The Heights 09/15/2014

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REMEMBERING NEENAN

FREE ALLEY

FEATURES

ARTS & REVIEW

SPORTS

Rev. William B. Neenan, S.J. leaves legacy of friendship, B8

BC folk band Free Alley delivers energetic set at first ‘Superfan Zone’ event, A8

Field hockey beats the defending national champions, UConn, in a shootout, B2

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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

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Monday, September 15, 2014

Vol. XCV, No. 29

BC EAGLES

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USC TROJANS USC TROJANS

Last Saturday, the Boston College football team upset the No. 9 USC Trojans 3731, marking the Eagles’ first win over a top-10 ranked football program in more than a decade.

BEANTOWN BEATDOWN SEE ‘THE FALL OF TROY,’ B1 EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Freshman class welcomed with annual ‘First Flight’ BY CAROLYN FREEMAN Heights Staff Throughout high school, students’ educational careers are largely distilled down to their GPAs and SAT scores. When author Dave Eggers addressed the Class of 2018 at last Thursday’s First-Year Academic Convocation, he challenged the crowd of students to resist all of those numbers and rankings. This year, The Circle by Eggers, whose grandfather attended Boston College, was distributed to the incoming freshmen at orientation. The book,

which is about a woman who works at a technology company that soon makes her life public, is a cautionary tale about the far reaches of technology in personal lives, meant to set the academic theme of the year. In years prior, the annually chosen convocation books have included Run by Ann Patchett and Dreams From My Father by then-Senator Barack Obama. Rev. Joseph Marchese began the event with a brief talk during which he emphasized the importance of creativity and mentioned how The Circle will

See Convocation, A3

Focus reset for Women’s Center at BC BY MARY ROSE FISSINGER Special Projects Editor

ARTHUR BAILIN / HEIGHTS STAFF

engineer a very successful transformation and maturation of Boston College,” Quigley said. “Boston College today is not the same place it was when I arrived, and it has been fascinating to be witness, as the new University emerged from the old,” Hafner said in an email. In addition to teaching, Hafner was heavily involved in other aspects of the undergraduate academic experience, including the University Fellowships

See Hafner, A3

See Women’s Center, B8

Two A&S seniors bring Wall Street to campus BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor

Freshmen lined Linden Lane prior to filling Conte Forum for Dave Eggers’ convocation address.

Thirty-one years after it was founded, the Boston College Women’s Center is experiencing a growth spurt of sorts. The recent name change from Women’s Resource Center to the simpler Women’s Center is indicative of a maturation and expansion of the institution that has provided support, information, and programming to BC students for several decades now. If there is a face to put to these changes, it is Rachel DiBella’s. She is fresh off a growth spurt of a more professional nature, having been named the University’s first-ever Assistant Director for Sexual Violence Prevention and Response after serving two years as a graduate assistant for the Women’s Center. She assumed her new role in June and has since then spoken to over 600 members of the BC community about the best ways to reduce the incidence of sexual assault on campus and respond effectively when it does occur—evidence of the more visible and proactive role the Women’s Center hopes to take this year. Last spring, Vice President for Student Affairs Barbara Jones reorganized the division and made the Women’s Center its own freestanding department in order to increase its visibility and reinforce its significance to the community, according to Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Katie O’Dair. Around the same time, the “resource” was dropped from the name with the aim of accurately reflecting the breadth of programs and support available at the center. “I think removing ‘resource’ takes away the assumption that what we’re doing is medicalizing women’s issues,” said Director of the Women’s Center Katie Dalton. Dalton, who has been director since 2007, used the elevation of the center to a freestanding department and the appointment of DiBella to make this summer a time for reflection on what the Women’s Center has been in the past and what it wants to be moving forward. A “thinking group” of 13 faculty

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

David Dansky and Richard Kim, both A&S ’15, are aiming to land students at top finance jobs.

After having spent the past summer completing internships on Wall Street, two Boston College seniors have launched a feeder club for undergraduates of all academic backgrounds to land competitive jobs at the frontier of investment banks and sell-side firms. The BC Investment Banking and Sales and Trading Club (IBST)—started by David Dansky, A&S ’15, co-led by Richard Kim, A&S ’15, and run by three additional student officers—aims to provide undergraduate students, regardless of their major, a pipeline to high-caliber banking internships and jobs by preparing them for banking-

specific interviews and sharing their experiences as former interns and future analysts. “In the world of sales and trading, [banks] are just looking for smart kids— the people that are hungry to learn and very driven,” said Kim, a mathematics major and pre-med student. “I think there’s a lot of that out there.” Despite initial plans to apply immediately to med school following his undergraduate career at BC, Kim began taking an interest in sales and trading after some exposure to the financial realm through his roommate, Dansky. Having completed an internship within the sales and trading division of Citi this

