been the lifeblood of the team’s dramatic turnaround. They deserve most of the credit for pushing BC into bowl contention, rallying behind new head coach Steve Addazio’s message for the benefit of the team.

Senior Day has a strong tradition at BC. The seniors in the student section typically stay through the end of the game to sing the fight song and the Alma Mater with the players. This year especially, the moment shouldn’t only be shared between the senior fans and the players. These 18 student-athletes have earned appreciation from the entire student body for their contribution, and simply staying through the end of the game would be a welcome move to show such appreciation.

Walsh’s election bodes well for BC’s development The mayor-elect has proposed to dismantle the BRA, which could ease relations between Boston and BC Boston will usher in a new era of leadership under mayor-elect Marty Walsh this January. A graduate of the Woods College of Advancing Studies, Walsh’s election presents the opportunity for an improved relationship between Boston College and the city of Boston, particularly through his plans to dismantle the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and restructure the way the city approaches economic development.

In his campaign for mayor, Walsh outlined a proposal to replace the BRA with a new economic development agency that would be under less control from the mayor’s office. The new agency would be held more accountable to the City Council and have a director work-

ing under a contract, as well as board members subject to term limits. Walsh developed this plan with the hope of improving efficiency and transparency in the city’s development.

A revitalized development authority would greatly benefit BC, allowing the University to grow according to its institutional master plan. Attempts to do so in the past have been restricted by the BRA, most recently in the tiresome effort to gain approval for the construction of a new dorm on the site of More Hall on Lower Campus. Development of BC’s campus is vital to attracting more students to the University, and Walsh’s plan seems promising to aide in the realization of plans that have been in place for several years.

HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 DAVID COTE, Editor-in-Chief JAMIE CIOCON, General Manager JOSEPH CASTLEN, Managing Editor

EDITORIAL

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Contributors: Ryan Dowd, Bennet Johnson, Sarah Moore, JT Mindlin, Jennifer Suh, Breck Wills

The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 400 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages.

The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted

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to the newspaper.

Submissions must be signed and should include the author’s connection to Boston College, address, and phone number. Letters and columns can be submitted online at www.bcheights.com, by email to editor@bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.

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The Heights

Thursday, November 14, 2013

A7

What is strong?

Kimberly Crowley Thanksgivukkah - This year, Thanksgiving overlaps with the beginning of Channukah. This joyous coincidence occurs only once every 70,000 years, and we think that we would be remiss not to celebrate the two of them in this event that none of the approximately 900 generations on either side of us will ever experience. So stock up on the gelt and the stuffing, buy a menorah and a turkey, celebrate Judah Maccabee and the pilgrims and the Native Americans, and thank God for this remarkable coincidence.

Audio Bliss - Gawker is holding a contest and the winner gets ear buds which supposedly block out all unwanted noise but let in what you need to hear. First of all, this is nothing short of magic. We would like a kind that is very small and that you can turn on at will by simply thinking the command in your brain. Imagine how cool that would be. If you were in the middle of a frustrating situation, all you had to do was think “on” and all of that useless, annoying noise would be gone and you would be in blissful peace.

On the flip side, however, if these became popular and mass produced and everyone had them, you would never know if people were listening to you, which is sad. So it would be best if only we got these special ear buds, we think.

Fully Fleece - Fleece-lined tights are God’s gift to the world. If you don’t have a pair, you need one. If you think they are only for girls, you’re wrong.

Putting them on is like slipping into a soft, warm, two-pronged heaven that hugs you tightly all day long.

We wish they sold fleece-lined full body suits. With a hood, so our ears didn’t get cold.

I joined Strong Women, Strong Girls my sophomore year for a number of reasons. On a basic level, I joined because I was going through that awkward postfreshman-year transition in which I realized I hadn’t really become involved in anything yet. More seriously, I joined because I was inspired by the idea of the organization: to utilize the lessons learned from strong women throughout history to encourage girls and young women to become strong women themselves. Upon hearing the mission, I filled out my application, complete with an essay in which I described the long line of exceptionally strong, stubborn Irish women in my family, and decided that I was going to become a fierce role model for little girls. I threw myself into the organization, and, slowly, empowering girls to become strong women became more and more important to me.

It wasn’t until this year that I realized I had been overlooking one crucial element … namely, that I have very little idea of what being a strong woman really means.

The realization came to me after a mentoring session during which a woman from SWSG corporate came to make sure that everyone at my site was having a successful mentoring experience. Long story short, my co-mentors and I were discussing unique talents with the girls and, to try to make myself more relatable to girls who were having a rough time naming talents, I began trying to boost their confidence levels through self-deprecation. For instance, when they were coloring flowers, I said, “Wow! Look how good that is. I can’t draw at all.” It wasn’t until the end of the session, when the woman who had come to observe suggested I stop putting myself down during lessons, that I began to question my actions.

Tom Cruise Is dumb - Surprise, surprise: Tom Cruise said something stupid. He apparently compared his profession as an actor to a soldier fighting in Afghanistan, in terms of how much time he has to spend away from his kid. Good.

The Prematurely Employed - Thumbs down seniors who have jobs already.

Sure, we’re proud of you and go BC and all that, but some of us are not so lucky, and your constant reminders that school no longer matters and it’s fine if you sleep through your noon class once a week and never turn in homework are no longer welcome.

We do not need to hear about how you went to Mary Ann’s the night before our midterm, or about how you sleep nine hours a day. In fact, you are welcome to sleep through the classes we share for the rest of the semester, so we don’t have to hear about this anymore.

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I’m not a completely idealistic fool.

I know that “strong” and “weak” are always going to be relative terms. I believe the relativity can be as salient as we allow it to be, however. There is always going to be someone stronger than me in every aspect of my life, and, odds are, there is also always going to be someone weaker as well. As cliched as it sounds, the world is filled with people who differ in all kinds of ways, and trying to arrive at some conception of what is strong or weak based on some average obtained from the world around us is as worthless as it is futile.

We fall back on comparison because it is the easiest method of coming to understand a concept. Our brains store information by relating it to previously known information. We commonly deal in categories and genres and stereotypes. Just as we are careful about over stereotyping and over generalizing, however, we need to be careful about over comparing. Just because something is easy does not make it accurate. In fact, frequently in the case of self-understanding, the conclusions that are most difficult to understand are the most formative.

I wasn’t wrong to admit to my girls that I have both strengths and weaknesses. Being a strong woman does not mean that I need to be strong in all aspects of my life. Everyone has faults, everyone experiences instances of sadness and hopelessness, everyone gets scared, everyone lives with imperfection. It wasn’t weak of me to be open with them about this inevitability. It was unproductive of me, however, to model for them the idea that my strengths and weaknesses must be derived by comparison to other girls. If I were to teach my girls anything this year, I hope it would be that our strengths and weaknesses should be our own to define and that it is only through this very process of struggling with self-definition that we will become the strong women we are so hoping to be.

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

Where film and literature meet

Tiffany Ashtoncourt Conspiracy Theory Fodder - Have you ever thought about how much of your life is controlled by the location of outlets? Ponder this for a moment.

They control where you sit in the dining halls, whether or not you abandon your seat to sit with a friend or escape a particularly loud group of people who have inconveniently perched near you. But if you snagged the spot next to the outlet, that’s it. No moving for you. They even dictate where you sit in your own residence, whatever that may be. Your movements are dictated by where the outlets live.

They’re like small magnets pulling you to them, and tricking you into thinking you’ve decided yourself to go there. The people that decide where these things go, however, placed them relatively conveniently, for the most part, thus rendering even more subtle their influence over us. Hmm….

“You want to model the characteristics of a strong woman for them,” she reminded me. “And you’re not by putting yourself down.”

I immediately nodded, disappointed in myself for having failed to be strong for my girls but also confused over what I had done wrong. On the one hand, women do have a tendency to put themselves down, and this is something that needs to be watched. On the other, is there something inherently weak about being able to recognize your weaknesses? I couldn’t bring myself to say yes, yet, I couldn’t bring myself to feel justified either.

Thus, upon arriving home, I decided to try to reflect on my conceptions of what makes a strong woman. I began trying to recall everything I had ever learned about feminism, ranging from the fight for women’s suffrage to the gender wage gap to discussions on women in business and politics.

I thought about the articles I’ve read debating whether Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift is a more feminist role model, whether the media focuses too much on Hilary Clinton’s pant suits instead of her politics, whether Robin Thicke’s wife choosing to be in the “Blurred Lines” music video was an empowered move or not … the list went on and on, and I became increasingly confused.

It wasn’t until sometime later when I was discussing the definition of beauty with my friends and listening to one of my more cynical guy friends insist that beauty is defined by comparing people to one another, that I realized why I had been upset with myself. While I still do not believe there is anything wrong with recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, I hate that we as women—and even as men—tend to arrive at these recognitions based on comparison. I’m tired of listening to people criticize Taylor Swift by praising Miley Cyrus or vice versa, I’m tired of overhearing girls claiming they are “fat” or “ugly” through comparison to “thinner” or “prettier” friends, I’m tired of putting myself down because I subconsciously have begun to feel it is expected of me to a certain extent.

Recently, on a bitter cold October day, I found myself in front of my laptop, debating whether I should see the usual mindless rubbish known as reality TV or enlighten my soul by seeing one of my favorite novels on the big screen. The prospect of it being possibly mangled by either inept directors or by too many unnecessary glitzy shots (sorry Great Gatsby), really made me question whether I should proceed.

This question may seem like a bookwormy kind of question, but it isn’t: it is a film connoisseur’s dilemma, as well. When viewers watch a film based on a literary piece, they’re essentially witnessing the interpretations of various individuals, such as the actor’s understanding of the character and the director’s view of how the plot should be presented. In addition, unlike the “mental movies” that the audience saw as they read the novel, a film production is restricted by issues that viewers’ imaginations never had to cope with, such as budgeting constraints, running-time limits, technical glitches, and casting difficulties. Those things will only reduce the chance that a movie will please literature aficionados. I myself am a lover of both literature and film because of the unique ability to show off all of humanity’s intricacies, so I’m not critical of little inaccuracies or certain character omissions in literary adaptations in film.

I get annoyed, however, whenever the essence of a novel is completely lost or altered because it can permanently deter

Lecture Hall

people from reading the novel or wanting to see it as a movie.

For example, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece The Scarlet Letter, a 19thcentury novel about a woman who is shunned in Puritan-era Massachusetts because she conceives a child out of wedlock, has yet to be made into film in this century, thanks to a “freely adapted” 1995 version starring Demi Moore (you can already tell it’s going to be a disaster) and Gary Oldman that was universally panned. Despite the many reasons why it failed, such as the casting and script, the movie took so many liberties with the text that the only thing similar to the book was the title. Even the original ending was changed from the one in which the protagonist, Hester Prynne, and her lover are buried under the same tombstone etched with the letter A, to one in which she rides off into the sunset on a horse-drawn carriage with her lover and child, away from a mob of crazed Puritans.

Sometimes a film makes every attempt to be faithful to a book, but in doing so it loses the true spirit of the text. The 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, is to many Jane Austen fans the canonical film adaptation of the novel.

Now, at the risk of sounding heretical, I will say that this five-hour-long series slows down the pace of Austen’s novel to the point that the novel’s famed vivacity and wit is lost. Also, as a viewer you get the impression that each of the actors is acting according to the literal definitions of the words Austen used to describe the characters. This is especially true of Colin Firth, whose portrayal of Darcy is the literal definition of brooding: gloomy, dark, and depressingly annoying.

One of Hollywood’s latest literary renditions, Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre, is actually one of my favorite literary

cinema spins, despite the fact that I really disliked Charlotte Bronte’s magnum opus (yes, I prefer Emily Bronte). He used panoramic views of the English moors to evoke the romantic elements, and the camera focuses on meaningful details such as the way in which a character clears his throat or clasps her hands. In so doing, Fukunaga was able to show the audience all the major plot lines and character back-stories in only 120 minutes by mostly telling the story in a series of flashbacks. This is definitely an instance where cinema actually conveyed the true meaning of the novel as a visual experience, which is one of the benefits of literature in film: an experiential immersion for the mind and senses.

So, what movie was I debating to see? After having balanced out the possibility of total heartache with the possibility of absolute bliss, I decided to take the $3.99 gamble and watch the 2005 cinematic version of Pride and Prejudice. As a Jane Austen fan, I found this movie deeply rewarding and actually exciting. Elizabeth Bennet and her family are portrayed as the threedimensional characters that they are in the novel, and despite the difficulty that exists in translating Austen’s work to the big screen, given the subtleties she conveyed in her novels, such as a shy glance, the director, Joe Wright, did a wonderful job using the camera to convey the tension.

All in all, I guess in the end literature and cinema can come together and form something that is actually accurate and exciting. So,here’s to 2014 and all of the potential Oscar submissions. I’m ready for it.

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

BY PAT HUGHES AND DON ORR

The opinions and commentaries of the staff columnists and cartoonists appearing on this page represent the views of the author or artist of that particular piece, and not necessarily the views of The Heights. Any of the columnists and artists for the Opinions section of The Heights can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Behind the Hunger Games Eleanor Sciannella Reporters covering the Hunger Games movies like to talk about the Hunger Games as if it’s a love story—their favorite question being “Peeta or Gale?” But the Hunger Games goes so much deeper than the charged Peeta-Katniss moments and the action-packed plot. It’s about a concept brought up in the third book, “Panem et Circenses,” which translates to “Bread and Circuses” in Latin. That phrase expresses the idea that people give up their political responsibilities and therefore their power in exchange for food and entertainment.

This speaks to the residents of the capitol of Panem, who live extravagant lives of luxury and watch as the children of the other districts are sent off to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games. They are well provided for, while the people of most of the other districts have to struggle each day just to stay alive. The government of Panem exists to keep this status quo wherein each district produces what they are meant to so that the people of the capitol and other, richer districts can live overly comfortable lives. As long as the people of the capitol are kept happy, and the people of the poorer districts are kept from rebelling, then the people in power can maintain control.

So the Hunger Games pits the people of the districts against each other to remind them that they are powerless, while providing the people of the capitol with sufficient entertainment. The people of the capital do not even know the squalor that the other districts live in, so they can’t comprehend just how much easier their lives are, whereas the poorer districts see the extravagance of the capitol on TV all the time.

The rich in this country experience a similar phenomenon. Obviously people here know that extreme poverty exists, but very few know the experience of a person living in poverty, which is so important when making laws that affect the economy and social programs. When one does not know the extent or the cause of an injustice, it is easy to let it continue, without even knowing it. A lot of people go through life without even knowing they might have the ability to change the way things are, and they give up the right to activism and social change when they accept a cushy life spent in fine clothes in front of a TV. Each year, the children of Panem from ages 12 to 18 enter their names into the pool of people who could be chosen to compete.

They have to enter their names once more each year that passes, but if one enters their name more than once they get an extra ration of oil and grain. So, the poorer families are forced to have their children put their names into the pool more times to get enough food to last them the year.

Even when her family gets the extra rations, Katniss still has to hunt outside the limits of District 12 illegally. Like poor families in this country whose children have to drop out of school to work, or young people who resort to drug trade to make quick money, the poorest people of each district are forced into risky and illegal behavior.

The whole book is spent in disapproval of this system in which such extreme poverty exists so that those who are too rich can enjoy frivolous entertainment. Katniss becomes an enemy of the capitol—she and President Snow have to walk a very fine line with each other, always predicting each other’s moves.

If Katniss becomes a catalyst for a rebellion against the capitol, then those in power might lose that power. Just like in today’s society, there is so much resistance from the government to make any actual reform of the system because any move to improve the condition of the poor goes against the best interest of those in power, those with money. There is so much stigma against the poor, so much “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” mentality that perpetuates the cycle of poverty and keeps the wealth with the people who already have it. Our government does not preserve the status quo through the totalitarian control that President Snow of Panem does, but there are definite measures taken to preserve the capitalist, consumerist, and classist system in place. The governments of both our country and Panem take action to keep the richest people happy and the poorest people helpless so that the people in charge can keep calling the shots.

