The Heights 11/20/2014

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EDGE OF GLORY

JUICE-Y

STARTUP SCENE

SPORTS

METRO

SCENE

Jameis Winston & Co. stand in the way of another upset to a top-10 team, B8

Two sophomores are making strides in Boston’s competitive startup scene, A8

A look at how the BC band Juice has grown since winning Battle of the Bands, B1

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HEIGHTS

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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

established

1919

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Vol. XCV, No. 46

Advisors aid fellowship applicants

BC names Lochhead new EVP

BY JULIE ORENSTEIN Assoc. News Editor

Former Holy Cross administrator will replace Pat Keating

Editor’s note: This story is the second part of an ongoing series about fellowships advising at Boston College. In most applications for major national fellowships, students are asked to, essentially, plan out their lives. At Boston College, over 20 faculty members serve as coordinators for each specific fellowship, aiding applicants as they work through various portions of the process, particularly the essay questions in which they must discuss their future career goals and plans to use the education or funds they will receive if selected. For adjunct associate professor of political science Paul Christensen—the Fulbright Program advisor for BC—the heavy workload of advising dozens of individualized Fulbright applicants is spread out between him and four other faculty members who serve as advisors. “That helps give us the time we need to advise people in a way that we feel comfortable, because it is a very timeintensive process, as anyone who applies will tell you,” Christensen said. He noted that during the fall semester—when his Fulbright commitment is most intense—his contract provides for a teaching reduction by one class. In recent years, BC has consistently ranked among the top producers of Fulbright grant winners from the U.S., producing 19 winners from 85 applicants in 2013-14. Two years ago, BC produced 21 winners from 73 applicants for the 2012-13 application cycle. “Our success has been a combination of good students and dedicated advisors,” Christensen said. Associate professor of political science Kenji Hayao, who has been advising for the Truman Scholarship for over a decade, does not receive any kind of teaching reduction during the fall semester, and said the balance between his advising work and his teaching responsibilities can be tough. “In the past, it certainly has been almost like another class, because I’m advising, say, a dozen students on their applications, which involves … past activities, leadership, as well as the future, and they have to do a policy proposal as part of that,” he said. “It can be a lot of work.” Hayao said he handles Truman applications mostly without assistance from the University Fellowships Committee (UFC), which oversees some outreach efforts for fellowships and provides support to the coordinators for each individual program. “For the most part, the coordinators are left pretty much to deal with their [fellowships] as they see fit,” he said. “We can ask for help … but we’re free to figure out how we want to shape the process.” He also said that, unlike Christensen, who has a group of Fulbright advisors with whom to share the workload, he advises Truman applicants on his own, with other faculty members acting as informal advisors. In the long term, he said, it would be better if the process changed somewhat to provide more support. “I think we do need a broader support network of people who are involved,” Hayao said. “One of the problems of relying heavily on one person is, if I go on leave or something like that, who’s going to take it over? We need to have more of a committee-like structure for some of these things to spread out the workload

See Fellowships, A3

BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor AND

NATHAN MCGUIRE Asst. New Editor

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The UGBC Executive Council met with other members to discuss the fallout surrounding last week’s succession to the EVP position.

After backlash, UGBC leaders reconsider succession legitimacy BY ANDREW SKARAS Heights Editor UGBC President Nanci Fiore-Chettiar, A&S ’15, announced yesterday that the UGBC Executive Council—a group comprised of the president and all of the vice presidents—has decided to seek confirmation from the Student Assembly (SA) for the appointment of Connor Bourff, VP of Student Initiatives and A&S ’15, to the position of UGBC Executive Vice President (EVP), a position from which Chris Marchese, A&S ’15, officially resigned on Sunday. In an open letter to the student body released yesterday, Fiore-Chettiar apologized for failing to follow the Constitutional guidelines for appointing a new EVP when she announced to all of UGBC on Sunday that Bourff would accede to the position, effective immediately. Bourff is now the Executive Vice President-designate, and SA will hold a confirmation vote this Sunday. On Monday evening, the Executive Council met with the SA Leadership Conference—composed of the

six committee chairs, the EVP, the President Pro Tempore of the SA, and the conference leader—to discuss how the Executive Council had handled the decision to appoint Bourff as Marchese’s successor, and whether constitutional considerations should dictate a change in procedure. Several of the committee chairs expressed concern over the constitutionality of the procedure that Fiore-Chettiar and the Executive Council used to select a new EVP. “I went into [the Monday] meeting and I felt that I really needed to vocalize, you know, a little frustration,” said Alison Takahashi, SA Conference Leader and A&S ’15. “I feel like a lot of the [SA] members at the time wished that they had been included in the discussion.” Takahashi said that, although she disapproved of the procedure by which Bourff was chosen, she believed he was the best person for the job. This sentiment was shared by Matt Hugo, Chair of the Policy Development Committee and A&S ’16.

See Succession, A3

Marchese compelled to resign by Office of Student Involvement BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor After initially stating that he voluntarily resigned from his position as Executive Vice President (EVP) of UGBC, Chris Marchese, A&S ’15, said yesterday that his decision was based on an ultimatum delivered by Director of the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) Gus Burkett to either resign or be forcefully removed from UGBC for conductrelated matters. Despite originally citing “personal reasons” as prompting his decision to vacate the EVP role, Marchese said that OSI imposed the resignation on him following a sanction issued on Oct. 27 that put Marchese on University probation—a sanction he said he believes was unjustly applied. Mark Miceli, associate director of OSI and advisor to UGBC, confirmed that Marhcese was no longer in good standing and had been given the instruction to step down by OSI. “I can say he was no longer in good standing at the University,” Miceli said. “I think the implications are pretty obvious there, because you have to be in good standing to be an executive in UGBC, so I think we sort of said, ‘You can either step out gracefully or we’ll enforce the policy about you having to be in good standing.’” In the section governing the eligibility of a student organization’s president and vice president, the Student Organizations Manual stipulates that he or she must maintain two qualifications: have and maintain a minimum 2.5 grade point average, and remain in “good standing” with the University—which is defined as the avoidance of

academic or disciplinary probation. A subsequent clause in the manual states that “Failure of any executive board member to maintain good standing with the University and the failure of any president or vice-president to maintain a minimum 2.5 grade point average may result in the removal from office.” “So I think [Marchese] mentioned in his resignation [to UGBC] that he was involved in a judicial case, so I can’t talk about that, but you can imagine that, as a result of the judicial case, that he was no longer in good standing,” Miceli said. The OSI learned about Marchese’s conduct case, Miceli said, directly from the Dean of Students’ Office (DOS), as is the standard practice for student conduct cases that could affect a student’s eligibility to lead an organization. He said that the practice is for someone in DOS to contact either Burkett or the advisor of the organization in which the student is a leader. In this case, he said that the DOS followed standard protocol and reached out to Burkett. Burkett declined to confirm that he was contacted by DOS regarding Marchese’s case, on the grounds that he is unable to comment on a student’s information. “Technically, I can’t even confirm from the University’s point whether [Marchese] is in good standing,” Miceli said. “That would be a FERPA violation—that is the law that governs student records.” “I strongly disagreed with the outcome of my hearing because I thought there was no evidence to support what the conduct officer had found me responsible for, and when I had subsequent meetings about my hearing,

See Marchese, A3

On Monday, the University announced that Michael J. Lochhead, BC ’93 and CGSOM ’99, will succeed Patrick J. Keating as executive vice president (EVP). The current Vice President for Administration and Finance and Treasurer of the College of the Holy Cross, Lochhead’s succession as EVP follows Keating’s decision to retire from the University after serving as EVP since 2001. Lochhead graduated from Boston College with a degree in accounting, and he subsequently obtained an MBA from the Carroll School of Management in 1999. Within his new role, Lochhead will oversee the University’s strategic and planning efforts, according to the Office of News and Public Affairs (ONPA). Lochhead brings a diverse resume of experience in finance and higher education. He began his career in higher education at BC as a senior financial analyst in the controller’s office in 1995, and then he worked at Holy Cross for 10 years as the chief financial officer and treasurer. According to ONPA’s online press release, Lochhead worked with the university to develop strategic financial initiatives as a manager for the Higher Education Consulting Practice at Arthur Andersen LLP, a Chicagobased accounting firm. “I am delighted that Mike Lochhead will be our new executive vice president,” said University President William P. Leahy, S.J., in the press release. “He has broad experience in finance and administration, knows Boston College and Jesuit higher education well, and is passionate about our mission.” Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley echoed Leahy’s praise of Lochhead in the press release, calling him a natural leader and someone who is committed “to strengthening Boston College.” The EVP is responsible for working with the President and the Board of Trustees to oversee the University’s strategic and campus planning efforts. Lochhead, a father of four daughters and whose wife Christina graduated from BC as well, told ONPA that he is honored to return to BC. “Boston College has had a profound impact on my intellectual, spiritual, and professional development,” he said in the press release. “I have always envisioned returning to BC in a leadership capacity and have geared my professional development over the years to best prepare me for this opportunity.” Lochhead will begin his term as EVP on Feb. 9. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Lochhead, a double Eagle and former vice president at Holy Cross, will begin his new position as EVP on Feb. 9.


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things to do on campus this week

The Heights At 12:30 p.m. today in the Barat House on Newton, the Center for Human Rights and International Justice will welcome Brian Concannon from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti for a discussion about the interaction of networking, social media, and justice in Haiti.

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Thursday, November 20, 2014 The Trojan Women will premiere tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Robsham and run through Sunday evening. Written by Euripides, the play follows the fates of the women of Troy after the city is sacked. Tickets can be purchased for $10 from the Robsham box office.

Professor Regine Jean-Charles, an assistant professor in the French and the African and African diaspora studies departments, will deliver a talk today at 4:30 p.m. in Devlin 101 about visual culture and rape representation, a topic about which she frequently writes.

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Awareness Krause critiques U.S. repsonse to ISIS is crucial By Carolyn Freeman Heights Staff

Alex Gaynor If one has ever stepped foot into Campus Ministry or has recently walked through the Quad, he or she would likely be able to deduce that something important went down in El Salvador during the 1980s. For most of us, the horrific events of the 12-year Salvadoran civil war and death-squad killings of priests and civilians alike has little or no effect on our lives today. There are tests to be taken, papers to write, and meetings to attend, so events that happened 25 years ago seem to be anything but in our consciousness. Before attending the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice this past weekend—a conference that commemorate the Jesuit martyrs of the University of Central America (UCA) and seeks to continue their conversations on justice—I could have agreed with this sentiment: sure, it’s a travesty, but why does it really matter in my life? The point is that we all should care. To be global citizens, we all should care about events that shock the consciousness of a people, destroy lives and institutions, and cause fear, regardless of whether they occur halfway around the world or on our own campus. The martyrdom of the Jesuit priests in November 1989 still has a strong influence today, both within and outside of the Jesuit world. On the surface, this annual act of remembrance could seem like an overdone elegy, if the proper spirit is not embraced. On a macro level, this act of injustice is still relevant today, as it mirrors injustices that are so prevalent in our everyday lives. What got the Jesuits killed was advocating for truth in regard to the Salvadoran poor, the human rights violations perpetrated by the government, and the evils of civil war—this was all contrary to the mindset of the government. Starting as mere whispers and perhaps growing into more of a murmur, there has recently been a bit more dialogue on Boston College’s campus about the apathy commonly associated with the student body. From stigmas such as the “BC lookaway” to larger concepts such as the lack of student activism around campus, for a Jesuit institution, we as students don’t always do the best job of making it seem like we truly care about global and local injustices—at least once our service trips are over, our reflections have finished, or our classes end. Although BC students are not in the same position of putting their lives on the line to right injustices, it is disrespectful to the memory of the Jesuits and the whole idea of social justice to treat injustice as an abstract concept, and not to act in times of real need. The martyred Jesuits of the UCA are examples of individuals who put themselves out in the open to be criticized for their beliefs. Even if we do not know much about their story, what we should take away is this: they risked their lives to speak out for change. Co-president of Pax Christi International and a speaker at the Teach In, Marie Dennis remarked, “In the world, we’re called to keep our centers of gravity out there … outside of ourselves.” By maintaining an awareness of the problems that occur daily in the communities, countries, and regions around us, then, and only then, can we start to follow the model of the Jesuit martyrs and truly work to root out injustice.

Alex Gaynor is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at news@bcheights.com.

As part of International Education Week, assistant professor of political science Peter Krause discussed the problem of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Monday evening. Much of this problem is in the fact that everyone wants ISIS gone, but no one wants to do it, Krause said. The International Club of Boston College sponsored the event, along with the BC chapter of College Democrats, Americans for Informed Democracy, No Labels, the Arab Students Association, and the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Student Association. The areas ISIS controls tend to run along rivers, since access to water provides a key difference in terms of population centers and control over dams, Krause said. These areas also happen to have oil deposits. It would not be entirely wrong to describe ISIS as a terrorist group, Krause said, but it is more than that—in part because of the land it controls. “They’re much more than what we think of when we think of an organization that commits terrorist attacks,” he said. “Most groups that commit terrorist attacks are usually quite small … they don’t necessarily have a lot of money. They certainly do not rule and control large areas of territory. ISIS changes all of these things. “The group also gets 2 to 3 million dollars per day through oil revenue.” More so than other comparable groups like al-Qaeda, ISIS is able to

Michelle Castro / Heights Staff

Peter Krause spoke about the growing threat of ISIS and the hands-off approach that some nations are taking .

Seven different undergraduate students shared their experiences on Monday night in the latest installment of BC Talks. Modeled off of the popular TED Talks, the BC Talks undergraduate lecture series aims to present a diverse selection of students together to speak in a forum intended to encourage students to share their research and passions outside of the classroom. Run by Education for Students by Students since 2011, BCTalks has adopted the same principles as TED Talks, bringing students from a diverse educational background to present to their peers on their research and experiences. The fall installment of BCTalks brought seven students to speak on topics ranging from optimism, to the effects that electronic cigarettes have on a body, to spirituality’s never- ending journey. Kaylyn Wiese, CSOM ’18, was unable to present due to an illness. Alis Dicpinigaitis, A&S ’17, and Andrew Hawkins, A&S ’16, presented their scientific research. Dicpinigaitis explored the medical effects that electronic cigarettes had

attract members from other countries—notably Saudi Arabia, Libya and central Europe. “They are not dominantly a local organization,” he said. “A large part of ISIS’ manpower and womanpower—there are women in ISIS, as well—comes from abroad.” Krause also said that, in addition to the existing five pillars of Islam, Jihadist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda believe that jihad should be a sixth pillar. The groups’ interpretations of jihad are largely oriented around fighting against those whom “true believers” determine to be non-believers, Krause said. “ISIS subscribes themselves quite strongly to this ideology,” Krause said. For the most part, major players in the international community tend to agree that ISIS is harmful, but that does not mean anything will happen, Krause said. He compared this prob-

on the body, having done research and clinical trials with his father over the summer. He said that there had been no scientific research done on this topic despite electronic cigarettes being touted as a much safer alternative to regular cigarettes. He found that both normal and electronic cigarettes cause decreased cough sensitivity and hypothesized that it was the nicotine component that caused this. Hawkins researched the ethicality of the current method of treating Ebola. The World Health Organization has been utilizing convalescent serum therapy to treat patients, even though there is no proof of efficacy and speculation that it could even exacerbate the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS because of careless blood donation centers. “We have not held up to our responsibility of providing basic, supportive, care capabilities that are resource based,” Hawkins said. “And now we’re reacting, now we want a vaccine, now we want a convalescent serum to save ourselves from this virus while we’ve been lacking our responsibility all along.” Berent LaBrecque, A&S ’15, Missa Sangimino, A&S ’15, and Sofia Soroka, A&S ’18, discussed some of the political and social issues that are at hand

Police Blotter

1:43 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a BC student who was transported to a medical facility.

lem to a group project assignment in class: everyone needs to complete it, but no one wants to take the most responsibility. “Everyone has interest in getting rid of ISIS, but they would prefer that every other actor would pay the cost of doing so,” he said. “That’s one of the major reasons that ISIS hasn’t faced a very strong international coalition at this point.” In addition, the fact that the majority of the American public do not want the U.S. to intervene with the group and that President Barack Obama has a certain responsibility to the American people’s sentiment is preventing America from leading the charge, Krause said. “The U.S. is currently stating that it wants to … destroy ISIS, and the way it is going to do that is by partnering with the moderate local opposition,” Krause said. “So, basically, you’re going to start a war against two very

brutal and very strong enemies by backing a small, weak, and unpopular enemy. That’s not a winning equation as far as I see it.” Krause discussed four ways in which the U.S. could be more successful. The first was a humanitarian approach: stop the killing. Second, the U.S. could change the regime by overthrowing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Third, counterterrorism: destroy ISIS. Fourth, stabilize the region by containing ISIS. The fourth tactic would be the most feasible to push ISIS out of Iraq, Krause said. “Right now ISIS is in the middle of a massive proxy war in the region and it is one that they are not going to come out of any time soon,” he said. “There are no perfect solutions here. There is a common saying in the Middle East that it is all about the least bad option—and that really is the case here.” n

in society. LaBrecque, a history and political science major, discussed Kenya’s failed counterterrorism strategy, highlighting the disparity between the treatment social status of Christians and Muslims in the region. Sangimino had researched the effects of solitary confinement on violent criminals for her Law and Economics class. She came to the conclusion that at the very least, the system needs to be reformed, citing statistics such as a 65 percent recidivism rate of criminals two to three months after release and the enormous financial cost to hold a prisoner in solitary. Soroka discussed the optimism advantage and its place in our lives. One study of the optimism bias has shown that if one believes he or she will be happy, he or she is 1.6 times more likely to report good health later in the study. One issue with the optimism bias that Soroka raised is that when people who are told to have a positive outlook on their situation and then still don’t get better, they feel blamed for not being optimistic enough. The final two talks discussed relationships and spirituality, presented by Mergim Bajraliu, A&S ’17, and Walter Yu, A&S ’16. Bajraliu talked about his experience with the Sandy

Hook tragedy and the uncertainty and fear he felt when he realized his sister was at school the day of the shooting. After the incident, he changed the way he interacted with people, wanting to make every interaction full of as good intentions as possible so that if anything should happen to them, he would not have any regrets about his relationship with them. He emphasized that it is important to find the good in every situation, highlighting the fact that it is the small and seemingly insignificant acts that people do for one another that matter the most. Yu shared his experience of questioning his faith as he grew up. Raised a devout Catholic, he eventually left the Church in an effort to discover what his place was in world, asking questions such as, “Why am I Catholic?” and “Why can’t I wake up happy?” He emphasized that his story was not one of a kid becoming an atheist, but rather one of self-discovery and openness to change. “Pursuing a spiritual journey is never easy, as it shouldn’t be,” said Yu. “It requires an honesty and a vulnerability so intense and so sincere, and an openness to change is an openness to the possibility that one’s own values and beliefs might be wrong." n

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CORRECTIONS Please send corrections to eic@bcheights.com with ‘correction’ in the subject line.

11/14/14 - 11/15/14

1:39 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was transported to a medical facility. 11:40 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in Ignacio Hall.

If you could only eat one Thanksgiving food for the Who is your favorite BC Dining employee? rest of your life, what would it be? “My aunt’s cranberry sauce.” —Evelyn Rakowsky, A&S ’18

“Mashed potatoes.” —Lena Arnold, A&S ’18

Saturday, November 15 12:06 a.m. - A report was filed regarding vandalism to a residence. 12:21 a.m. - A report was filed regarding vandalism to Walsh Hall.

