The Heights 11/18/2013

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BAND SHOWCASE MOVING ON UP

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A conversation with the nurses who work the night shift at Health Services, B10

Four Boston College student bands rocked the Vandy Cabaret room last Friday night, A10

Women’s soccer heads to the NCAA Tournament second round after defeating Northeastern, B4

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HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

established

1919

Monday, November 18, 2013

Vol. XCIV, No. 44

Summer business program launched for non-CSOM students

BY KAYLA FAMOLARE Heights Staff Beginning this summer, the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) will be offering a 10-week summer program running from June to August designed to give non-CSOM students the ability to gain knowledge of the business world.

“The number of students coming into the Carroll School has skyrocketed in the

University continues fire cleanup

last two few years and what that has done has filled up a lot of our available capacity,” said Billy Soo, Accounting Department chair, who took the lead in developing the summer program. “Unlike the past where we could accept students into [CSOM], we just couldn’t do it anymore, we have reached the maximum.”

The problem that Soo and the deans of CSOM are facing is how to accommodate students who wish to enroll in manage-

BY JOHN WILEY Heights Editor James Gallo, CSOM ’14, was working at Hillside Cafe on Monday, Nov. 11 when he noticed images of the Philippines populating his Twitter feed. Typhoon Haiyan—the largest such storm in recorded history—first made landfall in the Philippines that Friday, with a 25foot storm surge. The storm most significantly affected the Samar and Leyte regions of the Philippines, an area far south of Manila, which includes some of the nation’s poorest provinces. Early government estimates place the national death toll at 3,637.

“I saw the devastation, and I messaged my advisor for RHA,” said Gallo, a vice president of the Residence Hall Association (RHA).

“I said I want to raise money for the typhoon, like this is really bad, they need help—what do I do?”

Gallo was advised to wait for the

See Fires Update, A3

Boston College will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address on Tuesday with a daylong event featuring a variety of speakers who will recite the address as well as offer their own thoughts on what the landmark speech means today. Sponsored by the History Department and the College of Arts and Sciences, the event organizers hope that the program draws a wide range of students to reflect on the historic day.

“Gettysburg Address: 150th Anniversary” will take place from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in a tent on O’Neill Plaza. The speakers, who range from A&S Dean David Quigley to UGBC Executive Vice President Matt Alonsozana, A&S ’14, will first read the Gettysburg Address and then reflect personally on the speech for 15 to 20 minutes. The event organizers expect a diversity of reflections given the diversity of speakers, from professor Cynthia Lyerly, who will tie the theme of religion into her

BC’S RELIEF INITIATIVE is comprised of over 12 campus groups, and is collecting donations for Catholic Relief Services.

Goal: $10,000

Point Drive: $7,000 Online Donations: $3,000

organization’s e-board meeting on Thursday night. Unsatisfied with this timeframe, he contacted fellow RHA member Tadala Jumbe, A&S ’14, later that night, and the two began to develop the concept for a Typhoon Haiyan benefit concert.

They brought the idea to Gerome Paradela, president of the Philippine Society of BC and A&S ’14, and discovered Paradela was already in talks developing a relief initiative with Matt Alonsozana, executive

3,637 Injuries

A BENEFIT CONCERT is scheduled for this Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Rat. Students will perform and donations will be collected.

Suggested Donation: $5

BY THE NUMBERS Deaths

12,501 Displaced

3 million

vice president of UGBC and A&S ’14.

“We grew from a group of eight to a group of 30,” Alonsozana said. “We grew from three main organizations involved to, I want to say, more than a dozen.”

The BC Typhoon Haiyan Relief Initiative developed from the individual ideas of students—it is an ongoing series of charity events, planned by representatives from a growing

See Typhoon Haiyan, A3

The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) concluded a weeklong blitz of events geared toward body image issues on Friday evening with a performance of Eve Ensler’s play The Good Body. Now that the Love Your Body Week event fliers are disappearing from the walls and kiosks around campus, the question arises—will Boston College students continue the dialogue?

Julie AhnAllen, senior staff psychologist in University Counseling Services (UCS), said it’s difficult to have a prolonged campus-wide initiative about body image issues because it’s hard for many students to talk about such a sensitive topic publicly. She thinks that smaller initiatives, such as supporting friends who struggle with body image and not participating in negative conversations, can go a long way in sustaining the messages of Love Your Body Week.

Emma Moriarty, co-director of Love Your Body Week and A&S ’14, said that outside of the week there is a strong need for a continued dialogue. The WRC offers a number of resources and facilitates weekly discussion groups that provide students with an intimate setting to talk about body image issues.

“I have a lot of people who ask me, ‘What are the resources, and where can I go if I want to talk about these issues?’” Moriarty said. “There’s clearly a need for it.”

Every Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. in the WRC office, McElroy 141, sociology graduate student Emily Barko, GA&S ’14, and WRC staff lead an informal discussion group called Unsaid, which aims to explore and collaborate on issues of body image

See Love Your Body Week, A3

History department to honor Gettysburg address Heights Staff

Heights Staff

DAVID GUTTENFELDER / AP PHOTO

How you can help:

See CSOM Program, A3

BY NATHAN MCGUIRE

Destruction in the Philippines Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on Nov. 9.

It is the most powerful tropical cyclone ever to make landfall and has affected over 13 million people.

business jargon, I know the lingo, I can contribute to your firm,’” Soo said.

The classes will be taught by an “all star cast,” as Soo described them. “We have basically gone to who teaches these core class in the regular semester and picking those who are favored highly by [current CSOM] students,” Soo said. “Really the best professors with lots of experience will be

WRC looks to maintain body dialogue

TYPHOON HAIYAN

News Editor

BY JENNIFER HEINE

will offer four core CSOM classes, including Portico, an introduction to business and ethics class, management, finance, and a condensed version of operations, marketing, and organizational behavior combined. Soo explained that these introductory courses will grant the students the experience they need to participate in the business world.

“This program allows students to say, ‘I have all these core courses, I have this

BC TO MOBILIZES HELP VICTIMS OF

BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT The circumstances of three fires that were set in Boston College academic buildings last weekend are still under investigation as cleanup of the damaged areas wraps up.

According to the BCPD blotter, which was released to the public on Nov. 11, a report of arson in Gasson Hall was filed at 9:46 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. Another report of arson in Stokes Hall was filed 13 minutes later, at 9:59 p.m. At 2:10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, an emergency alert was sent out to the BC community, stating that fires had been reported and asking anyone who had witnessed suspicious activity or had other relevant information to contact BCPD. The fire in Gasson, which was in a hallway on the second floor outside Gasson 200, resulted in a small mark on the floor but no other damage. According to University Spokesman Jack Dunn, the cause of that fire was burning papers, and it was quickly extinguished.

The damage in Stokes, however, was much more extensive. Cubicles for at least five stations in Stokes 420 A-E, a graduate student area, were so damaged that they had to be removed and replaced.

Books that were affected by the soot and smoke had to be removed to More Hall to be cleaned, and water damage affected portions of the second and third floors of Stokes as well. Classes that were using the two classrooms on the fourth floor had to be moved to Carney Hall.

As of today, the Stokes cleanup is almost complete.

“The final vacuuming and clean

ment classes, despite the limited number of spaces available.

“The thought was, in the summer we have a summer program offering these CSOM core classes for those who cannot gain admittance to the school,” Soo said. “[The program] will make them more competitive, give them the background in business they need, because we cannot grant them a seat in CSOM.” Offered to rising juniors, the program

reflection, to professor Seth Jacobs, who will speak on the death of eloquence.

For Alonsozana, the only student who will speak at the event, the Gettysburg Address takes on generational and even personal significance. “I was humbled to be asked to speak at this event,” he said. “As a second-generation American, I can think of no speech that better frames the reasons why my family decided to immigrate to this country from the Philippines.

“Lincoln’s return to first principles and their reinterpretation to shape a new era should encourage the Millennial generation, one that eschews the formality and dressings of previous ones,” he said. “We need more leaders like Lincoln who are not afraid to make the simple, moral case for national identity.”

Unexpectedly, the idea began in Rev. Jeremy Clarke, S.J.’s history course on modern China. “At many levels, the connection between the course ‘From Sun Yat-sen to the Beijing Olympics’ and a commemora-

See Gettysburg Celebration, A3

EAGLES EARN BOWL ELIGIBILITY ON SENIOR DAY

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC football picked up its sixth win of the year on Saturday against NC State, becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2010.

TopTHREE

THE HEIGHTS

A2

Punishment and Justice

China: Then and Now

Monday, November 18, 2013

Education that Works

1 2 3 Tuesday Time: 12 p.m.

Location: Barat House, Law School

The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy presents “Punishment, Condemnation, and Social Justice.” Tommie Shelby, professor of African and African American studies and philosophy at Harvard, will be speaking.

Wednesday Time: 5 p.m.

Location: Gasson Hall, Room 305

Nicholas Platt, Former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Philippines, and Zambia, and author of China Boys, will be speaking on the changing state of China. The event is sponsored by the China Watching Series and will be open to the public.

Wednesday Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Walsh Function Room

The Ignatian Society of Boston College is hosting an evening with Cristo Rey of Boston president Jeffrey Thielman. Cristo Rey is a high school that uses a work-study program in which each student works five days a month in the greaterBoston area.

FEATURED EVENT

Engeln looks to change discussion on body image

BY REBECCA MORETTI Heights Staff Fat talk. Most engage in it more than a few times in their life, especially women. Fat talk often arises when a girl criticizes her own body, saying she feels fat. A friend listening will usually reply by denying the claim, often backing this by putting her own body down. “You think you’re fat? Look at my thighs!”

Then the other friend must duly reciprocate by denying that claim.

“Shut up, you’re so skinny.” The conversation will usually end with the two friends resolving to eat less, work out more, or a combination of the two. This exchange usually leaves neither feeling better about their bodies, and often, they feel even worse. Sound familiar?

This now ubiquitous exchange was the subject of Renee Engeln’s talk on Thursday titled, “Fat Talk: How it Hurts Women and What You Can Do to Stop It.” Engeln, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, gave the presentation as part of Love Your Body Week, a series of events sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center.

Engeln explored the harmful effects of fat talk, and the reasons why it is so common. She began her presentation by scrutinizing the current obsession with being thin, a fad often encouraged by the media. With Photoshop, airbrushing, and all the tools available to make women look flawless in photographs, the media has created an unachievable standard of beauty.

This pressure to look perfect is of-

CARA ANNUNZIATA / FOR THE HEIGHTS

Northwestern professor of psychology discussed the negative effects of fat talk on women. ten reinforced by derision of women, in the media and in daily life, who do not meet this standard.

Although women realize that magazine photos have been retouched many times over, they strive to live up to these distorted images, which have now become an expectation of what women should look like.

With models like Kate Moss encouraging obsession with thinness, and others dying of anorexia, women are often conflicted when trying to reconcile health with this ideal of beauty.

“Don’t think for a minute that this is about health,” Engeln said. “It’s all about appearance. About being skinny.”

With things like thinspiration pictures percolating the web, women are becoming obsessed with things like “thigh gaps” and prominent collarbones.

Engeln got nervous laughs when she pointed out how many girls adopt the

“skinny arm pose” when posing for pictures—often subconsciously.

“Body dissatisfaction has become a norm for women,” Engeln said. This state is called normative discontent. It is strange to not bash your body nowadays. What’s more, many women feel bad when they receive a compliment.

“If body dissatisfaction was a good way for women to lose weight, women would never be overweight,” Engeln said. When feeling a lot of stress, however, women tend to binge eat and do other things which are harmful to their health. “Feeling bad about yourself is not a good diet plan.”

Some say that women who engage in fat talk are fishing for compliments, but that is not usually the case, Engeln said, remarking that it is common to hear healthy-sized women say they “feel fat,” although “fat” is not an emotion.

POLICE BLOTTER

“When women criticize their bodies, feelings of depression and anxiety arise,” Engeln said. In this sense, “fat” takes on an emotional state rather than a physical one.

“Fat talk is an internalization of the media-promoted ideal and the tendency to constantly compare your appearance to other people’s appearance,” Engeln said.

Although men may engage in fat talk, the most common form of physical self-criticism for men involves the topic of muscles. “Call it muscle talk,” she said.

When engaging in muscle talk, Engeln said, men often use terms such as “swole” and “jacked.” For instance, a man may say something like, “I wish I was as swole as that guy. I need to start hitting the weight room.”

For men, too much muscle talk could be detrimental and lead to a similar obsession with physical appearance.

For women, the body has become just a device to attract other people, Engeln said. It’s not about what your body can do, but about how your body can attract.

“There is no happy ending to fat talk,” Engeln said. “You have to change how you talk about your body in order to change how you think about your body ... or vice versa.”

“No guy cares about thigh gaps, bony collarbones, or skinny arms,” said Daniel Vaz, CSOM ’17, who attended the talk. “Guys find it attractive when a woman is confident and comfortable in her own body.”

“It is time that women shift their focus,” Engeln said. 

11/13/13-11/16/13

A Guide to Your Newspaper 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?

Call Eleanor Hildebrandt, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights. com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk.

Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Austin Tedesco, Sports Editor, at (617) 5520189, or email sports@bcheights.com.

Arts Events The Heights covers a multitude of events both on and off campus – including concerts, movies, theatrical performances, and more. Call Sean Keeley, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk.

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.

CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Jamie Ciocon, General Manager at (617) 5520547.

Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

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.

Wednesday, November, 13

Friday, November 15

Saturday, November 16

8:30 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in Stokes Hall. The Newton Fire Department responded.

3:39 p.m. - A report was filed regarding credit card offenses in an off-campus location.

12:13 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a person in McElroy Commons. The person was later transported to a medical facility.

CORRECTIONS

2:15 p.m. - A report was filed regarding larceny in Edmond’s parking lot.

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

8:59 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an act of vandalism in Campanella Way.

Thursday, November 14 2:05 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny in McGuinn Hall.

3:36 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny in the Flynn Sports Complex.

6:00 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance in Keyes South.

10:47 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Loyola Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility.

10:47 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student on the Brighton Campus Fields. The student was later transported to a medical facility.

College Corner NEWS FROM UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

BY ANDREINA BAQUERO-DEGWITZ For The Heights Throughout its five seasons , AMC’s Breaking Bad fan base has significantly expanded, and one of its biggest fans is the State University of New York, specifically Buffalo’s distinguished professor in the department of English, Bruce Jackson.

According to The Huffington Post, Jackson developed “Breaking Down Breaking Bad,” a graduate seminar for the spring 2014 semester, in which the only prerequisite is that students need to have watched the entire series.

“This is not just an interesting TV program,” said Jackson. “Breaking Bad goes into narrative and human and social complexity as no TV program has before.”

Listed in the Visual Studies, Media Studies, and Theater Departments and the UB Law School, the course will analyze the show ’s intricate plot, development, and execution.

In order to provide further insight

into Walter White’s world, Jackson will bring in special speakers such as representatives from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Jim Milles, a professor from the UB Law School.

“The kind of drug trade depicted in the film could not function without lawyers who help the dealers do it—that is, they don’t only defend them when they’re arrested, but they give them advice on how to be better criminals,” said Jackson, according to the UB Reporter, the State University of New York’s student newspaper. “So the series gives an accurate representation of how the illicit drug trade functions, how the DEA works, and how some lawyers bend the rules.”

SUNY Buffalo is not the first college to draw inspiration from one of AMC’s TV shows for a course.

The University of California-Irvine has several online courses on The Walking Dead, and University of California-Berkeley has a class based on Mad Men. 

2:27 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a student who was ejected from Alumni Stadium for lewd and lascivious actions.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

The article “Rosenfeld Assesses Identity of Post-Holocaust Architecture” incorrectly stated that 500,000 German and Austrian Jews died in the Holocaust. A more accurate number is 210,000.

VOICES FROM THE DUSTBOWL “When is the earliest it is acceptable to play Christmas music?”

“The day after Thanksgiving or the first heavy snowfall, whichever is first.”

—Ingrid Marquardt, A&S ’16

“Thanksgiving day.”

—Erin Ducey, A&S ’16

“The day after Thanksgiving.”

—Megan Lang, A&S ’16

“The day after Halloween.”

—Chris Karousatos A&S ’16

The Heights

Monday, November 18, 2013

A3

BC groups organize to raise money for typhoon victims Typhoon Haiyan, from A1 number of campus groups, but ultimately existing outside any single organization.

On Thursday, the Asian Christian Fellowship held the first event in the series, a prayer service for the victims of the typhoon.

Alonsozana, a second generation American of Filipino descent, described the event as a rare incidence of Filipino-Americans and international students from the Philippines interacting.

“For me, that’s a beautiful thing to see, because you always face a lot of different questions about who represents the culture, or who has more of a connection, sometimes, to the Philippines,” Alonsozana said. “I think this initiative is putting that to rest—everyone has an equal say in this.”

Over the weekend, the Haiyan Relief Initiative began its fundraising efforts, launching an e-commerce account, and collecting cash donations Saturday at the International Club’s prom and on Sunday through mass collections.

This semester, the Haiyan Relief Initiative has set a goal of raising $10,000 to donate directly to Catholic Relief Services, with plans to raise $3,000 though electronic donations, and $7,000 during a point drive scheduled to take place in dining halls on Nov. 25 through the Volunteer Service Learning Center (VSLC).

Organizers of the relief initiative saw Catholic Relief Services as the ideal organization to donate through during the first weeks after the typhoon—the organization has a strong presence in the Philippines, and was quick to address emergency needs after the storm. Next semester, the Haiyan Relief Initiation plans to extend its giving to address long term issues of poverty and redevelopment in the Philippines, potentially partnering with Feed the Hungry and Filipino organizations like Gawad Kalinga and Hands on Manila.

Five fundraising events are planned for the upcoming week, the largest being a Hurricane Haiyan benefit concert to be held in the Rat on Thursday at 7 p.m.; a SEASA and Conspiracy Theory dance showcase in Gasson 100 on Friday at 8 p.m.; and a regional Filipino culture show in Gasson 100 on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

A week before Thursday’s concert, no performers had committed.

“When we had no performers, I said listen, I’ll just sing myself,” Gallo said. “If something goes wrong, we’re going to fix it.”

The Typhoon Haiyan charity concert, planned through RHA, and in collaboration with the Phillipine Society and UGBC, grew to the point that Gallo had to start turning performers away. The Music Guild cancelled an open mic night planned for the same night to handle the sound design for the event, and with it came some of the acts it had scheduled.

Currently, acts including the Heightsmen, Masti, Times New Roman, Jammin’ Toast, and BC Idol winner Caroline Portu, A&S ’16, will perform at Thursday’s concert.

UGBC provided most of the financial backing for the event, which has been planned predominantly through RHA. The two organizations have come together in a manner both Gallo and Alonsozana described as unprecedented.

“This could be the beginning of a very good relationship,” Gallo said.

“I don’t think it’s a UGBC event, an RHA thing,” Alonsozana said. “I really just think it’s a group of BC students who got together and

said, ‘Let’s help.’ To be honest with you, I think that’s the way things should be.”

To encourage participation, organizers plan to keep the concert free, but will suggest a $5 donation.

Alonsozana, who two summers ago worked on healthcare reform in the Philippines and gave the Filipino government suggestions on their disaster preparedness policies, identified poverty and corruption as the two greatest structural problems in the Philippines.

The Filipino government has struggled to mobilize in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.

The country operates largely through its local units and lacks a national road system. The federal government has no significant means of controlling its provincial governors, who have come to behave in a despotic manner, benefitting from the nation’s political unrest.

“In the Philippines, there are a lot of officials who are using this as a political opportunity, and I just find that appalling,” Alonsozana said. “It just underscores the dysfunction we see right now.”

In 2009, Typhoon Ketsana hit Manila, the capital of the Philippines and center of national development. The city has yet to recover from the disaster, both structurally and economically.

“If it took Manila four years to get back to where they are,” Alonsozana said. “I don’t even know if people will want to go back to these provinces that have been wiped off, and that presents a challenge in and of itself.”

An estimated 11 million Filipinos were affected by last week’s typhoon. It is uncertain how many have been permanently displaced from their homes.

The leaders of the Typhoon Haiyan Relief Initiative hope to establish direct connections with the people of the Philippines, providing emotional support for the nation as media attention dies out and foreign aid diminishes in the months following the tragedy.

Four BC students currently studying in Manila with Casa Bayanihan have begun ground efforts mobilizing resources to the provinces most affected by the storm.

“Yesterday, we spent the morning working with students from our host university—another Jesuit school—Ateneo de Manila, packaging food and supplies to send down to the Visayas region,” the students said in a message posted on the relief initiative’s Facebook page.

Through the Casa study abroad program in the Philippines, students plan to continue with similar efforts into next semester, to complement the fundraising efforts on campus.

To meet its $10,000 goal for the semester, organizers of the relief initiative are relying on strong student participation at the events planned for before the Thanksgiving break.

“We wanted to hit on this before Thanksgiving—because after Thanksgiving, the semester’s over,” Gallo said.

The relief initiative continues to face questions of how to successfully carry the project into next semester, something it hopes will happen organically as more organizations on campus get involved. “[The Filipino people] might not even see the full effects of the relief funds being donated, but I think the resilience of the Philippine people is more a social and spiritual one than a material one,” Alonsozana said. “Communicating that to those people as time goes on, when they feel abandoned, will be even more important looking on down the road.” n

alex gaynor / heights editor

Last Monday night, five speakers and the BC Sharps participated in the BC Ignites forum as part of the WRC’s Love Your Body Week.

WRC hopes to continue body image discussion Love Your Body Week, from A1 on campus. They encourage new students to attend to discuss anything related to body image.

The WRC also runs a program called “Res Talk,” where staff members go into mostly freshman residence halls and talk with students about any concerns they raise.

“It’s an honest discussion for students to have about really anything they’re concerned about,” said Jessica Stevens, co-director of Love Your Body Week and A&S ’14. “A lot of the time body image comes up.”

AhnAllen said there are smaller, behind-the-scenes initiatives that the University has supported to promote overall student health. University nutritionist Sheila Tucker and staff physicians in Health Services routinely work with students who have eating disorders.

AhnAllen and her colleagues in UCS see a number of students who have trouble with body image.

“I think sometimes we have a tendency to put more emphasis on physical appearance in terms of defining who we are as people,” she said. “When I talk to my students I try to emphasize that physical appearance is just one part of who we are, that there’s more that defines us.”

She said that some students get so caught up in the cultural obsession with being healthy that they start to develop extreme behaviors that can lead to issues with body image and eating.

“I think it’s important not to get too focused on the prescription of being healthy, but really being able to unpack it a little bit and apply it to your own life,” AhnAllen said.

The Office of Health Promotion (OHP), since its creation three years ago, has worked to promote overall student health.

“We are here to support students and promote student health,” said director Elise Phillips. “We want to help students achieve ‘healthy’ in a variety of ways, and part of that is body image.”

Phillips’ office collaborates with the WRC and nutritionists, and works closely with student affairs, UCS, health services, BC Recreation, and dining services to encourage and support healthy living.

Earlier this semester, the OHP began a campaign called Nourish to promote healthy eating choices. Phillips collaborated with her staff to create the campaign, which has placed six-foot tall posters in all dining halls. The posters remind students that eating healthy is a matter of balance, variety, and moderation.

Moriarty believes that mental and physical health goes hand in hand, and that both need to work well in order for someone to have good overall health.

“If there’s a disconnect with how you feel about your body, there’s going to be a disconnect with how you perceive yourself and how you think others perceive you,” she said. “I think mental health and physical health are interconnected.”

I Am That Girl, a registered student organization started in the spring of last year by Abbey Clark, LSOE ’14, provides another outlet for girls who are struggling with confidence issues. Not restricted to body image problems, the group seeks to be a support system for women in whatever areas they may need. Clark and Erika Ludlow, vice president of I Am That Girl and CSOM ’15, formed the BC chapter of this national organization because they

felt it was something they themselves really needed, and something that other girls at BC needed as well.

The goal of the group is to allow for self-exploration that hopefully leads to a stronger sense of self and, as a result, less judgment and competition among girls.