The Hunger Games resonates with us because it points to what is wrong with our society—we are happy with our iPods and TV shows and big houses while there are people in our own country who suffer as a result. This next Hunger Games movie starts to get much more into that rebellion against the status quo—against the divide between rich and poor. And Katniss is used as a key symbol in the propaganda machine that fuels the rebellion against everything that is wrong in her world.

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

THE HEIGHTS

A8

Thursday, November 14, 2013

NC STATE VS. BC

KEYS TO THE GAME BOSTON COLLEGE ATTACK THE PASSING GAME Considering NC State’s struggles under center this season, expect BC’s defense to apply pressure and force mistakes early on.

STRIKE A BALANCE If BC utilizes both Andre Williams from the ground and Chase Rettig from the air, it’ll keep the Wolfpack off balance on defense.

NC STATE FIND AN EARLY RYTHM This week’s starting quarterback Brandon Mitchell will need to execute early to gain the confidence NC State has lacked under center.

STOP WILLIAMS While his success is far from a secret, Andre Williams poses the threat of the nation’s most potent ground game against NC State’s defense.

DANIEL LEE / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

After playing through two losing seasons under former head coach Frank Spaziani, BC’s seniors have helped build the football program back up along with new coach Steve Addazio.

18 BC seniors to play their final home game this week Football, from A10

PLAYERS TO WATCH BOSTON COLLEGE IAN WHITE

WEIGHT: 302 HEIGHT: 6’5” POSITION: OL YEAR: Senior

STEVEN DANIELS WEIGHT: 249 HEIGHT: 6’0” POSITION: LB YEAR: Sophomore

VIRGINIA TECH RASHARD SMITH WEIGHT: 177 HEIGHT: 5’9” POSITION: WR YEAR: Senior

replacement.

While Addazio and his staff have played a significant role in the team’s turnaround, with the Eagles sitting at 54, the seniors accepting the new coach’s message helped lay the groundwork.

“I think that the most important thing about this senior class is that they have totally bought in to everything that we wanted to do,” Addazio said. “They have embraced it, they have loved it, and even in the last two weeks, they have brought their mental part of their game even harder. These guys have gone the extra mile in terms of preparation.

“There were times in each huddle where there was a real refusal to lose and a couple guys challenged people, like Matt Patchan in that offensive huddle, and I think that is part of the growth. In week 10 this senior class is still growing and that is what is amazing to me.”

The seniors have produced at almost every position on the field, leading the way for the Eagles. Rettig, Amidon, and Williams have been the biggest offensive playmakers.

Rettig has embraced the move to the power running game, providing relief through the air when needed. After a rough stretch of games in losses to Clemson and North Carolina in which Rettig completed 23 of his 41 passing attempts for 262 yards and one touchdown while being sacked nine times, the quarterback has turned things around. In the last two wins over the Hokies and Aggies, Rettig has completed 28 of his 39 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns without being sacked once.

Amidon has already broken Rich Gunnell’s school record for career-receiving yards, still finding ways to contribute as opposing secondaries focus all of their attention on him as BC’s main receiving threat.

And then there’s Williams. After

struggling to establish himself as a go-to running back for the first three years of his career, he’s now on the shortlist for the Doak Walker Award and is leading the nation in yards with 1,471. Against the Aggies, he broke the school record for rushing yards in a game with 295.

White and Patchan have helped strengthen an offensive line that struggled last season, paving the way for Williams, and giving Rettig time to throw. Naples, Sinkovec, and Parsons have been there blocking for Williams as well in power formations. Freese hasn’t missed a field goal yet this season, and his punting has been impressive. Edebali, Pierre-Louis, and Divitto are the heart of the defense’s new, aggressive attack under defensive coordinator Don Brown.

The Eagles had to improve pretty much everywhere to get this close to bowl eligibility, and the seniors led the way.

“It is really important,” Addazio said.

“These seniors came in here when the program was still winning and it is in-

teresting to watch them latch and grab on right now and develop. We are obviously going to miss those seniors and that will be for another conversation at the end of the season. The seniors have been through so much and now they are swinging away with everything they have.”

When they take the field at Alumni Stadium for the last time on Saturday, they’ll have the opportunity to make BC bowl eligible for the first time since 2010, back when most of them were freshmen or sophomores.

“I will always think of this senior class because no matter what happens we have laid a great footprint and a really good standard has been set for this program,” Addazio said. “That needed to happen and that really has been accomplished.

The foundation and the things that needed to go down have happened here now, and the seniors have done a great job in helping lay that foundation.”

And the echoes can ring again. 

Eagles look to feast on Wolfpack’s quarterback woes

Y CHRIS GRIMALDI ROBERT CALDWELL B Assoc. Sports Editor

WEIGHT: 250 HEIGHT: 6’3” POSITION: LB YEAR: Senior

OUTCOMES BOSTON COLLEGE WILL WIN IF...

It turns its red zone opportunities into touchdowns, creating a deficit early on that will be too difficult for NC State’s inconsistent offense to catch up to.

NC STATE

WILL WIN IF...

Mitchell and the Wolfpack offense find early success against BC’s defense, which was shaken by New Mexico State last weekend.

NUMBERS TO KNOW BOSTON COLLEGE

357 195

Total Yards/g Rush Yards/g

163 1.0

Pass Yards/g Turnovers/g

NC STATE

410 182 Total Yards/g Rush Yards/g

228 2.2

Pass Yards/g Turnovers/g

The last time that the Boston College football team took on North Carolina State, it was under an extremely different set of circumstances.

The dismal 27-10 BC loss in Raleigh was a fitting end to the misery of a 2-10 season. On the eve of Frank Spaziani’s firing and an offseason journey filled with uncertainty, a November 2013 rematch with the Wolfpack at Alumni Stadium was worlds away from the Eagles’ concern as the season ended.

Yet the Eagles now find themselves in a very different spot, just two days away from another date with NC State. With a winning season in view and a bowl game invitation on the line, Saturday’s conference duel has more implications than last year’s BC squad could’ve imagined.

“This is going to be a really, really tough football game,” said head coach Steve Addazio.

At a glance, the Wolfpack’s 3-6 overall record, winless conference record, and current five-game losing streak don’t compare to the ACC powers BC has gone up against this season. Like BC, it’s adjusting to a new head coach in Dave Doeren following the departure of longtime skipper Tom O’Brien. While the Eagles are watching some of their hopes for rebuilding come into fruition, NC State finds itself on the wrong end of a reclamation process.

On offense, the Wolfpack hasn’t been able to fill the void left under center after losing longtime quarterback Mike Glennon and his 31 passing touchdowns in 2012 to the NFL. Four different signalcallers have taken snaps for Doeren’s team this year, and none of them have emerged as a permanent solution. As a result, NC State has received some of the worst production at quarterback of any Division I team in the country.

The committee of Pete Thomas, Brandon Mitchell, Garrett Leatham, and Bryant Shirreffs has combined for a paltry five passing touchdowns and 15 interceptions over nine games this season. After naming Mitchell the starter for Saturday’s contest, Doeren pointed to injuries at the position as a reason for poor statistical results. Yet weakness on the depth chart can’t tear a team apart that’s still on the hunt for bowl contention.

“Our guys know, and nobody’s pointing fingers at them,” Doeren said. “We’re supporting them. We know they’re try-

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Senior Kasim Edebali and the BC defense will look to bounce back from last weekend’s performance with a solid showing on Saturday. ing to do everything they can to help us finish the game.”

While a poor passing game poses problems for the Wolfpack heading into its game at Chestnut Hill, it provides the BC defense with a golden opportunity for redemption. The Eagles surrendered 34 points during nearly a must-win game at New Mexico State a week ago. BC’s defensive unit might see a chance to force turnovers and deliver a knockout blow to NC State’s anemic passing game, but Addazio recognized that the Eagles aren’t in a position to take anything for granted heading into the game.

“It doesn’t matter where we play, who we play,” he said. “It’s a dog fight. It’s a scratch. It’s a strain. It’s what we are and who we are, and we have to prepare each

week. That’s the way it’s going to be.”

Although the Eagles have their sights set on keeping NC State off the scoreboard, they’ll also have to make sure they execute with the ball. Even with senior running back Andre Williams, the nation’s leading rusher, BC won’t have an easy walk to the end zone on Saturday.

NC State’s defense has enjoyed some bright moments this year, including a strong performance against Clemson’s offensive arsenal.

“This is a good squad with really a lot of ability on defense,” Addazio said.

One of BC’s biggest obstacles on offense this weekend will be its own lack of depth. The Eagles have been riddled with injuries at wide receiver, and faced another setback last weekend when they

lost Harrison Jackson to a blind-side hit at New Mexico State. Williams and his classmates Chase Rettig and Alex Amdion will carry a heavy load from the line of scrimmage as they try to win the last home game of their careers.

In the wake of injuries, close losses, and rebuilding obstacles his team has confronted in 2013, Addazio is confident the Eagles will block out the noise of a whirlwind campaign and focus on four quarters of hard-hitting football. For the first time in a long time, BC will have something to play for beyond regular season pride.

“Both teams are fighting to be in bowl position,” Addazio said. “Both teams are hungry. So it’s going to be a really tough, physical battle." 

THE HEIGHTS

EDITORS’ EDITORS’PICKS PICKS

Thursday, November 14, 2013 The Week Ahead

Standings

Men’s basketball hosts Toledo tonight. Men’s hockey plays a home and home with UMass. Women’s soccer meets up with Northeastern in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday. Field hockey confronts Connecticut in its own NCAA tournament on Saturday. The Thunder and Clippers clash in LA.

Chris Grimaldi

27-23

Marly Morgus

26-24

Heights Staff

26-24

Austin Tedesco

24-26

A9

Recap from Last Week

Game of the Week

Field hockey fell to Syracuse in the ACC Tournament. Men’s hockey put up a 5-1 rout over BU in Agganis Arena. Men’s basketball fell to UMass in the Coaches vs. Cancer Boston Tipoff. Three different two-goal performances led women’s hockey past Northeastern. Stanford upset Oregon to break into the BCS top five.

Men’s Basketball

Guest Editor: Ryan Towey

Toledo

Asst. Metro Editor

“Nobody makes me bleed my own blood.”

Marly Morgus Asst. Sports Editor

Ryan Towey Asst. Metro Editor

Austin Tedesco Sports Editor

Chris Grimaldi Assoc. Sports Editor

BC

BC

Toledo

Toledo

Split

BC

BC

BC

Women’s Soccer: BC vs. Northeastern

BC

BC

Northeastern

BC

Field Hockey: No. 10 BC vs.No. 7 Connecticut

BC

UConn

Connecticut

BC

Clippers

OKC

OKC

OKC

This Week’s Games Men’s Basketball: BC vs. Toledo Men’s Hockey: No. 7 BC vs. UMass (Series)

NBA: Oklahoma City at LA Clippers

vs.

Boston College

Tonight, BC hosts Toledo in its home opener in Conte Forum as part of the regional round of the 2k Sports Classic, which benefits the Wounded Warrior Project. After two losses last weekend against Providence and UMass, the Eagles are in search of their first win of the season. Ryan Anderson, Olivier Hanlan, and the rest of the Eagles will hope to turn their season around early with this out-of-conference battle. Toledo has been more sucessful so far, winning its home opener against Northwestern Ohio by a margin of nearly 50 points, but has yet to be tested, playing only one game.

Tonight, 7 p.m.

BC notches first win of the season

BY MARLY MORGUS Asst. Sports Editor

On Tuesday night, the Boston College women’s basketball team rebounded from a weekend loss to Stanford to win 63 its first road Hofstra game of the Boston College 80 season against Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y. The game had special significance to senior captain Kristen Doherty, who grew up in the area and had a large group of friends and family cheering her and the Eagles on their way to an 80-63 win during which Doherty notched 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

“It was a great homecoming for Kristen Doherty,” said head coach Erik Johnson. “Again, she had another game all around where she does everything for us, assists, points, rebounds, defense.”

The Eagles were successful right from the start, making 46 percent of their field goals during the first half in sharp contrast to Hofstra’s 25 percent. At the end of the first segment of play, BC led Hofstra by a score of 39-28.

The Pride held the lead at only one point during the game when, with about 12 minutes remaining in the half, two straight 3-pointers put the Eagles down 12-10. That lead would quickly be negated, though, as BC went on a 14-0 scoring run in the middle of the half with contributions from junior Kat Cooper, sophomore Nicole Boudreau, Doherty, and freshman Kelly Hughes.

The strong numbers continued in the second half with BC scoring on 48.4 percent of its field goal attempts while Hofstra stayed stagnant around 25 percent.

Leading the Eagles’ offensive effort was Hughes who, after playing just one minute against Stanford, adjusted quickly to collegiate play and paced the team with 19 points in the game, along with two offensive rebounds and six defensive rebounds.

“It was a breakout game for freshman Kelly Hughes with 19 points, and really the best thing I saw out of Kelly was she defended with energy today,” Johnson said. “She’s always been a great offensive player, but her demeanor on the defensive end and on the rebounding was huge for us.”

On the defensive end, Boudreau and Doherty tied with seven defensive rebounds. Even while battling a back injury, Boudreau played 27 minutes and contributed one offensive rebound and 10 points including three 3-pointers to the Eagles’ effort, along with her contribution at the other end of the court.

Two other players, senior captain Katie Zenevitch and freshman Lauren Engeln, also had 10 points.

“We had five players in double figures, which is huge for us,” Johnson said, “and we had 20 assists tonight, which is our favorite stat, and I’m really proud of our team.”

With the win, the Eagles improved to 1-1 on the season. They will continue their road stand next Thursday with a game at BYU. 

ALEX GAYNOR / HEIGHTS EDITOR

During the quarter following Harrison Jackson’s first career touchdown reception, he was hit hard in the chest. Accidental or not, regulations were not enough to protect him from injury.

Rules won’t change accidental incidents that cause injury Column, from A10 on his own accord. Then, just short of the BC sideline, he collapsed.

Head coach Steve Addazio was already on the field, trying to appeal to the referee who threw no flag on the play, hoping for a targeting call, but none came.

On the plane that night, I scanned the rows of seats to see if Jackson was able to make the trip home, but I later learned that he had stayed in an El Paso hospital until Tuesday morning, returning to campus that afternoon.

I don’t want the games to change. I don’t want the physicality to disappear.

I believe in the boost that it gives a football team to see a player lay down a clean, hard hit, or a hockey team when an enforcer knocks someone to the ground during a fight.

The last thing I want to see is an

NHL devoid of fighting and football games in which players hesitate to make their big clean hits for fear of penalties, but I also don’t want to watch as the number of serious injuries to these athletes rises.

The NCAA made changes to rules during this offseason that were aimed at punishing targeting, and while the rules have good intentions, much as the NHL’s new helmet rule does, it looks like neither rule is solving the injury problem.

The rule changes came in the form of the NCAA adding more severe concequences to targeting penalties, mainly that it is grounds for an automatic ejection, in hopes that more repurcussions would lead to a decrease in the number of violations that players commit. The problem is, many of these penalties are unintentional.

It’s not that players causing accidental injuries should not be penalized,

but this new addition to the rules does little to prevent these situations from happening, and it can’t be seen as a complete solution. While you can tell players to be more deliberate with their actions on the field and more aware of the kind of hitting that they are doing, there is no way to completely to prevent these accidental, often instinctual plays from happening all together.

It’s an unfortunate truth, but injuries such as Jackson’s and Parros’ will always be a part of the sports, no matter how many rules governing bodies put into place. That’s not me endorsing dangerous tactics—it’s simply me accepting that those plays, accidental and deliberate, are not going to be completely eradicated.