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By Gus Merrell Heights Staff

8:58 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a past larceny in Maloney Hall.

A Guide to Your Newspaper

Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223

BCTalks showcases student interests

Friday, November 14

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—Source: The Boston College Police Department

“My mom’s pumpkin bread.” —Kerry Lawlor, CSOM ’18

“‘Chocolate pudding pie.” —Solina Jean-Louis, A&S ’18


The Heights

Thursday, November 20, 2014

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Keenan advocates for collective approach to fellowship advising Fellowships, from A1 so that nothing is so dependent on one person. If that person leaves, things don’t get done.” As far as outreach to find applicants for their respective fellowships, Christensen said he sees a mixture of interested students who approach him and those who professors have identified as potential Fulbright candidates. Hayao starts recruiting sophomores to apply for the Truman as juniors, and talks to groups that are well-connected on campus and are involved with programs related to public service. The Truman Scholarship is awarded to juniors who demonstrate leadership potential and commitment to public service. Mary Roberts, professor of chemistry and coordinator for the Goldwater and Churchill scholarships—as well as grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH)—asks science departments to nominate students to apply, and advertises the scholarships to students in her own classes as well. With the specificity for the science-based scholarships, she noted that not as many students apply for these as might apply for Fulbright, for example, making her workload as an advisor manageable.

That specificity creates a problem for Roberts, however, as she tries to pull in applicants in the first place. Getting undergraduates more aware of the opportunities for scholarships is challenging, she said, and she tries to encourage fellow faculty members to make announcements in class, but it does not always happen. “I think BC needs a culture where this is really pushed,” Roberts said. “It doesn’t start early enough here.” A culture is precisely what Rev. James Keenan, S.J. would like to see at BC—a culture in which students and faculty can meet and work together in preparation for fellowship applications and interviews. Keenan, the Founders professor of theology and director of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program (PSP), has advocated to the provost’s office over the past few years for a more transparent, collective approach to fellowships advising that could extend the work of isolated individuals such as Hayao, Christensen, and Michael Resler, professor and chair of the German studies department and another Fulbright advisor. “Until we have that culture, we’re never going to be doing as well as we should be doing,” Keenan said. “Our track record [with fellowships] is not what it easily can be.”

Specifically, Keenan proposes a program, led by a senior faculty member who holds more clout than the UFC does currently, that would have a collective vision for fellowships advising and particularly emphasize preparation for students earlier in their college careers. Evidence of the need for a program, Keenan said, can be found in the fact that many students outside of the PSP approach him for help on fellowship applications because they know he works with PSP students on similar endeavors. He is happy to do this, he said, but there should be a whole aggregate of faculty members who could be available to advise students. “This would change everything. It would diminish the anxiety that students have,” he said. “Where would we be if we had a whole group together?” The Advanced Study Grant (ASG) program is a logical first step for students who want to apply for major fellowships later on, and Keenan said that there needs to be more transparency in ASG applications. In recent years, he approached Donald Hafner, former vice provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and director of the UFC, to find out what successful ASG proposals looked like, yet he was not permitted to see them or post them anywhere for students to see

as an example. He has also urged the University to consider opening up mock fellowship interviews—which are arranged for major fellowship finalists—for other students to attend, students who have perhaps applied for ASGs or Undergraduate Research Fellowships (URFs). “I know that students who are being interviewed don’t mind it at all because, as a matter of fact, there’s a sense of solidarity at meetings like that, rather than a sense of intimidation, or mockery, or anything,” Keenan said. “There’s actually a lot of esteem that these … are the candidates that BC wants to promote. We couldn’t get [the provost’s office] to first base, but I’ve been talking about it for years.” Roberts agreed that the UFC should have examples of proposals, and Hayao called ASGs his “prime recruiting ground” for potential Truman candidates, who will have gained vital experience proposing a project and conveying their ideas when applying for the smaller grants. Keenan said that there are easily 100 to 200 students at BC at any time who are working at the level required of major fellowship applicants, and that there should be more dialogue among these students and faculty to reduce hearsay surrounding who is applying for which awards and fewer one-on-one, isolated conversations,

which he said was the prevalent form of advising under Hafner. “I know that Dr. Hafner, toward the end, started asking groups of people to show up [to meetings], but then it still was not to be shepherding or working with them—it was a one-time information session,” Keenan said. He would like the support network that PSP students have at their disposal to extend to the entire University, and believes now—in the transition after Hafner stepped down at the beginning of the semester—is the right time to make a move toward a fellowships program at BC. “We need a program so that these students are not going through really tough application processes, really tough interview processes, and then great disappointment, when there really shouldn’t be as much disappointment as we have,” Keenan said. “I’m concerned with how frustrated some students feel afterwards, and how badly they feel, when they see what other schools are doing. “It’s not just that it would be good to have a collective and program, it’s that, in light of our track record, we have to have something like this so that we don’t keep leading students inadequately toward an interview that’s not on-par with what other schools are doing to prepare.” n

Marchese cites administrative pressure as reason for resignation Marchese, from A1 I was told, ‘If you were any other student this would just be a conversation,’ and it that made me go crazy,” Marchese said.

According to Marchese, the sanction placing him on University probation expires in one month, and was the result of a history of conduct violations accrued over the course of his freshman and sophomore years at Boston College. That history, he said, provided the grounds for the DOS to finalize the sanction. Marchese said that he believed the decision that DOS arrived at was unjustified, and filed an appeal to reverse the sanction, arguing that there was a lack of proof surrounding the matter. On Nov. 6, Marchese said that he received notification that DSO denied the appeal. While Marchese had formally announced his resignation to UGBC members last Sunday night at the organization’s weekly Student Assembly meeting, he had originally declined to publicly comment on the specifics surrounding his resignation. Now, he said that his resignation was less a decision than it was the better end of a forced ultimatum, which he said he made for both the betterment of UGBC and personal relations with the University. “I just wanted to clarify that UGBC is not a puppet of the administration and my decision to leave was personal, although it was forced,” he said.’. According to Marchese, the decision to go public with the alleged ultimatum was largely aimed to dispel concerns he had heard about the deposition being the result of his own personal policy disagreements with OSI—a report he

deemed false. Instead, he stated, the decision to step down was compelled by Burkett’s ultimatum—which he said was due to an interpretation of the Student Organizations Manual: an OSI-produced document that governs the rules and regulations of registered student organizations (RSOs). Marchese said disagreements arose between himself and Burkett over the interpretation of the word “may” in that clause —that failure to maintain a certain GPA and remain in good standing “may result in the [student leader’s] removal from office.” He also stated that Burkett’s interpretation of the manual was unprecedented, and expressed concern over Burkett’s understanding of the manual to other OSI administrators, arguing that it went against years of prior interpretations. According to Marchese, those concerns were met with no response from OSI—only a reiteration of the policy that would be applied to him. When contacted for comment on his involvement in the decision, Burkett declined to comment. “This is a question that you should ask of [Marchese],” Burkett said in an email​. ​“ He​ resigned for personal reasons I don’t feel comfortable speaking for him.” Although UGBC has its own policies on qualifications for executive membership, Marchese said that OSI technically has the ability to override them. Burkett stated that while OSI does reserve that right, it has not done so. “​The UGBC Constitution was written by students and approved by students,” Burkett said. “While OSI is granted by the UGBC Constitution the ability to

override decisions, we have not exercised that ability. Students wrote safeguards that they deemed necessary to ensure the proper operation of their organization. We enforce their rules and regulations to the best of our ability and always keeping the best interest of the organization in mind.” Marchese faces the opportunity to return to office in January, after his probationary period expires. His re-installment, though, hinges on the appointment of the UGBC Executive Council, the approval of the Student Assembly, and

the final approval of OSI—which Marchese and UGBC President Nanci FioreChettiar, A&S ’15, confirmed will likely remain up to the discretion of UGBC members, not OSI administrators. Marchese said he hopes that, despite no longer holding office, the circumstances surrounding his removal will generate increased campus awareness of OSI’s authority over UGBC, as well as dialogue on alleged administrative restrictions on student affairs. “I think that, moving forward, UGBC is probably going to be more open with what

it tells the student body and take firmer stands with the administration,” he said. “I wanted to clarify that UGBC would not back down from disagreements with the administration, even if I was told to resign or be removed. I also wanted students to know that I would not resign from a job that I love and leave the organization in such a mess if it wasn’t something that I had to do … and that it was about me, not the

organization.” n

Editor-in-Chief Eleanor Hildebrandt a n d He ig h t s E d i t o r An d r e w S k a r a s contributed to this article.

emily fahey / Heights editor

Former UGBC EVP Chris Marchese said that OSI told him to vacate office or he would be forced out due to conduct-related matters.

UGBC executives discuss process, missteps in replacing EVP Succession, from A1 Hagop Toghramadjian, Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee and A&S ’17, also disapproved of the process that the Executive Council used, but was more concerned with what would come next. “My initial instinct—despite all my misgivings for the Constitution—is, and was, what’s most important is that UGBC continues to function, continues to be successful with its initiatives, and that this is our primary concern,” Toghramadjian said. The process in question began last Monday—Nov. 10—according to Fiore-Chettiar and Marchese, when the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) informed them that Marchese had to either voluntarily resign or be removed by OSI for failure to meet the eligibility requirements for student leaders [Ed. Note: See accompanying story for more on Marchese’s resignation.] After that meeting and after informing the Council, Fiore-Chettiar said that they first tried to appeal the OSI decision. “The Executive Council disagreed with that outcome, completely,” FioreChettiar said. “We were all on the same

page with that—we all disagreed.” As a result of that meeting, FioreChettiar said that they met the next day with Katie O’Dair, associate vice president for student affairs; Richard DeCapua, associate dean of students for student conduct; Barbara Jones, Vice President of Student Affairs; Gus Burkett, Director of OSI; and Mark Miceli, associate director of OSI and advisor to UGBC, to appeal OSI’s decision. The Council was not, however, able to convince the administrators to overturn OSI’s decision. After it was clear that Marchese would have to step down as EVP, the Council began discussing who would succeed him on Thursday, starting with line of succession delineated in the UGBC Constitution. The Council discussed Rosella—the first in line—but decided not to ask him. As the next in the line, Martin Casiano, VP of Diversity and Inclusion and A&S ’15, was asked if he was interested, but he declined, according to Fiore-Chettiar. After that, Dhara Bhatt, VP of Student Organizations and CSOM ’15, was asked as the next in line. Fiore-Chettiar said that Bhatt also declined and that Bourff was discussed next. “Connor showed some hesitation be-

cause he loves Student Initiatives, but he also realized that he made the most sense given all of [his] other qualifications and said that, if it was what was needed, he would step up,” she said. The Council reached a unified conclusion, Fiore-Chettiar said, and presented their decision to the Leadership Conference that evening, when Marchese informed them that he was stepping down. According to several chairs that were at the meeting, the reaction was astonishment and concern about how the organization would move forward. Only later was the question of the constitutionality of that appointment raised. FIore-Chettiar and Bourff said that, at the time, they believed that they were operating in a constitutional manner. None of the chairs at the Thursday Leadership Conference meeting questioned this, but Isaac Akers, Chair of the Rules Committee—the SA committee responsible for upholding the integrity of the Constitution—and A&S ’16, was not present at that meeting. “We were under the understanding from OSI, and specifically from [Burkett]—he was involved in the creation of the Constitution—that we got to pick, as an Executive Council, who the leader

serving in that position would be, and that he would be the one to approve it, and we didn’t really question that at the time,” Fiore-Chettiar said. It was only after Marchese informed the entirety of UGBC of his stepping down that the question of the constitutionality of the decision was raised. At the SA meeting after the UGBC general meeting, there was some confusion about the process, according to Takahashi. She said that Senator Nikhil Kanitkar, CSOM ’17, asked why Rosella had not been approached to succeed Marchese. Fiore-Chettiar said that the discussion had not altered her understanding of the procedure, and that it was not until Monday that she reconsidered the constitutionality of the process. It was at the SA meeting that Akers first learned about the appointment. He said that, after the meeting, he began reviewing the governing documents to understand how the Council might have reached its conclusion. Although he believed that Rosella should have been approached, he also said that the Constitution was vague on the matter. From his understanding of the document, OSI and SA—primarily through the Rules Committee—could interpret the Constitution, and after learning that OSI had been consulted,

he decided that there were better ways that he could use his time. In review, he did not agree that the procedure the Council employed was constitutional, however, and said that it was important that SA had a say in the process. “I think there’s a reasonable argument to be made that the way they chose to proceed was not in accordance with the procedures that I am tasked with understanding and safeguarding,” Akers said. “And I didn’t think that the entire procedure was done in a way that was transparent.” He also said that the Council should have sought SA input sooner, but that it was important, nonetheless, that they were seeking approval now. As a result of the controversy that arose surrounding this process, Fiore-Chettiar stated that the Rules Committee would revisit the Constitution over Winter Break. Akers said that he would be spearheading the revisions. “I want to make sure this is a process that is open, transparent, and accessible to feedback on the workings of the current document for the people that are in [UGBC],” Akers said. n Editor-in-Chief Eleanor Hildebrandt and News Editor Connor Farley contributed to this article.


The Heights

A4

Editorial

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Recommendations for Student Guide revisions

This semester, the Dean of Students’ Office (DOS) began an overdue overhaul of the Boston College Student Guide, a handbook of the policies and procedures relevant to students’ rights and responsibilities at BC. DOS has invited the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) and members of UGBC to collaborate on this effort, which will hopefully lead to a document more reflective of students’ needs. While revisions are underway, there are a number of issues that should be kept in mind. First and foremost, the administration must adjust its procedural approach to Student Guide revisions. In addition to the changes DOS made over the summer, revisions were made this semester as well, according to the JavaScript documentation of the website’s history. As students were not notified in either case, they have no way to know whether the changes were substantial and if they had the potential to impact students’ rights or not. When rules that students are expected to follow and the procedures by which students are disciplined change, the entire student body has the right to know immediately. As the department accountable for the Guide, DOS has the responsibility to inform students via email or otherwise—it is unreasonable to expect students to know the contents of a constantly changing guide. Changes should only be made immediately if they are urgent, and then only with prompt notification. Otherwise, a regular schedule for revisions—at most once per semester—would be the most effective method for DOS to ensure students and administrators remain on the same page. Within the Guide, Section I breaks down the resources available to students and describes important departments, such as the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA), University Counseling Services, and the Office of Residential Life. Their connection within the broader University administration is unclear, though. On other BC webpages, organization charts delineate the chain of command for departments reporting to the President’s Office, the Executive Vice President’s Office, the Provost’s Office, and the Office of the VPSA. Although several need to be updated to reflect recent hiring changes, the charts should subsequently be linked to the Guide to make upper-level administrative structure clear. The second section of the Guide offers insight into organizations with which students can become involved, with a special emphasis on UGBC and the school senates for LSOE, CSON, and WCAS. While this is important information, the fact that it makes up a majority of the section is somewhat misleading, as it only accounts for a small portion of the extracurricular experience. “Undergraduate Student Clubs and Organizations” is used as an umbrella for all other groups. It would be excessive to list every single organization on campus, but it would not be unreasonable to have a sentence or two about each category to provide a better idea of what is available. Section III lays out the programming policies that the University has set for student groups, and although it goes into great detail, some portions remain ambiguous while others espouse bad policy. Through a reference to the OSI website, the Guide makes mention of the training necessary for RSO leaders. In addition to the difficulty in locating the policy—due to the lack of a link—the policy itself is problematic. Poorly attended, leadership training events are of dubious utility for the students who do show up. Although it is understandable that club presidents and treasurers should receive training—as they do control money allocated to them by the University—it is not clear what purpose the training is supposed to serve for other members. In fact, many of the links that connecting the Guide to other parts of the BC website are dead links, which need to be updated. Additionally, there are a

number of recurring inconsistencies in terminology and office names—such as the outdated “Student Programs Office” or “SPO,” and “Office of the Dean for Student Development” or “ODSD.” These are relatively minor issues when compared to the policies’ substance, but nonetheless pose an unnecessary challenge to students trying to parse its contents. A policy under contention recently, which is neither well known nor mentioned in the Guide, is the prerequisites for RSO membership. Currently, unregistered student organizations with graduate student members cannot be registered. Although it is logical for the University to try and ensure that undergraduates get the most out of an extracurricular experience, with appropriate restrictions on graduate students—such as not allowing them to be club leaders—their participation in RSOs need not limit the undergraduate experience. While not RSOs, athletic teams and cheerleading are two examples of organizations in which graduate and undergraduate students have successfully integrated, and they could provide a model for RSOs. Another concern is that RSOs—unlike the athletic teams and cheerleading—are funded by the Student Activities Fee (SAF), which graduate students do not pay. This, too, can be remedied by requesting that graduate students who wish to participate in extracurricular life pay a portion of the SAF to defray the cost. Even if the University decides not to change this policy, they should at the very least update this section to make it unambiguous. Sections IV and V outline community standards and student conduct policies. Although these two sections are overall the most detailed and clearest in the Guide, some parts could use even greater specificity. In the fourth section, sub-sections that deal with failure to comply; marijuana policy; the right to express, agree, and disagree with different opinions; and the right to protest are all ambiguous. The policies on protesting are unclear and allow for the potential restriction of open discourse on campus, and the Guide does not provide the necessary forms, should student groups wish to register protests. Another aspect of the conduct policy that needs to be clarified is the section outlining the appeals process. According to Section 5.6, students have the right to appeal a conduct decision “If the student demonstrates that the University committed a material procedural error that was likely to adversely affect the result of the conduct adjudication.” Nowhere does the Guide define what a “material procedural error” is, however, which potentially allows for administrators to make arbitrary decisions with no clear basis. Additionally, the lack of clarity can dissuade students from appealing a decision. The final section, a catch-all of remaining policies and procedures, has similar problems to the fourth and fifth sections. The language used to describe the permission needed for students to solicit on campus gives DOS the discretion to deny permission for any reason at all. If the University is committed to a free exchange of ideas—which it ought to be and claims it is—then it must not impede such exchanges, other than for instances that are legitimately injurious to students or faculty. Solicitation requests should still be submitted to the DOS in order to prevent excessive badgering of students by solicitors. It should, however, rescind the policy of deciding behind closed doors what messages are allowed to be shared with the larger student population, and by which groups. As UGBC, DOS, and OSI prepare to revise the Guide, they should consult with students in focus groups and open town hall meetings to gain as many perspectives before the Dec. 5 proposal deadline as possible. For their part, students should take advantage of the opportunities available to share their ideas.

The views expressed in the above editorials represent the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by the

Editorial Board. A list of the members of the Editorial Board can be found at BCHeights. com/opinions.

