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A series of photos tell the stories of the many faces at BC, B10
A modern adaptation of Chekhov’s classic tragedy was performed this weekend, A10
After a win over Illinois, women’s soccer will face FSU in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight round, B1
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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Vol. XCIV, No. 46
HEIGHTS
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Monday, November 25, 2013
Alum helps launch app for students
BY ANDREINA BANQUERO-DEGWITZ For The Heights
CONCERT RAISES $1,200
Performers collaborate to fundraise for victims of Typhoon Haiyan BY REBECCA MORETTI Heights Staff It was hard to find an empty seat last Thursday at the Philippine Typhoon Recovery Charity Concert, which took place in the Rat. The concert was hosted by UGBC, RHA, and the Philippine Society of Boston College, and sound was managed by the BC Music Guild. These groups joined in an effort to raise money for victims in the Philippines, who are suffering in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. The event succeeded in raising over $1,200, all of which will be donated to Catholic Relief Services and will go toward helping the typhoon victims. The concert featured 16 student performers and performance groups who volunteered to take part in the charity event. Among those performing were the Heightsmen of BC, BC Masti, Uprising Dance Crew, and Sexual Chocolate. The concert began with Isabella Rosales, CSON ’17, who sang the national anthem, followed by acoustic performances by Jammin Toast; Terry Peng, A&S ’14; Thomas Harpole, A&S ’14; Mike Lapointe, CSOM ’14; and Amanda Adams, A&S ’16. The songs performed were diverse, ranging from peaceful, inspirational pieces to upbeat, pop tunes. Peng and Harpole sang an old, Southern gospel song as well as a song they wrote themselves. Caroline Portu, A&S ’16, sang and played songs on the keyboard, including Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and a song she composed herself. William Bolton, CSOM ’16, whose stage name is Times
ALEX GAYNOR / HEIGHTS EDITOR
With the mere download of an app, life on the Heights can be made much easier thanks to BC alumnus Frank Stamos, BC ’98, and his partner Ari Kalos. The pair invented and created StudentNation, a social app for students that is set to launch in January 2014. “The app is going to be kind of like a social network, specifically for college students, but we wanted to do something a little bit different and put more of a business strategy behind it,” Kalos said. “What do college students really want to do aside from attend events, listen to music, and get to know each other? They want to save money.” StudentNation will partner with local and national businesses that will offer incentives and discounts for college students with the app. According to Kalos, this is a “win-win for everybody,” because students will be able to save money while the traffic for these businesses increases. The businesses will include restaurants, dry cleaners, retail shops, bookstores, and any other company that offers beneficial services for college students. Through previous experience with their first web company, a global social network for Greek people, Stamos and Kalos learned the dos and don’ts of tech building. This led them to decide that, for their next project, they needed to have a
See StudentNation, A3
See Benefit Concert, A3
Columbia prof talks illness in art
Keenan speculates about potential female cardinals
BY SOO JUNG RHEE
Less than two weeks ago, Boston College hosted a panel designated to consider women’s role in the contemporary Catholic Church. Even before that discussion on Nov. 12, though, one of BC’s Jesuits was making headlines on that very same topic by suggesting that Pope Francis name women to the College of Cardinals this February. Founders Professor in Theology Rev. James Keenan, S.J., posted on his Facebook page earlier this fall asking for the names of women who would make good candidates for cardinals. “I think there are a lot of people, right now, who feel great joy over the papacy of Francis, and he’s only been pope, what—eight, nine months,” Keenan said. “There’s been a little ambiguity about … what is he going to do about the presence of women in the Church. He’ll say, ‘The Church is feminine.’ Yeah, okay, fine. So where are they?” Historically, most of the power that women had in the Church, Keenan said, was either as nuns or as abbesses. Wealthy women, he said, also exercised
BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT News Editor
Heights Staff “I gave you Rothko’s paintings as a backdrop to what I want to invite you to do with me,” said physician and Columbia University professor Rita Charon, the author of Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness, as she opened her lecture with a slide of Mark Rothko’s painting Blue and Brown. “I bring you here Blue and Brown. And if what you do for the next 40 minutes is stare at it and let it change and evaginate and alter and summon you into the blueness and the greenness, then that’s better than listening to me, because what I want us to think about together is how we are summoned to self and others by virtue of art.” Last Friday in Higgins 300, a group of students, faculty members from multiple departments, and others gathered to hear Charon’s keynote speech about how stories of illnesses affect both the afflicted and others. Referring to herself as a narratologist, Charon recognized
CARA ANNUNZIATA / HEIGHTS STAFF
Columbia’s Rita Charon spoke about how illnesses are treated in narrative works. her imperative duty to pay attention to how the accounts of illness and risk are given, and study what becomes clear to us through not only the experience of illness but also the telling and writing of it. She questioned, “how is anyone heightened by virtue of the known risk?” and began to form her answers by introducing her narrative as accounts of risk and doubt, which would bring to light how we tell ourselves and others what we go through. “The state of having health, whether it’s good health or bad health or iffy
health or health at all, is itself characterized by virtue of the restrictions and the possibilities, and even the condemnatory power—that they’re characterized in a heightened way by risk and doubt,” she said. She continued her argument by saying that in matters of health, the power of risk and doubt magnifies because our bodily functions and physical characteristics define our lives and who we are. By quoting Tony Judt, a historian and NYU professor who finished his last
See Story of Illness, A3
influence, but were largely confined to their own region. Since women are not permitted to be ordained in the Catholic Church, they have limited influence in any official capacity. “If there’s anything where people are waiting with more than curiosity—let’s say concern—it’s, do we see how is [Pope Francis] on women,” Keenan said. “It’s a recurring question—what will he say or do? I wouldn’t be surprised if he says or does something positive on cardinals, simply because it’s a good way to talk about women in the Church without going directly to the ordination question. We’ve been doing that for such a long time—let’s try another way of getting women at the table, and have access to the pope.” The College of Cardinals is responsible for electing the pope, but Francis has expanded opportunities for influence somewhat by forming an advisory committee of eight cardinals. “So I thought, well, why not have women in that circle?” Keenan said. “And why not have women as advisors to the pope just as men are? And if cardinals
See Cardinals, A3
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Thanksgiving Holiday
Chamber Music Society
Monday, November 25, 2013
The Vita Nova
1 2 3 Thursday Time: All day
Celebrate and give thanks with friends and family on Thanksgiving Day.
A Guide to Your Newspaper
Today Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Gasson Hall, Room 100
Sandra Hebert, director of the Boston College Chamber Music Society, will lead a performance by BC students tonight in Gasson Hall. The event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.
Today Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Devlin Hall, Room 101
Laurie Shepard, associate professor of Italian, will discuss Dante’s The Vita Nova. Written in 1295, The Vita Nova is notable for being written in Italian, rather than Latin, and helped establish the Tuscan dialect as the Italian standard.
FEATURED EVENT
University gathers for multifaith celebration BY DANIEL PEREA-KANE For The Heights Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and others came together to express gratitude at the University’s Multifaith Thanksgiving and Hanukkah Celebration last Thursday, Nov. 21. Hillel Greene, affiliate campus minister of Boston College; Jonathan Makransky, A&S ’14; and associate professor at the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) Nancy Pineda-Madrid spoke at the celebration. At the beginning of the celebration, Vice President of University Mission and Ministry Rev. John Butler, S.J., delivered the opening prayer and Director of Campus Ministry Rev. Anthony Penna welcomed those in attendance. Greene’s speech emphasized the uniqueness of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving coinciding. “I want to say what an honor it is to be here,” he said. “ The next time Hanukkah and Thanksgiving are scheduled to coincide is 76,000 years from now, so it’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Greene brief ly explained the story of Hanukkah. In 226 B.C., there was debate among the Jewish population in what is now Israel over whether or not to assimilate into Greek culture. They ultimately decided to stay true to their heritage despite the Greeks outlawing of the study of the Torah, circumcision, and kosher foods. The Maccabees, a group of Jewish priests, decided to wage guerilla warfare against the Greeks in order
DREW HOO / HEIGHTS STAFF
Members of STM and Hillel Greene joined to give thanks with the BC community. to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem from paganism back to Judaism. Rabbis later on felt uncomfortable with the warlike elements of this story and so decided to focus on the miracle that when the rabbis returned to the temple, a small jug of oil kept the menorah there lit for eight whole days. Greene added what he was personally grateful for. “Growing up in America, I feel very blessed and lucky that I don’t need to make that same choice that the Jews in Israel under Greek rule had to make,” he said. “Religious freedom is, in no small part, a miracle.” The Koleinu Jewish Community Choir then sang the song “Hanukkah Likhtelehh,” which adds its own complex and mysterious meanings to the story of Hanukkah. Next, Makransky gave his input
on gratitude from the point of view of someone raised as a Tibetan Buddhist. “As Buddhists, we’re taught to be thankful for ever ything and everyone all the time, which, as you can imagine, can be quite difficult in certain circumstances,” he said. “[Still], everything and everyone has a chance to make our experience meaningful.” He discussed this idea of gratitude in the context of his own experience at BC and how he grew to better understand his experience through loving gratitude toward others. “This is pretty difficult most of the time,” he said. “It wasn’t until I came to BC that I realized the power of this idea.” The choir then sang “Hal’luhu,” a song of praise to God, before PinedaMadrid shared her ideas about giving thanks. “I’m thankful for my journey to
POLICE BLOTTER
11/20/13-11/22/13
Wednesday, November 20 6:25 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Claver Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility. 10:18 a.m. - A report was filed regarding found property in Gasson Hall. The property was later returned to the owner.
11:39 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assitance provided to a BC student in Williams Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility.
Thursday, November 21 12:17 a.m. - A report was filed regarding found property in O’Neill Library.
2:44 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance in Vanderslice Hall.
10:25 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance in Hopkins House.
8:19 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a towed vehicle in Lower Lots.
10:28 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a credit card offense in an off-campus location.
College Corner NEWS FROM UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY BY DEVON SANFORD Assoc. News Editor The Rhodes Trust has announced 32 U.S. students as Rhodes Scholars who will enter Oxford University next October. The winners were selected from 857 applicants endorsed by 327 different colleges and universities, according to The Huffington Post. The scholarship recipients have received all expenses for two or three years of study at the prestigious university in England. The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award that is considered the “world’s most prestigious scholarship” by Time and the Associated Press. The scholarship was established to honor the will of Cecil J. Rhodes, an English businessman and politician in South Africa. The first American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford
faith,” she said. “[In faith] one has to embrace the world like a lover and yet demand no easy return of love as a condition.” Assistant Director of the Church in the 21st Century Karen Kieffer said that the offering of the event would benefit Spread the Bread, “a global grassroots bread-giving initiative that encourages our world to bake bread … for others.” The presentation song “Malo! Malo! Thanks Be to God” had the Liturgy Arts Group and STM’s Music Ministry sing thanks to God in many different languages as a call and response with the audience. Aashini Shrivastav dance d a Hindu Devotional Dance to the song “Allah Ke Bande,” its last verse stating, when translated to English, “It is only in the scattered pieces of your dreams that you will find the meaning of God’s will.” Juan Alcala, WCAS ’15, of the Multi-Cultural Christian Fellowship read Psalm 30, which ends on a note of gratitude: “O Lord My God, I will give thanks to you forever.” Campus Minister Rev. Howard McLendon gave closing remarks. Makransky; Laura Newman, A&S ’15; Reverend Brenda-Ann Brown; and Office of Institutional Diversity representative Edilma Hosein gave Buddhist, Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim blessings for the bread. The sponsors for the event were the Offices of Campus Ministry and the office of the vice president for University Mission and Ministry, Latino/as at BC, the Black Faculty, staff and administrators, and Spread the Bread.
in 1904. Rhodes Scholars may study any full-time postgraduate course offered by the university. All university fees are paid by the Rhodes Trust and scholars receive a monthly maintenance stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential, and physical vigor, according to The Huffington Post. Many Rho des S cholars have gone on to have prominent careers in business, politics, sport, and academia, including Wasim Sajjad, who served as the President of Pakistan, and Bob Hawke, who served as the Prime Minister of Australia. The American students will join an international group of scholars selected from 14 other jurisdictions around the world. Approximately 80 scholars are selected annually.
Friday, November 22 12:17 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Gonzaga Hall. The student was later transported by cruiser to a medical facility. 6:00 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to an employee in Higgins Hall. The employee was later transported by ambulance to a medical facility.
—Source: The Boston College Police Department
The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Eleanor Hildebrandt, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights. com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk. Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Austin Tedesco, Sports Editor, at (617) 5520189, or email sports@bcheights.com. Arts Events The Heights covers a multitude of events both on and off campus – including concerts, movies, theatrical performances, and more. Call Sean Keeley, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk. Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact David Cote, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com. CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Jamie Ciocon, General Manager at (617) 5520547. Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday. The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2013. All rights reserved.
CORRECTIONS This correction is in reference to the issue dated Nov. 11, 2013, Vol. XCIV, No. 45. The article “Students advocate for immigration reform” incorrectly named Christian Lopez. The correct name is Cristian Lopez.
VOICES FROM THE DUSTBOWL “What is the most annoying snack someone can bring to class?”
“Anything that smells funky, like dumplings.” —Olivia Evans, CSOM ’16
“Chips.” —Holly Menna, CSOM ’16
“Anything that needs to be slurped.” —Jen Loiselle CSOM ’16
“Chips.” —Bridget Gorman, A&S ’17
The Heights
Monday, November 25, 2013
App set to launch at BC first
Charon considers connection between illness and narrative Story of Illness, from A1
StudentNation, from A1 larger target audience—thus, the dawn of the idea of an app for college students. The app will first be geared toward Boston College. “When we get a good footing here and learn our mistakes, we want to expand to different colleges within Boston and then, far off into the future, expand all over the place,” Kalos said. College students from all over will not only be able to benefit from the discounts and offers from businesses, but also experience several other features within the app. These features exist in order to provide entertainment for the students and to create a tighter college community. For example, the app contains a top videos feature that has BC video feeds going in directly to the app in addition to other popular clips. StudentNation also has a music player that allows its users to listen to full-length songs from a list of the top music in different genres. In addition, the app includes a photo gallery, which is automatically updated from Twitter and Instagram hashtags and Facebook pages. “If you’re ever trying to promote something as a student, you could tag events in pictures and videos that automatically get pulled into the app,” Kalos said. The app also includes, among other features, a tip calculator, a gettingaround feature designed specifically for newcomers, an official newsfeed, and a live radio feature that facilitates access to WZBC and other college radio stations from around the country. Stamos is in charge of the business development of the app, while Kalos focuses on all of the tech content. The lack of manpower, however, has become a challenge for the duo. “One idea we thought about how to get around the lack of staff is to offer internships to BC students where they can get the experience of looking at a startup while either earning money or doing it for the experience,” Stamos said. “We connected it with the career center here at BC, and they loved our idea.” The pair will be present at the job fair in January to recruit interns for their company. Anyone who wants experience is welcome—the internship is flexible and students can work on their own time wherever they want. Stamos and Kalos also stressed the importance of having experiences and learning from them. “If you have an idea that you believe in, it’s going to be difficult and you’re going to get knocked down in the beginning no matter what happens,” Kalos said. “Just take the chances and stick to it.” n
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alex gaynor / heights editor
The concert was a joint effort between UGBC, RHA, the Philippine Society, and BC Music Guild.
Concert raises funds for Philippine typhoon victims Benefit Concert, from A1 New Roman, performed his own music, playing electric guitar with beats he arranged. Dance groups like the dance troupe Masti and the hip-hop team UPrising provided great energy to the concert with their fast choreography and upbeat music. Sexual Chocolate, BC’s all-male step team, also added to the spirited atmosphere. Pe r fo r m a n ce s b y L i tu rg y A r t s Group and the a cappella group Against the Current featured spiritual ballads and songs that emphasized the importance of faith and trust in God in overcoming hardship. The concert event was the idea of Tadala Jumbe, A&S ’14, who won best singer/songwriter at the 2013 BC’s Best competition, and also performed at the concert. James Gallo, a member of RHA and CSOM ’14, volunteered to organize the event immediately upon hearing the idea. Although they didn’t have their first performer until a week before the event, the acts all came together in the end, and the concert turned out to be a success. “The performers were great,” said Marilyn Cheong, A&S ’17. “It’s wonderful to see all the people who’ve come
out to support the cause and enjoy these acts.” “I was especially surprised to see some of my classmates performing,” Che ong said. “I had no idea the y were involved in singing and dancing groups.” “We don’t really take the time to think about the people it affects ,” Jumbe said, before picking up her guitar to sing. Jumbe sang an inspirational song she remembered from her church in Atlanta, which spoke of people joining together to heal the world’s nations. “There is a devastation that can’t be fixed with money,” Jumbe said. Raising funds for the victims is crucial to helping them survive through this crisis. There is something extremely powerful about people coming together through music during tough times that is crucial to restoring the human spirit, she said. Matt Alonsozana, executive vice president of UGBC and A&S ’14, is a Filipino-American whose family was affected by the typhoon. “The typhoon hit the middle part of the country,” Alonsozana said, “one of the most beautiful places on earth.” “However, the most beautiful thing about the Philippines isn’t its physical features, but its people." n
book while being hospitalized for ALS, Charon pointed out how our thoughts can live on no matter what happens to our bodies, yet how indivisible we are from our body. “Our bodies are what allow us contact and simply knowledge of the world at the same time it is what allows us to insert ourselves into it and be known by it,” Charon said. Just as one can never see their own face because of the location of the eyes in the head, bodies do not have complete access to the total knowledge of themselves, she said. Thus, people are necessarily in need of others because relationality completes them. “ When they write things about their own experiences, I am more and more convinced that the only way to do these things justice—the telling by the patient as well as the writing—is by treating them as works of art, that these are aesthetic products,” she said. “It’s through the painting arm, the playing keyboard, the bowing cellist that the individual comes to know self, world, and relation and comes to communicate those with others thereby expanding others’ sense of self, world, and relation. It is as if by letting us be of the world our bodies let us be of ourselves.” Representation through art reflects the way by which people perceive the world around them by conferring form on the formless through language, col-
alex gaynor / heights editor
Sixteen different groups and individual acts performed at Thursday’s benefit concert.
or or musical tones. It recaptures and converts an amorphous idea to bring it to the world, or reveals the true form of the state of uncertainty. “The work of art is not the resolution of the doubt, it is the result of the doubt,” she said. “Without doubt, there is no art.” Charon argued that although art is inseparable from the one who creates it, it also requires receivers who are the beneficiaries of the work, but necessary to the completion of the two-way communication process. Likewise, writers who write about their stories regarding genetic illnesses are artists who are willing to use their creative energy to create works of art which will enable them to communicate with themselves and the world. “Simply, what I’m proposing is that art transforms the risk into doubt, that the capacity, the achievement of the artist by virtue of embracing, tolerating, maybe even finding fruitful this realm of uncertainty moves from a position of anxious risk to a position of fruitful doubt,” Charon said. “I think these writers and tellers are embarked on an aesthetic project to illuminate the murky real and to tolerate the world in which we are all subject on our paths of births and deaths. And maybe the telling of this tragic predicament of knowing the risk, but not knowing the future, might expose the way humans can live with doubt not just about health and not just about disease, but about life.” n
cara annunziata / heights staff
Charon’s talk on Friday highlighted the connections between risk, doubt, and health.
