The Heights 11/04/2013

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Firsthand perspectives of JVC Northwest volunteers, B10

The Dramatics Society delivered a modern update of Godspell in the Bonn Studio Theater, A10

Kevin Pierre-Lewis returned his first career interception for a go-ahead score in Saturday’s win over Virginia Tech, B1

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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Vol. XCIV, No. 40

BU’s spike in alcohol transports comparable to typical BC stats

BY ANDREW SKARAS Asst. News Editor One of the first weekends students were back on campus last September made the headlines at The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s student newspaper, for the atypical number of students that were transported to the hospital for alcohol-related reasons.

The Daily Free Press reported that

the university saw a record-breaking 13 alcohol-related transports that weekend.

This reporting is comparable with Boston College’s average number of transports on a September weekend, which was about 12 for September 2013. This is especially notable given the vast difference in size of the undergraduate populations—9,100 for BC versus 15,800 for BU. Since obtaining its Class V ambulance in 2012, Eagle EMS (EEMS), the student-

run EMT service of BC, has provided weekend coverage for the BC campus, responding to medical emergencies in coordination with BCPD. The organization’s coverage begins Thursday night and covers afternoons and nights for Friday and Saturday.

Recently, EEMS compiled and released its statistics for the month of September.

More than half of the calls that EEMS receives are for alcohol-related incidents.

new eagle name honors 9/11 hero

Included in these figures are those over 21 years old who decline medical assistance, those transported to the infirmary in Cushing Hall, and those transported to a local hospital.

During these shifts this year, EEMS has seen approximately 60 patients in September. This represents an approximately 19 percent decrease from the 74 patients seen in the first month of the 2012-13 academic year, the first year that

Nursing school will use donations to fund student opportunities For The Heights

DANIEL LEE / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

BY DEVON SANFORD Assoc. News Editor B oston College’s live eagle mascot has been named Welles, in honor of Sept. 11 hero Welles Remy Crowther, BC ’99. The name was announced Saturday afternoon during the first half of BC’s football game against Virginia Tech.

“We are proud to announce that our live eagle, who attends the home football games, will be named Welles, in honor of September 11th hero and BC alum (’99) Welles Remy Crowther,” BC Athletics stated on its Facebook page Saturday. “A former BC lacrosse player, Crowther saved many lives

by helping them to safety in the 9/11 tragedies.”

Students had the opportunity to vote for the eagle’s name through an online poll in September and October. Welles was chosen over four other finalists—Aquila, which is L atin for “eagle”; Margo II, named after B C ’s original live eagle, Margo; BosCo, short for Boston College; and Ignatius, or Iggy, for the founder of the Society of Jesus. The winning name was also announced via Twitter Saturday afternoon.

The winning name of the eagle mascot contest was originally intended to be announced on Parents’ Weekend during the football

game against Florida State on Sept.

28. The announcement was then postponed to the Army football game on Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 5, to allow students more time to vote, and intended to coincide with the revamped Homecoming festivities. Due to the government shutdown, which led to uncertainty as to whether or not the game versus Army would take place, and time restrictions in bringing the eagle to campus, BC Athletics was forced to postpone again. This weekend’s game against Virginia Tech was the first home game since Homecoming Weekend, and thus

See Eagle, A3

BCPD seeks accreditation from state

BY RYAN TOWEY Heights Editor BCPD has volunteered to be assessed for accreditation by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission in order to reevaluate its policies and procedures.

The accreditation review will take place on Nov. 6 and 7.

“There are a number of standards to be met for accreditation,” said BCPD Accreditation Manager Sgt. Laurene Spiess.

Before volunteering to be assessed for accreditation, BCPD was certified in May of this year by meeting 159 mandatory standards. To be accredited, BCPD must meet an additional 98 mandatory

accreditation standards. Aside from those 98 standards, BCPD must meet 75 out of 125 optional standards.

The Accreditation Commission’s three assessors will be with BCPD for only two days for the initial accreditation process, because many of the standards necessary for accreditation were already checked in May. Should BCPD be accredited, assessors will return to the department in three years for a three-day assessment, at which point all of the standards would be checked again. This time, however, BCPD will be judged only on the 98 accreditation standards, and the 75 optional standards.

“The assessment team is commission-

appointed,” Spiess said. “They go through our entire department and look at how we conduct ourselves administratively and operationally.”

Spiess said that the standards by which the Accreditation Commission will assess BCPD are adopted from a national organization called the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), Inc. “For example, they will look at how we maintain our dispatch center,” Spiess said.

“There is a set of standards that they’re looking for to make sure that everything we are doing is the best practice and in compli-

See Accreditation, A3

See Transports, A3

External contributors gift $1.8 million to CSON

BY ARIELLE CEDENO

After several delays, the Athletic Department announced the eagle mascot’s new name on Saturday.

EEMS was able to collect statistics on its ambulance responses to weekend calls.

According to past EEMS data, September is the month that sees the highest call volume—last year, it represented 30 percent of the year’s calls.

A representative from BU was contacted, but the BU Chief of Police was unavailable for comment.

The William F. Connell School of Nursing has received $1.8 million in external funding to foster and sustain goals of educating and to produce leaders in the nursing field on a global context.

“The Connell School of Nursing has formed strategic aims that faculty and administration alike have supported and cultivated,” said Susan Gennaro, dean of the William F. Connell School of Nursing.

“These aims include the development of excellent programs, research productivity, globalization, and diversity.”

The Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation will fund the Connell School’s effort to incorporate diversity in the nursing workforce.

Through the Accelerated Master’s Entry into Nursing (MSE) program, students with a non-nursing academic background can pursue nursing in an accelerated two-year program. This highly competitive program is now made available to students from underrepresented cultural and economic backgrounds, through the gift of the RWJ program. A RWJ grant of $80,000 will support eight New Careers in Nursing fellowships for nurses in the MSE program.

Additionally, the Connell School also received a gift of $960,000 from the Helene Fuld Health Trust, to create an endowment for financial aid within the MSE program.

The gifts of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Helene Fuld Heath Trust foundation have made the effort to foster diversity within the field of nursing an achievable goal.

“We want to make sure that the Connell School is producing nurses that mirror the population they serve, by providing care that is diverse and culturally sensitive,” Gennaro said. “All of this external support helps us make this aim sustainable.”

The Elizabeth and Kevin Weiss Fund will support the Connell School’s global initiatives through a gift of $250,000. This gift will contribute to the development of global service and educational programs.

The Connell School offers global learning opportunities for its students in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Haiti, Nicaragua and Switzerland. “We’d like for all of our students to function as successful nurses in an increasing global world,” Gennaro said.

CSON has also received a $540,000 grant from the Price Family Foundation in support of its Keys to Inclusive Leadership in Nursing (KILN) program, which is an intensive

leadership development program available to a select group of qualified students.

Through KILN, the students will have access to special programs, mentorship, and other leadership development opportunities. A significant component of KILN is its faculty-mentorship program.

“Through the faculty-mentorship program, the students are able to develop insightful relationships with faculty and network with various nurse leaders throughout the community,” said CSON Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Catherine Read, director of the KILN program.

“Students are presented with various opportunities to cultivate leadership in their field, among these include the ability to participate in research, attend national and international conferences, and attain internships.

“I’m sincerely grateful to the Price Family Foundation, because their contribution has made new opportunities available to students,” Read said. “It has allowed students to harness crucial leadership skills, skills that will follow them throughout their education and into their careers after graduation.” 

OUTSIDE GRANTS TO CONNELL SCHOOL OF NURSING:

$1.8 MILLION $960,000

From: Helene Fuld Health Trust For: Financial aid endowment to support two-year Accelerated Master’s Entry into Nursing (MSE) program

$80,000

From: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation For: Eight New Careers in Nursing fellowships for students in the MSE program from underrepresented backgrounds

$540,000

From: Price Family Foundation For: Keys to Inclusive Leadership in Nursing (KILN) program. This grant opens the program to grad students

$250,000

From: Elizabeth and Kevin Weiss Fund for Global Service For: Supporting the cost of international service and educational trips, including travel, lodging, and equipment

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Nursing at Crossroads

The AHANA Acronym

Monday, November 4, 2013

Issues in the Church

1 2 3 Today Time: 5 p.m.

Location: Yawkey Center, Murray Function Room

Maureen McCausland, senior nursing administrator at MedStar Health and RN, will discuss the new era of healthcare and how it will affect clinical nurses. A reception will follow the presentation.

A Guide to Your Newspaper

Tuesday Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Walsh Function Room

Director of the Office of AHANA Student Programs Ines Maturana Sendoya is hosting a discussion on the AHANA acronym in BC’s culture today. The event will feature Valerie Lewis, one of the co-founders of the AHANA acronym and BC ’79.

The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467

Wednesday Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Cadigan Alumni Center, Brighton Campus

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Presented as part of the Deans’ Series, members of the Boston College faculty department will host an open discussion on the problems within the Catholic Church and how best to combat them.

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Lafont considers global governance

BY ANDREW SKARAS Asst. News Editor Within any supranational scheme of governance lies an inherent tension—in a world that prizes state sovereignty, what is the boundary between international institutions organized to protect human rights and the supremacy of a nation’s own laws within its borders?

Cristina Lafont, the Wender-Lewis research and teaching professor of philosophy at Northwestern University, attempted to reconcile the opposing ideals at odds in the debate on international protection of human rights in a feature that she gave at Boston College Friday afternoon. A specialist in German philosophy, as well as contemporary moral and political philosophy, Lafont has worked extensively in the field of human rights and global governance.

The key question that Lafont addressed in her lecture was whether or not the doctrine of equality of state sovereignty—that is, the idea that every nation is sovereign and equally so—and the doctrine of “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P)—the idea that international organizations and committed nations have a duty to uphold the rest of the world to a standard of respect for human rights, as set out in the United Nations Declaration of Universal Human Rights—are mutually exclusive.

Lafont began her presentation with a discussion of some of the objections that people raise regarding attempts to integrate the two concerns. Historically, she explained, people have been unable to find a way

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Cristina Lafont discussed the United Nations (Geneva headquarters pictured above). to express a strong R2P without allowing for a serious collapse in the doctrine of sovereignty. On the other side, she also added that commentators have found equal difficulty in arguing for a strong sense of state sovereignty without reducing the R2P to protecting the bare minimum of human rights—a prevention of genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Looking at economic and developmental situations, Lafont turned the conversation around by suggesting that, in fact, state sovereignty could be protected, rather than infringed upon, while protecting human rights globally, through careful international action.

Here she cited the effects of the TRIPS agreement—an international trade agreement that deals with intellectual property rights across borders.

Because the World Trade Organization (WTO) requires every member state to accept every agreement and not pick and choose, she said that this had particularly

negative effects on countries, such as South Africa, that relied on cheap generic drugs to be able to meet the health needs of their citizens, due to the protection that major pharmaceutical companies received in regard to their patents for medicines.

“The appeal to human rights norms in the appropriate forum of international action, for example, the amendment of the Trips agreement, far from limiting sovereignty, consists in strengthening of the sovereignty of the states in question,” Lafont said. “It is because global economic such as the Trips agreement, threatened to limit the sovereignty of member states—that is, their authority to decide how to best meet their obligation to protect the basic rights of their populations, that the 2005 amendment needed to explicitly affirm the members right to protect private health and promote access to essential medicines for all.”

Lafont used this example to highlight the duality in the structure of imposi-

POLICE BLOTTER

10/30/13-11/1/13

Wednesday, October 30 6:51 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a minor in possession of alcohol in the Walsh Hall parking lots.

7:42 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a minor in possession of alcohol in the Lower lots.

7:42 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Fenwick Hall.

The student was transported to a medical facility.

Thursday, October 31 7:29 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a minor in possession of alcohol in Walsh Hall.

9:19 p.m. - A report was filed regarding found property in Maloney Hall.

12:48 a.m. - A report was filed regarding the civil possession of marijuana in Voute Hall.

10:46 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a minor in possession of alcohol in Walsh Hall.

3:02 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Edmond’s Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility by ambulance.

11:31 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Fitzpatrick Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility by ambulance.

Saturday, November 1 12:40 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student in Walsh Hall. The student was later transported to a medical facility.

College Corner NEWS FROM UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

BY DEVON SANFORD Assoc. News Editor A student group recently launched a condom delivery service at Georgetown University, according to Georgetown’s student newspaper The Hoya.

H*yas for Choice, a pro-choice, pro-reproductive justice group, allows students to fill out an online form requesting free condoms 48 hours before an event or party. Hosts can then pick up the condoms or request for them to be delivered to a specific location.

The idea, according to The Hoya, was modeled after a similar program started by Boston College Students for Sexual Health. Last spring, BC threatened to punish students for distributing condoms on campus as a violation of Catholic values and the University’s code of conduct.

Georgetown and other Catholic universities sided with BC administrators in the controversy, but Georgetown’s leadership doesn’t plan to intervene with H*yas for Choice’s program, ac-

EDITORIAL RESOURCES

tion of international obligations. On the one side, she grouped economic organizations, such as the WTO, that imposed obligations on its member states. On the other side, she grouped organizations within the UN system that impose a set of human rights obligations.

“There is no mechanism, no single entity, [through which] those sets of obligations can be made compatible,” Lafont said. “There is a mismatch between authority and obligation. Those who have authority don’t have the obligation, those who have the obligation don’t have the authority.”

Turning to the issue of military intervention, Lafont expressed skepticism about its ability to successfully protect human rights. She cited concerns about the creation of a power vacuum and a lack of an entity with the primary responsibility for human rights in the country. At the same time, she also emphasized that this did not require the lowering of international human rights standards.

“One needs to change the focus from the content of the rights in question to the allocation of obligations of responsibility to protect them,” Lafont said. “The crucial problem with coercive intervention against sovereign states is that they disable the agent that bears the primary responsibility to protect human rights without having effective solutions to offer. The argument is that minimizing the standard and de-internationalizing them is not necessary in order to have a strong argument against military intervention and is really counterproductive if you worry about sovereign equality of states.” 

cording to The Huffington Post.

“H*yas for Choice is not an organization with access to university benefits and does not use university resources,” said Rachel Pugh, director of media relations at Georgetown. “We respect the rights of our students to join outside groups as individuals and believe this activity falls within that context.”

Laura Narefsky, president of H*yas for Choice and a senior at Georgetown, said to The Hoya that the student group’s goal is to ensure students have access to contraception at any time.

“Unless the university changes its policy—which we think is extremely unlikely—H*yas for Choice will continue to serve as the only place to get condoms on campus,” Narefsky said. “We will continue providing these services to the community as long as there is demand. Ideally, our programs will ensure that no student will ever find themselves in a position where their health or safety could be compromised.” 

9:38 a.m. - A report was filed regarding police services provided in an off-campus location.

9:19 p.m. - A report was filed regarding found property in the Lower lots.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

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.

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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.

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

CORRECTIONS This correction is in reference to the issue dated Oct. 31, 2013, Vol. XCIV, No. 39.

The senior gift record in “Legacy Grants Seek Creative Applications” was incorrectly attributed.

The correct record is 1033 members of the senior class, not 1333.

VOICES FROM THE DUSTBOWL “What is your spirit animal?”

“Donna from ‘Parks and Recreation.’”

—Victor Castaneda, A&S ’16

“A lion.”

—Caroline Kolada, A&S ’17

“A penguin.”

—Bisman Sethi, CSOM ’16

“A dog.”

—Ben Egan, A&S ’17

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Monday, November 4, 2013

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Massachusetts accreditors to assess BCPD this week Accreditation, from A1 ance with particular standards.”

The three commission assessors will ascertain that BCPD has written appropriate policies and will also determine whether or not the department has tangibly followed that policy.

Spiess explained that the department keeps documentation in folders for almost every standard that it is required to meet. Such a folder would include a copy of the standard that the Accreditation Commission is looking for, the BCPD policy or procedure that is in place to meet that standard, and documentation to show that they have met the standard.

“Another example of compliance documentation would be a checklist that we use if we do a follow-up investigation,” Spiess said. “The officer checks it off as they go to make sure that they covered everything that they need to. We need to show the assessors that we are using the checklist to prove compliance.”

Spiess said that BCPD is actually ahead of the game in terms of documenting the application of its policies and procedures.

“In a lot of instances, we had compliance documentation long before we actually adopted some standards because we have been following the best practices for our industry,” Spiess said. She added that some assessors have actually asked if they could copy some of BCPD’s documentation.

Spiess said that BCPD would receive no money or grants should they be accredited. “We volunteered to join the process,” she said. “We are committed to evaluate and reassess our policies and procedures on a regular basis, and always strive to be better.

“We took all of the optional standards for the Crime Prevention and Community Liaison Program and had a lot of the compliance documentation prior to adopting the standards, because we have a very strong community policing program and

were already doing the things the standards required,” Spiess said.

Because BCPD is a department headquartered at a college, however, there are certain standards that they are not expected to meet.

“For example, there’s a standard on holding cells,” Spiess said. “We don’t have a holding cell, so we wouldn’t meet those standards. And in those cases, we apply for a waiver with the commission, and we explain in the waiver that we don’t have a holding facility and therefore we would not be able to comply with that standard.”

“We volunteered to join the process.

We are committed to evaluate and reassess our policies and procedures on a regular basis, and always strive to be better. ” - Sgt. Laurene Spiess, BCPD Accreditation Manager, on the accreditation process If accredited, B CPD will be the ninth college police department to have achieved that goal in Massachusetts.

According to Spiess, BCPD will know whether or not the department has been accredited a few weeks after the assessment.

“We do these things because we do care about our community,” Spiess said.

“We are your police department and we strive to be the benchmark for others in our industry to model after.” n

daniel lee / heights senior staff

The Athletic Department announced the new name of the live eagle mascot, which has appeared at home games this season, last Saturday.

Eagle mascot dubbed ‘Welles’ after grad Eagle, from A1 the first time the eagle could return to campus.

The Crowther family was brought onto the football field during the first half of Saturday’s game to celebrate the name announcement.

The live eagle ha s returne d to the Heights for the first time since the 1960s. BC hosted “Margo,” the University’s live eagle, from 1960-66

after three students launched “Project Mascot,” an effort to bring a live eagle to campus.

Welles is a nine-year-old male bald eagle, who is available for viewing and photos before home football games.

He was brought to Alumni Stadium as part of an initiative to increase focus on game-day traditions, according to a statement by BC Athletics. BC renewed its partnership with Zoo New England’s Franklin Park and Stone Zoos and part-

nered with the World Bird Sanctuary to bring back the former tradition.

Crowther played varsity lacrosse at BC. On Sept. 11, 2001, he died saving the lives of others in the World Trade Center attacks. Welles’ legacy is carried on in the Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandanna Run, an annual race held on BC’s campus, and the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, a fund that recognizes and awards academic and athletic excellence in young people. n

EEMS, Chebator stress safety in transport policy Transports, from A1 Looking at the numbers available from BU, Alex Warshauer, president of EEMS and A&S ’13, thought that the BU record was on the low side.

“Those numbers may be under-representative for BU,” he said. “I don’t know what they are counting as a transport.

BC tends to err on the side of caution.

Our threshold for transporting someone may be lower than other universities.”

Dean of Students Paul Chebator also emphasized the University’s focus on student health and caution.

“The whole nexus of the issue is that we are concerned with student wellbeing,” Chebator said. “Transporting a person to the hospital or infirmary is all about health and safety for the student.

The police are concerned if they don’t address the situation that the student could come into harm’s way.”

There are environmental and geographic differences between BU and BC that could offer some explanation to the

discrepancies in numbers.

“I think you have a lot more people that are living off campus [at BU],” Warshauer said. “Obviously, if you don’t have people on campus, you don’t have RAs. You don’t have a lot of the guidance. There’s less oversight. I think that definitely contributes—we are gated off.

Anything that happens on campus, we hear about.”

Warshauer also said that there could be policy differences in the way that BC and BU handle situations involving alcohol. He said that it is BC’s policy to transport anyone under 21 who is being treated for an alcohol incident to either the infirmary or the hospital.

“If you’ve consumed alcohol, the definition of legally competent to make decisions gets very hard to define,” Warshauer said. “So, we’ve removed that portion from it. If you’re under 21 and you’re intoxicated, you are going into someone’s care. That is the University policy. A lot of other schools don’t do that.” n

jubilation downtown

samantha costanzo / heights editor

Students flocked downtown to see the Red Sox’s World Series victory parade Saturday.

daniel lee / heights senior staff

The 9-year-old male bald eagle is linked to the University through a partnership with Zoo New England and the World Bird Sanctuary.

University reports increase in endowment

By John Wiley Heights Editor For the fiscal year ending May 31, 2013, Boston College reported a $273 million gain on investments , and a respective $238 million increase to the University’s endowment, now valued at $1.89 billion. Early figures suggest BC financially outperformed many of the nation’s premier universities during the 2013 fiscal year, respective to size of endowment. The University’s financial statement, released at the end of September, shows generally improved financial health throughout, with the endowment fully recovered from an unfavorable performance of University investments during the 2012 fiscal year—BC reported a $97 million loss on investment that year.

These respective gains and losses follow trends for universities across the country—2012 was a historically troubling year for endowments. As markets recover from the 2008 recession, universities have seen heightened fluctuation in the size of their endowments, yet BC’s 2013 financial statement indicates University investments significantly outperformed national trends.

University Spokesman Jack Dunn credits these gains to “a strong performance by our investment managers, particularly in the area of U.S. equities.”

The Boston Business Journal calculated a 16 percent increase in BC’s net endowment assets and related holdings for the 2013 fiscal year—the publication cites the University’s one-year gain as one of the highest in the country, leading the University of Pennsylvania (14.4 percent), Yale University (12.5 percent), Harvard University (11.3 percent), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-

ogy (11.1 percent).

Notably, all these schools have substantially larger endowments than BC. In 2012, the University’s endowment was valued 41st nationally. Harvard University’s $32.7 billion endowment is the country’s largest. BC’s endowment has seen rapid growth over the last 20 years, growing to nearly five times its 1993 value. Still, it is only one-seventeenth the size of Harvard’s endowment.

Comparing the respective growth of these endowments as a percent serves as a useful reference, but remains largely an arbitrary comparison, as $32.7 billion can be invested far more conservatively while still seeing sizable gains.The drastic growth of BC’s endowment over the last 20 years has allowed for more substantial investment in construction and facilities, its most visible benefits to the undergraduate population thus far being the opening of Stokes Hall last semester and the forthcoming construction of a new dorm building on the current site of More Hall.

Seemingly unrelated to what The Boston Business Journal reported as a 16 percent gain on BC’s endowment, the University’s student population shrank slightly in 2013. Dunn attributes this to a decrease in first-year law and part-time MBA students. Undergraduate enrollment was held roughly the same.

The University has shown no sign that it plans to grow or shrink its undergraduate population in response to the growing endowment. Its target of 9,000 undergraduates has been either met or only slightly exceeded for well over 10 years, with 9,100 enrolled in 2013.

“Undergraduate enrollment has remained steady for more than a decade at 9,000 undergraduates,” Dunn said.

“To be honest, I don’t see significant

correlation between an institution’s endowment and admissions,” said John Mahoney, director of Undergraduate Admissions.

Mahoney handles some infrequent questions on the endowment within his role in admissions.

“Occasionally, a parent will ask about our endowment as a means of measuring the University’s overall fiscal strength,” Mahoney said. “These are financially savvy parents who want to evaluate a college’s resources and long-term viability, but in the final analysis, academic reputation, quality of experience, and fit between the student and the college are the most important factors driving the enrollment decision.”

BC’s gain on investments comes in a year of slightly diminished contribution revenue, falling to $74 million from $92 million in 2012.

The University collected $671 million in operating revenue during the 2013 fiscal year which, offset by its roughly equivalent operating expenses, leaves $117,000 in profit from operations.

Tuition, fees, and auxiliary enterprises (housing, dining, bookstore, concessions, printing) accounted for $521 million of operating revenue—this figure takes into account the $153 million given in financial aid. The University also collected $50 million in research revenue.