Heights

The

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Eleanor Hildebrandt, Editor-in-Chief Marc Francis, General Manager Joseph Castlen, Managing Editor

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Editorial

Kayla Famolare, Copy Editor Connor Farley, News Editor Connor Mellas, Sports Editor Kendra Kumor, Features Editor John Wiley, Arts & Review Editor Ryan Towey, Metro Editor Andrew Skaras, Opinions Editor Mary Rose Fissinger, Special Projects Editor Emily Fahey, Photo Editor Maggie Powers, Layout Editor

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing. -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), English poet, playwright, and actor

Letters to the Editor The following letters are in response to “A troubling disregard for UGBC’s Constitution,” an editorial by The Heights Editorial Board, originally published on 11/17/14:

An open letter to the student body

We, the Executive Council of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College, are writing to better clarify and apologize for the recent personnel changes and replacement process made public on Sunday in our general UGBC meeting and in The Heights. Our administration has prided itself on transparency and openness—however, the replacement process for Executive Vice President Chris Marchese was not done in that same spirit, and for that, we apologize. As the 11/17/2014 Heights’ editorial rightfully points out, we did not follow constitutional guidelines, nor did we properly include the Student Assembly in our decision-making process. We wanted to act quickly to stabilize UGBC after the seat fell vacant last week in this unprecedented situation, but in retrospect, we recognize that the process was flawed. That being said, we are taking the following steps to rectify the situation. On Monday night, we met with the SA chairs and Conference Leader to apologize and develop a plan of action. We are working together to develop a re-evaluation process to determine Chris Marchese’s potential return for the spring semester as Executive Vice President. On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Fulton 511, the senators will vote to confirm Connor Bourff as the Executive Vice President. We are proud of Connor for stepping up in this difficult situation, and we are confident in the choice for the new Executive Vice President. We have also realized through this process that the Constitution is inconsistent and often ambiguous. Much of the last two years of UGBC have been misdirected by solely looking inward and revising documents and titles. We believe that this year has been the opposite—this year’s UGBC has made great strides in better representing the student body through policy changes and the adoption of a disability taskforce, better advancing campus health

and discussion through Be Conscious and BC Ignites, and better utilizing student funds through more responsible planning and spending. We have also been working to release benchmark reports on the progress of the platform on which Nanci and Chris ran, which are planned for publication this week. Over the holiday break, UGBC will commit resources— specifically the Rules Committee of the Student Assembly—to updating and clarifying our governing documents. These resources will be limited as to ensure that UGBC does not slow progress or lose focus of the needs of the student body. The new revisions will not interfere with UGBC’s new external approach—the goal is not to get bogged down in internal logistics and politics, but rather take a holistic and practical look at the Constitution to determine what will serve UGBC, and ultimately the student body, best. This process will be done as transparently as possible, and we will solicit student feedback throughout the process. In their endorsement of the Nanci and Chris candidacy, The Heights wrote, “If elected, [Nanci and Chris] must also keep in mind that it is far easier to talk about transparency in someone else’s administration than it is to remain committed to their promises of an open government—when problems arise, they must be willing to stay honest with the student body about their shortcomings.” In the last week, we have acted in ways that we thought best served the student body—however, we have since realized that we made mistakes in that process. We are not ashamed to admit fault—we will always continue to address our shortcomings for the betterment of the student body. T he E xecutive C ouncil of the U ndergraduate G overnment of B oston C ollege

A clear breach of procedure The Constitution is clear that the Student Assembly should have been consulted in light of an Executive Vice President (EVP) vacancy, and the contention that the administration has absolute authority misinterprets the Constitution. As a former EVP, I find the episode, particularly the comments made by now-former UGBC members about its role on campus, to be disheartening and misleading. The truth is simpler. The mandate for UGBC lies with the undergraduates. Its main body is SA, and ultimate responsibility lies with UGBC’s leadership. These have been fundamental principles agreed upon by generations of UGBC leaders, including the framers of the Constitution. UGBC leaders are called to higher standards of conduct and compelled to accept responsibility for their actions. You run for UGBC in order to run toward responsibility, not away from it. The responsibility entrusted to UGBC leaders is to be an advocate to the administration, not a representative of it. The administration is only involved to the extent that it ensures conduct and operational guidelines are adhered to. At hand is not a question of autonomy, but

in being transparent with why we do what we do. As to the current situation, the President—with the consent of the administration—might have appointed an EVP, but it is up to the judgment of SA as to whether the circumstances surrounding the situation warranted the unprecedented step of not consulting SA beforehand. I can only imagine that such a step would be warranted if the UGBC leadership and the administration felt as if UGBC’s operational abilities and reputation would have been severely hampered in light of the actions or statements of those involved in the circumstances. This episode will test the character of all those involved in UGBC. I cannot think of better advocates than the remaining leadership and the current SA. They should be spared the actions of few. I have confidence in UGBC to learn from this experience and rededicate itself to its core values. Matthew Alonsozana Former Executive Vice President of UGBC BC ’14

The following letter is in response to “University implements anonymous ethics reporting hotline” an article by Connor Farley, originally published on 11/10/14:

Ethics hotline a step in the right direction This new anonymous ethics reporting hotline is long overdue. For far too long people have been scared to speak up, scared to “blow the whistle”, against unethical techniques and practices. This year, all of that changes: Boston College is changing the game. It is morally right to report fraud and file complaints on corruption. Yet it was too “risky” before this overhaul on our ethics reporting format to report on a questionable ethical practice. For the most part, those who whistle blow are the ones who end up punished, receiving the short end of the stick. People know this. They avoid being morally responsible because of the possible casualty of not having a job or getting shafted one way or another. Now, thanks to Ann Harte and many others who work behind the scenes, the system is revamped. Now BC faculty, staff, administrators, and even students can report any problems they see without facing any backlash or consequences. One might argue with Harte and say that this new system can’t resolve all issues and can’t even do it in a timely matter, saying 14 days is too long. Yet, it is not suppose to be timely and resolve all issues. The whole point of this

new system is to report a problem anonymously so that there is no backlash toward the whistleblower. Then the problem can get addressed after being investigated and assessed in a timely matter so that there isn’t any confusion and that even the littlest detail isn’t passed over. Then the appropriate punishment can be handed out. Like Connor Farley stated, there are other ways to deal with a situation before resorting to BC’s anonymous ethics hotline if it must be dealt with right away. Overall, BC is going in the right direction; there may be some bumps in the road for the new hotline, but at least it is an improvement. This is just a stepping stone in creating an easier way to deal with difficult situations. BC has taken the initiative and now its easier than ever before to report unethical practices, and BC staff, faculty, administrators, and students should take advantage of remaining anonymous when all other means of reporting a problem fails.

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.

Jordan Pentaleri, Graphics Editor Nicole Suozzo, Blog Editor Austin Tedesco, Online Manager Corinne Duffy, Assoc. Copy Editor Evan D. Gatti, Asst. Copy Editor Julie Orenstein, Assoc. News Editor Nathan McGuire, Asst. News Editor Marly Morgus, Assoc. Sports Editor Alex Fairchild, Asst. Sports Editor Samantha Costanzo, Asst. Features Editor

Contributors: Francisco Ruela, Keaton McAuliffe, Joy Li, Jack Stedman, Clare Kim, Gus Merrell, Juan Olvarria

J acob O rdos BC ’18

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Business and Operations

Mujtaba Syed, Business Manager Chris Stadtler, Advertising Manager Tricia Tiedt, Outreach Coordinator Donny Wang, Systems Manager Pamela Taylor, National Advertising Manager Jessica Turkmany, Account Manager Catherine Duffy, Collections Manager Russell Puleo, Project Coordinator


The Heights

Thursday, November 20, 2014

A5

Bodies are people, too

William Flautt

Bedtime - In our younger and more vulnerable years, we were given a strict bedtime. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it—when the clock struck 8 p.m., we were to begin the immutable bedtime regimen that would invariably place us comfortably under the covers by 8:30 p.m. And so it went every weekday night. We resented it then, but how little did we know! The idea of getting to bed that early is music to our ears. Like naptime, what went unappreciated in our youth has since become the unattainable goal that recedes before us hour by hour. It eludes us now, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will work harder, better, faster, stronger … and one fine evening, we shall sleep at 8:30 again. Care Packages - You are never too old for a care package. We don’t care if you are a middle-schooler off at a week-long camp for the first time, a freshman in the first semester of college, or a world-weary senior trying to make it through the final year: you can always enjoy the wonders of a care package. What’s not to appreciate about the idea that someone out there (probably your mother, but possibly someone else) is thinking about you and cares enough about you to assemble a delightful assortment of homemade baked goods, savory treats, and some trail mix to get you through the busiest times?

The hook-up culture prevails, on and off campus, and it is naive to think that students on the receiving end of a Jesuit education are not a part of this culture, too. Ever had a friend drunkenly and passionately hug someone you didn’t recognize at a party? Was his explanation something along the lines of “We went on Appa together!!!”? This is exactly what I’m talking about—the blatant contradiction of a well-educated, I-heart-Jesuits person letting his under-educated, nighttime body leap into a terrifying miasma of alcohol and hormones. Boston College embraces the Jesuit education of the person, but falls short in the education of the body. There is nothing being done on campus by the University to encourage an understanding of healthy—both physically and mentally—sexual relationships. BC’s service-oriented culture exists here because of the many wonderful Jesuits and non-Jesuits who have dedicated their lives to service. I am mostly referring to those who coordinate programs and help make volunteering in our free time a reality, but teaching, in and of itself, is certainly a form of service, too. This demographic of influential folks includes students, as well: Appalachia, 4Boston, and Arrupe leaders inspire and provide guidance to their fellow students according to the Jesuit way. Other student groups abound, driving this point home. BC has a realistic goal of getting students involved in helping others through service. It works—as a Jesuit, Catholic institution, the University exerts a powerful influence on what students choose to do with their free time during the day, and this is one of its defining goals. As a Jesuit, Catholic institu-

tion, however, BC has no realistic goal and exerts zero influence on what we as students choose to do at night with the rest of the student body’s student bodies. The University’s only guiding words of wisdom for its students is: “Incidents of sexual intercourse outside the bonds of matrimony may be referred to the Student Conduct System” (Section 4.6.8 of the BC Student Guide). Students are shocked to find out that these trite and threatening policies that deal with their bodies even exist, despite not being strictly enforced (thank God). We benefit from the Jesuit, Catholic traditions of service, spirituality, and the holistic education of the person. These strong traditions, however, carry with them some other strong traditions that are definitely not shared by a majority of students on a Catholic college campus—stances on gay marriage, contraceptives, and pre-marital sex, just to name a few. Catholics around the country see their faith as the guiding force in their lives. Nonetheless, this same set of doctrines and beliefs fails to address the reality that 95 percent of people report having sex before marriage. For BC students, participation in the hook-up culture is our parallel to this statistic. The divide between what is practiced and what is preached hits home at BC. On-campus realities are not realistically addressed by school policy. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to bridge the gap. Poor Pope Francis. He, more than anyone, understands this divide. He lived it for 18 years in the villas miserias slums of Buenos Aires, and he continues to deal with this issue well into his newest position at the top of the Catholic Church. In his first big Church document, “Evangelii Gaudium,” (The Joy of the Gospel), Francis explicitly says, “Realities are greater than ideas.” This drastically progressive statement is a manifestation of the Pope’s years of experience in the slums of Buenos Aires, a place where what the Church does—not what it stands

for—is what counts. The long-debated issues of divorce, remarriage, and communion were a common theme during the Pope’s time there. Rev. Augusto Zampini, who used to serve with the Pope in Argentina, gives these issues some perspective. “When you’re working in a shantytown 90 percent of your congregation are single or divorced, you have to learn to deal with that,” Zampini said. “Communion for the divorced and remarried is not an issue there. Everyone takes communion.” For the man who used to be known affectionately as “Father Jorge,” Church doctrine could be tossed out the window when it meant offering the community he lived in a service that mattered. Years later, this same man was ushered through the doors of the Vatican as Pope Francis. Certain members of the Church would claim that the question, “Is the Pope Catholic?” has become less of a rhetorical question ever since. Francis outlined his papal policy around the premise that “realities are greater than ideas,” suggesting that the reality of being Catholic is more than just following Church doctrine, whether you are the Pope or a college kid. It is frustrating that BC cannot embrace the realities of its own campus. If it were to exert as much of an influence on students’ fostering meaningful, safe relationships with our bodies as much as it currently encourages us to get our bodies involved in service, it could be the best in the business. Unfortunately, the Church’s identity is so strongly tied to its doctrines that for a Catholic institution, even with a renegade Pope, there is little hope for change. PULSE is a great class, but it looks like Education of the Body will be offered as independent study only. Good luck registering. These are the pros and cons of the Jesuit, Catholic tradition.

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

On eating disorders and being enough Alexandra Allam

Rat Infestations - And we aren’t talking about cute Pixar rats that cook, either. We are talking about the kind that are ugly and disgusting. Before we thought they only terrorized our office, but now we know better. Allegedly, there is an infestation in Ignacio. We have heard that they are occupying the sixth floor like dirty 21st century hippies occupied Wall Street not so many years ago. Those vermin are up there spreading panic and disease—who knows? They could be bringing hand, foot, and mouth disease down to Lower. And the University thought it could successfully quarantine it on Upper, where it would only affect freshmen, who, as we know, are disposable anyway. Ants - When we return to our rooms in the wee hours of the morn after a long night of studying, the last thing we want is to find that ants have staked a claim on the northwest corner of our desk. You’d be surprised how far those ants were able to develop that claim in the few hours it had been since we had left the room. We aren’t talking about any Roanoke-colony level progress—we’re talking about full on California-after-gold-was-found development. In the beginning, there was nothing. And then James W. Marshall said, “Let there be gold.” And, indeed, there was gold. The great, unwashed masses poured into California and civilization (of a sort) arose out of nothing. That’s the kind of progress we are talking about here. So we have waged war on these ants and hope to beat them back off our desk and out of our room.

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“You must forget everything you think you know,” the woman in black leather said as she entered the room. It was the third day of my second stay in residential treatment for the eating disorder that had swallowed the past 10 years of my life. In my years as a calorie-counter and professional labelchecker, the information I collected had not benefitted me, but it still seemed unfathomable that what I read on “good” and “bad” foods and that each weight-loss experiment I had conducted were all nonsense. Each construct of my eating disorder had been carefully placed to protect me from the reality of our society, which contains pressures that consistently made me feel inadequate. Limiting my focus to the realm of my food and body provided me with an escape from the more complex fear and question of my purpose. The fixation on my intake kept me numb from the pain that came with accepting myself, and this purpose made cutting the ties of every food ritual and behavior that much more difficult. Although I could see the truth in the words emitted from my dietitian’s mouth, it took me a long time to realize that I would have to entirely surrender to new information if I wanted something different. That time did pass, though, and over the next year, the foundation of my reality was uprooted and replaced with tiles of self-love, self-acceptance, and trust in my humanity. With my food, I stripped away the beliefs that had left me with an empty stomach, and I approached each meal with a blank slate and the reminder that I didn’t know what I liked yet, nor what would fuel me, and that my only job was to listen. The words of my treatment team were eventually replaced with the internal wisdom I had lost. I began to trust my body, rather than the numbers on the back of a package, and fed myself based on when my stomach grumbled. As far back as I can remember, I was always striving for more. Whether it was in the way I brushed my teeth or the grades I earned, I could always do better. I associated happiness with success and, since there was always more I could do, I was consistently unhappy. Although many may associate eating-disorder treatment with feeding tubes and weight gain, the primary focus is not how many pounds you can add, but how much self-worth you can establish. Anyone can put on weight, but many who struggle with the mental illness will not keep that weight if they do not care enough about

themselves to continue to nourish their bodies after discharge. Being taken out of normal life and placed in various forms of inpatient treatment, the only way I was able to measure my success was by how hard I fought for my life. Ironically, fighting for my life came in the very form of letting go of “success.” At first, it was devastating. I knew pushing myself was killing me, but if I didn’t push harder, I thought there was no point in surviving. I fell into serious depression and most words didn’t reach me until I was asked, “What if everything you already are is exactly enough?” The concepts I’d developed drove me to reject this notion. I had nothing left to believe, though, and so I held onto this new truth, and it wound up saving my life. I began to greet myself with acceptance, which was, at first, extremely unnatural. I had to force back the self-loathing and believe that each of my quirks was right, that every mistake I made was necessary, and that I was wholly adequate. The external by which I had once defined myself was taken away, and I was left with just my body, my mind, and my soul. I embraced every aspect of myself and lived with the perception that I was perfectly enough. Eventually, I no longer needed convincing of this. It was a principle upon which I built the rest of my self, and anything that challenged it was rejected. “Be more” fell into this category. This summer, I left transitional care to test out orientation at Boston College. When I had initially deferred my acceptance in 2013, I thought I had lost everything for which I had worked so hard. I couldn’t imagine my life without school and grades and outward measures of success. Arriving for orientation, I was still unsure whether I would attend—not for medical reasons this time, but because I wasn’t certain if college would be right for me. I had just begun to love my life and myself, and I didn’t want that to be cut short with the demands of college. With the Ignatian principle of “magis” so strongly emphasized throughout the session, I was quite certain I did not want to attend. I turned to my mom after a presentation on the importance of striving to be better than you are and whispered, “I don’t think this is going to work. Norah [one of my therapists] says I’m already enough—who are they to tell me otherwise?” “Alexandra, I don’t think that’s what they’re saying …” my mom replied. Although it’s true the idea of magis doesn’t specifically say, “you are not enough,” nor does it tell me to starve, purge, or exercise my way to a dangerous perfection, the

underlying message to work harder and be better, to compete with the you of yesterday, is a precarious one in and of itself. I wound up attending BC, and in many ways, I have loved my experience thus far. There is, however, more than just an undertone of stress that is obvious to me. Having spent the past two years hearing only the pressure to love myself more, words like “I should have done better” stand out, and I hear them every day. The mere fact that the cafeteria labels the bakery goods as “Temptations”—sending the message that certain foods are wrongly desired—makes me cringe, and every time I see groups of girls decked out in Lululemon running to the Plex, I wonder if they’re doing that for themselves or for who they believe they should be. I try my best to live in acceptance. I don’t knock people down for following a diet or wanting to do well in school. When I see a fellow freshman literally bent over shaking because one received a B- on her exam and is worried she won’t be accepted into medical school, though, I wonder if she will be able to live with herself should she be unable to achieve. I stick out when I ask for the intentions behind individuals’ workout routines or their latest diets, but I don’t think it’s so strange to want to know the reason behind what seems like extraneous pain and stress. For me, eating healthy means choosing what I want and honoring my body. Yet, in my first floor meeting, I was told my floormates and I should encourage each other to do quite the opposite, with words that went something like, “If you’re going down to Mac and you want to eat ‘healthy,’ you should encourage one another to eat salads together, rather than going for the pizza.” These constant messages make their way into our subconscious and go unchallenged, which determine how we divide ourselves into “good” and “bad” identities, with “magis” supporting all of them. Although the initial intention for all of these might have been to expand our awareness and support our growth, society has a way of taking everything to the extreme. Each time I pass the group of kids drinking to excess—perhaps to be the “best” partiers—or I overhear conversations over who did and did not fail his or her Chemistry midterms, I have to question whether anyone’s really growing from “being more.” I have to think maybe we are already enough.

Alexandra Allam is a guest columnist for The Heights. She 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.