Theology professor’s Facebook post sparks discussion of potential female cardinals Cardinals, from A1 are what he’s using as the category, why not make them cardinals? ... Now, the matter on women cardinals has been raised for decades, but somehow my entry on Facebook prompted it to go much further than it’s ever gone.” Names that were floated on Keenan’s Facebook page included Ivone Gebara and Maria Bingemer of Brazil; Theresa Okure of Nigeria; Anne Nasimiyu of Kenya; Alison Munro of South Africa; Agnes Brazal of the Philippines; and Marianne HeimbachSteines of Germany. “I was naming major scholars ,” Keenan said. “So when I posted it I got all sorts of recommendations.” For example, he said, Lisa Cahill, J. Donald Monan professor of theology at BC, was one of the women named in a comment on his post. Keenan said that his Facebook post elicited a hugely positive reaction. “I get these beautiful letters from all over the place,” he said. “I couldn’t get over how positive—people nominating other women from all over, beautiful little encomiums on different people … I’m thinking, ‘I’m not in the position to get these letters to anyone...’ It was really very extraordinary.” According to a report from the Irish Times published earlier this month, Francis’ press secretar y dismissed rumors that women would be named cardinals in February of next year, yet reaffirmed the technical possibility. “Theologically and theoretically, it is possible,” said Rev. Federico Lom-
bardi, S.J., according to the report. “Being a cardinal is one of those roles in the church for which, theoretically, you do not have to be ordained but to move from there to suggesting the pope will name women cardinals for the next
“[In February] the pope is going to name a whole mess of cardinals, and people are going to go ‘Where are the women?’ And then when he has another meeting of this group of eight, they’re going to say, ‘Well, where are the women?” - Rev. James Keenan, S.J. Founders Professor in Theology at Boston College consistory is not remotely realistic.” Keenan rejected the interpretation of this statement as a denial. “The news media, being as they are, said, ‘Oh, he’s getting rid of it,’ but the rest of us were looking at it, saying, ‘He said, theoreti-
cally and theologically, women cardinals are possible,’” Keenan said. “No one of his stature has said that.” Although optimistic about greater inclusion of women in the Church, Keenan acknowledged that there is opposition to the idea of female cardinals. “You’ll get some pushback,” he said. “Canon law, 1917, put in a requirement that cardinals had to be ordained.” According to Keenan, however, that law was meant more to reform the Church and halt the practice of nepotism in the naming of cardinals—people appointing young relatives, for example. “It was just hoping to keep out riff-raff, it had nothing to do with some sort of priestly identity,” he said. Although the 1917 law requiring ordination of cardinals is still in force today, Keenan said that it would be relatively easy to reform. “So when [Francis’] press secretary said, theologically and theoretically it’s possible, he didn’t say canonically it’s possible—but that’s only canon law,” he said. Lombardi’s statement, Keenan said, does not put the question of women cardinals to rest—it simply means that the appointment of women to the College of Cardinals is not likely in the near future. “But I’m sure that in February, it’s going to be raised, because the pope is going to name a whole mess of men to be cardinals, and people are going to go ‘Where are the women?’” Keenan said. “And then when he has another meeting of this group of eight, they’re going to say, ‘Well, where are the women?’ So, I think I got the issue out there.” n
The Heights
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Monday, November 25, 2013
Gonzalez questions racism in heritage
What do you want to be?
By Jennifer Suh Heights Staff
Brendon Anderson “What do you want to be when you grow up?” That’s what one of my professors asked me. Just your standard question for any elementary schooler. I’m not sure what she wanted from me. I could have gladly squealed that I want to be a doctor or an astronaut or a vegetarian or Katniss Everdeen. Instead, I blathered on about majors and minors, theses and seminars, salaries and resumes. I mentioned I wanted to be a social worker, kind of. It was all words. It’s just one of those questions that people ask all the time, but no one really wants to hear a real answer. That’s why it’s all about when you grow up. As if it’s something that will just happen to you one day. As if you have no part in it and it’s just some far-off wish. As if at this moment, you can do nothing to become everything you’ve always wanted to be. Well, here’s your answer: I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I know what I want to be now. Or maybe I just know what I don’t want to be right now. And what I don’t want to be is content. Contentment is a strange thing. To be content means to think things are okay. It means to be just fine with the way things are. It’s like all the dust of the world has somehow settled and you can curl up with a bowl of popcorn and finally watch all those shows on Netflix you’ve heard about. However you define contentment, it’s not for me. If the dust of the world has settled somehow, I want to be the one to stir it up. Because if this is the best the world can do, then we’re pretty much all doomed. I’m not going to be the one to sit back while muscular dystrophy, racism, landmines, poverty, addiction, death squads, or any of that stuff exists. And I certainly am not going to be content until we stop deluding ourselves into believing that going into some country and shooting a bunch of people is going to solve any of our problems. Oh, and while we’re at it, I’m not going to be content until we stop judging people just because of who they love. Because, you know, love is the only thing that will ever settle any of the dust. You see, contentment doesn’t mean happiness. I don’t think anyone can be happy when you sit back while the world sucks so much. Well, you can be happy, but only that kind of happy like if you eat a really good bowl of pasta. But then you eat too much of it and later you whine and lay on the couch and don’t feel like moving for a while. You’re happy for a moment, but then it fades. You feel the numbing, content kind of happy, but you don’t feel real happiness. You don’t feel joy. How do you feel joy? Well, that’s a tough question. But it’s kind of liberating not to know, if you get what I mean. The best answer I can give is to do something. I’m positive that your joy and the world’s joy are not under your covers, or at a tanning salon, or deep within the recesses of some sweaty Mod. It’s out there in the dust of the world, and the only way you’re going to find it is to go out there and do something about it to make things just a little better. Things are going to change and maybe they’ll get even worse. Things will be different and confusing and new and you might not have control over that, but you do have control over who you are and how you react to the dust of the world. That’s what matters. You might never be content, but you may just find your joy. So what do I want to be when I grow up? I have absolutely no clue. But I do not and I will not choose contentment.
Brendon Anderson is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at news@bcheights.com.
alex gaynor / Heights editor
Students competed in a Powder Puff tournament to raise money for Make-A-Wish Massachussetts and Rhode Island.
Wishmakers hold tournament raising money for Make-A-Wish By Sara Doyle For The Heights
With creative team names, eye black, and plenty of cheers, members of the Boston College community participated in the Wishmakers On Campus Powder Puff tournament to raise money for Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The teams played football matches for a winner, but their main purpose was raising funds for the organization. Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island grants wishes to children with life-threatening conditions. Wishmakers On Campus is in its first year of being a registered club at BC, and was founded by Lauren Gray, A&S ’14, and Chelsea Healey, CSOM ’14, after two years of planning with Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island. “One of my history professors in high school was granted a wish when she was two or three,” Gray said. “That’s how I first heard about Make-A-Wish. After that, I had an internship at Make-AWish. I really liked it, and wanted to try to continue it here.” The goal for Wishmakers On Campus was to raise $3,500 through the Powder Puff tournament, money that would contribute to Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The tournament exceeded the goal, raising a total of $4,097. “The event was above and beyond our expectations for sure,” Gray said. “We were glad that people took it seriously, but not too seriously. The teams had a good time. They were very appreciative. It was a good feeling.” The eight teams played each other on Stokes lawn. The teams participated in two preliminary rounds before competing in a final round for the winners. “She Unit” and “Victorious Secret” came out on top. To compete, each team had to contribute at least $50. The rest of the donations came from the friends and
family of each team. “It was nice to see how enthusiastic some of the Powder Puff teams got,” said Jackie Delgado, A&S ’14, a spectator at the tournament. “Seeing the amount of money each team made was amazing. I was shocked at how well they did. The teams got so into it. It was really good to see that everyone was having so much fun with it. There was a good energy around it all. It was really nice to see that everyone enjoyed themselves.” Amanda Beiner, A&S ’14, a member of the executive board, described how the cheerleaders, who doubled as the refs, were very enthusiastic as well, and everyone joined in with cheers for their own team and other teams. The cheerleaders were members of the BC Cheerleaders. In addition, Baldwin visited the tournament to lend his support. “Everyone seemed to be having a really good time,” Beiner said. “We’re really excited about the cause and being involved.” Local companies , including Applebees, El Pelon, White Mountain, and the Real Deal contributed prizes for the winners of the tournament to select. Boloco Burritos also donated 100 mini-burritos to the event for those participating to have for lunch.
This event was Wishmakers On Campus’ first major fundraiser of the semester. Wishmakers On Campus is also holding a speaker series, the first of which featured a Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island volunteer and former alumnus of BC who talked about the importance of the organization. Later in the semester, Wishmakers On Campus is planning another fundraiser in collaboration with the Cuban-American Students Association, called “Christmas in Cuba.” “The goal is a wish a year,” Gray said. “That’s about $7,500 every year that we want to raise.” Currently, Wishmakers On Campus is planning a spring event to continue raising money. According to Gray, Wishmakers On Campus is looking for new members to take leadership as well, and will be trying to recruit new members at a club fair in the spring. “The entire executive board, except for the three freshmen reps, is all seniors,” Gray said. “ We are actively looking for people interested who’ve had a personal connection. We want that enthusiasm.” Wishmakers On Campus is open to all students, and more information can be found by emailing wishmakersoncampus13@gmail.com. n
alex gaynor / Heights editor
Local companies contributed prizes for the winning team of the tournament.
“It’s not easy to be a human being and it’s even tougher to be a human being of mixed heritage,” said multicultural motivational speaker Bobby Gonzalez, who presented to members of the Boston College community Thursday night in celebration of Native American Heritage Month (NAHM). The presentation is a part of a series of events organized by the Office of AHANA Student Programs and the Society of Native American People in conjunction with the NAHM Committee. Gonzalez, who wore a turquoise earring on his left ear and a turquoise ring on his rig ht index finger, hails from the Bronx. He is of Taino, Latino, African, and European ancestry. His presentation, The Quantum Question, addressed how people are ethnically and racially categorized based on their heritage in terms of blood percentages.
“Sometimes I am asked, ‘Are you pure blood? Half blood?’ Pure blood, full blood, half breed, quarter breed—are we talking about horses?” - Bobby Gonzalez, Multicultural motivational speaker “What constitutes a Native American?” Gonzalez asked. Is it an indigenous person who is one-half, three-quarters, one-eighth native? It is actually a racist question.” “Sometimes I am asked, ‘Are you pure blood? Half blood?’ Pure blood, full blood, half breed, quarter breed—are we talking about horses?” The presentation began with a slideshow titled “Mixed-Blood Natives: Identity and Cultural Revival.” During the slideshow, Gonzalez covered a milieu of topics related to Native Americans, including Western conquest, tribes in the Americas, legal problems, and prominent musicians and authors. As Gonzalez showed a photo of young, native women from the Dominican Republic, he quoted Sitting Bull, tribal chief of the Sioux Tribe, saying, “if a person has one drop of Indian blood, that person is dear to me.” “I wish more people would feel that way,” Gonzalez said. “Racism among Native Americans is either denied or not discussed at all.”
The next slide showed a photo of Radmilla Cody, the first biracial Miss Navajo. Her win in the 1997 Miss Navajo contest caused a huge uproar, because she was half-black. When a half-white Miss Navajo was chosen, however, “no one said a word,” Gonzalez said. “So you see the double standard.” Gonzalez also talked about Wilma Mankiller, the first female leader of the Cherokee nation, as an example of the racial double standard. “She was half-white,” Gonzalez said. “No one called her a white Indian. But if you’re half-black, halfIndian, you’re a black Indian. There’s a lot of discrimination against natives with African-American blood, and natives with white blood don’t [have as much discrimination against them]. This is a topic that people don’t want to discuss openly.” He then transitioned into discussing factual aspects related to Native American history and culture that are not commonly known. According to Gonzalez, 90 percent of native peoples in the western hemisphere come from Latin America. Recounting the story of an encounter between Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, and African-American civil rights activist Rosa Parks, Gonzalez shared another uncommon fact. When Walker commented on Parks’ hair going past her chest when let down, Parks revealed that she was part Native American. In fact, 80 percent of African Americans in the U.S. have some native heritage, according to Gonzalez. Among the historical topics that Gonzalez mentioned were the encounter between the Tainos and Columbus, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire, the New Virginia Law, the Trail of Tears, and the Five Civilized Tribes—the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee, Chickasaw, and Seminole. They were called “civilized,” because they assimilated very quickly by establishing institutions like schools and banks and owning plantations and black slaves—in other words, these five tribes lived like the whites at the time. The slideshow was followed by a Q&A session, during which G onz alez went b ack to the theme of the presentation: the Quantum Question. “Do you identify with one heritage, deny the other, embrace it all?” he asked. Gonzalez said that a problem today is that Americans are not aware or updated about the Native American community. “Right now it’s a challenge for everyday people to keep up with what’s going on in the native community in mainstream media,” Gonzalez said. “You learn almost nothing about what’s going on in the native community today. You can go to native blogs or websites—Indian Country Today is a good one, and there’s a blog called Censored News to find out what’s going on. It’s important to find out about issues that are confronting Native American people today that will not be covered by the media.” n
CLASSIFIEDS
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Monday, November 25, 2013
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‘The Heights’ gives thanks In honor of Thanksgiving, the editors of The Heights take a moment to count their blessings “I am thankful for my beautiful family, the Samilliceanor crew, Hillside cookie dates, and everyone on The Heights for making my Sunday nights infinitely better.” —Michelle Tomassi, Features Editor “I am thankful for having been able to call Boston College my home for the past three and a half years, for a family that is always proud of me, and for friends that are willing to hold my hand (literally and figuratively) through everything that I drag them through. I am thankful, finally, for words, because without them, I would not only be without a major but also without the ability to express the things that matter.” —Adriana Mariella, Outreach Coordinator “I am thankful for my hometown of Brooklyn, my loving family, the friends I have met while at BC, Tyra Banks, and all of the opportunities that have come my way throughout the college experience.” —Marc Francis, Business Manager “For three and a half years in an organization that brought me, among a million other things that can never be put into words, friendship, confidence, laughter, patience, and love.” —Lindsay Grossman, Layout Editor “I’m thankful to my parents for playing a lot of great music while we drove in the car together—life has been better as a result.” —Ryan Towey, Asst. Metro Editor
“I am thankful for my family, my friends, The Heights and everything it has given me, and, most of all, my cat Skittles.” —David Cote, Editor-in-Chief “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be at BC and the supportive family and friends who have made the experience so amazing. I know I wouldn’t be the same person without all of you!” —Samantha Costanzo, Special Projects Editor “My O’Malley girls, my goons both near and far, and my family of misfits and grammar snobs. I love you all to the moon and back.” —Devon Sanford, Assoc. News Editor
“I’m thankful to have been able to spend this past year on The Heights, doing what I love with people that I love.” —Ariana Igneri, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor
“Hot water for tea, my beautiful family, Boston, my supportive “roommates,” giraffes, chocolate frappes, and, of course, The Heights, which has given me more than I could have ever asked for.” —Maggie Powers, Asst. Layout Editor
“I am thankful for Bob Dylan and all 898 of his songs in my iTunes library. Also, on a serious note, my roommates and friends who have made my time at BC better than I could ever have imagined.” —Sean Keeley, Arts & Review Editor
“I am thankful for journalism. For artfully placed semi-colons, for quippy anecdotes, for insider information. I am thankful for the incredible work that this paper puts together, the impact that it has made on my life at BC, and the incredible people that kept me coming back to it through thick and thin.” —Maggie Burdge, Graphics Editor
“I am thankful for my Boston College family, sudokus, my parents, sister, and some homemade food.” —Chris Stadtler, Account Manager
“I’m thankful for my crazy amazing family, the clan of Walsh 603, and for The Heights.” —Jordan Pentaleri, Asst. Graphics Editor “To Mom and Dad for always encouraging me to stay curious, and to do what makes me happy. To Mack, Nora, and Claire, for being my best friends and teammates. To my BC girls, for always wanting to go on lava cake adventures. And to The Heights, for always challenging me to be my best.” —Cathryn Woodruff, Asst. Features Editor “My family, friends, roommates, red pens, Phish (30th anniversary, what’s up), and crocs.” —Connor Farley, Assoc. Copy Editor “I am thankful for the support of all my loved ones in everything I do.” —Rosie Gonzalez, Project Coordinator “I am thankful for family, Roncalli, Thanksgiving Break, The Heights, the pasta toss in Mac, and Andre Williams.” —Marly Morgus, Asst. Sports Editor “I am thankful for three amazing years on a newspaper that, for as much as I gave, gave me much more.” —Elise Taylor, Blog Manager “I am thankful for my family, my friends, McElroy 113 and its denizens, a well-tied bow tie, the great state of Texas, “The Goo Goo Dolls” Pandora station, extra stiff B&Cs, Monday evenings in Walsh, a nice cup of tea by the fireside, T.S. Eliot, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Alan Jackson’s entire discography, and The Brothers Karamazov.” —Andrew Skaras, Asst. News Editor
“I am thankful for being able to wake up every morning in good health and know that God has given me another day.” —Will Lambert, Account Manager “Family and friends. Also the laundry machine.” —Donny Wang, Systems Manager “Editorials—they make the Earth go round.” —John Wiley, Asst. Arts & Review Editor “My parents, brothers, roommates (past and present), the University of Kentucky Wildcats, former Chick-fil-A co-workers, the Office of Health Promotion, former and current teachers and professors, and all other friends and family who have helped me along the way.” —Joseph Castlen, Managing Editor “The Midwest in that it forced me to pick the school farthest away from home, Cosmos class, red pens, pickles, nacho cheese, Legally Blonde, Mom, twins, and my dog Todd.” —Kendra Kumor, Copy Editor “Walter White, LeBron James, and Connor Farley—without a doubt the three most important men in my life. Family and friends are great too.” —Mujtaba Syed, National Advertising Manager “I am thankful for friends new and old, family support no matter what, the ability to travel and learn, the opportunities I’ve been given to grow while at BC, cameras, loose tea, puffy pants, peanut butter, Brighton Campus, health, life, and fun. ” —Alex Gaynor, Asst. Photo Editor “For all my friends at The Heights.” —Graham Beck, Photo Editor “I am thankful for my friends who make me laugh and school breaks that allow me to spend time with my family.” —Amy Hachigian, Advertising Manager “My amazing friends, incredible family, In ‘N’ Out Burger, math, and this organization and the people that make it up that have taught me so much.” — Mary Rose Fissinger, Opinions Editor
Heights
The
The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 David Cote, Editor-in-Chief Jamie Ciocon, General Manager Joseph Castlen, Managing Editor
-C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), Irish novelist, poet, and lay theologian
“For family and friends near and far who have been a part of this year full of blessings. For MJQ and the tiny little town of Arbolito, Ecuador who have taught me about love. And for all on The Heights who have made me so proud.” —Jamie Ciocon, General Manager
“I am thankful for my Heights family, my real family, and both canned and homemade cranberry sauce.” —Andrew Millette, Collections Manager
“I’m thankful for good music, great food, and Jon Taffer from Bar Rescue.” —Connor Mellas, Asst. Copy Editor
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.