The remainder of operating expense was covered by an $84 million payout from the endowment, granted with the review of the Board of Trustees. The objective of its endowment portfolio, as defined by the University, is to “attain an average annual total return that exceeds the University’s spending rate plus inflation within acceptable levels of risk over a full market cycle.” n

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Samayoa condemns cover-up of genocide

A side of courage

By Rebecca Moretti Heights Staff

Brendon Anderson My parents visited this weekend, which could only mean one thing: we’d go to the Cheesecake Factory. This weekend was a little different. Don’t get me wrong, we did go to that fine, vaguely Tuscan establishment. What was different this weekend, though, was that we went to it twice.

It’s a pretty great place. The words “zesty” and “mouthwatering” were used haphazardly. My dad made embarrassing small talk with the waiters. I had a sinking suspicion the entire time that my waiter was about to break out into an uncomfortable happy birthday cheer even though I have 10 more months before I should actually have to worry about that happening. So, weirdly enough, it seemed an appropriate place for me to have a little philosophical discussion with myself.

On my first trip I thought about family and Jesus and choice and love, which is the perfect side for a zesty Americana signature cheeseburger. I really don’t know too much about the Bible, but for some reason while waiting for a 13th Anniversary flavored cheesecake slice, this one Bible quote stuck out to me. I looked it up to get it right.

It’s in Luke and Jesus is all like, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such person cannot be my disciple.”

I was just really thrown off by that word “hate.” That seemed so not Jesus of Jesus to say if you ask me. I consider myself a Catholic, I’m pretty sure, but sitting at that table I definitely couldn’t muster up any hate against my parents or my girlfriend, or our waiter, Anders.

Actually, I kind of loved them. I guess I’ll be shipping off straight to hell then. Oops.

After having some time to think though, I think the idea is kind of cool. It’s exactly what I want to be able to do with my life in a way.

Now, there’s about a 96 percent chance that I’m wrong about this, so don’t hate me, Jesuits, but I don’t really think that quote is about hate or love at all. It’s about bravery.

You see, I think it’s about realizing that you have to do the right thing no matter what. Doing the right thing is pretty hard, though.

Especially if your sister or your best friend doesn’t understand it. So you have to know what’s right and do it anyway even if the people you love don’t support you. That’s what bravery is, if you ask me. It’s like Dumbledore said, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” So what’s Jesus’ message? Be Neville Longbottom.

What is right, though? That’s the weird part. Love is right, which seems odd enough considering how this quote is all about hate. To hate someone doesn’t mean you want them to suffer, it means that you have to do what you know is right even when they might hate you for it. To hate someone means that you have to show them the same sympathy and compassion in the hopes that one day they can know what’s right, too. And you can help them do that. Being brave is hard, but if you’ve got someone to be brave with, if you’ve got someone to be brave for, it’s not so bad.

I think it’s somehow even more than that. There’s that whole part about hating your own life. That’s pretty scary if you ask me. It’s scary, because I don’t know if I’ve found that one thing that I could love so much that I would give my life away for it. I’m no martyr. But that’s the feeling I want to live for. I want to care about something so deeply, that I wouldn’t have to think twice about if it was worth my life. It’s not that I don’t care about anything, but I’m no Joan of Arc or Martin Luther King, Jr. At least not yet.

So yeah, go to the Cheesecake Factory. It’ll change your life.

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

graham beck / Heights editor

Last year, over a February weekend, BC saw one of the biggest snowstorms in recent history due to blizzard Nemo.

OEM preps for coming winter, emphasizes student readiness

By Jennifer Suh Heights Staff For the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), preparations for the upcoming winter will remain the same regardless of the weather.

“We don’t focus too much on what’s the winter going to be,” said John Tommaney, director of the Office of Emergency Management and chair of the Emergency Management executive team. “It really doesn’t matter if we get two snowstorms or 10 snowstorms. It does in a sense of what the impacts will be down the road, but the preparation message is the same.

Our job, for things particularly related to weather, is to be looking ahead of times.”

As an extension of the Executive Vice President’s office, OEM works with the Emergency Management executive team throughout the year. OEM also works with the cities of Boston and Newton and the state of Massachusetts in addition to BCPD and Eagle EMS. “Our primary role is getting Boston College prepared to deal with a range of emergencies and crises that can happen on campus,” Tommaney said. “Our concern is to keep us safe and secure. It isn’t necessarily what the event is but it’s the things we have to deal with because the events happen.”

Throughout the year, OEM works with the National Weath-

er Service for updates on the weather.

“Weather’s one of those things that we can’t predict it with a 100 percent degree of accuracy, but a lot of times we have a lot of forewarning that’s going to come,” Tommaney said. “It’s just something we always maintain a very high awareness of. Hopefully, we come through it as a light winter. But it’s New England—wait five minutes and the weather changes.”

OEM emphasizes three themes when preparing for an emergency: developing an emergency supply kit, knowing where to find official information from the OEM, and making a communication plan with family and friends.

“Knowing how you’re going to communicate with friends and family is critically important,” Tommaney said. “It just creates so much of a lessening burden on everything in the system so we can focus our energies on what we need to do, because there’s not enough resources to deal with everything at the same time.”

In the event of an emergency, OEM sends updates through texts and emails, with additional information available on social media and OEM’s website.

“We encourage people to follow us on social media pages,” Tommaney said. “[Social media] has become very, very important in the last couple of years. And

we see it growing that way, so we’re trying to find ways to engage with students.”

After Hurricane Sandy, OEM added a Twitter feed to the BC Emergency home page that provides all the updates from services on campus, such as the Plex and the dining halls.

“One of the things we heard from particularly students across campus was they didn’t know where to get a lot of information like what’s the status of the Plex, are the buses running, and are the dining halls going be open,” Tommaney said. “All of those offices post things to their various web presences. Our problem was that it wasn’t very consolidated.”

During an emergency such as a winter storm, the role of the student is just as important as that of OEM, according to Tommaney.

By preparing for an emergency according to the three themes of OEM, students are helping both themselves and others.

“One thing I always tell people is that part of my job is trying to create what I call a culture of preparedness on campus,” Tommaney said. “Everybody has a role to play on campus—students, faculty, staff members. By everybody kind of doing their part—and when I say their part, I’m not looking for heavy lifting on people’s behalf but basic steps—it gets us better prepared and resilient to deal with our emergency on campus.” n

“The Guatemala where I grew up, the country that I learned to love, is a Guatemala full of fear,” said Guatemalan activist Claudia Samayoa at a lunch presentation on Thursday in the Newton Room. The presentation, titled “The Guatemalan Genocide Trial: A Sign of Hope in a Fog of Neocon Discourse,” was sponsored by the Center for Human Rights and International Justice.

Samayoa, a founder and coordinator of the Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit in Guatemala, spoke about the ongoing trial of Guatemala’s former dictator, Efrain Rios Montt, and his head of security, both of who are now facing charges for massacres perpetrated during the Guatemalan civil war.

The war, which lasted from 1960 to 1996, was fought between the Guatemalan government and leftist rebel groups mainly supported by the Mayan indigenous people.

Social discontent during Guatemala’s anti-communist regime saw the emergence of various armed leftist groups during the 1960s, hailing from the numerous poor classes of indigenous people and peasants. The military targeted and aimed to exterminate these groups, killing, torturing, and using forced disappearances against many civilians. An extermination policy was developed and carried out between 1981 and 1984, with an estimated 200,000 people killed during the conflict.

Samayoa grew up in the late 1970s, when violence was raging in the country. She is part of the generation that tried to change the reality in Guatemala after the great violence that occurred.

“We sought truth and justice in these cases, and longed to create a democracy,” said Samayoa, who started working in human rights when she was 15.

After the Truth Commission publicized their findings, hundreds of victims from the six areas affected by genocide began forming grassroots organizations for justice. They proceeded to file lawsuits on the minister of defense and the chiefs of staff, targeting those who had actually planned the genocide.

Before being able to send a clear message on non-repetition and gaining justice for the victims, they had to make a case for the

lawsuits, which proved to be a long and arduous task.

In January of 2013, a judge decided to open a case. The victims of the war were able to declassify military archives, which proved the intent behind the military’s crime. One hundred and ninety elements of proof of the crimes committed were presented to the courts, as the case was broadcast to the world. Guatemala made history as the first country in the world to try a case of this nature in its own courts.

Neoconservative discourse began in an effort to end the trial, using race and social and economic standing to try and justify the genocide of the Mayan people. Violence arose against human rights defenders, who were labeled as threatening to the unity of the country.

The court finally convicted Rios Montt of genocide and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to 80 years in prison. This was the first official acknowledgment that genocide had occurred during the war.

The conviction of Montt, however, was quickly overturned after his lawyers filed an appeal, with the nation’s highest court throwing out both his verdict and prison sentence.

By the end of the trial, there was no longer a dispute of the facts. Today, it is widely accepted in Guatemala that genocide occurred and that the army was largely responsible, although current president Otto Perez Molina denies that it was an actual genocide.

“Political parties have not changed,” Samayoa said. “It is the people that have changed.” The elite were forced to take off their masks of political correctness and finally show themselves for what they truly are, she said.

The younger generations have begun questioning why the situation had been so hushed up, and realizing they have been lied to, Samayoa said.

An uncle thought to have died in a car crash was actually executed by the military, and so on. When the silence was finally broken, accounts of the military’s crimes started coming out, and all the proofs came together in an indelible picture of guilt.

Samayoa believes that slowly but surely, things are changing for the better in Guatemala. “Even though it’s scary being in Guatemala right now, after the trial, Guatemala has changed in the depth of our consciousness,” Samayoa said. “We have finally seen ourselves and recognized that our state is racist.” n

graham beck / Heights editor

All classes were canceled on Mon., Feb. 11 because of the accumulated snow and the storm during the day.

BCVC offers competition for early-stage start-ups

By Scott Bailey For The Heights

“One! Two! Three! Pitch!” is what kicked off each of the 20 presentations at Boston College Venture Capital’s (BCVC) Elevator Pitch Competition (EPC). Each fall, 20 start-up hopefuls gather in the Fulton Honors Library to deliver 30-second “elevator pitches” to a panel of Boston-area venture capitalists and an audience of their peers, parents, professors, and friends.

Group pitches ranged from socially conscious ventures like WOOF, which donates notebooks to under-supplied U.S. students, to more commercial projects like Snap Pics, which uses an Instagram-like interface to share purchases.

“Both the BCVC Executive

Board and the judges were impressed by the wide range of ideas and the quality of pitches at this year’s EPC,” said Karn Khunger, Chair of the BCVC Executive Board and CSOM ’14. “Entrepreneurship continues to take off at BC and we’re incredibly excited for what’s in store moving forward.”

Moving forward is exactly what the team-members of the start-ups want to do. For each of the finalists, a cash prize was presented.

The BCVC board awards prizes of $500, $300, and $200 for first, second, and third place, respectively, as well as a social track and audience choice prizes of $200 each.

The money isn’t an investment, so therefore no equity is required to be given up. The companies are free to use it for whatever they choose, whether for inventory, hiring a developer, or entrance fees

into BCVC’s main competition, the Startup Scramble.

For each of the finalists, the competition means different things. The founders of Apply, a retooling of the college admissions process, weren’t even sure that they had an idea worth pursuing.

“I was a little hesitant to enter the competition because it’s such a big goal,” said Mike Bryant, CSOM ’15. “I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously, but the EPC really fueled our passion.”

It makes sense that the Apply team, who in addition to Bryant includes Christian Nicholson, CSOM ’13; Jackson Evans, A&S ’15; and Nick Casale, CSOM ’15, feels a renewed sense of vigor. The judges hail from prestigious VC firms like Spark Capital and .406 Ventures who have invested in the likes of Twitter and Tumblr.

“This is a pretty high profile judging group,” said Paul Hillen, a member of BCVC’s Executive Board and CSOM ’15. “It was pretty cool. They gave lots of great feedback. It’s great because a lot of kids can meet these judges who are investors and are connected.

They can act as mentors and portals in [the startup industry]. The relationships that these kids make can often be long term. We have had mentors in the past write the first seed check.”

The BC startup community, while flourishing, has certainly had success in the past. Former BC startups have gone on to well-known accelerators like Tech Stars and Summer at Highland, which specialize in providing early-stage companies with the funding and guidance they need to make an impact.

The guidance these teams of entrepreneurs seek is not just found in accelerator programs.

“We’ve already talked to 30 or so really good people about this idea and we’ve got some really great feedback and they’ve pointed us in the right direction,” Nicholson said.

“Even professors have been extremely helpful,” Bryant said of Apply. “They’ve told us exactly what we need to do. They have been so valuable in telling me what I need to learn.”

For each of these teams of future business leaders, the adventure is just beginning. For most of these startups, the idea is what drives their progress. Undeterred by hiccups or bumps in the road, each team works toward their own ideal of changing the world for the better. n

CLASSIFIEDS

THE HEIGHTS THE HEIGHTS

Monday, January 17, 2013

Monday, November 4, 2013

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

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

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

A5 A5

THE HEIGHTS

A6

Vulgar chants at sporting events reflect poorly on BC

Monday, November 4, 2013

QUOTE OF THE DAY Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do.

-Benjamin Spock (1903-98), American pediatrician

Allowing long-standing, popular cheers can help Athletics continue to foster passionate crowds This weekend, the Boston College men’s hockey team played a homeand-home series against Northeastern University. The series began with a home win by the Eagles at Kelley Rink and ended with a come-from-behind win at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena.

The two games had many similarities—they were both in Boston, both on a Halloween weekend night, and both featured passionate crowds of students supporting the home teams.

Yet there was a key difference between the crowd of students at Northeastern on Saturday and the crowd of students at BC on Friday. The explicit chants that were present in Conte Forum on Friday night—namely, “F— Northeastern”—were not returned by the Huskies the following evening.

In a letter to the editor of this paper in October of last year, head coach Jerry York exhorted students to stop the growing vulgarity at hockey games. He encouraged students “to think creatively when coming up with new chants and cheers,” and “continue to make things interesting for your fellow fans.” But he made one, small, reasonable, and appropriate request: “Please don’t curse.”

The growing number of students who use obscenities in chants at home BC hockey games is unacceptable, and the student body and Athletics must move to end the practice.

Students should be aware that not only are their words often broadcast in radio and TV, but there are also children present at the games who should not be exposed to inappropriate language.

While students can make an effort to hold their friends accountable for the language they use, the student body can’t solve the problem alone. The athletics department can work towards preventing these explicit chants by embracing and encouraging the long-

standing, popular chants and cheers that have cemented themselves within the student body. Recently, changes to the game atmosphere have included the removal of the cowbell initiating the sieve chant and loud music played over the speakers immediately following goals.

While some might argue that the sieve chant is inappropriate, few would argue that it is equally as inappropriate as the use of the F-word. The chant, at its core, is not really about the opposing team’s goalkeeper—it is rather a long-standing tradition that unites the student body, bringing together fans in support of the school’s most successful revenue sports program.

The sieve chant is certainly the lesser of two evils in this case, and perhaps if students were able to unite each time BC scores, they would be less likely to use expletives so publicly. Most other schools in the Hockey East have some variation of the “sieve” chant—Northeastern included—but the fact remains that they do not also chant “F— BC” when our team visits their rinks.

The athletics department has made a great deal of progress over the past year, which has, in part, resulted in outstanding student attendance at hockey and football games so far this fall. Efforts to potentially discourage long-standing student traditions at home hockey games do not promote attendance or engagement, and could, in part, be responsible for the growing frequency of these unofficial, explicit chants. If the athletics department truly believes that changes need to be made to student support at sports games, they should engage directly in a dialogue with students by holding a town hall meeting or some other public discussion, rather than attempting to change the game atmosphere without student input.

BC’s many transports indicate safety-first policy Although some consider BC’s alcohol transport policy excessive, it seeks to ensure student safety

A September article in The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s independent student newspaper, stated that in one weekend earlier that month, BU saw a record number of students transported to the hospital due to excessive drinking.

That number, 13, is just one more than Boston College’s average of 12 transports per weekend in September.

Although this comparison may seem alarming at first, it actually speaks more to BC’s commitment to keeping its student body safe than it does to the amount of drinking that occurs at either university. The numbers do not necessarily suggest that BC students drink more than students at BU or do so in a less controlled manner. Rather, BC’s relatively high number of transports are

a result of the university and BCPD’s policy of sending to the infirmary or to the hospital anyone under the age of 21 who is being treated for an alcohol-related incident.

This policy errs on the side of caution, as any policy dealing with the health and safety of students should. While it may occasionally result in a student being sent to the infirmary for a level of intoxication that does not necessarily require prolonged medical attention, it also ensures that all those students who do need serious aid receive it. BC’s policy regularly prevents students from experiencing serious harm and injury and is a sign not of a Draconian administration but of one that truly cares for its students and will do what it takes to promote their safety.

LESLIE SNAPPER / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Time for a bolder UGBC UGBC is an advocacy organization, the primary conduit between the student body and university administration, and the principle lobbyists representing student interests. These are the primary functions of a student government. Tuesday’s Student Assembly meeting (10/29) moves us further in this bold direction.

Though the successes of executive-based programming administrations have been manifold, the time has come to ask ourselves whether programming functions can be more effectively handled outside of UGBC through an independent programming board.

Being able to start anew, such a decision would mean greater flexibility to put on events, better and more coordinated funding channels, and an opportunity to democratize the exciting programming opportunities in which scores of students are interested.

At the same time, a more concrete focus on advocacy allows us to build upon the dozens of successes pioneered by the most diverse legislature in the history of Boston College, to invest in UGBC as the premier forum for student ideas and policy proposals, and to draw UGBC closer to the essential functions of a student government. With immense changes due to shape our university from core reform to a rapidly diversifying student body and everything in between, we need to push for a government that has the wherewithal, capabilities, and credibility to address these issues in full.

To meet the long-term needs of the community, there must be a closer tie between the policy formulation and policy initiatives of the government. In

the legislature, we have already seen great progress through the dozens of partnerships between staff, senators, and ex officio (appointed, non-voting) members. Let us expand this model and offer additional opportunities for all students to be advocates with their policy proposals or planning proclivities. The Student Assembly should strongly consider partnering more closely with, if not absorbing, overlapping executive divisions. At the highest levels of leadership, a policyoriented UGBC means that the respective President and Vice President must be fluent and knowledgeable about policy matters, ensuring that the best of our leaders with a proven track record will be the most appropriate candidates.

A policy-oriented and integrated UGBC ensures a strong student advocate for students now and students to come. This UGBC of the future can begin today. We should not delay. UGBC, regardless of critical opinions, has a foundational role in helping to catalyze a more dynamic community within fellowship with the multitude of other on-campus leaders and organizations. Guiding UGBC toward a more policy-oriented purpose addresses the important need for a central and vocal campus advocate, whose attention is not split, and better allows for students, of both programming and policy leanings, to better pursue what gets them out of bed in the morning. Admittedly, this is a controversial position for which to lobby. I hope others will be even bolder.

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.

MATT ALONSOZANA Executive Vice President of UGBC A&S ’14

Donations give CSON deserved opportunities

$1.8 million in gifts supports students in one of BC’s smallest and most frequently overlooked schools The Connell School of Nursing, as one of Boston College’s pre-professional undergraduate schools, often goes unrecognized by the greater BC community for the highquality work it does to prepare students for their future careers. Recently, however, outside sources have donated substantial amounts of money to CSON in order to support the school’s goal of training gifted and dedicated leaders of the nursing world.

These grants will allow CSON to diversify its student body and expand students’ opportunities to obtain experience abroad and through mentorships.

One grant, for $80,000, supports eight fellowships within the Accelerated Master’s Entry into Nursing (MSE) program. The fellowships, which are specifically for students from underrepresented backgrounds,

will allow for a more diverse CSON, both economically and culturally. An additional $960,000 grant has created an endowment for financial aid within the MSE program. A $250,000 gift supports CSON’s global initiatives, making international trips more affordable and available to more CSON students.

Finally, CSON has also received a gift of $540,000 to support an intensive leadership program, which emphasizes the importance of faculty mentorship in education. $1.8 million is a significant amount of funding, and these grants and scholarships ensure that the funds will go toward a worthwhile cause. Any way that BC, as a premier—and expensive—university can find to defray the cost of tuition will only help to diversify and strengthen the students whom it trains.

HEIGHTS

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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

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Contributors: Harry Mitchell, Rebecca Moretti, Adriana Olaya, Corinne Duffy, Alex Fairchild, Domenick Fazzolari

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

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The Heights

Monday, November 4, 2013

A7

‘Like’ responsibly: Gen Y’s slacktivism BC Dining vs. my wallet Tiffany Ashtoncourt Virginia Wreck - Our football team soared to victory this weekend against Virginia Tech, a worthy opponent that proved unable to withstand our relentless offense and that once-in-a-lifetime overturned penalty. Instilled with the spirit of our newly christened live eagle mascot, Welles (called it, by the way) and the knowledge that we were watching proof of the fact that our football team is no longer veritably terrible, we cheered the Eagles to their fourth win, doubling their win total from last year. #Winning - In the sports vein, we won our fourth straight hockey home game on Friday, despite the lack of a truly synchronized sieve chant. If this isn’t a sign of our hockey team’s ability to overcome incredible obstacles, we don’t know what is. But seriously, bring back the cow bell.

Back To the Future - Hope you all enjoyed your extra hour of sleep this Saturday evening! While it always strikes us as utterly pointless that whoever decided this rule made it happen on a Saturday rather than during the week, when we can actually use the extra hour more efficiently, we embrace it nonetheless. Plus, BC fully embraced this “fall back” and kept late night open for an extra hour Saturday night when the clock jumped from 1:59 a.m. back to 1:00 a.m., which was greatly appreciated by all those who were determined to make Halloweekend last as long as possible. Additionally, it’s always a cool thing to watch your phone automatically adjust the time. Number one, because how awesome is it that the days of you having to remember to do that yourself are over? And number two, because it is the closest any of us will probably ever get to time travel. In fact, we feel bad for those states that don’t do the whole Daylight Savings thing, because they are infinitely further from the magic of time travel than we are. Bet you $100 right now that the inventor of time travel is not Hawaiian.

Welcome, November - Welcome, November. While this means no more Halloween for a full year, it brings the promise of Thanksgiving—an equally anticipated (albeit for different reasons) holiday among college students. Thanksgiving break is truly a beautiful thing. It’s a breath of fresh air after the several-week marathon of zero days off that invariably precedes it, and although countless midterms and papers mark the end of this marathon, it results in a five-day break that is relatively free of schoolwork. For many, it is the first time you get to go home since the start of the school year, and you can engage in peaceful reflection before taking on finals season. Plus, this year, by the time we get back to school after Thanksgiving, it will already be December, and the countdown to the end of the semester will be very real, and very easy to calculate, seeing as you don’t have to perform the difficult addition that spans months and requires you to know how many days are in November.

Also, now that it is November, we no longer have to pretend to everyone else and ourselves that we actually enjoy horror movies and then spend about a week forcing ourselves to stay up later than our roommates so we can “forget to turn the lights off before falling asleep.” We’re ready for A Charlie Brown Christmas, thank you very much.

It’s that time of the year again! And I don’t mean the start of actually-watchable cinema. Late tomorrow, Mayor Tom Menino will no longer be mayor, and either John Connolly or Martin Walsh will have the honor of calling himself the head of our great city. Discounting the fact the election is happening outside of the presidential cycle, the voter turnout should be good, but don’t count on us contributing. According to a Huffington Post article, college students are the only demographic of the voting population that didn’t experience an increase in participation last year, so much so that even media outlets who tried to make us look good couldn’t stand behind their claims, given the extremely low registration. One of my favorite disclaimers was in a Huffington Post article entitled “Youth Vote 2012: Exit Polls Show Greater Share Of Electorate Than In 2008: “The initial exit polling data does not show whether there was an actual increase in the number of young voters [in 2012].”