See BC IBST, A3

Hafner steps down from position as Vice Provost BY JULIE ORENSTEIN Assoc. News Editor After serving as a member of the Boston College faculty and administration for over 40 years, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Donald Hafner stepped down from his position, effective Aug. 31, with his full retirement from the faculty to come in the spring. Joining the BC faculty in 1971 as an instructor in the political science department, Hafner taught in fields related

to international politics and American foreign and national security policy. He took his knowledge of these topics to a position as a foreign affairs officer working on the SALT II talks with the U.S. Arms Control & Disarmament Agency, which he held this position from 197778 before returning to BC. Hafner’s initial arrival at BC concurred with a time of major change for the University in the early 1970s, which involved all undergraduate programs becoming coeducational by 1970, Rev. J. Donald Monan S.J. becoming Uni-

versity President in 1972, and, perhaps most significantly, the University facing intense financial pressures. “His career—43 years and counting at Boston College—really coincided with this remarkable period for the University, and he, along with the wonderful generation that he came in with, were in large part responsible for the ascendancy that we’ve all benefited from in the last few decades,” said Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley. “I would say that Don Hafner had a particularly important role in helping to


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things to do on campus this

The Heights From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Tuesday through Thursday, the American Red Cross of Boston College will be hosting its first blood drive of the year. The drive will be held in Conte Forum on Tuesday, Stuart Hall on Wednesday, and the Walsh Function Room on Thursday.

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Monday, September 15, 2014

Boston College Law School and CNN Films are partnering to present an early screening of the upcoming documentary Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger. The film about the former Boston mobster will be screened Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Robsham.

Over 60 programs in nearly 30 countries will be showcased Wednesday night at the annual Study Abroad Fair, hosted by the Office of International Programs. Faculty and student representatives will be available to provide information and answer questions from 6 to 8 p.m.

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Embrace BCVC sparks creativity with elevator pitches the upset By Connor Farley News Editor

Chris Grimaldi There’s a reason why we root for David over Goliath. Common sense would tell us to do otherwise. After all, it is easier to root for the surer bet than to sentence ourselves to the probability of defeat. It is safer to stand behind the 10-foot tall champion of the Philistines, boasting armor and striking fear into the hearts of his opponents. Then why do we ultimately take the side of the boy with a slingshot and a few stones? Admittedly, proposing theological explanations for Biblical scriptures wasn’t the first thing on my mind as I stormed the field at Alumni Stadium on Saturday night. But Superfans weren’t the only ones rallying behind Boston College’s stunner. Turn on SportsCenter, and you would’ve seen footage of Tyler Murphy running all over USC’s defense as the opening story. Take a look at Pete Thamel’s game story on SI.com, and you’ll read his heroic description of BC’s squad as being “sweaty and bloodied after a historic victory.” Saturday night’s game was more than just a turning point for a football program, an excuse to celebrate, or a headline for ESPN—it was a reminder that we inherently love an upset. How four quarters of college football can strike an emotional chord is explained by our perception of the underdog. Whether it’s the eventual King David or BC, we see something that immediately inspires a common link that propels us to take the lesser side, hedging our bets on the improbable. In every underdog, we see a reflection of ourselves. The underdog embodies the shortcomings we deal with every day, the punishing odds life throws our way, and the uncertainty we fight to overcome. When the slingshot-bearing boy becomes King of the Israelites, we realize that the extraordinary is within our reach. When an unranked squad can stare defeat in the face and take down one of the nation’s elites, we feel as if we can be more than we seem. When a bandanna-wearing equities trader makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the innocent lives of others, we realize that humanity is capable of doing more good than it could ever imagine. Maybe on any given Saturday, BC’s win over the Trojans could still happen. Winless streaks against ranked opponents are bound to be broken sometimes, and a game-winning touchdown run to seal an unlikely victory can be as random as it is triumphant. We define life as a matter of happenstance, or we can look for something more. In the bleachers stood a row of fans with painted chests that spelled out a brief yet impactful message: “#AllForWelles!!” It captured the mindset of those 41,000 people in the stadium and a national audience—when a hero falls while attempting to overcome the odds, others rally to honor his cause. We lay it all out on the line because he showed us that we can and that we should. And with this unifying sense of purpose, BC carried out a tradition of underdogs, 3000 years in the making.

Chris Grimaldi is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at news@bcheights.com.

Each year a hopeful crop of innovative, tech-centric students from throughout the Boston College community begin pitching their ideas—fervently marketing their entrepreneurial concepts for the next great company to a group of veteran venture capitalists in just 60 seconds. This year’s BC Venture Competition’s (BCVC) Elevator Pitch Competition, which allows participants a mere minute to present their business ideas, will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m., with the deadline for submission on Friday, Oct. 17 at midnight. BCVC is a competition-based program within the Carroll School of Management that captures, mentors, and judges students with interests in business creation and provides winners a monetary prize as a base for funding their ideas. For the main competition, which takes place during the spring semester, last year’s prize sizes ranged from $20,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place, and $2,500 for third place. The main competition draws participants from throughout the Boston area, and the final rounds of the competition typically include students from surrounding universities, such as last year’s winners, Nxt4—a collaboration between three BC students and two Harvard undergraduates that aimed to change the way high school students approach the college application process by providing them a technological platform to constantly update a four-year resume, among other features. The Elevator Pitch competi-