“My family, friends, everyone on The Heights, and of course, Taylor Swift.” —Mary Joseph, Online Manager
“Family, friends, and being a Boston College Eagle.” —Chris Grimaldi, Assoc. Sports Editor
“I’m grateful to have the city of Boston at my fingertips.” —Tricia Tiedt, Metro Editor
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’m thankful for my family, the Gr8 Man, The Heights, breakfast potatoes, and dark chocolate peanut butter.” —Julie Orenstein, Editorial Assistant
“I’m thankful for Google Alerts, used bookstores, TJs, Cafe 129, and coffee. Most of all, though, I’m thankful for my family, my friends near and far, and the wonderfully strange microcosm of humanity that is The Heights board.” —Eleanor Hildebrandt, News Editor
“The sieve chant.” —Austin Tedesco, Sports Editor
Monday, November 25, 2013
Editorial
Kendra Kumor, Copy Editor Eleanor Hildebrandt, News Editor Austin Tedesco, Sports Editor Michelle Tomassi, Features Editor Sean Keeley, Arts & Review Editor Tricia Tiedt, Metro Editor Mary Rose Fissinger, Opinions Editor Samantha Costanzo, Special Projects Editor Graham Beck, Photo Editor Lindsay Grossman, Layout Editor
Adriana Mariella / Heights Illustration
Letters to the Editor Campus School volunteers and parents deserve to be heard I write this letter on behalf of the Campus School Volunteers of Boston College. The Campus School, entering its 43rd year at BC, has become one of the major staples of the University community. As many of you have probably heard, BC has entered conversations with the Franciscan Hospital to collaborate between the two institutions. One of the potential routes for this collaboration is for the Campus School to leave the campus and become absorbed into the Franciscan Hospital’s Kennedy School. While BC is portraying this as a completely positive transition into “superior facilities,” our community needs to have our voice heard on this delicate situation. One only needs to walk through the halls of the Campus School to understand that we have no need for a change in space. A quick trip through the halls will show you that it is impossible to find a more spirited group on campus. What the school apparently lacks in terms of therapeutic pools is more than made up for by the hardest working, most engaged faculty and staff imaginable. Our students have formed amazing relationships with their classmates and teachers, which cannot be replicated by this sudden transition. Even more so, the element that separates the Campus School from all other schools is the presence of the volunteers. Of course one can argue that the Kennedy School is still close enough to campus for our volunteers to continue our work. However, the Campus School is unique in that its presence at the heart of BC’s campus permits a constant flow of students throughout the day. Whether a member of our Buddy Program wants to swing by between classes to check in on their classroom, or a committee member needs to catch a teacher after class to talk about future programs, the ability for the volunteers to have a constant presence is what makes the experience at the Campus School special. One of our major fears is that this potential move will slowly but surely diminish the strength of our volunteer organization within the next few years. Just as our student body chose to attend BC, our students and their parents chose to attend the Campus
School. They believed in the mission of the school, felt comfortable with the faculty and staff, and saw the connection with BC students as a benefit to their children’s educations. The parents of the Campus School, however, have not been extended a position on the collaboration board, or an opportunity to have an audience with the group. What if we were to receive an email tomorrow from BC about a “collaboration” with Boston University. Boston University, in this example, has just renovated amazing new facilities, and the space has so much more to offer than Chestnut Hill. Would you, as students, want to have a say in this decision? After all, you chose to attend BC, not Boston University. And just as you chose BC, our students and their families chose the Campus School, not the Kennedy School. How is this any different? Why do these students and their families not have a say in this decision? At the end of the day, the Campus School Volunteers and the parents are simply asking for an opportunity to have our voices heard. We deserve for the BC administration to be transparent throughout this process. After all of the dedication we have committed to this wonderful organization, we believe it is only right that we have a chance to speak on behalf of our school’s mission. In our opinion, the Campus School perfectly embodies the Jesuit ideals we so often hear at BC. The Campus School is as much a part of BC as BC is a part of the Campus School. All that we are looking for is an opportunity to express our belief in the Campus School’s role at the University. Therefore, I offer the BC administration two challenges. First, spend a day in the Campus School and honestly tell us that it is not the perfect picture of men and women for others. Second, give us a seat at the table and allow us to offer our take on this transition. Otherwise, this decision is not giving consideration or representation to the people it affects most: the students. Chris Marino Co-President, Campus School Volunteers A&S ’14
The Campus School must not be moved Surely it is evident that my fellow Boston College Alumni and I have a passion for the Campus School as a place that shaped us personally and guided us professionally. I believe you would agree that the interest of the CS students must be placed first—before BC students’ academic pursuits and otherwise, but also before BC’s facilities concerns. I suppose we won’t know the extent of the impact that such a move has until a year or two down the line; however, I am very concerned that this move will negatively impact the following: 1) CS students’ ability to interact with BC students, as this is one of the great benefits for CS students’ families to send their children to the current location. 2) Further expand the chasm of experience that exists between the BC community and the population at large,
one that is full of the “other.” 3) The very heart of the BC, Jesuit Catholic education, to keep Fr. Arrupe’s charge at the philosophical (and, in this case, the physical) center. That is, to be “Men and women for (and WITH) others.” Lastly, I pray that you primarily consider the opinions of the CS students’ parents as the voices of otherwise voiceless students. If CS families wanted to send their children to a hospital, they already would have. The students at Campus School are there for a reason—attending school on a college campus is far more appropriate and humane than existing in the shadows of a hospital wing. Patrick Bittorf BC Alumni Association Chicago Chapter Gamewatch Chair BC’09
The following letter is in response to the “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down” column published on 11/18/13:
The sieve chant does not reflect BC’s Jesuit ideals
I firmly believe the Editors need to change their opinion about the sieve cheer in TU/TD. The “sieve” part is okay but the lines that follow it are not. They are wrong, insensitive, offensive, and degrading. Do you understand that there are students and others in that forum who do feel like their lives are terrible? You don’t know how many people we counsel in Counseling Services, Campus Ministry, and other personal services who have serious life issues. And for The Heights to espouse chanting “it’s all your fault” and “you suck at life” at a visiting goalie is outrageous. You don’t know him, he could be dealing with serious personal issues, and you beat him up. How Christian! And there are other guests at that hockey game including young children. BC students need to be aware that they aren’t the only ones in the house.
I believe that I read that Coach York said he liked the sieve cheer because it was energetic, but I seriously doubt he hears the rest of that “cheer” that degrades the goalie. It degrades BC. All of us work very hard to teach civility, kindness, and love. Those rude and disrespectful lines throw everything we say out the window. We expect more from our students and if they can’t buy what we say and teach, then maybe they should seek their education elsewhere. This Catholic, Jesuit Boston College needs The Heights to disapprove of this negativity and rudeness. You are a voice that is heard and so I ask you to please speak loudly for civility at least, if not kindness and good sportsmanship.
The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 400 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages. The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted
to the newspaper. Submissions must be signed and should include the author’s connection to Boston College, address, and phone number. Letters and columns can be submitted online at www.bcheights.com, by email to editor@bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.
Maggie Burdge, Graphics Editor Elise Taylor, Blog Manager Mary Joseph, Online Manager Connor Farley, Assoc. Copy Editor Connor Mellas, Asst. Copy Editor Devon Sanford, Assoc. News Editor Andrew Skaras, Asst. News Editor Chris Grimaldi, Assoc. Sports Editor Marly Morgus, Asst. Sports Editor Cathryn Woodruff, Asst. Features Editor
Rev. Donald A. MacMillan, S.J. Boston College Campus Ministry
Ariana Igneri, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor John Wiley, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Ryan Towey, Asst. Metro Editor Alex Gaynor, Asst. Photo Editor Maggie Powers, Asst. Layout Editor Jordan Pentaleri, Asst. Graphics Editor Julie Orenstein, Editorial Assistant
Business and Operations
Marc Francis, Business Manager Amy Hachigian, Advertising Manager Adriana Mariella, Outreach Coordinator Donny Wang, Systems Manager Mujtaba Syed, National Advertising Manager Will Lambert, Account Manager Chris Stadtler, Account Manager Andrew Millette, Collections Manager Rosie Gonzalez, Project Coordinator
The Heights
Monday, November 25, 2013
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Keep celebrating! Thoughts on Thanksgiving To pay college athletes or not? Tiffany Ashtoncourt Finally! - Just one more day of classes until the long-awaited Thanksgiving break is finally here. We are aware that we have anticipatorily given Thanksgiving Break a Thumbs Up in recent issues, but now it is actually here. So throw up your hands, breathe a sigh of relief, prepare your body for the fact that 80 percent of the next few days will be spent either sleeping or eating, and smile. You made it. Because this really is the beginning of the end. When we come back, we will be fully immersed in December, the month of slowly decreasing temperatures, study days, final exams, Christmas, and, in all probability, the first real snowfall. And for all these things, we are thankful. And Then There Were Seven - And our obligatory Thumbs Up to the football team for scoring their seventh win and a guaranteed spot in a bowl game. A special shout out goes to the Maryland coach for calling that blessed timeout that rendered Nate Freese’s missed field goal a practice run, and allowed him to have another shot at sending that football soaring 52 yards through those yellow poles, which he did in fact do. Really, Maryland, we couldn’t have done it without you.
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Maybe it’s because of the food, family, or the fact that my birthday, Nov. 26, hovers around Thanksgiving (for the record, Thanksgiving has fallen on my birthday only twice in my 21 years), but I think it’s because there’s something special about celebrating all of the things that make life great in an easygoing way that strikes me as the perfect holiday. Holidays and birthdays in general, however, tend to be a point of contention in society. After all, who doesn’t have a memory about a holiday that one would rather forget, or a birthday that turned into disaster, and, to be honest, the increasing push back of store hours due to people’s insatiable need to hit the shops makes the holiday season kind of depressing. But, as depressing as Black Thursday/Friday is, it is only a reflection of society’s collective consciousness, and it has spoken to say “what are celebrations good for anyway?” I know this column may be starting to sound very Charlie Brown-ish, but maybe America’s got a point: what are holidays and birthdays used for other than the perfect excuse to pig out on cake and not go to work or class? Especially when things don’t go as planned…. Let me relate to you a couple of my own turkey tales to illustrate why I think America is fed up with celebrat-
ing. Thanksgiving of 2007. My family had pre-ordered a nice 15-lb turkey because my grandmother was coming for Thanksgiving. Although we typically create our own brine (my family is the kind of family that takes cooking seriously, to the point that we create our own pie crust), we were pressed for time and in an effort to have the perfect turkey for grandma, we decided to try out a brine from a store that bears the initials “WF,” and that a friendly salesperson pitched to us as a “medley of spices that is sure to make this the most memorable turkey you’ve ever had”—and he was right. It definitely wins the prize for most memorable turkey. When we got home, we put the turkey in a pan, lathered on the brine, and went to sleep. Early the next morning, we checked on the turkey and were amazed at the striking color it acquired: a beautiful, smurfy shade of blue. That’s right, the turkey was completely blue and it was 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. Just last year, our oven broke in the middle of cooking the turkey. The turkey still needed another four hours or so, and we still had to bake all of the side dishes and pastries. So, what did we do? We had a really large toaster oven and we carefully put the turkey onto an aluminum tray and cooked it and the rest of the sides and pastries in the toaster. Not the most time efficient thing in the world, but, hey, it worked! As I write my last column of the semester, I see how these memories may sound like holiday nightmares, but I have to be honest and say that these Thanksgivings were probably the best ones that my family and I have ever had. With regard to the blue turkey, my mom and I ran to the store with the turkey
in the pan, and before we could utter a word, the employees simply looked at us in shock, pinched their noses, and profusely apologized, saying that we could pick any turkey in the store. Actually, the turkey did not smell bad at all, unless you consider thyme and rosemary foul, but because of the color, they didn’t even let us get close enough for them to realize that, and I don’t blame them! We ended up having our Thanksgiving at 8 or 9 p.m. and laughed about the whole thing with my grandma, who was mildly disappointed that we didn’t wake her up during the entire ordeal. And as for last year, I’ve got to say that I have endless faith in the power of the toaster oven, and am trying to convince my family that we should slow cook our Thanksgiving dinner again in the toaster. Mishaps and frustration are inevitable, but that’s not unique to holidays—that’s just life. So if we are going to try to avoid holidays by downplaying or eroding it with commercialism, we’ll miss the bigger picture, which is that in life’s beautiful mess there are little opportunities to sit back, laugh, and just live, and we have to try to seize every one of them, holiday or not. So, my parting wishes for you is that sometime in the near future on a painfully ordinary day, when you’re sitting alone in your dorm that resembles a hovel more than a human habitat, light a candle, make a wish, and celebrate. If nothing else, the entire attempt at trying to make something special will make you laugh and smile, and that’s what it’s all about.
Tiffany Ashtoncourt is a staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
BC Must-Reads A Fruitless Endeavor - You know when you go into the dining hall on your way to class and grab a banana or an apple or an orange, or perhaps some other, non-fruit, food item, because you’re not hungry right then but you anticipate that you will be soon, perhaps in the middle of said class, and in order to be a good student and maintain your focus instead of becoming excruciatingly distracted due to your hunger, you grab this little snack? And you’re proud of yourself for this anticipatory problem solving and view it as an indication of your emerging responsibility and readiness to function as an adult in society, but then you just never seem to get hungry and want to eat this snack which embodies your newfound, well-deserved place in the world, and so you spend the whole rest of the day toting around a banana and not eating it and looking kind of silly? Yeah, we hate that. THis Damn Zipper! - Few things are more irritating than a dysfunctional zipper, especially this time of year. We’re struggling as it is to remember how to cope with temperatures this low, and when all that is left to ensure that you will not die out there in the frigid wind is the successful zip-up of your jacket, the last thing you need is for it to catch or snag. We all know that feeling of mounting frustration as we stand in the doorway looking down at the bottom of our jacket and tugging ferociously at that tiny piece of metal that almost always has a small rectangular hole in it for reasons unbeknownst to us and suddenly all of your hatred is focused on this tiny mechanism that someone several years back earned a fortune for inventing. Well, clearly they did not do a good enough job. Farewell - Well, folks. This is it. Our last entry into the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down column. Come next issue, a new crew of wacky, rambling, opinionated goons will be entertaining you with all their personal vexations and jubilations. It has truly been an honor, and we hope we caused some laughs along the way (because that’s kind of the entire point). We hope we were able to highlight some of the more subtle truths of life, and inspire at least a couple “Yes! So true!” moments. Stay cool, and always try to see the hilarity in life. Signing off, your friends at Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down.
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Kristy Barnes The Great Gatsby—F. Scott Fitzgerald While Leo stole our hearts last summer, as the saying goes, nothing beats the book. Each page allows us to become closer to Gatsby, as he pursues the girl of his dreams and quickly discovers that wanting something is often better than actually having it. This is a particularly good read for the typical Boston College student who often races through life in search of monetary happiness and who may come to the same conclusion as Gatsby. Furthermore, as it is the nature of BC students to constantly form connections rather than relationships, Nick Caraway shows us that sometimes one friend is worth more than hundreds of acquaintances. Let the Great World Spin—Colum McCann Fortunately for the Class of 2015, this was assigned for convocation, yet I suggest the rest of the BC community read it as well. Through the individual stories of many different New Yorkers, McCann shows that the world connects in funny ways and illustrates the strength of a city drawn together by hope and love, a feeling Bostonians certainly can relate to. “This is Water”—David Foster Wallace This speech was made for college students, literally. In his commencement speech to another liberal arts school, DFW speaks of the difficulty of empathy, the freedom of a real education, the importance of being well-adjusted, and the necessity of being conscious in the “petty, unsexy” way of adult life. Anna Karenina—Leo Tolstoy While this book is quite the undertaking, it’s worth every page. The main question addressed in the book, is one asked at BC, “What is the good life?” The story follows two characters, living in opposite lives. Caught up in social constructs, Anna finds herself having to choose between consuming passion and the respect of her peers
Bird Flew
while Levin finds society life corrupting to the soul, and seeks to find inner peace by living a simple life valuing family and manual labor. While the time and society restrictions may not be directly relatable to BC students, the question of which life is best for the soul still stands. Pensees—Pascal Looking for a new way to look at life each and every day? Grab a copy of Pascal’s Pensees and each night flip to a new page. You won’t be disappointed. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao—Junot Diaz This is a great book to complement BC’s cultural diversity mission. Readers get a peek into the life of a nerdy Dominican boy growing up in New Jersey with his mother and rebellious sister. Cursed by the fuku americanus, an ancient hex that haunts his family, Oscar faces a world where he is a minority, a member of the lower class, and a hardcore sci-fi and fantasy fan. Not many BC students have been deeply exposed to the pressures of a culture other than their own, and through the words of Diaz, one really captures what it is like to walk a mile in another’s shoes. The Sorrows of Young Werther—J.W. Von Goethe As BC sinks into the epitome of a hook-up culture, men and women alike should take a few lessons from this romantic. Not completely sold yet? The storyline of 500 Days of Summer is arguably quite similar, and who doesn’t love Tom? The Iliad/The Odyssey—Homer These classics are built into most BC freshmen literature courses, but if you have yet to read one, I highly suggest it. Epic poetry is unlike any other type of writing and a complete education should include it. The Lorax—Dr. Seuss While many of us read this as a child, it is worth revisiting. Dr. Seuss addresses the need to protect the environment against those who prosper from its destruction and the dangers of consumerism. As educated individuals about to go “light the world aflame,” this book reminds us we must make sure the fires we make treat the environment with respect.
Death with Interruptions—Jose Saramago One of the best aspects of BC is that our professors aren’t afraid to ask the tough questions, including those involving death, but what if death didn’t happen? What if all of a sudden it just stopped? What if death herself were human and fell in love? This book shines a unique light on life, death, and the beauty of what happens in between, and it will certainly leave you with interesting comments for your next philosophy class. The Scarlet Letter—Nathaniel Hawthorne We, as teens and young adults, spend a lot of time judging and shaming one another. BC Fashion Police and BC Makeouts are just two of the ways BC students publically humiliate other students. Through the thoughts and feelings of Hester Prynne, we learn what it feels like to be relentlessly shamed, and though we rarely become as cruel as members of Hester’s community, the story gives us an opportunity to consider how much better life would be without any harsh judgments. Nicomachean Ethics—Aristotle While many have read this ancient classic in Perspectives, all should give it a shot as it offers a solution to the age-old problem of how men should live. Aristotle explains the importance of friendship— being virtuous gives us a great topic of conversation in any interview situation. Tao Te Ching—Lao Tzu While I love BC’s Catholic tradition, it’s nice to step outside it and read some Eastern thought. This book is a quick read and will provide a brief insight to a whole new school of thought. For Whom the Bell Tolls—Ernest Hemingway As we move into the big open world of hope, failure, and all the things in between, it is important for us to know what we would give our lives for, where our duty lies, and what we truly love. Hemingway’s great work gives us a chance to reflect on such lofty questions while opening up our highly educated, but rather innocent eyes to the realities of war.
Kristy Barnes is a staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.
BY DOLAN BORTNER
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.
Matt Auker With only a few weeks left in the college football season, teams across the Division I landscape are vying for a position in one of the biggest revenue generators in college sports—bowl games. Whether it be a team like Alabama hoping to stay undefeated and play in the national championship game, or a team like Boston College, which only became bowl eligible with its sixth win last week against North Carolina State, the amount of money schools stand to make for sending their teams to a bowl game is enormous. But what has increasingly rankled many fans and players over the past decade is the fact that no athlete that participates will see a dime of the income they bring to their schools. Per NCAA rules, in order to maintain amateur status, and therefore eligibility as an athlete, students must not receive any financial compensation. If they do, they will be barred from participating in NCAA-sanctioned athletics. But a groundswell of support for paying athletes in the two biggest cash cows—basketball and football—has more and more people wondering if it’s time for schools to share the enormous amount of revenue they rake in courtesy of their players. The NCAA itself is the target of a class-action lawsuit filed a couple of weeks ago that includes most Division I football players over the money collected from broadcasting rights, a huge chunk of schools’ revenue. If the plaintiffs win, it could open the door to college athletes receiving financial compensation beyond just broadcasting, and dramatically change the college sports landscape. But before jumping on the sanctimonious injustices of the NCAA and green lighting a pay-for-play college environment, it would be wise to consider the nature of college athletics as it stands. Jameis Winston, star quarterback of Florida State and a Heisman trophy frontrunner, has been in the headlines over the last week over an alleged rape that occurred last December in Tallahassee. Amid a number of other questionable practices by the Tallahassee Police Department, the accuser’s attorney claims that a Tallahassee detective warned her that Tallahassee was a “big football town,” and her client’s life could “be made miserable” if she opted to seek a sexual assault case against the football star. Regardless of Winston’s guilt or innocence, this last claim of a detective warning someone not to report a crime because of the potential backlash from a college football fan base is telling. Sure, this could very well be a Florida State fan with less than pure motives, but I really think this was advice to be taken seriously. Anybody that has spent any time around major college football programs knows of the rabidity with which fans defend their teams regardless of basic logic—just look at the disgusting reverence shown to Joe Paterno after it came to light that he had knowingly shielded a child molester from legal consequences. While there are no doubt plenty of level-headed, rational people at Florida State that understand the concept of crime and punishment, the fact that the warning from this detective actually has prudent logic behind it, regardless of his motives, speaks to the veneration we as a culture project toward our famous athletes. They are already larger than life, reaping all the benefits of stardom sans the money. And this is the problem I have with paying college athletes. The superstars get treated like kings, have a free platform to showcase their abilities, and even if they don’t make it to the pros, can graduate with a degree and zero debt. Even eliminating the treatment of superstars from the argument, a compelling argument could be made that athletes already do get paid enough. Outside of the free education, free clothing, free travel, free meals, free tutors, top-level coaching, facilities, training, and exposure, they should also be paid? Not to mention the fact that they get to play a game at the Division I level, something a lot of us, including myself, would kill to be able to do. It may not be directly in cash form, but athletes get paid in their own right. I’m all for measures that address the gross inequity between what the NCAA and its member schools earn from their basketball and football teams and what the players get themselves. But I think it should involve tampering down the NCAA’s profitability, rather than increasing the already heavy benefits of being a college athlete.
Matt Auker is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.