“We talk about things like personal goals, achievements, dreams—things you might not talk about with your friends normally,” Ludlow said. “I think it allows you to get to know yourself a little better too, and I think that’s why it’s so needed.

There’s a point you get to when you’re here, I think, where you just stop learning about yourself.”

Both girls attested to the confidence boost each meeting gives them, and how it helps them optimistically approach each week.

Katie Dalton, director of the WRC, hopes that the messages of Love Your Body Week will encourage students to start talking about body image in a more healthy and positive way. Although the week ended on Friday, the WRC plans to sustain the dialogue throughout the academic year.

In addition to Unsaid and Res Talks, the center also holds daily walk-in hours Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All WRC staff members are trained peer counselors.

“It’s important to offer these programs that pull the curtain back and give students the opportunity to question the social norms here and the dialogue about them,” Dalton said about Love Your Body Week. “The only way we’re going to change the culture here is if students change the culture here.”

Heights Editor Mary Rose Fissinger contributed to this report. n

Full-day Gettysburg celebration planned Gettysburg Celebration, from A1 tion of the Gettysburg Address might seem rather tenuous,” he said. “Yet, large swathes of China’s modern history have been shaped and affected by student activism.

“I was conscious that the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address was imminent and that there did not seem to be much movement across the campus or elsewhere to do something,” he said. “Thus, I thought it would be a great chance for my students to have to organize something meaningful, and to experience what it actually took to get something of this magnitude done.”

“This event was inspired by an event called Bloomsday, a celebration of the writer James Joyce, where they recite his work Ulysses from sunrise to sunset,” said Lauren Gray, a student in the class and A&S ’14.

Modifying the practice to fit the brevity of the speech as well as the BC class schedule,

the class made the tradition their own.

“As a learning exercise it has been powerful, and as an event it is both important and timely,” Clarke said. “It is also now attracting interest from beyond campus and so my students of modern Chinese history have experienced at first hand the challenges and rewards of remembering and creating history.”

In addition to the speakers, the event will feature the Bostonians a cappella group, which will perform “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The department also welcomes those who wish to share their reflections following official talks or record themselves reciting the speech.

Kaitlyn McGillycuddy, A&S ’14, another member of the class and one of the event organizers, emphasized the support the BC administration offered. “It was our individual class’s idea—however, it would not have been possible if not for the support of

Colleen O’Reilly and Rebecca Rea within the History Department as well as Dean Quigley,” she said.

All expressed the hope that the event would resonate not just within the history department, but with all of BC and even the greater community. “We’re hoping that it raises awareness of a very important anniversary in our nation’s history,” Gray said. “It’s something that doesn’t really get acknowledged much—it’s a landmark speech and a lot of countries do honor these sorts of days, but the U.S., although we honor a lot of things and commemorate a lot of occasions, we don’t really look at these smaller ones.”

Honoring Lincoln’s words in a modern context, then, stands preeminent. “That such a message could be delivered in so few words mark it as perhaps one of the best orations in human history,” Alonsozana said. n

Summer CSOM program to start this year CSOM Program, from A1 dita alangkara / ap photo

Typhoon Haiyan left a path of destruction along the coast of the Philippines earlier this month.

BC continues investigation into fires, finishes cleanup Fires Update, from A1 up is underway and the offices and classrooms will resume normal operations [Monday],” said Vice President for Facilities Management Daniel Bourque in an email on Sunday. “The team of contractors worked diligently throughout the week and weekend to restore the areas impacted by the fire and sprinkler

system release.”

No additional information has been released about the investigation into who was responsible for the fires, however.

“The investigation is ongoing and police have no information to share at this time,” Dunn said in an email on Sunday. BCPD was contacted but directed all inquiries to the Office of News and Public Affairs. n

teaching these classes. If the students want to take these classes regularly it would be hard for them to get into these particular professors’ classes, so through this program they have access to the best.”

Classes will be taught for two hours and 15 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On the opposite days, students will participate in modules and career planning workshops. These workshops will include interview preparedness and resume building as well as meeting with company sponsors. “[The modules and workshops] will make the students much savvier in the interview processes when they apply for jobs in the future,” Soo said.

Although students have access to core CSOM classes, credits and a degree will not be granted for participants. “[The program] is entirely for enrichment purposes,” Soo said. “We don’t want students substituting any of these courses for liberal arts purpos-

es.” The courses will, however, be graded and will appear on a student’s transcript for potential employers to see. They will also receive a certificate of completion.

The program is looking to accept 45 students and will conduct an application process in the spring semester. Soo explained that during the process the program will take GPA as well as extracurricular activities into consideration.

“We’re looking for well-rounded people, we are not just interested in people that work all the time.”

The cost of the program, Soo estimates, will be about $11,000 for the four classes, two modules, and workshops.

Soo acknowledged that the cost may seem expensive, yet he guarantees that the program “is a great deal.” Deals are still being reached whether or not financial aid can be granted as well, he said.

“In the long run we would like to raise funds from benefactors if they would like to give gifts in support of the program,” Soo

said. “However, it is the initial year.”

Housing will be available on campus for about $1,300, although students are not required to live on campus. “[The program] is going to be very rigorous, I think students are going to be busier than they would be on a regular semester,” Soo said. Participating students should expect to be on campus Monday through Friday, and allow time for out-of-class homework. “This is a full-time program, so students would not be working while they are going through this program,” he said.

Soo is eager to begin the pioneer program. “All the faculty members I have talked to are excited about this program, because I think anyone who has CSOM students know that some of our best students are from outside the business school,” he said. “So we are all excited to get these students into these classes and get our imprint on them—it will be a great classroom experience.”

An information session will be held Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at Fulton 511. n

The Heights

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Monday, November 18, 2013

Unspoken affection

Bailey, Easton shed light on Syrian war

By Daniel Perea-Kane For The Heights

Brendon Anderson It’s a little bizarre how things just come back to you all of a sudden. You’re having a conversation in Hillside and this strange feeling of love and regret and nostalgia comes over you, and you don’t know exactly how to react. It’s even weirder when it’s all about a video game.

You see, in seventh grade, I used to play Zoo Tycoon 2 a lot.

And by a lot, I mean I played it at every possible second for a couple months. I don’t know why, really. I guess I like animals.

Plus, I was also pretty afraid of middle school socializing, (which is totally justifiable if you ask me) so I would avoid social interaction by devoting my time to figuring out the appropriate biome for the American beaver.

It was pretty weird.

Looking back, though, I think it was all about my mom. At this stage in my life, I’m not the best with talking about feelings and being open with people. In middle school it was even worse. Let’s be honest, I love my mom more than anything. I always have. In middle school, though, that was totally uncool. And so I would ignore her and tell her that I hated her when she bothered me. When we went to the mall together, I would walk at least 10 steps behind her just so people wouldn’t know I was hanging out with my mother.

The thing is, though, I really loved her a lot. So I would play Zoo Tycoon 2. You see, at my house, the computer was in the office that my mom used to do work in. I would sit there pretending to worry about whether I had built in the appropriate terrain and elevation for my okapis, but I was really just happy to be there in that room. I’m not sure I totally realized it then, but it was so serene and beautiful and perfect. I was sitting at the computer figuring out the most profitable place to put a sushi stand, and my mom would be looking through tax records or something. We were pretty much silent, but that didn’t matter. We were there together.

And then at 8 p.m., the whole thing would stop for a second and we’d scramble to put on Little House on the Prairie, because we watched it together every single day of the week. Zoo Tycoon would still be up on the computer, but we both knew that I wasn’t playing. My little five-foot-tall, pubescent self was not-so-discreetly loving the fact that we had this special, unspoken ritual. And in those moments, it didn’t matter that I pretended not to know her at the mall or felt embarrassed that she volunteered to run Bingo at the school dances. We both knew that we loved each other with every fiber of our being, and no amount of middle school awkwardness would change that.

And now, I would give anything just to relive those times, if only for an instant. We wouldn’t even have to talk. There’d be Zoo Tycoon 2, files to sort through, and Little House on the Prairie would go on and Mary would scream that she just woke up blind and it would be pretty sad.

But we’d still be happy, if only cause we’d be together.

Nothing would matter. Family problems, financial aid, future plans—none of that stuff. At least nothing would matter to me.

She’d be sitting there lovingly worrying about if I was fitting in and how she could make everything perfect for me and if she raised me to be the right kind of man.

I’m not perfect. God knows that. But there is a part of me that is perfect. I don’t know the type of man I’m turning out to be, Mom, and that really scares me. But I know it’ll turn out okay because I have Zoo Tycoon 2—Because I have you.

Brendon Anderson is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at news@bcheights.com.

Graham Beck / Heights Editor

Administrators discussed future plans to enhance internationalization in the community and the classroom.

Panel provides perspective on history of BC internationalism

By Kayla Famolare Heights Staff

As part of International Education week, a group of five professors and administrators held a panel to discuss internationalization at Boston College. The panel, titled “Internationalization at BC: How far we have come and where we are headed,” addressed the successes and pitfalls of how well BC has incorporated internationalization in its community.

Adrienne Nussbaum, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, introduced the panel as “a discussion of where things are at BC in terms of international relations at BC and where they would like to go.”

The first panelist to present, Joe Burns, associate vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs, began with a brief history of BC’s beginnings as a school for IrishCatholic immigrants. BC opened its doors in hopes of educating sons of immigrants, Burns said. “At the time, Irish immigrants were seen as low, poor, uneducated, lazy drunks and many did not welcome them into society, as do most people when new nationalities enter into a population,” he said. For 120 years, Burns explained, Irish-Catholic students dominated BC. As years progressed, however, BC’s ethnic makeup diversified. This year, Burns said that 1,200 students on campus are exchange students, representing a variety of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Burns also touched on the advent of online classes offered at BC and how accessible the classes are to students abroad.

Next, Donald Hafner, vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs, compared internationalization at BC to the EU as a means of working with other countries to enhance collective knowledge. He discussed the role and character of an international university and discussed various ways BC has held up to these expectations.

“The role of a university is to train future leaders, how a country interacts with cultural competence, [how they] understand each other, even if they agree,” Hafner said. He stressed that it is important that professors instill this awareness in students in order to prepare them for future international endeavors.

“It is through these cultural and personal connections across boarders that we can gain and collaborate on knowledge,” Hafner said.

Phillip Altbach, director at the Center for International Higher Education, who forewarned the crowd that he was a “glass half empty”-minded individual, discussed critical issues of internationalization at BC. “Relatively speaking, I think our study abroad programs are very good,” Altbach said. “However, it really depends on how long a student stays abroad and other elements that really determine how effective their stay is.” He also critiqued “internationalization at home” at BC, saying that many of the schools “push aside” study abroad, and the programs for certain schools make it seem as if studying abroad is not as important.

Altbach praised BC’s Jesuit affiliation, as BC has been able to connect to other Jesuit schools on both

a national and international level.

The idea of a liberal arts education is also important to BC’s reputation, he said.

Next, Nick Gozik, director of the Office of International Programs, discussed its mission of moving beyond the checklist of study abroad.

“Many students feel as if they have to go abroad during college … to say they lived through the tradition,” he said. “You don’t have to go abroad to be international.” Gozik pointed to off-campus programming and in-class discussions including more international influences. He expressed hope that students at BC can participate in “experimental learning” and participate in more internships, service learning, research, international activities, and events offered on campus.

Nussbaum closed the panel by discussing the growing number of International students who now attend BC. There are currently 1,995 international students affiliated with BC, according to Nussbaum.

The current freshman class has had the largest number of international students in BC history.

“A majority of our international students are from Asia, in particular China and Korea,” she said. “In the past year we have seen a 156 percent increase in students from Asia.

That’s 43 percent of our international student population.”

The panel ended with a brief discussion in which one audience member commented on the common theme of each panel members’ statements by saying that “it is the responsibility of the faculty and all members of BC to correct these issues of internationalization.” n

McMullen remembers legacy of renowned Courbet collector

By Andreina Banquero-Degwitz For The Heights “Art will hold up her head and say I am first a necessity. All else may be cheap, but I shall ever be in demand. My present owner’s fortunes may crumble, his title may banish, his manhood deteriorate, but I shall survive.”

On Thursday evening, Elliot Bostwick Davis discussed 19th century art and explained the legacy of her great-great-grandmother, who, as an early collector of Gustav Courbet and other significant European artists, was responsible for bringing their work over to the U.S. The McMullen Museum currently houses several of Courbet’s pieces in its newest exhibition.

Born into a family of collectors, Davis earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 19th Century European American Art and proceeded to work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she served as curator in numerous exhibitions. In 2001, Davis began working at the MFA and oversaw the installation of the Art of the Americas Wing, which opened in November 2010.

Davis’ great-great-grandmother, Louisine Havemeyer, began to work with art at a young age.

When she was in her 60s, Havemeyer wrote Memoir of a Collector, where she recollected her experiences as a teenager on the brink of immersion into the world of art.

After her father’s death, Havemeyer’s mother took her and her

sisters to Paris in order to explore the culture and to continue their education. There, Havemeyer was introduced to Mary Cassat, who, after traveling around Europe, returned to Paris to set up a studio. Although 11 years her elder, Cassat spotted in Havemeyer a willing pupil, and the two became lifelong friends.

“Miss Cassat was very kind to me showing me the splendid things in the great city of Paris, making them still more splendid by opening my eyes to see their beauty through her own knowledge and appreciation,” said Davis, quoting from Havemeyer’s memoirs. “It seemed to me that no one could see art with more understanding, feel it more deeply, or express themselves more clearly than she did.”

At the age of 16, Havemeyer bought her first painting, Degas’ Repetition de Ballet, which was not only the first Degas bought by anyone from the U.S., but also the first one to come into the country.

The painting cost about $100, and Havemeyer had to borrow money from her sisters’ allowances in order to pay for it.

In 1877, Cassat introduced Havemeyer to Courbet’s works, and Havemeyer was immediately drawn to his art. Throughout her lifetime, she collected 46 works by Courbet, 42 of which were original and are all housed at the Met. “Cassat called my attention to Courbet’s marvelous execution, to his color, and above all to his real-

ism—to that poignant, palpating medium of truth through which he sought expression,” said Davis, quoting Havemeyer. “I listened to her with such a tension as we stood before his pictures, and I never forgot it.”

In 1883, Havemeyer married Henry Havemeyer, whose family ran the biggest sugar factory in the U.S. Havemeyer became her partner in crime as, in addition to the works by Courbet, the couple acquired 64 paintings by Edgar Degas, 42 by Claude Monet, and 25 by Edward Manet.

“Courbet was her foundation and Degas was her great love,” said Davis of her great-great-grandmother. “I think that we think of those two realists often in the broad category of French impressionism, but they’re really the great realists of the 19th century.”

The Havemeyers’ collection encompassed a wide variety of subjects including still lifes, landscapes, portraits, and even nudes.

“There are several reasons why we brought Davis to campus,” said Jeffery Howe, professor from the Art History Department and co-curator of the Courbet exhibition. “She’s a world authority on American art, she’s the greatgreat-grandaughter of the greatest collector of Courbet ever in America—and she has a particular insight into the effect that Courbet had on stimulating other artists to grow, develop, and share with him the excitement of realism, nature, and the joy of painting.” n

The Syrian Civil War has not been in the media spotlight as much since the coverage of chemical weapons use earlier this fall, but the situation remains volatile. Political science professor Kathleen Bailey and Eastern and Slavic languages professor Ikram Easton, whose family is in Syria, held a dialogue on the issue last Friday.

Bailey gave a background on the situation from the Arab Spring point of view, while Easton gave context to the current situation.

Bailey began her presentation by emphasizing Syria’s location in the Middle East—bordering Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Iraq.

Bailey noted the diverse ethnic groups of Syria, including Arabs, Kurds, Levantines, Alwawites, and others, most of the others being Christians. For many years, the Shia Muslim

“We’re not in a war, we’re in a massacre.

When you’re in a war, you know what you’re fighting for.”

- Ikram Easton, Professor of Eastern and Slavic languages Alawites and the Alawite Assad regime have been the leading political group in the mostly Arab and Sunni Muslim country.

“March 2011 was when the Arab Spring came to Syria, [and it was] for largely the same reasons as other Arab states,” Bailey said.

Syria’s large population of young people, combined with an inability to find adequate education and jobs for them, played a large role in the beginning of the civil war.

A 40-year drought also exacerbated discontent in the country.

On average, Syrians were spending 48 percent of their income on food during this time. Other Gulf States had to subsidize Syria and give them foreign aid, according to Bailey.

Finally, Bailey attributed some of the lead-up to the war to the rise of technology and social media after 2007. Syrians became aware of what was happening in Egypt and attempted to emulate it in March 2011 at the beginning of their conflict. “ Th i s l e d to d e m o n s t r a tions,” Bailey said. “Police fired on crowds which led to further demonstrations, and the revolution just took off.”

The government responded by repealing the emergency law, which has been in effect since

1963. The government also promised better education and more food to citizens in addition to making concessions to moderate Islamists.

“The regime was not toppled easily because Assad’s supporters made sure that he was kept in power to hold onto their lives and livelihoods,” Bailey said.

“The elite is still hanging on to power because they have no other choice.”

The Syrian military responded to rebels with mass arrests, killing civilians, and later with the use of chemical weapons. The death toll in Syria is now well above 100,000, including 6,000 children and 40,000 civilians. Currently, there are 6.2 million Syrian refugees, including 2 million in other countries. In Syria, there are now more internally displaced people than in Afghanistan, the highest number in the world.

Easton offered more perspective on the current situation.

“Right now, things are a lot worse than they were 29 months ago,” she said. “Just yesterday at 3 p.m. when children were leaving school, a suicide bomber killed 200 people along with 50 children.

Life was a lot better, all things considered, before yesterday.”

Still, Easton focused on the poor quality of life as a constant for the past 29 months. “People are terrified and don’t know what’s coming,” she said. “My family and friends are over there.

People are dying not just because of guns, but from hunger. It’s terrible and heartbreaking.”

Prior to the civil war in Syria, Christians, Sunni, and Shia Muslims coexisted together in relative peace. “The Syria that I remember is destroyed,” Easton said. “Damascus is the oldest continually inhabited city and ignorant people are stepping on that history.”

Easton also pointed out the harsh reality of Syrians calling out “God is great” in Arabic and then firing on innocent civilians.

“These people calling out in the name of Allah and doing this are not Muslims,” Easton said.

Corruption is also taking its toll on Syria, according to Easton.

The Assad regime has accepted support from Iran and Russia, while the rebels have received military and financial support from Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia.

“We’re not in a war,” Easton said. “We’re in a massacre. When you’re in a war, you know what you are fighting for. Things are not going to get better. It’s depressing to talk about this.”

Easton also noted that winter is around the corner and there is no electricity in Syria. Overpriced propane tanks and a lack of medical supplies in the country pose special problems all their own.

“I urge everyone to be a part of this, to condemn what’s going on over there,” Easton said. “This war is not just about the 100,000 that died, but all those that are still living.” n

El Salvador Memorial

Alex Gaynor / heights Editor

White crosses in the Quad commemorate fallen Jesuits in El Salvador.

CLASSIFIEDS Monday, January 17, 2013

The Heights The Heights

Monday, November 18, 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.

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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

Students mobilize quickly to raise typhoon aid

Monday, November 18, 2013

QUOTE OF THE DAY Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts.

-Edward R. Murrow (1908-65), veteran broadcast journalist

Strong participation in point drive will be crucial for meeting $10,000 donation goal By the numbers, Typhoon Haiyan was the second deadliest storm in the recorded history of the Philippines, with conservative government estimates putting the death toll at 3,621, and United Nations estimates reaching 4,200. Three million Filipinos have been displaced by the storm, and 494,611 homes have been damaged.

The BC Typhoon Haiyan Relief Initiative has been established through the collaborative efforts of over a dozen campus organizations to provide financial and spiritual support for the Philippines. The project hopes to raise $10,000 in aid for the victims of the storm this semester, working in partnership with Catholic Relief Services.

The majority of fundraising events for the semester are scheduled for this week. On Thursday, a Typhoon Haiyan benefit concert will take place at 7 p.m. in the Rat, featuring the Heightsmen, Masti, Times New Roman, and last semester’s BC Idol, Caroline Portu, A&S ’16, among other BC musical acts. On Friday, SEASA and Conspiracy Theory will hold a dance showcase at 8 p.m. in Gasson 100. On Saturday, the District 1 Kamayan—a regional showcase of Filipino performing groups—will be held at 6:30 p.m., also in Gasson 100.

Admission to these events will be free with a donation suggested. Additionally, an e-commerce account has been set up to collect credit card donations on an ongoing basis.

Through a five-day point drive in the dining halls, BC students raised over $17,000 in relief funds for the victims of 2011’s catastrophic earthquake in Japan. Working with the Volunteer and Service Learning Center (VSLC), the Haiyan Relief Initiative plans to hold a similar point drive on Monday, Nov. 25, estimating it will receive $7,000 in donations.

The success of this semester’s relief efforts relies primarily on strong participation from students on this single day. There is no reason Friday’s point drive cannot pull in similar figures to the point drive in

2011, as long as it is well-publicized, and students recognize they can only donate their mandatory meal plan dollars to the initiative on a single day. VSLC should consider extending this collection to other days later this semester, when students have a better sense of how much money they will have left at the end of the semester.

Student leaders developed and planned the events scheduled for this upcoming week over a very short time frame. By forgoing their usual institutional approach to programming and collaborating with each other, UGBC and RHA were able to mobilize their resources quickly and efficiently to allow for Thursday’s benefit concerts. Additionally, the event’s organizers partnered with the Music Guild to handle the sound for the event, a solution saving them thousands of dollars. This openness to collaboration has the promise of enhancing programming in the future. If the event is successfully marketed and strongly attended, it will create a precedent for RHA and UGBC to put on similar charity concerts in the future.

In the wake of Haiyan, $81 million in aid has already been donated to the Philippines. While the $10,000 the BC Typhoon Haiyan Relief Initiative plans to raise this semester could have a substantial effect in disaster relief, its long-term success will rely on the continued efforts of the student groups behind it. Students studying in the Philippines with the Casa program could have a significant role in the redevelopment of the country next semester, even as donations from around the world subside.

BC students have already shown great interest in the recovery of the Philippines. In the coming months, the BC Typhoon Haiyan Relief Initiative will need campus organizations to continue reaching out to them if the effort is to survive. For now, strong participation in this week’s events and generous giving at Monday’s point drive are necessary for the initiative to succeed.

CSOM summer program is valuable but expensive Large time commitment and high price make courses that offer no academic credit inaccessible to many Beginning next summer, the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) will offer a summer program for nonCSOM students to experience part of the business curriculum and gain a footing in the business world. The program will have 45 spaces available for rising juniors in the College of Arts & Sciences, the Lynch School of Education, and the Connell School of Nursing and will be comprised of four classes taught by CSOM professors, as well as modules and career planning workshops. Costing $11,000, the program will not provide academic credit, but grades will appear on students’ transcripts. Over the course of the 10week program, students are expected to be on campus Monday through Friday for a full-time course load.

While this program does provide a valuable opportunity for gaining an understanding of business for students who might otherwise not have the opportunity, it does present several problems. Most students make money from summer jobs, gain experience from unpaid internships, or earn credit for summer classes. This program, however, both costs considerably more than most other summer programs offered through BC and does not offer students academic credit. In addition to the stated cost, students will be responsible for paying for their own housing and food for the 10 weeks of the program.

With an $11,000 price tag, in addition to the auxiliary costs, this program is probably not feasible for a large portion of the BC population. Because it takes up most of the summer and students are discouraged from holding a job or internship while in the program, participation is limited to those who not only can afford the $11,000 but also do not need the money that they could have earned during that summer. Without even receiving credit toward graduation for their time and money, this cost is too high for many students.

The program is a great opportunity for non-CSOM students who are interested in business and wish to express that interest on their transcript and resume, and for those who may have wished to transfer into CSOM but were unable to do so due to the limited amount of space. That is not enough of a reason, however, to charge $11,000 and not give academic credit. Most academic summer programs offered by BC allow students to receive three credits or fulfill core requirements. Even though 16 credits (four courses’ worth) are a substantial amount to earn over one summer, the University should reconsider its approach to this program by either cutting the costs or offering some credits to participants in order to make the program an option for a greater portion of the student population.