tion consists of a more distilled down, condensed set of guidelines for participants, by which competitors must compete for a top-three spot, with smaller award prizes ranging from $500 for first place, $300 for second place, and $200 for third place. As a further incentive for competitors to please not only the panel of skilled venture capitalist judges but also the crowd, an additional $200 prize will be awarded to the audience choice team and to the top social innovation team, regardless of final selection of the winners. John Gallagher, associate professor of information systems and longstanding figure of the startup community at BC, serves as a co-advisor for the competition and has witnessed the development of BC-based

startups such as Jebbit, YouSit, and Drizly, among a growing list of others. “Professor [John] Gallagher was one of the very, very first people, and instrumental in helping us kick this off … he’s a huge asset to the [BC] community,” said Nick Rellas, cofounder of the alcohol delivery app and BC ’12, in an earlier interview with The Heights. Teams competing in BCVC must consist of at least two members; have at least one BC co-founder; and be composed of at least 50 percent BC students. For the Elevator Pitch, of all the teams that present an initial 60-second pitch to a panel of judges, only 15 will be selected to move on to the actual competition. Other area venture compe-

titions include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $100K Entrepreneurial Competition (MIT $100K), which was founded in 1990 and annually awards $100,000 to one grand prize winner, and also holds a separate elevator pitch competition. Last week, BCVC also held a fall kickoff event, during which 2012 competition winner form the team NBD Nano, Miguel Galvez, addressed venture capitalist hopefuls in a standingroom-only Fulton 150. BCVC is slated to hold an advising session for the Elevator Pitch competition one week prior to the actual competition on Tuesday, Oct. 14, and a preceding Social Innovation Kickoff event next Tuesday, Sept. 23. n

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The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Connor Farley, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights.com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk. Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Connor Mellas, Sports Editor, at (617) 552-0189, or email sports@ bcheights.com. Arts Events For future arts events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk.Call John Wiley, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com.

darren lee / heights senior staff

BCVC’s Elevator Pitch Competition will be held next month as a precursor to second semester’s main competition.

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 Eleanor Hildebrandt, Editor-inChief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com. CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Marc Francis, General Manager at (617) 552-0547. Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2014. All rights reserved.

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

POLICE BLOTTER Wednesday, Sept. 10 9:38 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC employee at the Beacon Garage. 5:49 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was later transported to a medical facility by cruiser from the Flynn Recreation Complex.

Thursday, Sept. 11 9:33 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a confiscation of alcohol

9/10/14 - 9/12/14

from the Walsh Hall lot.

Friday, Sept. 12 1:05 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny from a non-residence on Beacon Street. 2:46 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was later transported to a medical facility from Cushing Hall.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

What song do you think the USC players listened to on their way home from the game? “‘Angel’ by Sarah McLachlan.” —Matt Phelps, A&S ’17

“‘Straight Outta Compton’ by N.W.A.” —Bret Bonzell, A&S ’17

“‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion.” —Brian Hurley, A&S ’17

“‘Bad Day’ by Daniel Powter.” —Alec Ellis, CSOM ’17


Monday, September 15, 2014

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Author Dave Eggers addresses freshmen at annual convocation Convocation, from A1 provide an academic backdrop for the upcoming year. Creativity may be the most important thing to move toward a more just and loving society, he noted. “You are precociously and intellectually motivated students,” he said. “I think The Circle by Dave Eggers provides us a template to discern our lives as we enter this great University and begin to make choices for our future.” After Marchese addressed the audience and before Eggers began his talk, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., described three pieces of advice to the new freshmen: take care of yourself and let others take care of you, take time to reflect, and invest in your BC experience. “You wouldn’t be here unless you had talent,” Leahy said. “I urge you to care and to let others care for you, to reflect, and then, to invest—to give of yourself, to engage. And that’s what this institution has been about since it was created in 1863.” Eggers has written over 10 books and is also an editor, publisher, and educational activist. In 2002, he co-founded 826 Valencia, a nonprofit in San Francisco that is dedicated to helping students between the ages of six and 18 with their writing skills. When working at 826 Va-

lencia, he found that students needed much more individual attention to create digital resumes than he had originally anticipated. This idea of solving digital issues with human connections inspired him to write The Circle. In his speech, Eggers highlighted the idea of the authentic person. The Circle is about someone who chose work over her family and friends and ultimately became alienated and changed. “You could say pretty definitely that she strayed far from that authentic self,” he said. Eggers noted that he has recently spoken to many college students and has found that, due to the advent of social media platforms like Facebook, many of them alter their behavior in order to gain approval, resulting in feeling increasingly adrift, he said. “It’s a very new thing and something only your generation has had to grapple with—the fact that friends and approval can all be measured, or seemingly measured,” he said. “Are we our best selves when we feel even our capacity for friendship is being measured?” Later, Eggers touched on the issue of democracy and privacy rights. Current students are in college at a very different time— there are applications parents can use to see where their chil-

dren are at any given time. “There’s evidence that we’ve lost trust,” he said. “Your parents, you want them to trust you, but what if they don’t have to trust you? They can track you. Why trust when you can track?” “We have to allow for ambiguity,” Eggers said. “That ambiguity is crucial for the growth of trust and the growth of your own person.” Although the use of both surveillance and ranking systems is increasing, Eggers emphasized that p e ople are still messy, chaotic, and capable of defying expectations. “We do great things for no reason,” he said. “We do great things without anyone seeing them. We do great things without anyone liking them. But we do them because we’re human.” To be human is to act and to do things, Eggers said, not to be a part of a ranking system. Students should understand, he continued, that strictly quantifiable academic numbers such as one’s GPA or standardized test scores do not define them. “Your professors told you to set the world aflame, and I hope you do because you can’t measure a flame,” Eggers said. “You can’t measure the human spirit on fire, which is the only way a human spirit should be. On fire, unstoppable, unimprovable, unmeasurable.” n