Embarrassing, I know, but while there are a variety of reasons we can attribute to this lackluster growth, I honestly believe that social media, namely Facebook, is the culprit. Facebook is hampering political participation and social activism by making it just too damn easy for too many people to “participate.” First, let me be clear: I am a senior economics major who does not have any personal beef with Facebook, i.e. my privacy has not been violated, and my twin and I are not suing/trying-to-bilk Mark Zuckerberg. I even believe that Facebook can be a blessing for citizens of politically oppressed countries, because it provides a place for people to vocalize diverse opinions and organize change, which was exemplified in the Arab Spring. However, the very quali-

ties that make political change so engaging in oppressed countries have the opposite effect here in the U.S., because we already have the freedom to voice our opinions and demonstrate without fear. Thus, Facebook effectively reduces activism to the click of a button that people can mindlessly make while watching reruns of MTV junk on their laptop. Sounds scary? It’s already a reality, and if left unchecked, this could quickly erode the passion for change American college students have always been known for and make us known for something else. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Slacktivism.

“Slacktivism,” a term coined by Evgeny Morozov in his debut book called The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, is essentially “a mad shopping binge in the Facebook supermarket … that can lead to civic promiscuity,” and anyone who has friends who use Facebook definitely knows a couple of slacktivists. You know them. They pledge to end world hunger, “like” countless worthy causes, and bet they can “find 1 million people who support gay rights before you can.” The causes behind these groups are admirable, but the problem lies in the fact that these prolific slacktivists are joining a bazillion causes and not actually bringing about change. What’s even worse is that they are indirectly deterring others from their professed causes.

If you don’t believe me or think that I’m crazy, take this example: the “Saving the Children of Africa” cause on Facebook.

The group has an impressive 1.7 million members, but it has only made $12,000 since its inception, which is less than onehundredth of a penny per member. Why so little, you might ask? Going by just the number of members, many people didn’t donate because they assumed that others have already given, and might have given to other causes that seemed more in need of financial support. Also, the amount of change that comes from these groups is minimal at best since there is zero commitment and no cost to join. After all, the only requirement to advocate for change is to “like” the page and change will come, right?

This placebo effect that people feel after

being phantom-do-gooders in the cyber sphere is probably the worst contributor to our lagging participation, since people feel that clicking for a good cause will probably result in some actual change happening. If this is how people react when asked to take a stand for starving children, then what will happen when they are asked to “perform their civic duty” and vote for a president or their local mayor?

Facebook, and social media in general, have the potential to be that public sphere where diverse, engaging, and thoughtful discourse is available to all, but for now, social media in America is a tool that is being mistreated as the cause of change rather than the conduit for change. If we want an image of our political future, just think back to the “Occupy” movement. The movement is currently the only mass sociopolitical movement of Gen Y, and we really lived up to our generation’s name: Why. What started out as a protest against Wall Street greed quickly spiraled into millions of people protesting aimlessly against things that ranged from the War in Afghanistan to even Hurricane Sandy. In short, Wall Street became a real, live Facebook home page.

Eventually, the news couldn’t even call it the “Occupy Wall Street movement” anymore, and they just settled for the umbrella term, the “Occupy Movement.” Despite the massive amount of positive change that could’ve happened, aimless activism has left us wondering what actually did happen.

A mass of people does not mean unity or change, and if we really want change to come, we should learn from the students involved in the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. For change and political participation to happen, we all have to stand united against a specific cause, and see it through, even if it means costing something dear to us, like time, money, our very lives, or even just getting up off of our you-know-whats. So, guys, please remember to “like” responsibly!

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

The new and improved NBA Countdown Stephen Sikora Ever since Charles Barkley joined TNT’s Inside the NBA in 2000, there has been one NBA pregame show that stands far above the rest. Barkley’s force of personality, knowledge of the game, and rapport with fellow analyst Kenny Smith has made Turner’s twice-weekly production a must-watch event. The two former players are joined by host Ernie Johnson—who’s been there since the program’s inception—and the chemistry they bring every night, developed through years of working together, is unparalleled in the sports industry.

This contrasts highly with ESPN’s pregame show, NBA Countdown, which has undergone numerous revamps and rebrands.

The show has been through five hosts, six different names, and a parade of former analysts in the past 10 years. For a company looking to develop an audience among viewers, the constant change is the opposite of what ESPN wants—rare at a company known for solid show production—think College GameDay or Sunday NFL Countdown.

This year, however, that could all change.

And it starts with one man: Bill Simmons.

In 2013, there’s no question about it: Bill Simmons is ESPN. Look around at the company’s best work and you’ll likely find the former Boston sports guy’s name attached.

He created Grantland and remains editor-inchief of the highly acclaimed sports and pop culture site. He’s the brains behind ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, an award-winning production that’s yielded a number of great sports documentaries, his podcasts often reach number one on iTunes, and the man has over 2.3 million Twitter followers—the second highest at ESPN behind NFL insider extraordinaire Adam Schefter.

Simmons’ passion, though—and what got him hired at ESPN in the first place—is his writing, specifically about the NBA. And for

Bird Flew

the first time in 2012, following a lackluster season of NBA Countdown, ESPN decided it could no longer wait: they put their most popular NBA voice on primetime TV for the first time.

Yet the show didn’t immediately take off.

Last year’s crew featured Michael Wilbon, Magic Johnson, and Jalen Rose alongside Simmons, and the results were mixed. The problems started with the fact that the show had no host. Likely in an attempt to differentiate themselves from TNT’s effort, there was no one specific person introducing segments, throwing to commercials, or controlling the flow of conversation. Plus, having four analysts—rather than three and a host—made it tough for everyone to get their points across.

The show’s second issue was the on-air relationship between Wilbon and Simmons.

From the start Wilbon treated Simmons as an outsider—he hadn’t before done TV or played in the league—and continued that condescending treatment even as Simmons found his rhythm on TV. The two had different ideas of where to take the show, with Simmons’ fun style, combined with his knowledge and use of advanced metrics, clashing with Wilbon’s old-school approach to the game and show segments. Though the two are friends off the set, their dialogue on the show seemed combative at times, making awkward moments for the viewer and turning off ESPN’s potential audience.

So this year, ESPN once again decided to reformat the show, keeping Rose and Simmons while adding former Bulls and 76ers coach Doug Collins and host Sage Steele.

Simmons had long been a fan of Rose during his playing days, when he often referenced Rose’s quotes in his columns. When Simmons created Grantland, he quickly tabbed Rose for a weekly basketball podcast and has involved him in other site features. This past spring Rose and Simmons conducted interviews together with the top 15 to 20 prospects before the NBA draft, and they recently completed an online video series previewing each of the 30 NBA teams. The two also joined Jay Bilas and Rece Davis for ESPN’s 2013 NBA Draft coverage, and critics agreed it was one of ESPN’s best draft night productions in years.

The first incarnation of the new NBA

Countdown was this past Friday. The high quality production showed just how far ESPN has come.

Simmons, known for his outspoken opinions, had his own segment with the tagline, “don’t get fired, Bill,” and a voiceover saying that his opinions do not represent the opinions of ESPN. It was exactly the type of humorous showing that was missing from last year’s stale, predictable set. Rose and Collins got out of their seats and to the video board, where the former player and coach broke down certain plays. And despite joining the show just weeks ago, Steele did a decent job of involving everyone and directing the analysis. Steele has the skills to succeed as a host, and as she gets more acquainted with the crew, her performance will certainly improve.

Most importantly, though, the show featured solid NBA analysis. Simmons recently wrote that “[Countdown’s] going to be much more of a stand-alone, big-picture NBA show than a promoting-the-upcoming-games pregame show,” and that format succeeded on Friday. Despite ESPN showing a matchup between Brooklyn and Miami, the crew spent a great deal of time on the OKC Thunder. Simmons explained why the James Harden trade was a crucial mistake for the franchise, and criticized the ownership group for not investing more in their star players. Rose added in a player’s perspective, saying that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook may soon leave unless the team makes a concerted effort to improve, as many other star-studded teams in the league have done.

And Doug Collins, who coached Michael Jordan in the late ’80s, compared Durant to a young MJ and said KD should look to involve his teammates more.

It was great television—three men who know the game inside and out, engaging in an entertaining conversation that educated the viewer about the league. In the past Simmons has written that Inside the NBA could never be topped—it may be the one wrong thing he’s done in recent years.

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

BY DOLAN BORTNER

nOTHING - Just one of those weeks :)

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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.

Kwesi Aaron One day I was coming back from Lower Dining Hall less than pleased. It was 8 p.m. and all I had for dinner was hard rice and a dry quesadilla-hold-thequeso. I wondered how such a glorious institution such as Boston College, which purports lofty ideals of “Special Concern for the Poor and Oppressed” could do me so wrong. Curiously enough, I find BC’s mandatory Dining Bucks program to run counter to the interests of the “poor and oppressed” (me and me).

It’s not so much that I don’t like the food. After all, it’s all I have. You’d be surprised how delicious a hard crust pizza can be after a long day’s work. All I’m asking is that we make an effort. I am not blaming the staff that tries hard to make do with the materials provided. I’m calling this an institutional failure. Man cannot live on omelets congealed from questionable fluids drizzled onto a hot stovetop. I strive to find God in all things, but when I see the frozen slabs of struggle-meat used for the steak and cheese sandwiches, I sincerely fail. As I’ve previously stated, however, food quality is not my concern.

For all gripes about what could be better on my plate pale in significance to the suffering of my pocket.

At the beginning of the school year, for a second time coming, $2,400 of mine have been held hostage. The captive, promised to return the value of that money in the form of food, but alas, I am caught in a downward spiral of diminishing returns.

What happened to principles? Those principles in question have certainly been abandoned when Simply Orange juice costs at least four times as much under the debased clutches of the dining system than in the civilized world surrounding Chestnut Hill. No psalm can relieve the anguish that I feel as $15 leaves my body and with it, my hope for humanity. What justification can someone find for these charges? I do declare there is no rationale in a dining hall that serves salmon seasoned with imagination, and the tears of the meek

Those principles in question have certainly been abandoned when Simply Orange juice costs at least four times as much under the debased clutches of the dining system than in the civilized world surrounding Chestnut Hill. trapped in the iniquity of the tyrants who devised such a system. Pray tell: if the Western world imperialized nations in all corners of the globes for spices, where have these alleged spices gone? My only certain answer is not Carney Dining Hall.

When they ask where my faith has gone, the answer is certainly not Stuart Dining Hall. But when they ask where my money has gone, the answer that passes through pursed lips will unfortunately be Lower Dining Hall—the beast that at once feeds my mouth and flogs my wallet.

I don’t want to sound like BC Dining is the devil, but I cannot in good conscious yield. It is my moral duty to call out all forms of oppression—even in tiny (very tiny) frozen yogurt bowl form. When I consider my present condition, I recall the words of the street philosopher Tupac Shakur: “And suddenly the ghetto didn’t seem so tough / And though we had it rough, we always had enough.” As I sit here with my speakers booming “Fight The Power,” and the like, I only grow more fervent in my desire for justice. If I may address the Geppetto of my dining bucks for a moment, I would like you to know that you will not win. No weapon formed against my bank account shall prosper.

And so I ask you to reflect, brothers and sisters, for the bell has been rung and my cries have echoed. Let us stop the madness that is paying for butter. Seize from within you, any courage you have to take a stand. Wrestle yourselves from the clutches of those who would have you feast on nothing but the dry steaks of indecency seasoned with salt and pepper that flakes from a disturbed spirit. Let’s have our administrators do their own culinary integrity matrix. After this column, I may disappear off the face of the campus, but my message can never die as long as we stand together and stay vocal.

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

The Heights

A8

Monday, November 4, 2013

‘12 Years’ offers honest portrayal of American slavery

By Amy Chappelhow For The Heights

Steve McQueen’s third feature is the film that may or may not have other Oscar potentials running scared, and 12 Years a Slave is certainly something special. Possibly one of the most spectacular examples of filmmaking in the last few years, this visceral representation of slavery in 19th-century America tells 12 Years a slave: the story of Solomon Steve McQueen Northup Fox Searchlight w i t h u n Pictures paralleled honesty and rawness.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, largely known for his work in British television, plays Northup: a free black man living with his family in Saratoga, N.Y. With his wife and children away, Northup travels to Washington with two men who have offered him a job as a fiddler. Here, Northup is kidnapped and told he is now a fugitive slave called Platt. We follow him and others to Louisiana where they are sold as slaves.

The scene where rich white men and women peruse the naked, humiliated slaves on offer is particularly affecting. Northup is sold first to a reasonably kind slave owner, Ford (Bene-

A

dict Cumberbatch), who looks kindly on his new slave, particularly appreciating his fiddle playing. When Northup makes an enemy of the carpenter Tibeats (Paul Dano), however, Ford sees fit to sell him to a less sympathetic plantation owner. Michael Fassbender’s Edwin Epps reveals the degrading relationship between master and slave that many slaves experienced. Here, 12 Years a Slave lingers, watching as Northup—who previously stated he wanted not just to survive but to live—is eroded by his situation.

In this epic story, characters and prolific actors such as Paul Giamatti and The Wire’s Michael K. Williams, disappear before you’ve even registered them. 12 Years a Slave is honest in this way, as no cheap tricks are used to keep the audience’s attention—these actors’ dedication to McQueen’s vision attest to that. We follow Northup through a long and arduous period in his life where he is the only constant. This is similar to McQueen’s other work, and much of this movie develops McQueen’s directorial style. If John Ridley’s screenplay had fallen into other hands this would have been a remarkably different, and almost certainly less intense, film.

Integral to McQueen’s creation is Sean Bobbitt’s cinematography. McQueen has

collaborated with Bobbitt on all of his features, but Bobbitt’s reputation is certainly not dependent on this director: The Place Beyond the Pines and the soon-to-be released Oldboy also grace his credits. As the camera moves through the sugarcane and then pans over the waves as Northup is taken from his home, Bobbitt creates a sense of movement at moments of change. However, as he has proved in Hunger and Shame, Bobbitt is very much aware of when to keep the camera static.

These moments of calm are pivotal in a movie that encompasses so much transformation.

Certainly this is a collaborative effort, with McQueen’s understanding of imagery and contrast—surely originating in his career as an artist—complimented by Bobbitt’s. For instance, the camera frequently reaches toward the sky, focusing on the moon or cypresses, simultaneously creating beautiful images and developing McQueen’s narrative.

The outstanding acting in 12 Years a Slave cannot be overlooked. Ejiofor is understated as the protagonist, more observer than participant when on the plantations, until he is pushed to action by his unbearable situation. Perhaps one of the greatest moments of Ejiofor’s career thus far comes at one of these moments. The camera is still

photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

Chiwetel Ejiofor shines in the wrenching true-life slave narrative of Solomon Northrup. on his face and he looks out to the audience, not speaking but conveying intense emotion with minimal changes in his face. Moments like this make 12 Years a Slave truly superior.

In contrast, Paul Dano’s turn as an ignorant worker on the plantations reaches the core of the prejudice that permeated society.

McQueen uses Dano’s haunting rendition of an anti-black folksong to highlight the hypocrisy of such a society by placing the

song over one of Ford’s sermons.

There is so much more one could say about this film as its imagery and story plays in mind long after it has finished. 12 Years a Slave is a lesson in how to handle sensitive subject matter, and its beauty is something to reflect on. Perhaps rather than being scared of such a competitor, other Oscar runners should realize this and embrace McQueen’s bold creation. n

‘Counselor’ is a dark, dynamic drug drama

2

Box office report title

photo Courtesy of 20th CENTURY FOX

The Ridley Scott thriller ‘The Counselor’ is a twisty tale of a drug deal gone wrong, which benefits from a script by Cormac McCarthy.

By Logan Wren For The Heights

Do not let online reviews dissuade you from going to see The Counselor. Its wit, idiosyncratic style, dark humor, revelation, surrealism, and dialogue are all contrived—in the best possible way—to produce a movie that will linger long in the mind.

The counselor: Describing its consisRidley Scott 20th Century Fox tency, effect, and success is difficult, for this movie seems a hinge between one type of film and another, with layers of meaning, self-acknowledgment, and reality.

It is directed by the legendary Ridley Scott, known for Alien, Black Hawk Down, Prometheus, and others. His fast-paced style is evident here, and generally the directing is captivating. The screenplay was written by the talented Cormac McCarthy, author of The Road and No Country for Old Men. In it, a lawyer (Michael Fassbender), called “Counselor” by his associates, enters into a drug deal destined to fail. He has recently fallen in love with beautiful and innocent Laura (Penelope Cruz), who falls into the dangers of the deal. Two of the Counselor’s cohorts in the drug deal, Reiner (Javier Bardem) and Westray (Brad Pitt), are also caught up in the consequences. Cameron Diaz plays the ruthless Malkina, girlfriend of Reiner, who works on both sides of the action.

The film is about a drug deal gone wrong and the fallout for each of the characters, but

AB+

it is especially about the fall of the Counselor, a man who does not belong in a drug deal. The physical elements of the story—the events, the negotiations, the causes and effects, and the drugs themselves—are not a large part of the film. Rather, these parts of the story are surmised from the few scenes of plot reality the film offers—scenes move from one to the next not by cause and necessary effect but by assumption, deduction, and a winding thematic thread. This makes the film surreal and almost pulpy, but layered—taking the place of the actual plot are brilliantly delivered dialogues between different sets of two actors (the twoperson dialogue is stressed) centering in on the thematic and philosophic premises.

Metaphors and symbolism are used extensively. In the opening scene, there is a conversation between the Counselor and a diamond appraiser in which the appraiser says that the job of a diamond critic is nothing but to find flaws in the diamond, for all diamonds are imperfect—a perfect diamond would be light itself, he says.

This theme of flaws is carried throughout the film, represented in the characters.

The beginning of the film also features Malkina with Reiner watching their halfdomesticated cheetahs (yes, pet cheetahs) chase and tear apart rabbits in the Mexican desert. Malkina shows herself to have much in common with these cheetahs, a statement on competition among people and destructive capitalism, which manifests itself as a spotted tattoo on her back, just one of the subtleties of the film.

The inevitable failure of the deal is in-

troduced metaphorically via Chekhov’s gun.

Reiner scares the Counselor with a description of a device that is used by nefarious, overly stylized criminals to kill people: a self-constricting noose made of thin wire that, after being placed around someone’s head, a quick and almost unnoticeable action, slowly contracts the mechanism until it severs the arteries in the neck, killing the victim in minutes.

The movie is that device: slowly, it pinches the Counselor’s neck until he, as well as his cohorts, begin to bleed out.

It’s hard to find fault with the performance of the actors, for each excelled. While the writing is surreal and extreme, that must be seen as an intention, as the film itself is largely about the realities that each person grasps onto and how those realities are changed by our actions and the consequences of them.

The dialogues are beautiful because of their style and extent.

The Counselor is a good film, and one that provokes many questions about its style and purpose. Whether all the individual scenes add up to a cohesive work is a question of debate.

Undoubtedly, it is complex, with themes introduced by set-piece dialogues. There is morality, sexuality (pushed to the limits in one scene where Diaz has sex with a car, literally), women, sin, decadence, consequence, and varying degrees of corruption, innocence, and acceptance of reality. Viewing the film as a set of characters all responding to the circumstances of the plot, which is ever-present but hardly explicit, is surely the way to its purpose and message. n

weekend gross

weeks in release

1. Ender’s game

28.0

1

2. Jackass Presents: Bad grandpa

20.5

2

3. Last vegas

16.5

1

4. free birds

16.2

1

5. Gravity

13.1

5

6. Captain Phillips

8.5

4

7. 12 years a slave

4.6

3

8. cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2

4.2

6

9. carrie

3.4

3

3

4 photos courtesy of Google images

bestsellers of hardcover fiction 1. SYCAMORE ROW John Grisham 2. THE GOLDFINCH Donna Tartt 3. DOCTOR SLEEP Stephen King 4. WE ARE WATER Wally Lamb 5. The Longest ride Nicholas Sparks

6. Identical Scott Turow 7. Storm front John Sandford 8. Gone James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge 9. Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy Helen Fielding

‘Ender’s Game’ plays it safe but delivers with sci-fi spectacle

By Luiza Justus For the Heights

The much-awaited movie version of Ender’s Game is very visually compelling and generally a very solid piece of entertainment. It lacks the complexity of the famous military sci-fi novel on which it was based Ender’s Game: in the sense that Gavin Hood it doesn’t Chartoff Productions fully explore all of its themes. That was to be expected, however, because any movie is simply a condensed version of a story.

Ender’s Game was directed by Gavin Hood and based on the best-selling novel

by Orson Scott Card, and stars some big names like Harrison Ford, Viola Davis, and Ben Kingsley. The story takes place many years in the future, when humanity has already survived an alien attack and is preparing for the next one. The only hope for survival is the world’s most brilliant children, who are individually selected to attend a top-tier military school located in Earth’s orbit. This space station, called

B+ B

Battle School, is run by officers of the International Fleet, who select Ender (Asa Butterfield) to attend and place all hope for humanity on his genius. Ender must fight his own internal battles while training to become the potential savior of the human race.

Some may argue that the attempt to summarize a story so detailed and dramatic is a recipe for disaster, and that it is begging to fall flat. The film does feel a bit rushed at times, but in general is quite able to capture Ender’s trajectory effectively.

The story is not difficult to follow for those that come in contact with it for the first time. Some details were skipped over, but the general sense of it was translated commendably into film.

As a movie made in this day and age, the special effects were expected to be amazing, and amazing they were. The film does a great job of showing the futuristic and high-tech aesthetic that fully matches the setting, and was probably beyond Orson Scott Card’s wildest dreams when he first imagined the story in 1985. The ships and outer space battles were all very nicely done, but the most impressive CGI

was seen during Ender’s mind-controlled videogame. He plays the game on a tablet device and controls the avatar with his brain. The game gets deeper and deeper into his psyche, to the point where he sees his sister and himself as characters in the game. For this, the actors were made into very realistic cartoon versions of themselves. These parts were brilliantly executed and fascinating to watch.

There was one aspect of the film that was quite bothersome, and that was the age of the chosen actors. A very important point in the story is that these kids are really young when they are taken into battle school. An even more important point is that Ender himself is young, younger than all the other kids, so he has to work hard to acquire and maintain their respect. Asa Butterfield did a really good job playing Ender, but perhaps he was not a good choice for the part simply because of his age. He was supposed to be young and vulnerable, but due to his height and strong manly voice, that important aspect of Ender’s character was left missing.

Other important characters were also cast too old, and that definitely took away

from the essential innocence that is such an important part of each one of those genius children.

The film was a respectable rendition of the Ender’s Game story. It touched on all major points, dabbled into the moral issue of training young kids in an uncompromising military setting, and

delivered impressive special effects that completely enhanced the experience.

It fell short on some aspects, but there was no way it wouldn’t. Translating an incredibly complex, introspective, and theme-driven story into film is never an easy task, and this is probably the best that it could have been. n

Photo Courtesy of CHARTOFF PRODUCTIONS

The movie version of Orson Scott Card’s novel is action-packed but sometimes simplistic.

The Heights

Monday, November 4, 2013

A9

‘Godspell’ inspires in Bonn ‘Godspell,’ from A10

Emily Stansky / Heights Editor

Friday’s Halloween Invitational featured The Bostonians (above), along with appearances from the BU Treblemakers and BC Shaan.

Bostonians host Halloween a cappella show

By Ryan Dowd Heights Staff

The Bostonians hosted the festive Halloween Invitational in McGuinn last Friday night featuring the BU Treblemakers and BC Shaan. The show ran a little over an hour.

The Bostonians bracketed the show with three song sets with BC Shaan and the BU Treblemakers performing in between. The show felt like Halloween—not a spooky, genuinely frightening Halloween, but a good natured, lively one.

The Bostonians used the show to debut some of its newer members, and that was evident with its first song of the night, when Paul Wagenseller, A&S ’16, strutted to the mic in some sort of Inspector Gadget costume and rolled into a rendition of Elvis’s “Burning Love.” Wagenseller’s smooth falsetto matched an overall smooth persona. “Burning Love” lacked some of the echoing firepower of songs later in the show, but as a light, engaging opening the Bostonians could not have done much better. The Bostonians followed with a more measured take on Adele’s “Skyfall.”

Whereas Adele’s original version is more of a declaration or challenge, Emma West, A&S ’16, led a quieter rendition, eluding the obvious fact that the sky falling may not be such a good thing. The Bostonians closed their first

set with a medley of Katy Perry’s “Roar” and Sarah Bareilles’s “Brave.” Here were the fireworks as Keely Bartram, A&S ’16, unleashed the night’s biggest set of pipes.