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

KENDRA KUMOR, Copy Editor ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT, News Editor AUSTIN TEDESCO, Sports Editor MICHELLE TOMASSI, Features Editor SEAN KEELEY, Arts & Review Editor TRICIA TIEDT, Metro Editor MARY ROSE FISSINGER, Opinions Editor SAMANTHA COSTANZO, Special Projects Editor GRAHAM BECK, Photo Editor LINDSAY GROSSMAN, Layout Editor

ADRIANA MARIELLA / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

LETTER TO THE EDITOR The following letter is in response to “BC Fossil Free Protests Bank Info Session” by Eleanor Hildebrandt, originally published on 11/11/13:

Students must engage in fight against fossil fuels On Nov. 11th, The Heights ran a story regarding BC Fossil Free (BCFF) protesting a Bank of America recruitment event. In that piece a Boston College student is quoted as saying the action “was just really not the right forum...[n]ot the right people... and really was just sort of, honestly, embarrassing to BC kids in general, and was just not appropriate, and not well thought-out at all.” No doubt the action could have been better coordinated, and we at BCFF invite any and all to participate in planning future actions, but we are, frankly, embarrassed by the student’s statement. Such lack of concern for the ongoing and deepening climate crisis is a betrayal to ourselves and future generations. Worse still, it is admittance that we in the rich world would rather knowingly continue planetary scale ecocide than risk embarrassment. This is shameful.

I urge the BC community to think deeply about what “men and women for others” means in the

contemporary world. In doing so, consider telling the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan that you knew you could take action but were concerned with humiliation. Yeb Sano, the Philippines’ delegate to the climate negotiations underway in Warsaw, broke down publicly as he called on the world to take meaningful action: “What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness.” Yeb then announced he was going on hunger strike. Members of civil society around the globe have joined him, including members of divestment campaigns underway at Boston area schools, and yes, BC included. Perhaps this too will be seen by some as embarrassing or humiliating. If that’s the price for a planet hospitable to civilization, so be it.

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

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.

MAGGIE BURDGE, Graphics Editor ELISE TAYLOR, Blog Manager MARY JOSEPH, Online Manager CONNOR FARLEY, Assoc. Copy Editor CONNOR MELLAS, Asst. Copy Editor DEVON SANFORD, Assoc. News Editor ANDREW SKARAS, Asst. News Editor CHRIS GRIMALDI, Assoc. Sports Editor MARLY MORGUS, Asst. Sports Editor CATHRYN WOODRUFF, Asst. Features Editor

Contributors: Clara Lee, Emily Leogrand, Emily Fahey, Kayla Famolare, Anna Olcott, Andreina Baquero-Degwitz

BOBBY WENGRONOWITZ GA&S ’19

ARIANA IGNERI, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor JOHN WILEY, Asst. Arts & Review Editor RYAN TOWEY, Asst. Metro Editor ALEX GAYNOR, Asst. Photo Editor MAGGIE POWERS, Asst. Layout Editor JORDAN PENTALERI, Asst. Graphics Editor JULIE ORENSTEIN, Editorial Assistant

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS

MARC FRANCIS, Business Manager AMY HACHIGIAN, Advertising Manager ADRIANA MARIELLA, Outreach Coordinator DONNY WANG, Systems Manager MUJTABA SYED, National Advertising Manager WILL LAMBERT, Account Manager CHRIS STADTLER, Account Manager ANDREW MILLETTE, Collections Manager ROSIE GONZALEZ, Project Coordinator

The Heights

Monday, November 18, 2013

A7

Milton Ennial is cold

Benjamin Olcott Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh Batkid! - Perhaps the biggest Thumbs Up we have ever given goes out to Batkid, San Francisco’s 5-year-old, Leukemia-battling superhero for the day.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation teamed up with the city of San Francisco and volunteers to stage several “disasters” that Batkid (alias: Miles Scott) was able to rush to via a black Lamborghini with Batman decals and save the day.

Throughout the course of the day, he saved a woman tied to a “bomb” on cable car tracks, stopped the Riddler from robbing a bank, and saved Lou Seal, the San Francisco Giants’ mascot, from the evil clutches of his nemesis, the Penguin. This is perhaps the coolest thing we have ever heard.

So many Thumbs Up to be doled out within this scenario: to Make-A-Wish for so literally and completely living up to its name, for the San Francisco Police Chief who summoned Batkid into service, for Mayor Ed Lee naming Nov. 15 “Batkid Day Forever,” for the thousands of citizens that crowded around each crime scene to cheer Batkid to triumph, and of course, to Batkid himself, for saving a city from destruction and evil and being the hero not that San Francisco deserves, but that San Francisco needs.

Back in Business - If that whole Batkid thing hadn’t happened, this would certainly be the largest Thumbs Up of the issue: our football team is bowl-eligible!

After a couple years walking down a long, dark tunnel, the football team has finally emerged into the blinding sunlight. They, along with all of us, are beyond ecstatic. This sunshine that used to be so familiar and a regular fixture in our lives is now a shock, something to be celebrated. And so we stormed the field and threw people up in the air and all tried to hug the giant, unstoppable Andre Williams and the man with an extremely accurate cannon-like apparatus for a leg, Nate Freese. Hallelujah, we are free at last.

Sieve sieve sieve sieve - On a separate joyous athletic note, the sieve chant is back! In fact, it is institutionalized, and we could not be happier. The chant has emerged from the dead louder than ever and intent on ensuring all visiting goalies that, unfortunately, they do in fact suck at not only that athletic endeavor to which they have undoubtedly contributed thousands of hours at this point, but all of life, as well. Yay!

Ain’t No Sunshine - Since we turned the clocks back at the end of Daylight Saving Time on Nov. 3, the afternoon has become short, dark, and just allaround depressing. Everyone could use a little more sunshine in their lives, what with the semester coming to a close and finals looming in the much-too-near future and all. But we just can’t get that sunshine this time of year, when the sun is setting at an upsetting 4:20 p.m. When we get out of bed at 10:30 a.m. for our wonderful first class at noon, we have fewer than six hours of sunlight to look forward to. Not cool.

THe Printing Predicament - After having to hand in three papers last week, printers and the frustrating lack of them in places other than the libraries are definitely fresh in our minds. The number of times we’ve been in Mac and had to print something before a class in Gasson or Stokes, only to be forced to walk past those buildings to print in O’Neill, is staggering and makes us quite anxious to recall. Would it be so hard to put a few printers around Middle Campus (the Rat, perhaps?) and save us the unnecessary and inconvenient extra travel time? We think not.

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Milton Ennial, lovingly dubbed Mill early in his college years, has just woken up, snoozed, and is waiting for the snooze sound he loathes to blare once more, or for restless, ineffectual sleep to crawl over him, whichever comes first.

But the latter never arrives because Mill Ennial, objectively cozy in his cocoon of a bed, a bed replete with high thread-count sheets and 100 percent cotton blankets, is thinking about the coming day. He is nervous for it, in fact. He is worried. It is guaranteed to be difficult, and, he supposes, “literally the worst day ever.” He feels a certain clenching in his stomach when he thinks about all he must do, a radiating discomfort that reinforces the small intellectual discomforts he experiences just trying to make sense of it all, this world that taketh and giveth so arbitrarily. And to make matters worse, Mill Ennial is cold.

Not just any type of cold, a grating, merciless, feel-it-in-your-bones cold.

The type of cold that sneaks under your North Face and wraps around your skin like the J. Crew thermal you’re wearing is supposed to. It is the cold of a force far beyond the realm in which objectively cozy 100 percent cotton blankets can warm things. His phone tells him it is 32 degrees outside, but Mill Ennial is sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that his weather app is faulty and that weather people are goddamn idiots with incredibly simple brains. They are wrong. He is thinking this as his heart struggles to pump warm blood to his frozen nether regions, nether regions which must be

warmed before he can even attempt to roll out of his bed. A Mill Ennial with frozen nether regions is no Mill Ennial at all.

Two snoozes go by. Mill determines his nether regions are approaching anything but warmth, and blames totally this frigidity on the cheapness of the objectively cozy 100 percent cotton blanket. He needs a new one, he further determines, “one that doesn’t f—ing suck.” Suddenly impassioned, Mill throws his covers off, revealing his sweatpantedand sweatshirted-ness, throws open his room door and heads to the common room where his $2,000, 15-inch Macbook Pro lies on a table upon which also lies tipped over beer cans, a veritable swarm of crumbs of varying sizes, and an abundance of brown tray things. He flings the screen open, still disgusted, and types in his operating system’s password. He gets a spinning wheel. Frustration mounting, Mill smacks the screen with the back of his palm. The screen goes black.

“F— me,” Mill exclaims. He slams the laptop shut. To calm himself, and to warm his nether regions, which are practically made of ice at this point, he takes a 45minute, scalding hot shower.

With nethers properly scalded, Mill Ennial feels a little better. The radiating discomfort, however, remains. He checks his phone and notices it is 11:30. He is 30 minutes late to his class, but feels “whatever” about it because it’s Thursday, which means cheap beer at the local dive in a hot minute. Not to mention that his tweet about Obama is absolutely goddamn murdering it. Even Melanie L. retweeted it, and Melanie L. has good taste in retweets, as obviated by her Amanda Bynes retweets, which, in Mill Ennial’s honest opinion are, “honestly crazy, like Amanda Bynes is crazy but f—ing funny.“ By the time Mill Ennial leaves his room at 12:15, after prowling his Facebook for pics of hot girls while watching SportsCenter, he even feels pretty chill.

No more than five goddamn feet out the door, Mill receives a call from his mother, Bebe Oumer (her maiden name).

After some really annoyingly caring questions about his general emotional status, and some stupid thing about how she’s always so glad just to hear his voice, she asks him if he’d made any progress on the job front. As if struck and killed by a flying spear like one of those orc things in 300 was struck and killed except not literally like that but like that, like, figuratively, I guess, Mill Ennial’s heart goes dead cold. All that difficulty he had woke up thinking about comes back to him in a gust of inner chilliness. He sees as if literally before him a pile of work, like a big goddamn pile of cover letters, resumes, stupid texts you can’t even read because it’s not even English, and he thinks about the 1 p.m. philosophy core class that basically-Spanish text had been assigned in, and then he thinks harder about how difficult it’s going to be not to fall asleep in that class, a thought which crescendos into thoughts about the difficulty of writing cover letters, resumes, the absolutely terrible job market, and the utter impossibility of making a ton of money at all in this unforgiving world that giveth and taketh so arbitrarily, the sheer injustice that you can’t just live a good life anymore, and how f—ing cold it is.

“No,” he tells his mom, “I didn’t,” and then gets her off the phone as quickly as possible because she’s annoying.

Literally crushed with job-market despair and cold fury, he returns home fuming. He flings open his computer once more. This time, he doesn’t get the spinny thing. He goes to Amazon.com and types in “warm blanket,” and with his mother’s credit card, buys the top search result.

Benjamin Olcott is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

For the love of learning

Patrick Angiolillo I envy the Class of 2008. Not because they have graduated—likely all have secured an occupation of some sort or other, and probably possess a steady income. No, I envy them because their commencement speaker was David McCullough.

A friend of mine brought McCullough’s address to my attention earlier this year—and, boy, am I a better man for it. If you have not seen it, it is available online, and I cannot suggest strongly enough how much everyone should watch his speech.

His address to the graduates was titled “The Love of Learning.” In short, his proposal was that they never cease to read. He stressed the need for a continued pursuit of knowledge even past our commencement exercises. Our education does not culminate in our graduation. In fact, it may just then be starting. With graduation, we leave behind a liberal arts education and we head off in many different directions. Some find themselves in lucrative occupations, others give their time and heart to volunteer placements, while others still pack their (book) bags for graduate schools and similar programs.

Each of these opportunities will engage us critically and challenge us mentally, surely.

If we cannot handle that, there is no reason we should be awarded a diploma at graduation. But at the same time as we are settling in to our new homes and new stations in life, we should keep in mind that we are constantly learning. And I do not mean in a narrow sense of job skills or graduate classes. I mean to say that as we grow into our lives outside our undergraduate years, our education has the potential to deepen if we keep at it.

It is cliche, but true, I believe, that every day we learn something new. Every conversation we carry is a microcosm of the University. Fr. Michael Himes, at his inaugural address to students at freshman

orientation, I think described the definition of the University as just that—excellent, enlightening conversation. Every time we converse—on whatever topic—we learn from one another. McCullough stresses that we should talk about what we read. I agree, though I stretch his point further—we should talk about all manners of things, from religion to current events to the most recent sports game. Every conversation we carry has the potential to teach us something.

As a historian—a veritably well-read individual—McCullough could not help but declaim his perspective in terms of the book. A whole quarter of the population did not read a single book in the previous 12 months, reported a Pew poll from 2012. This is the very problem to which McCullough was reacting. When we read, when we are well-read, we carry on conversation much better. I have said before, and think it true, that we should use words deliberately and according to their definitions—and we should not underestimate the value of a well-stated idea or the perfectly selected word. George Weigel, an American Catholic theologian and a papal biographer, described Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as the only individual he ever knew who would, when asked a question, pause to think it over for a moment, and then respond in whole paragraphs. That’s brilliant! And here I stumble over the simplest explanation of what I did last weekend!

When we read, we open ourselves to an ever-growing vocabulary and potentially life-changing ideas. The power of these things is not to be understated.

Fr. McNellis, a philosophy professor at BC, does not allow his students in his Perspectives course to use the word “awesome” unless describing the third chapter of the Book of Exodus, where God reveals his name to his servant Moses. When we read, not only do we learn the basics of how words are used or what they mean, but we get a sense of the potential beauty of our language, the possible eloquence of our words. More than this, we acquaint ourselves with new and transformative ideas, notions, and concepts. To grasp the argument of

something we read—to see how it uses words and expresses an idea—and to be able to state our own argument similarly is to possess real power.

What do I mean by real power? “The pen is mightier than the sword,” has been both touted and criticized, but nevertheless, the power of the pen—of the written or spoken word—is not an exaggeration.

As an American historian in particular, McCullough drew easily on his repertoire of American historical figures. He shared the story of Charles Sumner’s enlightening education in Paris in the early 19th century that later influenced his political work in the U.S. Seeing black and white students learning beside one another in Paris, he was set on fire with abolitionist zeal, working tirelessly for the cause on the floor of the U.S. Senate throughout the Civil War. Both his education and his power of word enabled Sumner to champion the abolitionist cause so well.

As McCullough puts it, “From his quest for learning he brought home a personal revelation he had not anticipated and it changed history.”

“Read, read, read!” McCullough exclaimed near the end of his speech. My charge is the same. I have too often been guilty of narrowly reading theology books, academic commentaries, and scholarly articles related to my classes and my major.

Such is necessary. But when I pick up a book of American short stories and thumb through “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” for the first time in ages, I tumble into the story and am filled with life. Irving’s vocabulary is impressive and his sentences are masterpieces of balance and beauty.

All manners of books can fill us with life and offer us the potential power of words and ideas. God only knows how our learning might impact our lives—never mind the world we live in. So, join me—let’s each read a book for no other reason than to read, and then talk about what we read—quote it, defend it, criticize it, hate it, or love it. You never know what we might learn.

Patrick Angiolillo is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

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.

Learn to be a map-lover Ryan McGuill Equating South Boston to “the Land of Beeahs and Whitey Bulgah;” naming Canada “Fur Trappers” or “America’s Hat;” lumping together Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa and calling it, “Who Even Lives Here?!”—all of these are trite and unflattering trends in the sudden onslaught of viral “stereotype” maps.

You’ve probably seen one or two of these maps on your Facebook newsfeed or in an equally mindless Buzzfeed article, in which a short description merits that this is what the majority of Americans think about Europe or New York City or the Deep South. Then, your attention is directed to a map cluttered with juvenile and obvious words thrown over a place you’ve never been, the person who shared the map has never been, or the person who created the map has never been (e.g. “syrup” over Vermont and Breaking Bad and aliens over New Mexico). One of my personal idiotic favorites that I saw just the other day, “Flip Flops” over the Philippines—a country recently ravaged by the so-called worst storm ever, and you have to resort to making some cheap mass-production factory joke?

These maps are asinine and oversimplified interpretations of our complex world. They’re not funny and they’re pretty easy to hate.

I like to consider myself a map nerd, which explains my frustration over these stereotype maps. While some people collect coffee mugs, I try to acquire a map of every place I’ve visited with the hopes of one day having a library in my future mansion lined wall-to-wall with geographic projections. Some people can analyze a passage of the Iliad for hours—I, on the other hand, can spend hours studying the topography of a region, the weirdly named townships that some call home, and the remote atolls and islands dotted in the middle of an ocean. Come into the strip Mod and look at the world map sprawling across our wall to the far right. Yup, that’s mine! (It’s an ingenious conversation starter as well.)

I find the physical aspects that comprise our world to be absolutely fascinating and whether or not you realize it, I’m willing to bet that you do as well. If you’ve ever relied on your iPhone to get you to the airport by avoiding the most traffic during rush hour, you’re a map-lover. If you’re mired in the pre-med concentration and spend your free time memorizing the ins and outs of the human liver, you’re also a map lover. If you’ve ever been abroad and relied on a foreign subway map to get you and your hammered friends back to your hostel, you, as well, are a map-lover.

Although I’ve already expressed my distaste with stereotype maps, I’m honestly pleased that people are even looking at maps to begin with.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when a person doesn’t even know in which hemisphere a relatively well-known place is located. I once had a friend who confidently made a motion to show me Taiwan’s whereabouts in the middle of the Caribbean Sea only to realize that its true spot off the coast of China is roughly 11,000 miles away. If the average American has to think of “The Shire” to realize where New Zealand is located within the globe, then I’ll take that as a win for the educated populace of earth.

This naive perception of the world, however, dumbs down the complex political, economic, and social divides that are fundamental to comprehending any noteworthy matter that you’d hear about on the news. Attributing one word, like “Stupid Deserts, dude!” to the Sahara Desert, an area that could literally fit inside the entire continental U.S., is like saying “all candy is chocolate” or “all music is Miley Cyrus” (though it does seem this way from time to time).

If you want to see an intelligent version of the viral mapping trend that factually identifies the stereotypes that we conceive in our country, take a peek at the University of Virginia Cooper Center’s Demographic Dot Map. This insanely interactive portrayal of ethnic divides within America takes data from the 2010 U.S. Census and places a dot for every member of the country’s four biggest ethnic groups: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and a category that combines all other races. You can quite literally find yourself on the map if you zoom far enough into your permanent place of residence.

Then again, maybe we don’t need insightful interpretations of the world in order to get by.

Maybe all we need for world peace and eternal satisfaction is a black-and-white approach to mapping, like how texting has taken over as the predominant, easy way for the young and hip to communicate. Screw borders that have been battled over for decades—let’s just call Israel and Palestine “sacred lands and suicide bombs.”

Forget about Chechnya, a 6,000 square-mile region within Russia that contains more than 20 dialects (the majority of which are not Russian)—let’s just call the entire place “Commies.”

This way, everyone can be happy knowing that gigantic regions within the world are defined by one simple concept and nothing else.

Absolutely, positively nothing. Except a few chuckles as fodder for social media, of course.

Ryan McGuill is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.

The Heights

A8

Monday, November 18, 2013

McConaughey is hunting for an Oscar in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

By Dmitry Larionov For The Heights

We catch Rob Woodruff (Matthew McConaughey) in his element—having a druggedout threesome with two prostitutes, focusing intensely on the bullrider’s arena. Woodruff requires an element of violence in his love-making, and he watches the thrashing of the bull as it tries Dallas Buyers to release Club itself of its Jean-Marc Vallee unwanted burden.

Focus Features He is a rodeo cowboy, a gambler, a cheat, a drinker, a smoker, a user, a fighter, and a womanizer. He is both the bull and the bull rider.

Dallas Buyers Club, directed by Jean MarcVallee, has two distinct battles. The larger one is, of course, Woodruff’s battle against the implications of capitalism in the healthcare industry. When Woodruff is first diagnosed with HIV, he is given, optimistically, 30 days to live. He begins to steal a trial cure (APV) from the hospital, and moves onto smuggling drugs from Mexico—drugs that are not illegal to possess, but have failed to meet the FDA standards for sale in the U.S. Despite the ex-

B

tensive research done that supports the drugs’ effectiveness, and despite Woodruff’s calls to the FDA explaining the harmfulness of APV, the influence of big government overshadows his appeals. The controlled, regulated sale of narcotics is a multi-billion dollar industry and sure, profits are needed as an incentive to fund the research that develops cures, but Dallas Buyers Club makes it apparent that victims are getting the short end of the stick in breakthrough medications. Because of the high pressure on drug companies to deliver revenue, their commitment to pushing a drug—even one that has been proven to have adverse effects—overcomes the interests of the patient. Woodruff opens up shop, selling monthly subscriptions to AIDS patients that entitles them to as many supplements from Mexico as they require—with the FDA attempting to thwart him at every turn.

The second battle is Woodruff ’s fight against the definition of masculinity and even his own sexuality. In that context, the movie’s scenes of bull riding take on a metaphorical significance. When we see Woodruff riding on top of a bull, we see a man playing a child’s game—of seeing how far he can push a dangerous creature to its limit, of how long he can hold on to something so wild and un-

tamed. Bull-riding is less a competition of man dominating beast than it is of man dominating the idea of his own unpredictability. The men hold onto the bucking, enraged creatures as they buck beneath them. They grip the bull by the hair and dig into its flesh as the animal attempts to shake them. The whole thing is very homoerotic and Greco-Roman, yet none of the bullfights in the film last for more than a few, intense seconds—underscoring the impotence that AIDS has had on Woodruff.

Woodruff’s comfort with the sport is in direct contention with the homophobia of the society that surrounds him. Woodruff’s friends, upon learning of the HIV, immediately alienate him and spread the word around the other rodies. The situation becomes more complicated when Woodruff’s only friend becomes a cross dresser named Rayon (Jared Leto), who he uses for his extensive contacts in the homosexual community. The unlikely friendship forces Woodruff into bars and other gay hangouts around the city—forcing him to confront his homophobia. It seems like Woodruff has a much easier time of reconciling his agenda with the nature of business than does the FDA—as his service becomes so popular that copycat “buyer’s clubs” begin to spring up around the country.

photo courtesy of Focus Features

The new drama ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ takes a probing look into masculinity and the AIDS crisis.

So this is a very “Oscar” movie. Badass hyper-masculine guy gets AIDS, loses friends, meets a gay man, hates him, they need to work together, learn to respect each other, fight together, and so on. And yes, the performances are stellar. McConaughey goes full-on Christian Bale and loses about 60 pounds for his performance, while Leto’s drag queen is as charming as he is haunting. What’s more

interesting than the story itself is the recent popularity of this type of narrative: the man who’s been a loser all his life experiences an event which puts him at odds with his mortality, and he begins a new, illegal life as a badass (think Breaking Bad). Hollywood seems to be getting a kick out of the idea that our society can’t accomplish anything without a time limit on our success or failure. n

Radcliffe makes uneven ‘Darlings’ worth it

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Box office report title

weekend gross weeks in release

1. thor: the dark world

38.5

2

2. the best man holiday

30.6

1

3. last vegas

8.8

3

4. Free birds

8.3

3

Though director John Krokidas can’t establish a consistent tone, Daniel Radcliffe proves his post-Potter acting mettle in ‘Kill Your Darlings.’

5. jackass presents: bad grandpa

7.7

4

By Ryan Dowd

6. gravity

7.3

7

7. ender’s game

6.2

3

8. 12 Years A slave

4.7

5

9. captain phillips

4.5

6

10. about time

3.5

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photo courtesy of sony pictures classics

Heights Staff Kill Your Darlings tries to capture the complicated early life of famed American poet Allen Ginsberg, played by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter). It succeeds in that venture, but the “new vision” that Ginsberg and his pals call Kill your darlings their new poetic John Krokidas Sony Pictures movement Classics fails to produce a clear film.