Emily Fahey / Heights Editor

The Investment Banking and Sales and Trading Club at Boston College projects about 60-80 incoming members.

BC seniors create club to help students land top finance jobs BC IBST, from A1 past summer, Kim said he knew he wanted to help students prepare for a career in banking. “I think a lot of A&S [students] can do it and are equipped to succeed at these jobs, they just don’t know about them,” Kim said. “They don’t know it’s possible to get in.” The idea for IBST was largely driven by Dansky when he discovered the lack of publicity surrounding finance job openings for non-CSOM students, and was brought to fruition after he gained sharable experiences during his most recent internship at Barclays Capital. An economics major with a concentration in finance through CSOM, Dansky noticed a gap between the exposure of financial openings and interview preparation seminars for CSOM students versus those in A&S, with the latter group typically much less informed by administrators of recruiting opportunities. “I still saw that finance careers were not exposed to A&S students at all,” Dansky said. “Emails were not sent—the same ones I received from my finance professors, they weren’t as aware of the info sessions that were going on as the banks would come to campus for firm-wide presentations, and I think that we’re absolutely going to strive to get as many qualified A&S students in as they can. I think it’s definitely a big goal, probably especially since [Kim and I] both have A&S backgrounds.” Dansky also noted that although there are other financerelated clubs on campus, IBST is less focused on attracting interest than it is capturing those with preexisting interest and less direct access to interview preparation and resume building. “We do have six finance-related clubs on campus, currently,” Dansky said. “Why this club is extremely unique is that … we want to get more people onto the

Street. So, although we’re treated as a core school, you can look at a school like Princeton who will send 17 kids to a bank like Barclays whereas [BC] will send six or seven.” According to Dansky, the primary focus for the club consists of elite job placement for larger portions of the BC undergraduate population, and to do so while helping build the University’s reputation on Wall Street. “Essentially, what this club does, which this school has not yet had, is it’s a very comprehensive way to train [students] to interview successfully and get jobs on the Street, whether it be in banking or trading,” Dansky said. “I think it’s good for the school, too,” Kim said. “This club could be a good way to connect undergrads as well as graduates who need help looking for something, and the people who are actually working on the Street.” Upon starting the club and selecting adjunct associate professor in the finance department Michael Barry as its faculty advisor, Dansky suggested Kim help manage the club, understanding that Kim’s trajectory to Wall Street may encourage others to attain similar placements in the financial space. “I think that’s an important note to make—to get kids more prepared so that they succeed, which builds our school reputation, which attracts more banks to want more kids from BC,” Dansky said. “That was the goal when we pitched it to Mike Barry.” The club is divided into two primary groups—a sales and trading side, led by Kim; and an investment banking side, led by Dansky. Each side of the club is projected to train about 30 to 40 members, all of whom are slated to be paired with a mentor chosen from the club’s executive team. Club meetings are organized

around interview preparation workshops headed by club officers, seminars on certain facets of the financial industry, and other information sessions on topics ranging from networking to constructing an optimal resume. While there are no strict requirements for admittance to the club, IBST will generally accept students who earned above a 3.4-3.5 GPA—a range nearly identical to that required by most Wall Street firms, according to Dansky. Resume drops for the club must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18. “ We told [Barr y] that we wanted more kids to get on the Street,” Dansky said. “We didn’t think, for the brainpower and the reputation this school has, we were doing quite as a good of a job as we have the potential for—because kids were smart and they went through great CSOM classes, but they just didn’t know how to interview properly.” Basing its model on similar clubs at other universities, Dansky noted that the club’s structure is modeled after other non-technical institutions, but that may have equally qualified candidates to fulfill roles in investment banking or trading. While the two seniors both hold full-time offers with the firms they previously interned for, Kim and Dansky hope to remain active and integral faces for the club well beyond graduation, providing the club with a foundation for longevity. “I think Dave and I plan to be involved in this for the next five to 10 years, throughout our careers—[and] try to come back and speak or help kids get in,” Kim said. “I think it’s just a good way to connect the BC community that is on Wall Street, just from firm to firm. It’s good for the school and that’s what happens at other schools.” “Banks want personable, analytical kids who they can teach and train,” Dansky said. “You’ll learn everything on the job.” n

Arthur bailin / Heights staff

The Class of 2018, organized by residence hall, took part in the traditional First Flight procession to Conte Forum.