To me, the area of focus that will improve player safety the most, regardless of whether or not a play is intentional, is the kind of protective equipment that they are wearing, I’m not a head trauma

expert, but from what I saw, some sort of buffer between Parros’ face and the ice could have greatly reduced the impact. The same thing goes with Jackson and the protection to his chest.

These sports are characterized by their physical nature, and no amount of new rules will completely rid either of them of dangerous situations. High speeds and adrenaline will rule, and regardless of how many rules you implement discouraging certain types of content, injuries will happen. Better equipment isn’t a complete solution—neither is more rules—but it is the biggest step that can be taken in protecting the players while maintaining the physicality and character of their sports.

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

BC’s season likely over after tourney loss Men’s Soccer, from A10 than 30 minutes remaining. Lewis fizzed his effort in the 62 minute over the bar, while fellow freshman Isaac Normesinu shot wide two minutes later.

BC earned a corner kick in the attacking move, before finishing the flurry off with a shot by Atobra Ampadu, though it failed to call Steffen into action. The match would hold a brief silence for two minutes, until Mullins had another effort blocked.

A pair of corner kicks preceded Maryland’s second goal that came from a cross by Michael Sauers. Endoh finished

off Sauers’ ball, beating Kapp 10 yards from goal after 72 minutes of play. It looked as if the demolition of the Eagles would continue when Jake Pace had a pair of shots after the second goal, while Mullins added another effort.

Mullins finished the evening with 10 shots—four more than that of the entire BC squad.

After Maryland doubled its advantage, Kelly called on his substitutes again, as he closed the match using six substitutions in the final 20 minutes.

Giuliano Frano was cautioned after 89 minutes of play, while Maryland’s Ambrose was disciplined 11 minutes from full time.

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“I thought defensively we were locked in and focused throughout,” said Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski.

“Boston College is an extremely dynamic counterattacking team and Zeiko Lewis is a handful. I thought we did a good job of snuffing out those counters and were in good spots, the whole time.”

The Eagles defeat in the ACC Championship all but marks the end of their season, barring a bizarre NCAA Tournament selection day next week.

Presumably finishing with a 7-9-2 record, absent a tournament bid, the 2013 campaign will mark the first time in six years that the Eagles will not be in the hunt for the College Cup. 

Boston, MA 11/10

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SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Rules aren’t the solution to injuries

SENIOR DAY 2013

“I will always think of this senior class because no matter what happens we have laid a great footprint and a really good standard has been set for this program. That needed to happen and that really has been accomplished.”

- STEVE ADDAZIO, HEAD COACH

MARLY MORGUS I’m not usually one to argue against any element of physicality in sports.

In most instances, I err on the side of most typical hockey and football fans. I cheer when NHL’ers tangle up in front of the net or go one on one, dropping the gloves. My jaw drops in a dopey grin when safety makes a big hit, ending a play.

Once in a while, though, you see a hit or other instance of hard contact that you can’t smile at. In the NHL, that moment came for me earlier this season in a game between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens.

Toronto had a two-on-one opportunity in front of the Habs’ net, but goalie Carey Price made a couple of saves and a scrum broke out in front of the net. Most of it cleared up pretty quickly, but George Parros and Colton Orr continued the fight in the corner, gliding out right between the circles.

This year, the NHL started a new rule that requires players to keep their helmets on during fights, thinking that the measure would reduce the risk of head injuries. In this case, however, that rule was not enough.

Fans cheered as Parros forced Orr to the ice, then let out a shocked gasp then fell silent as Orr, who had a grip on the front of Parros’ jersey, pulled the Montreal forward to the ground with him, head first, his chin and face crashing against the unforgiving surface of the ice, no visor or cage protecting him.

It was immediately apparent that Parros went out cold, and he was wheeled off in a stretcher by the training staff minutes later.

Saturday’s game against New Mexico State saw a high note for sophomore wide receiver Harrison Jackson, as his only catch of the game came off of a seven-yard pass from Chase Rettig for a touchdown during the second quarter, the first of Jackson’s career.

The next quarter, though, would strike a different note. Just as he caught Rettig’s third-and-seven pass, he was hit hard up high as New Mexico State linebacker Trashaun Nixon briefly left his feet and drove his shoulder into Jackson’s chest.

I’ve always been a fan of a good hit, no matter who it falls on, but as I watched Jackson’s head snap backward and heard the contact of the shoulder pads from all the way up in my seat on press row, I winced and caught my breath, watching as Jackson hit the ground hard.

To my astonishment, he wasn’t that slow in getting up, and it looked as though he would make it off the field

DANIEL LEE / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

SIX STEP PROGRAM

I

BY AUSTIN TEDESCO | SPORTS EDITOR

n a back corner of Aggie Memorial Stadium, Matt Patchan, LB Kevin Pierre-Louis, DL Kaleb the Boston College football team concluded Ramsey, QB Chase Rettig, DL Jaryd Rudolph, FB Jake its fight song with the few fans in Las Cruces Sinkovec, OL Ian White, RB Andre Williams, and DB before heading to the locker room to let it Zach Wolfe. ring again.

The group comes from a mix of recruiting classes, “For Boston, For Boston, ‘till the echoes ring as well as transfers, but they all have one thing in again…” the team sang following a 48-34 victory common. After watching the BC football program over New Mexico State last week, the first road win fall into the cellar, they wanted to lay the foundation since 2011. for something better. That foundation As they ran to the locker room, a video means at least making it to a bowl game, camera found senior captains Ian White something that didn’t seem so attainable and Kasim Edebali. White threw up his left at the end of last season. hand at the camera, stretching each of his The Eagles faced the Wolfpack in their fingers to mark the team’s 2013 win total. finale last year, losing 27-10. BC finished NOV. 16, 2013 “That’s five,” he said. His tone was both the season at 2-10.

BC vs. NC State 12:30 ON RSN confident and simply declarative. It wasn’t “We’re going to turn it around,” Amicelebratory. It was a checkmark, with hints don said after the loss. “It’s on the playof more to come. ers. It’s on me. I take responsibility for a lot of what Edebali delivered the message more simply. He put happened this year—not being a leader, not stepping up his right hand, and only let out a word. up, not holding people accountable. The kids coming “Five,” he said. back next year—we’re going to change it. We’re all Five, just like they planned. One win away from going to change it. six—one win away from their goal. They had just “We’re not going to let people slack off anymore— given themselves a chance to clinch bowl eligibility not that that necessarily happened, but we need to on what should be an emotional Senior Day against step up as leaders.”

North Carolina State this week.

Amidon delivered on his message, along with the It will be the last time 18 Eagles play at Alumni rest of these seniors. Former head coach Frank SpaStadium. The list includes WR Alex Amidon, DB ziani was fired by athletic director Brad Bates, and a Ted Davenport, LB Steele Divitto, DE Kasim Ede- few days later Steve Addazio was announced as his bali, K Nate Freese, LB Connor Galligan, QB Mike Marscovetra, TE Mike Naples, TE C.J. Parsons, OL See Football, A8

2013 SENIORS

Offense Alex Amidon WR, 2010-13 Mike Marscovetra QB, 2009-13 Mike Naples TE, 2009-13 C.J. Parsons TE, 2010-13 Matt Patchan OL, 2013 Chase Rettig QB, 2010-13 Jake Sinkovec FB, 2009-13 Ian White OL, 2009-13 Andre Williams RB, 2010-13

Defense Ted Davenport DB, 2010-13 Steele Divitto LB, 2010-13 Kasim Edebali DE, 2009-13 Connor Galligan LB, 2010-13 Kasim Edebali DE, 2009-13 Kevin Pierre-Louis DB, 2010-13 Kaleb Ramsey LB, 2008-13 Jaryd Rudolph DE, 2010-13 Zach Wolfe DB, 2011-13

Special Teams Nate Freese K, 2009-13

See Column, A9

MEN’S SOCCER

Terrapins knock Eagles out of ACCs

BY ALEX FAIRCHILD Heights Staff

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Maryland knocked BC out of the ACC Tournament in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

It takes just one moment of brilliance to win a soccer match. A brief touch of class and quality can take a team plundered by 2 Maryland their opponent Boston College 0 to victory. The Boston College men’s soccer team was in need of one on Tuesday night in its ACC Championship quarterfinal against Maryland, but it never came as BC fell 2-0.

The Eagles were battered in the first half as the Terrapins attacked in vicious waves. Patrick Mullins, the nation’s No. 1 player according to TopDrawerSoccer. com, opened the shooting gallery with a deflected shot just two minutes into the game. Moments later, Mikey Ambrose’s effort would be stopped by BC keeper Alex Kapp, who tallied six more saves on the evening.

Diego Medina-Mendez and Zeiko

Eagles earn first win of the season

The women’s basketball team topped Hofstra on the road on Tuesday.......................A8

Lewis each had attempts that failed to hit the target either side of 10 minutes, as the Eagles put forth their first attack of the evening.

The Terps resumed their domination throughout the first half hour with their best chance coming from an Ambrose free kick that was nodded wide by Mullins. Sunny Jane’s curler was stopped by Kapp on 26 minutes and the Maryland siege was in full swing.

BC head coach Ed Kelly’s troops would get their only shot on Terrapin keeper Zack Steffen 12 minutes prior to the end of the first period of play via full back Matt Wendelken.

Another header from Mullins was parried by Kapp before Tsubasa Endoh’s effort was stopped by the Eagles keeper. Nearing the intermission, David Kabelik’s shot almost beat Kapp, but the goalkeeper stopped the effort from finding the back of the net.

It was much of the same after the break, as the Terps continued to press

Game Of The Week: BC vs. Toledo

Men’s basketball looks to end its early season slide against the Rockets tonight.....A9

the Eagles in their own half. Two corners and a shot came from the hosts in the first five minutes of the second half. The attempt was a result of a Dan Metzger header that Kapp knocked over the crossbar.

Maryland broke the ice 52 minutes in through Mikias Eticha, who spoiled Kapp’s stalwart performance with a goal from 25 yards. Eticha picked the right time to score his first goal of the season, which rooted Kapp and the Eagles defense to their spots.

The Terps would not stop there, as Jane looked to beat Kapp again just over a minute after the goal. Mullins would head another cross wide after 56 minutes of play.

It was in the same moment as Mullins’ shot that Kelly would look to his bench.

In an attacking change, Lewis replaced Medina-Mendez. The change produced a brief burst from the Eagles with less

See Men’s Soccer, A9

Editors’ Picks........................A9 BC Notes...............................A9

THE HEIGHTS

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Thursday, January 17, 2013

CRITICAL CURMUDGEON

POP STAR BREAKDOWN FIVE EASY STEPS TO CREATE AN ARTIST’S MELTDOWN PAGE B2 WEEKEND ARTS CALENDAR

YEEZUS TOUR

KANYE WEST AND KENDRICK LAMAR COME TO BOSTON PAGE B4

ALBUM REVIEW

‘ARTPOP’

LADY GAGA RETURNS WITH A MUCHANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM, BUT ‘ARTPOP’ IS LESS THAN MEETS THE EYE, B5

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Musical Alter Egos: Unmasking the Artists Behind the Persona

MAGGIE BURDGE / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

JORDAN PENTALERI / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

THE HEIGHTS

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KEELEY’S CORNER

Feeling bad about feel good movies

Thursday, November 14, 2013

SCENE AND HEARD

BY: HARRY MITCHELL

SEAN KEELEY I try to keep an open mind when it comes to movies. I find room in my heart for cinematic pleasures of all stripes—whether it’s the naturalistic true-life drama of Fruitvale Station, the exuberant laughs of an ensemble comedy like The World’s End or the massive blockbuster spectacle of the much-maligned (and underrated) The Lone Ranger, to name only three favorites from this past summer.

There is one kind of movie, though, that may never worm its way into my heart. It’s a peculiar little subgenre, defined by an advertising slogan that is tossed around by movie studios that hope to create the next runaway hit on the scale of Forrest Gump or The Help or The Blind Side.

I am speaking, of course, of the everelusive “feel-good movie of the year.” There is no more surefire way of deterring me from seeing a particular film than designating it a “feel-good movie.”

Let me clarify: I am not a masochist. I do not wish an ending full of misery and death upon every movie I see. Plenty of my favorite films are full of laughs and good cheer and happy endings.

So-called “feel-good movies,” though, are a different beast entirely. The phrase was likely first cooked up by a hack movie critic, but ever since screenwriters and marketers have been only too happy to craft formulas that follow suit. Feel-good movies—whether it’s The Notebook or The Blind Side or Life Is Beautiful—privilege easy sentiment over earned feeling. They often touch on dark themes or subject matter—Alzheimer’s or racism or the Holocaust—but they ultimately brush those concerns aside to make way for warm and fuzzy sensations. Their highest goal is to comfort the audience, to reassure them, never to make them question their assumptions or feelings.

Admittedly, some of these movies are harmless enough. The time-travel romance About Time seems to be shooting for the feel-good demographic this fall, and by all accounts it’s pleasant and inoffensive. But in recent years, the feel-good formula has been disturbingly tailored to subject matter that we ought to feel pretty bad about.

Where did this start? Strange as it may seem, you could make a case for Schindler’s List. Stanley Kubrick famously denounced the Holocaust drama as being a sunny distortion of reality, a movie more about success than failure. “The Holocaust is about six million people who get killed,” he said, “Schindler’s List is about 600 who don’t.” In my eyes, it’s an exaggerated claim—yes, the main character’s heroism manages to save some lives, but the movie is more dominated by horrific depictions of genocide and a tragic sense of loss. Still, Kubrick’s criticism proved eerily prescient.

Consider Life is Beautiful: the 1988 tearjerker from Roberto Benigni about a Jewish father who uses the power of laughter to shield his son from the realities of a concentration camp, convincing him that the whole thing is a game. The movie paved the way for other kitschy child-centric exploitations of the Holocaust, from The Boy with the Striped Pajamas to the upcoming The Book Thief, which The New York Times’ Stephen Holden has already derided as “A shameless piece of Oscar-seeking Holocaust kitsch.”

It may seem counterintuitive to link the feel-good impulse with movies about the Holocaust, but that is exactly what these movies do. And the same has become true of other subjects: whether the topic is Sept. 11 (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), American racism (The Help, The Butler), or religious violence in the Middle East (The Kite Runner, Slumdog Millionaire), contemporary Hollywood has felt little shame and has often reaped considerable profits from placing horrific histories in the sunniest of contexts.

One should be careful about denouncing such films outright. Slumdog Millionaire is a skillful piece of work, walking a fine line in its integration of influences from Dickens and Bollywood to its disturbing treatment of poverty and violence. Likewise, I’ve read many valuable defenses of The Butler that suggest it is more subversive and unsettling than the saccharine trailers suggest. I confess that I haven’t seen The Butler, or Life is Beautiful, or several other movies in this column—but when it comes to feel-good narratives, my skepticism often triumphs over my curiosity.

So yes, I am biased here. I am skeptical. But the point stands, because when it comes to feel-good movies, skepticism is a healthy—and necessary—response. These movies assume a non-skeptical audience, one that can be spoon-fed good vibes and easy messages without much reflection on their larger implications. That’s a rather cynical and condescending calculation, and it’s certainly nothing to feel good about.

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

2. BIG PAPI, MEET MTV

1. PARTY AT THE EMA’S

The spotlight continues to shine on Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz after taking home the World Series MVP trophy two weeks ago, as he plans to collaborate with MTV on a self-produced weekly series that fuses baseball with his everyday life. MTV has been interested in a partnership with Ortiz ever since his performance on MLB Fan Cave in which he walks through New York City hugging Yankee fans.

This multi-year partnership features half-hour-long shows debuting in April 2014 on MTV 2.