The Heights
A8
Monday, November 25, 2013
‘Hunger Games’ sequel blazes expectations set by the first By Catherine Malcynsky For The Heights
Since the Harry Potter franchise ended and was followed by an endless parade of Shrek movies, the term “sequel” seems to consistently trigger a gag reflex. And yet, a year after the first Hunger Games movie prethe Hunger Games: miered, Catching Fire the theFrancis Lawrence a t e r i s Lionsgate packed for round two of the adventures of rugged heroine Katniss Everdeen. Though many audience members may not have read Suzanne Collins’ bestselling series (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay), Katniss’ story is as engaging on screen as it is on page. The Hunger Games unfolds in Panem—a futuristic, politically demolished U.S. territory—divided into 12 impoverished districts ruled by the Capitol. Order is maintained by means of a competition called the Hunger Games, in which each district is forced to sacrifice one male and one female child to fight to the death on a live broadcast. After Katniss
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volunteers for the Hunger Games in place of her sister, she and Peeta are forced to overcome the horrors and challenges that the Capitol has laid out for them. When the two of them find themselves the last ones standing in the arena, however, they defy the Capitol by threatening to commit suicide rather than kill each other. In Catching Fire, Katniss finds herself continually targeted by the Capitol, and therefore she and Peeta are sent back to the arena for the Quarter Quell, a special Hunger Games that preys only on past victors. On camera, Katniss is forced to continue the charade of her and Peeta’s love affair, in the hopes that by keeping Peeta a favorite of the Capitol, she will also keep him alive. Director Francis Lawrence stays dutifully true to Suzanne Collins’ novel while still allowing the film to shine in its own right. The use of impeccable special effects brings Panem to life, from the devastated District 12 to the gaudy and vivid Capitol (with much thanks to innovative costume designer Trish Summerville). There is not a single instance where the film breaks its spell of reality, leaving not a single crease in animation. These mind-boggling effects,
however, do not overpower the content of the film, which balances a complicated whirlwind of love and revolution. The film is careful not to drown the depth and heaviness of Panem’s tragic state with Katniss’ conflicting loves, spacing out scenes of sentimentality among the serious and more troubling realities of the victors’ situations. And furthermore, to break up the weight of love triangles and corrupt governments, Francis Lawrence weaves just the right amount of comic relief into the script, allowing the audience to come up for air (and popcorn). These clever lines, however, would not be the same if not delivered by this brilliant cast. Though Donald Sutherland does stand out in scenes with his ice-pick eyes and haunting voice as President Snow, and Josh Hutcherson skillfully embodies the familiar victim of the infamous friend zone, the real star of the screen is, of course, Jennifer Lawrence. Often praised for her genuineness on the red carpet, Lawrence brings this same refreshing taste of realism to her character, making the enigmatic Katniss Everdeen into a believable and relatable heroine. For example, the girl is not afraid to mess up her makeup with a
photo courtesy of Lionsgate
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson reprise their roles in the sizzling sequel, ‘Catching Fire.’ realistic (and less attractive) sob-fest. The only real criticism dragging down this enticing, action-packed, suspenseful film would be that the theater seats simply aren’t long enough to keep you from hanging off the edge—it is for this reason that the film’s end, blunt and unexpected, leaves the audience groaning. This, of course, is the price we pay for
the second movie in a series of four (yes, the third book will be split into two in a Hobbit-esque fashion). On the upside, the combination of killer effects, a talented cast, and a riveting plot overcomes even the most justified prejudice against sequels—Catching Fire has left the Hunger Games series doing just that, even leaving the first film in the ashes. n
Percival’s ‘The Book Thief’ lacks spark
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Box office report title
weekend gross weeks in release
1. the hunger games: catching fire
161.1
1
2. thor: the dark world
14.1
3
3. The best man holiday
12.9
2
4. delivery man
8.2
1
Director Brian Percival handles complex themes too lightly in his rendition of Markus Zusak’s Nazi Germany novel, ‘The Book Thief.’
5. Free birds
5.3
4
By Amy Chappelhow
6. last vegas
4.4
4
7. jackass presents: bad grandpa
3.4
5
8. Gravity
3.3
8
9. 12 Years A Slave
2.8
6
10. Dallas Buyers Club
2.7
4
photo courtesy of 20th Century fox
For The Heights Before saying a word more, it’s important to issue a disclaimer: I have not read The Book Thief, Markus Zusak’s critically acclaimed and hugely popular 2005 novel on which this movie is based. Perhaps this is the best adapThe Book Thief tation the Brian Percival world has 20th Century Fox ever seen, but an adaptation has to stand on its own terms, and all too often the movie version of The Book Thief fails to distinguish itself. The film, directed by Brian Percival, tells the story of Liesel (newcomer Sophie Nelisse), a girl living in Germany during World War II. Narrated by a mysterious man, the film follows the girl’s struggle to cope with a new life after she is sent to live with foster parents because of the Nazi party’s growing control. Dealing with her bad-tempered foster mother Rosa (Emily Watson) is made easier by her gentle foster-father Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and her best friend Rudy (Nico Liersch). Hans teaches Liesel to read, and books soon form an integral part of her relationship with the world. As Nazi influence takes over, the new family’s lives are put in peril when a Jewish man seeks refuge in their basement. Through this man, Max (Ben Schnetzer), Liesel’s love of
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reading is turned into a love of writing and they develop a close bond. Sophie Nelisse is certainly an actress to watch in the future: the young girl has a maturity and depth not seen in many child actors. She has some difficult emotional scenes in this movie and she more than proves her worth. Watching the heroine zealously singing patriotic German songs in a Hitler Youth outfit may be difficult to stomach, but Nelisse’s portrayal of Liesel learning about the world, in all of its good and evil, makes scenes like this pivotal. Similarly, Ben Schetzer does not have the longest list of credits on IMDb, but if he had just a little more to do he could have been very impressive. The role of “oppressed artist” is not unique, but Schetzer manages to bring warmth and even comic touches to Max. For most viewers, Geoffrey Rush will be recognizable as Captain Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean, but like Emily Watson he has proved his acting mettle numerous times. Both veteran actors do an admirable job of allowing Nelisse to have the limelight, but Watson is particularly memorable as Rosa’s character subtly changes throughout the film. The way that books are incorporated into the film is very interesting but certainly more could have been done with the theme. Michael Petroni was clearly very conscious of the story’s original format as he wrote the adaptation. As Liesel experiences the
joy of reading, any bookworms will feel a desire to go home and, like the heroine, lose themselves in the pages of a story. The Nazi ceremony of book burning and Liesel’s subsequent introduction to a magnificent library all lead toward Max’s instruction to her to “write,” but by the end of the film this message is wrapped up too neatly and therefore loses some of its spark. Perhaps a key word to describe this film is “charming”: the way it depicts Nazi Germany and the development of a girl’s mind and her relationships, all of it is simply charming, which is strange for such a heavy subject matter. Percival has previously directed quintessentially traditional English dramas like Downton Abbey and The Old Curiosity Shop, so it is not surprising that his first feature film has continued in this vein. The most striking moment in The Book Thief comes in its first moments when Liesel’s brother suddenly dies, eyes open wide and nose bleeding. From here on, however, the imagery becomes less stark and the narrative seems somehow flat. Things happen, of course, but they appear only as blips on a straight line—the frustrating ending encapsulates this. In another director’s hands this movie could have been special, but Percival played it too safe. Florian Ballhaus’ cinematography and John Williams’ score also had potential but never stunned. The Book Thief is one of those films that simply comes and goes. n
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43 photos courtesy of Google images
bestsellers of hardcover fiction 1. first Phone Call From Heaven Mitch Albom 2. Sycamore Row John Grisham 3. dust Patricia Cornwell 4. White Fire Douglas Preston 5. the Gold Finch Donna Tartt
6. Doctor Sleep Stephen King 7. The Valley of amazement Amy Tan 8. The Longest Ride Nicholas Sparks 9. Mirage Clive Cussler SOURCE: The New York Times
The Heights
Monday, November 25, 2013
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Period drama ‘Three Sisters’ explores themes of suffering and family ties Three Sisters, from A10 years from now no one will be able to imagine suffering. Life is suffering, so it is through noble work that we make an imprint on existence. But it’s the three sisters, not this philosophical bantering, at the heart of the play. It’s the effortlessly relatable performance of the three sisters that carries that heart. Maggie Kearnan, A&S ’14, played the maternal oldest sister, Olga. Thais Menendez, A&S ’14, played the eccentric, borderline gothic middle sister, Marsha. Sydney Sabean, A&S ’16, played the youngest, most earnestly hopeful sister, Irina. It’s Olga, Marsha, and Irina who get the audience through the play’s philosophical soliloquies, and ground the play in character and emotion. Gammons and his team deserve credit for taking a period piece, a play that took place more than 100 years ago, and bringing it into the modern age. Gammon’s Three Sisters doesn’t take place in Alaska or even in the
present day, but simple set design and a few clever touches enliven what could have been a staid production. The set design had a minimalist feel that even matched the dress of its three leads. The set was all black and white and had a futuristic, post-modern quality, which matched the timeless wear of the three sisters (Olga in blue, Marsha in black, and Irina in white). Even the music was hard to place in a rising, cinematic fashion. The play included a couple modern touches as well. At one point, one of the military officers took a picture of the group with his iPhone. In the second act, which takes place at night during the town’s carnival week, the sisters and their companions have a pregame to modern hip-hop as the stage is lit like a rave. This cohesion of set design, costume design, and sound design allowed for a thoroughly modern presentation of a story clearly set in old Russia but one which carries timeless themes of struggle as well as of humanity.
The sisters and their academic brother never make it to Moscow. Olga becomes headmistress of the town’s school. Martha has an affair, but eventually returns to her husband—a Latin teacher at the high school, played by Ryan Cooper, A&S ’16, who gets the most laughs of anyone in the show. Irina finds neither love nor a passionate calling as she hoped for in the first act. These failures make the play that much more poignant. In its most powerful scene late in the third act, set in Irina and Olga’s bedroom late at night, the three sisters—in one of the only scenes that feature just the three sisters—lament their lot. Irina bounces off the walls, her hopeful voice finally breaking. Olga, perpetually exhausted, tries to comfort her. Martha lounges absentmindedly on the bed, seemingly disinterested. It’s at this point when the audience realizes, not for the first time but here in total clarity, that this story will not have a triumphant ending, and that’s okay. n John Wiley / Heights Editor
Fleabaggers came together for a Disney-themed “Opera” at the show’s conclusion.
O’Connell House buzzes with laughter for Fleabag Fleabag, from A10
Alex Gaynor / Heights Editor
‘Three Sisters,’ performed in Robsham Theater this weekend, merged present day, modern elements with its period piece plot.
Kamayan show honors Filipino heritage Kamayan, from A10 While admission was free, PSBC and BC’s Typhoon Haiyan Relief Initiative encouraged donations to aid in the relief efforts, which gave the event dual purpose—to honor Filipino tradition, but also to remember those who have suffered from the effects of the recent typhoon. Kamayan began with a moment of silence for those affected by the typhoon, followed by a performance of the American National Anthem and the Philippine National Anthem by the Boston University Filipino Student Association. As the students began singing the latter, audience members could be heard singing along, which gave a powerful start to the event by creating an atmosphere of unity and solidarity. The first half of the show featured a set of performances, including dances and spoken word, which reflected more traditional aspects of Filipino heritage. The first to perform was PSBC in a dance called Bulaklakan, on which female students held arched garlands of leaves and flowers while dancing in light, fluid movements around the stage. This dance, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is also traditionally performed in celebration of the “Santa Cruz de Mayo” in early May. Next, men and women from Northeastern University joined together in one of the most impressive performances of the night, a combination of Binasuan and
Maglalatik dancing. The former was performed by the female students, who artfully balanced two drinking glasses in their hands, as well as one on their heads, while dancing to the music. This wasn’t just any ordinary dance, however—the students spun around and even rolled on the floor without spilling the wine-filled glasses on their heads, in a stunning demonstration of poise and balance. Male students joined in for Maglalatik in what essentially was step dancing with coconut shells—they had the shells attached to their clothing and in their hands, and rhythmically hit one against the other. The showcase was diversified by a spoken word performance by Brown University’s Archipelag-a, which expressed both autobiographical and fictional accounts of Filipina students to give voice to the “multiplicity and diversity” of Filipino culture. In this performance, the students tied in the ‘90s theme by bringing up their favorite shows of the past, but then transitioned into more serious subject matter—the value of an education, the pressure of parents to pursue specific careers, and the problems with society’s expectations of Asian Americans. While some students were caught up in the fast-paced storytelling, the overall message overcame any minor flaws—as one student said, “Who I can and can’t be isn’t up for you to decide.” The second half of the show featured three modern sets, with video clips of the corresponding student groups acting out
scenes from popular ’90s television shows. First up was Northeastern University’s Barkada, which chose Friends as its TV show, before transitioning into a dance performance that integrated music from artists such as Imagine Dragons, Justin Bieber, and Macklemore into its routine. In its final dance to “Can’t Hold Us,” the clapping of the coconut shells served as the perfect complement to the “na na na’s” of the song, displaying a perfect balance of modern and traditional vibes. Boston University and BC students also performed, and the three groups as a whole used similar techniques in their dancing, providing for a very cohesive set. While each group had its own theme—flappers for the BU group and Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie” for the BC group—they were similar in that they combined hip-hop dancing with tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance that involves beating and tapping long bamboo poles on the ground while the dancers step over and in between the poles. The dance requires precision and accuracy on both parts, and it’s safe to say that the groups executed the dance successfully, with only minor errors. The dancers moved with speed, sometimes crossing each other while simultaneously stepping in and out of crisscrossed poles, which is an impressive feat in and of itself. It was these moments of complete awe, combined with a fun, lively, and colorful atmosphere, that wrapped up a highly energetic and successful Kamayan show. n
MicheLle Tomassi / Heights Editor
Filipino students from Northeastern University, Boston University, Brown University, and Boston College united in Kamayan.
of its content is unscripted, Fleabag was charged with the daunting task of maintaining the chemistry of its chaos. While certain Fleabaggers seemed to be featured more than others—seniors Wilson, O’Sullivan, and Don Orr, A&S ’14, were an especially significant presence at this fall’s show—the strength of the group was most evident when all 11 members shared the stage. On Saturday night, the evening’s most spectacular moment came as Pat Genovese, A&S ’15, pulled a senior girl from the audience, and asked her to describe her day. She went on to describe a Saturday in the Mods—waking up, watching Mona Lisa Smile, eating Goldfish, discovering her roommate is ‘still drunk,” and later going on a run down Commonwealth Ave. The details of the day weren’t exactly boring, but hardly seemed improv material. For My Mother’s Fleabag, however, everything is improv material. Genovese took on the role of the senior girl, and with the assistance of the other 10, gave a comedic retelling of her day in the Mods. “Get away, boys!” yelled Genovese, as two men laying next to him scurry away. He gets up from an invisible bed, moves to an invisible couch and proceeds to eat Goldfish and watch Mona Lisa Smile—Jenna Postiglione, A&S ’17, in the role of the Goldfish, and O’Sullivan in the role of Mona Lisa. But Mona Lisa refuses to smile, and everything starts getting real tense until Wilson, in the role of said drunken roommate, bellyflops onto the stage. “I’m still drunk!” Wilson yelled. He doesn’t get up. The whole routine was an elaborate juggling act, including a physically demanding, and downright dangerous scene portraying the girl’s run down Commonwealth Ave. Several Fleabaggers played the role of oncoming traffic, charging at Genovese, and at moments, nearly plummeting off the stage. The performance’s character came in its disorderly presentation. The Big Show was an exercise in collective storytelling, and though often crude and unrefined in content, there was clear sophistication in how the Fleabaggers read each other on stage. It’s no easy task synthesizing original content in the moment for four performances in a single weekend. Altogether, it’s a strange show to prepare for—how do you rehearse spontaneity? How do get into a character created seconds beforehand? The Fleabaggers are dependent on each other in a very fatalistic way. In a more traditional acting situation, there could be a great actor in a terrible cast, but for Fleabag, the performance of the cast preempts the achievement of the individual actors. The Big Show significantly improved as the weekend went on, as the new variables came to figure their balance in the equation. The three freshman Fleabaggers, all talented actors in their own right, had to adjust themselves to fit the group dynamic, and come to understand the O’Connell House as a performance space—and the O’Connell House is an odd one. The stage itself was temporary and very small, and hence the actors had to utilize a grand stair-
case behind the stage to give dimension to the performance. Additionally, the venue is extraordinarily small, and while this intimacy between the performers and the audience seemed to help Fleabag when the routines worked—as most of them did—it also meant awkward and stale jokes really could throw an actor’s performance. Overacting or underacting is death in acting, but it’s often tough deciding what either of those is in improv, considering the art form is reactionary—to execute well, Fleabaggers needed a heightened selfawareness. And with all these considerations in mind, Fleabag’s Big Show postured it as arguably the most talented group on campus, carefully observing its traditions, but also adjusting to the changing dynamic of the troupe. This year’s batch of freshmen seemed well placed in the group and were already taking on larger roles in many of the evening’s improv routines. This semester’s non-improv sketches also were among Fleabag’s best. The introduction of “Socially Inept Stacy”— the simply terrifying, slack-jawed, sexually-repressed creature brought to life by O’Sullivan in three of the evening’s sketches—was perhaps the crowning jewel of the Big Show. In one scene, an unsuspecting couple is admiring Gasson when Stacy suddenly approaches. “Is not Gasson beautiful at night?” Stacy asked. “Yeah, Steve was actually just telling me how I’m as beautiful as Gasson,” commented one of the daters, played by Tatiana Schaefer, A&S ’16. Stacy gawked, and shifted her body in a strangely sexualized manner. “I’ve always wanted to be a building,” she commented, gazing longingly into the distance, “and be in the middle of a major metropolitan area, and people would come through my doors, and they would stand behind my eyelids, and I would be the viewing area, and they would look out upon the city and love me.” In a later sketch, Stacy sprung up between a couple in bed. One of Fleabag’s honored Big Show traditions is the “Opera,” a musical compilation p er for me d in b oxers that serves as a grand finale. It’s more about the humor than the music, and historically, some of the less musical performers have changed keys midperformance, and frankly, it hasn’t mattered much. But surprisingly, this year’s “Opera” really hit the mark with the vocals— most of the older Fleabaggers and all the freshmen were actually serious vocalists. Fleabag sang a musically demanding Disney-themed melody this semester, and it was nothing short of brilliant. Mulan’s “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” seemingly was the best possible setup for some Addazio-era football humor—and Fleabag’s musical interpretation of the “Be A Dude” hash tag did not disappoint. Honorable mention goes to modanthem “Sake, Ruby, beer and whiskey, brandy, Sherry, Busch’s” (“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”) and “Newton and Upper” (“Beauty and the Beast”). For Fleabag, it’s all about the setup— the craft of comedy is no joke. n
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arts&review The Heights
Monday, January 17, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
‘THREE SISTERS’
The Finer Things
Defining the finer things Ariana Igneri There’s an intrinsic divide in the art world, between the “finer things” and the “lesser things”—or at least that’s what the title of my weekly column here in The Heights would seem to suggest. I’ve spent the last year exploring that divide, probing it and pushing it so that I could discover what is and what isn’t art. And I’ve enjoyed this ongoing discussion. But my dear readers, I feel like I might not have been absolutely honest and clear with you. In a sense, I feel like I might have let you down. Because I don’t think this separation is as hard and as fast as I’ve led you to believe. Under the heading “The Finer Things,” I’ve used the past two semesters to simultaneously discuss my love for Jane Austen and for One Direction, among other writers, musicians, movies, and shows. And that might not have made complete sense. How could I possibly consider bubblegum boy band pop music within the same category as 19th century classic British literature? It’d be logical if I had argued the former was a “finer thing,” and the latter was actually a “lesser thing,” a guilty pleasure. That’s not what I’ve done, though—because I think guilty pleasures are just as valid and just as fine as any other artistic thing. Here’s why: Guilty pleasures, when it comes to the arts, are often considered inferior or “lesser” simply because we usually relate our preferences to society’s opinion. The Greek playwright Euripides once wrote, “Short is the joy that guilty pleasure brings.” And he’s right. This self-inflicted shame limits the joy we feel when we engage with art we like. It’s a constriction in that one sense. But in another, it’s an escape. We use guilt to hide behind and to justify our liking certain songs or artists, for example, that aren’t popularly accepted. If we eliminated the need for public approval, though, if we liked what we liked for the sake of liking it, and if we hypothetically considered art within our own contexts, isolated from everyone and everything else, there could be no guilt. There would just be art—art and the pleasure it brings. The same basic argument could be made for “finer things.” Art is only classified as either “finer” or “lesser” because of the judgments that our culture makes about it. It’s all very subjective. So again, if in some kind of thought experiment we separated art from society’s attitudes toward it there would be no way to categorize and qualify it. There would be no “finer,” no “lesser.” There would just be “things.” There would just be art. And fundamentally, this is what one of art’s sole purposes is: It’s simply a thing that brings us pleasure—that makes us feel something. That was a really theoretical way to get to my point, but what I’m trying to say is that we need to consider art differently. We need to be confident enough to look at it from our own perspective, not entirely through that of others. We need to learn to appreciate art, and own it, wholly, independently, and bravely—without guilt. That’s how I reconcile and explain a great deal of what I’ve written in this column space. I’m ready to confess my obsession with Taylor Swift’s Red album, Ke$ha’s “Die Young,” and Disney’s Tangled, just as I’m willing to admit my fascination with the Boston Ballet, Oscar Wilde, and the Museum of Fine Arts. You might think my artistic tastes are pretentious, or you might find them mainstream and unrefined. You might think I’m an irrevocable contradiction, someone who can’t decide whether she has a passion for what people deem highbrow, “finer things” or for what people consider silly “guilty pleasures.” But I’d like to believe that all of my ideas about and preferences for art are a unified, cohesive collection. Because to me, “The Finer Things” isn’t about a distinction between good and bad art. It’s about art that I’m proud to think and talk about. It’s just about art that makes me, personally, happy.