Hafner to retire fully from BC faculty by end of academic year Hafner, from A1 Committee, of which he became the director in 1995. He also served as the associate director of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at BC, and was named vice provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs in 2007. “There are two projects I have worked on with colleagues that I hope will have the most enduring effect at BC,” Hafner said. “One is the University Fellowships program, which launched both the Advanced Study Grants and the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium and has aided many hundreds of BC undergraduates in winning national fellowships. The other is working with Student Affairs on programs that bridge the academic, social, and spiritual lives of students, such as the Cross Currents Seminars, Pathways, and our new livinglearning communities.”

“Before he was in the provost’s office, the fellowships work that he did would be his biggest legacy,” Quigley said. “He spearheaded and almost singlehandedly built out a strong support system for student applicants for national and international fellowships.” Quigley also pointed to Hafner’s work with student leadership to develop a new system of online academic advisor evaluations as one of his lasting impressions on the University. Hafner said that his collaboration with other faculty colleagues on starting new academic programs, such as the Faith, Peace, and Justice minor, the political science department honors program, the international studies major, and the global public health program, has been satisfying throughout his career at BC. He also indicated that his students have had the most significant impact on his

work, particularly Carol DiMaiti Stuart, BC ’81, who was Hafner’s student and advisee. In 1989, Stuart was killed by her husband, Charles Stuart, in a widely publicized murder that caused racial tensions to reverberate throughout the city. “My memories of Carol’s trusting nature and bright innocence, and of how easily her husband shifted the blame for her murder by invoking racial fears—in so many ways, reflections on those events have shaped my understanding of my role and responsibility as a college professor in making the world a better place,” Hafner said. For the rest of the academic year, Hafner will remain a tenured faculty member on sabbatical. Quigley said that he and other members of the provost’s office will be starting a search for Hafner’s replacement beginning either later this fall or early next spring. n


The Heights

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Editorials

QUOTE OF THE DAY

A better place at BC for the Women’s Center This year is one of firsts for the Women’s Center—its first full year as a freestanding department within the Division of Student Affairs; its first year with an assistant director for Sexual Violence Prevention and Response, a new position filled by Rachel DiBella; and its first year with its new name (it was previously the Women’s Resource Center). Soon, it will also have a new location, as it is scheduled to move to the fourth floor of Maloney Hall in the coming months. The center is backing up its aesthetic and staff changes with real progress in terms of resources and programming. DiBella has hit the ground running in her new role, reaching out to over 600 members of the Boston College community since she began in June. She aims to create a BC community in which every member is able to respond appropriately to a victim of sexual assault and point him or her to the correct resources. Among her goals are the professionalization of the Sexual Assault Network (SANet), greater opportunities for dialogue and discussion surrounding assault, and more visible collaboration with other University offices. She has already helped develop sexual assault educational programming for incoming freshmen and created a support group for graduate students who have been affected by sexual violence. Her position was created so that she might be the ultimate resource for students affected by sexual assault, and students should be aware that her office is currently at McEl-

Monday, September 15, 2014

What is all human conduct but the daily and hourly sale of our souls for trifles? -George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950), Irish playwright and Nobel Laureate in literature

roy 118 and that she is accessible to anyone—men, women, undergraduates, or graduate students. The Women’s Center took the appointment of DiBella and its elevation to a freestanding department as an opportunity to rethink its place in the community and scale its programming accordingly. It hopes to become a focal point for support, resources, and conversation pertaining to sexual assault and, in doing so, to create a culture in which sexual violence is not tolerated in any way. The Women’s Center is now poised to make progress toward this goal by using its increased visibility not only to provide resources to anyone who might need them, but also to provide more educational and awareness programming aimed at changing a culture that still allows sexual violence to occur. In the past few months, it has introduced several promising programming initiatives, setting a positive tone for the year and the future of the Women’s Center in general. At the same time, the University has created a sexual assault steering committee, which is investigating what more can be done to stop sexual violence on campus. Both of these developments are evidence that in regard to this issue, the University’s priorities are in the right place. Students are still assaulted on college campuses nationwide and there is always more that can be done, but it is promising to see an administration and department that do not count simply being in line with legislation and federal suggestions as doing enough.

andrew craig / Heights Illustration

A night to remember, a game for the record books The home football game this past weekend was unlike most in Boston College’s recent history. The Eagles’ upset of the No. 9 USC Trojans was the highlight of the night, but fans may have noticed a few other changes leading up to the win. The new SuperFan Zone, coordinated by the athletic department and the Office of Student Involvement, debuted at this game. Located inside the concourse area of Gate A, the zone served as a tailgating location for any interested Gold Pass-holders. There was free food, a raffle, other giveaways, and a student band that performed cover songs. Men’s hockey head coach Jerry York was on hand to socialize with the students present. Given the rainy weather on Saturday evening, using an indoor location was a wise decision that likely attracted more students than it would have under more desirable weather conditions. Pending its success at future high-capacity games like the Clemson game on Oct. 18, BC Athletics should consider making the SuperFan Zone a permanent feature of home games, as it provides an entertaining experience for students who may not have traditional tailgates to attend. During the game itself, the crowd was—with few exceptions—civil, and chants from the student section largely remained respectful throughout the game, which was especially fitting given that the game was dedicated to the memory of 9/11 hero Welles Crowther, BC ’99. Red bandannas, an article worn by many in honor of Crowther, were prominent