Set in 1994 during Allen’s first year at Columbia University, the film focuses on the relationship between this young generation of writers including Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs along with Lucien Carr, the charismatic figure who held them all together. The story is further complicated after the mysterious death of Lucien’s obsessive benefactor David Krammerer. And it’s this cavalier mashing of Dead Poet’s Society and The Perks of Being a Wallflower that makes Kill Your Darlings tough to swallow. The film drops you in and out of scenes without much explanation or character motivation. It haphazardly mixes eloquent declarations of this “new vision” of poetry while continuously playing the murder mystery card which gives the poets’ speeches a sinister tint.

Maybe that’s the intention of first-time

B+ C+

director John Krokidas, to make a film akin to the poems of Ginsberg’s beat generation.

Ginsberg and pals decried rhyme and meter and went as far as tearing up the traditional texts like Beowulf and Leviathan (even though they’re not poetry). Maybe Krokidas’ little film is trying to carve out its own niche apart from tradition? That can’t be it. Krokidas still plays into traditional conventions, like opening with a flashback, a “frozen in time” scene, and the aforementioned table top declarations. No, Kill Your Darlings just isn’t a good movie, and that’s why it leaves the audience unsatisfied in the end.

While Krokidas may have missed the mark when it comes to storytelling, he hit the bull’s eye when it comes to acting. Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan (Chronicle), who plays Lucien Carr, have an electric chemistry. Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma) plays an expressionless William Burroughs. When Burroughs talks, you listen. When he raises an eyebrow, you listen. Jack Huston plays Jack Kerouac, who injects some much needed life halfway through the film. Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Liberal Arts) becomes the film’s most sympathetic character in just five minutes of screen time as Kerouac’s girlfriend Edie. Olsen has a way of connecting with the audience that the boys in Kill Your Darlings, and even her whole generation can’t seem to match.

Aside from Olsen’s spark, it’s Radcliffe and DeHaan that make Kill Your Darlings

watchable. DeHaan is making a career out of playing tortured young souls. He did it in Chronicle as a loner who happens upon super powers. He did it in The Place Beyond the Pines. And he will do it again as Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, set for a 2014 release. He plays Lucien Carr with a razor’s edge. The real mystery in the film is not if Lucien killed David Krammerer—Lucien Carr and his relationship to Allen Ginsberg is the mystery, and it’s a mystery that the film never fully answers.

Lucien never really lets Allan know him.

Lucien never really lets the audience know him, and DeHaan plays perfectly with a sly grin directed at Allen but also us.

By the end of the film, the audience sees Radcliffe as Ginsberg, not Harry Potter, and that is the best part about this film. Radcliffe walks bespectacled into Columbia University early in the film and the audience cannot help but imagine him as Harry Potter. It’s a curse (or scar, if you’d like) Radcliffe will bear for the next 15 years. Radcliffe plays Ginsberg with a whimsical yet manic energy, and it’s unsettling to watch Ginsberg, indirectly Harry Potter, struggle with his sexuality. The end of the film shows Radcliffe in the corner of a bar jotting down some poetry, and the audience sees Ginsberg in the corner of a bar in New York, not Harry in the corner of The Three Broomsticks waiting for Ron and Hermione. If there’s a reason to see this film, it’s Radcliffe. n

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33 photos courtesy of Google images

bestsellers of hardcover fiction 1. sycamore row John Grisham 2. mirage Clive Cussler & Jack Du Brul 3. the goldfinch Donna Tartt 4. the valley of amazement Amy Tan 5. the minor adjustment beauty salon Alexander McCall Smith

6. The all-girl filling station’s last reunion Frannie Flagg 7. Doctor Sleep Stephen King 8. The Longest Ride Nicholas Sparks 9. Winners Danielle Steel SOURCE: The New York Times

The Heights

Monday, November 18, 2013

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6 John Wiley / heights editor

1. Terry Peng, A&S ‘14, added distinct flavor to the Mints. 2. Seaver’s Express drummer Chris Southiere studies at Berklee School of Music. 3. Bobnoxious’s Bobby Scheuch, CSOM ’14, banged on the keys from all angles. 4. Berklee student Alex Pickert served as a guest drummer for Lucid Soul, subbing in for Andrew Bishop. 5. Lucid Soul frontman James Farrell, A&S ’15, led his band in a session of ‘pajamming.’ 6. Sean Eckelman, CSOM ’14, played guitar for Bobnoxious.

Showcase features Seaver’s Express, the Mints, Bobnoxious, and Lucid Soul Bands, from A10 dience seemed especially invested in its covers of Vampire Weekend’s “Walcott” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”—the group warmed with the crowd, and by the end of their 30-minute time slot, they were pushing a sound technically superior to anything on Parachute. The trio closed with an impressive rendition of the record’s title track.

The Music Guild’s Fall Showcase was an evening of strangely defied expectations. Four BC bands performed at the event—Seaver’s Express, The Mints, Bobnoxious and the Mysterious Master Craftsmen, and Lucid Soul,.

Each was afforded roughly half an hour.

The Mints, the largest group performing at the event, delivered perhaps the most sonically versatile set of the night. Led by vocalist Terry Peng, A&S ’14, the band infused elements of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and big band into what generally was a more classic rocksoul sound.

The set began with “Garden State” and “American Privacy.” These two original works showed off the musical muscularity of the band, introducing the strong instrumental solos which came to define their character

on stage. The group’s chemistry was infectious—these artists seemed enamored with each other, trading off solos and sharing the spotlight throughout the night.

When an audience comes to appreciate the abilities of the bass player in a band, it either means the rest of the band was awful, or by some musical miracle, the bass player was actually given a moment or two to shine—in the case of The Mints, and their bassist Rami El-Abidin, A&S ’15, it was the latter.

With the help of guest vocalist Kelly Orcutt, A&S ’14, the band performed a cover of “Royals” by Lorde, incorporating the pop track into a swinging, big band sound. The original song is a minimalist work, and in many ways, this is its charm. It was an enormous risk for The Mints to change the very nature of something so respected by its audience, but they did so expertly.

The Mints were admirable for their taste, and ability to satiate the listener’s palate with a distinct coolness. Their set had no single flavor, but served rather as a well-coursed meal.

Their cover of Drake’s “Crew Love” was the highlight of the set—it included a rather smooth rendition of the rap verses later in the

song, and another powerful vocal contribution from Orcutt.

Hardly an aftertaste in the showcase, The Mints ushered in large crowds with its performance, and seemingly ushered most of them out with the ending of that performance.

Bobnoxious and the Mysterious Master Craftsmen and Lucid Soul both performed to a noticeably diminishing crowd—this is the sure difficulty of performing after 10 p.m. on a Friday night in a venue that lends itself well to crowds filtering in and out.

But if the lessening crowd was any type of cue to scale down, no one told frontman Bobby “Bobnoxious” Scheuch, CSOM ’14. It’s difficult to articulate in words just what the phrase “Bobnoxious” is meant to indicate. Going strictly off the phrase’s root word—obnoxious—you might gather half of what’s going on, but the Bobness of it all is something entirely in itself.

Bobnoxious and the Mysterious Master Craftsmen gave a performance that some cultured folks might describe as “performance art”—but this phrase gives what was happening on stage too much credit, and not nearly enough credit at the same time.

Scheuch led the pack behind his key-

board—dancing, convulsing, twitching, shaking, leg-wagging, twisting nobs, running scales, playing with the keyboard modulators, and making strange expressions, seemingly communicating with the rest of the band in a language that was at once mesmerizing and disconcerting to the audience.

There was no genre, merely sound—layers of cluttered, disorderly chaotic, appallingly brilliant, and brilliantly appalling sound. One could call it experimental jazz, or perhaps even a collaborative musical experiment, but such terms seem to betray the mystery of it all—the performance was vaguely sociopathic, and potentially genius.

Lucid Soul, which opened for last semester’s Macklemore concert, was the closing act for the night. The band is perhaps most iconic for their visual presentation—wearing pajamas on stage, their mantra has become that they’re “pajammin’ all the time.” It’s a strange gimmick for such a sophisticated rock act, which on paper sounds vaguely condescending, but ultimately seems to be done in good faith and makes the act lovable in a way.

Their performance began with a cool interplay between the drums and the bass, evoking the sound of a clock ticking away.

In time, this exploded into an expansive rock display. The band seemed to transcend generations with its sound—technically, the performance was beholden to developments in rock specific to the ’60s and ’70s.

Covering The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” Lucid Soul seemed most comfortable, in a performance that followed the original with seemingly religious conviction. The band’s command on stage seemed to be the product of its admiration for groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones—it was very well versed in the rock genre.

The members of Lucid Soul seemed to fit together quite nicely. While The Mints highlighted the individuals in the group, Lucid Soul presented themselves as a single, cohesive identity. They were classic in their appeal, a bit of a rarity at a time when most rock acts are looking outside their own genre for musical inspiration.

The band’s original “Wasting Daylight” closed the night—the anthemic rock piece was one of the best in the showcase, ultimately serving as a testament to the technical abilities of Lucid Soul.

It was a night of original moments—some strange, some disturbing, many good, and

Body image issues explored in powerful performance of ‘Good Body’ ‘Good Body,’ from A10 deeper reflection.

The directors prefaced the event by explaining that the play has a feminist slant, but despite the all-female cast, the issues raised in the performance affect more than just women. And while the performance was highly feminized, this didn’t seem to have an impact on the audience—both male and female students crowded the room in Cushing, with everyone in uproar at various moments throughout the monologues.

Eve herself struggled with her stomach—“my tormentor, my distracter, and my most serious relationship,” she described it. The five girls portraying Eve touched on various issues surrounding this fixation—the need to exercise excessively, eating pretzels rather than bread because “bread is Satan,” and having pressure from her parents to adopt the thin ideal. She noted that every woman seems to have a part of her body that causes dissatisfaction, where “the badness manifests itself.” And each of the women

that presented their monologues to Eve had their own personal insecurities, which made for a diverse yet balanced body of characters.

The play makes reference to a few famous women, such as Helen Gurley Brown (Aryn Pryor, A&S ’16), former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, and Isabella Rossellini (Sydney McNeal, A&S ’15), former Lancome model. Brown makes an appearance as an 80-year-old woman who is still doing her ab crunches and snacking on her newest “treat,” edamame, to maintain a pristine image.

While Brown’s measured tone was reminiscent of a certain magazine editor in The Devil Wears Prada, she didn’t inspire fear as much as sympathy—as she openly declared, “My mother never saw me—she saw acne.” She pledged that if she ever had her own daughter, she would tell her she was beautiful every single day, a moment of much-appreciated honesty from a woman constantly shaped by the media.

And then there were everyday women, such as Bernice (Tessa Condon, A&S ’14) and Carmen (Tatiana Schaefer, A&S

’16), who had the audience laughing in support with one-liners such as “They keep the plus sizes in the back like porn” and “If I had Janet Jackson’s ass, I’d walk backwards.” But beneath the jokes, the two characters were able to give insight into real insecurities—for Bernice, sharing what it means to be a “fat girl,” and for Carmen, the pressure to have the perfect Puerto Rican body to gain her mother’s love and acceptance.

The play was structured well by also including characters that promoted a more positive body image—women who were truly able to say, “I love my body.”

For example, Leah (Kristy Davis, A&S ’14), a woman from Africa, explained to Eve that in America, women see their bodies as pictures, but in her country, people actually live in their bodies. Just as you wouldn’t judge one tree to be inferior to another because they don’t look the same, she said, you shouldn’t judge your body to be any less good because it’s not the same as that of another person.

All of the lessons learned from Love Your Body Week seemed to culminate in

Daniel Lee / heights Senior Staff

Students came together in ‘The Good Body’ to explore themes of personal beauty and body image. the final scene of The Good Body, when all of the cast members came into the room, lined up in their Love Your Body Week t-shirts, and came to a final conclusion.

Maybe being good isn’t about getting rid of anything, but about accepting our bodies for what they are—as the carrier

of our stories, our home, or our mother.

Despite the “cult of thinness,” or the beast of beauty, or even the constant prevalence of “fat talk,” the students were able to show through their individual monologues, as well as their final scene in unity, that we all live in a good body. n

In the struggle for pop culture relevance, shock tactics work James Hennelly Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: wholesome child singer strikes it big, amassing a cult following of tween disciples while singing about “kid stuff ” like a first kiss, slumber parties, school dances, and the like.

This singer grows up in the public eye, matures at an incredibly slow pace (I feel as though Justin Bieber should be about 35 right now, performing exclusively on cruise ships), devoid of any acne and awkwardness that plagues us normal folk, and comes to embody this notion of a “child star.” His or her career becomes inextricably linked to their childhood: We identify them first as children and are both impressed and incensed by their talent and success precisely because they are much, much younger than the rest of us.

Inevitably, these kids grow up and are faced with a dilemma: adapt or die.

In this context, we shouldn’t view a situation like Miley Cyrus’ recent

reincarnation as a cry for help or the poor life choices of an ignorant young adult. Rather, we should consider that her actions are actually a savvy business move, a means of transition intended to prolong her career as long as possible.

Cyrus certainly isn’t the only singer faced with such circumstances.

Over the years we’ve seen the same behavior from, to name a few, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Fergie (astoundingly, she, Spears, Timberlake, Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling were all in the same “Mouseketeer” class), Bieber, Selena Gomez, and the late Michael Jackson.

I hesitate to put Taylor Swift on this list since she seems to have drank from a musical fountain of youth—her double platinum Fearless (2008) deals with much of the same issues as does last year’s Red, allowing Swift to maintain her status as a role model and resident “good girl” of pop-country music.

Although Swift doesn’t fall neatly into this category, her career arc (or

lack thereof ) reveals a great deal about what society is willing to accept. We like the idea of the blonde, All-American girl-next-door who falls in love regularly and has her heart broken, but the brashness and sheer bravado of someone like Cyrus threatens us. We become unwilling to accept that the cute, innocent girls we watched growing up are now young women humping phallic foam fingers, in Miley’s case, or French-kissing Madonna, in Spears’ case. Therefore, these women are forced not only to reinvent their musical sound, but also must contend with society’s expectations of young female entertainers. Oftentimes this proves too difficult and we see long periods of musical inactivity as was the case for many years with Aguilera and Spears.

The obstacles that the men on our list, Bieber and Timberlake in particular, must overcome stem from matters of credibility. Will an audience who witnessed their development from boyhood accept them as macho, hyper-sexualized men? Timberlake was

able to answer this in part through his revolutionary new sound. He planted the seeds for a career re-invention on 2002’s Justified, which exposed his fans to a new, edgier dynamic, and 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds completely altered the landscape of pop music. FS/LS, universally recognized as one of the most influential pop records of the past decade, established Timberlake as a major player in both pop and hip-hop circles. This association with hip-hop, a genre far more sexualized and “progressive” than most, allowed Timberlake to craft his image as a playboy. Over time, we became used to viewing Timberlake as such, and matters of his personal life, like his myriad of rumored trysts and subsequent marriage to Jessica Biel, aided in establishing his aura. Bieber, much in the same vein, has attempted a cross-over to hip-hop as a means to seem more mature. “She say she love my lolly, / she wanna make it pop,” he croons on the Maejor Ali and Juicy J track, “Lolly.” Bieber appears to be

following the blueprint laid out by Timberlake as he desperately seeks to shed the image of a bowl-haircut sporting, young Canadian whining in a high-pitched voice while playing the piano in a hastily recorded YouTube video. The vitriol expressed toward Bieber has reached levels that it never did with Timberlake, so it remains to be seen if young Bieber can win the public over.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with the career choices of some of these young adults, the crux of the matter is this—they are operating from a position of self-preservation.

Swift is the exception, not the rule.

Should Bieber and Cyrus keep singing about innocent crushes and double lives (Hannah Montana), they would be irrelevant faster than you could say “Baby, baby, baby, oh!”

James Hennelly is a contributor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

ARTS&REVIEW THE HEIGHTS

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Monday, January 17, 2013

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013

THE FINER THINGS

‘I want it that way’ ARIANA IGNERI

My hair is pulled back in a scrunchy, and I’m sporting a super comfy Mickey Mouse sweatshirt. Curled up on the couch, I dunk a spoon into my giant bowl of Cap’n Crunch, bite the corner off my strawberry Toaster Strudel, and take a gulp of my chocolate milk—this is the breakfast of champions. It’s a Saturday morning, and Boy Meets World is on TV. My favorite episode is playing: it’s the one where Topanga tries to convince Corey not to be self conscious about his Brillo pad curly hair. She tells him it’s okay to be different, then she pushes him up against the lockers in the hall of their middle school and kisses him for the first time. I can’t resist smiling, but whether that’s because a show I love is on, I have no homework, or I’m high on sugar, I don’t know.

All I know is that I’ve never felt like such a kid—except for maybe when I actually was a kid, more than 10 years ago.

I’m definitely not the only young adult who likes to relive her ’90s childhood days.

It’s a generational obsession. But it’s rolling around way too soon. So there must be something specific about our now that makes our nostalgia so immediate, so different—that makes it about more than a wistful longing for Game Boys and denim overalls.

If I had to guess, I’d say our early onset nostalgia is our way of dealing with our apparently bleak future. Fifty-three percent of young people are either jobless or underemployed relative to their education. That fact alone could explain why so many of us would rather watch reruns of Full House than sort out our prospective career plans.

We’re living in a time characterized by fears of global warming and economic recessions, so it’s not surprising that we Millenials just want to escape back into the optimistic decade of the ’90s—the decade after the Cold War ended and before the World Trade Center Towers fell—the decade when Britney Spears, Furbies, and Lunchables were the most important things in our lives.

This ’90s resurgence may be coming too soon, but that doesn’t mean its return is any less powerful. The music, movie, and TV industries seem to be ruthlessly taking advantage not only of our sentimentality for the past, but also of our dismal situation in the present.

Because we represent about a quarter of the American population, companies such as Disney have recognized how significant our nostalgia is to their success. To make up for the lackluster results of recent films (think 2011’s Winnie the Pooh), Disney has spent the last few years re-releasing old commercial favorites, hoping that fans would flock to theaters to re-experience timeless masterpieces like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast on the big screen in 3D. And their hopes have paid off. The Lion King reissue was a roaring sensation, snatching the No. 1 box office spot its opening weekend.

The ’90s are making a comeback in TV too: reruns of sitcoms like Friends and Seinfeld are still some of the most widely viewed programs on TV, and shows like Boy Meets World are set for a reboot. Featuring most of the characters from the original cast, including Mr. Feeney, the beloved coming-of-age show is being repackaged as Girl Meets World. It might be good, or it might just be clever marketing—who knows. But when its pilot airs in 2014, the generational gap between the ’90s and today could find itself made a little smaller.

And ushering in the return of ’90s pop, the Backstreet Boys are touring and recording new music, except now, they’re not quite boys—they’re grown men. N’Sync even made a brief, but highly anticipated, appearance at this year’s VMAs. It’s strange seeing a 33year-old Nick Carter and a pudgy Joey Fatone doing synchronized dancing, but there’s no denying the nostalgia that accompanies the fact that groups like Backstreet are back.

In a year and a half I’m going to have to graduate college, find a job, and end my semi-charmed-kind-of-life escapades into the past. I realize, at some point, I’m going to have to stop looking back and start looking forward. Sooner or later, I’m going to have to say bye, bye, bye to Dunkaroos, Beany Babies, and boy bands. But until that dreadful day arrives, I can’t help but think about my life in the ’90s and say I want it that way—again.

Ariana Igneri is the Associate Arts & Review editor of The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

SEAVER’S EXPRESS

THE MINTS

BOBNOXIOUS

LUCID SOUL

GOOD VIBRATIONS

JOHN WILEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BY JOHN WILEY Asst. Arts & Review Editor A standing-room-only crowd gathered in the Cabaret Room on Friday night for the opening act of the Music Guild’s fall showcase. Seaver’s Express—fronted by Jacob Monk, CSOM ’16, with Sean Seaver, A&S ’16, on guitar—has been at the forefront of BC’s music scene this semester, with the release of its Parachute EP. Opening with “Foresight,” the first track off their EP, it seemed Seaver’s Express was content delivering a conservative set, well within the packaging of its September debut. Indeed, little changed from the studio version, and while technically intact, nothing in the band’s sound seemed enhanced—if anything, the high ceilings of the Cabaret Room took away from the warmness of it all.

Seaver’s Express riddled expectations for the night with its cover of Kanye West’s and Jay Z’s “No Church in the Wild.” At face, this was a strange

choice for a band that identifies more closely with indie rock acts like Arcade Fire and the Strokes, but ultimately, it brought out a playful chemistry between the band members.

Their interpretation was refreshing, showing a great respect for the rap genre and the musical versatility of the Boston-based musical trio. Imposing a crude melody on the rap verses, Seaver added an additional dimension to the track, and the brooding of electric guitar lent itself well to the acoustics of the space.

The band presented themselves as diverse performers over their six-song set—the music told most of the story, with Seaver only interacting briefly with the audience. The au-

See Bands, A9

BC women bring Ensler’s ‘The Good Body’ to dramatic life

BY MICHELLE TOMASSI Heights Editor

“I want to be good.” It’s what most of us want, after all—to be good at something, to be good at everything, to be good within. But there’s one more thing that we want to be “good,” and this desire can cause so much pressure that there’s a week at Boston College dedicated to addressing these issues. It’s our bodies—the need to have a good body.

After several days of lectures, presentations, and discussions, BC’s Love Your Body Week culminated in a lively and thought-provoking presentation of The Good Body on Friday evening—a play written by Eve Ensler, author of The

CCE BRINGS THE LAUGHS

Vagina Monologues. Directed by Ceara O’Sullivan and Molly Holden, both A&S ’14, the play featured a series of monologues performed by various students about different types of women and the relationships they have with their bodies. In the play, Eve herself takes on five different forms—played by Holden; Chelsea Lennox, A&S ’14; Kelly Farrell, A&S ’14; Colleen Lavin, A&S ’14; and Emily Schmicker, LSOE ’16. The five Eves encounter women from all around the world, and the audience was able to listen to their stories—stories of the struggles and the rewards of accepting one’s body, interlaced with humor and

See ‘Good Body,’ A9

ROBIN KIM / HEIGHTS STAFF

DANIEL LEE / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

Sydney McNeal, A&S ’15 depicted Isabella Rossellini in Friday’s performance of ‘The Good Body.’

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Provocation or self-preservation?

Looking at the real reason for the controversybaiting of stars like Miley Cyrus.....................A9

The murder of a sitcom director (Sam Monk, A&S ’15) set the stage for a comedic mystery in ‘Don’t Ever Ask Dad,’ the Committee for Creative Enactments’ show this weekend.

Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey sheds pounds for the powerful true-life AIDS drama.............................A8

Bestsellers...............................A8 Box Office Report........................A8

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

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Monday, November 18, 2013

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Time to add a new song to the playlist

“WHEN YOU STOP THE GUY, HE IS NOT STOPPED”

ANDRE 300

AUSTIN TEDESCO

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Williams, O-line lead BC to Senior Day win over NCSU

BY CHRIS GRIMALDI For The Heights With ball in hand and an entire defense in pursuit, Andre Williams had his sights set on North Carolina State’s end zone midway through the fourth quarter.

The senior was sprinting toward one of the most dominant individual performances in school history, powering through the gaps opened by his offensive line like he’d done so many times before. Every stride was one stride closer to another place in the Boston College football team’s record books and heightened chatter of Heisman consideration. In the moment, Williams was about to give the Eagles a two-possession lead.

And then with a swipe of his hand, NC State’s Justin Burris turned a 69-yard dash into chaos.

Alumni Stadium watched as the fumbled football bounced in the end zone with the ominous bounce of a golden opportunity gone wrong. Yet BC’s star running back had wide receiver Alex Amidon doggedly trailing his run the entire time, a teammate, classmate, and roommate that he’d grown up alongside through the highs and lows of four seasons.

Amidon dove to smother the fumble, wrestling it away from another NC State defender, and secured the touchdown. After seasons defined by coming up short, the senior receiver refused to let anything get in the way of returning to the promised land he, Williams, and the rest of BC’s senior class hadn’t been to since their freshman year—a college football bowl game.

“We’ve always been there for each other,” Williams said, “and right when I needed him, he was there for me.”