To add to her repertoire of bold pop-culture and media stunts, Miley Cyrus found another way to shock the world and flaunt her rebellious image at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs). After a scandalous yet familiar performance of “We Can’t Stop,” Cyrus received most esteemed award of Best Video for her song “Wrecking Ball.” After accepting the award, Cyrus proceeded to expose a joint from her purse and smoke it on stage.

4. PRISON CHIEF KEEF

After his second failed drug test, the infamous rapper with an extensive criminal record, Chief Keef, was assigned to 60 hours of community service. His first failure got him a 20-day prison sentence for which he only served half because of his good behavior.

This time, Chief Keef won’t be behind bars. In fact, he will be serving Horsefeathers Therapeutic Riding Equestrian Center in Lake Forest, Ill. where he will spend most of his time feeding, grooming, and cleaning up after the horses.

3. BIEBER GETS BOOED

5. FOR HERE MEN ARE MEN

As if Justin Bieber’s trip to South America has not been troublesome enough, the international superstar endured yet another image-damaging experience last Sunday night. In addition to the illegal spray-painting of a wall in Rio and the scandalous brothel episode, Bieber was booed off of the stage in Buenos Aires as he left halfway through the performance due to a case of food poisoning. The star’s manager claims that Bieber will be back to finish the show as soon as possible.

GQ Magazine is set to release their much anticipated “Men of the year 2013” issue on Nov. 19. Stars such as Justin Timberlake, Will Ferrell, Matthew McConaughey, Kendrick Lamar, and the late James Gandolfini grace the covers of the issue featuring in-depth interviews in which Timberlake claims he is “not cool,” Lamar discusses his relationship with Drake, and Ferrell talks about his upcoming film Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

THE CRITICAL CURMUDGEON

@UPTOMYKNEES (MAX LANDIS, SCREENWRITER)

“I FEEL LIKE LIVING IN LA AND WORKING IN THE FILM INDUSTRY YOU END UP DATING THE GIRL FROM THE MAROON 5 SONG TICKETS AT LEAST TWICE.” PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

Britney Spears’ famous public descent into madness (and baldness) perfectly mirrors the five-step process of celebrity breakdowns.

How To Psychologically Destroy A Pop Star MATT MAZZARI If you’ve been following the news lately (or ever), you realize folks in the entertainment industry aren’t always, shall we say, the “hardiest” people. Whether it’s drugs, sex, or habitual nuttiness that does the trick, you can often trace your finger in the general direction a shooting star will fall, gloriously aflame, across the unforgiving night sky metaphor. Before we get too abstract, though, I will say that we should never wish for the decline of a fragile-minded person. Still, who doesn’t love watching a nuclear-level meltdown every now and then? Historically speaking, it’s been the role of fans to apply psychological pressure on popular acts until the artists completely lose their cool. To that oh-so-satisfying end, I’ve devised a simple, sure-fire, five-step list to make the arduous process of driving rich musicians bonkers a bit easier on you animals.

Step 1: Be sure to go to their concerts in hordes and scream the entire time so nobody can hear what’s going on. Fewer paradoxes will fry a pop star’s synapses like when the masses show up to see their live music and then shriek as loudly as possible over the live music. And, heck, that’s understandable, isn’t it? It would be like everybody in a fancy restaurant ordering food, chucking it to the ground, paying the check, and walking out. That sort of thing is exactly what drove the Beatles to stop performing on tours: by 1963, George Harrison was already on the verge of blud-

geoning hysterical fans in the face. Poor Ringo was so shell-shocked by Shea Stadium that the extent of his comments on it were, “It was very big and very strange.” He then proceeded to get his head stuck in an Instant Swiss Miss box and demanded that everyone address him as “His Esteemed Count Chocula.” Suffice it to say, by 1966 they were officially “too popular” to continue touring live. They obviously came out okay in the end, but subjects exposed to the additional Steps two through five were not so lucky.

Step 2: Pester them to death about their “pure, innocent image,” and then act surprised and offended when they try to convince everyone they’ve had sex. This one is a doozy, and it comes in several forms. There’s the Britney Spears model, where everyone mocked her public statement that she would remain a virgin until marriage, responded positively to her more and more provocative image, and then suddenly went, “Whoa, back up! Racy outfits on stage? What are you, a strumpet? This is 1999, not some common brothel!” It’s the old bait-and-switch technique, where audiences seem to love when you push the envelope until you do something ridiculous like make out with Madonna onstage. Then they laugh at you, because you look dumb.

Alternately, there’s the more recent Miley Cyrus model, wherein the public demands that a child-star artist remains pre-pubescent for literally her entire life. Remember when every boy in eighth grade saw his hormones starting to kick in, so he grew a crappy peach-fuzz mustache to prove to

everyone he was growing up? Well, that weird birdcage music video Miley did a few years ago was the pop star equivalent of a peach-fuzz mustache. Everything’s worse when you broadcast it on a national scale.

Step 3: Give them more money than they have any idea what to do with. Eventually, they’ll buy a massive ranch and call it Neverland. You know, like a crazy person.

Step 4: Do whatever people are doing to Justin Bieber. That dude is an absolute mess. In fact, I’m completely convinced that there’s someone behind the scenes of that operation who keeps toying with him in supremely insidious ways. Like, one day they move all the furniture in his studio one inch to the left. The next week, they swap all his framed family photos with pictures of lizards, and then when he asks what happened, they just say, “But, Mr. Bieber, you LOVE lizards!” About a month later he’ll start attacking paparazzi, barfing on stage, and just being a walking disaster.

Then your lust for chaos can finally be satisfied, you monster, whoever you are.

Step 5: Make them super-famous for making music, even though they aren’t any good. This one is self-explanatory.

In fact, I’m starting to think it should be step 1.

And there you have it—now you know how to psychologically destroy any pop star. Now get out there and use your power for evil.

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

@KANYEWEST (KANYE WEST, RAPPER)

“I DO NOT HAVE AN INSTAGRAM...”

@RUNOFPLAY (BRIAN PHILLIPS, WRITER, GRANTLAND)

“GENIUS IS 31 PERCENT CONVOCATION AND 69 PERCENT ENCRUSTATION...

NO, THAT’S NOT IT, COME ON TOM, THINK.” --EDISON WORKS ON A QUIP @ANNAKENDRICK47 (ANNA KENDRICK, ACTRESS, ‘PITCH PERFECT’)

“MY ANXIETY OVER MISREADING THAT HANDSHAKE-OR-HUG MOMENT TAKES UP WAY TOO MUCH SPACE IN MY BRAIN.” @DANIELTOSH (DANIEL TOSH, COMEDIAN, ‘TOSH.0’)

“DRIVING TO WORK ON A HOLIDAY IS THE BEST HOLIDAY. #NOTRAFFIC #THANKSVETERANS”

HAVE A FAVORITE TWEET THIS WEEK? TWEET IT FOR CONSIDERATION AT @BCHEIGHTSARTS

The Heights

Thursday, November 14, 2013

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artists anonymous By sean keeley, arts & review editor | ariana igneri, assoc. arts & review editor john wiley, asst. arts & review editor | Ryan dowd, heights staff

Lady gaga

With the release of her new album ARTPOP, Lady Gaga is back to fight for the spotlight. Successful music careers often rest atop a strong identity—but for many stars like Gaga, identity can be a slippery, ever-mutating thing. This week, The Scene looks at Gaga and three other artists who have reinvented their personas over the course of a career. Beneath the layers of appeal, is there any honesty left in the artist?

neighborhood on the West Side, an artist of Catholic upbringing who attended Manhattan’s elite Convent of the Sacred Heart all-girl school and later enrolled at NYU. Gaga and Germanotta were seemingly cut from a different fabric.

Gaga seems cautious, almost resentful of her past.

The “Born This Way” star has gone to great lengths to dissociate herself with her upbringing. Beyond the outrageous outfits, gender-bending alter egos, and elaborate stage displays, the essence of Gaga’s artistry

is seemingly undiscovered. This character of her career struck many at its start, but five years after the release of her breakaway single “Just Dance,” this inconsistency has grown alarming.

Admittedly, Gaga’s Little Monsters are likely to unconditionally embrace whatever mask Gaga tries on, insisting it’s part of her identity. There’s a sinister dimension to it all—an artist that advocates that her young fans be themselves, and then tries to demonstrate this by being anything but that.

Artists like Bob Dylan have presented an enigmatic identity to breathe life into their art. Gaga’s various onstage characters seem to cover up her art, compensating for the diminishing market value of her music. It seems Gaga’s songs are built around their videos, and popularized through award show performances, never claiming an identity unto itself. The music no longer is selling these identities—these identities are selling the music. It’s no longer an artistic decision, but rather a logistic necessity. –J.W.

Village folk scene and he came to national prominence with topical anthems like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

But Dylan was restless, quick to reject the “protest singer” label he was stuck with. “I try my best to be just like I am / But everybody wants me to be just like them, / They say sing while you slave and I just get bored,” he sang on “Maggie’s Farm,” a rocker that served as a tell-off to the folk establishment—and a kick-off of his legendary electric phase.

Then he disappeared for two years, holed up in upstate New York with his family. When he

re-emerged in 1968, Dylan was again someone new: this time a country singer with a remarkably smoother voice and simpler subject matter. In the mid-’70s, Dylan turned confessional with the breakup album Blood on the Tracks, went off the deep end with drugs and divorce, and was then born again in 1979 as a fiery evangelical Christian.

Dylan’s Christian phase lasted for four years, and he spent the rest of the ’80s struggling to find a new identity. By the release of the Grammywinning Time Out of Mind in 1997, Dylan had re-asserted himself as an elder statesman of

American music, re-working America’s musical heritage—blues, rockabilly, folk, and much more—on acclaimed albums like Love and Theft and Modern Times.

And still, he donned more masks: memoirist, radio host, actor, painter, filmmaker, and a constant performer, doing 100 shows a year since 1988. The Dylan of 2013, it seems, is no longer content to take on one persona at a time. Rather, he exists as an enigmatic conglomeration of his many identities: he is masked and anonymous, everyone and no one all at once. –S.K.

Minaj’s later characters are dissimilar from Cookie in that they’re introduced not to allow Minaj to hide from something, but rather, to discover diverse ideas through her music.

Barbie, for example, is one of Minaj’s oldest and most famous personas—sweet, sexual, and distinguished by her pink hair and lips, Barbie allows Minaj to investigate her feminine side.

Roman Zolanski, Minaj’s frequently used male alter ego, has an entirely opposite purpose. He’s violent and brazenly outspoken, empowering Minaj, at least to some degree, to fight back in

the mostly male-dominated world of hip hop.

One of his first appearances was in Kanye West’s “Monster.” Minaj also invented Martha, Roman’s over-protective, conservative mother known for her British accent. With her sparkling, fairy taleesque style and personality, she’s a stark foil to the dark and evil Roman.

Minaj’s personas are essential because they enhance the complex themes and dynamic vocal quality of her work. But it’s not just in her music that Minaj speaks through characters—her alter egos are as present in her real life as they are in

her art. She breaks out new ones depending on what’s happening on any given day. When she visited The Garden of Dreams Foundation, for example, Minaj wore a colorful headscarf and introduced herself as Nicki Theresa—“healer to her fans”—and when she was interviewed on Lopez Tonight, she appeared as Rosa, an alter ego meant to appeal more widely to the viewer demographics of the show.

Minaj is more than a sum of these parts, however—she’s a colorful “minajerie” of personalities, each distinct and uniquely wild. –A.I.

who seeks fame and fortune?

The way into any Tyler, the Creator track is figuring out first of all who’s talking. Is it Tyler himself?

Is it Wolf Haley? Is it his therapist? Is it Thurnis Haley—Tyler’s golf-obsessed middle aged persona?

Most of Tyler’s work, including his album trilogy Bastard, Goblin, and Wolf, is an ongoing conversation between Tyler, his therapist (who chimes in with the deep baritone), and finally Wolf Haley.

Tyler describes Wolf as the guy he wants to be—the

guy who’s fearless, who wears cool shirts and says clever stuff to girls. Tyler hates Wolf. Wolf hates Tyler. Tyler hangs himself in his “Yonkers” video in an attempt to finally silence Wolf ’s damn voice.

Tyler insists that this war of wills within his head, this story his songs tell, makes sense to him.

It’s all in Tyler’s head, and that’s a place we may (and probably should) be hesitant in venturing.

But we keep going back. Tyler’s music is honest and viscerally explicit. Wolf is usually the explicit

one. Tyler is the honest one. Wolf allows Tyler, the Creator to say the things he doesn’t want to say but feels he has to. We keep coming back, because we can relate to the overarching story in Tyler’s songs—the battle of wills within his head—because hating a particular side of yourself, being afraid of who you might actually be resonates. In expressing his fears and doubts, albeit in an often jarring manner, Tyler, the Creator is exactly what music used to be. –R.D.

Bob Dylan

“I am—Stefani is—a perpetually tortured artist,” said Lady Gaga in an October interview with Elle Magazine.

“That’s why I changed my name. I can’t be her in public.

She would be a mess!”

On Tuesday, Gaga released her third studio album ARTPOP, a heavy, EDM-inspired electro pop record, seemingly dispossessed of Gaga’s personal identity.

Beneath the layers of synthesized emotion, it’s difficult to see any semblance of Stefani Germanotta, the New York City native who grew up in an affluent

nicki minaj

“He not busy being born is busy dying,” goes a line from Bob Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding).” Throughout his 51-year career, Dylan has heeded his own warning, constantly shedding one persona for the next in an ongoing cycle of career rebirth.

Born Robert Zimmerman to a middle-class Minnesota family, the 20 year old Dylan hitchhiked to New York City to begin his career in 1961. Influenced by musical idols like Woody Guthrie and Dave Van Ronk, Dylan’s songwriting prowess and scratchy voice became the talk of the Greenwich

,

tyler the creator

Nicki Minaj slips into a new personality almost as frequently as she throws on a fresh wig or tries on a different outfit. This may make the “Super Bass” star seem a little schizophrenic, but Minaj’s alter egos are actually a cohesive team, each representing, with an exclusive voice, a singular side of her multifaceted artistic identity.

Born as Onika Maraj in Trinidad, the raptress created her first alter ego, Cookie, when she was just a young girl. She used Cookie to escape the troubles of her home life and to isolate herself from her parents’ constant fighting. Most of

When old folks grumble, “music isn’t the way it used to be,” they’re talking about Tyler, the Creator.

Yes, old folks generally aren’t fond of dubstep either, but it’s artists like Tyler with sometimes screeching beats and violent imagery that make those over the age of 30 wring their hands and harken back to the good old days. Kids these days. But who is this kid? Is he just some skateboarding Adventure Time enthusiast who uses hip-hop as an innocent outlet?

Or is he Wolf Haley—Tyler’s evil, white alter ego

THE HEIGHTS

B4

Thursday, November 14, 2013

WILEY’S FOLLIES

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK BY GUS MERRELL

Love Your Body Future gets lost in space with Cyrus in ‘Real and True’ video Week is skin deep Set in outer space on a space ship, Future’s music video for “Real and True” is truly, well, futuristic. The song describes a relationship where the love between those involved will “always remain real and true,” even “when the sun dies and the stars fade from view.”

The video, directed by Rankin, revolves around Future as an astronaut searching for life on other planets. Cue the entrance of Miley Cyrus as an exotic alien in a costume very Gaga-esque and the start of a relationship despite their different origins.

Yet just like every sad love story since the beginning of time, the astronaut must leave his newly found love. Even as the stars fade, the video suggests the love between the astronaut and the alien will endure.

Despite its clever concept,

TITLE: “Real and True”

ARTIST: Future feat. Miley Cyrus DIRECTED BY: Rankin THE TAKEAWAY: ‘Real and True’ is an intriguingly futuristic love story between Future and Miley Cyrus, but the video doesn’t fully explore the song’s conceits.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EPIC RECORDS

the video suffers from two major problems. First is that very little of the plot is actually acted out—most is inferred. Much of the video consists of close-up shots of either Future rapping, Cyrus dancing, or Hudson, who plays the pilot of the spaceship, singing the chorus. As such, there is very little plot actually represented in the video. Yes, we know the plot, but it is brought to us in very small segments and only really shows up at the very beginning.