throughout the crowd. The red bandanna-themed custom gear worn by the BC football team and the athletic staff was a fitting tribute. The crowd was also enormously supportive of Crowther’s parents, cheering when they were brought out on the field at halftime. Pete Frates, BC ’07, and his family also made an appearance at halftime to express their gratitude for the outpouring of support for the fight against ALS. A video played of the BC baseball team reading aloud a thankyou for the awareness and money generated by the Ice Bucket Challenge over the past few months. The family of Frates, a former BC baseball captain and sports information director who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012, was visibly moved by the positive response of the crowd, and their recognition was another emotional high point of the night. As the game clock was expiring, Athletics personnel and TeamOps present in Alumni Stadium first held back the crowd, but then allowed fans to rush the field once the game was over. The zealous fan response was welcome after an arduous game for the players, and it was encouraging to see the officials allow students to celebrate once they were sure it would not interfere with the game’s conclusion. The efforts of the University and BC Athletics served to enhance Saturday night’s central victory—the football team’s impressive efforts. Congratulations to the Eagles on their hard-fought win.

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

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

Heights

The

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

Editorial

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

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The Heights

Monday, September 15, 2014

A5

Considering how we portray suicide

Kristy Barnes Victory - We woke up yesterday morning, and we were sure that we must have dreamt Saturday night. We asked our friends and started concluding that there was some drug in the air that we all inhaled that night, and we were all suffering from mass amnesia. We checked ESPN and just thought that we were still drunk . We couldn’t wrap our heads around the thought, nay the fact, that the Eagles had broken the Trojans Saturday night. It was incredible. It was unprecedented. It was glorious. The revelry that ensued was well earned. Storming the Field - It is a rare thing that we get an opportunity to express our pure, unbridled enthusiasm in such a display of team unity and college spirit. As all swarmed onto the field from all angles, we became lost in that great mass of humanity. For that time, there was nothing but the sweet taste of victory on our lips. Running - It’s really awesome that our quarterback can do this and do it well. BC Offensive Line - They showed up and held their own on Saturday night. It was an impressive performance, really. Fire - For cooking things. Ice - For chilling things.

A few weeks ago, the world lost a great man. You may have known him as the teacher who challenged you to seize the day, or as a cross-dressing nanny. Maybe you knew him as a therapist who knew how to get the girl, or a genie that could grant wishes. There are many ways in which you could have come to know Robin Williams, but for most of us, the roads led to the same thing—a deep love of and appreciation for his work. Upon the news of his death, the world was left dumbfounded and numb. An outpouring of love and heartache filled social media as family, friends, and fans shared their sorrow and support. Amid the many messages, however, a certain tweet raised controversy and highlighted an important problem that often accompanies celebrity suicides. The tweet, sent by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was a screenshot from Disney’s Aladdin with the caption, “Genie, you’re free.” Of course, the picture was tweeted with the best intentions—it was meant to capture the heartbreak felt upon hearing Williams had taken his own life. Yet, the controversy over the tweet was not unwarranted, as it dangerously romanticized Williams’ mental illness and implicitly condoned his suicide. Romanticizing suicide and mental illness occurs frequently in the arts. Many are quick to point out the common denominator between some of the nation’s greatest creative minds, such as Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemmingway, David Foster Wallace, and Heath Ledger. To make such a connection is dangerous—it suggests creativity and mental illness are directly related, even though a connection has never been close to being proven scientifically. In fact, all this false connection does is subtly romanticize and idealize mental illness and, ultimately, suicide. Such subtle romanticism is a prominent problem in our society, as it

leads to a society in which the obvious romanticism of suicide becomes acceptable. Take, for example, the fashion spread from the magazine Vice in its 2013 Fiction Issue. The spread, entitled “Last Words,” features photographs of models reenacting the suicides of female authors. The images are beautiful, arresting, and dangerous. They make the harsh reality of suicide and mental illness appealing. Instead of showing the anguish and hurt that drove these writers to suicide, the acts are depicted as graceful. Vice claimed the shoot was a tribute to the authors, but in reality, it directly connected the mental agony of the authors with their creativity while further promoting the myth that suicide is beautiful. Such romanticism is very dangerous and has led directly to an increase in copycat suicides. For example, after Goethe’s Sorrows of Young Werther was published, suicides sharply increased in Europe, with many using a similar method as Goethe’s main character. In 1962, a similar phenomenon occurred in the U.S. after the death of Marilyn Monroe. According to Christine Moutier, the chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the scary reality behind romanticizing suicide is that it presents suicide as a valid option. This is one of the direct problems with the Academy’s tweet—it subtly condones Williams’ act. By saying Williams is now “free,” the Academy put a positive message behind the act and thus presented it as acceptable. It is important to understand that suicide is not a path to freedom—it is a cessation of all freedoms. It is dangerous to hint, however subtly, that suicide is liberating—a freeing and reasonable choice. Furthermore, the tweet unintentionally created a legacy around Williams that is a direct consequence of his suicide. The danger of this is harder to conceptualize, but just as severe. Many suicide prevention organizations warn about the glorification of those who commit suicide, for suicide may then appear to others as a way to achieve their own glory or leave a legacy. Thus, our society is in a difficult situation. While we should talk about Williams’ suicide in order to prevent