BC Shaan took the stage next. What BC Shaan lacked in pure size, it made up for with quick, looping lullabies that seemed to mesmorize the audience. BC Shaan brought a unique sound, a mix of traditional South Asian rhythms with more popular music.

BC’s newest a capella group started with two traditional tunes before closing with one of the more exciting arrangements of the night, a medley of Kanye West’s “Heartless” and a traditional South Asian tune “Udi.” Soloists Kiran Mani, A&S ’15, and Priyasha Chaturvedi, A&S ’14, alternated as the medley flipped tunes after each verse. While such a structure might have become jarring, the medley worked because the transition between the two distinct yet similar melodies was so smooth.

At this point halfway through the show the BU Treblemakers shuffled on stage dressed as hippies. They opened with a loose, lively rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Pretty Young Thing.” It may have been too loose.

The BU Treblemakers were the show’s largest group and did not seem to be completely in sync here. Kayla Jo Pichichero, BU ’16, then silenced the usually excitable crowd with

Ingrid Michaelson’s “Turn to Stone.” No one moved. Some in the crowd may not have been breathing. The formerly loose Treblemakers took on an almost somber note as the arrangement flowed between the group’s harmony and Pichichero’s detached solo. They even added a cherry to this treat by layering in the refrain to Coldplay’s “Fix You” toward the end of the song. Their next song was a bit livelier but just as good. Kevin Hupp, BU ’16, and Kellan Reck, BU ’14, led a medley of Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago” and Coldplay’s “Clocks.”

The two songs went together like one distinct track. The BU Treblemakers closed with Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love” which ran a tad long and lacked the spark of the previous two. The BU Treblemakers exited the stage to generous, enthusiastic applause.

The Bostonians then returned to the stage for the show’s final set. They started with a fun summer jam medley of “Holy Grail,” “Blurred Lines,” “Get Lucky,” and “We Can’t Stop.” They followed it up with a slower medley of Frank Ocean hits performed by Sam Park, A&S ’16.

Both medleys showed off the group’s versatility. The Bostonians capped off the night by taking a page from Pitch Perfect with “No Diggity” by Blackstreet. Soloist Haley Paret, CSON ’15, exuded the smooth swagger the song demands, sending the now-spirited audience into the night. n

bOp! showcases vocal, instrumental talent BC bOp!, from A10 this arrangement provided a new take on the song, with four voice parts rather than simply the usual melody. The tune was sung by the vocal component of BC bOp!, with two on each voice part, creating a perfect and smooth blend. Attention to detail emanated from this piece through the vocalists’ display of perfect dynamics as well as the percussiveness of the band.

Throughout the concert, various soloists were showcased. Vocally, the amount of talent was obvious within the fairly young ensemble that had just two returning members. In “Charleston Alley,” vocalists Adriana Castanos and Liam Maguire, both A&S ’17, were full of charisma in their respective solos. Both timbres were well suited for this light and cheery song, and their intonation was on point. The group possessed incredible poise and stage presence, looking extremely comfortable. In this particular song, the two soloists encompassed the jazz feel and nuance of the piece, while captivating the audience with the smoothness of their solos.

Another notable vocal soloist was

Matthew Hewett’s, A&S ’16, in “Late in the Evening,” an interesting take on a Paul Simon classic. This song displayed the unconventional side of BC bOp! as well as the finesse and flexibility of the group in playing new and different pieces other than typical jazz. Hewett’s solo displayed the same great stage presence he possessed last year in BC bOp!’s rendition of “Suit & Tie” at Arts Fest. The purity of his voice and timbre coupled with the rest of the vocalists’ background singing produced a standing ovation by many in the crowd.

The instrumentalists were equally talented and professional in their performance. Classics such as “Have You Met Miss Jones” and “Route 66” were juxtaposed with “Los Gatos.” Within these pieces, soloists mesmerized the crowd through their musical skill. In “Have You Met Miss Jones,” Terry Peng’s, A&S ’14, solo was extremely expressive and also unusual, creating an interesting break within a classic jazz standard.

Also within this piece was a saxophone solo, with quick rifts that employed the musicians’ expertise and cohesiveness as a section.

Within the bOp! favorite “Los Gatos,” a Latin swing tune, the band filled the room with enthusiasm. Victoria Mariconti’s, A&S ’15, piano playing was showcased within this piece, conveying the Latin feel of the song perfectly and displaying Mariconti’s adeptness.

Another instrumentalist who was showcased within this tune was Peter Julian, CSOM ’17. The tone of his playing was smooth and possessed an impressive amount of musicality that rang throughout Gasson 100. Once again, BC bOp! proved through this tune that it is much more than a normal jazz band but rather one that possesses the competence and expertise to play a variety of musical pieces.

The instrumentalists and vocalists together created an incredible performance for concert-goers and ended the night with “That Cat is High.” Every concert in BC bOp! history has ended with this song, connecting alumni and current students within bOp!. The leadership of the executive board mixed with the mentoring of Karen Tasho, David Healey, and Sebastian Bonaiuto contributed to an exciting first performance. n

Babel scene from the Old Testament as the words of the eight students became lost in a sea of indistinguishable noise. The dissonance finally ended when John the Baptist (Jared Reinfeldt, A&S ’16) interrupted the others with his own song and urged the students to stop their over-talking, and proceeded to hose each student with a Super-Soaker, “baptizing” them and wetting some audience members in the process.

Shortly after, Jesus (David Makransky, A&S ’17) entered the scene and gathered his disciples, taking away their iPhones in exchange for flowers, which they then wore for the remainder of the musical. Makransky shined in this role as a clean-cut Jesus, dressed in a white t-shirt, jeans, and work boots, going against the popular notion of the long-haired, bearded figure so commonly portrayed. This emphasizes Godspell’s tendency to put a unique spin on the Gospel of Matthew, each director doing something different. Natale and Alexander’s portrayal of Jesus as a Gardener worked in the sense of “building a beautiful city” while also emphasizing the simplicity and kindness of his character. The backdrop of the musical never changed from a blossoming garden, with vines and flowers intertwining and small lights which light up when the scenes darken.

The parables the musical focuses on allowed for commentary on modern events while also adding comedy into the production. In the parable of the Pharisee (Meghan Linehan, CSOM ’17) and the Tax Collector (Tabitha Joseph, CSOM ’17), the two faced off in a “WWJD” showdown modeled after

the infamous WWE matches. In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Rich Man (Marybeth Dull, LSOE ’17), who refused to give the poor Lazarus any of his wealth, was portrayed as Kanye West, who is sent to hell and then reprimanded by Taylor Swift (Andrew Gaffney, A&S ’16) who talked down to him from heaven, letting him know why he can “never, ever, ever” get there.

Surely the most heartwarming scene of the play was when Jesus and his disciples gathered for the Last Supper—symbolically eaten on a ladder for a table—and sang the melodious and inspiring “A Beautiful City.” Each disciple held a lantern as the lights dimmed and the scene took on a memorial aspect, at once both sad and hopeful with knowledge of Judas’ looming betrayal. The scene only intensified as Jesus was crucified on the garden posts which held the vines and flowers. The scene darkened and the disciples laid hopeless, mourning on the ground until the lights slowly came back on and they erupted again into a chilling continuation of “A Beautiful City.” This ending scene fully encapsulated the point of the play to have hope and rebuild a “beautiful city” in times of loss and despair.

Natale and Alexander’s Godspell was more than on-point comedy, lively dances, and impeccable singing on the part of all 10 cast members. It was a reflection of the journey Boston has been through in the past few months and the hopefulness that the city has for the future. The ability to mix modern issues with biblical foundations and add in entertaining singing and dancing attests to the brilliance and creativity of the entire cast and crew of this year’s production of Godspell. n

Alex Gaynor / Heights Editor

Within the intimate confines of the Bonn Studio Theater, the cast of ‘Godspell’ shined.

Boston Ballet ushers in 50th La Bayadere, from A10 in that it seamlessly synthesized Eastern and Western elements.

Dynamic and distinct, the ballet’s costumes served a similar role as Clerc’s unique choreography, aesthetically enhancing the performance. They were first fashioned

by Sergiy Spevyakin when the company debuted the show in 2010. These fresh adaptations relied on bright colors, rich fabrics, and dazzling designs to create an exceptional and diverse visual display. Spevyakin drew inspiration from the customary saris, robes, scarves, and turbans native to different parts of India. There were scenes with forest temple dancers wearing nothing more than loincloths, but there were also scenes with ballerinas wrapped from head to toe in red silks encrusted with sparkling crystals.

Spevyakin designed the original set for La Bayadere as well. An ancient outdoor temple, a decadent palace, and an abstract, nirvana-esque kingdom served as just a few of the ballet’s backdrops. Unlike the ornate

nature of the set, the props used were predominately simple, a basket of flowers and a dagger being the main ones. In one part of the show, however, there was a beautifully crafted, large-scale elephant that marched across the stage with the dancers—iconic to Indian culture, it was one of the most outstanding pieces in the ballet.

La Bayadere’s 10-day run exhibited the Boston Ballet at its absolute finest, honoring the whole of its half-a-century history.

“The 2013-2014 season is a pivotal celebration of the Company’s distinguished past, extraordinary present, and exciting future,” Nissinen said. “This milestone year is an opportunity to celebrate today’s Boston Ballet and give thanks to all the people who have helped us get here.”

With performances of Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Close to Chuck, Pricked, and Jewels scheduled, the Boston Ballet has a thrilling year ahead. And if the energy and vibrancy of La Bayadere is any indication of the quality of the rest of the company’s season, viewers, without a doubt, have a great deal to look forward to. n

Bridging the genre gap between hip-hop and country music James Hennelly I’ve been living with it for about four years now. Some days are harder than others, and hiding it from the world is a constant struggle. I take solace in the fact that I am not alone—your next door neighbor, the mailman, and heck, maybe even your mother stand with me. We are diverse, we are eager to buy CDs, and we are willing to fork over hundreds to attend concerts. We are country music fans.

In order to better understand my fandom, a brief background of my musical interests is in order. My eclectic musical taste was forged in the back seat of my 1994 Ford Taurus. Running errands with my mother as a child, I have vivid memories of belting the oldies of her heyday: Michael Jackson’s “I’m Bad,” Tina Turner’s classic, “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and Madonna’s timeless “Like a Prayer,” to name a few. Unfortunately, once I entered elementary school, I realized that enjoying songs that my mother so affectionately dubbed “’80s alerts” would not make me “cool” in the eyes of the other children.

In an attempt to fit in, I started listening exclusively to New York City’s pop music stations (Z100 and KTU, to you native New Yorkers), and I inhabited this musical domain for the next several years.

Around the time I entered seventh grade, I succumbed to the inevitability that as an Irish kid from the Bronx, I would like rap music. The thing is, I didn’t just like rap and hip-hop as a 13 year old, I devoured it. To this day, I can still recite every lyric from 50 Cent’s seminal classic, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. As embarrassing as that is for me to admit, this tidbit captures the scope of my devotion: I was completely enthralled by the hip-hop culture. All the background of the tracks, the origins of feuds, and the

jargon of the genre—everything about the music fascinated me. My love affair with hip-hop continued throughout high school, but as I made my way to BC, a profound change occurred. My tastes shifted to a place I never could’ve imagined—our southern U.S., more specifically, Country U.S.A. When I reflect on this conversion all these years later, I realize that this shift isn’t as profound as it may seem: hip-hop and country music are quite similar, more so than most acknowledge.

photo courtesy of google images

Rap and country music may seem like totally distinct genres, but there are surprising similarities.

At their core, both hip-hop and country are niche musical genres targeted at a very specific audience. Hip-hop speaks to the experience of inner-city youth as it reflects its urban birthplace in dancehalls of the Bronx. Similarly, country music, a genre that touches upon the issues of Middle America, caters to the ears of southern men who have some background in farming, and who likely own a pick-up truck. In order to serve their communities effectively, country and hip-hop songs possess their own vernacular as well as certain themes or concepts with which most songs deal.

Most country songs on the radio today discuss issues such as love (lost, budding, or fading), alcohol (celebratory or as a coping mechanism), and rural pastimes such as farming, hunting, and fishing.

Hip-hop on the other hand focuses on topics such as crime and its effect on the community, lavishness (once a rapper has become lucky enough to achieve it), and love (albeit in a much more “direct” manner than does country, that is, primarily physical love). With these themes in mind, artists in each genre are given a framework in which to craft their songs.

This established musical context functions to make hip-hop and country much more focused than other music. Listeners know what to expect from a country or

rap song, and they either find the subject matter relatable or they don’t. Therefore, it’s no coincidence that these are two of the most polarizing types of music.

In the same vein, the vernacular of this music reflects the insularity of the communities. If you don’t know what the words mean that these artists use and don’t take the time to look them up, you simply won’t enjoy the songs. The music will be inaccessible to you. With that said, many of these genre-specific terms aren’t that far off between the two: the club in hip-hop becomes a honky-tonk in country. A bottle of Rose becomes a Bud Heavy or a shot of whiskey. Tupac and Biggie give way to George Strait and Conway Twitty. Both genres cleverly employ language to convey the themes that govern the music.

Despite these similarities, hip-hop and country sound totally disparate. But before you write off one or the other, I encourage you, with my own experience as an example, to approach each genre with an open mind and focus on familiar aspects of the music instead of dwelling on the unknown.

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

ARTS&REVIEW THE HEIGHTS

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Monday, January 17, 2013

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Casting a spell

THE FINER THINGS

Alive and unplugged

With a Jesus clad in jeans and a t-shirt, and a parable featuring Kanye West and Taylor Swift, the Dramatics Society’s version of ‘Godspell’ was a true original.

ARIANA IGNERI If something were plugged in, you’d think it’d be connected.

On my way out the door every morning, I lock up my house, zip my jacket, put in my earphones, and press play on my iPhone.

It’s routine. I hurry down the street blindly, hardly ever seeing the orange and yellow autumn leaves on the sidewalk or the neighbors walking their dogs. I sit on the Comm.

Ave. shuttle, thoughtless, never thinking about anything other than the lyrics I’m singing in my head. I weave through campus listening only to my music, deaf to the “hellos” and “how are you’s?” from friends I pass as I race to class. In almost all respects, I’m unaware of what is happening around me—I’m plugged in.

The other day, after a grueling five hours in the library, I packed my things and got ready to leave. Once I was set, I switched my earphones from my laptop to my phone and headed over to the printers. Desensitized by the infinite playlist synched to my conscious self, I experienced everything as if it were a blur. The print line was long, and only after several minutes did I realize that a friendly face was right beside me. I took a moment to step out of my world, enter back into reality, and say hi to him. He, similarly, had his headphones on, and it took him a while to respond. When he did, he gazed at me blankly. There was an obvious disconnect.

I could see him reorienting himself, almost like he had to reboot to interact in a social context. After all that, we laughed, chatted, said goodbye, and then … we both went back to our music.

Situations like this are becoming more and more common. Since most young adults own a personal MP3 player of some kind, it’s not surprising to say that these devices have, in many ways, influenced the way we relate to one another.

According to research by Michael Bull of the University of Sussex, England, iPods and other comparable music players have the ability to “simultaneously isolate and connect.” In his book, Sound Moves: iPod Culture and Urban Experience, Bull explained that while using these different media technologies has positive effects, such as empowering us to control our surroundings, using them also has negative effects, in that they disconnect us from the same environment they first allowed us to regulate. It’s an odd juxtaposition.

We listen to music through earphones while we’re exercising, commuting, and even while we’re grocery shopping, selecting the sounds we hear as we move through various spaces. In this way, we can decisively drown out things like the white noise in a coffee shop or the piercing cries of children on a bus. It would seem that by being plugged in, we’re liberated because we can tune the world to our own aesthetic desires. We can “control the rhythms of daily life.”

Even Bose has seized the appeal of this idea, marketing their noise-cancelling headphones with the persuasive slogan: “What I hear is up to me.” And after all, who doesn’t like control?

But, of course, this power comes with a drawback: the more autonomous we become in our own sensory world, the more isolated we become from the real, social sphere.

Sure, we can navigate our way through an iTunes library effortlessly, but how do we do when we have to make it through an actual conversation? My own experience has proved the awful truth—the more we plug in, the more disconnected we are.

When we have our earphones, it’s like we’re retreating into a personal comfort zone, safe from circumstances that might make us uneasy. We can avoid conversations with friends, and we can prevent exchanges with strangers, just by seeming occupied with the tracks on our iPods.

If we continue to alienate ourselves, though, we’ll only end up withdrawing deeper into ourselves, disregarding any sense of community. And really, what good would that do? Music isn’t the same if you don’t share it once in a while.

So, I think we’ve all got to take a second and press pause. We need to rewind and recognize everything and everyone we’ve been missing. We need to live our lives unplugged—connected, instead, to the people around us. And then, only then, should we go ahead and press play.

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

ALEX GAYNOR / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Dramatics Society brought a fresh modern take on ‘Godspell’ to Bonn Studio Theater

BY KATHERINE THIBODEAU For The Heights This year’s production of Godspell, put on by the Boston College Dramatics Society and directed by Alessa Natale, A&S ’14, was especially relevant as it reflected all of the recent rebuilding efforts of Boston. This rendition of the musical, which is based on the Gospel according to Matthew, features Jesus Christ as a gardener, working with his disciples to “build a beautiful city of man.” Natale and assistant director Jake Alexander, LSOE ’14, note that they wanted the play to reflect “the idea of rebuilding a community after damage has been done.” A lot of heart went into the making of this musical in particular and the production did not disappoint. Full of upbeat songs and flashy dances choreographed by Michelle Principi, A&S ’15, such as the smooth and room-filling vocals of “Learn Your Lessons Well,” led by Christy Coco,

A&S ’17, and the fast-paced, heart-pumping “All for the Best,” sung together by Jesus and Judas, Godspell added fun, comedy, and some modern twists on Jesus’ teachings and many famous parables of the Gospels.

The musical started off with eight lost souls, soon to be disciples of Jesus, each dressed in different attire and professing his or her own religious philosophies in song. Immediately the audience was taken out of biblical times and placed in modern day as they realized the eight people are students dressed in modern attire and holding iPhones. Each student was dressed differently—one with a North Face backpack, another with a backward baseball cap, another in a billowy, bohemian shirt—reflecting the different identities of each. The entire scene evoked the famous To w e r o f

GODSPELL WHO: Boston College Dramatics Society WHEN: Wednesday Oct. 30, Thursday Oct. 31, Friday Nov. 1 WHERE: Bonn Studio Theater WHAT: A new spin on the musical classic, ‘Godspell’ brought a modern context to a familiar tale

SEE ‘GODSPELL,’ A9

Boston Ballet merges East and West in ‘La Bayadere’

BY ARIANA IGNERI

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

ALEX GAYNOR / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Both the vocalists and the instrumentalists of BC bOp! were in fine form on Friday night.

BC bOp! sings and swings in Gasson performance Friday

BY ALEXANDRA COYLE For The Heights Gasson 100 brimmed with anticipation as the BC bOp! jazz band warmed up in front of a packed room. A cacophony of sounds resounded throughout the room as parents, students, and community members looked on and wondered what the unique and talented group would play. Amid the noise, the vocalists lined up and the room fell silent as the band burst with sound under the direction of David Healey.

BC bOp! celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and has had a long history of performing familiar swing tunes as well as unconventional ones, producing

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an always-exciting performance. In a world in which jazz isn’t readily listened to by younger generations, BC bOp!’s impressive showmanship and musical skills bring all generations out to listen to jazz. BC bOp! has also displayed its skills at music festivals from Idaho to Florida, consistently being recognized as a notable ensemble.

Every bOp! concert typically opens up with “Come Fly With Me” and this night was no different. The swelling sound emitted from the band reverberated throughout the room, infusing the air with an almost-electric energy.

Although a familiar and standard tune,

See BC bOp!, A9

Bostonians host Halloween Invitational

The BU Treblemakers and BC Shaan joined the Bostonians on Friday......................................A8

A host of ballerinas, in sparkling white leotards and tutus, slowly sways across the dimly-lit stage of the Boston Opera House.

Set in the lush jungles of India, the show’s backdrop is dark and enchanted. The dancers glow luminously, as they plie with synchronized precision and poise, reflecting each other’s every move. Their delicate arms rise and fall gracefully to the swelling strums of the orchestra’s harp. In front of this dream-like scene, the ballet’s star-crossed lovers share a long-awaited embrace. The couple tiptoes off stage together, following behind the rest of the dancers. The curtain drops.

The closing scene to the Boston Ballet’s performance of Florence Clerc’s La Bayadere is beautifully tragic. It’s one of the most entrancing aspects of the show—the culmination of the narrative and emotional plot of the ballet. The story revolves around the noble warrior Solar and the stunning temple dancer Nikaya, who spend three acts fighting fate before they can finally be united. The jealousy of a High Brahmin, the revenge of a Rajah, and even the hand of death try to separate them, but in this tale, eternal love is undefeatable.

La Bayadere was the ideal show for the Boston Ballet to perform for the opening of its 50th season because it enabled the company to take risks with daring choreography, striking costumes, and bold sets, while at the same time maintaining a sense of tradition.

Originally performed in 1877 by the Imperial Ballet, La Bayadere is a classic in every technical sense of the word, but the exotic nature of

‘12 Years A Slave’ enthralls

The masterful slave drama from Steve McQueen brings history to horrific life...........................A8

its story allowed the company to infuse it with the vibrant culture of Asia.

Considering these influences, Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen referred to the production as a “a feast for the senses.”

Clerc, modeling her choreography after Marius Petipa’s, skillfully mixed conventional dance steps with Indian ones—there were the typical swirls and twirls common in ballet, but there were also moves that had the dancers either meditating on the floor or leaping around a sacred ritual fire. Her work demonstrated the dexterity of the company’s dancers and the versatility of their repertoire,

See La Bayadere, A9

PHOTO COURTESY OF GENE SCHIAVONE

Set in the jungles of India, Boston Ballet’s ‘La Bayadere’ was both traditional and innovative.

More movie reviews

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SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

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Monday, November 4, 2013

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Rettig quiets the doubters for a week

BOSTON COLLEGE 34

VIRGINIA TECH 27

PICKED UP

AUSTIN TEDESCO It was a rushed victory formation, without enough time to celebrate or appreciate what was happening. Boston College senior quarterback Chase Rettig hurried his team to the line on the Virginia Tech 35. There was 1:24 left in the game, and the Eagles were up seven points on the Hokies. Senior BC defensive lineman Kasim Edebali had just forced Tech quarterback Logan Thomas to fumble. BC scooped it up, and here was Rettig, egged on by his head coach, to get out there and seal the win before a review could get in the way.

The fumble looked legitimate, but the underdogs weren’t taking any chances. Rettig took a knee before any whistles blew. Virginia Tech was out of timeouts, so now he could start to have his moment. He turned around to find senior wide receiver Alex Amidon standing 10 yards behind him, acting as insurance for a bad snap. Rettig threw up both arms, emphatically pointing with each hand to one of his saving graces the past two seasons.

One year ago, Amidon stood just a couple feet to Rettig’s left in one of the lowest points of a horribly depressing season. The Eagles were hosting the Hokies in Alumni Stadium in November, just like they did on Saturday—except instead of Saturday’s ecstatic cheers, there was a heavy rain of boos.

After Virginia Tech had just converted a field goal to tie the game at 23 on Senior Day, BC took over with 59 seconds on the clock, two timeouts, and a chance to put the reliable leg of Nate Freese in a position to win the game.

Following two straight runs to David Dudeck and two timeouts by Tech head coach Frank Beamer, former BC head coach Frank Spaziani sent Rettig out on the field to take a knee and concede overtime. The Eagles eventually lost, as BC couldn’t answer a Hokies touchdown after Rettig faced serious pressure on his three passing attempts in OT. “Every competitor wants the ball, but it was a smart decision to play for overtime there,” Rettig said after the game, of Spaziani’s decision to take the knee. “We were tied at that point. I don’t think that decision had an impact on the game.”