Those (un) fit to govern Sean McGowan Sometimes, the good guys lose. Anyone who has ever read a Shakespearean tragedy or has watched HBO’s The Newsroom, only to have it cancelled after a flawless second season, knows this. From time to time, the universe will smite you with what seems to be unbearable, senseless pain, with no clear purpose other than to remind you of the incredible and unending suffering that this world allows. And that is what happened during the midterm elections of 2014. It probably won’t be that bad. It is worth pointing out that the man who will almost certainly assume the chair of the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works in January is the author of a book entitled The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future. While I have yet to read it, excerpts and the Amazon preview revealed no footnotes or research, and all evidence seems to come from what I’m sure is a carefully edited, peer-reviewed journal called “The Book of Genesis.” So, on an unrelated note, if you happen to have one of those crazy uncles who thinks we faked the moon landing, your holiday shopping might have just gotten a little easier. Now, if all were right in the world, the book alone would be enough to prohibit James Inhofe, the Republican senior senator from Oklahoma, from supervising a middle school science fair, and certainly from assuming an integral role in the approval of federal funding for scientific research. The chair, however, is selected from the majority party. A few weeks ago, the pool of applicants became rather shallow, leading Michael Specter to remark in last week’s The New Yorker—outside of the humor section—that Pope Francis might be a better choice to head up the committee. As far as I can tell, he’s right. Now let that sink in. If the head of an organization which preaches, quite openly, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary—the doctrine that she never died and was sucked right up into heaven like Captain Kirk—actually becomes a better choice for the head of a committee on science than the man we are going to put in charge, a mistake was probably made somewhere. Probably a big one. The error runs much deeper than partisan lines. It is a problem of people—specifically the ones in Congress. More than ever before, Washington is run by career politicians. While they are referred to most often by the designation “public servant,” these people do no ostensible service to the public beyond the vague, fruitless promises of their professionally constructed campaign speeches. They fight, deceive, and acquire undisclosed amounts of money from shady interest groups in order to get elected, so that they can fight, deceive, and acquire more money to be elected again, ad infinitum. As the U.S. has become more populated and complex, the bureaucracy has expanded and complicated itself accordingly. For every new government function, there is a committee, a subcommittee, a majority leader, a minority leader, and more back-alley money than you’d find in Tony Soprano’s garage. If these committees were set up to function rationally (I know that sounds strange, but bear with me), one would assume that medical issues would be addressed by doctors, matters of science would be attended to by scientists, and integral decisions on educational policy would be left to … that’s right, educators. But what could motivate a kind, level-headed doctor, researcher, or teacher to suffer the abuse and corruption that comes with membership in a legislature made up of lobbyists and professional politicians? Although it is tempting to believe that it’s always been this way, a study done by the Brookings Institute reveals that the number of people in Congress who designate their primary occupation as “professional politician” or “public servant” has jumped from 94 in 1987 to 184 in 2013, outnumbering even lawyers, who dropped from 184 to 156. This makes one wonder why the people in charge of the most important decisions regarding the allocation of funds for science, the arts, and education are left to people who have forgone a continued education in any of these subjects in favor of self-promotion, electoral math, and campaign fundraising. This isn’t a problem with a quick solution. It is a deep flaw in the way we consider people fit or unfit to govern, and any real progress demands its solution.

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


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Murphy and Co. prepare for the reigning champs and the chop By Tommy Meloro Heights Staff When you’re the defending National Champions, everyone is going to give you his or her best shot. The champion sneaks up on nobody. From the instant the schedule comes out, your name is circled in red ink inside 12 different locker rooms. Through 10 games, the Florida State Seminoles have managed to escape that target fixated on their back. Through 10 games, they’re still undefeated, though it’s taken them some luck and some Houdini-esque escapes at the ends of games. Now, as the Boston College Eagles come to town, they’re setting their sights directly on the Seminoles and their 10-0 record. BC is no stranger to being a major underdog against FSU—last year, despite being on the bad side of a 22-point spread at home, the Eagles stood their ground. BC scored the most points against the vaunted Seminoles defense by anybody not participating in the National Championship Game. As BC prepares to head south, it does so well-rested, coming off its second bye of the season, one that came at the perfect time for the Eagles. Their last game, a home night skewering against the Louisville Cardinals, was memorable only for how poorly the Eagles played in all three phases of the game, and it doesn’t get any easier down in Tal-

lahassee. Jameis Winston is the main reason for the challenge facing BC. Last year, Winston threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns against BC, rushing for an additional 67 yards on 14 carries. BC was able to contain him early before crumbling late. Linebacker Josh Keyes, one of a number of returning defensive players to have faced Winston last year, is focused on playing a complete game to avoid another collapse. “They are a very strong team, you know, we need to play 60 minutes, and hopefully if we can do that, we’ll come out on top,” Keyes said. FSU won’t be intimidated by an early hole, however—it’s faced a number of those this year before roaring back to win its games, so it will be paramount for BC’s rushing offense to control the clock and not give Winston too many chances on the field—as the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense, and BC will need to rely on that this weekend. Quarterback Tyler Murphy, who is quite familiar with Florida football, is well aware of FSU and the issues it poses for opposing teams. “You know, how often do you get to go on the road and play the best team in the country?” Murphy said. “So we’re ready for the challenge, and we just have to show up and play our best football, leave it all on the field.” The Seminoles’ defense may not be nearly as feared as it was last

Emily fahey / heights editor

Coming off of a four-pick game, Tyler Murphy will look to revive the magic that helped the Eagles upset then-No. 9 USC earlier this season. year, when it ranked seventh in total defense, but they are still a talented team. This year, the ’Noles are 55th in total defense, and 35th in rushing, and pose a tough test for a BC team that has lived and died by its running game. Perhaps as big a worry for BC, however, is the environment itself. The Eagles have been pumping in

crowd noise all week now, simulating the Tomahawk Chop during drills and practice. So far this year, BC has acquitted itself well on the road—the team is 4-0 away from the confines of Alumni Stadium, including an impressive win down in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech. “It’s tough to say why we’ve been so good on the road,” Murphy said.

“Maybe we just come closer together because when we go on the road, it’s just us.” Before the season started, head coach Steve Addazio said one of his goals for this team was to make it to the ACC Championship game. The Eagles failed to accomplish that goal, and, realistically, nobody ever expected them to do so. This is an

opportunity for BC to hit that target on the back of Florida State, though, and to let the Seminoles and the rest of the nation know that BC is on its way back to relevance. In a few years, the Eagles hope to be the ones with that target squarely between their shoulders. For now, though, Florida State is in BC’s sights, and the Eagles are bearing down quickly. n

Men’s hockey’s problems are numerous, but solutions are prevalent By Michael Sullivan Heights Staff The 2014-15 Boston College men’s hockey team: 10th in Hockey East. A record that, just last week, sat under .500. A USCHO Poll ranking in the double digits. None of that seems right. This is a program that just notched three national championships in a five-year span. It’s manned by the all-time winningest coach in NCAA hockey history, not to mention nine players already drafted by an NHL team and another projected to go in the top five in 2015. Voters had high hopes going into the year for BC after last season ended in heartbreaking fashion down in Philly. Despite a disappointing defeat by a tough Union College team in last year’s Frozen Four, the USCHO awarded Jerry York’s team with the fourth spot in the preseason poll, with some believing BC would once again contend for a sixth national

championship. But this year’s team lacks the star power of last season’s. Losing his super line, York constructed this year’s roster with Bear Bryant’s words in mind—“offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.” He combined experienced returners, such as captain Michael Matheson and the talented Steve Santini, with younger standouts, like freshman Noah Hanifin. Based on the veterans’ past performance and Hanifin’s scouting reports, the Eagles were supposed to own the blue line. Everything but that has happened early in this season. So, what can the Eagles do to fix this season before it’s too late? Problem: The Eagles defense consistently underperformed in its first 10 games. Solution: Be patient. The famed Alabama football coach’s cliche may seem tired at this point, but BC will succeed through its defense this year.

To start, the two biggest stars—Hanifin and Matheson—must, and will, step up big time. Hanifin’s plus/minus sits at four under even, the worst on the team. Matheson’s inconsistent play—most notably against Harvard, when the Eagles allowed three goals with the captain on the ice—damaged this team’s chances in close yet winnable matchups against Boston University and Denver. Poor performance from great players often evens out over time, though. In 2004, Minnesota Twins pitcher Johan Santana seemed a mere mortal in the first half, with a 7-6 record and a 3.78 ERA. In the second half, however, he crushed opponents, with a 13-0 record to the tune of a 1.21 ERA and the Cy Young Award. Things look bad now, but consider that Hanifin is the second-youngest player in the league—the-17-year old has jitters, and justifiably so. As for Matheson, trust the stats—the junior finished with a plus/minus at 18 over

graham beck / heights senior staff

Noah Hanifin has excelled and struggled early on, but as the second youngest player in the game, it’s expected.

Seminoles look to stay on top From FSU, A8 as the season has progressed. Winston has avoided throwing an interception in only two games this year—matches against The Citadel and Syracuse. The running game is usually FSU’s Achilles heel, with its rushing yards per game in the bottom 20th percentile among FBS schools. Despite that statistic, Cook was able to play hero last week as he singlehandedly upended the Hurricanes on his final drive in Miami Gardens. BC enters the game with one of the best run-stopping defenses in the nation, so Cook will have his work cut out for him against the Eagles’ front seven. Last year, FSU used big plays to take down BC on Parents Weekend in Chestnut Hill. With two touchdown passes of more than 50 yards, Winston relied on his ability to extend plays and his cannon of an arm to torch the Eagles’ secondary for 330 yards on just 17 completions. Winston was also its

leading rusher in that game, gaining 67 yards on 14 carries. So much has changed for Winston since he claimed the award for top college player last season. Stellar play on the field was overshadowed by sexual assault investigating, obscenity yelling, and crab leg swiping. Each new edition of SportsCenter seemed like another episode of the (hypothetical) TV show Everybody Hates Jameis, with new controversies seemingly appearing daily. Yet despite all of this, FSU is winning football games. All of them. The ’Noles haven’t lost a game since President Barack Obama’s first term in office. Jimbo Fisher credits his high standards and the way the Seminole program is run, while Winston attributes the wins to Florida State’s regained “swag.” The Seminoles have been the beneficiaries of one of the relatively easier Power Five conferences, as they have only played three ranked teams, compared to the University of Alabama’s five. FSU

hasn’t even impressed in many of its cakewalk games, finding itself trailing against unranked teams North Carolina State, Virginia, and Miami. With incumbent No. 1 Mississippi State’s loss to Alabama on Saturday, the Seminoles had a case to regain the top seed heading into the inaugural College Football Playoff, but were ultimately jumped by Alabama. They also didn’t do enough to convince the committee to push them ahead of Oregon for the second seed. BC has played up to superior opponents and also down to the level of its competition this season, but this slight will only make the Seminoles hungrier than usual. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart visited Florida State’s football team before one of his shows at the university this past weekend, and he had a simple message for Winston: “Stop doing dumb s—t.” While he obviously has a point, it might be best for the Eagles if Winston brings the stupidity onto the football field this weekend. n

even last season. He’s shown he can run the show at a high level—eventually he should show results. Problem: Okay, say Hanifin and Matheson eventually meet expectations. What about the rest of the team? Solution: Have faith in the bench’s depth. Losing Santini—BC’s best stay-at-home blue liner—considerably hurt the Eagles’ depth. After suffering a broken wrist against UMass on Oct. 25, he’s not expected to play until January. That means BC must rely more on its second and third pairing defensemen, like Teddy Doherty and Ian McCoshen. Similar to Matheson, Doherty and McCoshen put up big numbers last season, combining for a plus/minus at plus-35, according to Hockey East. Both have continued that this season, especially Doherty, at plus-10—he also shows strength offensively, with a team-leading seven assists. If these two continue their impressive play, the Eagles will become considerably stronger once Santini returns. Problem: What about between the pipes? The Eagles have already allowed 25 goals this season. Doesn’t the responsibility lie there, too? Solution: Not as much as you may think. Sophomore goalie Thatcher Demko has given BC dominating performances, proving to be an invaluable asset to the Eagles again this season. In the nine games he’s played, Demko’s allowed a mere 2.1 goals per game on a .923 shot percentage, mirroring his stellar freshman year when he allowed 2.24 goals per game on a .919 shot percentage, according to the USCHO. Some of the goals he’s given up, especially against

BU, resulted from lucky bounces and blown coverages, not Demko’s poor play. Additionally, when a 103-degree fever handcuffed Demko before the Harvard game, senior Brad Barone filled in on short notice, putting in an admirable performance in his first collegiate start. A healthy Demko will keep the Eagles in games this season—no reason to worry on this front. Problem: Even so, the Eagles lack the offensive firepower of last year’s team. Solution: There’s no denying this team lacks a top-level goal scorer like BU’s Jack Eichel or Notre Dame’s Mario Lucia. Opponents held BC to no more than three goals in any of its last six contests, as the Eagles lost four of their last six. The offense, however, gets its spark from sophomore forward Ryan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald leads the charge this season for the Eagles, scoring seven of BC’s 30 goals this season—the most on the team and second in Hockey East. This keeps consistent with his impressive freshman season, as Fitz made a name for himself as a playmaker among that powerhouse trio of forwards—he notched 13 goals and 16 assists, giving hope to the future of York’s team. It seems a lot to ask of Fitzgerald, to try and match the production of Gaudreau or Hayes—however, he now is the go-to goal scorer for the Eagles. He just needs to keep playing like it. Problem: All that said, BC still seems unfocused on the ice. Solution: Sloppiness and inconsistency plagues BC more than anything. On offense, the Eagles look out of sync—consistently in

their losses, they miss easy passes, get off bad shots, and have trouble taking advantage of the power play, most notably against Harvard when they failed on all of their seven opportunities. Defensively, BC struggles to prevent the easy shots, often screening Demko and allowing easy tip-ins, like Evan Rodrigues’ go-ahead goal for the Terriers two weeks ago. BC needs the experienced Fitzgerald and Matheson to lead the Eagles—the country’s second youngest team—by example. Matheson must get past his sloppy play and perform to his talent-level. This may inspire Hanifin, as the blue line mates would then work most effectively. Fitzgerald, on the other hand, should keep doing what he’s doing. With many of BC’s goal scorers—Alex Tuch, Zach Sanford, Adam Gilmour—either the same age as Fitzgerald or younger, he already fills the void at the role model position. Fitz now needs to show the new kids how to succeed. Big Picture: For the Eagles to return to their championship form, first they need Matheson and Hanifin both to overcome their poor starts. Additionally, Doherty and McCoshen need to play at consistently high levels while Santini recovers from injury. Everyone needs to stop blaming the goalies for losing games, because they’ve done a heckuva job. Fitzgerald needs to keep scoring. And, while focusing on their own play, Fitzgerald and Matheson must ignite the younger players to tap into their full potential. All of this should equal a climb back to the Promised Land of the Frozen Four. Seems easy enough, right? n


THE HEIGHTS

EDITORS’ EDITORS’PICKS PICKS

Thursday, November 20, 2014 The Week Ahead

Standings

Women’s basketball plays Boston University tonight. The football team travels to Tallahassee to take on an undefeated Florida State team that boasts Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. Men’s hockey will look to continue to get its season on track when it plays Maine on Saturday night. Manchester United plays Arsenal in Premier League action.

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The field hockey team was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Penn State last weekend. Men’s basketball opened its regular season up with a 58-50 triumph over New Hampshire. Against Michigan State, the men’s hockey team ended its four-game losing streak. Johnny Gaudreau’s Flames beat Ottawa, 4-2.

Game of the Week Women’s Basketball

Boston vs. Boston College University

Guest Editor: Austin Tedesco Online Manager

“Trying to dance sober is a whole different kettle of fish.” CONNOR MELLAS

This Week’s Games

Sports Editor

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W. Basketball: BC vs. BU

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Football: BC vs. No. 3 Florida State

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Boston College Women’s basketball hosts Boston University in their home opener tonight. Two games into the season, both teams are 1-1 and coming off recent wins. After losing to No. 6 Stanford, BC defeated St. Mary’s College to split its West Coast road trip. Freshman Ashley Kelsick has secured the point guard role and has played big miutes alongside Nicole Boudreau and Kelly Hughes. The Terriers opened their season with a loss to Vermont before beating Harvard on Monday.

Thursday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum

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GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Derrick Boateng, Olivier Hanlan, and Johnny Gaudreau are all interesting and entertaining to cover, but how would they fit into a soccer team?

Johnny Gaudreau would be a great false nine From XI, A8 show. We never saw the best out of Frano in his last year at BC, because he was stuck at right back and as a shuttler. He never got in sync with the rest of the squad in the diamond, and he was at his best when he played alongside Henry Balf in the 4-4-1-1 that beat Notre Dame. Left center midfield: Derrick Boateng As the ball dropped out of the sky late in a game against North Carolina last season, Nana took the best first touch I have ever seen when he killed the ball on the spot with a delicate piece of skill. Everyone in the press box said, “Woah,” including Director of Athletics Brad Bates. The skill on Nana is next-level, and his work rate, when he’s in the mood, is off the charts. People around campus compare him to Mario Balotelli because there’s talent and then this very weird side to him, but the Italian doesn’t work—Nana does. Right center midfield: Jameis Winston He’s the Yaya Toure of this

squad, and as a disclaimer, I’m only talking about him as an athlete and a leader. Forget the off-the-field issues for a second, and just appreciate how much Winston can ball. He put up video game numbers against some of the best teams in the country last season and can distribute the ball excellently (especially in the second half this season). His passes are whipped into his receivers’ hands in the way top center midfielders play through balls into the feet of forwards. People think Winston is dumb, but he doesn’t have much time in the pocket to find his guys, yet he does so anyway. Something must be working up in his brain. Imagine what he could do with a bit more time on the pitch. Left wing: Olivier Hanlan All he’s going to do is cut into the middle of the pitch and score after playing a 1-2 with Nana. He should be able to drive by a few defenders on his way to goal, and—being the lethal finisher that he is—tally a lot of goals. Also, he worked on his mid-range shooting this

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summer, and he showed off his shooting abilities from distance under Steve Donahue. Right wing: Isaac Normesinu Men’s soccer had the ultimate right back/right midfielder combination for a few games last season. Shumowitz was an exemplarily modern full back, and there are not many of those in the United States, and Normesinu is faster than Sherman Alston (I have no evidence to prove this, it’s just a guess). Both wide forwards have the skill and talent to work with my false nine, too. Striker: Johnny Gaudreau Well, he wouldn’t really be a striker, but he’d take on the false nine role, meaning he starts up top and drops back to gain possession and help in the build up of the attack. In the Hockey East Tournament, Gaudreau performed this exact responsibility when he came into his own zone to get the puck so that he could have enough room to skate at Notre Dame’s well-organized defense. Could he do that with his feet? Probably, and the results would be pretty crazy, considering

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anyone in that role has to be able to create and finish. Gaudreau can do both. If I put this squad in Football Manager as is, it might concede over 500 goals and score just 10 in the Premier League, but it’d be an interesting journey. On my staff, I’d be lost without the people who would make me have fun and give me the confidence I’ve developed in myself. In addition, a public relations department run by a guy who could drive me to games, because I don’t have a license, would be a necessity. Finally, I have to say thank you to Dick Kelley, who let me cover BC men’s basketball games in high school. He was the Sir Bobby Robson to my Jose Mourinho, and without him, this past year of tactical columns and thoughts would not have happened. I’ll see you on the Internet and Twitter.

with Jerry York (by which time I had been informed of his legendary status), I got really, really excited. As the semester went on, I felt my general happiness—not only that which I associated with covering games—grow. Maybe I am biased because I grew up in a family whose weeknights revolved around watching whichever NHL game happened to be on and whose Saturdays were dominated by Boise State Football. With 20/20 hindsight, though, I can definitively say that as my understanding of the history, operations, and intricacies of BC Athletics improved, I felt more and more like it was the place for me. It is not like all of these things are glowingly positive, either. I found out about things like the point shaving scandal from the late ’70s, the fact that I had missed BC football’s heyday by a few years, and, most devastatingly of all, that the “Boston” to which they refer to in the movie Miracle is not, in fact BC, but rather Boston University. But imagine BC without such a large and, yeah, I will say—despite the lackluster performance of most revenue sports during my time here—successful athletic department. Even if you are not a big sports person—if you cannot exactly follow a football game and have no idea what icing is—everyone can recognize a touchdown or a goal and, more importantly, everyone can experience the feeling that comes along with it, when thousands of people jump to their feet and scream with pride. I watched a lot of that from the outside, forced into a reserved calm in the press box as I watched the elation in the student section, but, when I started paying attention to the fact that these sports give so many people a reason to love BC, I began to feel like I could love it, too. Sports do those types of things for people. They inspire excitement, hope, pure glee, and devastating lows when the chances of a title or

a perfect season are abruptly lost. Even in those deep falls, though, there are people next to you in the stands or the bar who are feeling exactly the same thing you are. They get you so excited, then they break your heart—but there’s always a chance for a fresh beginning with the start of a new season. For the past two years, I have filled this space with my takes on what was going on in the sports world, whether it was happening right here at BC or it was somehow loosely related. This is the last time that I will be here with my random reflections, biases, or general fangirldom disguised as an educated opinion. Through that process and the act of both covering games for The Heights and attending them as a member of the student body, I got to see BC Athletics from a few different perspectives. I expressed contrary viewpoints a couple of times, objecting to the idea of unionized athletes or defending the use of what some people called a sexist marketing strategy with the “Be A Dude” hashtag. For some reason, though, I never got the hang of being critical. Call it my non-confrontational nature or straight up cowardice, but I do not think that is it. Behind my observations of the flaws or downfalls of BC Athletics, be they administrative or on the field, there is also an understanding that my development of a perspective on BC Athletics is what finally made me feel connected to the University. From the monumental highs of Beanpot wins, a Heisman contender, and a couple of enormous upsets to the disappointing moments when loss after loss stacked up or players read off of a script in press conferences, sports give me, and thousands of others, a point to rally around, and are a big reason why I’m still here.