Ariana Igneri is the Associate Arts & Review editor of The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
Chekhov’s bleak masterpiece gets a modern update in Robsham By Ryan Dowd Heights Staff “They [people] only eat, drink, sleep, and then they die … more people are born and also eat, drink, sleep and so as not to become half-witted out of sheer boredom, they try to make life many-sided with their beastly back-biting, vodka, cards, and litigation,” bitterly concludes Andrey Prozorov, played by Eliott Purcell, A&S ’14, toward the end of the third and final act of Three Sisters. Three Sisters, a four-act drama directed by David R. Gammons running just over two hours, chronicles the hopes, dreams, failures, and struggles of the three Prozorov sisters and their aforementioned younger brother Andrey. Written in 1900 by famed Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, the story details the displacement of the Prozorov family from their home, the cultural hub of Moscow. Before the play has begun their father, a military officer, had moved the family to a provincial Russian outpost, and even after their father’s death this is where the family remains, to their continued exasperation. Three Sisters is not for the faint of heart. Things don’t start out particularly well for the Prozorov sisters, and things don’t get particularly better for the Prozorov sisters. On the surface, Three Sisters is a philosophical play. It features a band of military men who frequent the Prozorov residence and partake in “refined” philosophical discussion. They ask the important questions. Why do we suffer? Who will remember us? What’s the point of it all? They offer some answers. Life is suffering, but maybe 200 Alex Gaynor / heights editor
See Three Sisters, A9
Fleabag’s Big Show this fall satisfies an itch for improv By John Wiley Asst. Arts & Review Editor “You know, Fleabag really sucks this year,” said Lou Wilson, A&S ’14, frustrated. “ Yeah, ver y bad,” replied Ceara O’Sullivan, A&S ’14. “You know, I don’t want any of them going on stage tonight until they’ve all proven their worth.” “There’s no way we’re having another Big Show with this cast—they’ve all got to re-audition.” “Ever y single one, right here, right now.” “He y, idiot number one!” Wilson called off the stage. “Get in here!” Per tradition, comedy group My Mother’s Fleabag held hostage the O’Connell House this weekend, dis-
i nside Arts this issue
placing Nights on the Heights and a few freshman squatters (who’d likely shacked up in the building for the better part of the semester) for two nights. As the joke goes, 185 or so guests walk into the O’Connell House—and for Fleabag, it’s all about the setup. The 11- p erson come dy troup e religiously observes a long-running catalogue of improv routines, and audience members are invited to participate in these rituals, becoming churchgoers of a certain variety. There’s a spiritual energy to these performances, and much of Fleabag’s work comes down to managing the expectations of the crowd. At this, they seldom disappoint. But this semester’s Big Show came with another challenge— situating three freshmen members into the group. With new talent comes uncertainty, and considering most
Hunger Games sequel catches fire
See Fleabag, A9
Rebellion begins to heat up in the second installment of the dystopian series...........................A8
Michelle tomassi / heights editor
‘Kamayan’ brought together Boston-area Filipino students for dance and music performances.
Boston students celebrate Filipino culture in ‘Kamayan’ By Michelle Tomassi Heights Editor Filipino culture, ’90s television shows, and raising money for a cause—these were just three components of Saturday’s Kamayan performance. Kamayan, an annual culture show featuring performances from various Filipino student associations from colleges in eastern New England, was actually hosted at Boston College for the first time in collaboration with District I of the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue (FIND). This year’s theme was “’90s Television,” as the various groups incorporated favorite shows
The Book Thief disappoints
The WWII Nazi drama fails to distinguish itself from the pack................................................A8
from their youth with performances that showcased Filipino culture, creating a night celebrating heritage as well as childhood memories. FIND is a network of student organizations from various schools on the East Coast that strive to promote Filipino culture, and District I represents schools in Boston and New England, including Northeastern University, Boston University, and Brown University. These three schools were represented at Saturday’s showcase, and the Philippine Society of BC (PSBC) hosted the event in Gasson.
See Kamayan, A9
Bestsellers...............................A8 Box Office Report........................A8
SPORTS THE HEIGHTS
B4
Monday, November 25, 2013
B1
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2013
EAGLES ADVANCE TO ELITE EIGHT BY CHRIS GRIMALDI Assoc. Sports Editor
BC defeated Illinois yesterday to move on in the NCAA Tournament.
After pulling off an upset against Nebraska on Friday night, the Boston College women’s soccer team sparred with Illinois 1 Illinois yesterday afBoston College 4 ternoon in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen round. Timely offense and impressive play in front of the net was more than enough for the Eagles to roll over the Illini, as they continued their postseason run with a dominant 4-1 win.
BOSTON COLLEGE 29
With the victory, BC has advanced to the tournament’s quarterfinal round. The squad has outscored its opponents 10-2 over the competition’s first three games. Head coach Alison Foley’s Eagles struck first blood early in the match off of a goal from veteran Gibby Wagner. The senior’s score gave BC a 1-0 advantage that would endure for over 30 minutes, as both squads locked themselves in a back-and-forth struggle. Rookie Hayley Dowd disrupted the gridlock with a goal of her own in the 40th minute to double BC’s advantage. Though Illinois’ Amy Feher struck
a goal past Eagles goalkeeper Alex Johnson to put her squad on the board moments later, McKenzie Meehan continued her prolific sophomore campaign with a timely score. The Eagles entered halftime with a 3-1 lead, having commandeered the game’s momentum for good. While sophomore Lauren Bernard added an insurance goal to extend BC’s lead to three, Johnson silenced the Illinois offense with impressive play in goal. Feher’s first-half score was all Johnson surrendered all afternoon, as
See Women’s Soccer, B4
Seminoles vs. Eagles
BC will face conference foe Florida State in its Elite Eight matchup on Friday in Tallahassee. Oct. 3, 2013 BC 3, No. 4 FSU 4 Oct. 28, 2012 BC 0, No. 1 FSU 4 Oct. 18, 2012 No. 24 BC 3, No. 1 FSU 2 Oct. 16, 2011 No. 9 BC 0, FSU 1
As always, it’s all in the family
MARYLAND 26
AUSTIN TEDESCO
DEEP FREESE
TIM DRUMMOND / THE DIAMONDBACK
Nate Freese’s second-chance field goal finishes off BC’s fourth quarter comeback at Maryland BY: CHRIS GRIMALDI | ASSOC. SPORTS EDITOR
W
ith two seconds left in one of the most incomprehensible fourth quarters they’d ever been a part of, kicker Nate Freese and the Boston College football team were granted new life at Maryland. Moments earlier, Freese had watched his attempt at a 52-yard, game-winning field goal hook just to the left of the post. The 26-26 tie appeared destined for overtime, but Terrapin head coach Randy Edsall revived the Eagles’ hopes for a comeback victory by frantically calling for a timeout right before the kick. A second chance was in order—for one of the nation’s most prolific kickers. “I heard it coming from [Maryland’s] sideline,” Freese said, “so I knew something happened. Going into the re-kick, I was a lot more confident.” As frigid gusts swirled around Byrd Stadium, Freese calmly marched in stride toward the hold, drilled the ball through the uprights as time expired, and sent a mad rush of gold helmets pouring onto the field in a moment of euphoria. The Eagles had survived a four-quarter rollercoaster to secure a spot in the postseason, clinching their first winning campaign since 2010. Their seven victories in this year’s win column are one more than the past two seasons combined. “I’m proud of our guys and how resilient they were, and how they represented our University,” said head coach Steve Addazio. “I can’t say enough good things about our staff and our team, and how they’ve stuck together and fought.” Before the final quarter, BC and Maryland were jockeying for momentum. Senior running back Andre Williams came firing out of the gates once again, bulldozing his way through the Terrapin defense to notch 64 yards on BC’s first drive alone. The Heisman Trophy
candidate broke to the outside and sent Maryland defender William Likely flailing to the ground with a highlight-reel stiff arm, securing the field position necessary for a short-range Freese field goal. Yet BC’s early lead was at the mercy of miscues from both squads that defined the first three frames. After quarterback Chase Rettig was unable to corral a botched snap in the shotgun near his own goal line, Maryland marched the ball into the end zone for a 10-3 lead. The seesaw of momentum tilted back toward the Eagles thanks to aggressive special teams. With Maryland punting deep in its own territory, junior Manny Asprilla burst through the line with both arms extended and blocked punter Nathan Renfro’s attempt. A short touchdown run by Williams along the outside turned the turnover into points, sending the contest into halftime deadlocked at 10. After offensive pass interference and illegal forward pass calls soured a golden scoring opportunity late in the first half, the Terrapins looked poised to break away from the Eagles. Quarterback C.J. Brown gave his squad the lead with a 33-yard touchdown strike to receiver Amba Etta-Twao. Unbeknown to Brown and the Terrapins, they were bringing a 17-13 lead over BC into unchartered territory—a fourth quarter neither side foresaw. Chaos tilted in Maryland’s favor at first, as BC’s Bryce Jones fumbled a punt return deep in Eagle territory to hand the Terrapins a commanding 2413 lead with 11 minutes to play in regulation. The Eagles’ hopes for a seventh win were dissolving with every tick of the clock. BC’s never-say-die approach cut into the deficit, however. With his team on the ropes, Williams
See Football, B4
GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Numbers on the boards
Senior Nate Freese surpassed Steve Aponavicius’ school record for career points this year. He has 310 so far. Bars show point total in each year. 90 78
86 Field Goals
56
Extra Points 2010 2011 2012 2013
Mr. Reliable
Freese hasn’t missed a field goal this season, and he boasts a high career mark, as well.
85.9
Career Field Goal %
Nothing used to give me as much anxiety as this weekly column space, but then I was saved by a little advice from Southern rap superstar Ludacris. It goes like this. “Move, bitch, get out the way. Get out the way…” Okay, you get it. After fumbling through some awkward and awful attempts at humor, #HotTakes, or painfully circular nothingness, I finally decided to just get out of the way. It was better to simply show you what I saw as an editor for this section by letting the story tell itself. And I got to see a lot. There was Olivier Hanlan’s painfully bowed head after Boston College’s crushing loss to Duke last year, and then swagger almost oozing out of his body in the form of 41 points a month later. There was Chase Rettig’s tragic, Greek hero-esque rise and fall and rise and fall and rise and fall (which, by the way, hasn’t really been a rise and fall at all. Rettig is a solid quarterback. Appreciate him. I feel required to sneak that in here). There was an illfitting final performance by one of the most successful classes in BC men’s hockey history as Union rolled to a 5-1, first-round win at that hellhole of an arena in Providence. So, for this last one, I’m going to break some of my own rules. I’m going to let myself be a little anxious again. Sorry, Luda. Our Photo Editor, Graham Beck, wrote a few days ago about the rush he gets when he knows he’s taken “The Shot”—the image that perfectly defines a game. Writers can get that too, trying to find the unique moments around which to center the story. I don’t have a reverent name for it, but after two years in this section I suddenly can’t turn off the need to find it. It’s annoying as hell. Sometimes when I fire up NBA League Pass to relax a little bit in between studying or writing—because, yes, random Tuesday night basketball is my version of relaxing—I’ll instinctually start typing game details into the notes app on my iPhone. After a few clicks, though, I inevitably delete them all. I used to think I do this job because I love sharing those moments. Moments like Hanlan quietly and torturously talking about his last-second shot as if the Duke loss was his fault, and Steve Donahue looking at him with pride and compassion. Moments like Rettig throwing up a redemptive, two-handed point at Alex Amidon out of the victory formation against Virginia Tech. Moments like three bros in freaking Teletubby costumes cheering their asses off for Quinnipiac before BC took the ice. (And, okay, I also like sharing 2,000-plus words on BC’s pick-and-roll game. Thank you,
See Column, B4
I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE
Westphal
named
All-American
In the NCAA Championship meet, Liv Westphal raced to 17th place....................B2
Eagles fall to Maine in Orono
BC men’s hockey dropped a 5-1 decision to the Brown Bears, its first Hockey East loss...B5
Sports in short.........................B2 BC hoops...................................B5
The Heights
B2
Monday, November 25, 2013
Eagles struggle on the road By Alex Stanley Heights Staff
Emily Fahey / Heights Staff
Despite Castle’s six kill effort in Atlanta, the Eagles lost to both Georgia Tech and Clemson this weekend, bringing their ACC record to 1-17.
After playing its last home game of the season last weekend, the Boston College volleyball team took to the road and was swept in three sets by both Georgia Tech and Clemson. BC now holds an overall record of 9-21 and a 1-17 ACC record with two games remaining on the schedule. On Friday, the Eagles took the trip to Atlanta to face the Yellow Jackets. BC dropped three successive sets, losing 19-25, 1125, and 22-25. Georgia Tech recorded 15 service aces in the entire game, with four of those coming within its first 11 points. The Yellow Jackets maintained a .198 attacking percentage while holding the Eagles to .053. Senior Melissa McTighe and junior Courtney Castle were the standouts for the Eagles, managing seven and six kills, respectively. Setter Kellie Barnum ended the game with 21 assists and seven digs. Freshman Madisen Lydon led the team
BC completes series sweep By Marly Morgus Asst. Sports Editor
On Sunday, the BC women’s hockey team played the second half of its homeand-home series with UConn, this time facing off in Storrs, Conn. While the Eagles had dominated the first game of the series, this one was more tightly contested, with the Eagles slipping through with a 3-2 win. UConn struck early, just under four minutes into the first period. Kayla Campero’s goal was assisted by Michela Cava and Alice Hughes to give the Huskies the early lead. Dana Trivigno, who paced the Eagles in shots on goal with seven in the game, scored the game-tying goal about 10 minutes later when BC had the man advantage with a tripping penalty called on the Huskies.
It looked as though the teams would head into the locker room for the first intermission with the score tied, but Melissa Bizzari gave the Eagles the 2-1 lead as the clock wound down, scoring the goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the period. UConn evened it up again with a goal that was scored by Emily Snodgrass and assisted by Cava and Campero during the beginning of the second period. From there, on both teams were on a scoring drought until the beginning of the third period when Andie Anastos, assisted by Kaliya Johnson and KateLeary, scored the game winner. BC outshot UConn 30-19 with Megan Miller making 17 saves in net. BC was one for five on the power play as the Eagles completed the home-and-home sweep of the Huskies to improve their record to 6-1 in the Hockey East. n
Roundup
Westphal named AllAmerican By Rob Sheehan For The Heights
Graham beck / Heights Editor
Dana Trivigno score the Eagles’ first goal in BC’s second game against UConn of the weekend.
Field, Cappizano score twice in BC’s rout of UConn By Jackie Scherer For The Heights
SPORTS in SHORT
With UConn’s Kayla Campero in the box for cross-checking late in the first period, Boston College would need to score on the game’s first power play to assert the dominant play the Eagles brought to Conte Forum, and score they did. BC’s Kristyn Capizzano scored with assists from teammates Andie Anastos and Emily Pfalzer in the women’s ice hockey game against the UConn Huskies, which the Eagles took 6-2. The Eagles entered the game with a record of 9-3-1, going 5-1-0 against Hockey East teams. Their record already had an advantage over the Huskies’, who were 1-2-1 in the Hockey East. BC head coach Katie King Crowley kept her team’s performance at a high standard despite the Huskies’ current record. “Every team we play, their record doesn’t matter,” Crowley said. “You have to play as hard as you can and not play based on their record.” BC will face tough competition in the next few games on the road—No. 3 Cornell and rival No. 6 Harvard, to name two—and a well-played win against UConn was necessary to ensure the Eagles would be ready to face the upcoming schedule. BC took control right away in the first by handling the first faceoff, and that energy remained throughout the entire game. By winning races to the puck, fighting through defense, and constantly pushing to goal, the Eagles ruled the ice. The majority of the first period was played in the Huskies’ zone. While BC proved itself as the better team in this Hockey East match, the game was scoreless until the end of the first period when the silence was broken by a powerplay goal from Capizzano. BC controlled shots with 20 in the first period, while the Huskies
Graham beck / Heights Editor
No. 24 Meagan Mangene had an assist and No. 15 Emily Field had two goals in the Eagles’ 6-2 victory over UConn on Saturday. made only three. The Eagles came out charging in the second period with a few good scoring opportunities in the first minute, but their early attempts were denied by Huskies’ goalie Elaine Chuli. Jackie Young was next to add to the Eagles’ score with a slapshot from the right point that went to the left post and behind Chuli at 4:16. The assist came from Meagan Mangene. The Huskies quickly responded with a goal by Sarah MacDonnell stemming from a 2-on-1 at 7:27. Catching the Eagles on a bad line change, the Huskies flew up the left side, crossed the puck through the slot, and buried
ACC Atlantic Football Standings Team
Conference
Overall
Florida State
8-0
11-0
Clemson
7-1
10-1
Boston College
4-3
7-4
Syracuse
3-4
5-6
Maryland
2-5
6-5
Wake Forest
2-6
4-7
NC State
0-7
3-8
in digs, with 12. The trend was somewhat similar against Clemson on Saturday, but Katty Workman shot back from her one-kill performance the day prior to record 17 kills and a double-double. Her 17-kill and 11-dig performance led the team. The rest of the team combined for 12 kills, and only Castle had more digs than Workman with 12. McTighe and Anna Skold had the next most kills for the Eagles. McTighe accumulated four, while Skold snagged three. Barnum once again led the team in assists, gathering 25 at the end of the match. The Eagles lost the sets 18-25, 12-25, and 20-25. The Tigers were highly efficient on the defensive end of the court. Clemson only allowed one ace the entire game, and put together a side out record of 78 percent. The Eagles have two away games left to play, both against ACC opponents, taking on Syracuse on the day before Thanksgiving, and then Notre Dame on the Friday after Thanksgiving. n
their first goal behind BC goalie Corinne Boyles, cutting their deficit in half. The Eagles’ momentum dropped slightly after MacDonnell’s goal, but picked up again after a four-on-four penalty situation was killed at 12:18. The momentum may have slowed, but the shots kept coming. Many of the Eagles’ shots collided with the pipe or went just wide of the Huskies’ net. Dana Trivigno pulled the Eagles ahead 3-1 at 18:00 into the second after stealing the puck from the Huskies’ defense in the neutral zone. Deking around the defense, Trivigno got an unassisted goal with a nice upper corner
snipe. Shots for the second period were 19-8 in favor of the Eagles. The momentum of the third closely mirrored that of the first and second periods, with Chuli stopping a close Eagle goal by trapping the puck between her skate and the pipe. Capizzano made up for the save shortly thereafter, however, with a rebound goal assisted by Kaliya Johnson. A penalty called on BC resulted in a UConn goal by Leah Buress 27 seconds into the power play. BC scored twice after, however, with both goals coming from Emily Field at 11:09 and 14:20. n
Quote of the Week
Numbers to Know
13 Andre Williams’ place on the all-time leaderboard for single season rushing yards.
63
Women’s basketball’s three-point percentage against Florida International University.