Rettig helped wash away those old demons—the ones that came from six wins in two years and from poor performances in the previous two games this season—in his 11-14 passing performance for 93 yards and a touchdown, adding 20 yards through two carries on the ground. The numbers aren’t particularly impressive, but Rettig doesn’t need to wow anyone with his statistics—not for himself, his new head coach Steve Addazio, or his team.

There have been calls from outside the team for BC to give backup quarterback Josh Bordner a chance ahead of the incumbent senior. Bordner is, in some ways, more Addazio and offensive coordinator Ryan Day’s style.

He’s more mobile, and giving him some looks now would let BC start preparing for next year when a new system gets implemented after the mass exodus of this senior class.

But that is dumb. Rettig may not be the heart of the BC football team, but he’s without a doubt become one of its leaders. Without being provoked, his offensive teammates talk about his poise in the huddle and his confidence under pressure. Those are both things that a team fighting for every inch on the way to six wins can’t live without.

Yes, sometimes he holds onto the ball for too long, and yes, he can be too locked in on Amidon on certain plays, but when Amidon is the only receiver with a chance to get open on a majority of plays, it eventually makes sense to instinctually focus in his direction. Rettig isn’t close to perfect and his play isn’t extraordinary, but he’s a solid game-manager who receives far too much lazily-placed blame during losses. It would be irresponsible to replace him with a backup solely for

See Column, B4

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

drop—four years in the making—and a catalyst for an eruption of excitement along BC’s sideline.

“It was amazing to see them rally around me,” Pierre-Louis said of his teammates. “I owe it to them, especially for scoring, because if it wasn’t for them I definitely wouldn’t have made it to the end zone.”

After four quarters of forcing Virginia Tech mistakes and turning them into points, BC walked away with a 34-27 conference victory.

“This was a real big game for our program in terms of our building,” said head coach Steve Addazio. “It’s one game. It’s not more than one game, but it was a real step for our program.”

From the outset, each side looked poised to match the other point for point in a back-and-forth duel.

Senior running back Andre Williams took BC’s first swing at the nation’s No. 8 defense in points allowed per game, breaking to his right for a 19-yard score.

Momentum seesawed back to the Hokies, who finished off a second-quarter drive to the BC goal line

BY CHRIS GRIMALDI Assoc. Sports Editor Midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday’s home game against Virginia Tech, senior linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis experienced a career first at the perfect time.

His teammates in the Boston College football team’s defensive unit broke through the Hokie offensive line, swarming the pocket in which opposing quarterback Logan Thomas sought refuge. The senior signal-caller threw a lob pass up toward midfield out of desperation as he retreated from the onslaught of maroon and gold.

Moments later, a waiting Pierre-Louis found himself clutching his first career interception. As his teammates turned to block, he seized an open lane along the Eagle sideline that culminated in a 33-yard journey to the end zone and a 27-20 BC advantage.

It was a ball Pierre-Louis was not going to

with a rushing touchdown from Trey Edmunds to tie the game. When Virginia Tech kicker Cody Journell drilled a 56-yard field goal—tying the longest kick in the NCAA this season—it seemed like Virginia Tech was about to take control a week removed from losing its place in the Top-25.

Yet the same BC team whose inability to translate opponents’ miscues into crooked numbers on the scoreboard took the field on Saturday with a new resolve. The plan was simple but pivotal to execute—force the ball out of Virginia Tech’s hands and score with it.

“We came into this game knowing that we had to make some plays,” Pierre-Louis said, “and we had to help our offense because they were going up against a pretty good defense. It was a turnover battle today, and we won.”

BC defensive back Manny Asprilla sparked the

See Football, B3

GAME CHANGING TURNOVERS 3Q 11:50

3Q 4:08

Interception Manny Asprilla started the turnover spree by picking off Thomas on first down

4Q 7:00

Fumble recovery Kasim Edebali sacked Thomas two drives later forcing the ball loose

4Q 1:21

Interception Kevin Pierre-Louis took a pick off Thomas 33yards to the endzone for a TD

Fumble recovery Edebali sealed the BC win by forcing another fumble late in the 4th

Eagles sweep Northeastern in first Hockey East series Third period surge sets stage for overtime triumph on Saturday

Friday night win kicks off conference play on a high note

BY MICHAEL HOFF

BY JACKIE SCHERER

The century-old layout of Northeastern’s Matthews Arena leaves the upper bowl of fans nearly on top of the ice, and that was never 3 Northeastern more noticeBoston College 4 able as Boston College senior forward Bill Arnold skated off to the penalty box with less than 13 minutes left in the third period of Saturday night’s men’s hockey game against the Huskies. With their team leading 3-1 and about to go on the man-advantage, Northeastern’s student section serenated Arnold with chants of “Get off the ice,” and were clearly confident in their team’s chances of salvaging a split in its weekend series with the Eagles.

Skating up the right side boards, Boston College’s Bill Arnold baited the only Northeastern defenseman wide and passed to team2 Northeastern mate Johnny Boston College 4 Gaudreau, who buried the puck on the short-handed rush against NU goalie Clay Witt. This 2-on-1 gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead midway through the second period and sparked BC momentum, despite a slow start.

In their first home game since a tough loss on the road at the University of Minnesota, the No. 8 Eagles needed to produce a win against No. 19 Northeastern to maintain the promising start they showed early on in the season. With a final score of

For The Heights

For The Heights

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Sat. Hockey, B4

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BC

The BC men’s hockey team swept Northeastern to open Hockey East play last weekend.

defense

seeks

redemption

Men’s basketball looks to contain opponents with improved personnel.................B5

Women’s Hockey bests Providence

The Eagles played a home and home with the Friars this weekend, winning both.................B2

See Fri. Hockey, B4

Football recap............................B3 Sports in short............................B2

The Heights

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BC closes season with a loss

BC drops two on the road

By Ryan Hooper For The Heights

By Marly Morgus Asst. Sports Editor

On Saturday, the No. 10 Boston College field hockey team closed its season in Winston-Salem, N.C. with one final ACC matchup against the No. 16 Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Suffering an early deficit, the Eagles could not fight their way back for a win and ended up leaving Wake with a 3-1 loss.

Coming into the game, BC had a record of 12-5, 1-4 in the ACC, with non-conference wins boosting the Eagles into high standing nationally. Similarly, Wake Forest entered the day with no ACC wins, but had a 10-7 record to hold the Deacons to their top-20 rank.

The Deacons struck first when Taylor Rhea scored an unassisted goal during the 28th minute. Rhea would prove to be the only scorer of the day for Wake, notching each of its three goals, only one of them assisted by a teammate.

That assisted goal came after the half way mark, during the 58th minute, when Rhea took a pass from Jess Newak to give Wake a 2-0 lead.

Senior midfielder Paige Norris brought the Eagles within one just eight minutes after Rhea’s second score. The goal was unassisted and marked Norris’ second of the season, but it would not prove enough to shift the momentum in BC’s favor.

Rhea would score another unassisted goal for Wake Forest less than two minutes later, completing her hat trick and bringing the Deacons to their final two-goal margin over BC, with the rest of playing time winding down without any further offensive

Monday, November 4, 2013

Graham beck / heights editor

Paige Norris had BC’s only goal against Wake in the Eagles’ final game of the regular season. success for either team.

While the Deacons dominated the scoreboard, the game was not as one-sided as it appeared, as BC was outshot by a narrow margin of 16-14. Six saves from Wake Forest goaltender Valerie Dahmen, however, kept the Eagles’ efforts at bay.

BC was also given five attempts at corners, which can be valuable in terms of creating scoring chances, but those chances didn’t convert into enough scoring for the Eagles to be able to even the goal column.

The Eagles end their regular season with a final record of 12-6, 1-5 in the ACC, good enough for a seventh place finish in the conference.

Next up for BC is the ACC Tournament,

which will take place on Newton Campus on Nov. 7, 8, and 10. The Eagles will take on Syracuse in a rematch of BC’s first major upset of the season when the then No. 17 Eagles topped the No. 5 Orange 6-3 on Sept. 20.

This game and another upset win over the University of Connecticut helped BC to its highest ranking of the season at No. 6. Since the Connecticut game, the Eagles are 2-4 in their last six games of the season, as they faced a stretch of competitive ACC games.

If BC pulls off a win, it will face No. 1 Maryland on Friday, who will have had a first round bye. The final will take place on Sunday, Nov. 10. n

The Boston College volleyball team (8-15, 0-11 ACC) traveled to North Carolina this weekend hoping to notch its first conference wins of the season with matches against Wake Forest and Duke. Their efforts would prove unsuccessful though, as they would drop both games, starting with Wake Forest on Friday night.

The Eagles started the first set strong, trading points with the Demon Deacons, who held a slim 10-9 lead midway through the set. But Wake Forest would break the game open, going on a 9-3 run in which Boston College would use both of its timeouts. The Eagles would lose the set 25-15, with the winning point coming on a service error from freshman Madisen Lydon, who otherwise played a very strong game with a match-high 22 kills.

The Eagles again played the Demon Deacons close at the start of the second set, trailing by one midway through. But Wake Forest would outscore BC 6-3 in the following nine points, again forcing the Eagles to use a timeout. But this time the Eagles would battle back, chipping away at the Wake Forest lead and narrowing the score to a manageable 18-17. But the Demon Deacons responded, closing the set with a 7-2 run.

BC refused to give up, battling back in the third set. Facing a 24-22 match point, the Eagles fought back, winning back-to-back points and tying the set at 24. A hard-fought rally resulting in a kill, and a fortunate blocking error from Wake Forest pushed the match to a fourth set.

The Eagles raced out to a 9-6 lead early in the fourth, forcing Wake Forest to take a timeout. The teams seesawed back and forth, with the Wake Forest side leading 12-11 midway through the set. But the Demon Deacons closed out

Eagles top Friars twice in series

Roundup

XC teams participate in ACCs

By Alex Fairchild For The Heights

SPORTS in SHORT

Deadlocked at 1-1, the women’s ice hockey team went into overtime with an edge in its Sunday afternoon matchup against Providence. After Corinne Buie went to the penalty box for the second time in the third period for a two-minute minor, BC was able to take its power play into overtime.

Yet the Eagles failed to get a shot off in the final seconds of the third period and at the start of the extra frame. The Friars killed the penalty only to meet their demise 2:20 into overtime, when Melissa Bizzari scored after receiving the puck from Kate Leary to keep the No. 6 Eagles undefeated.

A slow start from both teams led to a scoreless opening period. The visitors managed just three shots in the first segment of play.

Taylor Wasylk broke the deadlock for BC with 13 minutes remaining in the second period. The senior forward was assisted by Haley Skarupa for her second short-handed goal of the season. Wasylk beat Providence goaltender Sarah Bryant’s glove side.

But Providence leveled toward the end of the period when Molly Illikainen beat Corinne Boyles at 18:42. Maggie Pendleton and Britt Thunstrom assisted Illikainen with the teams at even strength.

The Friars dominated the period, pelting Boyles with nine shots and holding the home side to two.

The Eagles picked up their game in the third period, forcing Bryant to make 15 stops. But the overtime goal from Bizzari made all the difference, allowing BC to take all the spoils from its first Hockey East home-and-home series of the season.

On Friday evening, head coach Katie King Crowley’s team pelted Providence inwhat proved to be its highest scoring

By Rob Sheehan Fot The Heights

Graham beck / heights editor

Haley Skarupa had five points, including four in the first game of the series, in the Eagles’ two games against Providence this weekend. contest of the season.

Skarupa scored twice at Schneider Arena, along with Leary in the team’s 8-6 victory.

Rebecca Morse opened the scoring for Providence five minutes into the first period. Liv Halvorson and Illikainen teamed up to create the opportunity for Morse, whose goal put the Eagles on the back foot.

Three minutes later, Kaliya Johnson dished the puck to Danielle Doherty to even it up.

Lexi Bender was sentenced to the box for a two-minute minor at 15:38, giving the Friars the chance to retake the lead on the power play. The hosts took advantage when Beth Hanrahan scored to make it 2-1.

On the power play, Skarupa got her first

ACC Atlantic Football Standings Team

the set on an 11-2 run, sealing the 3-1 victory. The Eagles were paced by Captain Kellie Barnum who had a match-high 37 assists to go along with six digs. Freshman Anna Skold contributed a career-high 14 kills, and senior Melissa McTighe registered nine kills, three digs, and four block assists.

On Saturday the Eagles traveled to Durham, N.C. to face No. 18 Duke (203, 11-1 ACC). The Blue Devils dominated the first set, notching 16 kills to the Eagles’ six. Duke raced out to a 13-6 lead and refused to let up, winning the set 25-17.

Duke continued its strong start, jumping out to a substantial lead at the midway point. The Eagles could do nothing to slow the Blue Devils, who won the set 25-17.

Again, BC refused to give up. The Eagles claimed a 7-2 lead behind three kills from middle blocker McTighe. The Eagles battled to maintain their lead throughout the set. Duke was able to close the gap, making it 22-21 BC late in the set. But Skold came up with a pair of clutch kills to effectively win the set 25-22.

The Eagles continued their strong comeback in the fourth as they took the opening four points of the set. But Duke would battle back, taking the lead 11-10 nearly midway through the set. The Eagles kept it close, fighting to a narrow 21-19 deficit. But a four-point spurt from the Blue Devils ended the Eagles’ comeback and sealed the 3-1 victory for Duke.

Sophomore Katty Workman notched her ninth double-double of the season, contributing a team-high 13 kills to go with 16 digs. McTighe posted 12 kills for the Eagles, who were held to a .106 hitting percentage. Duke Senior Ali McCurdy tied her season high with 26 digs to become the ACC’s all-time digs leader.

The Eagles return to Power Gym this weekend against Notre Dame. n

Conference Overall

Florida State

6-0

8-0

Clemson

6-1

8-1

Syracuse

2-2

4-4

Boston College

2-3

4-4

Wake Forest

2-4

4-5

Maryland

1-3

5-3

NC State

0-5

3-5

of the night from Leary and Wasylk. The senior’s finish gave way to four more Eagle goals before the period’s end. Kristyan Capizzano’s finish was sandwiched between Skarupa’s two goals.

Leary’s goal followed the tally that finished Skarupa’s brace, and Andie Anastos topped off the Eagles’ second period demolition of the Friars.

The visitors led 6-2 heading into the final frame. A power play midway through the third period gave Haley Frade the go ahead to pull one back for Providence, who would need to make up three more goals before the night was over. The Friars certainly looked determined to do so though, as they nearly tripled the Eagles’ shot total.

Bender made up for her first period penalty in full when she restored BC’s

four-goal advantage fromLeary and Jackie Young making it 7-3.

Crowley’s defense nearly collapsed in the final two minutes, conceding three goals to Providence while they had an empty net. Buie scored the first of the bunch, before Cassidy Carrels added on the second. Illikainen tacked on the third of the Friars’ last gasp efforts at 19:34.

Pinned back in their zone for much of the third period, it took an empty-net goal from Leary to put the game beyond doubt for the Eagles with three seconds remaining.

Megan Miller was given the decision for BC, improving to 2-0-0 on the season.

She replaced Boyles in the second period and tallied 18 saves. Providence forced Boyles to stop nine shots before she was removed. n

Numbers to Know

38

The number of games that Kevin Pierre-Louis started before his first interception.

1

Thenumber number of points that Bill The of points that Bill Arnold Arnold to break 100. next The needs to needs break 100.

The Eagles’ Eagles’ next game game is against BU. is against BU.

7

BC field hockey’s final national rankseason.w ing heading into the post season.

Both the women’s and men’s cross country teams competed in the ACC Championship meet Friday in Kernersville, N.C. The women’s team placed sixth out of 15 teams on the rainy course at Beeson Park. Junior Liv Westphal was at the front of the pack for the whole six-kilometer race and grabbed a third-place-overall finish. Westphal’s time of 20:15.9 was a 17-second improvement over last year’s ACC meet.

Senior Morgan Mueller was next across the line for the Eagles in 21:34 for 31st place. Brittany Winslow, Elizabeth O’Brien and Madeleine Davidson all finished close behind in under 21:45 to round out BC’s top five.

Florida State won the meet on the women’s side with a team score of 52, and Duke’s Juliet Bottorff won the individual crown.

The men’s team finished ahead of only Miami in 13th out of 14 teams competing.

Freshman Kevin Sullivan led the way for the Eagles. Sullivan covered the eight-kilometer course in 25:45, taking 73rd place overall. Junior Brian Wolff was the second Eagle across the line in 26:11. Anthony Bellitti, Joe McConaughy, and Richard Lucas closed out the top-five-scoring runners for BC. Syracuse took the team title in its first ACC Championship meet with a score of 64. NC State’s Andrew Colley took home the individual title. Colley is NC State’s second individual champion in the last three years.

Both teams will be heading to New York City on Nov. 15 for the NCAA Northeast Regional, hoping to punch a ticket to the NCAA Championship meet. n

Quote of the Week

“This year is unique and we have two good goaltenders. I’m not blind. I see them. We’ve got two good goalies, so they’ll play.”

— Jerry York on using both Thatcher Demko and Brian Billett.

Billett

The Heights

Monday, November 4, 2013

B3

Graham Beck Alex Gaynor/ heights Editors

key stats

4 82 10

Virginia Tech turnovers forced by BC’s defense

quote of the Game

Interceptions yards by BC

“This was a real big game for our program in terms of our building. It’s one game. It’s not more than one game, but it was a real step for our program.”

- Steve Addazio BC football head coach

Number of second-half points by which BC outscored VT

Standouts

Memorable Play Kevin Pierre-Louis intercepted an errant pass from Hokie quarterback Logan Thomas and returned it 33 yards to the end zone. The touchdown gave BC a seven-point advantage halfway through the fourth quarter.

Prime Performance Kalvin Cline

Kevin Pierre-Louis

Graham Beck / Heights Editor

Kevin Pierre-Louis broke the game open for BC with a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Eagles had trouble stopping VT tight end Kalvin Cline.

Andre Williams tallied another performance of over 100 rushing yards, along with two scores on the ground.

His 62-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter was the game-winner.

Football Notebook

Turnovers and pressure were key to Eagle BC gets revenge on Hokies victory, but injuries are starting to pile up Football, from B1

By Alex Stanley Heights Staff

Kasim Edebali rushed by the Virginia Tech right tackle and came within inches of Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas, thrusting his hands up. Thomas threw the ball up and then Edebali got his hand on it and tipped it far into the arms of Kevin Pierre-Louis, who ran the interception for a touchdown.

That touchdown gave Boston College a seven-point lead, from which Virginia Tech would never recover.

The Eagles upset the Hokies in Alumi Stadium on Saturday, beating them 34-27.

One of the key components in this game was the defensive rush and pressure.

“On the defense we got the turnovers I felt we needed to get going into the game,” said BC head coach Steve Addazio. “I told the defense that this game we needed to win, that’s the kind of game it was going to be.”

They did that, creating four turnovers— two fumbles and two interceptions.

The rushing defense showed a very aggressive mentality, beating the Virginia Tech offensive line with seeming ease. They sacked Thomas four times, for a total of 24 yards. Addazio said that this was all a part of the overall game plan.

“We’ve got to make things happen,” he said. “Defense is the tip of the spear for our program … We had to go after [Thomas].

We had to. And we didn’t go after him all of the time, but we have to play aggressively.

Sometimes if we just play back in zone, and they get the ball out there and they get in

“You’ve got to play aggressive. And the last couple of weeks, in the games, we were lacking a little bit in really forcing turnovers.”

-Kasim Edebali space, we sometimes have a hard time making those plays. So we’ve got to bring the fight to him, if you will. And that’s what we tried to do. And that’s our philosophy.”

Edebali noted that this was a primary

focus going into the game. He had eight tackles and two sacks on the day.

“Coach Brown says it every time— you’ve got to play aggressive,” he said. “And the last couple of weeks, in the games, we were lacking a little bit in really forcing turnovers.”

On a different note, both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball suffered from some injuries in this game.

The first to go out was sophomore tight end Brian Miller. On his one reception of the game, Miller caught a short pass from Rettig and sprinted down the field toward the right sideline. After gaining 12 yards and being tackled, Miller lay sprawled on the sidelines, clutching his knee. Miller was later ruled out of the game on account of a right knee injury.

This adds a big hit to a receiving core that is already lacking wide receiver and kick returner Spiffy Evans, due to a fractured clavicle. In addition to this, senior defensive lineman Kaleb Ramsey hobbled off of the field with a hamstring injury, while fellow lineman Jaryd Rudolph suffered from a concussion.

C.J. Jones was the primary hit to the secondary, as the defensive back came out late in the game with a right knee injury. n

first of four Virginia Tech turnovers four minutes into the third quarter, snatching a tipped pass out of the air and returning it to the Hokie red zone for a game-tying Nate Freese field goal.

Thomas and Virginia Tech responded with a touchdown-scoring drive marked by a 69-yard pass completion to receiver Joshua Stanford, who eluded BC’s secondary to find an opening. But the Eagle defense redeemed itself by creating a golden opportunity for its offense.

Senior defensive end Kasim Edebali delivered a bone-rattling hit from behind on the Virginia Tech signal-caller, sending a loose ball into the hands of teammate Ryan Mihalik at the Hokie 17-yard line.

Once again, BC’s offense capitalized.

Senior quarterback Chase Rettig rolled out to his right and watched as receiver Jake Sinkovec broke away from his defender. A short throw and a diving attempt inside the right pylon later, the Eagles had the game deadlocked at 17.

And when Pierre-Louis took an errant Virginia Tech pass to the house to break another tie, the Eagles refused to let go of their spot atop the scoreboard after multiple lead changes.

“We got it back by stripping and getting turnovers,” Addazio said. “That was the way of getting it back.”

Williams provided some pivotal insurance thanks to the BC defense’s stop of Virginia Tech on fourth down

near midfield. The senior back took a handoff 62 yards to the end zone for his second touchdown on the afternoon.

The touchdown capped an output of 166 yards—over 100 of which were tallied in the second half—against one of the nation’s most potent defenses.

“That’s not easy to do,” Addazio said.

Although the Hokies tried clawing their way back into the game with a late score, BC’s turnover-inducing defense ended the game in fitting fashion—with another forced fumble.

Edebali chased down a scrambling Thomas in the game’s final minutes, dislodging the football onto the turf in a botched attempt to pitch the ball forward. Cornerback Bryce Jones emerged from the pile with ball in hand, and the Eagles’ fourth victory in 2013 etched in the record book.

The victory marked one of BC’s most complete efforts against a conference rival this season, and snapped a two-game losing skid that threatened to thwart hopes for a strong second half.

“We kept echoing on the sidelines, ‘Let’s play to win, let’s not play not to lose,’” Pierre-Louis said, “and we just rallied around each other.”

Yet as the Eagles prepare to enter the final third of their year, Addazio recognized that complacency is a roadblock to his squad’s first bowl game birth in three years.

“We stand here at 4-4,” Addazio said. “All that matters now is getting five.” n

The Heights

B4

Monday, November 4, 2013

Billett holds on to help BC win in OT Sat. Hockey, from B1 Twenty-five seconds into the Huskies’ power play, it would be BC’s bench that would be heard in the old, wooden rafters of Matthew’s, as senior captain Patrick Brown’s short-handed goal silenced the Huskies fans and started an Eagle comeback that would lead to a 4-3 overtime victory. BC comes out of the weekend with four points to start its Hockey East slate.

“Two pretty hard fought hockey games,” said BC head coach Jerry York.

“Looking at down 3-1 in front of a raucous crowd, I feel really good about our response to that, in our sixth period of the weekend.”

In the first period, the Eagles controlled the play, but failed to capitalize on all but one of the chances that Husky breakdowns were giving them. One of these instances left forward Kevin Hayes open in the slot, but he was unable to finish. The Huskies then went the other way with a 3-on-2 of their own, and junior forward Adam Reid found fellow junior Torin Snydeman in front of the net, and Snyderman tipped the fluttering puck past Eagles’ goalie Brian Billett.

Hayes, who finished with a gamehigh six shots on net, capitalized later in the period, turning a neutral ice feed from defenseman Isaac MacLeod into a 2-on-1 with linemate Ryan Fitzgerald.