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

Alex Fairchild is the Asst. Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights. com

DURHAM, MA 11/16

stanford, ca 11/14 W. Hockey DALEY 13 PTS THOMPSON 26 PTS

BC UNH

5 0

SKARUPA 2 G 1 A VAATTOVAARA 23 SVS

SYRACUSE, NY 11/15 VOLLEYBALL

SYRACUSE, NY 11/16

BC 3 CUSE 1

WOKRMAN 23 KILLS SALKUTE 12 KILLS

MCCOY 1 G DINUZIO 1 G 1 A

M. bASKETBALL BC 62 UMASS 71

W. bASKETBALL BC SMC

82 72

BOSTON,MaMA11/11 11/16 Boston, HANLAN 18 PTS OSHO 23 PTS 9 REB

Newton, MORAGA,MACA11/09 11/16 HUGHES 24 PTS MAULDIN 16 PTS


SPORTS

A8

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014

Forming a connection with sports

TO STEAL FROM A KING

MARLY MORGUS I arrived at Boston College with very little prior knowledge of the University, let alone the history and lore of its athletics. I am not Irish, my parents did not go here, and I am not from the Greater Boston area, so there was really no reason for me to be interested in the Eagles. My enrollment was not very deliberate, but, it just sort of happened when the cards fell where they did. It came down to two schools, neither of which I had really, seriously considered: BC and the University of Southern California. At the time, my only exposure to BC was a brief visit for the football game against Northwestern, which was the season opener during my senior year of high school. BC lost, but when my college advisor told me that I needed one more school on my list, I threw out the name, and here I am. For a semester, I floundered. It seemed pretty clear that BC was not the place for me. I did what most freshmen did—rode the Newton bus, went to football games with people whom I have now mostly fallen out of touch with, and struggled to adjust from the rigid schedule that I had been so used to in high school, where I moved from classes to practice to required formal meals to study halls to bed. I wondered what my life would have been like had I gone the alternate route, opting instead for the USC, greeting everyone I met with a “Fight On.” During that first semester, I did not put much thought into BC Athletics. I covered a few volleyball games for The Heights, knew that Chris Campbell seemed like a nice guy, and could have told you that I thought—I am pretty sure—that BC’s football team was going to be bad this year. Beyond that, however, I had little knowledge. Then, as I grew more involved in The Heights, I was encouraged by a mentor to run for a position on the editorial board. Torn between the more attainable copy position and the Assistant Sports job that would be highly contested, I pulled out of the copy election about two hours before it would take place, throwing my hat in the ring for sports and only sports. Despite my god-awful score on the required quiz, I managed to pull off the recitation of a cheesy poem for my election speech in which I used the names of a couple of athletes. All of a sudden, I was thrown face-first into the world of BC Athletics. With that position came the opportunity for me to finally connect with BC. I can still remember the feeling I got the first time I walked into the press box for a men’s hockey game. Let it be known that the press box for Conte Forum hockey games is not impressive. It consists of a few half walls, folding chairs, and a long, narrow table that you can barely fit your computer on. Yet, as I settled in and watched people stream into the arena, observed the game time operations of the media relations staff, and finally got to sit in a press conference

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

The last time Jimbo Fisher and Steve Addazio met, the ’Noles broke BC’s back with a Winston dagger before halftime and pulled away in the second half.

Scandal-weathered FSU aims to remain undefeated against revenge-seeking BC BY TOM DEVOTO Heights Staff With less than five minutes on the clock, Jameis Winston lined up in the shotgun with the game against the University of Miami on the line. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, despite all of the controversy surrounding him this season, looked calm and poised—he usually does. This drive, though—and this game, for that matter—would not be about him in the end. On first down and 20, Winston flicked an easy screen pass out to running back Dalvin Cook, and he sat back as Cook weaved his way downfield

before he was brought down on Miami’s 41-yard line. Cook received a handoff on the next play, knifing through the defense with ease and just barely missing pay dirt. The third time would prove to be the charm. Cook took yet another handoff from Winston, and this time, found his way to the Promised Land. Making a mockery of Miami’s tackling, Cook fought his way into the end zone to bail out his struggling quarterback. An interception by Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey with under a minute remaining quashed a late Miami push, and Winston strutted onto the field to end the game with a knee.

It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty, but FSU found a way to win for the 26th consecutive game. The Seminoles (10-0, 7-0 ACC) generally rely on Winston to carry them to victory, and that should be the case against Boston College (6-4, 3-3 ACC) this week as well. Offensive efficiency is Florida State’s strength, as it ranks 11th in passing yards and 17th in points per game in the country. Winston has struggled as of late on an injured ankle, lowering his completion percentage and increasing his number of turnovers in each month

See FSU, A6

See Column, A7

From Alex Kapp to Johnny Gaudreau: a farewell starting XI ALEX FAIRCHILD I’ve written about a lot of athletes, in some form, and I’ve seen so many play and have had the responsibility of describing what their function is on the hardwood, field, or ice. Without trying to be too biased toward men’s soccer, I’ve decided that the best way to get out of the column game would be to say farewell with a best XI of these athletes from multiple sports. This team would set up in a 4-3-3, with a flat back four that has attack-

ing full backs. The three in midfield would consist of a one-man screen, and two shuttlers staggered in midfield. The attackers would be wide forwards and a false nine. We’d play with a high line and press relentlessly. Goalkeeper: Alex Kapp Even though I don’t really know what went wrong for men’s soccer this season in the ACC, I know this much: Alex Kapp didn’t have one bad game in net. The stats don’t show it, but he was one of the best keepers in the conference this season. But to see how good he really is, I made Boston College’s goalkeeper Scottish and paid him the senior minimum salary to skirt those crazy MLS market rules, so that he could play in net for the New England Revolution in Football Manager. In the 10 simulation matches I ran before fearing for my hard drive’s

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

life, the keeper shut out Toronto and Chicago. He conceded 12 goals in those 10 games, and his rating never dropped below 6.6, nor did it exceed 6.8. Each player starts each game with a 6.7 rating out of 10. Left back: Tyler Murphy He’s a quarterback, but in the modern game, your full backs have to be the best players on the pitch. They have to be fearless and willing to do just about anything. Murphy is fast, he watches a lot of game tape, and I can only imagine that he would make his soccer IQ as strong as his football one, so that his overlapping runs could be as flawless as his read-option fakes. Center back: Lennart Zeugner The moment I found him on Football Manager was one of the best things that happened to me this summer. It was the birth of the crazy

notion that I could put the entire BC men’s soccer team in the game to see how it would do against the giants of the Premier League and the part-time postal workers of the Skrill Premier. One of the top players on the men’s soccer team this year, his strength and physicality shut down multiple strikers in the ACC. Center back: Garland Owens If I want to play with a high line, I need two athletic center backs. Owens defines athleticism. His dunks are acrobatic, and he’s got the quickness to get back if a ball somehow gets over the top. While the sophomore’s onball defense isn’t the world’s best right now, he would have the potential to mark anyone around the area. Right back: Amit Shumowitz I still have no idea why the Israeli is now a 22-year-old freshman at Co-

Men’s Hockey: Problems and solutions for the Eagles

BC’s season hasn’t gone as planned so far this year, but the answers may not be too far out of reach after all.....................................................A6

lumbia, but this kid was the real deal. He flooded the right flank and understood the game really well last season, and if he stayed, this year’s BC team would have done miles better. Defensive midfielder: Giuliano Frano My favorite Canadian defensive midfielder is Patrice Bernier, who starred in the Montreal Impact’s 4-14-1 last season, as the link between defense and attack. His role was basically to get the ball and find Marco Di Vaio. If he didn’t have the ball, he was tasked with messing guys up. Frano was a good find as a transfer and was by far the Eagles’ best player in 2013, even though Zeiko Lewis racked up a lot of assists. The Canadian was the heart of the team, and he ran the

See XI, A7

Scoreboard...........................................................................................................A7 Editors’ Picks.........................................................................................................A7


WILEY’S FOLLIES

Time For More ‘Happy’

BC POLITICS HAVE RUN AMOK, MAKING A NEW VIDEO IDEAL, PAGE B2 ALBUM REVIEW

One Direction

THE BAND IS ‘READY TO RUN’ WITH A NEW ROCK SOUND ON ‘FOUR,’ PAGE B4

THEATER REVIEW

‘The Trojan Women’ In Robsham

A POST-APOCALYPTIC TELLING OF THE GREEK TRAGEDY COMES TO BC, B3

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014

THE

S ’ C B F O E T S I C R A Y C L I E S L K L I U E L M R N R U A W THE IEST NE JAMES F : C Y I B JU RITTEN W

SEE B2 JORDAN PENTALERI / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION


The Heights

B2

Wiley’s Follies

Okay, we do need another ‘Happy’ video

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Not from concentrate: The story behind Juice

John Wiley Early onset panic, eagerness. Chris Marchese, executive vice president of UGBC and A&S ’15, announces to the Student Assembly Sunday night that he’s stepping down, and campus all but burned down to the ground. Headlines. Conflict. Quotes. Lots of quotes. Angry tweets. Student rights—yeah, we should probably think about how that fits into all of this. By some accounts, the whole bureaucratic framework of Boston College was falling apart. An outpouring of grievances, criticisms lodged against the University, frustration. Please, I beg you, bring in the dancing Jesuits. We need another “Happy” video, and I don’t care how much it costs. We need smiling students, synchronized dancing— no, synchronized swimming. We’re going to get some synchronized swimmers for this one. Pencil that into the budget. And diversity. What’s a video without diversity? The people want diversity. Give the people diversity, please. A dance crew or two would also be nice, throw in a few popular kids on campus, maybe a professor or two who does well on the PEPS, and all will be well. We need people to see BC, but not “that” BC—our BC, the one we love. We need them to remember they love BC. We need them to remember what it’s all about. But what is it all about? After slaving through info sessions and applications, Admitted Eagles Day and Orientations, most incoming freshmen have a stronger sense of what the University is than I do. That’s not to say this first sense of BC is especially right, but it is coherent, to say the least. If you asked me two years ago what BC was, I’d tell you about a Jesuit university in Chestnut Hill, conveniently located on the outskirts of Boston, with a strong focus on service, social justice, and the liberal arts. From time to time, I find myself slinking back into the comfort of this description. I imagine the school as I did when a senior in high school, first reading about BC in U.S. News and World Report. It’s pretty simple when you frame it like that, and the definition is useful in a way. When someone or something makes us feel differently about our school, it becomes the tape to pull the school back together. It’s useful, and it’s remarkably limiting. I came from a public school system, and when something bad happened at Bloomfield High, you’d never hear the administration refer back to what the institution was about—and I guess it would sound a bit odd. (“According to the middle-class values of this underfunded high school in Northern New Jersey, we are going to renounce what those two students were caught doing in the wood shop classroom.”) What I found at BC was a separation of identity and function, where I was made to feel proud of my school because of what it was, rather than what it did. And maybe a privileged few get to attend the BC we were promised, but for most of us, that school thankfully breaks down. When the promised BC breaks down the possibility of something new, stifles the flow of ideas, and makes us irresponsive to the realities of our school, the benefits of going to a Jesuit university in Chestnut Hill—conveniently located on the outskirts of Boston, with a strong focus on service, social justice, and the liberal arts—don’t seem so great. Reeling the school back in to a set of abstract values is ultimately going to limit its growth, and while administrators are right in leading according to a “vision,” it is simply that. Allowing this vision of BC to cover up what’s actually going on is precisely what leads us to lose touch with it. If need be, bring in the dancing Jesuits—just know that it comes at a cost.

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

emily fahey / heights editor

BC band Juice has established itself as a visible presence on campus, from winning last year’s Battle of the Bands to opening for Hoodie Allen and Andy Grammer. By James Farrell For The Heights On a makeshift stage, under a temporary white tent taking up most of O’Neill Plaza, eight Boston College students started on an unlikely journey. Sporting blazers, slacks, and a few odd ties, the group was in the middle of performing one of its originals, “Where I Wanna Be.” As lights flashed on the stage—as people in the audience let out scattered screams of joy—Christian Rougeau, A&S ’17, fell down to his knees in a fit of passion and tore his bow across electric violin strings, his head bobbing ecstatically, strands of horse hair flying off the stick as he finished a furious solo. After the fury, the band’s frontmen Rougeau, Ben Stevens, and Kamau Burton, all A&S ’17, took over. They ended the song a cappella, singing, “Sometimes I dream about a place so far away / Where the sun is shining right on through my day” to the silence of O’Neill Plaza. The audience joined in, clapping along with the song. “That’s where I wanna be,” the song closed, and the crowd erupted into a standing ovation. If the guys in Juice haven’t reached the place they want to be yet, they are certainly on their way. Winning the Arts Fest Battle of the Bands on that April night under that white tent—and consequently opening for Hoodie Allen at last year’s Modstock—was, in part, the impetus for the band’s incredible rise over the last semester. “When we won Battle, we were like, ‘Wait a minute, we’re freshmen, we have so much time ahead of us,’” Rougeau said. “We can just take this, and just evolve it, and make it something awesome.” Now sophomores, the eight-piece band still has plenty of time to evolve. But the journey that started that night less than a year ago has already taken Juice to the forefront of the BC music scene, making it the closest thing to a “household name” in student-generated music that BC has. Juice has a long list of ingredients: Stevens on vocals, Burton on vocals and acoustic guitar, Rougeau on vocals and violin, guitar players Daniel Moss and Michael Ricciardulli, keyboardist Chris Vu, drummer Miles Clyatt, all A&S ’17, and the only non-sophomore, Rami El-Abidin, A&S ’15,

on bass. “There are so many of us, it’s hard to get us all in one place,” El-Abidin said. With such a wide pool of musical tastes and influences, it’s also difficult to pin the band’s sound down to a single genre, moving between rock, hip-hop, soul, and more classic pop. “When we’re writing songs, there’s definitely a coalition of taste that makes the process take a little longer, but then helps the overall process,” Rougeau said. Juice can be best understood as a funky, hip-hop infused jam band, complete with electric violin. It’s hard not to compare them to Dave Matthews Band because they both have that distinct violin timbre. The influence is there, yet with a funkier, smoother flavor. The journey of Juice began with a simple Facebook message. Rougeau posted on the Class of 2017 page looking for fellow musicians. Clyatt answered, and the two began jamming, picking up Ricciardulli, Moss, and Vu along the way. Rougeau would later link up with Burton and Stephens at BC Idol—the three of them combined accounted for first and second place at the annual singing competition. The group organized as a band, under the name “Juice,” simply to participate in Battle of the Bands, their success in that competition ultimately developing “Juice” into full-time commitment. El-Abidin joined this year after former bass player Jack Godfrey left, initially inspired by the group’s performance at Battle of the Bands. “I was so stoked for them and also like sad at the same time that I wasn’t part of it,” he said. “And now I am, so it’s all right.” Since winning the Battle of the Bands, Juice has played some pretty high-profile BC shows. The band opened for Hoodie Allen, played to a raucous crowd of soon-to-be graduates at last year’s Commencement Ball, opened for Andy Grammer in Robsham Theater, and opened for YouTube sensation Joseph Vincent at the Asian Caucus’ “Mind to Mic” event this month. These aren’t the typical kinds of shows at which BC bands perform. For the last few years, student organizations like the Music Guild have been working to foster a strong music scene at BC, but have struggled to build campuswide interest. Typically, BC musicians will play student-run

shows at smaller venues like the Vanderslice Cabaret Room, which usually holds around 100 to 200 people. Juice, on the other hand, has had opportunities to play at more publicized events with big-name stars, and the band has even performed at Robsham Theater, which holds nearly 600 people. Gathering more than 600 fans on Facebook in under a year, Juice has broken through into campus consciousness, having done all this work as freshmen and sophomores. Juice credits its success to a philosophy of persistence. “If we wanna maybe do something with this, we want to try to play as much as we can,” Rougeau said. “We want to reach out to as many people as we can about performance opportunities.” Over this past summer, Juice reached out to the Campus Activities Board (CAB) looking for opportunities, and it found that the newly-founded activities board had been impressed by the band’s Modstock performance. The two groups have formed a relationship that’s led to many opportunities, including performance at the Commencement Ball and Andy Grammer. This weekend CAB and the Music Guild will be hosting the annual Fall Band Showcase in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room with Juice on the bill, along with BC musicians Atomic Pizza Slap, William Bolton, Seaver’s Express, and Lucid Soul. In the long run, Juice just hopes to keep playing together, at whatever capacity. “I don’t care about being famous,” El-Abidin said. “I just want to be able to play bass and sit in that nice pocket that Miles creates.” With more than two years left at BC, Juice is taking steps to expand its popularity and experiment with its sound. The members are currently working on an EP, as well as a partnership with Serengetee clothing that they hope will result in an official Juice merchandise line. They are also hoping to expand outside of BC with a show on Dec. 13 at the Middle East in Cambridge, a venue often considered a rite of passage for aspiring artists in Boston. A good showing with a big crowd could propel them into the music world thriving just outside of BC’s campus. Rougeau is optimistic. “Hopefully we can make the Middle East bump,” he said. “And then, the Boston scene will accept us.” n

‘The Newsroom’ gains life in final season with fictional plotlines Grace Godvin Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom premiered with its third and final season this month. Following a lackluster second season—marked by an overall decline in viewership—HBO decided to cut this final season from 10 episodes to a mere six. Sorkin’s first episode of the season touched close to home, as the storyline focused on the reporting of the Boston Marathon bombing. Sorkin takes his viewers through the event, from the actual explosion to the suspect’s capture in Watertown. Many here on campus can attest to being in Boston for these events, and watching them unfold on screen may be an unwelcome reminder of this somber past. Sorkin seems to be hyperaware of the sensitivity, as he payed close attention to keeping its sanctity intact. The second episode, “Run,” which ran this past Sunday, sees the drama heat up for the first time this season. Rather than focus on real news stories—which has been The Newsroom’s set-up since

its conception—“Run” is centered on a fictional plot twist, developing the series’ characters. In the episode, resident tech guru Neal receives thousands of classified documents from a disclosed source, which attract the attention of the FBI. Don and Sloan, a producer and financial advisor respectively, also find themselves in trouble when they unintentionally commit insider trading. Shifting away from real world events has brought new life to The Newsroom. In every episode up to “Run,” the outcome has been inevitable, the details too quickly falling into place, as viewers had likely followed the same very news story the year before. The concept originally was fascinating, but grew tiresome after two formulaic seasons. For this fall’s first two episodes, characters are on the run, the plot is unpredictable, and it seems as though the excitement has just started to heat up. It’s unfortunate that the heat finally comes just as the series winds down. This season, Sorkin seems finally to have found his footing. He no longer spends too much time on tedious dialogue or undermining female characters, but

rather does the opposite, making a warrior out of Maggie, a reporter who, until now, has struggled with low self-confidence and dependence on men. It’s almost as if Sorkin is heeding his critics. On The Late Show With Seth Meyers last week, he poked fun at the stereotype he’s created of himself. In a scene with Maggie, she makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to the amount of dialogue Sorkin writes for the show. This newfound self-awareness has been the ticket to returning to the quality production you could find in Sorkin’s masterpieces The Social Network and A Few Good Men. In “Run,” the dilemma Neal finds himself faced with may strike some as remarkably similar to the controversy that surrounds the actions of Edward Snowden. After receiving the stolen documents, Neal finds it his civic duty to make sure the story is reported, even putting his safety at risk. After consulting a lawyer, he finds that he may be faced with an espionage charge and years of jail time, but Neal continues on, not unlike the reporters during the NSA scandal.