Secondly, the video chooses to make its theme space, simply because of one line in the chorus, while failing even to represent the other half of the chorus.

That is a disparity that needs to be corrected, and should have been addressed. Setting the video in space was a novel idea, but the rest of the video did not do the song any justice. 

FASHION FORWARD

Hanging out with a fashion legend Modern technology provides for interactive fashion dialogue

THERESE TULLY It’s time to get down to the business of fashion.

As much as we might like to think that our most chic outfit is all our own idea, there are many powers that be, reigning down from Anna Wintour herself, that are really controlling the fashion world.

One such player is marketing. It always has been and always will be a driving force behind fashion.

But a newer connection that is worth looking into is technology. What role does tech play in the fashion we choose? It seems that it may be playing an increasing role these days.

Fashion is like an intricate recipe. Two parts creativity, two parts marketing, one part capital, one cup of customers, and just a dash of luck. Marketing has always been there, whether we like to think about it or not. Whether it is magazine ads, articles, online stories, blog posts, TV commercials, or celebrity endorsements, fashion is all wrapped up in seeing and being seen. It is no surprise that technology is influencing this process, and many like it. But you may be surprised by the extent.

Recently, Diane von Furstenburg, affectionately known as DVF to her loyal fans and followers, hosted a Google+ Hangout. What? Who has Hangouts? What does that even mean? My thoughts exactly. For those of you with some sort of Google+ account collecting dust in the corners of the Internet, basically it’s an amped up Internet conversation between multiple parties. DVF hosted a shop-able Hangout via her New York studio. Some 2.3 million people checked out the event’s trailer on Youtube, probably a few thousand of those just to see what exactly that could mean.

Google and DVF have partnered before, so this seemed like a natural progression. The Hangout was co-hosted by Eva Chen, editor-in-chief of Lucky magazine. DVF answered pre-screened viewer questions, flaunted products, had women modeling looks, and was able to describe the pieces intimately for the viewer, as if she was right there with you in the store herself, handing you clothes in your dressing room. Photos of the items shown in the Hangout graced the right side of the page waiting for viewers to click and purchase.

The Hangout was essentially online shopping on steroids, and I can’t say that I hate the idea. Even the title itself lends itself to a sort of intimacy and fun, two concepts that are inextricably tied to shopping and fashion. The way we dress ourselves is part of a larger conversation in the world, one we might have while hanging out with friends. It should be enjoyable, as well as contribute to a part of a conversation. Even the notion that you have to RSVP to these events makes them feel more like cocktail parties with close friends and less like online videos. Why not use all of Google’s mind-blowing technology for good?

I know that interacting with DVF in that seemingly intimate way, at least more intimate than most people can hope for in their lives, would affect some peoples’ decisions to buy. Although the Internet can isolate us behind our keyboards, and with our earbuds securely shoved in our ears, it can also close the gaps between us (even fashion designers and lowly fans). It was ultimately a smart marketing technique for DVF who was able to cash in on the novelty of the idea. But as long as we are all aware that we are operating in a largely marketing-driven fashion world, what’s the harm?

Do we care that we are being manipulated this way? I say no if it means I get to ask DVF a question, but I think others might disagree. Still, fashion is incomplete without the marketing component. If fashion designers cannot sell their wares, they fail to exist and produce. It’s pure math—based on my English-major calculations, of course.

Will these sorts of shopping events online become a thing? I sure hope so. I can think of no possible downsides. If you don’t want to participate, it’s your loss, you won’t get to talk to DVF. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) executed more of these events, and will hopefully find that this push was fruitful enough to continue. Will you be tuning in?

What this Hangout proves is that fashion can, and should, be about dialogue, both spoken and unspoken. While we make statements with each item we choose, it is also important to foster a community where we can talk about the choices we make, how clothes are being made, by whom, and for whom. When designers and audiences connect through the beauty of a laptop screen, the whole community can benefit. It’s almost as good as being in studio with the designer, feeling the fabrics with your own hands.

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

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

Internet technologies like Google Hangouts allows style icons like Diane von Furstenburg to appear on the laptops of fashion lovers everywhere, opening up a whole new world of possibility for dialogue on fashion in engaging contexts.

THIS WEEKEND in arts

BY: ARIANA IGNERI | ASSOCIATE ARTS & REVIEW EDITOR

Friday

Saturday

1. DON’T EVER ASK DAD (FRIDAY, 11/15 7:30 P.M.& 9:30)

3. THE BOOK THIEF (ONGOING)

Boston College’s comedy group CCE is presenting its fall murder mystery show Don’t Ever Ask Dad. The interactive performance is running on both Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., respctively, in the O’Connell House. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Set in World War II Germany, The Book Thief is a drama based off of Markus Zusak’s novel. The film tells the story of a girl who comforts herself by stealing and sharing books, and her family, who shelters a young Jewish refugee.

Sunday

4. BOSTON COLLEGE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (SUNDAY, 11/17 3:00 P.M.) The Boston College Symphony Orchestra will play “Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, op. 92” at their annual fall concert Sunday afternoon.

Directed by John Finney, the free show will be in Gasson 100.

2. GEORGE LOPEZ (FRIDAY, 11/15 7:30 P.M. & 10:00 P.M.)

5. KANYE WEST CONCERT (SUNDAY, 11/17 7:00 P.M.)

Actor, comedian, and late night talk show host George Lopez is appearing at the Wilbur Theatre for a stand up performance on Friday night. Tickets start at $55 through Ticketmaster.com.

Kanye West’s first solo tour in five years, The Yeezus Tour, is making a stop at Boston’s TD Garden.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar will open. Ticket prices range from $51.60 to $215.20, including service fees, at Ticketmaster.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

JOHN WILEY “If you’re interested, I know a specialist who can get rid of that,” said the doctor, pointing to my chest.

I was then 14, and what I had was a condition called pectus carinatum, informally known as pigeon chest. Essentially, it’s a minor protrusion of the sternum, with no medical complications in my case. And yet here I was, too young to drive, but confronted with the possibly of body-altering surgery, which essentially would insert a metal plate into my ribcage.

This move would forever change a part of my body many of my friends had come to affectionately refer to as a “chest lump.”

I would smile when I heard the phrase, but in truth, I was very insecure about the way I looked. In middle school, I would purposely layer my shirts so it was difficult to see, hopeful my classmates would stop asking questions about my sternum with mild looks of disgust. I even modified my posture over the years, hunching over in hopes my sternum could pass as looking like everyone else’s.

But on that day, when the doctor asked if I would have it another way, I told him no, I was not interested—this was one of the proudest moments of my life.

This week is Love Your Body Week at Boston College, an initiative started by the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) in 2004.

It’s an initiative designed as a celebration of all kinds of bodies, putting a positive spin on the issues of appearance most likely facing college students.

There’s a common narrative on body image in America, and often, it feels like the only one—it’s a story quick to point to supermodels and Hollywood stars, damning of the idea that physical beauty is in any way exclusive. Most discussion regarding body image seem to center on what we describe as hypersexualized female stars—artists like Miley Cyrus, who seem the victims of society’s cruel expectations.

The response to this narrative has been overwhelming, with efforts like the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty or the NYC Girls Project expressly designed to let women know beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

Hollywood stars are similarly coming out in ways to modify young girls’ expectations regarding body image. Just this week, Jennifer Lawrence spoke to BBC about how her character Katniss in The Hunger Games movie purposely did not match the description of the impoverished hunter from District 12 given in the novel. Instead, Lawrence kept her strong, curvy physique for the film.

“We have the ability to control this image that young girls are going to be seeing,” Lawrence said. “Girls see enough of this body that they will never be able to obtain, these unrealistic expectations, and this is gonna be their hero, and we have control over that.”

It’s difficult criticizing good intentions, but frankly, I am exhausted, and this narrative seems painfully limited. The phrase “body image” itself strikes me as a ploy, seemingly designed to remove the individual from the problem. We’ve been pushed to think of our bodies less and less as actual bodies, and instead as “images” of bodies—and ultimately, being healthy and having a positive body image are two entirely different things.

What’s our response to the idea that young people have negative body images?

Fight fiction with fiction. Manipulate people to view their body image another way.

Even a “positive” body image is to some degree a work of Hollywood fiction. Loving the way you look is something entirely different from loving your body.

This all begs the question, is it even possible to love your body in this unconditional manner? And if it is possible, is it healthy?

Loving your body is just another way of objectifying it. Often, loving our bodies is something we have little control of. I sincerely doubt anyone wakes up feeling entirely comfortable with themselves. It’s natural to dislike parts of your body. Bodies are gross, imperfect, and unpredictable. It seems many of the people who appear to love their bodies most—perpetually dieting and spending hours in the gym—don’t necessarily like themselves.

We have misidentified the problem—the issue is not that we don’t love our bodies enough, but rather that we don’t respect them. Loving your body is an unreasonable proposition that runs contrary to how we relate to our bodies. But if you respect your body for what it can do, even with the parts you don’t love, you’re well on your way to respecting, and loving, yourself—isn’t this what all these campaigns are trying to get at?

For me, that meant making the decision not to get that surgery. Perhaps it would have helped me to love my body more, but it never could have taught me to respect myself.

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

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 14, 2013

B5

‘ARTPOP’ fails to capitalize on Lady Gaga’s talent

CHART TOPPERS

BY RYAN VON OHLEN

1 Royals Lorde 2 The Monster Eminem 3 Wrecking Ball Miley Cyrus 4 Roar Katy Perry 5 Wake Me Up Avicci 6 Hold On We’re Going Home Drake 7 Counting Stars OneRepublic 8 Dope Lady Gaga

For The Heights There used to be a time when Lady Gaga was something strange and new to us. A time when the artist formerly known as Stefani Germanotta was just as relevant in music as she was in the national discourse. A time a mere three years ago, circa 2010, when she could generate buzz for a chart-topping single as easily as she could generate buzz for wearing a dress made of meat. But now in 2013, her peculiarities and image have become normal to us—we’ve become desensitized to the shock and awe that Gaga’s image used to elicit. In a similar vein, it’s hard to see anything new to appreciate in her third studio album release, ARTPOP. Instrumentally, ARTPOP harkens back to where Lady Gaga last left off on Born This Way—booming, bassdriven electro pop sure to have many a hipster grooving in his seat. With longtime collaborators RedOne and DJ White Shadow, in addition to EDM heavyweights Madeon and Zedd, the instrumental end of ARTPOP is power packed. The electronic rhythms do, at times, overstay their welcome, leaving the listener begging for a change of pace. Sadly, though, such rhythms are among the record’s few highlights.

Clocking in at a little under an hour, ARTPOP is a marathon of a listen, especially toward the end of the album. This would normally be fine if

it weren’t for the astonishing amount of filler songs that make up the album.

Three tracks in the first 15 minutes of ARTPOP—“Venus,” “G.U.Y.,” and the subtly titled “Sexxx Dreams”—all seem like they could’ve sufficed as one song, giving the listener the benefit of brevity. Instead, we’re given three consecutive songs that feel forced and dragged out. Equally dubious is Gaga’s attempted foray into hip-hop. “Jewels N’ Drugs” picks up immediately after Gaga’s trifecta of sex songs and somehow manages to feel more out of place than the songs preceding it.

Gaga does have her moments on ARTPOP. “Dope” and “Gypsy,” two stirring piano ballads dealing with drug addiction and eloping with a lover, offer some of the album’s strongest, most empathetic moments. The eponymous track “Artpop” is a pleasantly easy listen with an infectiously catchy hook. And “Applause,” the album’s closing song, provides a guilty, radio-ready pleasure that evokes the electropop influences of her work on her debut album. Despite these savory morsels, ARTPOP is surprisingly bereft of the music quality on display in the album’s closing minutes.

Where ARTPOP falls short is its inability to build off the success of its predecessor, Born This Way. You’d be hard pressed to find any modicum of consistency or direction in her music this time around. Perhaps this was her intention—one could make the argument, seeing as addiction and

ARTPOP LADY GAGA PRODUCED BY INTERSCOPE RECORDS RELEASED NOV. 12, 2013 OUR RATING C

TOP SINGLES

PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERSCOPE RECORDS

Lady Gaga stalls and fails to reproduce or redefine the dynamic of her earlier sound on third studio album, ‘ARTPOP.’ personal strife mash well with a feeling of being lost. She even gives credence to this theory by calling bullshit on the notion of ARTPOP needing a meaning in the album’s opener, “Aura” (“Enigma pop star is fun / She wear burqa for fashion / It’s not a statement as much as just a move of passion”). Yet, the finished product we find ourselves listening to feels amiss. Intentional or not, Gaga’s execution of this concept leaves the album feeling as though it could have been so much more.

Such is the story of ARTPOP—it

is a record of an artist finding herself simultaneously in the prime of her career and in need of rejuvenation.

Whereas Gaga’s prior two albums focused on her rise to stardom (The Fame) and being comfortable with the woman she became (Born This Way), ARTPOP attempts to sell itself as a reflection of an artist in search of a new direction. Instead, we are given some 60 minutes of an artist meandering haphazardly from song to song that is unbearably front-heavy in filler content and nadirs few could

have anticipated from someone who fashions herself as Madonna 2.0.

Indeed, save for a few songs in its closing 30 minutes, ARTPOP feels more akin to B-sides and demos that couldn’t make the cut for Born This Way or stand alone as singles, which could explain why it struggles to find some form of consistency.

This is an album that longtime Gaga fans won’t get enough of, but is a letdown for anyone expecting improvement from her as an artist since her last two albums. 

TOP ALBUMS

1 The Marshall Mathers LP 2 Eminem 2 Loved Me Back To Life Celine Dion 3 Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas Various Artists 4 Prism Katy Perry Source: Billboard.com

‘Llewyn Davis’ soundtrack explores sounds of Greenwich Village folk

BY LOGAN WREN For The Heights

The soundtrack album for the highly anticipated Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis is a balanced assortment of folk music looking back to the revival of the genre that peaked in the 1960s, the

temporal setting of the film.

The film’s subject is directly related to its soundtrack, as Llewyn Davis (a character loosely based on folk legend Dave Van Ronk) is a hopeful folk musician struggling to make ends meet and manage his relationship with his comically embittered wife. The film focuses

predominately on his travels during a New York winter, his artistic struggles, and the culture of folk burgeoning and branching at the hands of the beat generation and the Greenwich Village block, a neighborhood in NYC that saw such talents as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor,

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK PRODUCED BY EPIC RECORDS RELEASED NOV. 1, 2013 OUR RATING B+

PHOTO COURTESY OF EPIC RECORDS

Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake, and Carey Mulligan, among others, are featured on folk-inspired Coen Brothers soundtrack.

and Tom Paxton pass through— some staying longer than others.

The wistful searching and gloomy winter is captured in many of the tracks of the album, but there are light reprieves. Oscar Isaac, the star of the film and a talented musician himself, performs the majority of the tracks on the album astonishingly well if you know him only as an actor, and his vocal background leads to moving renditions, such as of the traditional ballad “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me,” the first track of the album. This song in particular captures the mood of the soonto-premiere film and represents the traditional roots of folk music well, an agenda of the film and soundtrack together.

Isaac’s fellow cast members are no strangers to music, either. He is joined on set and in the recording booth by the ever talented and increasingly diverse Justin Timberlake (whose versatility embodies itself as the fresh beard he dons in the film). Also, Carey Mulligan (“Daisy” in Baz Luhrmann’s Great Gatsby), who plays Isaac’s wife, Jean, in the film, is a talented singer herself, holding a strong strand in the sweet harmony of “Five Hundred Miles.”

