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A look at BC’s competitive dance group as their semester show approaches, B10
Arabian fairy tale packs Robsham over the weekend, A10
On Senior Day, the Eagles suffered a crushing overtime loss against Virginia Tech, B1
Monday, November 19, 2012
Vol. XCIII, No. 45
Belfast Project researchers appeal to Supreme Court By David Cote News Editor
Editor’s Note: This story is part of an ongoing series about the subpoenas of the Belfast Project.
matt liber / heights staff
The Boston College Chess Club, founded last year, hosted the first chess tournament at BC in recent memory over the last two weeks.
chess club grows in size and scope with first tournament By Qian Deng For The Heights
On Nov. 8, a dozen participants faced off in the first chess tournament at Boston College in recent memory. A quick Internet search of “Boston College Chess Club” reveals that such an organization did previously exist. A photograph taken by Gary Gilbert, now collected in the University Archives, portrays members playing chess on a sunny Student Activities Day in 1988. The club even had its own webpage, created in October 1996. Sixteen years later, Gilbert is now the director of photography at the Office of Marketing Communications. The club’s website was removed in January of 2004 when the organization became defunct. In the same world where Webster University had recently paid exorbitant sums to convince top-ranked Texas Tech’s chess coach and team members to transfer, it seemed almost
foolish to believe that, for close to a decade, no one at BC stepped up to fill the void. The improbable situation perpetuated itself until 2011, when several students almost simultaneously decided to act. “I was away studying abroad in England,” said the organization’s vice president, Andrew Meigs, A&S ’13. “I had started the paperwork beforehand, then I come back, and the Student Programs Office tells me somebody else had already started doing it.” That “somebody” was current president Molly Pekula, A&S ’13, with whom Meigs eagerly joined forces. They also worked with Dan Friedman, A&S ’13, now the club’s treasurer. “Since we started meeting in the second semester of last year, all of the money had already been allotted,” Pekula said.
RHA helps air out concerns By Sam Costanzo Asst. News Editor
The Residence Hall Association held two town hall meetings this week, giving students a chance to ask questions of some Boston College administrators. The meetings, one in Newton Campus’ Yellow Room on Tuesday and in Upper Campus’ Cheverus Hall on Thursday, featured representatives from BCPD, Residential Life, Dining Services, Transportation, and the Volunteer and Service Learning Center. Students at Thursday’s meeting were
Bates: Athlete ‘used very poor judgment’ By Greg Joyce Heights Editor
See McCaffrey, A4
Daniel lee / heights staff
A panel discussion on pregnancy resources at Boston College was held on Thursday night.
Stephanie McCaffrey (above) was suspended on Thursday for tweets about Jerry Sandusky.
mostly concerned with BC’s alcohol policies and recent changes to dining options. One student asked how BC’s policy stating that underage students can be documented for being in the presence of alcohol, even if they are not drinking, could be considered fair. “If you were deemed to not be drinking, it’s not the same sanction as the person who owns the room or is providing the alcohol,” said George Arey, director of Residential Life. It is likely that if it can be proven that the student was, in fact, not drinking, he
See Town Hall, A4
college reps assemble at bc
Feminists for Life host panel to discuss pregnancy resources By Mary Rose Fissinger Heights Editor
graham beck / heights editor
emily fahey / heights staff
Panelists responded to student concerns at two town hall meetings sponsored by RHA this week.
See Chess Club, A4
McCaffrey suspended for PSU tweets
Stephanie McCaffrey, CSOM ’15, a forward on the Boston College women’s soccer team, was suspended on Thursday for a series of tweets she posted regarding Pennsylvania State University and the sexual abuse case it was wrapped up in last year. Athletic Director Brad Bates announced in a statement that McCaffrey was suspended from the team, and that she would miss Friday night’s second-round NCAA Tournament game at Penn State.
Researchers for the Belfast Project have filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States, extending the stay on the Belfast Project materials granted by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer earlier this month until the petition is decided. In the petition, Ed Moloney, the Belfast Project director, and Anthony McIntyre, one of its lead researchers, presented two questions for review by the Supreme Court. The first asks whether persons with Article III standing can object to criminal subpoenas of confidential information on the basis of First Amendment or Due Process rights. The second asks what legal standard governs judicial review of subpoenas issued by foreign governments pursuant to Mutual Legal Assistant Treaties (MLAT). Moloney and McIntyre have long been opposed to the way the subpoenas were
served, arguing that the MLAT was improperly applied in the case of the Belfast Project. They were also denied the right to intervene in earlier hearings of the case. In response, the two began their own legal proceedings by filing an appeal for a rehearing of the case en banc, with the intention of preventing the tapes of the Belfast Project from falling into the hands of the Police Services of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the originators of the subpoenas. At the time, the two laid out their arguments for the rehearing of the case. “The First Circuit decision effectively precludes the assertion of U.S. constitutional rights guaranteed in the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution,” the two wrote. In addition, the two argued that the decision by the First Circuit “bestows upon the PSNI greater powers in relation to the serving of subpoenas in the United States than could be exercised by, for instance, the FBI.” The Supreme Court only hears around 1 percent of the total appeals filed each year. If the petition for a writ of certiorari is denied by the court, the stay on the materials granted by Breyer will be terminated immediately. n
For the third time in five years, Feminists for Life of America (FFL) visited Boston College to begin conversations about what changes need to be made on campus to enable a student who becomes pregnant to stay in school and keep the baby. The president of FFL, Serrin Foster, hosted a panel of BC administrators and students on Thursday in Gasson 305 to explore the options currently available to a pregnant student at BC. The panel included representatives from University Health Services, UGBC, University Counseling Services, the Office of Residential Life, the Brighton Pregnancy Resource Center, and the BC Pro Life Club. Although the event was organized and largely attended by members of the BC Pro Life Club, Foster began by saying, “This isn’t
a debate on abortion. It isn’t event about contraception. It’s about talking about the resources.” Foster, as well as a couple of panelists, had been involved with the previous two FFL Pregnancy Resource Forums held at Boston College. Thursday’s event, organized by Katie Martin, A&S ’15, and Gabriela Garcia, A&S ’14, focused largely on housing and day care options available for mothers who would want to continue to attend BC. Chris Darcy, associate director of Residential Ministry in the Office of Residential Life, admitted that housing at BC does not currently lend itself well to raising a child. “A lot of other institutions have single rooms available [for women who want to raise a child],” Darcy said. “We are so
See Pregnancy Forum, A4
robyn kim / heights staff
Recently elected Congressman Joe Kennedy III (above) was the featured speaker at the Boston Intercollegiate Assembly Conference hosted at BC on Saturday afternoon.