others like it, we must be exceptionally careful about how we do so. This is where we can look to professional media and entertainment, which has a strict protocol as to how to discuss the topic, for guidance. Professionals in the field are careful to remember the happier times, stress the terrors of mental anguish, and prioritize the pain of the ones left behind. Such a careful approach to the topic is perfectly displayed in one of Williams’ own famous films, Dead Poet’s Society. After the suicide of one of main characters, the script focuses not on the “freedom” the character gained, but on the loss and harm he left behind, showing that suicide is not a valid option, but a cry for help that always comes too late. There was a time when mental illness and suicide were topics both talked about and ignored at Boston College— they were talked about insofar as we said they should be talked about, but in reality swept them under the rug. This in itself is dangerous, for making the topics taboo simply makes it harder for those who need help to get it. Fortunately, BC is taking steps in the right direction, including UGBC’s upcoming BC Ignites: Mental Health and the different activities for Suicide Prevention Week. Still, we must proceed with caution. We must remember how important it is on a college campus to talk about mental health and suicide, but that it must be handled without romanticizing it, for allowing those who are in pain to see it as a valid option or a way to leave a mark can cause terrible consequences. So, we must talk about the help that is available on campus and that there is no shame in asking for it. We must create a dialogue that emphasizes how suicide affects those left behind and how help can make all the difference. Above all, we must be aware of and alert to the warning signs of suicide and prepared to reach out when one of the members of our community is in need. Human life is precious and fleeting as it is, so to honor Robin Williams, we should take his famous character’s wise words to heart—Seize the day, boys, seize the day.

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

Textbooks need a better price structure Fire And ICe - You think the two would be good together, but it turns out that it’s just a nightmare. That was a big mistake that we will never make again. Printer Problems - Have you seen the lines in O’Neill for printers these days? We can’t imagine that there are more people waiting to get into heaven or a Louis C.K. show than there are trying to print in the 10 minutes before every class. The line is so long that it wraps around an enormous part of the stacks on the third floor and reminds us of the game “Snake” that we used to play on our parents’ old Motorola cell phones, only with obstacles spread out on the field. Rolling the Mods - This is absurd. After what is arguably our biggest upset win since 1989, it is only right that we should have the opportunity to celebrate in the Mods. This business of coming through the Mods shutting things down right after the game ended was ridiculous. Let the boys celebrate! Mid-Game Hangovers - Night games are so difficult. neopets - This caused us a lot of trouble as a kid. We couldn’t figure out how to get neoPoints. On the other hand, one of our friends wrote code that broke the system. We thought it was pretty cool at the time, but now we wonder how we had all that time on our hands.

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Mike Pescuma According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG), the average American college student now spends approximately $1,200 per year on books and supplies. This is a striking number, but it is even more striking when considering that this is on top of the tuition at four-year, private universities such as Boston College, which is typically over $50,000 per year. According to BC’s Facts & Figures, 70 percent of students received financial aid in the 2014-15 school year, with the average needbased financial aid package being $36,000. Based on these financial aid figures, many students at BC clearly cannot afford to spend $1,200 on top of all of the other costs of attendance. So, what do students do when they can’t afford textbooks? Are they taking out additional loans? Are they getting jobs or working longer hours? The USPIRG provides some insight into these questions, revealing that 65 percent of students have simply declined to buy a textbook for class due to the cost. This statistic is alarming for several reasons. If a student hasn’t purchased a textbook for a class, then he or she may be less likely to complete the assignments that are from that required textbook. Although textbooks may be available through the library’s course reserves, this is only a BandAid solution because not all professors make course reserves available, and even when they do, students must compete with each other to check them out of the library because there are often only a handful of copies available. Therefore, some students will inevitably be unable to complete every assignment if many students are relying solely on course reserves. Students being unprepared or underprepared for class has far-reaching consequences. The student may have a difficult

time following the professor’s lesson plan, may receive poor grades on assignments that draw from the textbook’s readings, and may learn less. That this is happening on such a wide scale is also unsettling. Additionally, the USPIRG report finds that 94 percent of the students who had not purchased a textbook because it was too expensive were concerned that not having a textbook would impact their grades. These concerns can surely be accompanied by a number of other issues, but primarily, these students may be stressed about being underprepared. This stress can then impact students’ health—BC University Health Services’ (UHS) website notes that headaches, nausea, and depression are all symptoms of stress. UHS also notes that trouble focusing and difficulty concentrating are also symptoms of stress, and so being concerned about not having a textbook for one class may also negatively impact a student’s performance in other classes for which he or she would otherwise be prepared. With all of the obvious negative impacts that can result from such expensive textbooks, this seems like a lose-lose situation for all parties involved. When some students are unprepared for class, all of the students suffer because the class would be stronger if everyone were prepared and could actively participate. The University also loses out in the long run, when students are stressed at school and struggle in class, the University’s culture suffers, and the school becomes less appealing to prospective students. Additionally, alumni may be less likely to be involved in and support BC if they struggled or were stressed because of high textbook prices when they were students. The party that is ultimately responsible for forcing these high costs on students— the textbook publishing industry—is losing out as well. It has an essentially captive market in that its customers, the students, are required by their professors to buy its textbooks. Yet, even with a captive audience like this, 65 percent of its target market has decided not to purchase at least one textbook anyway because of the price. This