Sorkin has mentioned that this season is about the fight between citizen and professional journalism. Sorkin stresses the lack of integrity in citizen journalism, scattering references to sites like Reddit and Twitter in the first couple episodes. The themes of the final season are already evident, the moral imperatives of journalists and citizens the primary concern of the script. In the Boston Marathon reporting, Will McAvoy (the Brian Williams of the show) proclaims, “Two times in 24 hours law enforcement officials had to publicly disclose information before they wanted to, because either a paper or a website put someone’s life in danger. So I’m not so easily surrendering to citizen journalists or citizen detectives.” It’s a message worth remembering in a time when tweeting or Facebooking is open to near any idea that comes to mind. In its fleeting moments on air, The Newsroom has carved out room for reflection, as Sorkin looks to save the legacy of the show.

Grace Godvin is a staff writer for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@ bcheights.com.


The Heights

Thursday, November 20, 2014

B3

Outside the lines

Searching outside the lines

Michelle Tomassi

amelie trieu / heights staff

The Boston College theatre department presents ‘The Trojan Women,’ a play written by Euripides and directed by John Houchin that shows the women of Troy after the infamous horse incident.

Greek life comes to Robsham with ‘The Trojan Women’ By Ryan Dowd Heights Staff We all know the story—Paris kidnaps Helen, or Helen seduces Paris, really depending on who you ask, even now. Scorned Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon rally the Greeks to their cause and sail across the Aegean Sea to Troy. The Trojan War ensues. Hector falls. Achilles falls. The Trojans accept an odd wooden horse, and then, the city and the rest of its men fall, sacked beneath the Greek army. Written by Euripides, The Trojan Women takes a look at Troy after the infamous horse incident. The city’s men have mostly been killed or captured, but the women remain. The Trojan Women takes up the glorious war epic and gives it a haunting epilogue—the last breath of a dying city and its people. And that last breath is told through the anguished pain of the women whose fate now lies in slavery to the men who’ve destroyed their home—principally the fates of Hecuba, queen of Troy and mother to Hector; Cassandra, a daughter of Hecuba; Andromache, the widow of Hector, and even the famed Helen.

Director John Houchin and his team have given the Boston College production of The Trojan Women a timeless and “eternal” feel. This is not eternal beauty, however, but eternal war and destruction. The production opens in darkness to the chaotic hum of war—guns, explosions, and the beat of helicopter. The set displays the bones of a city. Costumes range from tattered contemporary wear to Helen’s classic and impeccable golden dress. Euripides called it Troy, but for the purpose of the production, it could be set anywhere, in any time. The Trojan Women may be a Greek tragedy, but here, the city is post-apocalyptic. Like most classical Greek dramas, the action has already occurred off stage. What’s left is the women’s striking lack of power and torturous fate. The women must come to terms with their bleak reality, and while Euripides’ content hovers above redundancy with speech after speech, it’s the design of the production and the performance of the actors that keeps the play engaging. It has a Shakespearian quality, where the emotion and skill of the actor does more work than the actual words. Brendan Kennelly’s translation is particularly weighty, with fits of

soaring abstraction. The story is told in the voices of these wrecked women, but it’s their eyes that draw you in. Hecuba (played by Amanda Melvin, A&S ’17) carries the introduction and necessary transitions through the story. She’s the embodiment of the city—its fallen queen, claimed by the cunning Odysseus. Melvin takes on the persona of a much older woman with a hunched gate and radiates a combination of pride and horror. After a lofty introduction from Poseidon and Athena, the production reaches a rhythm. The Greeks enter to claim the remaining women, one by one, for victorious Greek leaders. Virginal Cassandra is taken first to be the prize of King Agamemnon. Aryn Mello Pryor, A&S ’16, plays the prophetic Cassandra with a crazed flair. She peers into the audience, not pleading like Hecuba, but daring—there’s something off about Cassandra. Sarah Mass, A&S ’15, appears next as Andromache. Mass carries the most intimate performance and carries the weight of the only real action that occurs in the story—the execution of her son due to a “boy who lives” fear that he might grow great like his father Hector. Mass’

horrified expression nearly matches the horrifying and disturbing scene around her as harsh light turns the set into a nightmare. Helen, played by Caroline Portu, A&S ’16, appears last. Helen (and Portu) has a particularly difficult task. She carries the weight of fault. Helen must convince husband Menelaus that the war and the deaths of countless Greeks do not lie on her shoulders. And Portu does this a conviction of tone and certain stillness. She refrains from the expressiveness of the other women. The Trojan women remain unconvinced that the war cannot be blamed upon the golden hair of Helen, but she convinces the audience that something deeper than the work of one wily woman is at work here. Trojan women do not dance. The time for dancing has long passed and, by the end, so has the time for tears. The BC production of The Trojan Women speaks to the gravity of the situation these women were placed in, bringing a compelling post-apocalyptic world to Robsham Theater. It’s a gritty, powerful alternate take on the fall of Troy and its mythological characters—devastatingly dark, beautifully human. n

This weekend in arts

By: Ariana Igneri | Associate Arts & Review Editor

1. Asinine Presents (Friday 11/21 and Saturday 11/22, 9 p.m.)

5. Faneuil Hall Tree Lighting Ceremony (Saturday 11/22, 2 p.m.)

Things are going to get stupid funny in Fulton 511 this weekend for Asinine’s free sketch comedy and improv show. The performance will include routines by both group veterans and newbies.

Brighten up your night with Faneuil Hall’s annual Blink! tree lighting spectacular at 8 p.m. The ceremony—featuring music by the Boston Pops—will be preceded by a host of holiday happenings during the afternoon, including a visit from Santa Claus. Visit faneuilhallmarketplace.com for more information.

2. Conspiracy Theory & SEASA Fall Showcase (Friday 11/21, 7:30 p.m.)

6. Heightsmen Fall Cafe (Saturday 11/22, 6:30 p.m.)

Believe it or not, Phaymus, UPrising, and a number of other BC dance groups will all be in the Murray Function Room for Conspiracy Theory and SEASA’s second annual collaborative event. The show is free, and will feature Dan Lyle, A&S ’16, as DJ. john wiley / heights editor

3. Draw Closer (Thursday 11/20, 5:30 p.m.)

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum invites guests to ‘Draw Closer’ to its newly opened Sculptors’ Drawings exhibition during its monthly Third Thursday program. The event—including a collaborative drawing workshop, singer songwriter Nile Alexander, and a special themed cash bar—is 21-plus and free for BC students. See gardnermuseum.com for details.

4. Fall Band Showcase (Saturday 11/22, 6 p.m.)

Show up for Saturday’s Fall Band Showcase, organized by CAB and the Music Guild. The two and a half hour concert will feature 25-minute sets by on campus musicians Atomic Pizza Slap, William Bolton, Seaver’s Express, Juice, and Lucid Soul.

The boys of the Heightsmen are suiting up for their Fall Cafe on Saturday. The a cappella group will be debuting three new songs as well as performing fan favorites, including the infamous Freshman Dance. Dance crew Sexual Chocolate will be opening for the free event.

7. ‘The Trojan Women’ (Thursday 11/20 to Sunday 11/23)

Greek life comes to Boston College this weekend, as the theatre department presents its adaptation of the classic Euripidean tragedy about the fall of Troy. The play is running Thursday to Saturday at 7 p.m. and again on Sunday for a matinee show at 2 p.m. Student tickets are $10 plus fees through Robsham.

I’m not that great at remembering names, and I’m even worse at naming things myself. When I first had to give this column a title—a name, an identity—I was stuck. I didn’t have a name that fit with a creative title, like “Wiley’s Follies” or “Keeley’s Corner”—the columns of the past two arts editors. I didn’t have a specific love of any type of art, like “The Finer Things”—the column name that belongs to my lovely co-editor, Ariana. I was reduced to Googling “artsy words” to find some inspiration. Finally, in the middle of our first Wednesday night production, I found it: “Outside the Lines.” I wasn’t too fond of the name at first. I was convinced that I could do better—that I would change it by the time my official position as assistant arts editor began. Well, as you can see, the name stuck. By assuming this title, I took it as an initiative to push myself outside the lines—to take risks with my writing, to have new experiences, and to finally accept myself for not fitting into any specific ideal. For not keeping myself contained within the lines. When I think back on the past three years, I realize The Heights has allowed me to move outside the lines all along. It has allowed me to meet people I wouldn’t have met otherwise; it has enabled me to develop my writing; and it has given me a newfound confidence. The Heights has given me lifelong friendships, and lifelong memories. McElroy 113, and all of the people in it, have been an essential part of my Boston College experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I could have ended the story there. But I won’t. Here’s an epilogue to this heartwarming tale: The Heights is great, but sometimes it makes me feel so goddamn uncomfortable. I have never felt more uncomfortable than at my freshman year elections, as I stood in front of a room of 30-plus editors, praying that the three carrot sticks I ate for dinner wouldn’t resurface as I tried to convince everyone that I was qualified to be a copy editor for a university newspaper. I felt incredibly uncomfortable as I was interviewing a student about her mother’s struggle with breast cancer—and she began to cry as the tape recorder continued on. I felt uncomfortable and unprepared as I sat in Eagle’s Nest waiting to interview the captain of the men’s club lacrosse team—and I was met with not one, but seven large male athletes. I was frazzled as I tried to shake all of their hands, and begged them to state their names before speaking so I could attribute the quotes correctly. Instead, they started passing the saltshaker back and forth while making loud jokes. I have felt uncomfortable on numerous occasions when I think about who might be reading my columns—especially professors. This becomes even more embarrassing when I remember some of my topics: like butts in the media and the basic b—tch. Finally, I feel uncomfortable admitting that I am writing this column with a box of tissues next to me, tears running down my cheeks, hoping that I can finish writing before my roommate returns. Yes, The Heights has put me in some pretty uncomfortable situations—but it was those moments that truly pushed me outside lines, and made me a stronger person as a result. Undoubtedly, enduring the experience of elections night my freshman year was the best decision I made at BC. Not only did I get elected to be a Heights editor, but I was elected along with the current Editor-inChief: my roommate of three years, and my best friend. Watching a student—a stranger—cry in front of me, with the tape recorder still running, I had to make the decision to be a journalist, or to be a friend. I pushed the pause button, stopped writing, and told her how brave she was. We ended the interview not with a handshake, but with a hug. Going into that interview at Eagle’s Nest completely unprepared was probably the best thing that could have happened to me for that article—because I was able to truly witness the brotherhood that exists between teammates, and channel that love and pride into my story. Being able to write about what I want, when I want—no matter who’s reading—has been incredibly liberating, and in some cases, quite fun. And lastly, admitting that I cried while writing this column (and even a week ago, when I thought about writing this column) made me realize how hard it’s going to be to leave this organization, since I don’t really know what life is like without my twice-aweek production days. One thing I do know, and one thing I won’t forget, is the stories that were told through these moments, and the experiences that were had: the good, the bad, and even the uncomfortable. Stories that will exist beyond this column space—and beyond the walls of McElroy 113.

Michelle Tomassi is the Asst. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.


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Thursday, November 20, 2014

With ‘No Fixed Address,’ Nickelback can’t find its way BY CRYSTAL CHON For The Heights

Although it might be hard to believe, Nickelback fans exist somewhere, somehow. The notorious grungy rock band has once again managed to break out of the confines of a running joke of a career, and up onto the charts. No Fixed Address, the band’s most recent album, is fortunately much of what people love to hate about the band. While most of the tracks on the album are the familiar drum banging, guitar zinging, and what you might describe as “yelling” vocals, Nickelback seems to be offering a more contemporary take on music’s most ridiculed band, with a few “pop-like” songs to enchant us this time around. And, disappointingly, it works. Tracks like “Edge of a Revolution” and “What Are You Waiting For” are already “nickeling” their way up onto the charts. (We’ll use “nickeling” as a verb to describe whatever it is that Nickelback does.) Although I really do not understand, Nickelback is doing something right. No Fixed Address is a change of pace for the Canadian rockers, with their new pop sound most prevalent in “Got Me Running Around,” featuring the Nickelback of the hip-hop genre, Flo Rida. Yes, you read that

correctly. Expectedly, it’s really just a short, choppy, sing-song “rap” that he does, and overall, it feels weird and out of place. “She Keeps Me Up” is another attempt at today’s pop. Lead singer Chad Kroeger’s rough vocals don’t seem to fit on this track—he’s an angry-sounding man stuck in a gushy pop song. It’s an odd fit, much as we’d expected it to be. The lyrics and messages relayed throughout the album are quite versatile. We get political stances, advice about life, and even a story about two guys trying to rob a bank—which more or less means Nickelback covers the full range of the human condition with this one. In “What Are You Waiting For,” Kroeger gets deep, asking us, “Don’t you really wanna live your life?” Kroeger then proceeds to advise his listeners, “Believe in every dream that you got.” Because? Well, “you’re only living once.” Nothing quite like a Nickelback song to make you painfully aware of your own mortality. Moving upward to his political soapbox in “Edge of a Revolution,” Kroeger mentions the NSA, CIA, and Wall Street, but never makes it clear he understands much about any one of them. He does call Wall Street a “common thief” but aside from that, it all seems quite hollow, even for a Nickelback song. In the chorus, everyone gets amped up with

a call-and-response thing going on between Kroeger and an imaginary crowd. Nickelback yells “WHAT DO WE WANT?” The crowd responds “WE WANT CHANGE!” He yells back “AND HOW ARE WE GONNA GET IT?” This time everyone yells, “REVOLUTION!” It’s an awful lot of yelling going on, but we have got to ask the real questions here: What change, Nickelback? What do you mean by revolution? How do you plan on going about all of this? You have got to be clearer here. So now we have an uncomfortably existential Nickelback song and an

uncomfortably political Nickelback song. What more could we ask for? Not much, but there’s plenty more we didn’t ask for that Nickelback gives us anyway. The song “Get ’Em Up” tells the story of two gangster wannabes who are trying to rob a bank. They are ultimately unsuccessful, though. They realize that it is a Sunday and that a cop has been parked across the street watching them practice with their guns. Who thinks to write a song about an armed bank robbery? Should we be concerned that the recently divorced singer of the world’s most bullied band is writing a song about

an armed bank robbery? Points for creativity, I guess. Although the album is quite “different” for Nickelback—depending on your past sentiments toward the band—it will still have you either bobbing your head or banging it against something hard. Although lacking substance, many of the songs are catchy, and the lyrics are repetitive enough to torture listeners into singing along. There is a reason why Nickelback is still around, and although the answer isn’t obvious yet, like Nickelback’s fans, it’s got to be out there, somewhere. 

NO FIXED ADDRESS NICKELBACK PRODUCED BY REPUBLIC RECORDS RELEASED NOV. 17, 2014 OUR RATING

The boys of One Direction are moving their sound out of the playground and into arenas with their latest album, Four—a record that seems inspired less by teenybopper pop than classic rock ’n’ roll. It’s One Direction, bigger and louder than it’s ever been before—chock full of guitar-driven anthems that will inevitably be exploding out of stadiums worldwide this summer during the band’s On The Road Again tour. One Direction has released a new album every November since 2011—a tradition that’s

become as sure as eating turkey on Thanksgiving and shopping the sales on Black Friday. With each successive project, the British quintet has fought the boy band stereotype (you’ll never see Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan doing synchronized dancing together, at least not seriously) and pushed toward the heavier, grungier sound that characterizes Four. Since winning The X Factor and recording Up All Night in 2011, One Direction has discovered how to evolve while retaining an element of its career-launching debut’s polished pop vibe. The band realized

PHOTO COURTESY OF REPUBLIC RECORDS

The infamous Nickelback returns with another unsubstantial album that will probably still make its way onto the charts.

the key variable to its success early on—one direction doesn’t necessarily mean one sound. Genres can and should be broken, according to these boys, who’ve wreaked their energetic and brilliantly calculated havoc on the confines of both pop and rock with their last several records. Take Me Home (2012) had “Rock Me,” built on the infamous stomp clap of Queen’s 1977 hit, Midnight Memories (2013) had the Van Halen-esque “Little Black Dress,” and Four piles on the power chords, riffs, and licks even harder than the band’s first three LPs combined. The most obvious stars of the album are its first single “Steal

FOUR ONE DIRECTION PRODUCED BY COLUMBIA RECORDS RELEASED NOV. 17, 2014 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLUMBIA RECORDS

‘The X-Factor’ singers continue to push their sound in a mature, edgy direction with their rock-inspired album, ‘Four.’