0 The number of points that captain Joe Rahon scored in BC basketball’s twopoint loss to UConn .
Junior Liv Westphal raced her way to All-American honors Saturday at the NCAA Championship meet in Terre Haute, Ind. The Eagles standout placed 17th overall in a field of 254 of the country’s best, which marked a 68-spot improvement over last year’s championship meet. The 17th-place finish is tied for the second-best finish in program history at the NCAA meet. Westphal clocked a time of 20:30 for six kilometers over the muddy LaVern Gibson Championship Course despite the tough conditions and frigid temperatures. The All-American performance caps a great fall season for Westphal. The Limognes, France native started the season with a third-place finish at the highly competitive BC XC Invite and a 19th-overall performance at one of the largest meets of the season, the Wisconsin Adidas Invite. Westphal also closed the regular season strong with a third-place finish at the ACC Championship and a sixth-overall placement at the Northeast Regional Championship. The women’s overall winner was Dartmouth senior and Massachusetts native Abbey D’Agostino with a time of 20:00. Providence College took the women’s team crown with a score of 141. On the men’s side, freshman phenom Edward Cheserek from the University of Oregon defeated the heavily favored Kennedy Kithuka of Texas Tech for the men’s title. The University of Colorado edged out Northern Arizona in a close race for the men’s trophy. The men’s cross country team wrapped up its season by taking eighth place at the IC4A Championships in New York City. The Eagles tallied a team score of 168 over the five-mile course at Van Cortland Park. Junior Richard Lucas led the way again for BC, placing 28th overall with a time of 25:54. Lucas’ classmate Brian Wolff was the next Eagle to cross the line in 26:06, good for a 35th-place finish. A strong group of freshmen made up of Kevin Sullivan (26:18), Tyler Hanson (26:23), and James Zingarini (26:35) rounded out the scoring runners for BC. Sophomore swimmer Dan Kelly set a school record in the 50 meter freestyle at the BU Terrier Invitational on Friday. Kelly’s time of 19.83 seconds was the top mark in the ACC and a top-five mark in the country at the time. Kelly’s performance also broke the BU pool record. n
“I heard it from the sideline, so I knew something happened. Going into that rekick I was a lot more confident.” Nate Freese on his game winning field goal at Maryland —
Monday, November 25, 2013
The Heights
B3
The Heights
B4
Monday, November 25, 2013
BC upsets Nebraska in dominating win to advance By Connor Mellas Heights Editor
It’s been called many names : a knockout, a beat down, a routing, a thrashing, a shellacking—the list goes on. But no matter what it’s called, you know it when you see it, and on Friday afternoon, those watching the Boston College women’s soccer team take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers definitely saw it. BC demolished Nebraska (previously 19-3-1) 4-1 to pave its way to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, dominating play, picking apart the Nebraska defense with ease, and outshooting the Cornhuskers 30-12. For a few brief moments at the start of the match, however, it looked like the game was heading in a different direction. The Cornhuskers swarmed the Eagles in the early minutes following kickoff, possessing the ball and pressuring BC deep into its defensive third. Despite the hot start, Nebraska’s possession failed to yield any legitimate chances, and before long, the Eagles found their footing on the snow-frosted pitch and began to take over the game. BC dominated the rest of the first half, controlling the ball and bringing the game deep into Nebraska’s half of the pitch. Possession led to opportunities, and a driven effort from sophomore forward McKenzie Meehan in the 20th minute forced Nebraska keeper Emma Stevens to make a solid low save at her right post. Forced into a counter-attacking scheme by the high-pressure Eagles, the Cornhuskers played for the fast break, but were repeatedly repelled by a defense led by a steady Casey Morrison. In the 23rd minute, BC head coach Alison Foley substituted Hayley Dowd for Jana Jeffrey and immediately struck gold. Within two minutes of her entrance, Dowd took a through ball into the right side of the box and chipped Stevens from a miniscule angle, squeezing the ball right beneath the left upper 90. “I thought one of the things we wanted was to get them under pressure and to be able to shoot as quickly as we can, and Hayley’s been finishing really well in training, and I thought, ‘okay, well this
might be a good time to get Hayley up top’—and the timing of the game was good because some of the energy was wearing off a bit,” Foley said. Minutes later, the Eagles nearly went up two when sophomore midfielder Lauren Bernard chipped a through ball to Meehan around the six-yard line. Meehan attempted to turn and shoot, but was overwhelmed by Nebraska’s defense. With less than five minutes remaining in the half, the Cornhuskers nearly scored—Kylie Greischar fired a shot that just missed BC goaltender Alex Johnson’s right upper 90—but the Eagles finished their dominant first half up 1-0. BC roared into the second half, attacking the Cornhuskers defense repeatedly. The only thing more dizzying than the Eagles’ frantic attack was Nebraska’s last-ditch defending, and if not for the heroics of Stevens—her efforts highlighted by an athletic, onehanded, point-blank save on a rip from junior forward Stephanie McCaffrey, the match would have been over early into the half. “We really at half time reiterated the game plan and said, ‘you know we’re going to take a few more chances but we’re getting a lot of the ball,’” Foley said. “‘We don’t want to force the ball out centrally down the middle off our back line, let’s get balls out wide, let’s create chances from our width—we’re doing a great job defending, now let’s get in behind them a bit more.’” As time wore on the game evened out, and the Cornhuskers clawed their way back. Johnson was called into action in the 56th minute when defender Samantha Areman received the ball unmarked on the left side of the box. Making a quick, low save to her right, Johnson smothered the driven shot. A few minutes later, Hannah Dittmar streaked down the left wing and blasted a shot at goal from 30-yards out, forcing a stretching Johnson to tip the ball over the crossbar. “One of the best things I thought [Johnson] did was that she was incredible at organizing the team in front of her,” Foley said. “Communication was excellent and therefore really minimized
the work that she needed to do, and there were a couple of crosses that she needed to come up big, and there were a couple of balls driven pretty hard that she had to hold on to, and she did. I thought she had another superb day in the goal for us.” In the 74th minute, Meehan’s foot sent the Nebraska renaissance into an early demise. Receiving the ball in the box, Meehan went one-on-one with a defenseless Stevens and slotted the ball home, putting the Eagles up two and marking her 19th goal of the season, breaking BC’s single-season scoring record. Less than 10 minutes later, senior
midfielder Gibby Wagner worked a piece of midfield magic. Driving into the box from the top right corner, Wagner shredded a Nebraska defender with a move to her left, beat two more defenders inside the box, and gunned the ball home. Off the run of play, an awkwardly hanging header from forward Mayme Conroy spoiled Johnson’s shutout in the 84th minute, but Nebraska’s comeback was short lived. Three minutes later, with Stevens charging way out of the box, Bernard dribbled past her and calmly sent the ball home to make the final score 4-1, sending the Eagles on to the Sweet 16. n
Graham Beck / Heights Editor
Gibby Wagner scored a goal for BC in the win.
Team effort tops Illini in Sweet 16 Women’s Soccer, from B1
Graham beck / heights editor
After defeating Northeastern at home in the first round, BC upset Nebraska last Friday.
she rebounded with a six-save showing in the second frame and nine total stops during 90 minutes of regulation. BC will now travel to Tallahassee to take on ACC Champion Florida State in the Elite Eight round. Should BC pull off another upset against the Seminoles, it’ll have a shot at capturing a College Cup—the ultimate prize in NCAA Division I women’s soccer—in Cary, N.C. The Eagles have a heated history with the Seminoles in recent years. Although Florida State holds a 10-1-2 record in the overall series, nine of the 13 matchups have been decided by a one goal differential. Last season, the Eagles topped then No. 1 FSU at home 3-2 with a goal from Kristie Mewis in the final 10 minutes of play. FSU and BC met in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, and the Eagles advanced on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie was held through two overtimes. n
Eagles sneak out of Maryland victorious Football, from B1
tim drummond / the diamondback
Andre Williams surpassed the 2,000-yard rushing mark for the 2013 season against Maryland.
exploded up the middle, made a quick cut to his right, and out ran an entire Terrapin defense for a 72-yard touchdown. At 24-20, the score flipped to the Eagles’ advantage on their ensuing drive. Maryland’s Jacquille Veii squandered a scoring chance with a fumble near the BC end zone. Now pinned deep in his own territory, Rettig looked to redeem a one-yard passing performance in the first half with a game-changing play off of the turnover. Rolling out to his left, the senior signal-caller scampered to elude a pair of Terrapin defenders who broke through BC’s line. He planted his feet and launched a spiral into the hands of wide-open classmate Alex Amidon, who had broken double coverage along his route. Seventy-four yards later, the Eagles had gained a 26-24 lead—a lead that would depart as quickly as it entered. Maryland’s special teams unit deflected Freese’s extra-point try into the hands of one of its own, Anthony Nixon. The sophomore grabbed hold of the wobbling ball and snuck it past a swarm of Eagles frozen with confusion for a 110-yard safety recovery. The play had Addazio shaking his head on the sideline in utter disbelief. “The swings were unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure to cover that blocked extra point.” With overtime looming, the Eagles
had the ball with 1:30 left on the clock with nearly an entire field in front of them. Rettig and the Eagle offense couldn’t muster any yardage on their first two tries, but were saved by the first of two questionable time out calls made by Maryland’s Edsall. The time out designed to give the Terrapins a chance at taking back possession gave Williams all the time he needed for another step toward Heisman candidacy. Fighting his way back onto the field after leaving with an aggravated shoulder injury, the running back tacked on to his 263-yard performance and marked the first 2,000 rushing yard season in BC his-
tory. He broke away from coverage long enough to move the ball 36 yards, and set up Freese’s buzzer-beating field goal. The Eagles had won the grittiest fight of their season in dramatic fashion. “It was something unreal,” Amidon said. Yet watching his team battle its way toward a new beginning after seasons of disappointment, senior captain Kasim Edebali felt more than awe as the Eagles swarmed the field in celebration. He was overcome with pride. “Right now, I’m still really emotional,” Edebali said after the game’s conclusion. “This is everything we are about.” n
tim drummond / the diamondback
Chase Rettig helped out the BC comeback with a 74-yard touchdown pass to Alex Amidon.
Remembering more than just the games Column, from B1 dearly, for the 12 of you that read that. You are angels.) But that’s not why this sports section has dominated my life for the past two years. I was wrong. The drive up I-95 from Providence to Boston isn’t nearly as well-lit as it ought to be. Three weeks ago, I was coming back from the godforsaken arena also known as the Dunkin’ Donuts Center after BC lost to Providence College in overtime to start the season. It was a good time. Although I made the trip on my own, I wasn’t alone when I got there. Eagle Action’s Eric Hoffses, the Globe’s Julian Benbow, and the AP’s Ken Powtak were all at the game. Not only have they, among plenty of other influences, been instrumental in helping me improve since I showed up two years ago, scared and 18, they’ve also become good friends on the beat. They’re guys I look forward to sitting next to on press row. But it didn’t feel right covering the
game without another member of The Heights. After the press conference, I transcribed quotes until my phone was charged enough to survive the drive home, said goodbye to the guys in the media room, and found the car our Editor-in-Chief, David Cote, had loaned me for the night. A few miles north on I-95 outside Providence, the tall interstate lights disappeared. I flashed back to six months ago. Graham and I were making the same late night drive home to Boston after BC’s loss to Union. Former Sports Editor Greg Joyce was in the backseat with his headphones on, banging out a game story. It had been a long day, and I told Graham it was his job to keep me awake with conversation. It’s one of my favorite memories from the past year. I don’t remember much about what happened on the ice during that Union game six months ago or even on the court in the Providence game a few weeks back. Even those important moments have a way of escaping me easily. Finding the moment and writing about it is always a rush, but that’s
not what I’ve loved about the job. I’ve loved the Heights Sports family. What I do remember is the look on Graham’s face when he knows he’s got “The Shot,” Hoffses’ complaining that Greg and I flirt too much during games, the hours spent working on layouts with Lindsay Grossman and Maggie Powers, editing stories and covering games with two incredible assistants, Chris Grimaldi and Marly Morgus, and the consistently reliable direction from David, who has helped me not sound like an idiot in more instances than I can count. The family is what makes all of this fun, and what makes it worth all the work. The family is what’s made us competitive. And being in the middle of this little Heights Sports family is what I’m going to miss the most about the job. Thank you for reading. I promise that next time, whenever it is, I’ll get out of the way and just tell you a story.
Ausin Tedesco is the Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.
Graham beck / heights editor
Olivier Hanlan and Steve Donahue in the post-game press conference after BC’s loss to Duke.
The Heights
Monday, November 25, 2013
B5
Hanlan’s approach aims to fuel offense By Austin Tedesco
Sports Editor Olivier Hanlan’s best, most defining move in his jam-packed bag of offensive tricks has been noticeably missing from the first half of Boston College basketball games this season. As a freshman last year, Hanlan led the Eagles in scoring with more than 15 points per game, and he caused the most damage to opposing defenses with his smooth finger-roll. Now a sophomore, Hanlan is distributing the ball at a much greater clip when he crashes into the lane. A full spectrum of this shift in mentality was on display over the weekend, as the Eagles fell to UConn 72-70 on Thursday, then defeated Washington 89-78 in the 2K Classic. Rather than finishing with his outstretched right arm on drives, Hanlan has kept his head up and displayed an impressive ability to find his teammates. He already has 20 assists through seven games this season, seven more than the total he put up in the last seven games of his freshman campaign. The point guard has been quiet in the first half of games, trying to get other players involved early before taking over himself in the second half. “I’m trying to involve my teammates a bit more, early on in the game to try and get them warmed up, because I’m pretty confident in my scoring ability in terms of scoring the ball whenever I can,” Hanlan said after BC’s loss to Toledo last week. “If I can get them involved at first and then whatever comes to me in the second half, I’ll play like that always.” That doesn’t mean that it has necessarily worked. BC head coach Steve Donahue
said before the season that Hanlan couldn’t stray too far from the scoring that makes him great for the Eagles to be successful. “Yeah, I’d like to see him get more people involved, but he has a unique skill that we can’t overlook,” Donahue said. “He scores in different ways against almost anybody. He’s maybe our best standstill shooter as well. I don’t want to overdo it with trying to get everybody involved, because his natural instinct is to go by somebody and score. And if it’s the right decision, which a lot of times it is, there’s no reason for him to kick it to somebody else if he in turn has a high percentage shot.” It’s almost as if Donahue could sense an issue that has crept up during BC’s slow start. After hearing plenty of criticism that he couldn’t create for others, Hanlan made it the primary focus of his offseason improvement. He studied true point guards, and even learned directly from NBA superstar Chris Paul at the CP3 Elite Camp. “Last year I scored the ball a lot, but my assists per game were kind of low,” Hanlan said. “I was really just working on that. Just coming off ball screens and making it easy for my teammates to get open shots and everything. Going and being at the Chris Paul camp and talking to Chris Paul—he’s the best in the league at finding his guys and picking his spots.” Whereas Hanlan attacked more like John Wall or Derrick Rose last year, he has pulled back his first-half scoring in Donahue’s motion offense this season. “Instead of always being aggressive for my shot, I’m coming off the ball screen with my head up and it’s a lot easier to see
everybody,” Hanlan said. In the last seven games of 2012-13 Hanlan averaged a combined total of field goal and free throw attempts of 6.71 in the first half and 9.29 in the second, but this season the gap has widened as Hanlan is averaging 5.57 in the first and 12.71 after halftime. Going into the game against Washington, he was averaging almost 19 of his 23.4 points per game in the second half. The change has had mixed results. Hanlan was, as is the case on most nights, BC’s best offensive option against the Huskies. When he drove past the UConn guards and found teammates on the perimeter, he was often passing up efficient looks or free throw chances for less efficient shots. By the time Hanlan turned it up in the second half, making more of an effort to finish at the rim, it was too late. The Washington game was different, though. The Eagles shot an absurd 59 percent from the field and 53 percent from beyond the arc. The offense was a crisp machine powered by Hanlan’s dribble drive and kick. Lonnie Jackson, Joe Rahon, and Alex Dragicevich chipped in buckets off of Hanlan’s playmaking, and it helped BC pick up an early lead that the team never relinquished. That version of the offense has been more efficient than the late-game strategy of allowing Hanlan to attack out of the pick-and-roll, but the question for the Eagles going forward as they try to regroup is whether or not they can count on the scoring to continue to be distributed so evenly, or if they’ll need Hanlan’s scoring earlier in games to make up for offensive deficiencies elsewhere. n
Graham Beck / Heights Editor
Guard Olivier Hanlan has made a conscious effort to create opportunities for his teammates, but he best serves the Eagles as a prolific scorer.
Emily Fahey / Heights Staff
Goalkeeper Brian Billett allowed four Maine goals before being pulled from Saturday’s game.
Eagles’ success in Hockey East play halted in Maine By Jackie Scherer For The Heights
Down three goals midway through the first period, the Boston College men’s hockey team was looking at a long remainder of its weekend matchup against the University of Maine Black Bears at Alfond Arena. With the exception of a lone goal by Scott Savage assisted by Johnny Gaudreau, the Eagles struggled to connect their shots against a very solid Maine goaltender. The Eagles entered this one-game road trip having won four of their five Hockey East Conference games, while the Black Bears were 3-2-1 in the Hockey East. BC started junior Brian Billett in net again. Given the pressure the Black Bears forced on Billett, he kept the Eagles within fighting range throughout the game, but they still fell to the Black Bears with a score of 5-1. The Black Bears came out fast and aggressive against BC’s starting line. Devin Shore scored the first goal of the game for Maine just 37 seconds into the first period. Ben Hutton added to Maine’s lead shortly thereafter with an odd-man rush coming off a failed Eagle forecheck, lifting a backhand over the glove of Billett. Savage’s goal at 17:27—an odd-man rush play developed by Gaudreau on the boards who then passed to Savage in the slot—was key to changing the momentum in BC’s favor. While BC did not score again, the Eagles played much more evenly with the Black Bears for the duration of the game. Destry Straight had a good scoring op-
portunity for the Eagles right away in the second period, but was denied by Martin Ouellette, the Black Bears’ goaltender. Ouellette brought an aggressive game of his own, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 2:12 along with BC’s Adam Gilmour. BC worked to create scoring opportunities, often displaying a lot of aggression in front of the Maine net. All of BC’s attempts were shut down by Ouellette. Billett, too, had great saves in the second period, particularly a high blocker save after a flurry in front of the Eagles’ net with 30 seconds left in the period. Outside of the last minute, play was dominated by the Eagles throughout the second period. The only goal of the second period came from Shore with the assist going to Jon Swavely, whose backhand rebound was left in front of a nearly open BC net, allowing Shore to charge in and finish the play. Brad Barone replaced Billett in net to begin the third period, and Barone made huge saves right off the bat to keep the score at 4-1. The third period was uneventful except for a goal by Hutton at 16:26 that sealed the loss for the Eagles, with his shot going past Barone on his glove side. While BC was outshot 14-10 in the first period, the Eagles outshot the Black Bears 14-7 and 10-8 in the second and third periods, respectively. Neither team scored on the power play, and faceoff wins were tied at 29. The Eagles now have a record of 5-3 when scored on first in a game. n
Doherty records 19 points and career milestone in home win over FIU By Alex Stanley Heights Staff
From the first whistle, it was Boston College’s game. Florida International won the tipoff, but was forced to take a badly positioned attempt as the shot clock ran out. BC rebounded, took it to the other end, and Kat Cooper netted an easy jump shot. The Eagles hosted the Golden Panthers on Thursday in Conte Forum, notching a 89-69 win. Senior Kristen Doherty led the Eagles in points, putting in 19 and surpassing the 1,000 career point milestone in the process. “What we talked about over these last few days is to just relax—be ready to score, but you don’t have to create everything for you,” said head coach Erik Johnson. “I thought she looked so much more relaxed tonight.” With Doherty ’s help, the Eagles cruised in the first half, leading 27-4 at one point in the frame. “Early, we did a really good job on
their superstar Jerica Coley,” Johnson said. “You saw when she finally got going, it was really hard to reel it back.” Doherty provided this invaluable defense at the beginning shadowing Coley. Even in the zone, she continued to keep an eye out for Coley, and was on her at every chance. But, with about eight minutes left in the half, Coley hit her first jumper, which would start her on a scoring binge of 21 points by the time the buzzer signaled halftime. Coley would end the game with 36 points and six assists. Johnson also gave enormous credit to his team’s defensive rebounding, as BC only gave up one offensive board in the first half. The BC offense had already done some significant damage as well. The Eagles recorded 51 points in the first. Five 3-pointers, with three from Nicole Boudreau, helped the Eagles, but Johnson attributed the high offensive numbers to ball movement. “Our ball movement is our key,” he
said. “We are good shooters. But if we are having to create our own shot it is difficult … tonight, having 20 assists, we had people who were ready to shoot, but we had to have people that got them the ball.” BC’s convincing performance continued in the second half. The team held on to a comfortable 20-point cushion. Boudreau ended the game shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from three. She was BC’s second highest scorer in the game with 14 points. All three freshmen played at the end of the second half, making a mark in different ways. Emilee Daley and Kelly Hughes impressed from long range, scoring nine and 12 points, respectively. Guard Kami Mickens played eight minutes with a stomach bug, managing two steals and a rebound. “They’re going to be a fun group to watch,” Johnson said of his team. “Again, hopefully our depth will continue to improve this year.” n
Graham Beck / Heights Editor
Kristen Doherty notched her 1,000th career point in a BC uniform during Thursday’s matchup.