Hayes fired a cross-ice pass just past the faceoff dot to Fitzgerald, who buried the shot from the bottom of the right circle to tie the score. It was Fitzgerald’s third goal and Hayes’ sixth assist of the year, extending point streaks for both.

BC outshot Northeastern in the second, but the Huskies had nearly all the quality chances. It was in this period that Brian Billett both saved the game for BC

and likely caused future headaches for York and his staff as they decide who will be the Eagles primary goalie.

The best of these chances came with just under 12 minutes left in the period.

About a minute into a man-advantage for the Eagles, the puck bounced off Northeastern goalie Clay Witt and sent Reid on an almost full ice-length breakaway.

At the other end of the ice, Reid fired a close-range wrist-shot at Billett that the goalie deflected into the corner.

“It was like a 99 yard touchdown,” York said. “You never see that. He was probably tired.”

A turnover by Eagles’ defenseman Danny Linell in the BC zone at the start of the third period put the puck right on Husky star forward Kevin Roy’s stick.

Bottled up most of the night by BC’s deep defense corps, the four-on-four setting gave Roy the space he was looking for all game and he found freshman Mike Szmatula in front of the net.

All alone, Szmatula deked Billett and put his team up 2-1.

Less than four minutes later, two BC sticks deflected Husky defenseman Colton Saucerman’s wrist shot from the point, and the puck found its way past Billett. A minute and three seconds later, Arnold was called for holding.

“It’s 3-1, we’re on the power play, and even if (we) don’t score, we’re trying to create some momentum,” said Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan. “But, in fact, we gave it to them.”

While killing Arnold’s penalty, defenseman Mike Matheson found himself alone with the puck just inside the left side of the Northeastern blue line. Instead of unloading his unholy slapshot, he skated a few more strides with the puck, and with everyone in the arena, including Husky defensemen, expecting him to fire on Witt, he found Brown just

inside the right faceoff dot with a laser of a pass, and Brown did not waste time in reducing the deficit to one.

“We kill pretty aggressive, but being down 3-1, we especially wanted to push up ice,” Brown said.

Still down 3-2 with just under eight minutes left, Arnold flipped the puck in the air down the ice in the hope his linemate Johnny Gaudreau would retrieve it. Gaudreau beat the defenseman to the puck at the right half wall and accelerated toward the end boards.

With his defender on his inside hip, Gaudreau skated past the end line like he was going to attempt a wrap-around shot. Witt thought that was Gaudreau’s plan, too, and began shifting to the other side of his net.

Gaudreau, sensing Witt’s motion and spotting just enough space for one puck to fit in between the post and Witt’s skate, backhanded a shot from a decidedly acute angle behind the end line off of Witt’s left foot and into the net with 7:09 left in the third, good for his sixth goal of the year.

Brown was asked how many other players could’ve converted that move.

“Not too many,” He said. “[Gaudreau] sees the ice better than anyone I’ve ever played with.”

In overtime, the first and last quality chance for either side came when Brown, at the right faceoff dot in Northeastern’s zone, fired a harmless shot off of Witt’s left leg pad that found an inexplicably wide-open Adam Gilmour at the left hashmark. Gilmour beat a sprawling Witt one minute and a half minutes into the extra period to give BC the extra point.

“We just didn’t get to the post quick enough,” Madigan said. “And when you give a team like BC an opportunity like that they’re [going to] take advantage.” n

Graham Beck / heights Editor

Chase Rettig ran off the field smiling following a 34-27 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Rettig does enough to win Column, from B1 Bordner’s running ability.

Also, Rettig can run, at least a little bit. His consistent refusal to slide drives his coaches a little crazy, but Rettig relishes the few opportunities he gets to hit people. That’s the reasoning he gave when asked about his repeated shoulder ducking when he passes the line of scrimmage. He said he missed his high school days, when he rushed for more than 450 yards during his junior year, averaging more than six yards per carry.

After Rettig took that first knee on Saturday and pointed to Amidon, he took two more knees in the victory formation to close out the Hokies. Then he grasped the ball in his right hand and made one hop-skip, kicking his right knee into the air, almost as if he

was finishing at the rim with his right hand. As he came to the ground, Bordner was rushing at him from the sideline. They jumped up together, meeting in the air and bumping shoulders.

Rettig shook hands with the Virginia Tech players and coaches, joined his teammates in the endzone for the Alma Mater, and gave a hug to Day with a huge smile on his face. When the song was over he rushed off the field to the locker room, giving high fives to a young kid running next to him.

He waved to the crowd, but as he waved he clapped his fingers together, the same way you would if you were mocking someone for talking too much.

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

hockey notebook

Eagles’ goalie rotation will continue ByAlex Fairchild Heights Staff

Graham Beck / heights Editor

Thatcher Demko allowed two Huskie goals and accumulated 20 saves on the night.

BC kicks off conference play Fri. Hockey, from B1 4-2, the Eagles successfully regained their confidence after a closely-played game.

Although this was the Eagles’ first match against a Hockey East opponent, head coach Jerry York saw promising results.

“This was our first Hockey East game of the season, and the style of play is just different … Part of defending [Northeastern] is being very physical, and that’s what our defense did tonight,” York said.

Northeastern came out ready to play, showing strong defense against a skittish BC offense. The Eagles had trouble getting quality shots off early in the first, often shooting at bad angles.

The Huskies went on the scoreboard first with a goal from Belonger from Hedges and Ferreiro at 12:43. A penalty on BC’s Michael Matheson and NU’s Josh Manson brought a temporary four-onfour. Once on the power play, BC struggled to establish any plays to tie the game.

Hayes responded late in the first with an Eagle goal on the power play, taking a pass up the left side boards from Matheson, cutting around the defense and sneaking around Witt with a low corner shot. The period ended even at 1-1, with BC goalie Thatcher Demko making crucial saves to keep the score tied.

The Eagles brought more energy to the second period, dominating the Huskies’ zone and producing multiple scoring op-

portunities. Their passing was more precise and, instead of the hot-potato shots seen in the first period, more team-focused plays were established.

Gaudreau’s lone goal of the period established a streak of BC dominance that held until midway through the third period. His goal, coming on the short-handed 2-on-1 from Arnold, was Gaudreau’s first short-handed goal of his career. The rest of the period was spent in the Huskies’ zone, and shots were 26-15 in favor of BC. At 1:08 in the third period, a goal by Ryan Fitzgerald increased the BC lead to 3-1. A full-ice rush by Kevin Hayes resulted in a rebound opportunity for Fitzgerald to bury past Witt. Eagle momentum declined after Fitzgerald’s goal, however, and Northeastern responded a few minutes later with a power play score.

The BC penalty was on Fitzgerald for high sticking.

The Huskies pulled their goalie at 19:02 to play a 6-on-5 advantage, but a turnover in the neutral zone forced by Gaudreau resulted in an empty-net goal for the Eagles, setting the final score at 4-2.

The Eagles showed an ability to defeat tough competition coming off a loss.

“We need to let everyone know we’re out here,” Hayes said.

Hayes maintained the Eagles’ presence with a goal and an assist in the game.

These Hockey East teams played a mostly even-match, though the shots show a BC advantage at 33-22. Both teams had five penalties and both the Eagles and

Graham Beck / heights Editor

Johnny Gaudreau scored twice in the Eagles 4-2 win over Northeastern on Friday night.

Nobody ever said it was easy to be a freshman in college—let alone the youngest player in college hockey.

There is an immense amount of pressure each night for the members of the Boston College men’s hockey team on the rink , and in goalie Thatcher Demko’s third game in maroon and gold, he handled that pressure quite well.

“I think the goaltender made some really, really good saves,” said BC head coach Jerry York, “Some of them were really difficult saves, so I thought the goaltender was a big part of holding Northeastern down.”

While Demko conceded scores twice and made 20 stops, nine fewer than his opponent, Clay Witt, the freshman did an outstanding job in staying composed despite coming under fire from the visitors.

Demko made a few stops early in what started out as a physical matchup. There were multiple dustups between Huskies and Eagles in the opening period, as each team allowed the other limited space.

“They were a very physical team as well,” said senior forward Kevin Hayes, “We kind of just played our own game.”

After several minutes, the initial rush of adrenaline that comes with a Friday night matchup wore off.

Demko came up huge with 11 minutes to play in the first period, as the puck trickled just outside the crease to Torin Snydeman. The junior right winger had the goal at his mercy, because Demko left the right side of the net unattended. But the youngster got his 6-foot-3 frame back across goal in time to make a highlight reel save, belly-flopping to his left to thwart Snydeman’s effort.

But it was not all glitter for the newcomer, who was beaten stick-side

by Ryan Belonger moments later.

Demko was put under fire by Northeastern once again, making two saves early in the second period.

Midway through the game, the 17-year-old nearly shot himself and his team in the foot. In what could be deemed a lack of experience or a mental lapse, the goalie came out to the left of his goal looking to slide the puck behind his net for a routine Eagle reset. But instead of dropping the puck behind the cage, it bounced off the back of the net to a Northeastern player, who centered it to a teammate. Luckily for BC, Demko was able to recover to keep the Eagles level.

Ryan Fitzgerald doubled the BC advantage straight out of the starting blocks in the second period, giving Demko some breathing room, which he quickly conceded less than three minutes later, when Mike Szmatula’s screen successfully poked in a Colto Saucerman shot.

A glove save from a Braden Pimm

shot before the end of the second period secured the host’s new found lead, after Johnny Gaudreau beat Witt at the other end.

Blocker saves from Demko with both six and 12 minutes played in the third helped BC cling to its one goal lead. The rookie’s stick-side was pelted all night long and another stop was required of him moments later.

Demko received plenty of help from his teammates on the night to keep the amount of shots he had to face as low as possible. The most notable assistance came through the efforts of senior forward Bill Arnold, who took a pair of Northeastern shots to his body in the game’s closing minutes.

The senior class has been very happy with the development of the freshmen, according to Hayes.

“The freshmen are doing unbelievable,” Hayes said, “Coming into the season, everyone thought we might have a slow start because of how young we’re going to be.”

With Demko earning praise from his head coach and teammates, it seems like he would be a favorite for a full-time role, though York said he will continue to switch between Demko and junior Brian Billett.

“We’re fortunate this year that Brian and Thatcher are both playing well for us, so I love it when we can have two goaltenders that can play like this,” York said, “We’re going to rotate them for awhile and if there becomes a separation, then surely one will takeover.”

But York has not had a goaltending dilemma on his hands since the 2004-05 season, during which Cory Schneider split time with Matti Kaltiainen.

“We’ve been fortunate with Muse, Milner, and Schneider, and Clemmensen,” York said, “They really played 95 percent of our games, but this year is unique and we have two good goaltenders. I’m not blind, I see them. We’ve got two good goalies, so they’ll play.” n

Graham Beck / heights Editor

Jerry York said after Friday’s game the goalies would continue to rotate for now.

The Heights

Monday, November 4, 2013

B5

BC basketball switches to aggressive defensive style for 2013-14

By Austin Tedesco Sports Editor

During a long, challenging freshman season, Boston College forward Ryan Anderson got beaten up in the paint by bigger, stronger, and more experienced ACC players. Anderson spent the next summer working himself into shape so that he could guard the four position consistently without it affecting his offensive output.

He thought he was in a good spot, but then center Dennis Clifford started having knee trouble and Anderson was forced to guard the five spot—and he got beat up in a whole different way.

Around mid-February, the pounding wasn’t just weighing on him physically.

Trying to contain much larger and more athletic ACC centers without reliable help from the guards took a mental toll as well.

But after an offseason in which Anderson has improved in every physical category the team tests—four inches added to his vertical leap, 15 pounds more on the bench press, one percent less body fat—he doesn’t see that happening again.

“I improved my body from freshman and sophomore year to be a good athlete for the four position,” Anderson said. “This offseason I improved my body to be a good athlete for the five position, so now I feel like I’m great for both positions. It took getting beat up as a freshman at the four position and then getting beat up as a sophomore at the five position, to now as a junior I plan on reciprocating it back to other teams.”

For the Eagles to take the next step defensively heading into the 2013-14 season, it’s not only going to take that kind of individual improvement on and off the ball, but more importantly, as Anderson noted, the real strides will be made as the collective team defense gets better.

“It’s something we’ve really been focusing on,” Anderson said. “It’s all about team defense for us.”

The first stride starts, simply, with depth.

There was only one game last season in which more than seven players logged 15 minutes or more for the Eagles. In eight of BC’s games in 2012-13, just six players logged double-digit minutes. ACC defense is physically demanding on young players, but it’s also mentally taxing. With five BC players ranking in the top 30 of the ACC’s minutes played percentage—the most of any team—the Eagles were scraping to stay in games rather than anything else. That mentality has shifted.

“We’ve changed up a lot of our defensive strategies, really trying to be more aggressive,” Anderson said. “Everything is about aggressive, aggressive—never be passive. Try

graham beck / heights editor

BC will exhibit a new-look defense for the 2013-14 season that fits their veteran roster. to take things away.”

“You have to be in better shape to do that, but it also comes down to having more guys.

We’re going to have a very deep team this year, we can play almost 10 guys, whereas last year at some points we were down to six, seven guys. Just the extra bodies will help us try to wear teams down, not only in our game but during the season.”

While head coach Steve Donahue has primarily stuck to man defense and the occasional, and usually unsuccessful, 2-3 zone, the Eagles will throw out more complex zones and presses with more regularity this season, and they’re planning on having the bodies to do it aggressively for sustained minutes without it wearing on them during the season.

A major component of the new, aggressive approach starts with returning ACC Rookie of the Year Olivier Hanlan. By the end of last season he was scoring almost at will, but was often criticized for his defense, especially off the ball. Hanlan could get lost when BC tried to rotate, either losing focus or honing in too much on his man while ignoring the ball.

“I think part of that is just being a freshman and he didn’t understand some concepts,” Anderson said. “But I think this year that’s something that people have said about him—that he wasn’t that great of a defender—and I think he’s taken that to heart, and he’s ready to prove that he can get steals a lot of times off the ball, whether it’s digging into the post or getting into passing lanes.

That’ll really ignite our offense and any time you can get Olivier with the ball in transition you want that.”

Hanlan said that at times last season he was afraid of making mistakes on the defensive end, but now Donahue is emphasizing that he needs to be more aggressive and go for steals. Donahue knows that getting Hanlan in the open court is easily one of BC’s most effective forms of offense.

“That also relates to communication,”

Hanlan said. “When you open your mouth on defense it makes it a lot easier.”

That aggressive play also applies to post defense. Anderson said he’s more prepared to guard the center position not just because of the progress he’s made, but also because of the more reliable team defense as a whole.

“I wasn’t really used to the physicality and just the daily toll it takes on your body,” Anderson said. “I think I’m much more prepared for it now, I kind of know what it takes, but also we’ve become a better team defender of the post. It’s not just me anymore.

It’s really teaching the guards how to dig into the post.”

The guards have been calling out “digging, digging, digging” in practice, and it’s a welcome sound for the big men. They can feel more confident now that a guard will show pressure in the post and that the other three players off the ball will be in good enough position to prevent an easy skip and score.

“When you’re playing guys that like to pound the ball inside, it’s just great that you can get a dig from the guard that they’re not expecting because not many teams do that,” Anderson said.

The Eagles are also going to defend screens differently this season. BC hasn’t had the versatility or the depth to switch on-ball picks the past two years, but Anderson said he thinks the team can switch on everything now without being taken advantage of.

“We haven’t done much of it in the past,” Anderson said. “Just for one we didn’t have enough guys. We have so many guys that are between six-four and six-eight, we can switch a lot of different things—whether it’s Eddie [Odio], Patrick [Heckmann], Alex [Dragicevich], me, even Will [Magarity] can switch a lot of different things and Garland [Owens] too.

“It gives us a lot of versatility to switch things and make it easier but it also makes it difficult on the guards,” Anderson said. “The guards have to be strong enough to guard in

the post and the bigger guys like me have to be quick enough to guard the guards.”

It helps the Eagles that there isn’t a plethora of extremely talented bigs in the conference this season. Outside of a few top teams, most of the other ACC schools carry post players who lack part of the optimal combination of size, athleticism, and touch around the rim. The BC guards can be hurt when switching onto bigs, but they likely won’t get killed down low.

Forcing BC’s frontcourt players to switch onto guards may be the larger issue, and that has also been a point of emphasis for Donahue. A combination of improving the time on his 5-10-5 dash and consistent work against Hanlan and Joe Rahon has helped Anderson prepare to contain perimeter players on opposing teams.

“Coach Donahue puts me in a lot of situations against Olivier and Joe and it makes me better because they’re two of the best guards in the conference—and in the country, really—and if I can stop them on a daily basis it’s only going to help me,” Anderson said. “It’s almost a blessing that we have two really good guards that I can just mess up against all the time, and it definitely matters, but it doesn’t count. I’ve learned so much really from September when we really started working on this to now going into November.”

Anderson, along with Odio, Magarity, and Clifford, when he’s able to play, will try to force guards to shoot contested, pull-up jump shots going toward their off hand. If the Eagles can push that result consistently out of the pick-and-roll, they’ll see it as a success.

The Eagle defense ranked second to last in the conference in adjusted defensive efficiency (accounting for total possessions) with 102.1 in 2012-13, according to KenPom.com.

It was the main reason for the team’s absence from the postseason.

For BC to earn a tournament bid this season, it will all start with this new look defense. n

ACC defensive rankings

BC ranked second to last in adjusted defensive efficiency among ACC teams in 2012-13, according to KenPom.com. The stat accounts for possessions in each game.

1. Syracuse 88.8 2. Pittsburgh 91.4 3. Miami 92.3 4. Duke 92.6 5. Maryland 92.9 6. Georgia Tech 93.5 7. Clemson 94.8 8. North Carolina 94.9 9. Wake Forest 96.7 10. Virginia 97.1 11. NC State 98.4 12. Florida State 101.9 13. Boston College 102.1 14. Virginia Tech 105.3 *Syracuse and Pitt’s Big East numbers were included

graham beck / heights editor

The Eagles’ agressive style aims at tilting the balance in their favor during close games.

BC overcomes slow start on senior day

By Brian Brooks For The Heights

graham beck / heights editor

Mackenzie Meehan’s overtime winner was followed by a quiet performance against UNC.

Eagles split ACC matches

By Pat Coyne Heights Staff

Coming on the heels of two successful must-win games last week to make it into the ACC Tournament, the women’s soccer team suffered a disappointing first round loss to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels yesterday. The game, which was played in Chapel Hill, only needed one goal to be decided, as it was midfielder Crystal Dunn’s goal in the first half that ended up being the deciding one in a 1-0 UNC win.

Considering that the Eagles were matched up against an opponent as formidable as the Tar Heels, the No. 4 ranked team in the nation, they held their own for much of the game and played very well to start the game.

Although the Tar Heels dominated time of possession, something that would be a theme for the entire game, the Eagles were able to control Dunn, one of the Tar Heels’ star players, and limit her ability to move the ball around the field.

When Eagle goalkeeper Alexandra Johnson successfully saved a Tar Heel penalty kick just over 20 minutes into the game, the momentum had even begun to move in favor of BC. As the first half continued, so too did the offensive dominance of the UNC squad. The ball continued to stay on the BC side of the field, and the Eagles even suffered a scare at one point when Kelly MacFarlane collided with Johnson, driving her outstretched leg into the goalkeeper’s midsection.

With just under six minutes left in the first half, the Tar Heel offense finally proved

too much for the Eagles. A Tar Heel corner kick sent the ball into the box, allowing the ball to be headed towards the net and deflected off of the crossbar. With Johnson unable to gain control of the prospects for the Eagles did not look promising.

The second half of the game would also prove to be much of the same for both teams. UNC continued to dominate the time of possession game and send shots from all around the field Johnson’s way.

Although the Tar Heels did not score again, the Eagles were unable to get the same volume of quality shots on net that the Tar Heels had. By the time the game came to a close, UNC had outshot BC 218. Johnson finished the day with 10 saves on his stat line.

The loss was particularly disappointing for the Eagles because of what it had taken for the team to make it to the tournament. Each of the last two regular season games were must-wins if the team wanted to have a chance at making the ACC Tournament, and after the team successfully toppled Maryland 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 27 they became one of five teams playing on Oct. 31 vying for the final three spots in the tournament.

The Eagles’ Thursday game against Syracuse took two periods of overtime before being settled in dramatic fashion.

It was sophomore Mackenzie Meehan’s goal three minutes into the second overtime period, her second goal of the game, that sealed the 2-1 victory for the Eagles.

Having been eliminated from the tournament early on, Sunday’s contest will likely be BC’s final one of the season.

If this is the case, the Eagles will finish the season with a record of 10-9-1. n

Boston College entered Sunday’s matchup with Virginia Tech in desperate need of a win. After dropping two straight games to Brown and Clemson, the Eagles found their tournament hopes fading fast as they dropped to eighth in the ACC. As co-captains and seniors Ryan Dunn and Chris Ager stepped onto their home Newton Campus Field for the last time (senior Nick Corliss could not be present at the game), they recognized that this was a game that BC needed.

Solid offense and defense combined to clinch a 3-1 BC victory.

As the match began, however, the Eagles were not playing that way. Coming out of the gates, Virginia Tech controlled the tempo of the game as the Eagles struggled to clear the ball from their side of the field.

The Hokies got a few chances early as Tech junior Drew Ranahan streaked down the middle of the field and sent a hard shot bouncing along the turf toward the corner of the net, only to be saved by a diving Alex Kapp.

As was echoed by BC head coach Ed Kelly after the game, BC had nine fouls in the first half, a statistic that alone depicts the kind of half the Eagles played. The Eagles did manage to maintain the scoreless tie for the remainder of the half despite the Hokies taking several free kicks within striking distance of the goal. In the ninth minute, Hokies freshman David Clemens sent a free kick just high and right over the crossbar while teammate Niels Kirch sent his chance off the foot of BC’s Derrick Boateng.

The Eagles showed little life at all until the 15th minute when sophomore Atobra Ampadu and Isaac Normesinu bypassed defenders with a dazzling display of passing, giving the Eagles their first real chance, only to have the ball booted away by a defender on a cross.

Going into halftime, the Hokies had reason to be confident as they had controlled the ball for the majority of the period and put five shots on goal while BC could only muster one attempt when defenseman Matt Wendelken sent a shot squarely into the chest of Hokies goalkeeper Kyle Renfro in the 36th minute.

It was a different team that came out onto the field for Boston College in the

second half of play as the Eagles emerged with a newfound aggression that was lacking in the first 45 minutes. Despite a let-up early in the second half, it was clear that the Eagles were simply playing better soccer as they began to control the tempo and flow of the game.

In the 55th minute, Virginia Tech midfielder Drew Ranahan had a clear shot at the goal, and a charging Alex Kapp was called for a foul that awarded the Hokies a penalty kick. Hokies midfielder David Clemens lined up to take the kick, and delivered a hard shot to Boston College goaltender’s Alex Kapp’s left. Kapp guessed wrongly, diving to his right as the ball found the back of the net, leaving the Eagles down 1-0.

As the second half progressed, the scoring chances kept coming for BC. In the 68th minute, Eagles midfielder David Boateng tested the vertical leap of Hokie goalie Kyle Renfro, who elevated himself high into the air, barely deflecting the ball over the top of the net in what was perhaps the best save of the day.

Not a minute later, a touch pass from Ampadu found the feet of a darting Zeiko Lewis who came fast from the left sideline and sent a low, hard shot past the outstretched arms of Hokies keeper Kyle Renfro, tying the game at a goal a piece.

Kelly would later comment that in this particular game it “[took] a goal for us to

get going.”

And get going they did. In the 76th minute, Derrick Boateng found himself with the ball deep in the left corner Hokie territory. Making his move, the sophomore put a charge behind the ball, sending it from a tough angle into the only place he could, the top right-hand corner of the net for a truly brilliant goal, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game with a score of 2-1.

The Hokies, however, would not go down easy.

“They made us fight like crazy,” Kelly said of BC’s opponent.

The Hokies had another few good chances in the match, including a great bicycle effort from defenseman Brad Vorv. In the 82nd minute, however, the Hokies yet again faltered, conceding a confusing goal that left everybody scratching their heads. BC’s Derrick Boateng was handling the ball just outside the Hokie box when a bizarre sequence of events led to Hokie keeper Kyle Renfro on the ground watching helplessly as the ball bounced slowly into the net, with the official ruling being an own goal.