My Girl” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” two tracks whose resonating keys and flickering guitars take the spotlight in an undeniably Journey-like sort of fashion. Making the piano intro of “Steal My Girl’” feel just like “Don’t Stop Believin’” was a smart move for One Direction—because honestly, who doesn’t love that song? It may never be as timeless as the 1980s classic, but it’s just as catchy and deliberately grounds Four in its retro rock influences. With its new album, One Direction has clearly tried to give its lyrical content the same street cred as its music. Sure, the boys are still singing about the usual tropes of 20-somethings—love, lust, and youthful recklessness in one form or another—but they’re doing so in a way that makes them seem more Rolling Stones than Backstreet Boys. Lines from the Ed Sheeran-penned ballad “18” definitely add a touch of sentimentality to Four (I wanna love like you made me feel / When we were 18)”, but even those lyrics don’t overshadow One Direction’s efforts to express its sexuality more maturely. “Don’t play innocent / I know what you meant / When you said you’d come over,” croons Malik on “Change Your Ticket”—a song about spending all week in a hotel room bed with a girl. The track isn’t terribly explicit, but even the band knows it’s

far from “innocent.” While Four’s upbeat stompers (“Girl Almighty” and “Act My Age”) are sure strong points on the album, its slow songs seem to be more hit-or-miss. “Night Changes,” “Once in a Lifetime,” and “Re ady to Run”— which sounds pretty identical to 2013’s folksy “Story of My Life”—are by no means bad tracks, but on a record of definitive rock anthems, they do struggle to stand out. “Fools Gold” and “Fireproof ” are the album’s single exceptions, wielding notable control over pace and space and building from mellow openings to bold crescendos, which sound expansive enough to fill even the largest concert venues. One Direction has obviously done its homework for Four. At this point in their career, the boys know what works and what doesn’t—they ’ve added more rock to their songs, subtracted some cheesy immaturity from their image, and multiplied the dynamism that personifies their sound. They’ve taken control of their music—helping to write 12 of the album’s 14 tracks, defining themselves as five distinct vocalists, and actively looking to the past to determine the direction of their future. The final result of all the band’s efforts is Four—which has literally got some of One Direction's best songs, ever. 

‘Seeds’ by TV on the Radio yields a scattered crop of songs BY CHRIS FULLER Heights Staff

Recuperating from the tragic loss of its bassist, Gerard Smith—who died of lung cancer just a week and a half after the release of its 2011 album, Nine Types of Light—TV on the Radio unleashed its fifth, most anticipated studio album Seeds this week. But while Seeds manifests the eclectic style that established TV on the Radio as a prominent act in the alternative genre, the record falls short in developing its complex themes and sound. Although there are several instances of lyrical genius on the album, the content is overall contrived: hopeful futures and dysfunctional relationships are too heavy relied upon for subject matter. Although TV on the Radio is mostly qualified as an indie rock group, the group transcends the boundaries of genre, gathering sounds from many popular categories of music. At times, TV on the Radio takes on the fundamental of rap and hip-hop—tracks like “Careful You,” “Trouble,” and “Love Stained” have hardly an alternative rock feel. Other tracks like “Lazerray” and “Winter” adhere to the principles of grunge

rock. TV on the Radio does a nice job of molding beats to fit the sounds of other genres. Adebimpe’s rhythmic manipulation and vocal layering stands out on Seeds. In several tracks, the meter and rhyme scheme change between verses, showing off the group’s strong understanding of song construction. Although the vocal layering found on Seeds can be overwhelming at times, it adds the substance to Seeds that its lyrics overall lack. The album is a feat of technical ingenuity, with genrebending detail adding an impressive character to it all. Despite the effort put into the more technical qualities of the album, Seeds lacks the compelling and diverse lyrical content that could have possibly launched it into the stratosphere. Love, although almost an unavoidable theme in all genres of music and most albums, appears as the central issue in almost all tracks on Seeds. “Quartz,” for example, focuses on the speaker’s conflict acknowledging he “should really give it up sometime.” He questions “how hard must we try?” Similarly, in “Careful You” the speaker wonders, “Don’t know / Should we stay? / Should we go?” Although this

theme of strained relationships is overused on the album, it does allow for some particularly interesting lyrics like, “Could you strip the ego bare, let love take flight,” and, “Lay down your lantern, coat of arms, broken drums, and dance with me.” These and other impressive lines found throughout the album, coupled with the technical masterpiece that is Seeds more easily distinguish a cliche theme that, like in multitudes of similar situations, holds

TV on the Radio back from actualizing its potential. Working through the loss of a band member and an uncertain future, TV on the Radio makes an impressive return to the studio with the group’s latest album, Seeds. Drawing inspiration from artists working in almost every facet of music, TV on the Radio impresses the listener with careful composition of sound, flow, and vibrancy

TOP SINGLES

1 Blank Space Taylor Swift 2 All About That Bass Meghan Trainor 3 Shake It Off Taylor Swift 4 Animals Maroon 5 5 Habits (Stay High) Tove Lo 6 Take Me To Chuch Hozier 7 Hot Boy Bobby Shmurda

TOP ALBUMS

One Direction’s new rock record ‘Four’ adds up to a hit BY ARIANA IGNERI Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

CHART TOPPERS

in its tracks. Seeds’ monotonous overarching themes detract greatly from the monumental technical achievements of the album, however. Hopefully in the future, TV on the Radio can approach the themes behind its work with the same care it puts toward its production detail. TV on the Radio’s roots are very much intact, but Seeds is scattered, grounding its sound in fallow concepts. 

SEEDS TV ON THE RADIO PRODUCED BY HARVEST RECORDS RELEASED NOV. 18, 2014 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF HARVEST RECORDS

Despite TV on the Radio’s masterful production on ‘Seeds,’ the record is ultimately weighed down by its fallow themes.

1 1989 Taylor Swift 2 Sonic Highways Foo Fighters 3 The Endless River Pink Floyd 4 Man Against Machine Garth Brooks 5 Cadillactica Big K.R.I.T. 6 Nick Jonas Nick Jonas Source: Billboard.com

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK BY ALEC FRASER

“LOUDER THAN WORDS” PINK FLOYD

Attempting to squeeze out any talent left before the swift guillotine of death cuts it short, psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd released its final (and ironically titled) album The Endless River last week. True to its original ambient sound, Floyd’s The Endless River surprises listeners by indeed ending with the single “Louder than Words.” Voiced by David Gilmour, “Louder than Words” is the band’s acknowledgment of the limitation of spoken language—it is the only song in the album to use vocals. The single’s accompanying music video begins with views of clouds blanketing low-lying mountains. As ambient church bells jingle, a young man on a rowboat is seen paddling through the clouds toward the rising sun. As his vessel cuts through the drifting haze, the young man casts his eyes below in wonder as countryside passes by. After visual segments of the band members play, he continues his voyage, passing over what is now the dried-up lake of the Aral Sea. (In the 1960s, the Soviet Union diverted many area rivers for irrigation, almost completely drying up the sea.) As the young man passes over, we are brought close to observe the state of poverty that many families in the area are forced to live in following the devastating loss of the lake. As the scene progresses, an old man demonstrates to a group of wideeyed children how a boat moves through water. The children, too young to appreciate their tragic situation, race out into the dried lake bed where the carcasses of shipwrecke d boats lie to play out the romantic lives of fishermen. In the face of poverty, the wonder and innocence of the children communicates something “louder than words,” making the song’s video a worthy endeavor for the rock legends. 

SINGLE REVIEWS BY CRYSTAL CHON LORDE “Flicker” (Kanye West Rework) Kanye brings his classic rawness to Lorde’s “Yellow Flicker Beat” in his rework of the song. He creates an even darker, more eerie sound to an already unsettling sound. Deep screeches, muffled elephant trumpets, and gong-like vibrations throughout create a steady hum as the listener holds on hungrily until the end.

MARK RONSON “Uptown Funk” Feat. Bruno Mars Ronson is bringing it back with an oldschool, retro groove. “Uptown” has this funky beat that works its way through you, from the tips of your hairs to the toes of your feet. A single listen can boost your mood, your self-esteem, and maybe even inspire some wanderlust to go back to the disco era.

EMINEM, BIG SEAN, AND ROYCE DA 5’9” “Detroit Vs. Everybody” Feat. Danny Brown, Dej Loaf, and Trick Trick Eminem is proud of Detroit. Royce Da 5’9” is, too. So are Big Sean, Danny Brown, Dej Loaf, and Trick Trick, apparently. There’s an unseen bond between these rappers—a respect for each other’s roots and careers, respectively. “Detroit vs. Everybody” is the hometown anthem that the city deserves.


Thursday, January 17, 2014 Thursday, November 20, 2014

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Bennet’s Banter

New stadium brings soccer back to city

Bennet Johnson In October of 2013, ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown aired a segment about how New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s suite at Gillette Stadium has become Boston’s “most exclusive club.” Each Sunday, the billionaire Kraft invites “a gathering of the A-list” to his space, and guests frequently range from politicians to musicians to actors. “Bob just does everything top-notch,” Mark Wahlberg said after spending an afternoon marveling at the wine and sauerbraten in the suite. Now, the Krafts are at it again. The New England Revolution’s never-ending search for a stadium has hit a new checkpoint. Currently, the affluent family with an exerting influence in the city of Boston is “exploring” the possibility of building a new soccer stadium in Boston, according to The Boston Globe. New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft is planning to build the new structure in South Boston to move the team out of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. The Globe reported that the Kraft family is interested in an area in South Boston that is currently used for towed cars. According to the article, the Krafts are working with a five-year timeline in mind for securing a stadium site. Who would pay for this stadium? After privately funding Gillette Stadium, the Krafts so far have not pledged to do the same for the soccer stadium, which could cost more than $100 million. At this point, it is unclear who would pay for the stadium, or if any public funding would be needed to support the project. Finding a specific location for the stadium poses another set of problems, including the idea of a public bidding process for a limited amount of land in a crowded city. Securing a spot could be difficult for the Krafts, as the city is also considering locations for a homeless shelter for the thousands displaced after the Long Island bridge fiasco. For those unfamiliar with the Krafts, the family is widely known for having a dominating presence in the city of Boston. Most notably, Bob Kraft is the Chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group, a diverse holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports, and entertainment, and real estate development. Bob and his son Jonathan Kraft also own the New England Patriots, and are considered some of the best owners in American professional sports. Now, just 20 years after its debut, Major League Soccer is booming in America. After fans marveled at U.S. goalie Tim Howard’s performance in the FIFA World Cup this summer, soccer in America has reached a point of unmatched popularity and expansion across the country—except in Boston. Considering the city’s sports obsession and the large population of young soccer fanatics in the city, a big change would be ideal to help the team get some attention in the MLS craze. Even Tom Brady’s dining choices get more scoop than the Revolution’s playoff games. The Krafts and the team have been looking for the Revolution’s new home since 2006, as other MLS teams have moved into cutting-edge stadiums. Currently, the Revs play at the Patriot’s Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, a 45-minute drive from the city. The 68,756-seat stadium is considered by many to be too large for soccer crowds—typical attendance numbers reaching 30,000 seats are considered impressive in the MLS. The Revolution averaged 16,681 fans per game last season, which is well below the average of 19,148 in the 19-team league. The team finished the season in second place with a 17-4-13 record, and defeated the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference semifinals over a week ago. The Kraft box was nearly empty during that time, completely devoid of the Mark Wahlbergs, Donald Trumps, and Pamela Andersons that typically frequent the stadium on Sundays. With a seemingly unnoticeable sport in a sports-town like Boston, now seems like a better time than ever for Bob Kraft and the MLS to build a stadium in the city.

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

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Preparing to take office, Baker makes key appointments By William Mennicken For The Heights

Governor-elect Charlie Baker’s transition team officially announced two of the top positions he has chosen for his Cabinet on Monday. Steven Kadish, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Northeastern University, will serve as Baker’s chief-of-staff. State Representative Matthew Beaton has been chosen as the energy and environmental affairs secretary. In selecting his administration, Baker plans to use the extensive networks he has built during his decades of public service in the Commonwealth. Kadish was the director of global health equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Dartmouth College. At Northeastern, Kadish served as a senior vice president and oversaw human resources, facilities, campus planning, and the information services departments. He was a senior vice president for Administration and Project Management for Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare as well. “I am honored to serve Governorelect Baker as well as the people of the Massachusetts and I look forward to carrying out the Governor-elect’s ambitious vision for a prosperous, thriving Commonwealth,” Kadish said, according to The Boston Globe. Although Kadish is enthusiastic about the chief-of-staff position, he expects the administration will have to immediately make an impact in the city. “Matching the next governor’s enthusiasm, experience, and drive will not be easy, but as the transition process moves forward, I know Baker’s team will be ready to hit the ground running in January,” Kadish said in a statement released by the transition team, according to The Globe. Earlier on Monday, Baker announced Matthew Beaton as his selection for energy and environmental affairs secretary. Beaton is a Republican who has operated his own small green building business—Beaton Kane Construction— which specializes in energy-efficient and

Mark M. Murray / AP Photo

Republican governor-elect Charlie Baker is crossing the aisle as he prepares to take office, appointing the likes of Democrat Jay Ash. sustainable construction. “As an avid sportsman, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to promote the preservation and accessibility of our precious natural resources for the benefit of every citizen of this great Commonwealth,” Beaton said, according to The Globe. The New England Council on Green Energy applauded Baker on his selection, noting that the future of Massachusetts’ clean energy sector is dependent upon the policies of the upcoming administration. Beaton earned a degree in biotechnology from WPI and a master’s in energy and environmental analysis from Boston University, according to the Baker transition office. Despite previous milestones in renewable energy, Baker maintains that there are ways to improve the quality of the Commonwealth’s environment and promote local agriculture throughout

Massachusetts and that there are still many new opportunities to effectively handle climate change and encourage more sustainable energy. Baker had made his first Cabinet pick on Nov. 11, selecting manager of Chelsea City Jay Ash to lead the state’s housing and economic development agency. Ash, a Democrat, will be serving on the same cabinet as Republican Beaton as well as for Baker. Baker’s selection of Ash emphasizes his efforts to concentrate on bipartisanship. Ash has also served as president of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and was a founder of the Metro Mayors Coalition. He lobbied on Beacon Hill for gambling expansion, which led to the state’s law that currently sanctions casinos. Ash has a strong reputation for his successful efforts in Chelsea, Mass. to bring economic expansion and grow

residential development. “I’m getting calls from developers every day because of the success of the residential development,” Ash said in a 2013 Globe story. “We’re a community a lot of people will have to rediscover again before they believe it’s changing, but it’s developments like these that are making that happen.” Baker had previously selected Richard L. Taylor to become a key member of his transition team, but he resigned on Friday after The Boston Globe raised questions about his extensive unpaid taxes and business judgments of more than $1 million. Taylor has many financial issues connected to his highly unsuccessful Popeye’s Chicken franchise and is continuing to pay off his taxes and debts. Taylor had opted not to inform Baker and the transition team of his financial troubles until he was questioned by The Globe. n

Chocolate Walk Tour hits seven key Boston sweet spots From Chocolate, B8 ticipants had on opportunity to find out why. The sweet and earthy taste of the chocolate chunks comes from Tcho, an innovated chocolate company that produces some unusual chocolate recipes. The second stop on the CWT was L.A. Burdick, a small cafe featuring the delicacy of handmade European chocolates. Founder Lark Burdick’s goal was, according to Kichuk, to give people an opportunity to enjoy chocolate in a beautiful cafe setting. While on his chocolate pilgrimage in the 1970s to France and Switzerland, Burdick was impressed by the ambience of small French cafes and the quality of Swiss chocolate. Burdick married the two attributes to create what he hoped would be a positive chocolate-tasting experience. CWT participants snacked on samples of chocolate “mice” while perusing through shelves featuring new flavors such as pumpkin and cappuccino. The mice that the store distributed illus-

trate the delicacy needed to craft these treats—the white chocolate shell hides both the cinnamon-infused ganache at the mouse’s core and the two nuts posed as ears propped on its handpainted face. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor may have been the most familiar storefront for the CWT participants, yet a presentation from store manager Ryan Midden shed light on some not-so-familiar information about the beloved enterprise. Present in 30 countries and still expanding, Ben & Jerry’s has always stayed true to its goal of making great ice cream. The dairy used in Ben & Jerry’s products originates solely from small farms in Vermont and upstate New York. Each farmer is obligated by contract not to use growth hormones on their cattle. Founders Ben Cohen and Jerr y Greenfield are currently fighting to legislate a label requirement on all foods produced with GMOs. “We’re not against science and food working together, we just think people

have the right to know what is in their food,” Midden said. The company is currently transitioning to fair trade certified ingredients. Fair trade applies to small-scale family farms in developing countries. The certification guarantees that the production of the crop does not violate standards of gender equality, child labor, and human trafficking. “We wanted to know our products were not participating in these atrocities,” Midden said. When Ben & Jerry’s expands, he said, “it’s fun to go into a country not only with our product but with our values.” At Robin’s Candy Shop, “World’s Largest,” is a title regularly found on display. In stock are eight-pound containers of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, two-pound marshmallows, six-pound jars of Nutella, a 27-pound gummy bear, and allegedly the world’s largest jawbreakers. The fudge selection ranges from maple bacon and red velvet to the classics. Its recent “Best Fudge in Boston” award is a bit inac-

curate, given that all of the fudge is made in Tennessee. Alissa Cordeiro, store manager of Gourmet Boutique, said that “Americans have come a long way in their chocolateering.” The U.S., however, is not even in the top 10 percent of countries with the highest chocolate intake per year, she said. An average Swiss citizen consumes 26 pounds per year while the average American only consumes 11 pounds. America has a lot of catching up to do to make the chocolate history books. Boston, however, does not. Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie in Boston at the Toll House Inn in 1930. Nestle later bought the name and recipe with the agreement to send Wakefield a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate. In 1996 the chocolate chip cookie was nominated to be the official state dessert of Massachusetts, but later lost to the Boston cream pie. “So, yeah,” Kichuk joked, “we spent time and money legislating that.” n

McWilliams builds Instagram community through IGBoston From McWilliams, B8 nalism during the 1990s, writing for publications like Computerworld and Wired, eventually specializing in coverage of the underground hacker culture, a demographic that McWilliams said was not really looking for the attention—he himself was hacked several times, and one jocular hacker invented a small computer game called Shoot Brian McWilliams, which the game’s titular target got a kick out of playing himself. Now, McWilliams works as an investigator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts—a job for which he endured a two hour commute from New Hampshire each day. The decision to move to Boston shrank his commute down to a walk, about a mile and a half through the Back Bay and the Public Garden toward the State House. McWilliams was stricken by the beauty of his commute. “I have this phone in my pocket,” he thought one day. “Why don’t I snap a few photos along the way?” By April 2013, McWilliams was “Instagramming” in earnest during his walk, listening to music through his headphones—almost always jazz—while incessantly taking photos, sometimes wandering over to the Esplanade if he left early enough in the morning. While many of his followers would

know his appearance only from his small Instagram profile picture and the scant selfies he’s posted over time, his constant effort to take photos on the street has occasionally made him recognizable. A tall man, McWilliams was once conspicuously stooping down to grab a photo that incorporated a puddle—dubbed a “puddlegram”—when a nearby man caught sight of him and recognized him as the man behind the popular Instagram account. “It’s pretty cool to have that virtual world come into reality,” McWilliams said. The sense of the wonderfully mundane—that this is just an average guy’s view of the world—is part of the charm of McWilliams’s Instagram personality. His decision to only use his iPhone, though he does eventually hope to purchase a nice camera, is consistent with that online image. “I walk through a beautiful part of Boston,” his Instagram bio currently reads. “All phone pics.” McWilliams has a hard time imagining himself still doing this 10 years down the line. His wife, who is the star of some of his nature landscapes, already wonders at the amount of time he spends in Instagram’s world. But for now, his goal of capturing Boston in little square photos remains incomplete. “I still feel like, to some extent, I’m still discovering Boston,” he said. n

Photo Courtesy of Brian McWilliams

Brian McWilliams is popular for his colorful photographs, which avoid heavy editing techniques.