Propelled by Williams’ school record 339 rushing yards and Amidon’s hustle, the Eagles captured a 3821 Senior Day victory on Saturday and clinched bowl eligibility for the first time in three years.

“We came out and scrapped and fought really hard today to get that win,” said head coach Steve Addazio.

Aside from a touchdown run by true freshman Myles Willis, BC’s seniors controlled the game’s tempo from the outset. Williams followed a Nate Freese field goal with a powerful 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give the Eagles an early 10-point advantage. America’s leading rusher had eclipsed the 100-yard mark before the first quarter even came to a close.

“He’s certainly without a doubt one of the more dominant players in college football,” Addazio said of Williams. “He’s an unselfish guy who realizes that he has a great offensive line in front of him, and he realizes that this is a team game.”

Despite facing a 17-7 deficit at halftime, NC State fought through uncertainty under center to hang around for the better part of three quarters. The

See Football, B3

Restoring O-Line U After being unable to create any rushing lanes in 2012, there has been a resurgence on the offensive line under coaches Steve Addazio and Justin Frye with a consistent starting five.

LT

LG

C

RG

RT

SR. 6-7 300

JR. 6-5 310

JR. 6-3 302

JR. 6-3 298

JR. 6-5 302

PATCHAN VARDARO GALLIK WILLIAMS WHITE ATT

YARDS

AVG

COMBINED STARTS

TD

2013

40.5 217.2 5.4 2.3

2012

28.8

90.9

3.2 0.5

*per game rushing stats EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS STAFF

50 All of the five men up front have started each game

Something incredible happened last Tuesday in Chicago. Before both games of the Champions Classic at the United Center, where Kentucky faced Michigan State and Kansas played Duke, the crowd was essentially dared not to get excited during the announcement of starting lineups for the premiere event of college basketball’s opening week. It came in the form of 26-seconds of purely escalating music.

The United Center decided to play the opening riff of Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead” as names like Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, and Andrew Wiggins were proclaimed over the speakers. I was watching the game on my couch, and I got chills. The song couldn’t be more perfect for a sporting event, especially when it’s used to get the crowd as hyped-up as possible. If there were any prevalent fan base in the building that night, it would’ve been the contingent supporting Parker—the freshman Duke star and hometown favorite—but most people were there just to see some great basketball.

There wasn’t a much better way to unite them before tip off than with those massive, nearly infuriating drums.

BC needs to steal this before another school or professional team makes the song a unique thing done during its games.

Behind the times would be an understatement to describe the music played in Conte Forum and Alumni Stadium. Conte, especially, is almost notorious among local beat writers covering the basketball team for playing mid-2000s pop songs that came and went from the national consciousness, but somehow never escape the playlist in Chestnut Hill. And that’s not exactly coming from people who stay up to date on what’s going on in music.

That’s kind of the point, though. BC doesn’t need to stay on the cutting edge of the music scene when looking for songs to use. This fall, Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us” has been playing at some football, basketball, and hockey games. It’s a track that has almost been beaten to death in sports highlight videos, but it still works. Although it may not be a rational way to look at things, Macklemore’s music feels like a unique BC thing after Modstock.

Games here need more of that. “Seven Nation Army” and “Shipping Up To Boston” are both great. The crowd gets into it, and it helps kill the lulls that can inevitably crop up if the game stalls. But another song should be added to the pantheon, and I’m recommending “Black Skinhead.”

The song dropped in mid-June around the release of Yeezus, so it’s not exactly new, but it also hasn’t been claimed by anyone else yet. You don’t want to choose something that already has some significance in other arenas or stadiums. Students are only going to embrace it if it doesn’t feel forced.

Nothing about “Black Skinhead” would feel forced. It’s an easy song to jump right into, and it lends itself to all kinds of scenarios surrounding BC’s big three sports—although it doesn’t need to be applied to hockey since the fan experience there isn’t a

See Column, B4

Eagles advance to second round after dominant win over Northeastern

BY BRIAN BROOKS For The Heights

Just over 700 people witnessed the events that transpired on the Newton Campus Field last Friday, on what was an uncharacteris0 Northeastern tically warm fall Boston College 2 night. As the Boston College women’s soccer team lined up at midfield before the game, holding hands and listening to the national anthem, the team mentally prepared to kickoff its 11th straight NCAA tournament appearance under head coach Alison Foley. From the moment the opening whistle sounded, BC did what it does best: attack.

On the Eagles first possession, sophomore forward McKenzie Meehan streaked down the middle of the field with the ball before crossing it to teammate Lauren Bernard who sent her chance soaring just high over the crossbar. Despite missing that shot, its message was clear. The Eagles were

there to play aggressive and they were there to win, which they did to the tune of 2-0.

From the game’s outset, the Huskies struggled to push the ball downfield into BC territory as each successive push was pinballed back into the Northeastern side of the pitch thanks largely to the play of junior defender Casey Morrison and senior midfielder Kate McCarthy, who shut down Northeastern’s best player Hannah Terry for the entirety of the match and kept their attackers quiet all day.

“I think Kate did a great job on her,” Foley said. “Casey Morrison kept the back line really tidy, she shifted us and I think Casey and Kate were the key to the defensive lineup that we had today.”

Morrison and McCarthy’s efforts bolstered BC’s offensive play and allowed the Eagles to focus more on getting scoring chances than making defensive stops.

One of those chances came in the ninth minute when BC’s Stephanie McCaffrey delivered a sharp pass across the pitch to

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

Gibby Wagner who immediately crossed it back left to the waiting foot of Meehan who then swung at the ball hard, pounding it upward at a sharp angle and clanging it off the bottom of the crossbar. Meehan followed her shot and attacked the ball as it darted back down toward the turf before finishing it off, driving it into the back of the net with authority and putting the Eagles on top 1-0 early.

By the time the air horn blew to signal the end of the first half, Northeastern had only mustered one shot compared to BC’s 12, and the Eagles jogged off the field with a confident and well-deserved spring in their step.

“At halftime, we were hoping for a goal and said that the next 10 minutes would be really important, that we’ve got to stay focused and determined, and when chances present themselves we’ve got to take care of them,” Foley said.

See Women’s Soccer, B4

Hoops picks up its first victory

The BC men’s basketball team rallied after three straight losses to top FAU..............B4

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Eagles topped Northeastern 2-0 at home last Friday in the first round of the tourney.

Field hockey season concludes

A first round loss to UConn in the NCAA Tournament ended BC’s season...................B5

Football Recap..........................B3 Sports in short............................B2

The Heights

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Monday, November 18, 2013

Eagles unable to pull away in road tie

By Marly Morgus Asst. Sports Editor

On Saturday, the No. 5 Boston College women’s hockey team met up with the Princeton Tigers on the road at Hobey Baker Rink, playing a closely contested game in which defense dominated and the Eagles and Tigers held each other to one goal a piece, the game ending in a tie.

In the first period, neither team managed to put a point on the board with both goaltenders stopping every shot that came their way. BC held the slight advantage in that category with 10 shots to Princeton’s nine, but both teams entered the first break with nothing to show of their offensive efforts.

The Eagles’ only goal of the game came in an area they had struggled in

during the first part of the season, but has seen improvement during the past weeks, that being the power play unit.

With the man advantage, the Eagles took the lead about midway through the second with a goal from sophomore forward Haley Skarupa—her 13th of the season—extending her point streak to six straight games.

Meagan Mangene and Kate Leary were credited with the assists on the goal, with Mangene maintaining a hot streak of her own with her third point in four games.

Killing two penalties of their own, the Eagles closed out the period with a narrow lead, holding Princeton off the board.

That lead would not last through the end of play, however, as Princeton’s

Emily Fahey / heights Staff

Haley Skarupa recorded her 13th goal of the season in a road draw against Princeton.

offense turned it up a notch during the third, outshooting BC 11-3 and striking back at 13:54 with the equalizer, its sole goal of the game also coming off of the power play.

A five minute overtime period was played, but neither offense broke through and the game was settled in a tie.

In net for BC, Megan Miller had 33 saves, just one more than Princeton’s Kimberly Newell.

The Eagles were also on the road Friday afternoon as they paid a visit to Quinnipiac and the No. 7 Bobcats. In another close contest, the Eagles would this time fall to their opponent 3-2.

It was BC that struck first just over five minutes into the first period when Mangene took a shot off of her own rebound that had been blocked by a Quinnipiac defender, and Kristyn Capizzano tipped it past goaltender Chelsea Landen for the 1-0 lead.

BC maintained offensive control for most of the first period, outshooting the Bobcats 11-6 and holding them scoreless through the first frame of play.

Quinnipiac responded just past the midpoint of the second period with a goal of its own, but the teams remained deadlocked throughout almost the entire remainder of the period.

Just as the second frame was about to wind down, however, the Bobcats tallied their second score of the game with just 53 seconds remaining on the clock, taking the 2-1 lead.

The Eagles had one more goal in them as the power play came through to give Andie Anastos the second BC score of the game at 12:34 in the third.

Quinnipiac, though, would take its final lead just over five minutes later, beating goalie Corinne Boyles, who stopped 24 shots in the game, one more time to bring the game to its final tally of 3-2 in favor of the Bobcats.

The loss marked the end of BC’s four-game win streak, the last loss being to Syracuse on Oct. 25. n

Eagles split pair against ACC rivals

By Alex Stanley Heights Staff

SPORTS in SHORT

A spike rained down on right-side hitter Amanda Yerke, and she failed to control it, despite doing absolutely everything within her power.

A cheer erupted from the opposite end of the court, and the ball slowly bounced toward the stands, signaling an Eagles loss.

Boston College went ahead two sets to zero on Sunday at noon in the Power Gym—however, the University of Pittsburgh reversed the Eagles’ momentum, sending it into five sets and ultimately earning a win for the Panthers.

This was the second game of two this weekend for the Eagles. On Friday, they managed to complete a three-set sweep against Maryland.

They gained their first ACC win in that game, winning the sets 25-23, 2519, and 29-27.

Junior Courtney Castle shone, recording a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. She would gather another double-double against Pittsburgh with 12 kills and 10 digs.

Katty Workman and Melissa McTighe had the next most kills, with eight a piece.

As usual, setter Kellie Barnum led the team in assists, closing the night with 34.

Madisen Lydon had 24 digs, leading the team in the backcourt.

Similar to the Maryland game, BC went ahead early, as the first two sets were characterized by BC dominance, winning 25-22 and 25-14.

Workman was a mainstay in the attacks, gathering six kills in the first set. Numerous times Workman seemed to swoop in from the right flank and power a spike into the Pittsburgh side of the court.

Workman ended the afternoon with a double-double, logging 16 kills and 15 digs.

Middle blocker McTighe also came up big with seven block assists in these two sets, providing a significant presence at the net.

“The pattern was exactly the same,” said head coach Chris Campbell. “We played very well the first two sets in both nights. Friday, against Maryland, we let up on our serving at the start of the third set, and got away from a good level of play.”

He added that in the next three sets they tended to “let up in the middle.”

The next three sets ended 22-25, 1725, and 12-15 for BC. The Eagles, however, did manage to gain high statistical numbers.

They managed 16 total blocks on the day, with a .223 attacking percentage.

Workman had more kills than anyone

BC falls in overtime duel

By Chris Grimaldi Assoc. Sports Editor

Hoping to build on its first win of the season with a swing of momentum, the Boston College women’s basketball team squared off on the road against Brigham Young University.

Despite sophomore Nicole Boudreau’s dominant 23-point performance and 12 different lead changes, the Eagles barely fell short in a 70-69 overtime loss.

The game was close from the outset, as both squads matched each other point for point over the first half ’s opening minutes. BYU tried to capitalize on opportunities to pull away early on, as it built six-point leads on two separate occasions during the frame.

Yet head coach Eric Johnson’s Eagles showed resiliency toward the half ’s end.

Boudreau and Kelly Hughes drained shots from behind the arc to thrust their squad back into the game. After senior Kristen Doherty nailed a jump shot, Boudreau capped the BC run with her third trifecta in the first 20 minutes.

With Boudreau sharp from behind the arc and BYU’s defense off balance, the Eagles stormed into the half with a 34-32 advantage.

BYU came out of the locker room and into the second half with a momentumshifting strategy, which utilized 6-foot-7 center Jennifer Hamson. On her way to 28 points on the day and 16 in the sec-

Westphal leads women’s XC in Northeast Regional Assoc. Sports Editor

Graham beck / heights editor

Junior Courtney Castle notched a double-double in kills and digs against Pittsburgh.

Conference Overall

Florida State

8-0

10-0

Clemson

7-1

9-1

Boston College

3-3

6-4

Syracuse

3-3

5-5

Maryland

2-4

6-4

Wake Forest

2-5

4-6

NC State

0-7

3-7

On Friday afternoon, the Boston College women’s cross country team put on a strong performance at the Northeast Regional Championships in the Bronx, N.Y. Powered by junior standout Liv Westphal, the Eagles captured a fifthplace finish out of 37 squads with a final score of 169 points.

Westphal continued her strong junior campaign by finishing sixth overall in a competitor pool of 254 runners.

She was followed by classmates Brittany Winslow and Madeleine Davidson, the next runners to finish for BC. The pair finished only a couple of seconds apart from each other, with respective marks of 21:11 and 21:13.

BC’s group of top-five finishers was completed by seniors Elizabeth O’Brien

Numbers to Know

19

The margin by which BC women’s soccer outshot Northeastern in the NCAA Tournament’s first round.

5

The career-high number of 3pointers drained by BC’s Nicole Boudreau in a 70-69 OT loss.

248

ond half alone, Hamson was the catalyst behind a 13-0 BYU run, drilling BC for 10 straight points of her own.

Before Hamson and BYU could put the game out of reach, Boudreau struck again with another one of her careerhigh five 3-pointers. The sophomore sparked a comeback that saw the Eagles draw even with the home team at 60 points apiece.

After a Kelly Hughes half-court shot attempt fell short at the buzzer, the seesaw battle headed for overtime.

Senior Katie Zenevitch appeared poised to propel BC to an extra-period victory, draining a pair of free throws from the charity stripe to put her squad up by one.

Yet the senior’s day ended on the other end of the court when she fouled out trying to defend a Hamson hook shot at the rim.

Without Zenevitch’s height in the paint to contend with BYU’s force down low, BC watched as Ashley Garfield deposited an offensive rebound into the hoop for a three-point play.

An overtime period that included six lead changes ended with BYU on the winning side of a 70-69 final score.

While Boudreau fueled the Eagles’ shooting effort, they were unable to find an answer to BYU’s dominance around the rim. Hamson and the home team enjoyed a dominant 38-12 scoring margin in the paint. n

Roundup

By Chris Grimaldi

ACC Atlantic Football Standings Team

else on the court, while Barnum had the most assists with 37.

“A match like this, in every statistical category, we won,” Campbell said.

“There are little points in the match where we give up a streak of points and then we’re fighting to get out of that hole. As soon as we learn to do that a little better, then I really like what this team is doing.”

This was the last home game at BC for seniors McTighe, Alex Trobbe, and Cagla Sen, in addition to graduate student Yerke. They all started the match, apart from Sen, who is injured.

“All of them have had very unique and different contributions,” Campbell said of his players, “but all of them [were] valuable. I thought they all played wonderfully tonight.” n

Graham beck / heights editor

Nicole Boudreau’s 23 points and five 3-pointers weren’t enough to top BYU in overtime.

The number of runners that BC’s Liv Westphal finished in front of at the Northeast Regional Championship.

and Morgan Mueller, who both finished within 20 seconds of their teammates Winslow and Davidson.

The four teams to eclipse the Eagles’ own impressive finish were Cornell, Syracuse, Dartmouth, and Northeast Regional champion Cornell.

Meanwhile, the BC men’s crosscountr y squad took the 18th spot out of 37 teams in the championship, completing the race with a team score of 535 points.

Junior Richard Lucas catalyzed the Eagles’ effort with a 75th place finish out of 255 runners, clocking in at just under 32 minutes.

BC’s freshmen followed close behind, as rookies Kevin Sullivan and James Z ingarini finished a second apart. Classmate Tyler Hanson finished soon after, before junior Brian Wolff rounded out the BC top five with a mark of 32:49. n

Quote of the Week

“Everything that we wanted was right in front of us, and now we’re bowl eligible.”

— Runningback Andre Williams on BC football’s win over NC State

The Heights

Monday, November 18, 2013

B3

Graham beck / heights editor

key stats

299 18 5

Career points tallied by BC all-time leader Nate Freese BC seniors honored

quote of the Game “There’s not too many times in life when you know it’s going to be your last chance, and today was one of those times that you knew that.”

- Kevin Pierre-Louis BC senior linebacker

Home wins, one more than the last two years combined

Standouts

Memorable Play When Andre Williams fumbled on the goal line after a 69-yard run, receiver Alex Amidon recovered the loose football in the end zone. Amidon’s hustle secured the BC touchdown and gave the Eagles a two-possession lead.

Prime Performance Kevin Pierre-Louis

Rashard Smith Graham Beck / Heights Editor

Senior linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis led the Eagles with eight tackles and two sacks. NC State’s Rashard Smith both threw for and caught a touchdown.

Andre Williams had a day for the record books, setting school records in single-game and single-season rushing yards, while breaking the ACC record for single-game rushing.

Football Notebook

Eagles earn Senior Day win Freese becomes BC’s all-time leading scorer

By Mike Hoff For The Heights

With about two and a half minutes left in the third quarter, Boston College quarterback Chase Rettig’s third down scamper fell two yards short of a first down and forced head coach Steve Addazio to make a decision.

Addazio, with his team winning 17-7 and on North Carolina State’s 22-yard line, had to choose between going for it on fourth down and attempting to stretch the lead to three scores, or taking the three points available with a field goal.

For most teams, the options would be different. Instead of taking the three points, a 39-yard field goal attempt from the right hash mark would be just that—an attempt. BC kicker Nate Freese, though, has made those points nearly a foregone conclusion.

Freese spilt the uprights once again to give BC a 20-7 lead. These latest three points were his 293rd, 294th, and 295th of the senior’s career, enough to move him ahead of his predecessor—Steve Aponavicius—and give him the title of BC’s all-time leading scorer.

He would later add an extra point and 41yard boot as well, finishing the day with 299 points. Freese humbly deflected any praise for himself after the game, instead choosing to recognize Aponavicius for helping the man who would eventually usurp him in the record books.

“I definitely wouldn’t have gotten here without Steve,” Freese said.

Addazio was willing to shower Freese— who also serves as the team’s punter—with far more praise than the kicker was willing

to himself.

“A tremendous person,” Addazio said.

“He’s a low maintenance guy. He just goes out and does his job at a high level.”

Williams’ Heisman hopes Coming into the 2013 season, BC senior running back Andre Williams had never rushed for more than 584 yards in a season.

Not a starter until his junior season, Williams was cast in the shadow of former Eagles star Montel Harris. Even after Harris left, Williams still had to fight for the job.

With that status, it makes some sense Williams has not received the attention that his statistics warrant. Already overwhelming, those statistics became overbearing on Saturday and might finally merit the consideration they deserve.

Williams’ 1,471 yards heading into Saturday’s game were already good enough for best in the nation. Despite a first half aggravation of a pre-existing shoulder injury, Williams added 339 yards to that total on 42 bruising carries. Those 339 yards surpassed his own 295 career-high from just a week ago for the all-time BC single-game record. The 42 carries tied his own school record as well, and the 339 yards notched an ACC all-time record and the best mark for any rusher in the 2013 FBS season.

Those aren’t even all the records that Williams has set this season, and he still has two regular season games go. But Saturday’s effort was enough to start the chatters of Heisman consideration. Voters for this award are instructed to vote for college football’s most

outstanding player, and Williams—and his numbers—do nothing but stand out.

“Absolutely,” Addazio said when asked if Williams should be a Heisman candidate.

“I think that any time you have a dominant football player that stands for all the rights things and stands for what’s right in college football, [that player is deserving]. There’s some tremendously worthy candidates out there, but why not Andre?”

O-Line powers running game When a BC opponent scouts the Eagles’ offense, it probably does not take long to know what their defense will be preparing for all week in practice. Choose a drive, any drive, from any quarter, and defensive coordinators would see the same thing: unbalanced formations, extra tight ends and offensive linemen, and Williams running power and counter plays over, and over, and over again.

For the Wolfpack defense on Saturday, it did not matter if the players knew that BC was running or where they were running, the Wolfpack still surrendered 420 yards on the ground. And while Williams and freshman backup Myles Willis are a formidable tandem, a performance such as this one does not occur without a dominant offensive line.

“You can’t say enough about the guys up front,” Rettig said. “We’re really running the same plays every week, and [other teams] are trying to get ready for it, and no one just has been able to. You can’t get ready for our determination and our will up front, and they’re playing so strong right now. Andre’s just a great complement for it.” n

Football, from B1

Wolfpack caught BC’s secondary offguard early in the fourth quarter with offensive trickery, as receiver Rashard Smith took a handoff and heaved the ball to teammate Quinton Payton for a 49-yard aerial score.

Yet BC’s seniors were sure to keep their tenuous 20-14 lead from slipping away. After Williams and Amidon combined to notch an unorthodox score midway through the fourth quarter, their classmate Chase Rettig followed with a two-point conversion that captured his squad’s gutsy performance.

Without an open target to throw to, the senior quarterback took the ball himself up the middle on a draw.

He leapt headfirst toward the NC State defenders awaiting him at the goal line and barreled his way into the end zone to secure a lead the Eagles never relinquished.

There was still damage to be done.

Having already eclipsed BC’s singleseason rushing record, Williams followed his Alumni Stadium ovation with a 34-yard touchdown run in the game’s final minute. Like he had already done 13 times this season, the senior burst through the openings forged by his offensive line and powered his way into the end zone.

On 42 carries, Williams turned the stat sheet upside down.

His 339 rushing yards shattered the school’s single-game record that he set a week earlier. They not only marked the most prolific rushing performance in FBS Division I football this season,

but also the highest single-game total in ACC history.

“It really wasn’t hard to get back on the field and get another run out there,” Williams said, “even though I was hurting and even though I was tired. None of those things really mattered because there was just so much on the line.

“Everything that we wanted was right in front of us, and now we’re bowl eligible. That’s what we were fighting for the whole season.”

When time expired in the fourth quarter, the Eagles chased two years of disappointment away with a moment of adulation.

It left Kevin Pierre-Louis with a memory he’d been hoping to make one day.

The senior linebacker recalled walking through an administrator’s office early in his career and eyeing a sky-view picture of the Alumni faithful spilling onto the field after an upset victory over Notre Dame years earlier. Even in the midst of one of the program’s darkest stretches, he wanted to share a similar signature moment with his own classmates.

And in the singing mob of gold Superfan t-shirts that surrounded him and his teammates on the field after Saturday’s win, Pierre-Louis realized his wish had come true in the final home game of his college career.

“There’s not too many times in life when you know it’s going to be your last chance,” he said, “and today was one of those times that you knew that. This is it. You’ll never have this time back. I’m just glad that we came together, and we’re going to remember this day for the rest of our lives.” n

THE HEIGHTS

B4

Monday, November 18, 2013

Reineke flourishes early in her career with two national titles

BY PAT COYNE Heights Staff

She has been sailing with the U.S. Sailing Team since 2010, and in just two years with the Boston College sailing team, sophomore Erika Reineke has already won back-to-back titles in the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded National Sailing Championship. She is one of the best sailors at the collegiate level, but there’s a good chance none of those things would have ever happened if it weren’t for chocolate chip cookies.

The Fort Lauderdale native hated being out on the water at first. Her parents forced her into sailing when she was just eight years old, and she dreaded the practices.

“It was the worst thing ever,” Reineke said.

Things took a turn when her mother began rewarding her for her success. Reineke was given a chocolate chip cookie every time she did well in a race, and from then on there was no looking back.

“That was the motivation that kept me going,” she said.

Two years after sailing for the first time, Reineke began traveling around Florida, sailing competitively in an eight-foot-long boat called an Opti. Although she was only 10, Reineke was in the water four or five times aperweek. During her travels, Reineke met many other sailors with whom she remains best friends with to this day, and competes against at other schools. This was when she truly fell in love with sailing.