Mulligan is actually married to Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons, who too appears on the album in usual stunning fashion. It seems too good to be true, but even beyond these talents, the soundtrack boasts the presence of Stark Stands, the Punch Brothers, Adam Driver, John Cohen, the Down Hill Strugglers, Chris Thile, and more.

The talent is overwhelming, and the tracks resulting from these artists working and singing together are beautiful folk renditions with a diverse range, from the plaintive, resigned, American folksong “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)”—a duet performed by Isaac with Mumford—to the polyphonic, clean, a capella, Irish “The Auld Triangle,” which is one of the strongest group efforts of the album, and with the particularly bold, striking, and accented lead of Chris Thile.

The poorest track of the album seems to be “The Last Thing on My Mind,” sung by Stark Sands, mostly because of the slight but noticeable presence of electronic pitch correction—technology that does not seem to belong alongside a fiddle and mandolin.

Of positive and special note are

two tracks not recorded specifically for the movie: Dave Van Ronk’s “Green, Green Rocky Road” and Bob Dylan’s “Farewell,” the second never before released and recorded during the sessions for his album The Times They Are A-Changin’.

With this diverse cast and talent-produced, bohemian album— which rises from the loneliness of the road, separation of lovers, and empty countryside to the softly political, grinning, and countercultural “Please Mr. Kennedy,” to the backyard washboard “The Storms Are On The Ocean” by Nancy Blake—the Coen Brothers, with producer T. Bone Burnett, have outdone themselves. If Inside Llewyn Davis and its accompanying, substantiating soundtrack do with similar success what O Brother, Where Art Thou? did for southern bluegrass and folk (and what Mumford & Sons have recently done for folk rock), then we may well see the buddings of hootenannies along our boulevards and begin to hear more regularly and familiarly the twang of a thumb pick striking a banjo as we get our afternoon coffee. 

Erasure’s ‘Snow Globe’ doesn’t quite get into the Christmas spirit

BY MEREDITH HORAN For The Heights

British synth pop duo Erasure’s new Christmas-themed album works in the context of its weirdly ethereal mix of pop and auto tune, but as a Christmas album falls a little flat. Erasure has steadily been producing albums since its debut, Wonderland, in 1986. It has enjoyed more success in Europe than in the U.S. but has had a few stateside hits such as the song “Always,” featured in the game Robot Unicorn Attack. Vince Clarke, the songwriter and keyboardist, is better known here as being one of the founding members of electronic sensation Depeche Mode.

Snow Globe, Erasure’s 15th album, mixes classic Christmas carols with original songs, such as the upbeat “Make It Wonderful” and the more somber, reflective “Blood on the Snow.”

Erasure has not strayed from the futuristic auto tune and pop lyrics that have sold 25 million albums worldwide. Fans of the duo’s updated ’80s sound will appreciate Snow Globe, and as a Christmas music fanatic, I tried to as well.

The opening song, an original entitled “Bells of Love (Isabelle’s of Love)” sets the groundwork for the funky album. Erasure describes its own decidedly secular version of Christmas, with lyrics declaring “I do not believe in your religion / I only know what I can see,” and makes a conscious effort to draw attention to the colder, miserable side of winter with lyrics like “people stumbling in the dark… / too much tears and too much pain…”

“Gaudete,” the following song, provides an interesting take on the Latin hymn, displaying a wholehearted effort to vary and include all forms of Christmas music. Erasure tries to interpret rather than merely cover the songs it chose, but in most cases the duo strays too far from the original feel. “The Christmas Song” totally misses the mark, as the electronic elements overwhelm the graceful lyrics and rhythm. Erasure’s version sounds like auto-tuned computer game music, losing the hominess and nostalgia for which the song is beloved. “Silent Night” sort of atones for the debacle of “The Christmas Song,” only slightly modifying the

contemplative feel of the carol into one of detachment. When the general weirdness of Erasure’s music is taken into account, the eerily multi-layered vocals work. “White Christmas” is equally unearthly and the vocals sound garbled and distant on top of the unsettling sound effects and beat.

Erasure’s original songs fit within the holiday theme, singing of world peace, love, new beginnings, etc.—themes closely related to the band’s other work. The lyrics are run-of-the-mill Christmas themes, like world peace and love, which also happen to be standard Erasure topics.

“There’ll Be No Tomorrow” betrays the duo’s electro pop roots the most, calling listeners to “party like there’ll be no tomorrow.” The song is sandwiched between “Blood on the Snow” and “Midnight Clear,” creating an awkward transition between moods. Another un-Christmas-y song, “Loving Man,” stands out as the best song on the album.

While retaining Erasure’s classic synth pop elements, it seems the most appropriate, with the steady bass and fewer sound effects mak-

ing it sound more like similar musicians Robyn or Goldfrapp, rather than being so obviously ’80s. The album succeeds when it’s not trying to change the underlying feel of classic carols. The traditional carols come across as less heartfelt, especially since they’re not focusing on the religious elements of the music.

The unorthodox covers of songs

like “Midnight Clear” and “Silent Night” (whose lyrics describe the mysteries of Christmas) emphasize less the Christian wonder and more the general supernatural mysticism. The songs seem more about the beat and musical tricks than the lyrics, which works with Erasure’s original music but does an injustice to the lyrics of classic

Christmas songs.

As an Erasure album, Snow Globe displays all of the duo’s traditional sounds and themes, and while it will not go down in the annals of great Christmas music, it is an interesting, modern alternative from the traditional, velvety sounds of Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. 

SNOW GLOBE ERASURE PRODUCED BY SIRE RECORDS RELEASED NOV. 11, 2013 OUR RATING C+

PHOTO COURTESY OF SIRE RECORDS

The British duo Erasure heralds in the holidays with ‘Snow Globe,’ a futuristic blend of both synth and pop.

SINGLE REVIEWS BY GUS MERRELL Akon “So Blue”

Justin Bieber “All Bad” At this point I figured people would be sick of Bieber’s ultra-repetitive choruses, something he doesn’t fail to give us in his latest single “All Bad.” This song might be passable if it weren’t so breathy. This song seems stylistically different from his others, but at the same time, he seems to be trying too hard.

Mariah Carey “The Art Of Letting Go” Akon’s new single “So Blue” is unsurprisingly very catchy. In this song Akon is trying to woo a girl he has his eye on from her current boyfriend, telling her that she is settling and that one ride with Akon could change her life. “Blue isn’t your color,” sings Akon, telling us all what we already knew.

It’s hard to argue against Carey having a great voice, and she puts it on full display in “The Art of Letting Go.” The piano and orchestra are a perfect, soft background for Carey’s encouraging message of letting go of someone close to you who’s been hurting you. This is one of those songs where the lyrics take precedence over the music.

B6

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 14, 2013

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 14, 2013

B7

THIS WEEK IN...

BY SARAH MOORE | FOR THE HEIGHTS

HOLIDAY

BUSINESS

On Thursday, the Faneuil Hall Christmas Tree officially arrived in Boston. The Norwegian Spruce was barged into the city from Long Island, where a family donated it after the tree was damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Though it is still in the 12-day process of being prepared for the holidays, as of next week it will stand 83 feet tall in the Boston landmark. The largest Christmas tree in New England weighs in at 12 tons and will be adorned with over 350,000 LED lights as a part of the “Blink!” festivities that will take over the open marketplace this winter. “Blink!,” the sights and sounds program, will take over Quincy Market this winter. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino will begin the celebration with a Tree Lighting Ceremony on Nov. 23 and it will continue with lights and music from the Holiday Pops until Jan. 5.

On Thursday afternoon, two parking spots along Commonwealth Ave. were auctioned off for $250,000.

Prospective buyers were required to have a $20,000 deposit on hand in order to purchase the prime Back Bay spots, located in the alleyway behind 132 Commonwealth Ave. The two spots were sold as a package deal to representatives from a Newbury St. real estate company, Otis and Ahearn, and are accessible from Clarendon and Dartmouth Streets. Though the spots are crumbling and have inconveniently located tree roots growing through them, the proximity to Newbury St. makes them desirable. Sur prisingly, these aren’t the most expensive parking spots in the city: a pair located behind 298 Commonwealth Ave. sold for $560,000, more than 14 times the asking price, in June.

NEWS

SPORTS

O n Thu r s d ay, Kenmore S quare was shut down due to a suspicious package which police later discovered to be a discarded pressure cooker. CBS Boston reports that police and the bomb squad, including a dozen cruisers and three bomb squad technicians, were called to the scene around noon after the package was found.

Investigation caused Commonwealth Ave., Beacon St., and the Bowker overpass to be shut down at Charlesgate St. Although police say that the package did not appear to hold any explosives, it was destroyed as a precaution around 12:30 p.m., due to the pressure cooker bombs used in the Boston Marathon bombings last April. Both Boston and state police are investigating the situation, but currently do not know who left the pressure cooker or why.

This we ek , according to City Hall officials, Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz won the most write-in votes after Tuesday ’s mayoral election. After maintaining a .733 World Series batting average as well as an impressive run throughout the playoffs, it isn’t surprising that Ortiz, 38, held such a great turnout in the election.

It didn’t seem to swing voters that Ortiz is raising a family in Weston, Mass., despite the criticism runner-up John Connolly received on Tuesday night concerning his possible move outside of the city. Though there is no official write-in tally, City Hall spokesman John Guilfoil told The Boston Herald that ballot counters noticed an overwhelmingly high number of votes for Boston’s beloved “Big Papi,” the 2013 World Series Most Valuable Player.

Facebook opens Cambridge office Facebook, from B10 or the number of new employees it plans on hiring for the location, an office space has been confirmed on the eighth floor of a high-rise building that is the home of the Cambridge Innovation Center.

This hallmark building at One Kendall Square already provides the working space for over 300 small business and entrepreneurs. It is likely that the office will provide an official home for several Facebook employees in the Boston area who have already been working remotely for the company.

“It’s ver y emotional for Cambridge and Greater Boston to have Facebook come back,” Tim Rowe, chief executive of the Cambridge center, told The Globe. “It’s the one that got away,” he added, alluding to how Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard and left the area for California. Yet Cambridge is site of a booming tech community, changing a game that had always been dominated

by Silicon Valley.

“Facebook’s return to the area is another piece of evidence that this region is a wellspring of computing smarts,” said Cathy Wissink, director of technology community engagement at Microsoft Corp.’s Innovation & Policy Center in Cambridge. “It really speaks to the strength and diversity of the broader Boston tech community that a company like Facebook is coming in. The tech industry as a whole benefits when there are more voices in the conversation.”

Ryan Mack, alum of California Institute of Technology, will lead Facebook Boston, the branch’s official name. Mack had been working in Boston as an engineer for Facebook for the past two years after his wife moved to the city to take a biotech job.

While he and his engineering partners were able to remotely work on critical projects, they worked while bouncing around from a series of coffee shops, libraries, and other co-working spaces, even from a basement in Chinatown.

Mack told The Boston Globe that the compa-

ny’s need for “engineering brain power” is rapidly increasing now that the social network has taken on up to 1.2 billion users.

This office in particular will be set up to address some of the networking site’s more difficult engineering and infrastructural challenges, such as networking, storage, security, and language runtime issues.

“We really have to invest heavily in hiring really strong talent,” Mack said after expressing excitement for getting to join a community with “great, deep technical talent” that fosters a “great start-up culture.”

Overall, it is an opportune time to be in Cambridge, particularly in Kendall Square.

Although the company began its growth out in California, Facebook frequently recruits from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the former of which was where Zuckerberg pursued his undergraduate education before dropping out.

Instead of these local hires relocating out west or to one of the other branches, they will be able to remain in the domain of their university. While Mack says that the Facebook Boston team will be small, he confirmed that they would continue to hire.

Last year, Massachusetts State House Speaker Robert DeLeo sent a letter to Zuckerberg asking him to bring Facebook back to the Boston area, and has enthusiastically welcomed the news of the Kendall Square office.

“This announcement reinforces our state’s standing as a place where innovators and technology companies want to be and positions us for the further growth of our innovation economy,” DeLeo told The Boston Herald.

On DeLeo’s Facebook page, freshly created on the same day as Facebook’s announcement, the State House speaker submitted a post welcoming the social networking company back home: “So pleased that eighteen months after writing to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook announces a return to Massachusetts. Welcome back!” 

HOUSE AD

LOCAL This week , Boston-area children can now enjoy the city’s first universally accessible playground in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The Spaulding Playground includes a 23,000 square foot boardwalk as well as 63 pieces of play equipment, all of which is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The park also includes a 15,000 square foot rubber play area, tables, benches, bike racks, and a connection to the Harborwalk path system. According to city officials, the playground was constructed from more than 400 granite blocks, the majority of which were sourced from the original seawall on site. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said this playground, funded by a generous $1 million donation from Liberty Mutual

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Old spot hits Boston food scene

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

BY MAGGIE POWERS Heights Editor

Strip-T’s in Watertown could not be more different from what its name implies—the only skin you’ll see here is the crispy skin on its delicious fried chicken.

An institution in Watertown for over two decades, Strip-T’s has only recently been catapulted onto the Boston foodie radar. Formerly a classic lunch place known for tuna melts and, yes, sirloin strip sandwiches, Strip-T’s has transformed due to the recent addition of the owner’s son, Tim Maslow. Before returning to his roots in Massachusetts, Tim worked at the Ssam Bar for the Momofuku Restaurant Group, at an award-winning New York City restaurant.

Even on a Tuesday afternoon, the unassuming brick building was packed. Behind the wood paneled countertop a charmingly flustered girl in a black, ripped sweatshirt and large hoop earrings bellowed, “I’ll be right with you” and promptly turned her back as each customer walked in the door.

From the large humming coke refrigerator crammed with an eclectic collection of sodas to the menus paper clipped to simple pieces of cardboard, the whole restaurant has a bright, hipster feel to it.

Average drink choices like sparkling water are available, but there is also a wide variety of hot and cold coffee beverages, specialized glass bottled sodas, and kombucha.

For lunch, two dishes shine. The hot eggplant banh mi sandwich is a wonderful vegetarian option. The crusty bread, pickled vegetables and crisp tofu transform a traditional Vietnamese street sandwich into something fresh and modern.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the buttermilk fried chicken is a nod to the blue-plate origins of the restaurant. Left on the bone, the mix of white and dark meat is warm and juicy.

The golden-brown skin is rich with just a touch of sweetness to keep the flavors interesting. While side pairings from broccoli rabe to coleslaw are offered, the fries are the obvious option. The thin cut and pieces of potato skin keep them feeling just as homemade and delicious as the chicken itself.

To finish the meal, there is a selection of cookies. The hazelnut cookie with a hardened lavender glaze was enticingly unique but wound up disappointing. It was hard to the point of be-

ing difficult to bite, and the two flavors seemed somewhat disjointed.

For dinner, the cuisine reflects the new, bold menu that came with the new chef and management. Short ribs, fried lobster and miso stew, and Japanese sweet potato wedges all demonstrate the fusion of American and Asian culture, the fusion of the restaurants roots, and Maslow’s background in Asian cuisine. In addition, Strip T’s burger topped with lemon aioli, smoked white miso butter, and a pickled onion lay claim to the title of one of Zagat’s “Eight Must-Try New Burgers Around Boston.”

The entire wait staff has an authenticity to them. All ages, sizes, and colors, they were a refreshing change in pace from the standard blonde, modelesque waitresses normally found in LOCATION: 93 SCHOOL STREET CUISINE: American SIGNATURE DISH: Buttermilk Fried Chicken ATMOSPHERE: 9/10 AVERAGE DISH: $10-18 OVERALL EXPERIENCE: A hip restaurants. Each one wore no uniform, only average t-shirts and jeans, maintaining a level of individuality not normally found among wait staff.

Despite the flurry of activity behind the counter, the waitress was more than attentive. She took the time to discuss the various menu options and chat with all her customers. As the owner, Paul Maslow, breezed through the door she called him over and introduced him.