The Heights

B6

Bennet’s Banter

New stadium brings soccer back to city

Bennet Johnson In October of 2013, ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown aired a segment about how New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s suite at Gillette Stadium has become Boston’s “most exclusive club.” Each Sunday, the billionaire Kraft invites “a gathering of the A-list” to his space, and guests frequently range from politicians to musicians to actors. “Bob just does everything top-notch,” Mark Wahlberg said after spending an afternoon marveling at the wine and sauerbraten in the suite. Now, the Krafts are at it again. The New England Revolution’s never-ending search for a stadium has hit a new checkpoint. Currently, the affluent family with an exerting influence in the city of Boston is “exploring” the possibility of building a new soccer stadium in Boston, according to The Boston Globe. New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft is planning to build the new structure in South Boston to move the team out of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. The Globe reported that the Kraft family is interested in an area in South Boston that is currently used for towed cars. According to the article, the Krafts are working with a five-year timeline in mind for securing a stadium site. Who would pay for this stadium? After privately funding Gillette Stadium, the Krafts so far have not pledged to do the same for the soccer stadium, which could cost more than $100 million. At this point, it is unclear who would pay for the stadium, or if any public funding would be needed to support the project. Finding a specific location for the stadium poses another set of problems, including the idea of a public bidding process for a limited amount of land in a crowded city. Securing a spot could be difficult for the Krafts, as the city is also considering locations for a homeless shelter for the thousands displaced after the Long Island bridge fiasco. For those unfamiliar with the Krafts, the family is widely known for having a dominating presence in the city of Boston. Most notably, Bob Kraft is the Chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group, a diverse holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports, and entertainment, and real estate development. Bob and his son Jonathan Kraft also own the New England Patriots, and are considered some of the best owners in American professional sports. Now, just 20 years after its debut, Major League Soccer is booming in America. After fans marveled at U.S. goalie Tim Howard’s performance in the FIFA World Cup this summer, soccer in America has reached a point of unmatched popularity and expansion across the country—except in Boston. Considering the city’s sports obsession and the large population of young soccer fanatics in the city, a big change would be ideal to help the team get some attention in the MLS craze. Even Tom Brady’s dining choices get more scoop than the Revolution’s playoff games. The Krafts and the team have been looking for the Revolution’s new home since 2006, as other MLS teams have moved into cutting-edge stadiums. Currently, the Revs play at the Patriot’s Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, a 45-minute drive from the city. The 68,756-seat stadium is considered by many to be too large for soccer crowds—typical attendance numbers reaching 30,000 seats are considered impressive in the MLS. The Revolution averaged 16,681 fans per game last season, which is well below the average of 19,148 in the 19-team league. The team finished the season in second place with a 17-4-13 record, and defeated the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference semifinals over a week ago. The Kraft box was nearly empty during that time, completely devoid of the Mark Wahlbergs, Donald Trumps, and Pamela Andersons that typically frequent the stadium on Sundays. With a seemingly unnoticeable sport in a sports-town like Boston, now seems like a better time than ever for Bob Kraft and the MLS to build a stadium in the city.

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

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Preparing to take office, Baker makes key appointments By William Mennicken For The Heights

Governor-elect Charlie Baker’s transition team officially announced two of the top positions he has chosen for his Cabinet on Monday. Steven Kadish, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Northeastern University, will serve as Baker’s chief-of-staff. State Representative Matthew Beaton has been chosen as the energy and environmental affairs secretary. In selecting his administration, Baker plans to use the extensive networks he has built during his decades of public service in the Commonwealth. Kadish was the director of global health equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Dartmouth College. At Northeastern, Kadish served as a senior vice president and oversaw human resources, facilities, campus planning, and the information services departments. He was a senior vice president for Administration and Project Management for Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare as well. “I am honored to serve Governorelect Baker as well as the people of the Massachusetts and I look forward to carrying out the Governor-elect’s ambitious vision for a prosperous, thriving Commonwealth,” Kadish said, according to The Boston Globe. Although Kadish is enthusiastic about the chief-of-staff position, he expects the administration will have to immediately make an impact in the city. “Matching the next governor’s enthusiasm, experience, and drive will not be easy, but as the transition process moves forward, I know Baker’s team will be ready to hit the ground running in January,” Kadish said in a statement released by the transition team, according to The Globe. Earlier on Monday, Baker announced Matthew Beaton as his selection for energy and environmental affairs secretary. Beaton is a Republican who has operated his own small green building business—Beaton Kane Construction— which specializes in energy-efficient and

Mark M. Murray / AP Photo

Republican governor-elect Charlie Baker is crossing the aisle as he prepares to take office, appointing the likes of Democrat Jay Ash. sustainable construction. “As an avid sportsman, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to promote the preservation and accessibility of our precious natural resources for the benefit of every citizen of this great Commonwealth,” Beaton said, according to The Globe. The New England Council on Green Energy applauded Baker on his selection, noting that the future of Massachusetts’ clean energy sector is dependent upon the policies of the upcoming administration. Beaton earned a degree in biotechnology from WPI and a master’s in energy and environmental analysis from Boston University, according to the Baker transition office. Despite previous milestones in renewable energy, Baker maintains that there are ways to improve the quality of the Commonwealth’s environment and promote local agriculture throughout

Massachusetts and that there are still many new opportunities to effectively handle climate change and encourage more sustainable energy. Baker had made his first Cabinet pick on Nov. 11, selecting manager of Chelsea City Jay Ash to lead the state’s housing and economic development agency. Ash, a Democrat, will be serving on the same cabinet as Republican Beaton as well as for Baker. Baker’s selection of Ash emphasizes his efforts to concentrate on bipartisanship. Ash has also served as president of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and was a founder of the Metro Mayors Coalition. He lobbied on Beacon Hill for gambling expansion, which led to the state’s law that currently sanctions casinos. Ash has a strong reputation for his successful efforts in Chelsea, Mass. to bring economic expansion and grow

residential development. “I’m getting calls from developers every day because of the success of the residential development,” Ash said in a 2013 Globe story. “We’re a community a lot of people will have to rediscover again before they believe it’s changing, but it’s developments like these that are making that happen.” Baker had previously selected Richard L. Taylor to become a key member of his transition team, but he resigned on Friday after The Boston Globe raised questions about his extensive unpaid taxes and business judgments of more than $1 million. Taylor has many financial issues connected to his highly unsuccessful Popeye’s Chicken franchise and is continuing to pay off his taxes and debts. Taylor had opted not to inform Baker and the transition team of his financial troubles until he was questioned by The Globe. n

Chocolate Walk Tour hits seven key Boston sweet spots From Chocolate, B8 ticipants had on opportunity to find out why. The sweet and earthy taste of the chocolate chunks comes from Tcho, an innovated chocolate company that produces some unusual chocolate recipes. The second stop on the CWT was L.A. Burdick, a small cafe featuring the delicacy of handmade European chocolates. Founder Lark Burdick’s goal was, according to Kichuk, to give people an opportunity to enjoy chocolate in a beautiful cafe setting. While on his chocolate pilgrimage in the 1970s to France and Switzerland, Burdick was impressed by the ambience of small French cafes and the quality of Swiss chocolate. Burdick married the two attributes to create what he hoped would be a positive chocolate-tasting experience. CWT participants snacked on samples of chocolate “mice” while perusing through shelves featuring new flavors such as pumpkin and cappuccino. The mice that the store distributed illus-

trate the delicacy needed to craft these treats—the white chocolate shell hides both the cinnamon-infused ganache at the mouse’s core and the two nuts posed as ears propped on its handpainted face. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor may have been the most familiar storefront for the CWT participants, yet a presentation from store manager Ryan Midden shed light on some not-so-familiar information about the beloved enterprise. Present in 30 countries and still expanding, Ben & Jerry’s has always stayed true to its goal of making great ice cream. The dairy used in Ben & Jerry’s products originates solely from small farms in Vermont and upstate New York. Each farmer is obligated by contract not to use growth hormones on their cattle. Founders Ben Cohen and Jerr y Greenfield are currently fighting to legislate a label requirement on all foods produced with GMOs. “We’re not against science and food working together, we just think people

have the right to know what is in their food,” Midden said. The company is currently transitioning to fair trade certified ingredients. Fair trade applies to small-scale family farms in developing countries. The certification guarantees that the production of the crop does not violate standards of gender equality, child labor, and human trafficking. “We wanted to know our products were not participating in these atrocities,” Midden said. When Ben & Jerry’s expands, he said, “it’s fun to go into a country not only with our product but with our values.” At Robin’s Candy Shop, “World’s Largest,” is a title regularly found on display. In stock are eight-pound containers of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, two-pound marshmallows, six-pound jars of Nutella, a 27-pound gummy bear, and allegedly the world’s largest jawbreakers. The fudge selection ranges from maple bacon and red velvet to the classics. Its recent “Best Fudge in Boston” award is a bit inac-

curate, given that all of the fudge is made in Tennessee. Alissa Cordeiro, store manager of Gourmet Boutique, said that “Americans have come a long way in their chocolateering.” The U.S., however, is not even in the top 10 percent of countries with the highest chocolate intake per year, she said. An average Swiss citizen consumes 26 pounds per year while the average American only consumes 11 pounds. America has a lot of catching up to do to make the chocolate history books. Boston, however, does not. Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie in Boston at the Toll House Inn in 1930. Nestle later bought the name and recipe with the agreement to send Wakefield a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate. In 1996 the chocolate chip cookie was nominated to be the official state dessert of Massachusetts, but later lost to the Boston cream pie. “So, yeah,” Kichuk joked, “we spent time and money legislating that.” n

McWilliams builds Instagram community through IGBoston From McWilliams, B8 nalism during the 1990s, writing for publications like Computerworld and Wired, eventually specializing in coverage of the underground hacker culture, a demographic that McWilliams said was not really looking for the attention—he himself was hacked several times, and one jocular hacker invented a small computer game called Shoot Brian McWilliams, which the game’s titular target got a kick out of playing himself. Now, McWilliams works as an investigator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts—a job for which he endured a two hour commute from New Hampshire each day. The decision to move to Boston shrank his commute down to a walk, about a mile and a half through the Back Bay and the Public Garden toward the State House. McWilliams was stricken by the beauty of his commute. “I have this phone in my pocket,” he thought one day. “Why don’t I snap a few photos along the way?” By April 2013, McWilliams was “Instagramming” in earnest during his walk, listening to music through his headphones—almost always jazz—while incessantly taking photos, sometimes wandering over to the Esplanade if he left early enough in the morning. While many of his followers would

know his appearance only from his small Instagram profile picture and the scant selfies he’s posted over time, his constant effort to take photos on the street has occasionally made him recognizable. A tall man, McWilliams was once conspicuously stooping down to grab a photo that incorporated a puddle—dubbed a “puddlegram”—when a nearby man caught sight of him and recognized him as the man behind the popular Instagram account. “It’s pretty cool to have that virtual world come into reality,” McWilliams said. The sense of the wonderfully mundane—that this is just an average guy’s view of the world—is part of the charm of McWilliams’s Instagram personality. His decision to only use his iPhone, though he does eventually hope to purchase a nice camera, is consistent with that online image. “I walk through a beautiful part of Boston,” his Instagram bio currently reads. “All phone pics.” McWilliams has a hard time imagining himself still doing this 10 years down the line. His wife, who is the star of some of his nature landscapes, already wonders at the amount of time he spends in Instagram’s world. But for now, his goal of capturing Boston in little square photos remains incomplete. “I still feel like, to some extent, I’m still discovering Boston,” he said. n

Photo Courtesy of Brian McWilliams

Brian McWilliams is popular for his colorful photographs, which avoid heavy editing techniques.


METRO

B8

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014

EDGE OF TOWN

Alone with reflections

Boston Vision Ryan Towey | Metro Editor

RYAN TOWEY Early on a Sunday morning, Boston is a lonely place—it’s easy to feel as if you don’t yet exist. The city’s children still have their heads on pillows—dreams let them deny that school will soon claim them again. The elderly are only just rising to dress for church or brunch. Business owners are inside, pulling chairs down from tables, folding clothes neatly on shelves for the eventual Sunday rush. Boston’s 20-somethings, recovering from a Friday and Saturday that blended together, are all at rest in apartments and dorms. All of them, it seems, except me. It’s 8:40 a.m.—not an ungodly hour—but I’ve still arrived too early for the party, with the streets like a fully set dining room table just before the company has arrived. The few others who have already started the day make only brief eye contact. Already, we have our hands deep in coat pockets, our shoulders bunched up toward our ears in a futile effort to block winter’s advance. Across the street, two men load packages onto a hand truck. Together, they rattle down Boylston St. I hear them laugh—someone’s told a joke about the night before. I have 20 minutes before I have to conduct an interview, but I already feel myself gearing up to be social. I realize that I haven’t even used my voice since I awoke that morning—I’d have no way of knowing if it were lost. I clear my throat to reassure myself, and walk past the Public Library. I look up at the details of the library’s original architecture—the McKim Building, constructed in 1895—and then I look forward in dismay at the library’s modern Johnson Building from the 1970s, all sheer white walls and uninteresting windows, not unlike Boston College’s own O’Neill Library. But passing by the Johnson Building grants me a sense of reality that the morning had thus far lacked—I catch my reflection in the long windows, and I suddenly feel like I exist, however lonely the sidewalk appears. I can think of only a few times in my life where seeing my own reflection made me feel less alone, somehow more real. Once during middle school—a time when long, boring days left me wondering if I would ever feel like my life were in motion. I came home from soccer practice and looked at my sweaty face in the mirror, suddenly noticing how my face had grown longer, shadowed by the beginning of facial hair, how life was moving even if I could not observe it happening. Once during high school—the restaurant we were in had countless mirrors. I would occasionally break eye contact with her to surreptitiously watch us eating and talking together. The reflection told me to slow down, to enjoy this fleeting meal. This new reflection, however, is not as willing to engage. He walks parallel to me along the sidewalk, long strides, thinking he must look cool in his dark coat, pen marks on his pants from careless hand motions during interviews and note taking in class. He looks like he’s a part of it, this Boston thing. He knows where he’s heading. The streets are no strangers to him, or so he thinks. He looks like he feels old, but God, he must still be in his early 20s. He reaches into his backpack just as I do, pulling out his iPod and pushing in the earbuds. Together, we hit play—a song recommended by a friend begins. My feet are in Boston but my mind is in London, a new city with strange streets where I will spend five months. I already miss the place through which I currently walk. My reflection looks at me, refusing to break his stride. Then the window gives way to a revolving door, and he spins away.

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

MAGGIE POWERS / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

How Brian McWilliams used Instagram to turn his commute into art Brian McWilliams has more than 7,700 followers on Instagram—but just like everyone else who has ever downloaded the social media app, he first thought it was a waste of time. “My wife was on Instagram before I was,” he said, sitting in a Starbucks on Boylston St. “I thought it was ridiculous.” By last year, however, the app had become such an integral part of his life that he decided to help bring Boston’s Instagram community together through a membership-based organization called IGBoston—with the handle @igboston—which currently has around 4,000 followers. McWilliams’s personal account @brianmcw remains more popular, but the daily photos that he and three other moderators choose to post on the IGBoston account are a testament to the diversity of ways in which members of the organization choose to view the city. Bright colors and sunsets dominate some—others are grittier, black-and-white night shots. At IGBoston,

such diverse points of view are encouraged—to join the ranks of the organization’s 200-plus members, a photographer has to take a “challenge” photo assigned by the moderators, usually with the charge to capture something that differs from what McWilliams calls their usual “bread and butter.” Someone who usually takes photos of Boston’s skyline, for example, might be challenged to grab a shot that operates more at the street level or picks up on one of the city’s small natural details. “A lot of people—if they’re really good—like to have the challenge,” McWilliams said. At night, four moderators launch an email chain in order to discuss the photos posted that day by IGBoston members, deciding which photo to post on the general account. Sometimes they disagree, given that each of them has a distinct taste. But for a guy who spends so much time posting photos on Instagram, McWilliams hardly spends much time looking at the world through a filter. “The best Instagram is almost like photojournal-

ism,” he said. His own posts reflect this aesthetic. His photos are almost always colorful, yes, but he avoids heavyhanded editing, and, unlike some Instagram users, he does not go to any bizarre lengths to create a sense of immediacy when there isn’t one—like claiming a photo of a sunset to be one of a sunrise. “I do have some journalistic roots,” he said. “Part of me wants to capture reality.” Originally from Minnesota, McWilliams was the only member of his family without a yearning for a career in music, and so words became his first medium. He studied English in college and got sucked into writing marketing communications in the computer industry for 15 years, climbing onto the career conveyor belt. “You just get carried along,” he said. “You got to just keep paying the bills.” He managed to transition into technology jour-

See McWilliams, B6

Startup founders represent BC at college competition BY BENNET JOHNSON Asst. Metro Editor

JORDAN PENTALERI / HEIGHTS GRAPHIC

The Boston Chocolate Walking Tour traversed seven key spots for those with a sweet tooth.

Local chocolate tour satisfies Boston’s craving

BY MAGGIE SULLIVAN For The Heights As it turns out, there is such a thing as too much chocolate. “People reach a certain saturation point when they’re having sweets,” said Victoria Kichuk, the leader of the Boston Chocolate Walking Tour (CWT). “It’s a reboot for your palate … It is not a test of will. You will not be shamed if you use your pretzel bag.” Armed with their bags of pretzels against the copious amounts of

I NSIDE METRO THIS ISSUE

chocolate and sugar to come, 10 eager chocoholics participanting in the CWT set out to explore a world of rich and quality chocolate on Saturday morning down Newbury St., stopping at seven establishments—all dedicated to satisfying the cravings of participants They gathered outside Flour Bakery on Clarendon St., the tour’s first stop. Flour Bakery’s chocolate chip cookies were recently rated the “Best in Boston” by Boston Magazine. The CWT par-

See Chocolate, B6

Baker prepares his transition

Luke George, CSOM ’17, was frustrated that he couldn’t get rid of the leftover pizza in his room. After throwing away the unclaimed pieces, George discovered an opportunity. He was involved in the Compass Fellowship, an entrepreneurial circle for freshmen and sophomores at Boston College, and decided he wanted to create a social marketplace for students to get things out of their rooms they no longer wanted—whether it be something as small as leftover pizza or something as large as furniture. An idea hit G eorge that would catapult him into Boston’s startup scene. Dubbed “YouSit,” with the slogan “Use it or lose it,” George sought to create an app that lets users know if someone in the immediate area was trying to get rid of something in which they might be interested. Andrew Bernstein, A&S ’17, was visiting California this past January when he received a phone call from George that would completely change his freshman year experience at Boston College. Bernstein and George had met at orientation the previous summer. George

As Charlie Baker prepares to take over as Massachusetts governor, he calls upon both sides of the aisle to aid his transition............................................B6

was aware of Bernstein’s predilection for writing, and called to ask his advice on a potential venture proposal for YouSit. “I never imagined we would end up working together and becoming such good friends,” Bernstein said. Following the proposal, YouSit was accepted into the semi-finals of the eighth annual Boston College Venture Competition (BCVC) last March, and Bernstein came on full-time to help George make YouSit a reality. “I think the problem with the startup culture is that you have a cool idea and immediately just want to run with it—even though you may have no clue how to make to make it come to life,” Bernstein said. “That’s exactly what we were thrown into.” With no previous startup experience, Bernstein and George met every night in the spring to prepare for BCVC. The two students taught themselves how to perform an effective pitch and give a formal presentation. Only freshmen, Bernstein said that they took any advice they could get, and they were pleased to find the judges supportive of their ideas. YouSit tied for second place in the competition, and received a total of

See Startups, B7

Boston Foodie: Papagayo ..........................................................................B7 Column: Bennet’s Banter......................................................................................B6


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