At the end of her Opti career, she started qualifying for international regattas and began sailing in foreign countries for the first time. When her career in Opti turned to a career in Lasers, the same type of boat she sails now, she began qualifying for youth World Championships and then Senior World Championships, the premier international sailing competitions hosted by the International Sailing Federation.

International competition has taken her around the world. Today, her list of coun-

tries visited spans from Turkey to France, from England to Italy, and many more. Of all the places that she’s sailed overseas, she names Croatia as her favorite location for its clear and beautiful water.

Still, there is no place like home for Reineke when it comes to sailing. Growing up training at the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club, Reineke has spent countless hours in the waters there, where her favorite conditions of clear and sunny weather and wavy water are easily found. The ideal conditions and waters of Fort Lauderdale, then, pose the obvious question: How in the world did Erika Reineke end up all the way in Chestnut Hill, Mass?

“The academic side was a big factor, this is a great school, hands down a great school, and it’s beautiful here,” she explained.

Granted, the long, cold, and gray winters did not go overlooked by Reineke either. “I was never a fan of snow, living in Florida,” she said. “That made me say ‘eh, I don’t know if I want to do it’, but I love it here.”

Reineke said that the terrain in the Boston area is a bit different from down in Florida. She and the rest of the team sail in a “Bay-ish” area up north, while at home she sails on the ocean, but it’s clear that she has had little to no trouble adjusting. If anything, it seems that Reineke’s only regret about sailing in Boston is the noticeable lack of waves. Given how much she loves sailing in them, the dearth of waves has been a minor disappointment.

Although she can’t sail year-round as easily in Boston as the way she can at home, frigid temperatures and choppy waters won’t stop her 100 percent of the time.

Reineke still manages to spend a considerable amount of time on the water with the BC sailing team. During daylight saving time, the team would practice four days a week, equating to 18 hours total on the water. The team is only able to practice for two and a half hours a day because of how early it gets dark, but is still on the water for 10 hours per week.

Granted, the academic prestige and beauty of the campus were not the only factors contributing to Reineke’s decision to become an Eagle. The BC program is one of the best in the country year in and year out.

In Chestnut Hill, Reineke finds herself surrounded by great teammates and coaching.

She credits those people around her for her success as an Eagle.

“I wouldn’t have gotten where I am without them pushing me, and we’re so close as a team, like a family,” she said. The role that coach Greg Wilkinson has played during her short time as an Eagle has been essential to Reineke’s success as well.

“I’ve never really been that organized, I’m more of a free spirit, like, go out, sail, do my own thing, and whatever I learn, I learn,” Reineke said. “And he [Wilkinson] is really on me, especially with getting my stuff together with school.”

Although she is a free-spirited sailor who can, admittedly, be disorganized at times, the pressure that Wilkinson puts on her offsets those extreme qualities. As someone who tends to do things her own way, having a coach like Wilkinson has helped tame some of her free-spiritedness.

The relationship they share has allowed her to flourish as an Eagle.

“I think ‘yin and yang’ is the perfect way to describe it,” Reineke said about their relationship, “I think we’re kind of opposite in a way—I was an extreme and he’s trying to balance me out, which is what I needed.”

Reineke’s tendency to be extreme at times is perhaps best understood when her love for sailing in wavy conditions is considered. Though it would make most sense to prefer calmer waters that are easier to sail in, Reineke prefers fun conditions to easy ones. Wilkinson’s ability to counteract some of Reineke’s extremeness has resulted in her being a more rational sailor.

Having established herself as one of the best collegiate sailors in the nation after just over a year, it’s hard not to wonder where she’s headed next. Though for the time

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT MIGLIACCIO

Erika Reineke won the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded National Sailing Championship last week. being she remains focused on sailing with her team and trying to win a championship with them, her ultimate goal is to make it to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio De Janiero, Brazil. To make it to the 2016 games, learning the waters down in Brazil and taking part in international competition will be essential to her preparation. Once the season at BC ends, Reineke will begin training in Brazil over the summer and competing more internationally against the best sailors in the world.

As it stands, Reineke is currently a member of the U.S. Sailing Team, which will be very important to making it to the 2016 Games. Membership on the U.S. team is so essential because it is the team that identifies Olympic hopefuls and determines those sailors’ participation in international competition. As Reineke said, that international competition is the best in the world and will best prepare her for the Olympic qualifiers that will take place in 2015.

As much as she likes traveling and sailing

internationally, Reineke also stresses that BC will be her home until she graduates in 2016. Leaning toward pursuing a major in environmental sciences, she does not plan on taking any years off from school to prepare for the Olympics, nor does she want to.

With the fall season in the books, Reineke’s winter will be focused on training to complete all of her future goals, including her Olympic dreams. The training will take her from the weight room of Conte Forum to the oceans of Rio de Janiero. No matter where she ends up, she’ll have many people to thank for the success she reaps, including her mother and those chocolate chip cookies. She has already been identified by the U.S. Sailing team as an Olympic hopeful even though the qualifiers are still two years away. With all the time she still has to improve and prepare for them, it is tempting to wonder not only if she will make the team, but also how well she will do when she makes it. 

BC picks up first win of the year

BY ALEX FAIRCHILD Heights Staff

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

While opposing defenses are focusing plenty of attention on Hanlan’s scoring, he’s made it a point to get his teammates more involved early in games before looking for his own shot.

Hanlan tries out new approach to start off 2013-14

BY ALEX FAIRCHILD Heights Staff

Joe Rahon found Olivier Hanlan with the Eagles down 88-86 against Toledo with 44 seconds remaining in the game. As soon as 95 the ball met the Toledo hands of HanBoston College 92 lan, the Toledo bench got to its feet.

“Fire, fire, fire,” the coaching staff and substitutes yelled. The rest of Conte Forum fell silent as they watched the BC point guard look to level his team with the Rockets. With the game at his mercy, Hanlan could have driven to the hoop, taking advantage of the new hand-checking rules, or crossed up his defender to get off a shot.

Hanlan made his move to the basket, but made an arched, over-the-head pass with his right hand to Ryan Anderson. Anderson, who had just screened for Hanlan, went to the rim but failed to convert. A foul ensued as the Eagles looked to regain possession off the boards. When the whistle blew, the game was all but lost, as BC fell 95-92.

Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk knew Hanlan had the ability to threaten his team as he did in that possession.

“Hanlan’s a tough cover,” Kowalczyk said.

“We had our ‘fire defense’ on him tonight, and I thought that helped us.

“When he caught the ball you probably heard our bench yelling, ‘fire,’ and fire means danger and that’s what he is—he’s dangerous, so I wanted all five guys to understand that Hanlan has the ball and we’d better be in help. Sometimes we weren’t in fire and we got burned.”

The sequence sums up last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year’s new thought process.

After tallying just five combined assists in the team’s first two games, Hanlan was not meeting his expectations. Against Toledo it was a different story for the Canadian native, as he closed in on a career high in assists, having played less than 20 minutes on Thursday evening.

“Last year, I scored the ball a lot, but my assists per game were low,” Hanlan said before the year started. “I was really just working on that. Just coming off ball screens and making it easy for my teammates to get open shots and everything.”

After attending the CP3 Elite Camp, which is directed by NBA icon Chris Paul, Hanlan began to work on finding his teammates. The sophomore guard is aware of his ability and skill and can create a shot for himself. Getting teammates involved is part

of Hanlan’s job, though, giving the Eagles’ star player something to improve on. After attending the camp, Hanlan began to work on looking for his teammates, as opposed to keeping his eyes locked on the rack.

“Instead of always being aggressive for my shot, I’m coming off the ball screen with my head up and it’s a lot easier to see everybody,” Hanlan said.

The guard was dynamic in the first half, as he was able to get to the hole with ease in the opening minutes. He then drew the defense in moments later, dishing a sharp baseline move from Anderson. Hanlan found his elder teammate just outside of the paint, splitting a pair of defenders in the process. Anderson finished the move off with a simple layup.

In addition, the sophomore topped off a lovely string of passes by finding Eddie Odio for three to give the Eagles a 12-point advantage before the end of the first half.

With Hanlan finding teammates for baskets four times in the opening 20 minutes of play, he was also struggling to find the basket for himself, scoring five points in the first half.

But Hanlan would quickly put a stop to distributing, turning into the player he was last season. He began to score and put up 13

Eagles move on in tourney Women’s Soccer, from B1 It didn’t take 10 minutes for BC to widen the gap in the second half—in fact, it didn’t even take one. The second half started off in much the same way the previous half did, as BC’s Bernard found herself once again attacking the net with the ball on her foot. After sending her first chance over the crossbar, she wasn’t going to miss twice. Bernard sent a beautiful, curved shot from the corner of the box into the opposite side of the net. Huskies goalie Paige Burnett gave it her best go, leaping up and backward before falling to the ground, but had no real chance of making the save as there was at least a foot of clearance between the ball and her outstretched fingertips.

“I think it’s huge,” Foley said. “2-0, I

think it does allow the team that’s up by two to feel like a little bit of pressure’s off,and it made it a little less of a fire drill.”

While the pressure may have been off BC, the Eagles stayed aggressive and kept the pressure on Huskies for the rest of the game, allowing only one more shot attempt which came from Northeastern’s Shayna Blackwood, who rocketed a shot at the top left corner of the net that was saved by a vaulting Alex Johnson who deflected it up and over the crossbar.

Barring that, the Huskies showed few signs of life as the Eagles tightened their grip on both the game and their ticket into the second round of the NCAA tournament, which they punched as time expired, giving the Eagles a dominant 2-0 victory and a healthy dose of momentum as they head deeper into the tournament. 

points in the second half, the first of which came from a 3-pointer—the first Eagles’ bucket of the period.

This could become a pattern for Hanlan’s play—getting other scorers into the game, before launching himself at opposing defenses.

“I’m trying to involve my teammates a bit more, early on in the game to try and get them warmed up, because I’m pretty confident in my scoring ability in terms of scoring the ball whenever I can,” Hanlan said. “If I can get them involved at first and then whatever comes to me in the second half, I’ll play like that always.”

Turning in 18 points and six helpers is an improvement from Hanlan’s production last season. As a freshman, he averaged just over two assists per game in his 33 outings for head coach Steve Donahue.

“I thought his decision-making was very good,” Donahue said. “I thought Olivier was just really locked in. He did a good job. He got people the ball. I just thought he had a good all around game.”

Hanlan will have to be more decisive late in games. Whether or not he should take the game into his own hands with the clock winding down will be a critical talking point for Donahue and Co. in the team’s upcoming match-ups. 

Oliver Hanlan scored 38 points as the men’s basketball team notched its first win of the season at Conte Forum with a 82-79 triumph Florida Atlantic 79 over Florida Atlantic on Sunday Boston College 82 evening.

It took three minutes of play for the Eagles to wake up, however, as FAU opened the game up with a 7-0 run. The Eagles defense was in shambles in those minutes and the offense struggled to get anything going until Lonnie Jackson was summoned by head coach Steve Donahue with 15:16 remaining in the first half.

On the team’s first possession with Jackson this season, the junior guard found Alex Dragicevich for three points, and the Eagles were off and running on a 13-2 burst that lasted until the 12-minute mark. Jackson finished with just three points and three assists, but he provided a much-needed emotional boost.

BC looked to hold onto their lead for much of the half and though the Owls managed to level at 34 with under a minute left, a Rahon triple from behind half-court to beat the buzzer gave the Eagles a 39-34 advantage at the break. Rahon put up 17 points on the night.

On the boards, BC’s rebounding struggles continued, as FAU won the battle 36-31.

The Eagles began to pull away at the start of the second half, but the Owls played catch up once again and Dragan Sekelja cut the lead to one with an easy basket on an inbound pass.

The visitors failed to hit from the line down the stretch and it cost them the game.

Hanlan took advantage of the opposition’s struggles to seal the victory. The BC sophomore battled the Owls’ recovery with his clutch shooting from the line late to secure the Eagle’s first victory of the season.

BC was reliable from the line as a whole, hitting 24 of 27, while FAU missed six when it counted handing BC the three-point difference required for the win. 

Conte could use new tunes Column, from B1

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC will face Nebraska in the second round.

problem. Long live the sieve chant.

Basketball can turn it on during the player introductions, or, better yet, when the other team takes a timeout trying to stop a BC run. One of the toughest things to do is keep a crowd excited in between timeouts.

Yes, the team has to start winning to make sure there is a crowd there to even keep entertained, but last night’s win was a start, Really, though, this is the ultimate thirddown song. For some reason, it’s really easy for the Alumni Stadium crowd to lose track of the down and distance. But just think about the possibilities. After a second-down stop, the speakers start blaring the stadiumfriendly hums before the band jumps in with the hard and fast drums. Then the student section partakes in the loud, potentially

Eagle-like howls. It would be marvelous.

That combined with Kevin Pierre-Louis running at an opposing quarterback at full speed is plenty intimidating, even if that intimidation is 93 percent KPL. One of the producers of Yeezus said “Black Skinhead” sounded a bit too much like European-soccer-arena rock on the opening riff, and that there was a big debate about changing it. They decided, thankfully, to avoid pretension and keep it in. Saturday was the last home game of the season, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for BC to pick up those opening 26-seconds. Who knows, maybe it’ll help BC hoops on the glass too.

Austin Tedesco is the Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

The Heights

Monday, November 18, 2013

B5

UMass and BC tie in overtime battle

By Mike Hoff For The Heights

Graham Beck / Heights Editor

No. 19 Kelcie Hromisin had the Eagles’ only goal of the game late in the second half.

UConn ends BC’s season

By Marly Morgus Asst. Sports Editor

On Saturday afternoon, the Boston College field hockey team sought another upset over the University of Connecticut, this time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

While the regular season contest went in the Eagles’ favor, BC was unable to complete a comeback this time and fell to the Huskies in overtime by a score of 2-1.

UConn put its mark on the scoreboard first when Chloe Hunnable scored just 12:26 into the game off of an assist from Sophie Bowden. From there, the remainder of the first half and majority of the second remained scoreless, BC being outshot by a margin of 23-5, none of its few offensive efforts penetrating goalkeeper Sarah Mansfield’s stance in front of the net.

With just under four minutes remaining, however, BC finally managed to post its only tally of the game when head coach Ainslee Lamb made the decision to pull Leah Settipane, who had 12 saves in the game, from the net in order to gain an extra attacker. Emma Plasteras, who lead the team in points on the season, assisted a goal by Kelcie Hromisin to tie the game at one and send it to overtime.

The Huskies would score just five minutes into the extra period, ending the Eagles’ season.

“I am very proud of the effort our team showed today,” Lamb said. “The players demonstrated tremendous character and they played really hard to get the game to overtime. They responded really well when I pulled the goalie. As disappointing as this loss is, I am very proud to be affiliated with this team, this group of `25 Strong.’” n

Readying to receive a pass from his right with his team down 2-1 and with just under three minutes left in the game, UMass left winger Steven Guzzo likely had little idea where BC defenseman Steve Santini was. Santini, though, aggressively made his presence felt. As the puck approached, Santini, coming from the right side of his own blue line, made a bee-line for Guzzo’s left shoulder and completely obliterated him, forcing Guzzo to the ice in an immediate heap. For his efforts, Santini received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, as well as a game disqualification. It was the 18-year-old’s second such offense in six days, resulting in a two-game suspension, pending review by Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna.

The play would prove costly in the long run, as the Friday night matchup between Boston College and UMass would end in a draw, the Eagles settling for three points in the home-and-home series.

A little over a minute into the five-minute major, UMass senior forward Branden Gracel’s shot bounced off of Michael Matheson in front of the net and past Eagle goaltender Brian Billett, tying the second leg of the backto-back at two. Despite a couple of chances for both sides in the overtime period, the game ended with the same score.

UMass was still seething over a gutwrenching loss at home caused by a late disallowed goal that was illegally reviewed by the officials, and the Minutemen capitalized on that fervor to jump out to an early 1-0 lead.

But BC immediately responded with a goal of its own, by a freshman, nonetheless. A threeon-two started by defenseman Danny Linell’s interception of a poor UMass breakout pass at

Emily Fahey / Heights staff

It was a close, hard-fought battle between the Minutemen and the Eagles on Friday. the blue-line ended with Hayes feeding freshman Ryan Fitzgerald for an easy one-timer.

The assist was Hayes’ 10th and the goal was Fitzgerald’s fifth.

Less than three minutes later, Gaudreau— college hockey’s leading scorer—sensed the six sets of UMass eyes fixated on his stick and backhanded a pass to freshman Austin Cangelosi across the slot. Cangelosi, able to sneak behind the Minutemen coverage, efficiently deposited the go-ahead goal. It was the freshman’s fifth goal and Gaudreau’s 10th assist.

With the freshmen supplementing the vets on the top two lines, the rest of the Eagle forwards were freed up to grind, kill penalties and sustain offensive zone pressure, and generally perform in their roles without feeling the pressure to be something they are not.

“I thought [forward Quinn Smith] played

with a lot of gusto, [forwards Michael Sit, Destry Straight, and Patrick] Brown, that group of players, they played really hard,” York said. “I think we have some good depth up front.”

The forwards all performed in their respective roles, and the Eagles defense corps did too. Matheson and freshman Ian McCoshen laid claim to the ice in front of Billett all game and led the charge in snuffing out any and all Minutemen rebounds or odd man rushes, decreasing the number of scoring chances. Billett grinded through his first back-to-back of the season and gloved several threatening shots from the perimeter. A teamwide, grinding win, it seemed.

Youth serves in different ways, and the whole spectrum was showcased at Kelly Rink on Friday when the Eagles’ rookies showed costly inexperience at times but also made valuable contributions. n

Eagles top Minutemen in first game of home and home series

By Jackie Scherer For The Heights

Fans at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center screamed for play to resume. All four referees were watching a video replay of Minuteman Troy Power’s goal that would tie the men’s hockey game against Boston College 2-2 early in the third period. After minutes of careful deliberation, the referees emerged and declared the goal “no good” due to a missed offsides call on the University of Massachusetts.

In the first of their two scheduled matchups of the 2013-14 season, the Eagles and the Minutemen underwent a more closelyplayed game than expected. BC’s strong second period and an illegal review call early in the third ultimately gave the Eagles a 2-1 win in game one of a two-game series.

Coming off an 11-0 victory over Army, the Eagles were the definite favorites against the Minutemen, who had just lost a two-game series against the University of New Hampshire, with scores of 4-1 and 9-0, respectively. Eagle domination was expected, but the early minutes showed quite the opposite.

Play was evenly matched throughout the first period, the only excitement com-

ing from three BC power plays and one UMass power play, all of which both teams successfully killed. BC, despite edging the Minutemen in shots 12-8, didn’t produce many scoring opportunities against freshman goalie Mac Haight.

UMass put the first points on the board with a rebound goal by Branden Gracel from Shane Walsh. Walsh shot from the slot, and the rebound was left in the open in front of BC goalie Brian Billett, allowing Gracel to tap the puck in to create a Minutemen lead.

BC emerged in the second period showing its speed and skill, moving the puck well and creating better scoring opportunities.

Johnny Gaudreau scored the first goal for the Eagles to tie the game at one, with a crosscrease pass from Isaac MacLeod at 9:25.

Gaudreau’s goal further ignited BC momentum, and Kevin Hayes followed up minutes later with a power play goal from Danny Linell at 13:42. The Eagles put 16 shots on net against Haight in the second, ending the period ahead 2-1.

BC’s energy briefly paused after the puck drop that began the third period. The Minutemen dominated play until Michael Matheson drew a high-sticking penalty 2:11 into the third. Shortly after, the Minutemen

tied the score at two with a backhand shot by Powers that snuck past the pads of Billett. A penalty was simultaneously called on Scott Savage, who was sent to the box although the penalty whistle was blown before the puck crossed the goal line.

Head coach Jerry York called the referees to the BC bench, after which all four referees—a rare occurrence for college hockey—went into the video review box to reassess the play. The choice to review was the officials’ decision. The goal was waved off because the Minutemen were offsides.

Matheson remained in the box and was joined by Savage, whose penalty stood. The Minutemen went on a brief 5-on-3, but the Eagles killed both penalties.

Hockey East officials said a day after the game that the review was illegal and that UMass’ goal should have stood. Offsides can only be reviewed in a televised game and when the penalty is “egregious” in nature.

The game wasn’t televised, and Hockey East determined the penalty also wasn’t egregious, but, according to the release, “there is no league protocol by which the situation can be overturned.”

The last minute and a half was controlled

by BC’s penalty kill, running the clock down for a tripping penalty on Ian McCoshen. n

Emily Fahey / Heights Staff

Brian Billett started in net and had 28 saves in the Eagles’ 2-1 win over UMass on Thursday.

A tale of two thighs: Lefty and Righty carry the Eagles to victory “Guys, please, just please stop demanding more carries from coach, this is exhausting.”

“Too late, sorry Andre!”

“Not sorry, Dre.” Andre Williams, as demanded by his massive thighs, is forced to run 34 yards for another touchdown, his second of the game. He is tired. His thighs, on the other hand, are not.

Connor Mellas Around midnight, eve of Senior Day, Andre Williams’ dorm room...

“Hey dude, you asleep yet?”

“Lefty, how many times have we gone over this, you know I’m always too pumped to sleep before game day.”

“Duh, sorry Righty, me too, but I was just thinking—because tomorrow’s our last home game, maybe we should rush Andre for 300-plus yards.”

“You know what, Lefty, that’s not a bad idea. Shouldn’t be too hard considering we’re the two strongest thighs in the entire world. Let’s just try slightly more than usual tomorrow.”

“Haha, indeed we are Righty, indeed we are. Well, great, I can’t wait. But I still can’t fall asleep. How about we go do some squats or leap over a couple of buildings or kick through some brick walls or something?”

“Yeah! Good call, Lefty. I’ll wake Andre up. Andre, Andreeee, Dreeeeeee.”

“Guys. Please, for the love of God, can you just let me sleep? How many times do we have to go through this?”

“Sorry Andre, we’re just pumped for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sorry boss, we’ll quiet down.

But maybe just one wall first?”

Andre Williams, left alone by his massive thighs, falls asleep.

End of first Quarter, BC 3, NCST 0 “Yo Lefty, it’s second and eight, do we wanna score here?”

“I’m thinking that we do, Righty, I’m thinking that we do. I mean it’s just 17 yards to the endzone.”

“Which of our ridiculous talents should we use, explosive speed or bonerattling power?”

“Hmm, how about speed.”

“Good call, Lefty, just gotta wait for Chase’s normal-person arms to hand us the ball.”

Graham Beck / Heights Editor

Andre Williams and his thighs have set the single-game rushing record for BC on two occasions, his high being 339 yards, an ACC record.

Andre Williams, propelled by his massive thighs, scores to put BC up 10-0 over NC State.

Less than five minutes remaining in the first half, BC 17, NCST 7 “Yeah baby, five yards gone, 10 yards gone, we are running like—holy hell!”

“Did we just fumble, Righty? I think we lost the ball! We just fumbled!”

“We didn’t fumble, Lefty, those damn arms did.”

“Son of a—arms, what on earth is going on up there? Are you kidding me?

We’re out here literally running people over, and this is how you pay us back?

Andre, is there anyway we can hold the ball too?”

“Seems unlikely, guys.”

Andre Williams, encouraged by his massive thighs, gives his arms a firm

talking to.

Post-fumble follow-up moment “It’s big statement time, Lefty.”

“What are you feeling, an earth-shattering hit or maybe another flip over some puny defenders?”

“Lefty, you raise a fine question. We don’t want to get repetitive with our gravity-defying aerobatics though, so, I’m thinking we recommit our efforts to absolutely crushing people.”

“Well reasoned, Righty.”

Andre Williams, driven by his massive thighs, proceeds to run over the plethora of ill-prepared members of the Wolfpack who are attempting unsuccessfully to tackle him.

About nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, BC 24, NCST 14

“Dude, I’m getting a little bored over here, you wanna race to the end zone?”

“Psh, do I ever, Righty. I could use a good stretch.”

Andre Williams, spurred by his massive thighs, runs for 65 yards and fumbles the ball into the end zone.

“Damnit arms!”