BC goaltender Alex Kapp concluded a great day and secured the win with a diving stop to his right in the 89th minute.

“We played well, we deserved it, but we got a little lucky,” Kelly said. n

graham beck / heights editor

Derrick Boateng notched an impressive score to push the Eagles over Virginia Tech.

B6

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, November 4, 2013

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, November 4, 2013

HEALTH&SCIENCE

When it matters, do your research

JOSEPH CASTLEN The 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche advocated for a new form of human consciousness, one in which we live authentically, individually, and with a purpose that we define for ourselves. He was strongly opposed to the “herd mentality” that he felt dominated the media and molded public opinion.

Almost 150 years after his major works were first published, the herd mentality of the masses has not subsided. Any time we use a hashtag, post an Instagram of the sun setting behind Gasson, or call the goalie of the opposing hockey team a “sieve,” we become part of the herd.

Being part of the herd is not necessarily a bad thing—it’s hard to imagine a hockey game where everyone sits silently in their seats after each goal, contemplatively debating whether or not it was actually all the goalie’s fault, and whether or not he truly does suck at life (and goaltending).

You get to pick and choose when and how to express your individuality, which is one of the beautiful things about our world. We are free to believe and do (mostly) whatever we want. This freedom, however, imposes a burden on us to make choices regarding how to live our lives.

Every month, it seems there is a new miracle cure for obesity, a study snack that increases your focus and helps you perform better on exams, or a startling study that reveals how your (formerly) favorite food is actually going to send you to an early grave.

With our return on investment in science increasing as it is, we are inclined to believe a lot of what we hear when it comes to scientific studies. And for the most part, this is a valid way to go about our lives.

It is unreasonable to expect everyone to fact-check every single story they read that references a scientific study, because in almost all cases, these studies have some merit.

There is a difference between merit and promise, however, and people ought to recognize that if a researcher finds a statistical connection between artificial sweeteners and cancer, it does not necessarily mean that an extra packet of Splenda is going to land you in a hospital ward.

A lack of awareness of the fallibility of scientific studies, especially as they are reported in the media, is a recipe for disaster. When people engage in herd mentality as it pertains to their health, they risk the wellbeing of not only themselves, but of those around them.

One prime example of this is a study published in the respected medical journal The Lancet, which claimed to have found a connection between autism and the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The study, published in 1998, caused widespread panic that resulted in a significant drop in vaccination rates, particularly in the UK. A year later, the incidence of mumps began to slowly rise. Seven years after the paper was published, there were thousands of cases of mumps reported, up from fewer than 100 in 1998.

The delayed rise in the incidence of mumps is due to “herd immunity,” the phenomenon in which an individual who is not vaccinated against a disease, and therefore does not have any immunity to it, can still be prevented from contracting it. This happens when a very large proportion of a population is vaccinated against the disease, preventing unvaccinated individuals from ever coming into contact with it.

While herd immunity may work for a time, as soon as one unvaccinated person in the population contracts the disease, all unvaccinated people are at risk to get sick.

The Lancet retracted the study in 2010 after multiple independent studies failed to find a link between autism and the vaccine and after multiple serious flaws in the study were discovered.

Despite this, however, parents to this day continue to forgo vaccinations for their children, opting instead to put their trust in herd immunity.

What may appear to these parents to be an informed decision based on scientific fact is actually a dangerous adoption of the herd mentality—blindly following whichever science-related news report they happen to see first.

People should be skeptical of science, but they should not distrust it. Whether or not eating plums before starting your homework will increase your attentiveness is relatively unimportant and will probably not cause you long-term harm if you ignore the science behind it. When it comes to getting vaccinated against serious diseases, however, it is your long-term health at risk and it pays to do your research.

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

B7

BC grads find fulfillment in volunteering across the country JVC, from B10 He knew that he wanted to do a volunteer year, and that he’d have plenty of time to get a career started or go to grad school afterward, but deciding on where to volunteer was not as easy. According to Vaudo, he wanted to live in a community—he didn’t want the sort of on-your-own-taking-on-the-world feeling of being dropped in a place like the Peace Corps.

“Without question, service will always be a part of my life and the way I conduct myself,” Vaudo said. “There is a part of me that is deeply drawn to this sort of work, and that is not a call I feel I should ignore.”

Cogan volunteers with the Alaska Public Defender Agency, which provides criminal defense and representation to parents in child-in-need-of-aid cases to a client population of almost entirely Yup’ik Eskimos. As a client advocate, her goal is to empower customers with the skills necessary to address the issues that led their children to be taken into state custody, work with clients who are involved in long-term court-supervised treatment programs, act as a liaison between clients and their attorneys and social service providers, and be a friend. Cogan chose this placement because she wanted to learn more about the legal system and accompany people as they work their way through it.

“I participate in this program because I believe that every voice deserves to be heard and the legal system does not always allow for that,” she said by email. “JVC Northwest is an incredible organization, overflowing with some of the most compassionate, self-giving, contemplative people—both in administration and volunteers—that I’ll ever meet in my life. This is the type of work that gets in your skin, and soaks into your heart. It fills you up.

It is life-giving every day.”

According to Cogan, Bethel is a special placement. There isn’t telephone service from the lower-48, and volunteers can’t afford cell phones. Internet is spotty at best when they get it for free at the library. Volunteers chop wood for fires to help heat their homes. It

can get to -70 degrees in the winter and is regularly -30 degrees. They bake all of their own bread because they cannot afford the prices in the grocery stores. For community challenges they’ve even had bucket showers for a week and make-your-own cleaning product events.

“Simple living pretty much comes with living in Bethel to a certain extent,” Cogan said. Despite all of this, Cogan believes this is exactly where she’s supposed to be right now in her life and that she’s never been more certain of that. Cogan encourages students at BC to do a volunteer year, challenge themselves, and see something new.

Gabbert serves with Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SAIL) in Sitka, Alaska.

Gabbert chose to volunteer with JVC Northwest because she wasn’t exactly sure of the next steps after college.

“I did not have a career path planned out for myself,” she said. “I studied education and sociology and decided that even though teaching wasn’t a fit right now, working in social services excited me. A question that was on my mind was also ‘how can I help others or start a career without fully knowing my own self?’ So this idea of becoming wiser, more peaceful and a more joyful human being is what really motivated me.” It is actually Gabbert’s second year as a JVC volunteer—last year, she served in Gresham, Oregon with an organization called JOIN. She helped run a day shelter and led immersion trips for high school and college students wanting to learn about urban poverty and homelessness.

“It was in no way part of my plans to do a second year, but after one year of living, or at least attempting to live in this intentional way, I felt like I was just getting my feet wet,” she said. “The values were just beginning to seep into all areas of my life, but I thought a change in location, placement, and communities may help me solidify them as a part of who I am, not just who I am in specific circumstances.”

In her placement this year, Gabbert empowers seniors and people living with disabilities by providing services and informa-

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLI GABBERT

Gabbert performs various duties at her Alaskan placement, such as working at cleaning stations. tion to support them in making choices that will positively affect their independence and productivity in society. She coordinates the Outdoor Recreation and Community Access (ORCA) program, which is the organization’s adaptive recreational program for seniors and people with disabilities. According to Gabbert, she loved “that it was a chance to delve into social justice—to not only volunteer a couple times a week, but to live and work and truly get to know a marginalized community of people.”

All three graduates claim there were tons of experiences and mentors that they had at BC who became a driving force in the decision to volunteer with JVC Northwest. If one knew them in college, and watched the sort of things they involved themselves in, one probably wouldn’t be all that surprised that a post-grad volunteer year, and one with a spiritual backing, was the path they had chosen. For Vaudo it was the 10:15 masses in the Heights room, Kairos, and Appalachia, as well as classes like Steve Pope’s Faith, Service, and

Solidarity and the Center for Student Formation, and his support system at home. He also gives a shout-out to his eight-man wolf pack.

For Cogan it was classes like The Challenge of Justice, Liberation Theology, and Race, Law, and Resistance. Additionally, BC’s promotion of men and women for others impacted her in ways she cannot even pinpoint. As always, Cogan’s family and friends made her feel comfortable exploring a less lucrative post-grad experience and most were excited for her to go on this adventure. And last, but certainly not least, for Gabbert it was extracurriculars such as 4Boston, PULSE, Arrupe trips, Halftime retreats, and the many evening speakers and lectures that BC provided. Gabbert offers a disclaimer: this was her path and what led her to JVC, but it’s not everyone’s.

“You may not have volunteered at all in the past, but if there is any part of you that is interested in exploring any of the four values JVC promotes, I think incredibly rich, memorable, challenging, and joy-filled things await you.” 

Networking event gives promise to aspiring artists Arts Careers, from B10 If you’re interested in the literary arts, you may want to speak with Chuck Hogan, or Tim Lemire, both BC ’89. Hogan works as both a writer and producer, and is The New York Times Bestselling Author of five acclaimed novels, including The Prince of Thieves. He is also the executive producer for an upcoming series on Fox and has worked for numerous publications such as the New York Times and ESPN The Magazine. The other literary arts alum, Tim Lemire, works as a freelance writer and editor, and has worked as a teacher, newspaper editor, writer for Corporate America, and the author of seven books. One of Lemire’s books, titled I’m an English Major—Now What? was actually inspired by Boston

College Career Night for the Arts.

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in performing arts, you may wish to speak with Zach Bubolo, BC ’06, Alison Davitt, BC ’07, Marc Franklin, BC ’12, or Emily Rose Walsh, BC ’07. These successful BC alums have prospering careers in production, music therapy, stage-managing, and freelance singing, respectively. Or perhaps you’re looking to pursue the visual arts? Jane Conway Caspe, BC ’83, Mark Haddad, BC ’87, Christopher Huang, BC ’07, John Kirby, BC ’83, Maureen Donovan, BC ’78, Micaela Lade, BC ’06, and Carolyn Rock, BC ’05, hold various occupations ranging from fashion to photography to ballet administration. Caspe is both a runway model and a fashion designer who organizes Boston Fashion Week

and serves on the Board of Trustees at the School of Fashion Design. Haddad owns a full-service interior design firm, Haddad Hakansson LLC, Interior Design. Huang works as a successful freelance photographer, Kirby is the president and owner of Boston Art, an art acquisition and management service, and Donovan is the Deputy Director at Harvard Art Museums. Lade is an assistant buyer at Design Within Reach, and Rock, an Administration Manager for the Boston Ballet. Short bios and interviews of the alumnae in attendance will be posted on the Arts Council’s Facebook page titled “Boston College Arts Festival.” “ We want to make the valuable advice available to students unable to attend the event,” McDermott said of

CLUB SERIES

the online interviews. “All students will be able to reach out to these alums through us.”

Whether one is an arts student, an English major, or undeclared and simply curious, one will inevitably benefit from attending the Career Night for the Arts.

“We have a wonderfully talented pool of alumnae living in the Boston area,” McDermott said, “and the number attending will certainly increase as we near the week of the event.” No matter what field or profession you’ve chosen to pursue, McDermott explained, networking is essential.

“This particular area of the world is all about networking and opportunity,” she said. “Especially in the arts, talking to people and showing interest goes a long way.” 

FEATURING BC’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

From Puppies in the Plaza to zoo trips, Animal Alliance promotes campus involvement

BY CORINNE DUFFY Heights Staff Boston College offers its student body a wide variety of volunteer opportunities—from 4Boston, Best Buddies, Habitat for Humanity, and Learning to Serve to several Arrupe immersion excursions and mission trips, student service organizations provide any individual almost innumerable ways to get involved. In 2011, however, when Kaitlin McGoldrick, BC ’13, and current president Catherine Niech, A&S ’14, recognized the absence of an animalcentered volunteer group, they founded the Boston College Animal Alliance (BCAA) and immediately received an overwhelming student response.

The BCAA aims to develop and sustain lasting relationships with local Boston animal rescue and shelter organizations in order to better understand their needs and through collaboration with them endorse these volunteer opportunities within the BC community.

“Our goal is to form a mutually beneficial connection between service-oriented BC students and various shelters and businesses,” Niech said. Since its establishment, it has become an outlet for students who are passionate about

animals and desire to give back to their local area.

After petitioning the school in 2011 to form the association, McGoldrick and Niech proved successful in 2012 when the BCAA officially became a Registered Student Organization. And, despite the club’s relatively new state, it already reaches about 500 people via list serve and houses 150 active members, 45 of them volunteering weekly.

The alliance promotes both on- and off-campus events and volunteer activities, including work with local shelters and rescue operations such as Gifford Cat Shelter, MSCPA, Forever Home Rescue, and Phinney’s Friends. In addition to sending club members to these locations on a regular basis, the BCAA holds periodical supply collections outside of local super markets in order to donate needed items and lacking necessities to many aforementioned shelters. In partnership with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, an association providing blind and visually-impaired individuals with seeing-eye dogs, the club supports and participates in training seeing-eye puppies—some of whom were featured at last spring’s “Puppies in the Plaza.” “We think it’s a fantastic cause that we want to promote as much as possible,” Niech said.

While many students volunteer regularly at assigned sites, the club also hosts one-time day trips within the greater Boston area. For instance, last year, the BCAA traveled to the Franklin Park Zoo. Now, it seeks new locations for similar service events. Further, the club reaches out to support animals in times of natural disaster. Following the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Sandy in the New York and New Jersey areas, the alliance held a supply drive for constituent shelters.

Regarding on-campus involvement and recognizing widespread love for animals, the BCAA hosts at least one event per semester for the entire student body’s enjoyment. With the high-level stress that comes during mid-term and exam periods, one favorite involves bringing puppies to campus for human-animal interaction, which proves to be significantly beneficial by reducing tension and anxiety according to many studies. “We believe in the comforting power of animals and want to give students the opportunity to relax by hanging out with some pups,” Niech said.

After the popularity of last year’s “Puppies in the Plaza,” the group hopes to achieve a similar turnout at its potential winter version, “Puppies and Professors.”

This potential indoor, animal-loving activity will likely occur one night in the first

week of December, when many professors will bring their dogs to campus for a student body meet and greet—refreshments and great puppy interaction for all. Another upcoming event will be held Nov. 23, when members from Guiding Eyes for the Blind will host an informational session for students interesting in raising or learning more about seeing-eye dogs. Advocates from the organization will also provide more information regarding their work and ways to get involved, and puppies might even accompany them to the meeting.

More information pertaining to the BCAA, its goals and initiatives, upcoming events, and involvement opportunities can be found on its Facebook page, Twitter profile, bc.orgsync web page, or by emailing the head members. The current officers include Niech, Katie Sundberg, A&S ’14; Diana Ansbacher, A&S ’14; Tom Campbell, CSOM ’15; Natasha Ettensberger, A&S ’14; Allison Isonardi, A&S ’16; and Amanda Adams, A&S ’16. “We are always looking for new volunteer opportunity or event ideas,” said Niech, and whether it is a one-time commitment or weekly volunteering, the service group continually welcomes any animal enthusiast that wishes to to give back to the community. 

THE HEIGHTS

B8

HOW-TO

Monday, November 4, 2013

CAMPUS CHRONICLES

Make the most Finding solidarity and building camaraderie through sports of being at BC CAITLIN SLOTTER

CAROLINE KIRKWOOD There is definitely something unique and special about being a student at Boston College. We have the privilege of being a part of a beautiful college campus with easy access to arguably one of the greatest cities in America: Boston. We get to cheer on our fellow Eagles among hundreds of other students at athletic games while shouting “We are BC.” Also, the most coveted housing on campus, the Mods, were installed as temporary housing constructed in the ’70s, but still stand 40 years later.

So yes, there is something extraordinarily distinct about being a student at BC. There are, however, a few lesser known and underappreciated aspects of being a student at BC that students may sorely regret not taking advantage of once their time at BC has passed.

By sharing some of these lesser-known advantages, I hope students can begin to utilize all the perks that come with being a student at BC. 1. Check out all the free admission at Boston’s Museums. Let’s face it—many of us are on a “college-student budget.” I know quite frequently my excuse for staying on campus for the weekend instead of heading out to the city is that I am looking to save a little cash. My wallet really can’t afford a casual stroll down Newbury Street.

Because we are BC students, however, we can go to the Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, and Museum of Fine Arts for free by either showing our student ID or getting tickets through Robsham Theater. So, we not only save some money, but get to take advantage of going to college in such a cosmopolitan city. Who doesn’t want to relive memories of their childhood by checking out the cute little penguins at the aquarium?

Also, just for a little perspective, the average Joe who walks into the Museum of Fine Arts has to spend $25 dollars to visit the museum, so get out there and take advantage of the free cultural learning open to BC students.

2. Check out the Plex. Yes, although the Plex may not be the most glamorous workout facility at college, one perk is that it is free. Once you are out in the real world an average gym membership in the city of Boston costs $50 a month. So say goodbye to the unlimited access to weight lifting equipment and endless hours on the ellipticals, and get used to running on the streets. Also, we have free exercise classes taught by licensed and trained staff. One can mix up their workout schedule with a Spin, CrossFit, Yoga, or Zumba class. Outside the wonderful world of BC, just one yoga class can set you back $15.

Make sure to take advantage of the opportunity to mix up your workouts at the Plex because before you know it, your workout options may simply consist of running and YouTube ab workouts on your bedroom floor during your post-grad life.

3. Look out for speakers on campus. Every day amazing speakers and leaders from around the world arrive on BC’s campus to share their stories and knowledge with students. In the midst of a hard work week, going to a speaker at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday night might not be high on your to-do list. But never again in your lifetime will you have the opportunity to hear the former editor of The New York Times, Bill Keller, or Felipe Calderon, the 56th president of Mexico, give a lecture. So instead of spending a night catching up on your favorite TV show, go see one of the amazing speakers that come to BC, and there is usually free food, too.

4. Use the counseling resources available on campus. Whether you are looking for a way to improve your nutrition habits or want someone to talk through troubles at home or on campus, BC offers a plethora of counseling resources. If interested in nutrition, any student can make an appointment with either a student health coach or with BC’s nutritionist Sheila Tucker through the Office of Health Promotion and possibly learn the horrible truth that the delicious breakfast potatoes in the dining halls might not be your best breakfast choice. Counseling Services also offer students the opportunity to work on their personal development either in a group or individual setting with counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. By knowing what’s available on campus, you can make the most of your time at BC.

Caroline Kirkwood is a staff writer for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Last spring, my dad came up to Boston and brought me to a Red Sox game. Now, this wasn’t an extraordinary event in and of itself—I’d been going to Red Sox games my whole life, and as a seasoned fan, this trip was nothing new for me, it was just a return to the familiar. The smell of popcorn, the concessioners yelling out for peanuts, hot dogs, and pretzels, the little kids with their baseball gloves, and that first moment when you climb the steps into the stadium and see the Green Monster loom up in front of your eyes, it’s pure magic. But this particular game, the first game I had been to since being at Boston College, wasn’t special because of the nostalgic baseball memories—it was special because I actually thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now I’m not saying I haven’t always loved baseball, because I have. But there was always a certain level of boredom that descended around the fifth inning, a cynical thought that none of this matters, that this is just a game, and there are far more

important things in this world that we should be worrying about.

But last spring, that had all changed.

There was no fifth-inning boredom. I was transfixed for the entire game. I was completely invested in every single pitch, swing, and throw, and every strikeout against the opposing team was a mini victory worth celebrating. And it wasn’t just my investment in the team that had changed, it was also my solidarity with the fans around me. I think it’s safe to say that BC has a pretty homogenous student body, and it can be a little shocking to break the “BC Bubble” and be around people that don’t fit into the BC norm. The discomfort that can arise when being around such a different mix of people, however, was completely transcended by our common purpose. For one day, even if for a few hours, I was in a stadium with thousands of people from all different walks of life, and we were all united by the same cause, to support our favorite baseball team.

That’s kind of amazing.

A few weeks ago, I was walking down the million dollar stairs and passed a tour

group on the middle level. The tour guide was talking about sports at BC, and how she loves going to games because it is amazing to have the entire student body put on the same shirt and come together to support their team. And then it hit me: the reason I had gained an avid love for baseball last spring was because BC has taught me how to love it.

Almost every week every fall and winter, the majority of students put on their gold Superfan shirts and head over to Alumni Stadium or Conte Forum to cheer on their football and hockey teams. This may be the only non-exclusive event BC has to offer. It doesn’t matter if you’re in CSOM or A&S, if you’re a fellow athlete, or an honors student, or a weekly volunteer, or a dutiful club member. You could be from Massachusetts or Hawaii, from the U.S. or not. It doesn’t matter where you came from or what you’re doing here.

Everyone is welcome at BC games, and everyone is there for the same reason, to cheer on the beloved Eagles.

Gone is my cynical, what-is-the-point view on sports, because they’re actually

really important. In a world whose views and opinions are becoming so dispersed and dissimilar, we desperately need sports to bring us together. Both in the real world and at BC, there is nothing as satisfying as watching your team, cheering along with a complete group of strangers, and knowing you are all united.

And in case you haven’t noticed, we are currently experiencing the epitome of sports at BC. We have one more glorious weekend of football and hockey overlap ahead of us, and basketball is soon to come. By going to these events, and cheering for your team, you’re not just building that sense of camaraderie—you’re making memories. You’re building up that same sense of nostalgia and excitement I get whenever I return to Fenway Park—the nostalgia and excitement that comes from knowing you’re in a stadium where “all are one” and “hearts ring true.”

Caitlin Slotter is a staff writer for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

PROFESSOR PROFILE

Perspectives founder focuses on developing the whole person

BY KATHLEEN O’CONNOR

WHO: Brian Braman

For The Heights “I was a bit of a screw-off,” professor Brian Braman recalled when asked about his adolescent academic interests. “But I got a do-over.” To many, this insight may seem a bit shocking when compared to his many academic achievements today. He is the director of Boston College’s Perspectives Program, a four-year interdisciplinary program compiling both the humanities and natural sciences, and is a faculty member in the College of Advancing Studies.

As the founder of the Perspectives program, Braman’s zeal for philosophy, art, and the development of the individual as a whole person reigns true both inside and outside the classroom.

He teaches Perspectives on Western Culture in the “Living and Learning” community, a program designed for freshmen to live in a residential community with other students of the Perspectives program. The ultimate goal of this dorm setting is for these students to incorporate the philosophical principles taught in the classroom into their everyday lives.

Additionally, he teaches “Journey to Self-Discovery” in the Capstone program, designed for its students to discover self-identity and search for their place in the world through the study of philosophy.

He was born in Laramie, Wyo. and moved to Lancing, Mich. where he played football and basketball for his school, Gabriel’s High School. During that time he had “tons of jobs”—the first being a paper route when he was 12. Post-high school, Braman was drafted into the military and enlisted from 1965-69. From there he attended Central Michigan, claiming, “It was the only place that would let me in.” Life after college for Braman consisted of

TEACHES: Perspectives on Western Culture EXPERIENCE: WHO: DanielleReceived Taghianhis Ph.D. in philosophy from BC, founded the Molecules Perspectivesand TEACHES: program Cells and Cancer Biology

CARA ANNUNZIATA / HEIGHTS STAFF

trade-show managing and residing in Los Angeles, Calif., where he worked in sales.

Where did his passion for philosophy develop? He received a master’s degree in philosophy from Gonzaga University. “I was much older, I hated my life, and I had tried law school for a while, and I hated that,” he said. “I had an opportunity to take some philosophy courses, and I just fell in love with this stuff.” After teaching for a few years at Seattle University, his desire to be involved in higher education was confirmed and he went on to receive a Ph.D. in philosophy from BC. Accomplishments outside the classroom still seem to surround the classroom itself. “Most of my life and my wife’s life is oriented around B C ,” Braman said. “We have students over to our house, particularly those doing the Perspectives sequence to help form community.”

In addition, Braman works with 48 Hours, the Halftime retreat, the Silent Retreat over Winter Break, and Campus Ministry. He also does committee work

in relation to student formation.