BC and Maryland move away from football and right into the absurd Marly Morgus It would be easy to write that Boston College escaped from Maryland with a narrow win that came down to a late second field goal from Nate Freese. If I wanted to expand on that, I guess I could even add that a big reception by Alex Amidon and a 72-yard run from Andre Williams helped the Eagles get to that point in the fourth quarter. If I were feeling thorough, I could even include that Chase Rettig threw for one yard in the first half, giving viewers a case of deja vu from the last time they saw Rettig put up a disappointing performance in Byrd Stadium. If I were writing that story, it all would have been laid out for me. Lead with Andre 2000, comment on Rettig’s
disastrous first half, and mention how Amidon came through when it looked like Williams may have been out of the game. Finish with some action imagery of Freese’s second attempt soaring through the goalposts. All those elements were there, and, while being completely factual, I could lead you to believe that what happened on Saturday was a normal football game. What happened on Saturday was not a normal football game. Alongside those snippets of conventional gridiron action laid a minefield of mistakes, turnovers, and mental lapses that dragged the game away from its typical storyline and transformed it into something entirely different. I’m not sure when this transition from football to the absurd started. There was a hint during the first half when a bad snap and a momentary
lapse of judgment saw Rettig trying to pick up the fumble in motion, the ball slipping through his hands to be recovered in the end zone by the Terps, but that wasn’t it. It wasn’t when Manny Asprilla blocked a Maryland punt, or the three penalties that cost Maryland a score. Those moments were surprising, abnormal even, and maybe they signaled what was to come. Despite this, I would venture to say that the first half and even the third quarter could still be qualified as a normal football game, albeit a messy one. Come the fourth, however, what we had on our hands resembled less and less anything I had ever seen played on a football field, as BC and Maryland inched toward the absurd. There was a fumbled punt, what looked like an injury to Williams, two consecutive passing first downs for
BC, and a 110-yard safety, all to bring the game to a tie after a 24-13 deficit in favor of Maryland. In some strange dichotomy, that was the story of the quarter, along with the conventional clutch performances from Amidon, Williams, and Freese that would have made up my standard game story. We should have seen it coming. After that fourth quarter, we should have known that even a missed field goal with the game tied and no time on the clock wouldn’t send this game into overtime, because that’s what happens in normal football games. We should have known that Maryland coach Randy Edsall would call a late time-out attempting to freeze Freese, effectively giving him two tries, and we should have known that Freese would hit it on the second attempt.
But how could we? At that point, your ability to predict the outcome or series of events in a football game didn’t count anymore, because this was barely a football game anymore, and it wasn’t like any one that we’ve seen before. It was messy—an embarrassing performance by both teams in the first half. Riddled with mistakes, it was jumpy and quirky and disappointing if you were hoping to see good, clean, competitive football. In the jubilation after the final kick though, that was all forgotten. Football was football again, and the Eagles had seven wins. It was one of the worst games that I’ve ever seen, but it was also one of the best.
Marly Morgus is Asst. Sports Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.
B6
THE HEIGHTS
Monday, November 25, 2013
THE HEIGHTS
Monday, November 25, 2013
Portraits of BC
HEALTH&SCIENCE
Unimpressed with innovation
Patrick Ebbert is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at features@bcheights.com.
PORTRAITS OF BC, FROM B10
DARRIEN BUSH, A&S ’16
Where do you come from? I’m from New Jersey. Jersey City actually. And how did you get here to BC? My mother told me about it actually, it wasn’t my first choice, but my mother and my guidance counselor told me to try it, and when I applied I actually came here to visit, and I really liked it. How do you feel here at BC? I’d say I’m pretty happy here. I’ve met a lot of good people, and good classes so far. I don’t really have anything bad to say about it. What’s one of the best classes you’ve taken so far? Literary themes with Thomas Kaplan-Maxfield. That was probably my favorite class so far. Are you involved in anything on campus? I’m involved in a culture club called South East Asian Students Association. I’m media chair for SEASA and I’m also media chair for Conspiracy Theory dance group. When did you start dancing? I’ve always loved dancing in high school, but I never actually tried breakdancing until I
PATRICK EBBERT As modern-day philosopher Louis CK once complained of people who complain about slow cell service, “it’s going to space, can you give it a second to get back from space? Is the speed of light too slow for you?” How could people not be absolutely enamored with the miracles of human creation that we have developed so very recently in our entire span of existence? We have clocks that only lose one second of accuracy in a hundred million years and companies capable of sequencing individuals’ entire genomes for $1,000. We have unmanned space probes capable of traveling over 100,000 mph, and Virgin Galactic launching commercial voyages to outer space on its “SpaceShipTwo” in 2014. In anticipation of my 21st birthday, I’ve been recently considering just how much technology has evolved in the brief span of time from 1992 to 2013. Just two decades ago there was no Google, no Amazon, and certainly no concept of social media. MP3 players and USB flash drives were still several years away. The amount of ingenuity humans have mustered even just very recently is aweinspiring and almost incomprehensible. Perhaps the greatest fact of all is that innovation seems to be in no danger of collapsing anytime soon. A recent piece by Time Magazine discusses the state of inventiveness in the world and makes several conclusions that are quite encouraging for innovation’s ongoing proliferation. A plurality of inventors report the pure love of inventing as their primary career motivation, far greater than the number of those who said their motivations lie in necessity, wealth, or fame. In even bigger numbers come the attitudes of the people, who, across nations, seem to emphatically agree that the quality of “inventiveness” is primarily learned rather than inherited, a metric expressing the hope that fuels education reform and snowballs future progression. When considering the barriers to future invention, only 2 percent of 10,000 respondents across 17 mature and emerging markets reported their primary fear of slowed inventiveness to be the shortage of new ideas to bring to life. With great technology comes great responsibility, and one of the reasons that people shy away from rapid technological advances at times is invariably due to the dangers that such a quick expansion of human capability can bring. Often cited are the perils of advanced military weapons and the devastation of job-replacing machines. Yet for every time a defense contractor spits out a shiny new weapon, a researcher advances the cure for a deadly disease or develops a systemic solution that renders moot some problem that might have escalated violence in the first place. As for industrial setbacks, new technologies certainly cause structural unemployment for individuals, but while societies can alter the things they do and the things they make, the core values of humanity always persist. Photography may replace painted portraits, but creativity persists. Robots may displace factory laborers but work ethic survives. Medical devices may make certain skills obsolete, but compassion endures. But I think even more fascinating than the reality of the endless progress of human technological achievement is the reality of those to whom Mr. CK referred, those who do not seem to appreciate its wonder. The most fantastic thing in the world is that we can sit here today and on an average basis complain about the 10 seconds it takes a YouTube video to buffer or the standard definition TV in our motel. The fact that we aren’t happy when that magic box of low frequency electromagnetic radiation fails to heat our vacuum-sealed, globally-traveled, chemicallypreserved-and-disinfected food completely evenly is wonderfully reassuring. Perfect complacency would mean a civilization in which nobody would want to design, create, innovate, or improve, as there would be no drive or reason to make things better. All satisfactions are only relative to the technological capabilities of the time in which they belong. Because people are so self-centered they couldn’t dare fall behind a friend or coworker in obtaining the next best thing, there inevitably is always a next best thing and always will be. So I tip my hat to you, high school girl who throws a tantrum when Snapchat crashes or when Facebook takes too long to upload your 500 selfies from Paris. Whether you know or care, you are the driving force behind innovation in the modern world, and thanks to you I’ll soon be able to take a weekend vacation to the moon while 3D-printing a fat-free bacon cronut.
B7
came here, and I started last year. It’s quite the change. It’s much harder, but it’s a lot of fun. What’s the most difficult thing about it, and what do you enjoy the most about it? I really love the creativity of it, since it’s really free movement. There’s no set system or anything in terms of breakdancing, but because of that it can also be really hard because it’s kind of hard to come up with things that are completely original, or not knowing the potential of your body itself, so it can get kind of hard. Just learning new and more things. Are you guys going for ALC Showdown this year? Ideally yes. Apparently they’ve been in ALC years back, but we’ve never been able to come back to ALC mostly because of membership—since a lot of people come to try it out, but no one actually stays just because of the difficulty when you’re first learning it. That’s probably one of our only reasons. How would you define yourself here at BC? I guess … I’m just me.
JARED COLLIER, A&S ’17
ELIZABETH KIM, LSOE ’16
Where do you come from? I’m from Utah, but I was actually living in Texas with my uncle this last year so that I could get ready to go to college—to get ready for my adult life. Before I came here to Boston College, I had to decide among 11 other colleges, and this June I took a plane from Wichita Falls to Boston and participated in a summer orientation program called OTE, for select freshmen. How has your year been so far? It’s been really good. I’m making a lot of good friends and the academics are hard, but I like it. Any tips you have for fellow freshmen? Stay motivated, manage your time really well, and make good friends. Not just any friends, but good friends.
Where do you come from? I came from practice, and I walked over here! What kind of practice? It was for our a cappella group … we have a performance coming up so we were practicing songs for that … yeah. What group is it? It is Against the Current, Boston College’s Christian a cappella group. Why Against the Current? Coming into college, I knew I wanted to sing, because singing is a big part of my life, and I actually wasn’t thinking of joining an a cappella group. I had initially planned to join the University Chorale—which I did—but my roommate suggested I look into a cappella groups, and I found Against the Current on the freshman Facebook page, so I auditioned for it and got in. Since then, it’s been amazing. I’ve definitely gained a lot from being a part of ATC. But because I was singing nine hours a week, I had to drop chorale. I chose ATC because I got a lot more from it for my personal life.
KATHARINE CALLAHAN, A&S ’17 Where do you come from? I’m from Virginia. Why did you decide to come to BC? One of my good friend’s families all went here and recommended it to me. It was one of the few schools I liked the most out of all the ones I applied to. Now that you’re here, what do you like the most about BC? I love walking around campus. All the aesthetics—it’s just really pleasing, and people are really nice. What inspires you the most here at BC? I think I’ve never met so many people who work harder than me, and that’s really inspiring to me. I’m always the slacker, so I’m not really used to it. If you had to define who you are at BC, what would you say?
I’m definitely just a freshman, in all senses of the word. I’m still figuring it out. I’m still confused and my major is entirely undecided. I just met with my advisor this morning and that was a whole debacle. I’m still figuring out clubs and what I’m interested in, whether it’s arts or whether it’s academics or stuff like that. I’m still figuring it out, I think. What strikes your interest the most? It’s always been music for me, but I think it’s kind of changing now. What kind of music do you like the most? Anything acoustic. I’m from Virginia, so I love bluegrass. Anything I can play, I like. I play guitar, and piano as well. I love to sing, and it’s all just for fun. I don’t think I’d ever do anything with it. Are you part of any clubs? Jammin’ Toast.
CLUB SERIES FEATURING BC’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Music guild assembles students interested in showcasing and developing talents BY CORINNE DUFFY Heights Staff From innumerable service organizations to varsity, club, and intramural sports teams and multifarious literary groups, the University is certainly home to a highly involved, constantly busied student population. Within all grade levels, the student body exhibits an incredibly vast and diverse amount of talent. Audibly evident among these various skill mediums is the profound instrumental and vocal capacity that many exercise. On a campus humming with musical ability, the Music Guild of Boston College, with 541 members, serves as the largest musical organization. Founded in 1989 with an initial focus on classical music, the Music Guild now encompasses a broad range of genres—from a cappella and singersongwriter to instrumental, electric, folk, and alternative styles, the club has shifted and grown into a resource center for all student musicians at BC. “Our mission is to connect musicians on the Heights through a variety of events and programs, all with the
goal of increasing the presence of music and art on campus,” said John Guzzi, the guild’s vice president and A&S ’15. In order to achieve this goal, the club hosts an assortment of activities both on and off campus for those interested in practicing or, perhaps, developing greater skill in music. Open Mic Nights where students may play in a casual, lowkey setting, occur every other Thursday in the lounge next to Mac’s minimart. On a larger, more formal scale, band showcases provide the musically inclined an opportunity to showcase talent, meet other bands and musicians, and publicize their music. For these specific events, club officers take applications and screen bands, hoping to supply much-needed performance outlets for students to get their skill in front of new audiences. While open mics often draw modest crowds, the band showcases fill Vanderslice’s Cabaret Room to the brim with eager listeners and have drawn large crowds to events held publicly—such as one showcase held in September outside Faneuil Hall. Additionally, the guild co-sponsors an annual spring singer-songwriter competition with BC’s Arts Fest. Artists perform original works to compete for a
cash prize given during BC’s Best at Arts Fest. BC’s Arts Fest also hosts a Battle of the Bands competition, wherein bands play for a chance to become Modstock’s opening act. “There’s an extraordinary amount of talent,” said Guzzi. “We get it in front of people.” Not only does the Music Guild provide budding musicians with these performance opportunities, it also features a volunteer program and growing musician networking presence. Every other Friday, members of the club travel to the Franciscan Hospital for Children to host interactive performances with pediatric mental health patients. Typically, the volunteers play songs personally for, and then take requests from patients with whom they have developed a close relationship. “Personally, I love to take a couple requests to learn for the next visit, so that when I come back, I can play the song while one of the kids sings it,” Guzzi said. “It gives them something to work on during their stay in the hospital as well as a chance to express themselves in a way they don’t usually get to. And for me, it’s a lot of fun.” For many students, the most beneficial service that the club renders is the convenience of a rehearsal space. By
reserving the room online and even borrowing musical equipment, students can practice in Lyons 409. This space also houses the campus’ single drum kit, of which many take advantage. Additionally, an online musician’s registry enables individuals to find each other regarding instruments, skill, and interest. The Music Guild promotes musicians within the community through on- and off-campus events as well as via its website. After receiving band requests to place their music on the site, the club takes a sample and delivers it to cyberspace to showcase talent. “All it takes is a link to a SoundCloud and we can take care of it from there,” Guzzi said. “From that promotion, we have actually received a few booking requests from outside promoters and agents for our student-musicians.” Aside from Guzzi, current officers include Mike Lapointe, CSOM ’14; Chris Paterno, A&S ’15; Dan Miller, A&S ’15; Alex Navarro, CSOM ’15; Daniel Lyle, A&S ’16; Amanda Adams, A&S ’16; and Edem Dela-Seshie, A&S ’14. The Guild will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this spring.
THE HEIGHTS
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Monday, November 25, 2013
EDITOR’S COLUMN CAMPUS CHRONICLES
A temporary, bittersweet goodbye to BC
CATHRYN WOODRUFF On Thursday morning, not yet ready to face a day of classes, I clicked on a video that someone had shared on my Facebook newsfeed. In the video, filmmaker John Silva discusses the brief and little-known essay by Sigmund Freud called “On Transience.” In this essay, Freud cites a conversation he had with the poet Rilke as they walked along in the beautiful countryside. The essay focuses on the “existential bummer,” as Silva calls it, of coming to the conclusion that one day, everything comes to an end. Silva relates this essay to the strange sensation that beautiful things can sometimes make us a little sad because they “hint at exception.” Love can simultaneously fill us with a sinking feeling of melancholy, and even in the happiest moments, we become nostalgic for what we haven’t yet lost—because we perceive its transience. The message of the video is that we need to fight resignation and live our lives to the fullest, not accepting the ephemeral nature of the moment, but holding onto each other a little harder, rather than shrinking back because one day it may be lost. This somewhat cheesy yet inspiring three-minute video struck me as I began assembling my things for class that day. It’s impossible to be fully present in every moment, and it always seems to be in hindsight that we wish we could go back in time and enjoy all the little things we missed. The video that I thought would be just a way of procrastinating the start of my day completely changed my perspective. By the time this column is published, my time as Assistant Features Editor will officially be over. I will soon be moving on to a new, exciting, and completely terrifying journey to study abroad in Madrid. Thursday afternoon I headed to the Hovey House to pick up my passport and my acceptance letter to the university in Spain that I will be attending next semester. On my walk home, I read through the formal and impersonal letter, which certifies that I have been accepted to the school. Nothing was surprising about the letter—only a formality confirming what I have been waiting to do for years. Yet this piece of paper made an elusive idea slightly more tangible. On my way back to Foster St., I decided to take a walk around the Res. I walked by runners and dog walkers, all enjoying this rare November warmth. I took everything in as a sensory experience, appreciating what will probably be one of the last times I walk around the Res until next fall. The Heights has been one of the most formative and rewarding opportunities I have had at BC. It has taught me more than any class I have taken, and has transformed me as a writer, as a thinker, and as a friend. I have had the amazing opportunity to interview some remarkable people on campus these last two years on the board. I have learned a lot about what it means to be part of an organization, to work with and collaborate with a staff of enthusiastic writers, to produce something that I can proudly say I had a small hand in making. But the most rewarding part of The Heights for me has been the relationships I have formed. Everyone on the board has had an impact on me, and all of you have become an integral part of who I am. I am especially eternally grateful to Michelle for being the most understanding and encouraging work partner, and I am confident Features will be awesome next semester—whoever it is that takes over. Reflecting on Silva’s advice, I aim from now on to live as many moments as I can, fully invested in the present. I will cherish these last days with those on The Heights and these last weeks before winter break with my roommates and best friends. I will acknowledge the approaching date of my January departure, without letting it inhibit the present. Sometimes I picture myself in Madrid, dissociated from those who I feel comfortable around, frustrated by the linguistic barrier. But I also know that I wouldn’t be who I am if I never took chances. Next semester will be an amazing opportunity, but I will never forget who I am leaving behind. And after all, I will be back. No longer a part of The Heights officially, but never a stranger.
Cathryn Woodruff is the Asst. Features Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.
The digital dilemma of using technology in the classroom ALISON TAKAHASHI
The rise of technology has had unthinkable and vast impacts on the way society functions in today’s times. Not only are people constantly on their phones, updating their Facebook pages, editing their LinkedIn profiles, uploading to their Instagram accounts, sending emails or checking on their fantasy football leagues, but they also can’t seem to ‘tap out’ of them either. The excessive daily use of smart phones, laptops, and iPads, coupled with conveniently accessible Wi-Fi, has made Boston College, like many other communities, a technologically-wired microcosm in which there is virtually no way out of being ‘plugged-in.’ Henry David Thoreau famously said, “Men have become the tools of their tools,” meaning that though people like to believe that they’re controlling their technology, it appears that their technology is controlling them. This rising obsession has turned once-lively conversations during mealtime into a simple gathering of people who are so incredibly focused on what is happening in the online world that they are hardly able
to eat and talk among their peers as they run through the news feeds of their various social media apps. It is this kind of dependence that has left students and teachers to decide whether it is beneficial to increase, maintain, or lessen the presence or use of technology in the classroom setting. A number of A&S teachers ask students to leave their laptops in their backpack and take notes the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper in hand. Other professors, especially those in CSOM, allow or encourage the use of computers during class with the intention to enhance learning or make course material more accessible. Why this difference of opinion between teachers of separate schools? It appears that the fundamental distinction is not between the schools themselves, but the way in which each school approaches learning. Most students could agree that business and math-oriented courses often have a single correct answer to every solution. Students are either right or wrong, and everything is black and white. Though there may be a number of methods of solving a problem, there is ultimately only one answer that
is worth working toward. Unlike CSOM, A&S courses, especially those of the English Department, do not have a sole solution. Teachers and students must open their minds to a variety of interpretations, because no one way of thinking is the only worthwhile way of thinking. Liberal arts courses, such as philosophy, are notorious for asking open-ended questions that cannot be solved with any equation. If the use of computers were to be discouraged in classrooms where discussion is fundamental to drawing conclusions, then teachers should take initiative and ask students to do just that. “I choose to take notes by computer, rather than by hand, because I don’t want to miss anything the professor says during a lecture,” said Sera Gelgel, A&S ’15. “Typing notes is not only quicker, but it’s also more convenient. Unlike handwritten notes that can be lost or illegible, documents on Word or EverNote are easy to read and can be retrieved or stored effortlessly. “I cannot speak for the student body, but I think as we become more and more dependent on today’s technology, students will be that much more likely to make use of
such tools in the classroom. I do, however, recognize the problem in this method of learning. With so few people focused on anything other than their computer screens, many of which are likely on Facebook, Twitter, or Buzzfeed, it becomes difficult to appreciate classroom discussion. Since much of the classroom is ‘tuned out’ of academic discussion, there is less merit in being in a classroom at all.” Gelgel’s perspective is evidently for and against the use of technology. She sees the obvious benefits in efficiency and organization, but recognizes that we attend BC, rather than other online universities, so that students can learn from, listen to, and consider the thoughts and insights of their peers. Without a concern to participate in intellectual conversations among fellow classmates, the decision to attend a 9,000-student physical school, rather than a less expensive virtual school, quickly loses its grounds.