Less than two minutes remaining, BC 31, NCST 21, crowd is borderline euphoric “Too tired for one more, Lefty?”

“Nope, feeling like I could go press 10,000 pounds and squat 10,000 more.”

“So … you’re feeling like we feel every day?”

“Haha, you know it Righty. We rock.”

“We really do, Lefty, we really do.

Okay one more touchdown, the people demand it, and besides, this is getting a little tedious.”

Post game jubilation, final score: BC 31, NCST 21 “Wooh, you are welcome Chestnut Hill, you are welcome.”

“Look at all these plebian thighs celebrating among us, Lefty—strange times we’re living in.”

“Strange times indeed, Righty. If only Spaz’s ‘stache could see us now. Hey how much you wanna bet that Andre gives us absolutely no credit in the press conference and is all humble like usual.”

“Yeah, I bet he talks about all the hard work of his teammates and junk like that.”

“For sure. I’d bet our car jumping ability on it, Lefty.”

“Man, all this work and no credit, it’s tough being us.”

“That it is Lefty, that it is.”

Andre Williams, suppressing the will of his massive thighs, enjoys a successful modest press conference.

Late at night, back in Andre Williams’ dorm room “Hey Righty, you still awake, buddy?”

“Yeah, what’s up Lefty?”

“Wanna go run up and down the million-dollar stairs a few hundred times?”

“Do I ever! Andre. Andreee. Andreeeeee.”

“Dreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Andre Williams, unable to get a moments rest, is slowly but steadily driven crazy by his massive thighs.

Connor Mellas is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

B6

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, November 18, 2013

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, November 18, 2013

HEALTH&SCIENCE

Maintaining imperfections

JOSEPH CASTLEN Nobody’s perfect, but we all strive for perfection.

Ingrained in our culture is an admiration for those whom we perceive to be flawless. It seems like every month there is a new superhero movie, and even the ancient Greeks built up heroes like Achilles, whose only flaw was an apparently very targetable heel.

It makes sense for people to want to rid themselves of their flaws and adopt a being that transcends the regular limitations of humanity. And with advancing technology, we are discovering more and more ways to bypass these limitations.

The average life expectancy worldwide has more than doubled since the dawn of the 20th century, largely due to increased sanitation techniques. In the last 50 years, the introduction of vaccines and antibiotics has virtually eliminated once-fatal diseases from the population. And just last year, thanks to advances in prosthetic limb technology, there was a double-amputee running in the Olympics alongside able-bodied athletes.

Today, there is a technology being developed that cannot only cure ailments, prevent disease, or provide a mechanical solution to a physical disability, but that can modify one’s being entirely.

Gene-editing technology is a rapidly evolving area of research with countless potential applications, ranging from the curing of genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis to cosmetic modifications of one’s appearance.

Genes, which are relatively small strings of DNA located in almost every cell of your body, are what your body uses to tell how to assemble or maintain itself.

They are usually passed down from generation to generation without any trouble.

If your parents both have blue eyes, then you also have blue eyes due to the genes they passed on to you. This idea of heredity is what ensures that when you are born, you have two arms, two legs, and a head on your shoulders.

Like the rest of life, however, sometimes things go wrong. Small changes in a single gene can leave a person dead or severely disabled, among other things.

This is where gene editing comes into play. If you know where a gene is located in the genome and you know what the working gene looks like, then it is theoretically possible to insert a working gene where the dysfunctional one is located. And in labs across the country, this possibility is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality.

It is not completely inconceivable that by the year 2100, we could see the end of some genetic disorders outright. Such a proposition is almost too good to be true, and its profound nature makes it easy to rush into the application of this technology without fully considering its implications.

Gene editing would allow for so-called “designer babies” who could have their hair color, eye color, height, and countless other attributes customized to their “parents’” specifications.

When the day comes that we are able to edit human genes, we should exercise caution in how we apply this ability.

Repairing and enhancing is not the same thing, although it would be possible to go about them in the same way.

Fixing broken genes levels the playing field for those who would otherwise be disadvantaged, whereas giving people genetic enhancements could only serve to create a society in which some people are born with an innate advantage over others.

It is said that in life you must play the hand you are dealt. But it doesn’t seem that fair to rig some people’s hands with a pair of aces before everyone else has even bought in.

A genetic advantage extends much deeper than a financial advantage, which can be gained or lost at any point in life.

The American dream is built on the idea that anyone can make a life for themselves, and our founding fathers even noted in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. If we start modifying people’s genetics for topical purposes, then it seems that some are literally being created unequal to others.

Our imperfections help build character, but if people are born with genetic advantages, then it would seem that someone else has already attempted to build their character for them.

Nobody’s perfect. Let’s keep it that way.

Joseph Castlen is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

B7

Grad uses childhood business to raise funds for cancer Stand Against Cancer, from B10 but that’s how things work,” Bolger said.

“It takes until you’re afflicted with it personally to really want to get involved sometimes.”

And that personal connection is Bolger’s father, who had beat cancer last fall, but was recently diagnosed with a more invasive form of lymphoma this year.

Bolger was in South America—hoping to put his Hispanic Studies minor and economics major to use by exploring the socioeconomic conditions in locations such as Ecuador—when he received the news, cutting his post-grad plans short and causing him to return home to support his family during his father’s treatment.

It was actually Bolger’s father who brought the stand back this fall after Bolger had closed it down two years before

entering Boston College. He enjoyed having a hobby, asked his neighbors for help, and was able to see the children next door start their own stand.

They donated some of their profits to the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Wilmot Cancer Center, where Bolger’s father is receiving treatment.

The kids had to close the stand once school started in September, but Bolger saw this as an opportunity to bring his former stand back to life, by selling pumpkins and donating all proceeds to the Wilmot center.

Bolger’s original goal was to raise between $1,500 and $2,000, but with the help of a webpage with an online donation button, a Facebook page, coverage from local newspapers, and the support of his hometown as well as those from the BC community, the stand has now raised around $8,500. His new goal is

PHOTO COURTESY OF STACEY BOLGER

Bolger turned his childhood veggie stand into a cancer fundraiser after his father’s diagnosis.

to reach $10,000 in order to fund the naming of a pathology research office at Wilmot, and he’s hoping that a bartending event at his local tavern and an auction will get the organization to that goal.

While Bolger has received support, generosity, and outreach from his community, there was an unfortunate incident in which someone stole money from the stand, which runs completely on the honor system. In retrospect, it was only about $60, but it was hard for Bolger to see that happen to a stand that’s supporting a good cause.

“You’re not really robbing it from me—you’re robbing it from a lot of people,” he said. But the incident did allow the stand to gain visibility—local papers did a story on it, spread awareness, and garnered interest from people out of town to come support the stand.

So why has Bolger’s stand been such an effective way to raise money? For one, the stand, which began with a few tomatoes and a plastic kid-size table, has been around for years. “There’s a name, a face, and a personality that goes with it,” he said, noting how he also tries to engage in conversation with the people who stop by his stand and learn about their stories and afflictions with cancer.

“People aren’t just donating money— they’re getting something out of it, which is always an incentive to donate.”

The pumpkins that B olger sells are the same price—or in some cases, less—than those that are sold at other farms and grocery stores, so the fact that all of the proceeds from The Stand Against Cancer are going to the Wilmot center truly resonates with those who donate.

“The fact that it’s a cancer fundraiser probably helps too, since this day and age almost everyone is affected by cancer, whether directly or indirectly, through a relative or friend, so I think that’s huge,” Bolger added.

One of the most important things that Bolger learned from this process is that it doesn’t take much to get a project like this going, as long as you have the energy, mindset, and goals to see it through. Bolger offered his father’s words of wisdom to explain how he has

approached the fundraiser, and how it can be applied going forward.

“It’s not about taking a boulder and pushing it up a hill—it’s about taking a few pebbles and pushing them up, and sometimes those pebbles gain momentum,” he said. “And that’s also in relation to doing a good cause. For me, I wanted to do something more than just be around home and make my dad feel more sick. [The stand] was my way of taking a little pebble and getting something going.”

Bolger emphasized that the stand wouldn’t be as successful without all of the support he’s received—especially from the BC community. He was surprised to see how big that network really is—aside from roommates and friends, he’s received outreach from classmates and even some of his TAs who have wanted to make donations. He noted that this strong sense of unity was prevalent throughout his entire BC experience—as a member of the ski team, Bolger was always given the love and support of his teammates, not only when his father was sick, but also when he needed mentorship and guidance.

“The impact of being [at BC] and having the experiences of being around people that care about the community, and being part of a school that has such a huge focus on that, I think that has definitely rubbed off on me through osmosis,” Bolger said. Even though he is uncertain of the stand’s future, Bolger’s experiences with the stand thus far and his time at BC have contributed to his desire to reach out to more people, wherever he may be.

“Wherever I end up geographically, I’ll end up look into being involved and giving back to the community alongside whatever I find myself doing for work,” he said. “And I think a lot of that comes from four years at BC and going to a school that has that mission. One of the things I’ve learned the most at BC was through Perspectives class and reading through the canon of Western literature and having time to reflect on what is the best way to live. It’s about considering the greater community and having more insightful relationships to your surroundings and even to yourself.” 

McLean gives insight into reality of pursuing med school Pre-Med, from B10 able to work out concepts on your own, or not, to determine if you should take a prep course. According to the BC pre-med website, “Beginning in 2015, the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) will include topics in psychology, sociology, biochemistry, and statistics.” As this spring will be the last year of the old MCAT, McLean recommended taking it this year if you think it will be easier for you, or postponing it until next year if you think the new version will be easier.

Experience, both clinical and research-

based, is extremely important, as it shows that one has a commitment to working in the health services. The BC pre-med program offers many resources and opportunities for students to find clinical experience. It is recommended students look into volunteering or working at Mass General Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel, or Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The Career Center has a Career Advisory Network, a network of alumni working in a medical profession, who, according to McLean, “are super helpful and willing to have students work with them.” McLean also recommended

students ask their old pediatricians if they can shadow them for a day. “Most doctors are happy to have you shadow them—few will say no,” she said.

Finally, there are the things you can do to make your application stand out. Letters of recommendation should be written by people that know you well, and McLean advised students to “ask for strong letters of recommendation.” Extracurricular activities and volunteer work should reflect quality hours of dedication to clubs you are passionate about and service to the community.

What advice does McLean have for BC

pre-med students? “Calm down, take a deep breath, and know that the challenge of getting into med school is something that is accomplishable,” she said. “It may not happen in a certain timeframe—you may need to take extra steps. Be objective, work on your weaknesses, but without beating yourself up over them.” And finally, “enjoy college,” McLean said. The BC pre-med program has a wealth of resources for its students to take advantage of and to help make the process more manageable and less stressful. Pre-med is do-able, it just takes planning, patience, and faith that it will all work out. 

CLUB SERIES FEATURING BC’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Student artists strive to fill funding gaps and promote art education in Boston areas

BY CAROLINE KIRKWOOD Heights Staff ASTEP@BC, other wise known as Artists Striving to End Poverty at Boston College, goes far beyond its namesake in terms of the organization’s commitment to art education for young students in the Boston area. The name of the club itself lays out a very impressive and daunting goal. The BC chapter of the international ASTEP organization, however, has chosen to take this global mission and apply it in a more local and Boston-based manner through its volunteer placements in schools and youth centers in the area.

“What we do is basically Bostonbased” said Eliott Purcell, mediator coordinator of ASTEP and A&S ’14.

“Our main goal for this chapter is to have these volunteer placements in schools around Boston to provide arts education to kids in the area.”

ASTEP has translated this global goal of trying to break the cycle of poverty through performing and visual arts by encouraging arts and creativity in the youth of Boston. “Our mission as

ASTEP is to empower kids in the community through arts education,” Purcell said.

“We try to provide whatever these kids need whether it be a safe haven, dancing, or expressing themselves.”

Sarah Kelley, co-president of ASTEP and A&S ’14, explained the need for this type of organization. “Especially in light of the arts education funding going down so much in recent years, it makes us more and more necessary every year,” she said.

The club currently has four, once-aweek volunteer placements in the Boston area: the Edison School, St. Columbkille’s, Hawthorne Youth and Community Center, and the Laboure Center.

“In the beginning of each semester we have a volunteer training and gettogether to talk about ways to interact with the children and open up a forum for what students feel they need help with before going into their placements,” Kelley said.

Once placements start, however, the club really allows its volunteers to go into these schools or community centers and do activities with the children in whatever area interests them.

“Our focus is whatever our volunteers

are interested in and this changes from volunteer to volunteer, whether they are interested in dance, arts and crafts, poetry, music, or theater,” Purcell said. “It is this free and open creative space we hope to create for these kids.”

St. Columbkille’s is one of these placements that has transformed to meet the wishes of both the volunteers and children over the years.

“When we started with St. Columbkille’s we did just creative classes,” Purcell said. “But ultimately what the kids wanted was a drama club so that’s what our role became.” ASTEP currently runs the drama club and its productions at St. Columbkille’s.

The club stresses, however, that one does not have to be a traditional artist to be involved. “What we have been trying to do is get people involved in whatever they are interested in and not necessarily art,” Purcell said. “It is more about just being ready to express anything and be open.” ASTEP allows volunteers of all interests join the organization at anytime during the year.

An additional part of ASTEP’s mission is the promotion of social justice. Kelley explained the manner in which the club

is trying to fulfill this goal. “Many of the kids who we are working with are probably below the poverty line in their homes,” she said. “We add this aspect of bringing art to them and saying ‘look we are giving you this art and look what you can do with it.”

“We aren’t going to be able to solve any of these kids’ problems but we can direct them in the right channels to help them in their journeys.”

Although in past years the club has hosted on-campus events such as “Concert for Congo” and a “Christmas Cabaret” to raise awareness and funds for the arts, this year the club is more fully committing itself to these issues of social justice and its placements.

“This year we have exceeded our expectations in making sure that the placements are a steady, consistent aid to these teachers, after-school coordinators and students.”

Whether one is a theater aficionado, rising young artist, or just a student interested in giving back to their community in a creative way, ASTEP welcomes all volunteers to take part in its mission of promoting education of the arts. 

THE HEIGHTS

B8

HOW-TO

Monday, November 18, 2013

CAMPUS CHRONICLES

Be happy and The Gold Pass as a necessary incentive to fill the stands fulfilled in life KATIA TANNER

MORGAN HEALEY This week is a bit of a different “Howto,” as it focuses on the do’s and don’ts of carrying out a full and happy existence.

There is a lot to get caught up in with everything going on, and it’s no wonder people have such a hard time finding themselves to be truly happy. With these short and simple suggestions, I urge you to take stock of your daily life, your ambitions, your goals and desires, and how you live day to day. I want you to see just how a few simple changes every day can make a huge impact on your overall happiness and wellbeing. Acknowledging the little things is key. Letting go of the past is crucial. With these easy do and don’t tips, you can practice what will help you on your way to being worry-free, and, well, happy.

Do: Say yes to random adventures.

Spontaneity is key to happiness. It’s the spice of life.

Do: Relinquish control. Don’t waste too much time worrying about what’s up in the air, or, for that matter, worrying about what can’t be changed.

Do: Introduce yourself. Strike up a conversation with a stranger. You never know who you might meet, what you might learn, or how even just a small conversation may prove an opportunity for growth.

Do: Stifle self-doubt. Just have faith in yourself. You got to where you are for a reason, so have faith you’ll get to where you’re going because of the same. Put an end to the debilitating thoughts. Just believe, will ya?

Do: Reach out to estranged loved ones.

When something has been on your mind, you’ve had a falling out, or are either too scared or too unsure of what to do or how to approach a situation, I simultaneously urge you and give you permission to swallow your pride, and your trepidation, and pick up the phone. Or write a letter.

Hell, send an email. Make amends where amends are due. Whatever the case—but don’t sit back on your heels and wait for life to “take its course.” I’m a firm believer in the notion that everything comes to fruition over time, but it takes a little bit of work in order to get there.

Do: “You.” Go for a walk to nowhere, listen to your favorite song just because, bust a move in your room when no one’s watching. The sky’s the limit—and it’s all important for being a productive “good” person, and ultimately living a happy life. I saw that smile. What was it you thought of doing in those 20 or 30 minutes to yourself? Go on. Crank that radio. Unleash.

Do: “Reckon” with your past. Process and accept. Just as things take a while to embed themselves into the fabric of our being, so too do they take time to be let go of. There’s a fine line between coping and actually dealing with something. Just as hearing and listening aren’t the same, neither are these two things. Give yourself that time. It’s just as important as a class or your homework or a fun night out. It is time for you.

Do: “Resolve.” What I mentioned before is essentially something I like to call “resolve.” It is a form of instant stress relief. When there are things in your life hanging over your head that you just can’t seem to reckon with, they are probing you for a reason. Listen to them. Every instinct has an action to follow, and every gut feeling is there and usually inexplicably true.

Let go of what grapples you.

Better yet, do what it takes to make peace with that thing. It takes courage to confront things that may be weighing you down, but doing so is essential in moving forward and pursuing a seamless and happy life.

Don’t: Make excuses. Do it, whatever it is, and stop debating. You want something but you’re unsure. You just don’t know. Call that friend. Go to that concert, just for the hell of it. When do we ever really know? This thing piqued your interest for a reason, so, unless you are wildly fatigued, sick, or are planning to schmooz over cocktails with the president, go for it. Be privy to your desires and follow through.

Don’t: Expect the worst. In fact, expect the best. Too often, we go through life waiting for someone to slight us, to do us wrong, or even we ourselves feel pessimistic about a certain outcome. Stop that thinking in its tracks. Always expect the best out of people and out of life.

Don’t: Just pass through. Take heed of the simple moments. Pay attention to what moves you, to what strikes you.

Perhaps, quite literally, a flower on the side of the road, or something as big as a movie, or a heartwarming gesture. It’s important to realize the moments we find—the moments that provoke us. By doing this, we truly see the beauty that is out there.

Morgan Healey is a contributor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Imagine this scenario: you’re throwing a party. You’ve spent weeks preparing for it, you’ve bought snacks and drinks, and you even busted out the old vacuum cleaner.

You invite everyone you know, expecting a great turnout—but when the big day rolls around, the doorbell never rings. You sit in your living room for three straight hours, until you decide to cut your losses and just eat all the food. I’m sure many of you haven’t personally experienced this, but if you can imagine the amount of disappointment and discouragement you would feel at that moment, then you can somewhat understand the feeling of playing on a sports team and showing up for a game surrounded by completely empty bleachers.

Although I am no college-level athlete, I have experienced that feeling before. I remember the sense of disappointment when the bleachers would have 10 people, especially when half of them were parents. I know that it’s different for everybody—some

people may feel pressured with large crowds present—but for me, it was a bummer.

While a large part of the reason you may play a particular sport is personal, it never hurts to know that people are interested in watching it. Additionally, in my experience, the number of spectators can often affect the mood of a game—the bigger the crowd, the more intense the game. And in this regard, I think that Boston College made the right choice in implementing the Gold Pass this year.

I know that there are mixed opinions on the Gold Pass, and I’ve heard almost all the different viewpoints. In short, the Gold Pass is a ticket that “grant[s] access to all BC varsity athletic events,” which sounds great, except it “does not guarantee a student access to games … it simply provides the opportunity to access games.” Because of the first-come, first-serve nature of the Gold Pass, the “rewards program” was created, and it is this program that collects the most complaints. Basically, it’s a system where you receive points for every game you attend—the more points you have, the better

chance you have securing a seat at a game where the student section may reach maximum capacity. The higher demand a game has, the lower the points, and vice versa.

This encourages students to watch “low demand” games, which would be sports that are typically less exciting, or just not what a particular student would normally watch.

Juniors studying abroad complain about their inability to collect points, and those who don’t live on Newton Campus scowl about having to make the trek there just to swipe into a soccer game. This is completely understandable, but I think that people with this mindset should take a step back and look at it from a different angle.

In my opinion, the rewards program is a great idea. Despite the Gold Pass literally creating a distinction between a “low demand” game and a “high demand” game, all the athletes at BC work insanely hard every season, and it’s only right that the student body supports them. With all the emails, flyers, and game updates, the sports culture at BC is already teeming with life and overflowing with energy. But the Gold Pass

takes it to another level, encouraging the exploration of sports one wouldn’t normally be interested in. Naturally, this is reflected in the nature of BC itself, where hundreds of different opportunities present themselves each day. Why not make use of another one? Of course, the Gold Pass isn’t going to suddenly make a sport that doesn’t usually have a large turnout completely fill up. I also know that some die-hard single-sport fans are furious about the points system, pulling the whole “swipe-and-ditch” just to collect the points. But if you spend a moment looking at it from a different angle, perhaps placing yourself in an athlete’s shoes, it may look a little different, and make a little more sense. The Gold Pass offers students an incentive to expand their sport repertoire and support BC at the same time. It’s certainly not perfect, and I can definitely sympathize with those who oppose it, but it’s a good place to start.

Katia Tanner is a contributor to The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

PROFESSOR PROFILE

English professor immersed in studies of literary London WHO: Danielle Taghian WHO: Maia McAleavey

BY CORINNE DUFFY Heights Staff With one step into Maia McAleavey’s Stokes Hall office, a common theme emerges among the abundance of books, posters, and multifarious decor: British literature and culture, and, more specifically, the Victorian era. As a professor within the English Department who teaches various graduate seminars on novel theory and undergraduate courses such as Studies in Narrative, Victorian Marriage/Victorian Sex, and in the near future, Global Victorians, the room’s underlying 19th-century aura proves appropriate given her specialization in narrative analysis, generic distinctions and conventions, gender theory, and the Victorian novel.

Throughout her childhood and adolescence, McAleavey was always surrounded by literature. Born in Washington D.C. to an English professor and a librarian before growing up primarily in Arlington, Va., it is not surprising that literature and a considerable amount of reading encompassed her life from very early on. “I spent all of my free time reading,” McAleavey said. “Even at summer camp, I would bring books with me to read during every open period.” Further, as she matured, McAleavey noted that she found great enjoyment in rereading, jokingly declaring this repetition to be “a sign of insanity, or perhaps, the sign of someone who wants to study literature.”

Her mother’s household organization of literature according to genre and her father’s continual creation of contemporary poetry ultimately proved quite influential in nurturing McAleavey’s own passions. Since her father taught at George Washington University and also composed poetry, many of his class preparations and drafts—upon which she would draw as a child—could be found throughout their home. This early exposure to contemporary poetry fostered McAleavey’s desire to study the subject matter in greater depth at college.

Following public high school in Arlington, McAleavey attended Stanford Uni-

TEACHES: Molecules and TEACHES: Studies in Cells and Cancer Biology Narrative, Victorian Literature FOCUS: The biology of EDUCATION: Bachelor’s cancer from Stanford Univeristy, master’s and doctorate from RESEARCH: Completed Harvard University her postdoc at Massachusetts General Hospital in EXPERIENCE: Traveled to Simon Powell’s lab London for research and EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS STAFF studied in the British Library

ERIN FITZPATRICK / FOR THE HEIGHTS

versity, where she later met her husband, and graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s in English. With the intention of pursuing contemporary poetry, she wrote her senior thesis on the works of Jorie Graham and Anne Carson—two celebrated women who still compose poetry today.

Before she knew she wanted to teach, McAleavey worked in Washington D.C. with the National Endowment for Humanities and considered making a career out of improving public access to the humanities. Additionally, she spent one summer at a law firm and contemplated attending law school.

When in graduate school at Harvard University, however, McAleavey took a course on the Victorian novel, and she reevaluated the focus of her studies—she decided to concentrate instead on 19th-century British literature and culture. “I realized I was in a really lucky position in that there did not have to be a line between what I enjoy reading and teaching,” she said. She then closely analyzed many of her favorite pieces of literature for her subject specialization—among them, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, and David Copperfield. In May of 2010, she graduated from Harvard with her master’s and doctorate degrees.

Straight after graduation, McAleavey came to Boston College in September of 2010 as an assistant professor in the English Department, where she is now in her fourth year. “I really find students here terrific, well-prepared, and easy to engage in challenging topics, and BC is an overall incredibly friendly place to work,” she said. Additionally, she loves living in Boston and considers it to be in close proximity to many friends who teach at other schools in the area.