Maslow seemed just as stunned as the rest of Watertown at Strip-T’s newfound success.

After stating how grateful he was for the positive reviews in The Boston Globe and other local publications he hung around to talk about everything from the Red Sox to where he grew up.

Priced moderately for the level of cuisine available, entrees average around $10 for lunch and $18 for dinner. This quirky restaurant across from the old Arsenal mall is a not-so-hidden gem that feels fresh and modern with the authentic comforts of home, all packaged in a heartwarming story of a father and son making the old new again. 

The Heights

B8

Bookish Bostonian

Insatiable demand for laughter Ryan Towey When I was a kid, Saturday night always meant the same thing—Saturday Night Live with my dad.

My dad and I scoured the snack cabinet at 11:28 p.m. for whatever cookies we could find. (I was always a fan of grabbing two Oreos and two chocolate chip cookies—maximum chocolate diversity.) My mother would look at us disapprovingly—she knew that I should be in bed. But I think I know her well enough to say that she secretly thought that it was nice when we watched SNL together.

We would pour two glasses of milk just in time to sit down and watch the host start the show.

A couple years down the line, my sister would be old enough to stay up as late as me to watch as well. And while I love spending time with my sister, I remember with nostalgia the nights that it was just my dad and me.

I was so young. I had no high school homework to worry about, no college parties to go to, no internship applications to fill out. On a Saturday, my biggest concern in life was whether or not I was running out of milk to dunk my cookies into. Such minimal concerns left plenty of time for a good, clean laugh with Dad. I suppose “clean” is a bit of stretch—SNL can get raunchy sometimes, but I rarely managed to stay awake much past midnight, when SNL used to become a bit more inappropriate.

As my eyes would start to close just before the musical guest, I can remember my dad telling me how cool a thing SNL really is. “It’s happening right across the Hudson River right now,” he would say. “Right over in New York they’re making people laugh.” He got such a kick out of that idea, and I love him for it.

Comedy is such an intrinsic part of who we are as people, and it is great that, somewhere in the world, someone is always laughing. I am probably among those cynics who tend to feel that SNL is no longer funny, that its glory days are over.

While I would be sad to see such a cultural staple become completely irrelevant, my fears are for SNL, not comedy in general.

Because the impulse to make people laugh will always persist, and it will always change forms.

This week, I enjoyed an interview with Norm Laviolette, the co-owner of Improv Asylum in the North End and now the co-founder of a medium-sized stand-up comedy club Laugh Boston.

Laviolette helped to create the Improv Asylum and Laugh Boston for the same reason—Boston’s comedy scene needed them. Improv Asylum became home to Boston’s first significant improvisational comedy group in 1998. And three months ago, Laugh Boston joined the comedy scene to create a venue that can host both national comedians and some of Boston’s best local acts.

The glory of such things? People will go.

I can think of few better products than comedy, just as I can think of few products harder to make successfully. Comedy is an art form like any other, but, when done right, the payoff is astronomical—there is a nearly insatiable demand for laughter.

I know that, one day, my dad and I will head over to the Seaport District to watch a good show at Laugh Boston. My dad and I have a pretty strong anxiety streak in us—between schedules and responsibilities, real and imagined—but we have always been the kinds of people that can appreciate a good laugh. He and I have never been to SNL live, and it would be nice for the two of us to finally be together watching comedy as it happens on the stage.

I just hope the staff doesn’t mind if we bring some cookies.

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

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Laugh Boston fills gap in city’s comedy scene Improv Asylum co-owners succeed in their new venture

By Ryan Towey Asst. Metro Editor In 1997, Norm Laviolette saw a gap in the comedy market, and he, along with business partners Chet Harding and Paul D’Amato, wanted to do something about it.

“The reason we started Improv Asylum was because there was no professional improvisational or sketch comedy theater in Boston,” Laviolette said.

Laviolette, Harding, and D’Amato were all fans of Chicago’s improvisational comedy enterprise Second City, and they wanted to create something similar. Improv Asylum opened in May of 1998, and then hit what Laviolette considers a stroke of luck: “We started in May of ’98, and in August of ’98, Whose Line is it Anyway? debuted on ABC. And for the first time, you had a commercial reference point for what we were doing.” Located in the North End, Improv Asylum has since grown to be a staple of Boston’s comedy scene.

Laviolette and Harding, who are still coowners of Improv Asylum, are now filling another gap in Boston’s comedy market.

“Fifteen years later, we started kind of looking around at the landscape again here in Boston and it dawned on us that there was no true, full-time, stand-up comedy club in town anymore,” Laviolette said. “Similar to how we felt about Improv Asylum, we were like, ‘Hey, we see this is missing. Why don’t we be the ones to fill the gap?’”

Although Laviolette said he saw a growth in Boston’s improvisational comedy scene in the last 15 years, he said that the scene for stand-up comedy has experienced a “contraction.” Although Laviolette noted that smaller comedy clubs like the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square are important, he said that the comedy scene was starved of a medium-sized club after the Comedy Connection stopped serving as such a venue for the city when a new owner decided to focus on pursuing only larger, national acts.

As a result, Laviolette said, comedians who could not sell out large venues—upward

Photo Courtesy of Laugh Boston

Laugh Boston, a comedy club in the Seaport District that seats 300, has found success by meeting demand for a medium-sized club. of 1,100 seats—were stuck performing at comedy nights in restaurants or other lessdesirable venues.

“That’s important for the comedy scene, because that’s how you learn your craft,” Laviolette said, “but the problem was that as people started getting better and started getting really good, they didn’t have that next step up to go.”

Laviolette and Harding took on a third partner to open the club, John Tobin, owner of Theatre District Productions and a former District 6 representative on the City Council. Laviolette and Harding felt that Tobin’s experience in the stand-up comedy industry and political savvy would be helpful in getting Laugh Boston off the ground.

The three men moved forward with their plans, and in September, Laugh Boston was born.

“Essentially all we’re doing is replicating what the Comedy Connection was,” Laviolette said. “You could see national headliners and really good local acts as well.”

A comedy club that seats around 300, Laugh Boston is located in the Westin Seaport Waterfront Hotel across from the Boston

Convention and Exhibition Center in the Seaport District.

“We decided to go to the Seaport District because, when you do these things, you’re doing entertainment, but you’re also doing business,” Laviolette said. “This neighborhood is only becoming more and more developed.

The neighborhood’s only going to get more and more busy.”

Laviolette said that the three partners paid close attention to the booming success of the restaurants in the Seaport District, a sure sign that there would be a market for a comedy club in the area.

“This city has an opportunity to literally build a brand new city right on the water within the old city,” Laviolette said. “You know, I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but then I say to myself, ‘Hey, maybe I should be there.’”

Three months into their venture with Laugh Boston, Laviolette’s instincts have proven solid.

“You know, it’s been doing great,” Laviolette said. “It’s amazing to me how fast things can get going.”

Although some staff members new to the

comedy industry were concerned when early nights raked in less than desirable crowds, Laviolette remained optimistic that Laugh Boston was “here for the long haul.”

Indeed, Laugh Boston sold out shows last weekend and had a sold-out benefit last Wednesday.

Laviolette recalled the first time that he felt Laugh Boston was there to stay. Laugh Boston was scheduled to host an afterparty event for MassChallenge, a resource for young entrepreneurs.

But there was an unexpected catch.

“It just so happened that the party fell on the night of Game 6 of the Red Sox winning the World Series,” Laviolette said. “We were like, ‘Uh-oh, is anyone going to come over?

This could be a huge bust.’”

The night, however, proved a success.

“It ended up being that 400 people did come over,” Laviolette said, and the staff projected the Red Sox game on a huge screen.

“It was like watching the game in a small arena, and it was great and they won and everybody went crazy,” he said. “And I feel like that was the first time where I was like, ‘Alright, I think we’re going to be good here.’” n

Rejecting Harvard, Menino accepts BU position Menino, from B10

Photo Courtesy of Parade

Menino, pictured above, has announced that he will take a position at BU after his tenure ends.

study of urban issues and serve as both a resource and an example for metropolitan leaders around the world. The initiative hopes to attract a wide variety of external cities that will utilize the New Initiative on Cities to tackle their own urban problems. Menino specifically hopes to use this new opportunity to interact with Boston’s young people and to contribute to the development of the initiative, which has received $1 million of funding from BU. Within the Initiative, Menino will be responsible for launching what will be known as “The Institute on Cities,” which will provide an opportunity for mayors and municipal managers from all over to share and exchange ideas about urban issues.

“We want to be the place to go when it comes to urban issues,” Menino said

of the program in an interview at BU on Tuesday. “We’re starting now, but in a few years we want to be the leading university when it comes to urban America.”

Menino confirmed last month that he had—not surprisingly—received offers to become a part of the faculty at multiple schools in the Boston area, including Suffolk, Harvard, Northeastern, and Boston University.

Many would agree that the most surprising of these rejected offers is Harvard, the university from which he received an honorary degree earlier this year.

The Boston Herald recently suggested, however, that Menino’s acceptance of this position could be a conflict of interest, due to the recent approval of a multibillion-dollar plan for Harvard to redevelop a remote campus in Allston.

Olympics committee looks to past hosting successes Olympics, from B10 A proposal to construct a village to hold the athletes and coaches is under way.

The Olympics would also require a modern aquatic center, and an 80,000-seat stadium that would host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track and field events.

Although there is probably no need for an 80,000-seat stadium after the Olympics, new construction techniques could allow the stadium to be built in sections, according to John Fish. Some of the stadium could be removed to provide smaller sections of 25,000-30,000 seats, which would be ideal for Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft.

“Just looking at it from our point of view, we’re probably going to seriously consider a downtown soccer stadium somewhere in Boston or the Greater Boston area,” Kraft said in an interview with The Globe. “We would try to help tailor something that could serve the needs of the Olympics and also our soccer team.”

The group of city leaders will explore the possibility of receiving funds from any local colleges and universities to help finance the aquatic center, which could later be used for smaller campus venues. The group is also studying the future possibility of housing needs for the players, and if a village is ideal for the city. Supporters would also have to obtain political and community support for expensive facilities and prove that they’re beneficial long after the Games are over.

“It has to be done thoughtfully,” Fish said.

David Goldman / ap photo

The Olympic rings above Turner Field were built for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, the fifth U.S. city to host the games.

“It has to be based on analytics. It has to be slow and deliberate. It has to be done with consensus. And we need to sit at the table and have this discussion constructively—or we’ll never know.”

Although the possibility of hosting the 2024 Olympics seems tangible, there are still a number of challenges. For example, the U.S. has not hosted an Olympics since the 2002 Winter Games and is in the middle of its longest stretch between host-

ing Olympics since a 28-year gap between 1932 and 1960.

In October, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill to form a commission to look into a potential 2024 Boston Olympic bid with a completed report due in March.

As of right now, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Dallas, and Philadelphia are among other American cities that have expressed interest.

Boston’s group stressed it is in the preliminary stages of planning and admitted there are some major hurdles, but wants the city to be seen as a serious contender for the games.

“Hosting the Olympics is about serving the world and providing service to athletes and people from almost every country,” Romney said. “If it’s seen as a chance for Boston to serve as America’s host to the world, that can be a fantastic experience.” n

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 14, 2013

B9

Lawrence mayor seeks vote recount after defeat Faulty voting machines and only 57 ballots separate Lantigua from potential reelection

BY SARAH MOORE For The Heights On Friday, Mayor William Lantigua of Lawrence, Mass., remained less than half of 1 percent short of his goal for re-election. In a city of 77,000, only 57 ballots separated Lantigua from his opponent, City Councilor Daniel Rivera. Although the Lawrence mayoral elections took place Nov. 5, this minor difference is delaying the announcement of an official winner, as Lantigua refuses to concede the race and plans to seek a recount.

More than 15,000 ballots were cast in the election—the mayor’s dissatisfaction, however, stems from the 260 plus votes which had to be counted by hand, as voting machines in some of the voting precincts malfunctioned. According to Sal Tabit, Lantigua’s attorney, this discrepancy makes the margin “too slim to certainly declare the outcome

of the race.”

Along with the ballots from the faulty machines, city and state officials say that as many as 66 votes are also in question, including nine absentee ballots that have until Nov. 15 to arrive from overseas.

Lantigua will need to secure 240 signatures on a recount petition by Friday to hold any hope of reelection.

Lantigua, 58, was historically elected as Massachusetts’s first Latino mayor in 2009. Throughout his term, he has been praised for balancing the town’s budget, improving parks, fixing city streets, and making city hall accessible to the town’s Latino majority. His time as mayor, however, has been slighted by criminal investigations. Though he has not been officially charged with any crimes, three of his associates, including his former campaign manager, were indicted on state corruption charges, and another was convicted of bribery, lying to a federal agent, and obstruction

of justice in federal court. Lantigua was also recently named in a lawsuit filed by attorney general Martha Coakley concerning the violation of campaign finance laws.

Despite the questionable nature of Lantigua’s criminal record, he still went in to the race widely considered as the front-runner, calling himself “the people’s mayor.” In the September primary, Lantigua secured 48 percent of the vote while Rivera held up only 23 percent in the then six-way race.

The City Councilman was able to turn this losing record around with the endorsements of Senator Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Representative Niki Tsongas, the Lawrence teacher’s union, and three of the four candidates who lost in September. Rivera, 42, is a Gulf War veteran who aims to restore the city’s image and improve public safety and schools if he takes office in January.

Unhappy with Lantigua’s refusal to concede, Rivera asked Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin to oversee the potential recount in order to ensure the integrity of the process.

“What we know of [Lantigua] is that

he will do whatever is in his best interest despite the best interests of the city,” Rivera said to The Boston Globe. Galvin, however, is confident in the accuracy of the mayoral election as both statesponsored action and outside assistance worked to ensure their precision after poor poll organization convoluted the Lawrence mayoral primary results.

“There have been issues raised, but most of them have evaporated upon review,” said Galvin, who has the 15,000 ballots cast in the election stored in a sealed vault with constant police surveillance, “It’s a work in progress, but I can speak up to the moment. I am comfortable that every procedure is properly being followed,” he said.

Ultimately, the accuracy that Galvin and other city officials are attempting to ensure is the focus of both Rivera and Lantigua.

“The democratic process of the United States, the same which has allowed me to speak to you today as your mayor, says that the legitimacy of an election does not end until the last doubt of the voters and every vote has been counted,” Lantingua said to Boston.com. 

Walsh prepares his way, creates transition team Walsh, from B10 diversifying his administration. All three, through their endorsements, succeeded in bringing Walsh support among communities of color, a key element of his victory over Connolly. Walsh has said that up to half of his cabinet will be made up of racial and ethnic minority members.

Walsh also looks to lay the foundations for fulfilling several of his platform points from the campaign trail, among them, restructuring the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), reforming public schools, and extending MBTA service to later hours.

With regard to the BRA, Walsh has proposed consolidating multiple overlapping agencies into one, overarching Boston Economic Development Authority that will be subject to City Council oversight and under the control of a director that makes independent decisions, according to Walsh’s campaign website. This differs from the current BRA, which Menino has been known to

use as an instrument of power throughout his administration.

In the area of education reform, Walsh hopes to open more charter schools in the city, as well as hire a new Boston Public Schools superintendent before the start of the next school year in September 2014.

As far as extending MBTA hours, Walsh’s election may prove to be a spark that encourages further serious exploration of the issue. Steps have already been taken by various parties—public and private—that could potentially play a role in constructing a viable plan, such as the state legislature passing a transportation finance law last summer that required the T to develop a plan to extend weekend hours, according to The Boston Globe.

Local colleges and universities have also been involved, surveying students about their interest in extended hours and encouraging them to purchase discounted T passes, perhaps to fund the service.