To sum it up, Braman stated, “Pretty much everything I do, I do out of BC. “It is BC’s commitment to the education of the whole person,” he said. “I see my vocation as more than just being in the classroom. It is more than taking students through books. I think it is important for the students to integrate what they do in the classroom in how they live out their lives.”

Along similar lines of educating the whole person, Braman evidently exercises this concept through his staggering repertoire of travel and discovery of new cultures.

“I have had an opportunity to travel and see some interesting places,” Braman said. From teaching summer courses for BC in Venice to exploring the culture in various places such as London, Austria, Italy, Germany, Athens, Hong Kong, and Paris, Braman has seen many interesting parts of the world.

“Italy is my favorite country just because the food, the people, the histor y, particularly some places like

FUN FACT: was drafted FOCUS: TheHebiology of and enlisted in the military cancer from 1965-69 RESEARCH: Completed her postdoc at MassachuRome, General Venice, and Tuscany,”in he said. setts Hospital “In general, for me, what was really Simon Powell’s labability to travel worthwhile about the

and visit is to become aware of our cultural patrimony that we as westerners have and how significant that has been in terms of shaping our history.” Ireland and Scotland are at the top of Braman’s “must see” list. “I would love to get to Japan,” he said. “I regret not visiting it when I was in the Far East.

“There’s not that much fun in my life,” he said when asked to elaborate on some personal fun facts. After later reflection, however, he recalls an anecdote within a certain residential community, often referred to as a fraternity.

“So I was in a fraternity and we ran out of clean dishes. Rather than what normal people would do, we put them in a big box, took them to the quarter car wash, and hosed them down.” He said, “We didn’t use the wax cycle, we just washed and rinsed,” and stressed that “it was a one-time only thing.”

Anyone who has met Braman knows how engaging he is, making him a dynamic member of BC’s community. 

HE SAID, SHE SAID My girlfriend always wants me to hang out with her friends, and we only seem to go out if it’s a double date with her friend and her friend’s boyfriend. It has been forever since we’ve been on a date with just the two of us. She thinks that since we are already together, just getting lunch in the dining hall and hanging out in the dorm is enough. Is it wrong for me to still want to go on dates once in a while?

Firstly, I commend you for wanting to take your girlfriend out on legitimate dates. From my personal observations, boys typically are the ones who would rather have more casual dates and keep their wallets sealed. The beauty of a college relationship is that it allows time for geographical and personal exploration on a one-on-one basis.

If you only spend time with your girlfriend in settings on campus, then your relationship MARC FRANCIS group seems uncomfortably similar to a friendship. If it has not happened already, you both will grow bored and stagnant, and your relationship will eventually cease to exist. Relationships allow each partner to capture the other’s hearts, minds, and spirits with constant surprises, expressions of love, and meaningful conversations—you must nurture each of these elements to develop a long-lasting connection and to remain “in love.”

Your girlfriend needs a bit of a wakeup call—as blossoming adults, constant group dates and dorm gatherings do not constitute a mature relationship. You must voice your concerns as soon as possible. Luckily, this topic of conversation will likely gain even more of your girlfriend’s approval, since you are basically asking her if you can spend more money and time on her. You should explain that you truly need some alone time away from the Boston College campus. Understandably, it is not easy to escape from campus on a regular basis, so I advise that you make it a priority to go out on at least two dates per month away from BC. I am confident that your girlfriend will appreciate your efforts and this will only lead to a healthier relationship.

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

Just ask her on a date, you are her boyfriend. It takes two to maintain a relationship, so don’t rely on her to constantly come up with plans. Don’t pin things on her, figure out what you’d enjoy doing with her. Do you have a favorite restaurant you’d like to try in the city? Do you both enjoy scary movies and could have fun seeing the premiere of the next great horror film? What’s really stopping you AMY HACHIGIAN from asking her out one-on-one? If it is simply a time and planning issue, you could even set up a date night a couple times a month where you both can dedicate time to get off campus and go into the city. Don’t let excuses rule your relationship.

I’d also suggest reassessing your relationship with her in general.

It’s unfortunate that a lot of couples do not communicate enough with each other, so they end up in these types of situations. She might be feeling the same way you are, but doesn’t know how to address the problem either. You need to give your relationship some more attention and take actions to improve how you’re feeling.

If she ends up rejecting your offers for more formal dates, I’d suggest seriously thinking about your relationship and feelings for her. You don’t want to end up being stuck in an unfulfilling relationship: both of your needs should be met, not just hers. Good luck, and like I said before, just ask her out.

Amy Hachigian is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

The Heights

Monday, November 4, 2013

Program builds language skills Intensive Language, from B10 “For each lesson we had a 30-minute video that went over the basic topics for the day,” Phelps said. The videos help to introduce students to a variety of gestures, accents, and body language unique to the culture of the languages. The films also show cultural situations that are hard to learn from a textbook. “In a class of all beginners, it’s nice to have someone other than the professor talking to you in Spanish,” Bauer said of the films.

In addition to the videos, small class sizes contribute to a team atmosphere that encourages communication among students. The classes consist of about 10 to 15 students, varying from semester to semester. “The classes are more intimate so you get a more one-on-one type of approach with the professors,” Vaglica said. Group work and speaking in front of the class on a daily basis also emphasized the conversational component of the course.

On top of a hands-on class structure, Vaglica described his professors as a kind of “A-team” of the department, since he was taught by the head of the department and the author of his textbook. Bauer described his Spanish professor, Michael Kelly, as “The man,” because he always made himself available to his students, holding office hours in the Rat almost every day.

The most common reason students enroll in the intensive courses is to complete the language requirement so they are able to study abroad. In order to go on the intensive intermediate Romance language summer abroad programs in Parma, Italy or Bordeaux, France, a student must have completed Elementary I and II. “Students will begin the language here, complete the requirement for elementary in one semester in the spring, then go abroad and do the intermediate course, then come back and do the CCR I course with us,” Flagg said. “This [model] is a really nice development for our department.”

Although the most common reason students choose to enroll in the intensive language programs is often to ensure they complete the language requirement before going abroad, there are many other reasons to choose this accelerated route. “For art history, a lot of graduate programs you need French and German, so this was the perfect way to get it done,” Phelps said.

Many students also choose this program because most Elementary I courses are not offered in the spring, so the programs give students an opportunity to catch up to those who began in the fall. The Intensive Elementary courses in the spring allow for students to be on track to pick up many of the Intensive Intermediate classes that are offered in the fall.

“I had struggled with language before so I didn’t want to take it right off the bat,” Bauer said of his reasoning for waiting until spring of his junior year to start working on the requirement. A testimony to the program’s success, Bauer is now enrolled in Intensive Intermediate Spanish. “It’s just a great atmosphere and a great way to learn a language.”

As veterans of the program, all of the students highly recommend the courses, including Vaglica. “The most effective program I’ve been a part of, BC or otherwise, was the elementary Italian intensive program,” he said.

“I really wish they offered it in more languages,” Phelps said.

“It’s just a really easy way to get up to speed quickly,” Bauer said.

“They are using language in situations all the time,” Flagg said. “This is the best methodology of teaching a language that I’ve ever seen.” n

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The Heights throughout the century

As a freshman, I was unfamiliar with the steps UGBC was taking to begin conversations regarding the offensiveness of Halloween costumes that enforce stereotypes or mock religious, racial, and ethnic customs. If I hadn’t researched the campaign’s goal via Facebook and other publications on campus, I would have never known that this was the purpose of UGBC’s effort.

If you happened to “like” the Facebook page for this event, you would have seen UGBC’s message to the BC community: “This Halloween, be cognizant of the costume choices you make!

UGBC encourages you to be completely courteous to each member of this community, as we strive to respect the diversity in perspectives among BC students that makes this school great!”

The rules for the contest were that costumes should be non-offensive and creative and should not mock, degrade, or ridicule any individuals or cultures.

Photos found violating these rules were

The not-so-lost art of letter writing

The ghost of dustbowl voices past

Halloween costumes reflect past culture icons, but also a timeless tradition

By Caitlin Slotter Heights Staff “Brad Pitt,” “Dennis the Contractor,” and, quite humorously, “a BU student so I can scare people.” These are the answers to the Oct. 28, 1996 Voices from the Dustbowl question: “What are you going to be for Halloween?”

A look at Voices from the Dustbowl from the 2000s offers a similar look at popular costumes throughout the years. In 2000 it was “Kris Kross,” “a naughty nun,” “Siskel and Ebert,” and a “full Chewbacca suit” (Oct. 31, 2000).

Th e N o v. 4 , 2 0 0 3 i s s u e brought forth answers such as “Tinkerbell,” a “devil and angel” duo, “a cow,” “a mime,” and “a waiter.” One year later saw another “Tinkerbell,” “a boy scout,” “Chewbacca” yet again, and “a highlander wearing a kilt” (Oct. 28, 2004).

And finally, Oct. 29, 2007’s question of “What was the best Halloween costume you saw this weekend?” was met with answers of “a Greek God,” “a guy in an Airforce jumpsuit,” and “Amy Winehouse.”

A look at Halloween costumes of the past portrays what was popular, what people and moments defined the year. Brad Pitt was gaining celebrity in 1996, and the release of new Star Wars movies probably prompted the Chewbacca costumes of 2000 and 2004.

Whether the chosen costumes are still relevant (we still love Brad Pitt) or just highlight the short fads that have faded from recent pop culture memory, they serve as a representation of the students wearing them, trying to make a statement or be funny or ironic.

And what did Halloween 2013’s costumes represent?

Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke, Walter White, the Duck Dynasty cast, minions from Despicable Me, a fox in homage to Ylvis’s video, and various Red Sox players (complete with beards) seem to have been the most popular costumes this weekend, defining the fall of 2013 in pop culture.

But there’s another underlying aspect of Halloween, and that’s the agelessness of it. A piece in The Heights from Oct. 29, 2009 by Charles Mangiardi describes this concept well, saying “Halloween is different [from other holidays]. I can trace a direct line through my Halloweens from trick-or-treating to prank pulling to costume parties that probably feature too much

alcohol and not enough length on skirts. Odds are this phase will slowly evolve over time until I’m awaiting neighborhood kids to beg me for candy like it was their birthright.”

While generally being seen as a child’s holiday, Halloween is actually something to be enjoyed by everyone. Whether you went trick-or-treating, watched a scary movie, visited Salem, carved a pumpkin, or dressed up for a party, there was something for you to celebrate this past weekend. There was, and always will be, some way for you to reminisce on your childhood Hallowe en memories , while simultaneously making new ones.

And why do you dress up every year? Because there’s more to it than being ironic or funny, or making a statement.

“Halloween represents to all of us what we can’t have but so desperately want: pleasure and attention,” wrote Mangiardi.

“It’s the chance to dress up and for once be a superhero or a sex object or a self-confident person with a great sense of humor, or someone keyed in on pop culture.” It’s the one night (or weekend) a year when you can take a break, when you’re given an excuse to act differently and be someone you’re not, someone you desperately want to be.

There’s a reason people start planning their costumes once the leaves start changing and the air gets a bit colder: Halloween is that night when we can let loose and take a break from the studying, clubs, work, grad school applications, and job-hunts. It’s a time when we can let go of our everyday worries and just be a fairy or a pirate, someone who doesn’t have to worry about the stresses of BC life. Whether that meant being your favorite Breaking Bad character or channeling your inner humor and dressing as Miley, this Halloween, like all Halloweens, offered you the chance to be the person you secretly wanted (or needed) to be.

This Halloween has come and gone, and only time will tell if Heights through the Century writers of the future will have to look up what Duck Dynasty and Ylvis were. But in a way, that doesn’t matter, because Halloween is timeless and ageless. No matter how old you are or what stage of life you’re in, no matter what you’re representing or who you’re trying to be, Oct. 31 will always offer you the chance to take a much needed break and be someone else for a night. n

not allowed to enter the contest for a chance to win either a $100, $75, or $50 gift card to the bookstore, depending on first, second, or third place.

Initially, I thought the campaign was established to promote dressing up in a way that respects one’s body—especially because Love Your Body Week is scheduled so close to Halloween this year. Although I saw some costumes that could be considered culturally offensive, such as Geishas wearing kimonos and Mexicans wearing sombreros, there were also a large amount of girls with more revealing costumes.

As you can see, this campaign is perceived as being two fold. It makes sense that BC students would promote more conservative costumes on a night when people take advantage of the opportunity to show a little more skin since we are constantly criticizing the media’s portrayal of men and women.

This doesn’t seem to be addressed, however, by the “Dress With Respect” campaign and I have to say I am a little disappointed.

While I admire the effort and

commend the BC students who began this campaign, I believe dressing with “respect” should embody all that being respectful does: of oneself and of others.

I do applaud the fact that the campaign places the responsibility on students themselves to determine if a costume is offensive or not. Rather than telling students what not to wear, the goal of the campaign is to get students thinking and talking about the potential repercussions of their costume choices.

I believe this is especially successful on a campus like Boston College’s where students are constantly challenging themselves to change for the better.

Additionally, the advertising approach for this campaign was both engaging and thought provoking. If you didn’t get a chance to see the pictures of popular Halloween costumes in O’Neill Plaza and mark “yes” if you found the costumes personally offensive, “no” if you did not, or “unsure,” be sure to participate next year if it is done again.

While the costumes submitted to the Facebook contest seem to respect

Michelle Tomassi

the diversity in perspectives among the BC community, that was not the case for all of the costumes I, as well as other students, observed this “Halloweekend.” The thing about a campaign like “Dress With Respect” is that although there may never be full participation, it is still important that its message is advertised because the University must continue to challenge students to become better people. We’ve already seen the effects of this two-year campaign considering it has spread nationwide and been featured in USA Today.

We cannot ignore the fact that Halloween has shifted away from its traditional witches, goblins, black cats, and ghosts, and it means something that BC students are taking a stand against the offensive transformation. It’s important, however, that we acknowledge the power we possess in making this campaign so much more than it already is.

If there’s one course that I wished Boston College offered, it would be a class on the art of letter writing. I write letters all the time—to my mom on Mother’s Day, to my best friends from home, and, more recently, to internship recruiters. Although I don’t consider that last one to be in the same category—writing a cover letter to market yourself to potential employers is a completely different art that I have definitely not mastered yet. I may dread writing a cover letter, but I absolutely love to write personal letters. Most of the time, however, these letters never get sent.

I have notebook pages filled with letters that I have written to various individuals who have touched my life in some way, and I save the ones that were often the hardest for me to write. If I’m with a person, I usually can’t find the right words to explain just how much he or she means to me, but with a letter, there’s no pressure.

The blank page might seem intimidating, waiting for you to fill its lines, but the best part about the blank page is that it won’t judge you. It won’t get upset if you take too long to write your response, and it won’t even talk back to you. The awkward silences, the need to make eye contact—none of the challenges of real-life conversation matter when it’s just you and a piece of paper. Even though letters are usually addressed to someone, they ultimately allow you to have a conversation with yourself, and I think that’s something a lot of us could use in our everyday lives.

A lot of our modern-day communication happens in a technological format, and there are some aspects that I just can’t stand. Sometimes I get so frustrated by the back-and-forth nature of texting, or waiting for people to respond, or wondering how long I should wait before I send a response. Obviously it’s useful, but it saddens me that my first inclination is never to just give someone a phone call—that seems too personal, and it’s a lot easier for people to hide behind their phones and choose to sound as invested or as detached as they want. Facebook messaging is a little better, although I hate how users can now see when their message has been opened—it just adds another unnecessary layer of expectation and anticipation. I’d say that emails are the closest modernday equivalent to letter writing, but for some reason I always feel the need to sound more formal, as if typing the words somehow acts as a filter, whereas a pen and paper leaves me uninhibited to say whatever is on my mind.

I don’t think that letter writing has to be separate from the “modern communication” category—all it takes is a piece of paper, an envelope, and a stamp, and perhaps a little more thought and time than it takes to compose a text message. It might seem like an arduous task, but you can learn so much about yourself just by writing a single letter. In a few of my English courses, we look at letters that authors have written, and I find it so fascinating how their letters can reveal so much more beyond their published works. College students can often use some self-reflection, and for those who find it difficult to reflect in a group or in a class, try writing a letter. Write when you’re angry; when you’re so excited and you just can’t hide it; when you’re on the verge of tears; or when you just don’t know how you feel. You can send it, or you can keep it close—either way, that letter can be a mirror of your most true and authentic self.

Some of my most significant life moments involved letters: That time in first grade when I wrote myself a letter to be read 10 years later, and I first experienced what it was like to think about my future (sorry, little Michelle—I’m just not cut out to be a singer-ballerina-archaeologistcupcake baker), or that Friday afternoon when I opened my BC acceptance letter. I was even asked on my very first date with a handwritten note. And the best part is that these letters can be saved, and reread as often as I’d like, whenever I want to transport myself back to those moments.

As for my notebook full of letters, maybe I’ll choose one to send one of these days. Maybe I’ll be a little selfish and keep them for myself. But the beauty of letters is that you never know when they’re coming, and they never have to end. And who knows—maybe the next time you visit your BC mailbox, you’ll find your own little hand-written surprise.

Nicole Suozzo is a contributor to The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Michelle Tomassi is the Features Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

Defining the many meanings of ‘dress with respect’ Nicole Suozzo

Editor’s Column

features The Heights

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Monday, January 24, 2013

Monday, November 4, 2013

Career night offers artistic professions

By Caroline Hopkins Heights Staff

photos courtesy of christopher vaudo

a year of service

photos courtesy of alli gabbert

By Nicole Suozzo For The Heights

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oston College alumni Chris Vaudo, BC ’13, Shannon Cogan, BC ’13, and Alli Gabbert, BC ’12, have recently embarked on a year of full-time service with Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. Members serve for a year or more in solidarity with persons living on the margins of society and with vulnerable places in the Pacific Northwest. They will offer over 280,000 hours of service this year and touch the lives of thousands. JVC Northwest currently places members in 24 communities in remote and urban areas across Alaska, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. These members help address local needs including education, health access, emergency services, violence prevention, and environmental stewardship.

Vaudo works as the client services specialist for the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association. He is in charge of HIV and Hepatitis C testing both on-site everyday and during periodic outreach at local bars, shelters, and clinics; runs the Anchorage Syringe Exchange so that drug users can exchange their dirty needles for clean ones; assists in administration of the nutrition program, which means coordinating Friday Lunches and the Food Pantry for clients; prepares a monthly

newsletter to mail out to all customers, and makes himself available to help with data entry or whatever else the case managers may need. Vaudo chose this agency mostly because he wanted to have a hand in healthcare or public health. According to Vaudo, the job is “really taxing and weighs on him.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a lot of it home with me,” he said. While there are refreshing and gratifying moments, like when a man he just tested gives him a hug of relief for his negative diagnosis, there is also a lot of ‘mud.’ According to Vaudo, it will never get easier to listen to a young lady tell him she was abused by every male figure in her life from age six to 13; it will never get easier to give the pregnant woman clean needles so she can go inject herself and her unborn child with drugs; and it will never get easier to watch tears stream down the face of a man who has been homeless and HIV-positive for years.

“I’ll never know their afflictions,” he said. “Never.

It’s a humbling feeling. It’s a crumbling feeling. In all of these cases there is nearly nothing that I can do, other than to be with, to listen, to respect. But man, sometimes that just doesn’t feel like enough. And that’s a lot to take home every night.” The decision to join JVC Northwest was a big discernment process for Vaudo.

mEET THE VOLUNTEERS Chris Vaudo - BC ’13 Placement: Client services specialist for the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association BC Inspiration: 10:15 Mass, Kairos, Appalachia

Shannon Cogan - BC ’13 Placement: Volunteer with Alaska Public Defender Agency BC Inspiration: The Challenge of Justice and Liberation Theology courses

Alli Gabbert - BC ’12 Placement: Works with Southeast Alaska Independent Living in Sitka, Alaska BC Inspiration: 4Boston, Pulse, Arrupe

See JVC, B7

So you’re an art major. So you’re an actor. So you write stories, poetry, or full out novels. Your life is one big burst of inspired creativity and you wouldn’t trade it for the world. Problem is, you’re about to graduate, you’re essentially broke, and the only jobs posted on Monster involve cubicles and secretary work. If you’re an artistic student and feel yourself at a loss entering the professional world, you may want to consider attending the Boston College Arts Council’s Career Night for the Arts. On Thursday, Nov. 7 in the Devlin Hall McMullen Museum, upward of 20 BC alumnae with successful art careers will share their experience and advice regarding the ominous endeavor of breaking into the professional art world. The event, running from 7 to 9 p.m., will be casually structured to allow for conversation and open ended networking. Many of the companies that have employed these alums are either hiring or looking for interns, meaning you just might walk out of Devlin artfully employed.

In the past, alumnae attending the Career Night for the Arts have had successful careers as musicians, composers, conductors, photographers, graphic designers, painters, arts editors, producers, directors, stage directors, arts journalists, museum administrators, film editors, writers, actors, instructors, consultants, and arts attorneys. This year, the event will even be hosting a biology major turned musical therapist.

“We try our best to make sure there’s a diverse representation in the arts,” said Sarah McDermott, director and program administrator of Boston College Arts Council. “We also like to find alumnae working in the arts that are less obvious—like writers, producers, stage managers, and now music therapists.”

The beauty of attending the Career Night for the Arts is that you really don’t have to know exactly what you’re looking for. “The turnout is usually 50-50,” McDermott said. “Half of the students have done their research and know exactly who they want to talk to, whereas the other half aren’t so sure what they’re looking for.” Luckily, when you check in at the event and answer a few informational questions, the Arts Council staff will act as hosts, directing you toward the specific alums who will be able to speak to your interests. The Arts Council also offers a list of questions you may wish to ask in case you get stumped or simply do not know the best way to converse with the alums regarding their professions. BC arts professors who have had their work displayed in galleries will also be present to answer questions and converse with both the students and the alums.

The Career Night for the Arts began in 1999. Now approaching its 14th year, the event is projected to be one of the most successful yet. This is due primarily to the diverse range of occupations the visiting alumnae have to offer. Attending the event will be two literary arts alums, five performing arts alums, and seven visual arts alums, all who have held job positions in entirely different fields.

See Arts Careers, B7

Accelerated language program expands opportunities for beginners Students describe the benefits of intensive romance language programs in the long run

By Kendra Kumor Heights Editor “I have never seen a program like this to build confidence in students and to empower them to use the language,” said professor James Flagg, director of undergraduate studies for the romance languages and literatures department, with over 50 years of teaching experience.

Discussing one of the best ways to

learn a language at Boston College, Flagg spoke of the intensive elementary language programs that are offered through the Romance languages department in Italian, Spanish, and French. The courses are offered in the hopes of bringing students with no language background to the intermediate level in just one semester, a process that would usually take two to three years to complete.

The classes meet twice as many

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times as a regular elementary class: Spanish and Italian courses meet five days a week while French courses meet four times a week for 75 minutes each. “This allows students to build up a lot of steam and intensity that is reinforced every single day,” Flagg said.

“They build up quite a momentum in that course.”

“It sounds like a lot, but they are able to break up the class … so it works out really well,” said Michael Vaglica, former Intensive Elementary Italian student and A&S ’14.

“Going each day allows you to really build on the skills you learned the previous day,” said Marcus Bauer,

former Intensive Elementary Spanish student and A&S ’14.

Flagg, in cooperation with the Office of International Programs, began the intensive programs several years ago. B a se d lo osely of f a prog ram started at Princeton University, he has molded the programs, specifically the French program, into what they are today. He and his wife, Margaret Flagg, currently co-teach the French program. “For the last few years my wife has developed that course on her own, and I’m coming in as the assistant,” he said.

The courses count for six credits, so students are only required to take

Solidarity in sports A Red Sox fan gives a personal account of how BC unity fostered a new love and appreciation for the game............................................. B8

three other courses in addition to the Intensive Elementary Language course. “If you have the time to put into the homework and exercises you get so much out of it … the course really pays off,” said Molly Phelps, former Intensive Elementary French student and A&S ’14.

Compared to other language programs at BC, the intensive courses are based on conversation skills as opposed to reading and writing. In order to emphasize the importance of speech, a special video component is implemented in each of the classes.

See Intensive Language, B9

Club Series.................................B7 Dress with Respect.........................B9