Currently, McAleavey is finishing a book on the surprising presence of bigamy within 19th-century British literature and culture, and, most predominantly, its prevalence in the Victorian novel. She not only discusses this great existence of bigamy within the time period’s literature but also notes the sensationalized nature of many such plots—protodetective fiction recurrently illustrates within the novels attempted cover-ups, murder, arson, and bribery surrounding preexisting marriages. McAleavey then argues about the connection between these plots and the themes of courtship and marriage that many Victorian novelists choose to highlight, and she discusses various cultural implications and philosophical concepts such as the newfound freedom of choice regarding

marriage. “It’s really fun to work on,” she said. On top of this nearly completed book, McAleavey is beginning a new project on literary realism.

In addition to studying British culture through literature, McAleavey has travelled to and researched in London on several occasions during graduate school and for faculty research. There, she spent the majority of her time studying at the British Library, a copyright library that houses rare, single copies of dated works that cannot be found on online databases. “I do really love being in the UK,” McAleavey said. And, not only does she know a great deal about British culture, but during her junior year at Stanford, McAleavey studied abroad in Paris.

Aside from teaching and the business of academia, another more recent part of McAleavey’s life affectionately occupies the majority of her time. “When not reading, writing, or preparing for class, I am playing peek-a-boo,” she said, in reference to playing with her seven-month-old daughter, Ramona. And, interestingly enough, Ramona seems to have adopted a passion similar to her mother’s—a copy of Little Miss Austen: Pride and Prejudice sits upon McAleavey’s desk. 

HE SAID, SHE SAID My roommate is from California, and she keeps saying how she has nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. I feel like I’m obligated to offer to take her home with me, but honestly I just want to spend time with my family and be able to see my friends from home. But I’ll also feel guilty if she’s here all by herself. What should I do?

Over the course of my time at Boston College, I have had many friends come visit my home and stay for a few nights. I constantly invite people to my New York home as I thoroughly enjoy showing people an entirely new side to my personality. Meeting someone’s family allows a friendship to upgrade to a whole new level. I advise, however, that you do not bring friends home during Thanksgiving break MARC FRANCIS for the reason that you probably have not been home since the summertime and truly require some downtime.

Having guests over not only forces you to act differently around your family, but it also makes you an entertainer and tour guide for however long they are staying. November is the most difficult month of the fall semester for most people, and I, for one, psychologically and physically require alone time in my house with my family. Understandably, it is heartbreaking to see your friend not have any place to go for Thanksgiving, but unless you are positive that you are gung-ho on serving as a host for four days, I implore you to ignore the situation and go home alone. It is important that you use this short trip home to reset, catch up on sleep, and prepare yourself for finals week. I can almost guarantee that if you bring your roommate home you will not achieve optimal sleep time nor will you spend an adequate amount of time with your family. Take advantage of other breaks throughout the year to invite your roommate to your home. You will only be home for a few days— make the most of it.

Well, that’s awkward. Honestly, she shouldn’t expect you to offer to take her home with you for Thanksgiving. People know family time is somewhat sacred and not everyone wants to entertain guests while trying to enjoy a mini-vacation. It’s unfortunate that your roommate has nowhere to go, but she also chose to go to Boston College, which she probably knew would make going home much more complicated and less frequent. It’s not your fault, so don’t feel obligated in the slightest to AMY HACHIGIAN offer up your home.

That said, you can definitely ask around to see who else is staying at school for the break, so if she brings it up again, you could suggest she hang out with some of them for the holiday. A lot of people get together to make their own Thanksgiving dinner in the dorms and spend time with each other. It’s a good way to bond with friends and feel a bit more connected even when you’re 3,000 miles from home. There are a lot of homeless shelters in Boston that need volunteers for Thanksgiving too—she might be interested in donating some of her time, making friends, and getting involved with the greater Boston community.

If, by chance, she asks you flat out if she can go home with you for Thanksgiving, make sure you’re able to have that conversation. You don’t want to be caught off guard and feel flustered or unsure of what to say if she does bring it up. It’s okay to tell her you were looking forward to some alone time with your family. While I don’t condone lying, you could, if needed, say you’re going away to another location for the weekend. Sometimes people just don’t listen and a small white lie (after trying to have a truthful conversation) is needed.

Marc Francis is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Amy Hachigian is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, November 18, 2013

Nightlife of BC’s nurses Nurses, from B10 The nurses said they often deal with the loss of memory and “crankiness” that stems from their lack of sleep.

On any given shift, the nurses must arrive 15 minutes early to hear a short briefing from the nurses covering the previous shift about the students’ conditions. Then they make their rounds, checking on the students and making assessments. “We check on the students about every hour,” Faherty said.

“One time, a student asked me if I was going to be up for awhile. It’s funny because people don’t realize we stay up all night,” Warner said.

Because it gets so hectic at Health Services during the day, the night nurses often stock medicines and check emergency equipment in order to recover from the previous day and prepare for the next. Sometimes students even come in for outpatient assessments because they can’t get an appointment during the day. “Students will come in at 2 and 3 a.m. to be seen because they just can’t fit it into their schedules during the day,” Faherty said. “So usually one of us is in charge of inpatient care and the other outpatient care.”

“There is no typical night here. You really never know what you are going to get. It can be sort of like an emergency room,” Warner said. The inpatient ward can accommodate up to 12 students at a time, with two students per room.

The nurses explained that the number fluctuates depending on the time of year and day of the week.

“Obviously, weekend nights have higher traffic, but flu season and during finals are busy for us too,” Warner said.

When dealing with intoxicated students, the nurses just want to make sure that they are safe.

“When drinking, the students are responsible for their choices and the consequences,” Warner said. “Sadly, that could mean incidents that will change their lives such as sexual assault or blacking out. Sometimes I think parents would never send their kid to college if they saw what we saw,” Faherty added.

Although many students associate Health Services with alcohol-related treatment, there is also support available for students struggling with mental health issues.

“During finals, anxiety-related incidents become much more frequent.

We keep a psychologist and a doctor on call at all times,” Faherty said. The nurses know that students are under a lot of academic pressure at BC, but they think it is a combination of pressure and being in a new environment that causes the high volume of sickness during finals.

“If students call us, and we think there is a serious problem, we send the EMTs to the student’s room to evaluate them first,” Warner said. Health Services works closely with BCPD and Counseling Services in order to serve the needs of the students. “It’s really all about making good nursing judgments on the night shift because there is no doctor present,” Faherty said.

Although the nurses agree the night shift can be tough, the students are grateful and respectful. “The students are my favorite part of my job. It’s nice to see students grow from freshmen to seniors,” Warner said of her time at BC. “I really like the age group too, and I like teaching people how to manage their health,” Faherty said. “Health Services is the best kept secret.” 

B9

EDITOR’S COLUMN

EAGLE DATES

MEET THE DATERS: NAME: Dana Sarni YEAR: 2016 MAJOR: Communication FAVORITE HILLSIDE SANDWICH: Tuna Melt FAVORITE MOVIE: ‘Titanic’

NAME: Maggie Reeves YEAR: 2014 MAJOR: Economics FAVORITE HILLSIDE SANDWICH: All-American Grilled Cheese FAVORITE MOVIE: ‘The Departed’

NAME: Chris Landstrom YEAR: 2014 MAJOR: Marketing and Operations FAVORITE HILLSIDE SANDWICH: New England Classic FAVORITE MOVIE: ‘Zoolander’

Two seniors show compatibility, potential for second date HEIGHTS: How did you prepare for your date?

HEIGHTS: How did you prepare for your date?

MAGGIE: I didn’t really do that much, I have no classes on Fridays so I took it easy, relaxed. I didn’t really think too much about it.

CHRIS: Same as normal, but I made sure to shave and put on cologne.

HEIGHTS: How did your date begin?

MAGGIE: He came to my Mod to pick me up which is funny because we don’t really know each other, but he is friends with a lot of my roommates, so they thought it was really funny when he picked me up. We took the Commonwealth Ave. bus to Cleveland Circle and took the C line to Washington Square to The Publick House.

HEIGHTS: What was it like when you first encountered your date?

MAGGIE: It was more comical just because we have seen each other around, and we have kind of heard things from our mutual friends about each other. It wasn’t that awkward—it was just funny.

HEIGHTS: How was the conversation? Were there any awkward moments?

HEIGHTS: How did your date begin?

CHRIS: She had me pick her up at her Mod, and I thought the number sounded familiar. I realized I knew all her roommates, and I had kind of met her before. I was thrown off because I thought it would be somewhat random, but we ended up having similar friends. We took the bus to Res and the T to The Publick House.

HEIGHTS: How was the conversation? Were there any awkward moments?

CHRIS: The conversation flowed really well. We talked about mutual friends, work, and where we’re planning on living next year. She is staying in Boston, and I’m trying to stay in Boston. We discussed our plans for the weekend, and about the last football game. But at the end, my belt broke in half.

HEIGHTS: How did the date end?

MAGGIE: We talked mostly about our mutual friends and certain things we’ve both done. We have seen each other around, but never actually talked. We talked a lot about plans for next year.

He was also here this summer so we discussed what he was doing, where he worked, his plans. The one awkward moment was when his belt broke. I don’t really know how it happened, but all of a sudden, his pants were falling down. He took it off, I was trying to fix it. You could tell he was getting flustered—it was kind of funny. He handled it well. I was entertained. Also, our waitress lost her voice. She was trying to do a lot of body motions, but it was kind of a weird interaction with her.

CHRIS: When we were walking past The Gate, we split up and hugged goodbye.

HEIGHTS: What was the most surprising thing you learned about your date?

CHRIS: I think there could definitely be a second date.

MAGGIE: That we were pretty compatible. I guess it’s a good sign that we have mutual friends. A lot of times senior year people just have their set friends, and they don’t really try to break out.

HEIGHTS: What does the future hold for you two?

MAGGIE: I feel like we’re pretty compatible, so maybe we’d go on a second date. If someone can handle breaking a belt on a first date that well, that’s a pretty good sign.

HEIGHTS: Is there anything you would have done differently?

HEIGHTS: What was the most surprising thing you learned about your date?

CHRIS: I guess that her insurance company she works for sounded a lot more interesting than I thought insurance could be.

HEIGHTS: What does the future hold for you two?

RATE YOUR DATES NAME: Maggie Reeves

NAME: Chris Landstrom

RATE THE DATE ON A SCALE OF 1-5 (5 BEING BEST)

RATE THE DATE ON A SCALE OF 1-5 (5 BEING BEST)

5

5

MAGGIE: Be on time, because I awkwardly texted him before that I was going to be late. I feel bad I made him wait.

Alleviating the stress of writing a senior thesis Senior Thesis, from B10 writing process.”

While having taken a few classes with a prospective advisor can be helpful, more individualized contact is often key.

“Do an undergraduate research fellowship or something similar the summer before you start writing,” said Stephanie Ger, math major and A&S ’14. “If you do well over the summer, that professor might be more inclined to work with you … and it’s a cliche, but go to office hours.”

Ger said that she found her advisor, Rennie Mirollo, because a professor she knew well recommended him.

Similar to choosing an advisor, beginning the research and writing for a thesis should not be held until the last minute either. While finding free time during the year and using weekends wisely is important, procrastination could easily ruin a project.

“Believing that Winter Break will be the best opportunity to start the real

writing or analyzing of the research or creative ideas is delusional thinking and the results are often painful,” said Susan Michalczyk, a professor in the Honors Department.

It’s best, then, to get started over the summer, Hertenstein said, when there is more time to do research and more flexibility in terms of what your final topic will look like.

“You will not have that kind of relaxed research time ever again, and you never know what the scope of your project may be,” Hertenstein said.

“Mine has grown, and if I had started in September, I would never finish this thesis project.”

In addition to solid preparation, a support network that is not limited to just your advisor can make all the difference.

Elizabeth Graver, a professor in the English Department, said that she usually advises students whose theses will take the form of short stories or novellas and encourages her students to sign up for courses that will inspire them.

“This could be anything from a course in history or biology, to one on the contemporary short story,” she said.

Graver also said that meeting with a small group of other seniors doing similar projects has often been helpful, especially due to the solitary nature of writing a thesis.

“Finding community, structure, and ways to fill the well of creativity can be a great help,” she said.

This support network is especially helpful when the entire project begins to seem overwhelming and you find it necessary to take a break for a little while, which does not necessarily mean that the project has been derailed yet.

“All part of the process,” Michalczyk said. “Be sure to schedule blocks of time throughout the week, so that you can develop a rhythm and strengthen good work habits.”

By the end of the fall semester, Michalczyk said, students should have a well-developed outline, solid bibliography, and some kind of serious written work—such as an introduction, chapter,

draft, or collection of data—depending on the project.

“Throughout the process, connect with your advisor and take your advisor’s advice, so that over the course of the fall semester, you both have a good sense of the project and realistic expectations for the spring semester and completion of the thesis,” she said.

In the spring, she said, it’s important to give your advisor enough time to review the project and give advice before the final deadline. Otherwise, the overall thesis could be weakened.

With adequate preparation, a topic you’re passionate about, and an advisor you trust, the inevitable bouts of uncertainty and stress often become less debilitating.

“While it is sometimes hard to balance thesis-writing with everything that goes on senior year, it is not unmanageable,” Crane said.

“If you schedule your time well and keep motivated, it is possible to enjoy your senior year and pass in a thesis that you are proud of.” 

Learning to love the whole me

MICHELLE TOMASSI

“Has anyone ever told you that your ears make you look like a monkey?” he asked me as we sat in our third-grade classroom. I turned to him, resisted the urge to grab my ears and hide them from his judging line of vision, and tried to come up with a response.

But when some kid who you barely know basically compares you to a hairy primate, what are you supposed to say? Like the timid eight-year-old that I was, I blushed and turned back to my notebook, trying not to cry as I heard him snickering to his friend.

Growing up, my ears seemed to have a personality of their own. They were small, they stuck out, and just seemed disproportional to my head. And boy, were they noticeable. Not just by my classmates—adults too.

I remember one of the nurses at the pediatric office would always make a comment about the “taco shells” or the “ice cream scoopers” attached to the sides of my head. Thanks nurse, for making me spend my childhood pressing my ears to the sides of my head, hoping that eventually they’d flatten down and be normal.

Third grade is also when my best friend decided to ask some of the boys in our class if they “liked me,” and I wish someone had told her that it just wasn’t a very good idea.

I’m pretty sure it was exactly like some Disney Channel movie—she walked over to the group of boys while I sat on the opposite side of the playground, watching her motion over to me and then seeing four heads turn around and stare in my direction. She waltzed back over to me, and when I asked her to report her findings, I remember one thing very clearly: “They think you should wear some makeup or something.”

Makeup? You mean, the stuff my mom sometimes puts on before she goes to work?

The lipstick, the blush, the eye shadow that they put on models who are on the covers of magazines? I’m glad that my third-grade self was rational enough to realize that there was something wrong with that statement.

Personally, I didn’t start wearing makeup regularly until I was about 17, and I don’t regret that decision at all—I actually like being able to walk around in public and not feel naked and exposed just because I opted out of mascara and eyeliner for the day.

Did the body issues stop at age eight?

Nope. I think sixth grade was the year that one of my “friends” started calling me “shiny Shelly” because I had a really shiny forehead.

Looking back on it now, I shouldn’t have let such a silly nickname get to me. But in a time when life is awkward enough, I didn’t need people staring at my monkey ears and my makeup-less face and my reflective forehead.

But I felt that there was nothing I could do about it, so I just allowed the words to soak in, carrying them with me year after year.

On Friday, I went to see the performance of The Good Body as the final event of Love Your Body Week, and I found myself returning to all those moments in my life when I had told myself that some part of my body wasn’t good enough. I laughed along with the audience with the various monologues, but one of the parts that resonated with me the most was when one of the characters said, “maybe being good isn’t about fixing anything.” As the women in the play announced that they loved their bodies, and that we all live in a good body, I just wanted to jump right up there and chant along with them. I didn’t, but when I got home that night, I tried saying it to myself: “I love my body.” And you know what? I couldn’t do it.

Don’t get me wrong—I’ve happened to grow quite fond of my perky little ears, and I don’t feel the need to hide them anymore.

But for some reason, when I tried to only say that I loved my body, it felt insincere and detached. Why do I love my body? Because I love who I am, and I wouldn’t change me for anything. Now that sounded more natural, more meaningful, and more real, and it made me feel more connected to the different parts of my body on the inside and out. From the mind that I have, to the ears on my head, I want to be able to love every part of myself, and I think that’s what Love Your Body Week is and should be about. Instead of fixing what’s not even broken, it’s about loving the parts of you that make you a beautiful person—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

So if I was caught up on the concept of loving my “body,” maybe it’s because I was seeing it as a separate thing, subject to the eyes of others, and not as myself, the person I am.

The body and the self don’t have to be two different entities—love them both, love them as one, and you’ll realize how much happier you’ll be. Learn to love yourself.

Michelle Tomassi is the Features editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

FEATURES THE HEIGHTS

B8

B10

Monday, January 24, 2013

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Students, profs share thesis tips

BY SAMANTHA COSTANZO Heights Editor No college essay is more daunting than the senior thesis. For many students, it represents the pinnacle of their college careers, requiring intense research, insightful ideas, and seemingly endless pages of writing. While the process may be difficult, take a few words of wisdom from those who have been there, done that, and will soon have the thesis to prove it.

“The beauty of writing a thesis is that you can research and write about any particular topic that interests you, which makes working on it so much easier,” said Lindsay Crane, history major and A&S ’14. “Hours in the library go by much faster when you enjoy what you are reading.”

Narintohn Luangrath, an international studies major and A&S ’14, credited her two Advanced Study Grants and Harry S. Truman scholarship with helping her discover her interest in migration issues.

“While competing for a Harry S. Truman Scholarship as a junior, I was forced to think more seriously about my policy interests and goals within migration and the type of schooling and work I’d have to do,” Luangrath said. The internship she held at Georgetown University doing research on forced migration issues after she won the scholarship solidified her interest, and her thesis is now centered on that topic.

Choosing a topic, however, is only half of the battle. Students must also secure an advisor: a professor who they feel comfortable spending a significant amount of time with during the year, and who they feel will provide good feedback throughout the process of writing a thesis.

“Secure an advisor before heading abroad, or at least before the start of senior year,” said Sarah Malaske, history major and A&S ’14. “Advisors can be hard to find.”

A prospective advisor, however, does not always have to be an expert in your topic.

“Always go with a professor who you know and have worked with before over the professor who is an expert but whom you do not know,” said Mark Hertenstein, theology major and A&S ’14. “The depth of knowledge in general about an area is essential, but the relationship is the most important part of the thesis

n the Night Shift

BY KENDRA KUMOR Heights Editor “Students call us their grandmothers, but we like to think of ourselves as nice aunts or godmothers,” said Donna Warner, night shift staff nurse in the Health Services Department. “We aren’t that old yet,” added night shift staff nurse Caroline Faherty.

Warner, a Watertown, Mass. native and Northeastern University graduate, has been a nurse at Boston College for 23 years, and has been working the night shift—11 p.m. to 7 a.m.—for eight years. Faherty, originally from Ireland with a background in pediatric home care, has been working nights at BC for the past four years alongside Warner.

“Now that I have Caroline it’s much easier to stay awake—we work off each other,” Warner said. It was only recently that Health Services added a second nurse to the night shift. The nurses explained that they also used to hire student aides to help work the night shift, but since switching to a new electronic system, labor has been cut.

“There really wouldn’t be much for them to do anymore, but we do miss them and keep in touch,” Faherty said.

Warner and Faherty have adjusted to their abnormal sleep schedules over the years, finding their individual patterns that work with their daytime activities. “I’ll go home and sleep until around noon or 1 p.m., then I’ll sleep for a few more hours before coming in to my shift,” Warner said.

“There are advantages and disadvantages to any job,” Faherty said. She explained that working a night shift is the best way to see her kids during the day: “You don’t have to miss anything.” The nurses also have the same breaks as the students, including the summer months.

“I’m not sure what I would do without summer break,” Warner said.

Yet the grueling hours can catch up with the nurses.

“You don’t realize how much you need sleep until you don’t have it,” Faherty said. “It’s sort of funny because all over the office we have posters warning students about the effects of sleep deprivation, but we deal with those effects all the time.”

See Nurses, B9

See Senior Thesis, B9

Alum gives pre-med program a checkup Current MedSchoolCoach employee offers advice for those applying to medical school

BY CAITLIN SLOTTER Heights Staff

PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL RIBAS

The Stand Against Cancer has rasied $8,500 for the Wilmot Cancer Center in Rochester, N.Y.

BC grad strives to take a ‘Stand’ against cancer

BY MICHELLE TOMASSI Features Editor It all started with a second grade class project, a couple of tomatoes, and a coffee can to hold the change.

Stacey Bolger, BC ’13, recalled bringing home tomato plants from the class germination project and growing them in his sandbox, soon having too many tomatoes for his own family to eat.

After convincing his mother to let him sell them on the side of the road in his hometown of Pittsford, N.Y., it soon grew into a small business as a way to earn some extra cash. With the help

of local farmers like Bob Sweeney of Sweeney’s Stand, he was able to start selling the produce of other farmers, learn how to run a business, and help out some of the locals by giving them a convenient option for buying fruits and vegetables. Little did he know that his college-grad self would transform that original stand into a fundraiser for cancer research, now known as The Stand Against Cancer.

“It’s kind of unfortunate that it took something more personal on my end to get involved in something like this,

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I NSIDE FEATUR E S THIS ISSUE

For students at Boston College, the decision to become a pre-medical, pre-dental, or pre-veterinary student is a daunting task. Fortunately, the BC pre-med program offers a plethora of resources to make this decision and the pre-med application process easier and less stressful.

According to the BC pre-med website, pre-med “is not a major; it is simply a program of study.” It is an open program, meaning that students don’t need to maintain a specific GPA or complete the required courses within a certain timeframe. Students are free to major in any of the humanities, natural sciences, or social sciences, or even earn degrees from different undergraduate schools.

By being pre-med, students gain access to a wide range of support and advising options to help them navigate the medical school application process and become the strongest candidates they can.

Despite the wealth of BC resources for pre-med students, the process can still be overwhelming, especially because of the need to start planning early for medical school.

“The hardest part of med school is

getting in,” said Riley McLean, BC ’08.

McLean finished med school at UMass last spring, is currently working as an intern at the university, and is going into dermatology—she also works for MedSchoolCoach, a company that offers similar advising services to the BC premed program.

McLean recommended students start fulfilling the pre-med class requirements no later than sophomore year. Students that want to go to med school the fall after graduation must complete the pre-med requirements by the end of their junior year—these students should start pursuing and familiarizing themselves with the concept of med school in the fall semester of their junior year. The first application deadlines will be in January of that year, and students should take the MCAT that spring. McLean advised submitting the application as soon as it opens in early June because people who turn their applications in too late have a lower chance of getting accepted. Applicants will be called for interviews in the fall of their senior year. For students planning to take a year off before med school, the same process will take place during their senior year.

McLean also discussed the benefits of waiting a year to go to med school versus starting the fall after senior year—she

Eagle Date Despite a wardrobe malfunction, two seniors make a connection on a date at The Publick House................................................................................ B9

herself waited a year, stating that she “wanted a year off to experience life.” She taught at her high school that year, but students had the option to study abroad, volunteer, work on a thesis, minor in a non-science program, or get research or clinical experience. McLean explained that while taking a whole year off may seem like a huge deal when you’re an undergrad, it really isn’t, and it gives you the chance to refresh, make some money, and enter grad school excited instead of being burned out. She also discussed, however, the benefits of starting med school the fall after senior year: the med school process is long (four years in med school and at least three years in residency), so being one year closer to finishing can be beneficial.

The most important, and stressful, aspect of being pre-med is building a strong application. McLean described the different categories that med schools pay particular attention to: academics, experience, letters of recommendation, and community involvement. According to McLean, the average GPA med schools look for keeps rising, and today having a 3.6 GPA is preferable. The MCAT is also a critical part of the application. When asked how to best prepare for them, McLean responded: “know yourself very well.” Know if you are the type of person who can commit to studying and are

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