To pursue these and other prominent issues in anticipation of taking office, Walsh plans to hold town hall-style meetings be-

STEVEN SENNE / AP PHOTO

Mayor-elect Marty Walsh, pictured above on election night, now prepares his transition team. ginning later this month to hear residents’ concerns and increase transparency in government, The New York Times reported.

Walsh also intends to call on his background as a legislator to accomplish his policy agenda’s central points. He has relationships within the state legislature that have been forged during his 16 years

as a state representative, and he also hopes to share power with the City Council, a historically weaker branch of government than the mayor’s executive branch.

“I’m not afraid of having them as a partner in government,” Walsh told The Globe. “I view a whole different relationship between myself and the council.” 

COLLEGIATE ROUND-UP

BY BRENNA CASS | HEIGHTS STAFF

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERISTY

Campus looks to expand access to Roxbury, Fenway Northeastern University is looking to expand their presence into Roxbury, on which their campus borders.

They are hoping to build a new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering building (ISEB) on a current university parking lot on Columbus Ave. The proposed building would have a pedestrian walkway over train tracks, which would make the main Northeastern campus on Huntington Ave. more accessible to students from Roxbury and Fenway. In addition to this physical accessibility for students, the university hopes to make a Northeastern education more accessible to students from this area. They are planning to increase their financial aid offered to Boston Public School students, which would allow more Roxbury students to attend Northeastern, and sponsor events at the nearby Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College to prepare students to transfer

HARVARD In the fiscal year ending June 30, Harvard University’s budget deficit has risen to $34 million. This figure was made public in the university’s 2013 fiscal report that was released on Friday, Nov. 8. The deficit had increased significantly since 2012, when it was $7.9 million.

The fiscal report stated that in order to deal with this deficit, the university will not have to lay off employees as it did during the financial crisis.

Instead, Harvard is planning to change healthcare benefits for retirees and make technology services and libraries more efficient. Research laboratories will likely receive less funding from the university, and will be forced to use private funding to continue their work. The university also hopes to work to sell more of the technology developed at its school to raise revenue. Despite the growing deficit, Harvard plans to raise $6.5 million from private donors over the next five years to continue with plans to construct a new art museum as well as renovate undergraduate housing.

to Northeastern. They also plan to employ more residents of these neighborhoods and offer more programs to the community, such as job fairs and educational programs.

In addition, they hope to renovate the William E. Carter playground and add more fields for community and university use. The response to this planned construction that would connect Northeastern to Roxbury has been largely supportive, especially because it involves the university putting land that they already own to better use. “I think that [Columbus Ave.] was seen as kind of a ragged edge to the campus. This is going to dramatically transform that stretch of Columbus Ave.,” said Gerald Autler, senior project manager for the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), of Northeastern in an interview with The Boston Globe. The university is planning to present the plan in a Nov. 14 meeting of the BRA.

BABSON A B ab s o n C o l l e g e g r a d u ate student and an alumnus have launched a new app that uses social media, particularly Twitter, to predict changes in the stock market.

The company, Zingfin, and its founders Balajii Viswanathan and Anup Gosavi, were inspired to create the app after noticing that social media often indicated changes in the stock market. For example, before the release of online radio website Pandora’s earnings report, the two noticed negative tweets about Pandora. The earnings report showed earnings dropping, and Pandora’s shares dropped. The app uses data from Twitter, blogs, and the news to predict how the stocks would fare. By doing so, they hope to get ahead of the markets and predict changes in stocks before they occur. Though the app is not officially launching until January, a basic, free version as well as a more fine-tuned edition targeted at investors are currently available as Zingfin works to perfect the system.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHEASTERN

BOSTON UNIV. Two Boston University students have created a new way for the city of Boston to cope with the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombings. Taylor Mortell, 19, and Luca DeGaetano, a graduate student, created “Still Running: An Art Marathon for Boston” in the aftermath of the Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013. The art marathon brings community members together in free events focused on creating art that celebrates the city of Boston. “We not only want to do something to help the general community to heal, but to thank those who helped,” Mortell said in an interview with Boston.com. The project was originally planned to last for three weeks, but had become a year-long event that will end with a final exhibition on April 18, the one-year anniversary of the bombings. During November, the first exhibit of the works of art will take place at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

The over 200 pieces of art will then be donated to the Boston Medical Center.

BOSTON UNCOMMON

Sticking with the decision to stay here

SAM COSTANZO Every sophomore has to ask him or herself two questions before they become juniors: Should I stay, or should I go? Can I live with that decision?

For my sophomore self, whether to go abroad or not was never a question.

I stay, and yes, I can live with that. I thought I had too many things to stay in Boston for: friends, The Heights, and the city of Boston itself.

Sometimes, though, I regret not going abroad.

I thought that if I went abroad, there would be so many people I’d miss here at BC that I’m not sure I could have dealt with it. I have always considered myself an outgoing person, so I think I would have been fine in terms of social life if I had in fact decided to run away to Venice. There was something in the back of my mind, though, that told me to stick around.

I know that there are so many more people in the world to get to know besides the small sample we meet on campus. That small sample, however, has shared so many happy days and gotten me through so many bad ones that at the end of sophomore year, I could hardly imagine leaving all of these fantastic people for six months.

I would have ended up going abroad during the spring and so would still have been able to see everyone for a semester before I became a jet-setter, but wouldn’t that make goodbyes that much more difficult? I thought it would, and so I avoided it all by sticking around.

As far as I know, I have four years in Boston. I don’t know where I’ll end up after I graduate, because the journalism industry is rather unpredictable right now, so I could be anywhere from back home in L.A. to a small town in the Midwest. It all depends on who’s hiring, and if that place isn’t Boston, well, tough luck. I’ve wanted to live in Boston since eighth grade. Now that I’m here, why give up a whole semester? Won’t Italy always be there?

So I stayed. Boston was too interesting, my friends too wonderful, and The Heights too integral a part of my life for me to drop them all and leave.

Italy could wait.

Now, though, I’m getting restless.

The city that I thought was so fantastic has become ordinary. True, there’s nothing wrong with stability. I’ve found my favorite places, and I’ve even found new people to share those places with.

But all of a sudden, the pictures of faraway places that pop up on my Facebook feed with aggravating regularity seem far more enchanting than the endless Instagrams of BC’s campus.

I don’t mean to sound whiny here.

I made my decision, and that’s fine.

The answer to the question of “Can you live with your decision?” is still the same—yes, I can. It just means that I’ll have to get a little more creative.

Over the summer, all it took was an unlimited T pass and curiosity to turn Boston into a completely new city. Now that finals season is dangerously close, there’s not as much time to run around the city like I used to in July. When campus just seems to be closing in on me, though, there’s nothing wrong with playing tourist in my own city.

The North End might not be Venice, but I’m sure there’s some little bakery off the beaten path of Hanover Street that I’ve yet to discover. I’ve never really thought about hopping off the C line at a random stop along the way to see what’s around there, but there’s got to be something new tucked away in unexpected places like that. There are plenty of narrow streets I haven’t walked down yet.

So yes, the normalcy that I wanted is getting kind of old. I’ll always wonder, what if? But if I had gone abroad, I’d probably be wondering what I was missing at BC. I might be writing about wanting to come back. Since it’s a bit late to find out, though, I need to rediscover Boston.

This city may be small, but there’s no way I’ve seen it all yet.

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

metro The Heights

B8

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Breaking Boundaries

Doing good, doing well

Tricia Tiedt Last Saturday was a Boston kind of day.

Itching to get off campus, my best friend and I hopped in her car to spend the afternoon shopping and meandering through Back Bay. We drive for two reasons: to throw the bags of goodies we’re bound to accumulate in the trunk, and to avoid the Comm. Ave. bus at all costs.

As we left our familiar Chestnut Hill stomping grounds, our thoughts began to wander to “the real world”—i.e., the space outside the BC Bubble, the life after we leave Boston College.

At almost halfway through our junior year, this fairy tale is coming to a close all too quickly.

Harvard Ave.: our conversation takes a turn out of Boston entirely. Where will we end up after graduation? Where will our friends be? Where—and how—do we want to spend our 20s?

Red and white accents, flags, and signs soon appear in our periphery. The Boston University campus upon us, we began discussing her career options. As one of three female physics majors in the junior class, her options are nothing close to average. Her aunt practically runs JP Morgan. She has a potential offer from a biotech firm back in Miami, where she calls home. She organized charity road races for Haiti in high school, where she one day hopes to help build water wells. Ph.D. programs would pay her to get an education. She wants to take a year off to travel the world with her brother.

Like I said, nothing about her screams “entry-level job applicant.”

She sifts through the details of each plan—I listen intently, trying to keep all the scientific terms straight.

(As an English major, I can spell “quantum mechanics” and tell you Shakespeare never used the phrase in any of his plays.

That’s about it.)

At a red light in Kenmore Square, my most impressive friend uttered this phrase: “I’m struggling between doing good and doing well.”

Suddenly, we were on the same page.

It was so simple, yet so profound. To me, it epitomized the main issue of the post-grad world: do you want to make a difference, or do you want to make money?

Is it possible to do both?

By the time we reached downtown, neither mind was lingering on anything Eagle-related. In fact, mine was racing. As we braced against the wind whipping down Dartmouth St., my thoughts turned to my own “real world” plans.

Since coming to Boston, I’ve realized I want to do whatever I can to make the most impact on the world. I would go to Nebraska and open a bakery if I knew that’s where I could do the most good for mankind.

(Later that Saturday, I managed to ruin a box of pre-made brownie mix. So the bakery plan is out, but you get the idea.)

What then? Do you follow what you’re apt at, and hope it leads you to where you’re supposed to be? Is that doing good, or doing well?

Again, can it be both?

I’m a people person, and I have a way with words. Can I make a living out of that?

Can I make a life out of that?

Is it enough?

These larger-than-BC-life questions were on my mind the rest of the afternoon.

Neither of us found any magic answers while window-shopping on Newbury, but at least we confronted the questions.

And all it took was a 20-minute drive seven miles down Commonwealth Ave. It’s amazing how a little bit of distance can give a whole lot of insight.

Maybe one day my best friend will make a breakthrough in biotechnology, or save families in a third-world country. Maybe she’ll join Wall St., or maybe she’ll give it all up to become a wife and mother.

Maybe one day I’ll get to write about it.

To each their own.

Tricia Tiedt is the Metro Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

A Bid for Boston

Committee forms to assess the city’s possibility of hosting 2024 Olympics

By Bennet Johnson For The Heights A powerful group of city leaders is currently exploring the prospect of bringing the 2024 Olympic games to Boston. The group is headed by John Fish, chairman of the Suffolk Construction Company. Other members include Robert Kraft, Steve Pagiluca, and former Police Commissioner Ed Davis. The group didn’t just stop at

those names, but brought in 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics Organization Committee President and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney as a key adviser.

“Boston would be a fantastic place for the summer Games,” Romney said in a phone interview with The Boston Globe on Saturday. “It would be a marvelous community-building experience for Boston, and I think the people who would enjoy the games

with or without tickets would say it was one of the best experiences of their life.”

Although the possibility of hosting the Olympics would be a fantastic opportunity for the city of Boston, there are a number of obstacles to overcome before the bid can be successful. Currently, a crammed city with a lack of space and sports venues is not a suitable site to host a world-renowned event like the Olympics.

“It’s like 20 Super Bowls all at once. The transportation has to be completely redone. The fund-raising and marketing of the Games is ex-

tensive. It’s an amazing undertaking,” Romney said.

In order to accommodate these games, Boston would have to design three new major structures.

First, the city would need a place to hold all 15,000 athletes throughout the games.

Although college dorms might seem like an attractive option to some, officials are worried about security, especially since there have been a number of terrorist attacks during some of the previous games.

See Olympics, B8

Menino accepts BU position for after tenure ends B y M aggie M aretz Heights Staff After 20 years as the leader of the city of Boston, 70-year-old outgoing Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has accepted a position in the political science department of Boston University following the end of his term on Jan. 6, 2014.

WBZ-TV’s Jon Keller first reported the news of his Boston University position Tuesday morning via Twitter,

which The Boston Globe confirmed shortly thereafter, specifying that he will take the position of co-director of the New Initiative on Cities with current director Graham Wilson. Wilson, who expressed eager anticipation at combining Menino’s practicality as an “urban mechanic” with Boston University’s academic prowess, also confirmed the new faculty change.

The mayor himself did not confirm his new position until a press conference on Wednesday morning. In front

of dozens of students and soon-to-be fellow professors in the east campus dining hall, Menino for mally announced: “Cities are the cool new thing. I’m cool now.”

Menino, who is scheduled to start the new position on Feb. 1, 2014, has said in the past regarding his postmayoral plans, “it’s not about money.”

In accordance with this statement, he will be paid something resembling a professor’s salary at his job at BU, according to Boston Magazine.

Although Menino has a five-year contract as a professor, he will not actually teach classes at BU. As BU President Robert A. Brown explained, “this is not, ‘come be a part of our faculty and teach a few lectures.’ We really think we can do something significant and different.”

Instead of acting as a professor, Menino will partake in what university leaders hope will include the academic

See Menino, B8

Mayor elect Walsh plans his transition to City Hall January brings a monumental shift in power to Boston See Mayoral Election, B9 photo courtesy of mashable

Facebook, shown here in their Silicon Valley office, will soon open and office in Kendall Square.

Facebook announces new office space in Cambridge

By Lauren Totino Heights Staff Last week, Facebook announced that it is moving back to its roots in Cambridge, where Mark Zuckerberg and his entourage first developed the idea for the social networking site in a Harvard University dorm room. The company will soon open an engineering office in Kendall Square, a neighborhood in the city of Cambridge distinguished as the heart of the ever-grow-

i nside Metro this issue

ing tech industry. Facebook will become neighbors with equally famous software giants, like the East Coast branches of Amazon and Twitter. Including Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., the Kendall Square office joins Seattle, New York, and London as the company’s fifth engineering office.

While Facebook has not revealed details regarding the size of its new office

See Facebook, B7

Collegiate Round-up

By Julie Orenstein Heights Editor On Jan. 6, the city of Boston will see the door close on a significant chapter of its recent political history—the twodecade long tenure of Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

As this era ends, however, a man of a younger generation—a generation that has been waiting patiently in the wings during Menino’s reign—will ascend to the top seat in City Hall. Mayor-elect Marty Walsh, BC ’09, is a little more than one week removed from defeating City Councilor John Connolly, BC Law ’01, in the Nov. 6 election, yet he is already in the midst of establishing plans for his takeover.

The day after his victory, Walsh met with Menino privately, receiving advice from the outgoing mayor.

“He just basically said a lot of people are going to be coming at you, you have a lot of friends now,” Walsh told Boston.com.

“He said just be careful and move forward

Highlights from other prestigious universities and colleges in the greater Boston area.........................................................................................B9

and always keep the residents of the city of Boston number one.”

Menino, who announced Tuesday that he will help launch and direct the new Initiative on Cities at Boston University to study global urban issues after leaving office next year, expressed the faith he has in his newly-crowned successor.

“We’re in good hands,” Menino told reporters. “Marty has the ability, I think, to take the city to the next level. This is not about Marty Walsh and Tom Menino.

It’s about the city of Boston and how we continue to move the city forward.”

From now until he assumes office, Walsh has vowed to facilitate a smooth transition, naming a transition team Friday that includes some familiar names in local politics and this most recent mayoral election, in particular. Among the team’s six co-chairs are former mayoral candidates Charlotte Golar Richie, John Barros, and Felix Arroyo, all of whom endorsed Walsh over Connolly in the final election.

Walsh’s appointment of Golar Richie, the former city housing chief; Barros, a prominent community leader; and Arroyo, a city councilor, to his transition team shows the mayor-elect’s commitment to

See Walsh, B9

Restaurant Review: Strip T’s..........................................................B7 Lawrence Mayor Seeks Recount in Mayoral Election................B9