Alison Takahashi is a contributor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.
PROFESSOR PROFILE
Biology and bird lover hopes to make BC his permanent nest BY KAYLA FAMOLARE
WHO: Danielle Taghian WHO: Alexander Coverdill
For The Heights Alexander Coverdill sits surprisingly comfortable and relaxed considering the week he has ahead of him. Coverdill is currently an adjunct faculty member here at Boston College, teaching Ecology and Evolution, Introduction to Physiology, Plant Biology, and co-teaching General Biology. This past week, however, he began his application process to become a fulltime professor for Introduction to Physiology and Ecology and Evolution. He must meet with faculty members and teach a lecture on the topic of his choice, which he chose to present on the cardiovascular system. Coverdill knew he wanted to be a professor since his time in graduate school at the University of Washington, where students are required to teach for two quarters throughout their time in the program. Coverdill surpassed the requirements, teaching 18 quarters of different classes during his six years there. His commitment to teaching earned him the Excellence in Teaching Award, given to two graduate students out of the 10,000 students enrolled in the program each year. “My mom always said I would make a great teacher, but I never really listened to her,” he joked. “Grad school made me realize I had a knack for [teaching] and loved it … it’s my passion.” Coverdill recognized his high school biology teacher for introducing him to his interest in biology. “He was so passionate about the material, it was the first time I was exposed to it, and I fell in love with it,” Coverdill said. “He was a very approachable person, he made the material really fun, he was able to get the material across in a fun way that made sense.” Coverdill hopes to emulate his high school professor’s teaching style in his own classroom. He strives to give off a laid-back tone while teaching and hopes that his students see him as approachable. “I like a dynamic class where [the students and I] are interacting, and that I can be a resource to my students,
TEACHES: Molecules and TEACHES: Ecology and Cells and Cancer Biology Evolution, Intro to Physiology, Plant Biology FOCUS: The biology of cancer EXPERIENCE: Currently applying to be a full-time RESEARCH: Completed professor her postdoc at Massachusetts General Hospital in FUN FACT: Known as ‘the Simon Powell’s lab bird guy’ for his research on EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS STAFF songbird migration ROBIN KIM / HEIGHTS STAFF and that they can come to me at anytime with any question.” Coverdill also credits his undergraduate minor in theatre for his successes in the classroom and his approachable personality. “I never have a problem with being in front of an audience,” he said. “I love being the center of attention.” After defending his thesis in 2008, Coverdill moved to Boston with his wife, Jessica Vick, so she could do graduate work at Boston University, where he also took on a teaching job for three years. In 2011 he began teaching at both BC and Simmons College as an adjunct professor, all while working on post-doctoral work at Tufts University. “The running joke with my wife was that she never knew where I was on any given day,” Coverdill said. “She would say, ‘which campus are you at today, what part of the state are you in?’” He had a particular love for BC, calling his move, “the best decision I have ever made for my career.” He explained how he has the ability to teach more classes and loves being a part of the Biology Department, something he was not granted at BU. He also appreciates the drive and commitment of the students he
teaches here at BC. “[The students] are very bright,” he said. “The underlying knowledge that students have here is incredible. They want to learn, they want to do well … everyone really seems motivated and wants to be here.” He also appreciates the great emphasis that the University places on teaching rather than strictly research. Affectionately known as “the bird guy,” Coverdill never misses an opportunity to make references to birds, no matter what subject or class he is lecturing. He has done extensive research on songbird migration and claims to be “big into birds.” He is fascinated by birds and loves dragging his wife along on bird watching expeditions. He does, however, want to remind his students that he is a professor, not a vet, as many bring him hurt birds to cure. If one ever spots Coverdill on campus, he might very well have his headphones on tapping along to the beat of whatever song he is listening to. When he isn’t bird watching or teaching, he uses his spare time to teach himself how to play the drums. As a self-proclaimed “band and theatre nerd,” Coverdill expresses his ongoing love for music and
his enthusiasm to become a drummer. One may even see him at his favorite on-campus lunch spot, Hillside Cafe, eating a chicken salad sandwich, which he insists come with fries and a pickle. Aside from his great intellectual achievements, Coverdill credits himself as a “goodluck charm” for Boston-area college NCAA hockey championships. When he taught at BU, the Terriors won the title, and the year he began teaching at BC, the Eagles took the championship. “Not many people can say that they taught at schools with backto-back champions, at different schools,” Coverdill said. Coverdill hopes he can be successful in his application process for a full-time position here at BC. He said he is eager to gain a long-term position and is ready to settle into a home with his wife here in Boston. “I’ve always wanted to be here full time and have a long term position so it’s sort of been a dream to have this sort of position come along, and now that it has, it’s been a dream,” he said. If you see Coverdill on campus this week, wish him luck—and perhaps request a birdcall or two.
HE SAID, SHE SAID I just checked my class roster, and my ex-girlfriend is in one of my classes. It’s a very small seminar class, and I’m worried that things will be too awkward, so I’m considering switching classes. I was really excited about it, but I’m starting to think that it might be worth it to just settle for a different course and not have to feel resentful every day I see her in class. What do you think? If you are truly excited about this class, you should have no reason to switch out of it. In the professional world, you will be forced to perform in many uncomfortable situations that will challenge your emotions and focus. If you are forced to work with a disliked individual on the job, you do not have the option of leaving—tackle the situation and test yourself. The class will probably serve as an assessment of MARC FRANCIS your self-restraint and ability to get over the past. Your ex-girlfriend is the past, and it is time that you forgive and forget, or at least forget. Understandably, resentment is often unavoidable. If there are any unsolved issues from your relationship that you feel are impossible to ignore, I advise that you confront her. Do not be aggressive or dramatic—try to have a casual conversation with her about any anger and negative feelings you still experience. I know the situation is probably awkward, but an ex-girlfriend should never prevent you from taking a class at Boston College. Most of us struggle to get into our desired courses—since you have been anticipating this class, do not back down. If you are too uncomfortable to sort out your issues with her, show her that you are strong and unapologetic. Do not hesitate to address her in class discussions or greet her in the beginning of class. To succeed in the course, you may have to ignore your past and treat her like you would any other BC classmate. Be friendly, professional, and controlled. Act a bit.
You have a couple options at this point and I am not sure if acting right now is the best way to go. You could always switch classes now, not deal with seeing her, and completely move on from the situation. You wouldn’t have to deal with the intersection between your academic and social life, plus, you could find a course you either need to take or simply want to take instead. If you do choose this route, make sure you really consider your other options and find a AMY HACHIGIAN course that will make you happy, not something you will simply tolerate. Another option is to actually go to the first couple classes. Maybe she had to move her schedule around and she doesn’t even show up. Maybe the class is set up in a way that you can pretty much ignore her if you need to. You might even find yourself enjoying the class so much that you don’t mind a few uncomfortable moments where you make eye contact. Staying in the course is also a good way to maybe get over the past and get to a place where you can be not just civil, but even friendly with her. One exgirlfriend should not have to dictate your class schedule. You are both college students, I know you can find a way to make it work. On that note, maybe it’s worthwhile to take some time and actually talk to her about the situation (if you stay in the class, that is). If you find the first couple weeks too uncomfortable to bear, asking her to grab coffee might help break the ice. You can always switch courses during the add/drop period, so you really don’t have much to lose. Maybe you’ll end up being BFFs (or probably not, but who really knows ). Good luck.
Marc Francis is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at features@bcheights.com.
Amy Hachigian is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.
Monday, November 25, 2013
How-To
Find your dream class Samantha Costanzo You’ve got the perfect schedule of classes all lined up for next semester. You’ve got just Monday/Wednesday/ Friday classes so that your Tuesdays and Thursdays won’t last forever, or if you’re really lucky, no classes on Friday at all. You even found an elective or two to toss in there with your core and major classes. When you get to UIS, however, half of those classes have already closed up. Your schedule is ruined—or so it seems. While most students spend at least a few minutes planning out our classes this way before our pick times, we all know that even the best laid plans can go wrong at the last minute. Just because you didn’t get into your first choice of classes, however, doesn’t mean all is lost. The simplest way to snag a spot in that coveted class is to keep a sharp eye on UIS. You can easily check back every day before next semester starts to see if any spots have opened up. Look early in the morning, when few other people are likely to be awake to grab an open spot before you. This can be very tedious though, and probably won’t work if you’re trying to get into a popular class because fewer people will be dropping it in the first place. If that doesn’t work, or if you’d just rather spend your time doing something other than obsessively stalking UIS, your next best bet is to request an override. All that means is that you’re asking the professor to add you to the class despite the original cap on the number of students in it. While you can easily send the professor an email to ask for the override, an email is very easy to ignore. Instead, find out when that professor’s office hours are and stop by to ask for the override in person. It does take more time and effort, but it’s usually more difficult to dismiss an in-person request. Meeting up with the professor not only matches a face and personality to your name, it also shows that you really are committed to the class. If you’re a junior or senior who needs to take the class for your major, explain this to the professor during your meeting. Sometimes this will almost guarantee you a spot. No one wants to see a student fall behind because a class is full, so your upperclassman status could be a compelling argument on its own. For a less crucial class, it might not be worth asking for an override just yet. If you’re not sure whether you want to go through the hassle, attend a few classes during drop/add week. This way, you can get a sense of what the class and professor are like before committing. It also gives you quite the advantage if you do decide to ask for an override—you’ve been showing up anyways after all, so the professor might not see a reason to deny you a spot. Even your best effort to ask for an override can fail, unfortunately. If it does, you still might have a chance at that elusive class. Check for other sections that fit into your schedule, and look at UIS and Boston College’s evaluations—available under the Course Information and Schedule tab in Agora—to find a good professor. You can also use those evaluations to check out other classes that you’re interested in. They might not have been your first picks, but that’s sometimes for the best. Last year, the theology class I had planned on taking filled up before I could register. Instead of asking for an override right away, I checked out some other options and found a class on Christianity and Confucianism that looked even more interesting than my original option. My initial disappointment at not getting the class I had wanted disappeared quickly—that comparative religions class has easily been the best class I’ve taken at BC so far. If, despite all of your careful planning, you’ve found yourself left out of your favorite class, there are still several good options. Hunting down the last open spot on UIS and asking for an override could both work, depending on your patience and luck. Deciding that the dream class can wait until next semester could also work in your favor and allow you to explore some brand new fields of study. Either way, with the right outlook and a little luck, you can definitely salvage your semester.
Samantha Costanzo is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.
The Heights
B9
The Heights throughout the century
Editor’s Column
Lessons of love in laughter
featured production: movies of the past
Archived movie reviews provide insight into pop culture trends of previous times By Caitlin Slotter Heights Staff It’s the end of November, and besides being that time of year when college students can go home (perhaps for the first time), celebrate Thanksgiving with family, friends, or peers, and take a much-needed break from schoolwork before finals, it may be the first chance students will have to go to the movies since coming to school. You’ll finally be able to see those films you’ve been waiting months to see, like the new blockbuster films Gravity, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Thor: The Dark World—or see this season’s predicted Oscar contenders, such as Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave. But what about in past years? Have the films Boston College students anticipated and raved about before Thanksgiving lived up to their expectations? And what hidden gems did BC students of the past miss? Go back to Nov. 16, 1999. BC students were anticipating going home for the holidays, and what movies were the y looking forward to seeing? That issue of The Heights’ headline, “Highly anticipated films Pokemon and Dogma falter,” reveals that perhaps BC students’ high expectations for Thanksgiving movies were not fulfilled. Most of us were in elementary school when these films were released, and it’s understandable that our younger selves were probably more excited about Pokemon than college-aged students—and who knew that Dogma starred Matt Damon and Ben Affleck? These movies, so highly anticipated by BC students 14 years ago, are now nearly forgotten. The Dogma review explains the reason for these lasting impressions well, stating, “There is always a lot of expectations for movies embroiled in controversy. Unfair as it may be, when movies are surrounded by criticism and debate, they often seem especially intriguing to viewers.” At the time of its release, Dogma stirred up a lot of debate over its satirization of the current state of religion in the U.S. But today, these arguments are irrelevant, and we’ve chosen to forget Dogma as being one of the less successful movies of two of America’s most loved actors. You may argue that it is because these movies came out over a decade ago that we today forget they ever existed. Take a look, however, at The Heights from Nov. 23, 2009. Students that year were getting excited to see The Twilight Saga: New Moon over their Thanksgiving
break. The Heights gave it a three and a half-star rating, stating “it … goes beyond expectations and finds solid footing in its limitations.” Furthermore, “Stewart’s performance shows a respectful understanding of her character … Stewart gave her character a greater sense of autonomy.” Really? Today, in light of the Hunger Games movies, Kristen Stewart’s Bella is considered one of the most anti-feminist characters in literary and film history. New Moon is now thought of as a pitiful romance quickly fading from modern consciousness. And it came out just four years ago. It’s crazy to think that four years from now, BC students may be ridiculing our anticipation of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The misdiagnosis, however, works both ways. On Nov. 19, 2009, in honor of the close of the decade, The Heights featured the “Top Films of the Decade” with Almost Famous at the top of the list. Issues of The Heights from September 2000, when the movie was released, did not feature any articles or reviews published about the movie. Ten years later, Almost Famous would be named the greatest movie of the decade, but at the time of its release, students could not care less. While the short fads surrounding movies quickly die, the long-lasting love and respect for films can also take time to grow. This doesn’t mean that BC students were never right in their predictions, or that their anticipations for films were always short-lived or mistaken. The Heights featured rave reviews about The Green Mile (1999), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and Wall-E (2008), to name a few—movies that met great success during their award seasons and are still considered great films today. Movies, and the anticipation built up around them, offer a distraction from our day-to-day lives. In worlds crammed with classes, studies, clubs, jobs, and internships, students need to take a break from their hectic lives and see and talk about movies. Maybe the hype students are building up for movies such as American Hustle, Inside Llewyn Davis, and The Wolf of Wall Street will be completely nonexistent four years from now—but maybe it won’t. We may be witnessing the starts of new classics, and to be a part of the hype and excitement surrounding that is awesome. Get excited about going to the movies this weekend—they always have been, and always will be an important and central part of our culture. n
Michelle Tomassi The average adult laughs 15 to 20 times per day, according to the reliable source that is Wiki Answers. I don’t consider myself to be average (I’m a little too weird for such a label), and I’m also the type of person who will laugh even if nothing is particularly funny, so in my case, let’s round that up to 20. In the past year that I have served as Features Editor, I have spent about 20 Sundays in The Heights office, and when I wasn’t reading over articles or being bullied by Adobe InDesign, I was usually laughing—at random phrases overheard from my fellow editors, at people yelling from across the room, and even at myself. So let’s round that number up even more to 30, or 40—and I wouldn’t be surprised if that number was closer to 50. Multiply that by 20, and that’s 1,000 laughs that I produced in the Heights office alone, not even counting all the chortling that goes on when I’m around my roommates or with a particularly “unique” professor. If laughing was a language, it’s safe to say that I’d be fluent in it and all of its dialects—snickering, giggling, chuckling, and my personal specialty, hyena laughing. Over the past year I have acquired an endless amount of memories to be stored away in my mind and my heart—memories I can return to just by remembering the sound of someone’s laugh at a particular moment. But the past year wasn’t without its struggles and its challenges—especially those unexpected moments, which I did warn myself about in my very first editor’s column. I realize that as I wrote that column, I didn’t really have much advice—I only had a mindset, which isn’t always helpful when you’re stuck in a situation that requires a concrete decision to be made. Even with all of the lows, the highs are the memories that are most prominent in my mind—I guess those moments of elation are the ones that my subconscious wants to carry around with me, not the ones of frustration and anxiety. But it’s not just because I prefer being happy over being sad—it’s really the people that surrounded me in those moments, encouraging the laughter, that allowed me to overcome any difficulties that I experienced over the past year. I can’t tell you how many times I would express worry or uncertainty to my co-editor Cathryn, and how many times I had moments of selfdoubt, but she always seemed to restore my confidence with her positivity and her ability to make me laugh at any given moment. I swear—anytime that I was feeling emotionally unstable or weighed down by stress, those sentiments seemed to disappear as I spent more and more hours in McElroy 113. It’s almost like magic. I believe it was senior year of high school when I began to pay attention to the power of laughter, after writing a paper discussing this theme in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which is still one of my favorite books to date. One scene that I never forget is when McMurphy is on the fishing boat with several of the other patients from the psych ward, and all of a sudden he’s just overcome with laughter at the ridiculous scene unfolding before him. Kesey writes, “he knows that you have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy.” Laughing at the things that hurt us, that cause us pain, isn’t exactly our first inclination, and I am a firm believer that sometimes you just need to cry it out, tears uninhibited. But I think Kesey does have a point. When you’ve come to a point at Boston College where you’re surrounded by people who can easily bring a smile to your face, who can make you laugh even if you’re suffocating and there doesn’t seem to be an escape, I think those are the people you need to cherish the most. They are the ones who are going to be alongside you even when you’re alone, the ones who are going to make you laugh so hard that you won’t even remember what was funny in the first place. The ones who will help you face the world that seems like it’s trying to drive you crazy. As I write my final column as Features Editor, I don’t exactly know where I’ll be in the next few weeks, or what I will be doing for this organization. I don’t even know if I’ll be ready, and that really scares me. But I know it will all be worth it, just for the chance to have a thousand more laughs doing what I love with the people I care about. This isn’t a goodbye, but rather, an expression of gratitude. To anyone who has ever made me laugh, thank you. You didn’t just make my day—you made my year.
Michelle Tomassi is the Features editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.
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FEATURES THE HEIGHTS
Monday, January 24, 2013
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2013
re Who a you at BC?
Portraits
of Boston College
PHOTOS Alex Gaynor and Robin Kim INTERVIEWS Michelle Tomassi and Robin Kim
T
here are over 9,000 undergraduates that walk the Boston College campus on a daily basis. One might pass by hundreds of these faces in a single day, and although one may be able to stop and say hi to a handful of them, the rest go unnoticed. Regardless of how many students one knows, or how many will become friends, there will always be an endless amount of stories just waiting to be told. This curiosity and desire to provide a glimpse into the lives of strangers is what inspired Brandon Stanton, the 29-year-old photographer who began the popular photo blog called Humans of New York in November of 2010. In his first year, Stanton began by only taking photos of New Yorkers, but once he began to have conversations with the people he encountered, he decided to include their quotes alongside the photos. The blog’s slogan, “New York City, one story at a time,” has garnered widespread attention, and Humans of New York now has over one million followers combined from his Facebook and Tumblr pages. Similar photo blogs have cropped up all around the world—from Humans of Rome to Humans of Iran. Recently, a similar project began right here in Boston by photographer Ivan Velinov, called Portraits of Boston. In a similar fashion, the blog displays photos of faces around Boston, sometimes accompanied by a long dialogue, and sometimes only captioned by a single sentence. Whether a full-body portrait or a close up, each photo attempts to capture the essence of these strangers in a striking and immediate fashion, proving just how many people are willing to share their stories if given the opportunity. One can even extend that opportunity to several students around campus, providing a glimpse into where they come from, how they got here, and how their experience has been at BC. It’s clear that everyone comes from different backgrounds and is involved in various organizations and clubs, but what really inspires them, and what challenges them, sometimes goes unsaid. When asked, “Who are you? Why are you here?” students tend to give a multitude of responses, proving just how diverse our campus is—not only physically, but emotionally, as well. The Heights has attempted to capture snapshots of these stories through a series of portraits—portraits of BC.
SEE PORTRAITS OF BC, B7
I NSIDE FEATUR E S THIS ISSUE
Heights Through the Century In light of upcoming holiday movie releases, The Heights looks at how students reacted to flicks of the past.................B9
Health&Science .................................B7 He Said/She Said.........................B8