clearly shows a poor pricing strategy on the side of the publishers. Drawing on my very, very basic knowledge of microeconomics (a course for which I spent over $250 on textbooks in the BC Bookstore), this seems to be a clear example of a market failure. And so I’m left rather confused about almost every party involved. I understand why students aren’t buying textbooks—they can’t afford them. But I do not understand why professors at BC and at so many other universities across the country impose such expensive required textbooks on their students. I’m also confused as to why university administrations are complicit in allowing such expensive textbooks to be sold on their campuses. I’m confused as to why the publishers charge so much for their textbooks in the first place when they would likely have higher sales if they had lower prices. Textbook publishers and the campus bookstores that distribute them are at the root of this problem. The bookstores may be able to argue that they also sell used textbooks and rent textbooks to students at lower prices than it would cost to buy new textbooks. Although this is better for students, used and rental textbooks are not always available for every class, so this solution is not feasible for all students. With all of the negative impacts associated with the current textbook publishing space, a solution needs to be found. The textbook publishers must come up with a way to charge less. As students and as a university, the most effective way of dealing with this would be to make sure that our voices are heard—we need to make sure that publishers understand that they are charging too much, and so I urge professors to stop assigning new, expensive textbooks. If professors fail to do this, then I urge students to have an honest conversation with professors so that they will find ways around expensive textbooks and stop this industry from taking advantage of students.

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

The opinions and commentaries of the staff columnists and cartoonists appearing on this page represent the views of the author or artist of that particular piece, and not necessarily the views of The Heights. Any of the columnists and artists for the Opinions section of The Heights can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Our uneven responses Eleanor Sciannella Before the Pittsburgh football game was going to start, my friends and I stopped by one last Mod. All the tailgates were winding down except for ours—where the majority of the students were either Latino or black— and the adjacent, where all the students were white. Suddenly, we heard three loud bangs, like a car backfiring. One of the guys jokingly dropped to the ground and put his hands over his head as if they were gunshots, and his friend said, “Don’t worry man, we’re not in the hood!” I laughed and glanced over at our mostly white neighbors, who after jumping in their seats, had moved on with their conversations. We live in a world where we are taught not to “see” race. But, this worldview denies that the lived experience of people of color is different than those without color. When I go about my life and hear a loud boom, I think of fireworks or cars backfiring. But, many individuals’ first thoughts are of gunshots—gunshots that sometimes come from peers of color, and sometimes from white police officers. What happened in Ferguson, Mo. sparked an outpouring of social commentary by anti-racist activists. They analyzed the portrayal of Michael Brown as a “thug,” the militarization of the police, racial profiling, and how to improve police training to encourage trust between officers and civilians of color. I followed the development closely, questioning the media’s description of the protests in the area as “riots” and waiting for word of a trial for the police officer. But, the social media coverage of the Ferguson incident pales in comparison to that of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. For every article about Ferguson that appeared on my newsfeed, there were 20 videos of friends dumping ice on themselves. I was nominated at the beginning of this wave of videos, and when I saw what it was and what it entailed, my first thought was what I would wear, whom I would nominate, and how many people would like my video. I went for a run—to get hyped for my challenge—only to return to a refrigerator with a broken ice machine. And that was enough to deter me from hopping on the bandwagon, because the biggest pull for me to do the challenge was that everyone else was doing it. As I saw more and more Boston College friends (and soon after, friends from home) dousing themselves with water and almost none even talking about Ferguson, I started to get frustrated. Why were only my activist friends reposting articles about the racial tension surrounding the murder of Michael Brown? Why did the majority of my Facebook friends feel compelled to raise awareness about ALS and not the continuing racial tension in this country? This is not to say that getting involved in a movement to raise awareness about such a ruinous disease is a bad thing—it’s just an easy “good thing” to do because not only do you feel good about giving something to a cause, but you also get to tell your friends about it through a fun video on Facebook. Talking about racism is not fun, but it’s an issue that needs to be addressed because, just like ALS, people live with and die from racism. Unlike ALS, only people of color suffer from the manifestations of racism. It takes research and funding to find a cure for ALS, but it takes learning the history of race and white privilege in America, learning how it is manifested in societal structures, and then learning what we can do to those systems to deconstruct race and prevent the oppression of people of color, to start addressing racism. It is much harder for people to talk about race and the systems of power that created the situation in which a white police officer felt he was so endangered that he needed to shoot to kill a young, unarmed black person. Everyone can agree that a disease should be treated, but there are still people in this country who think racism doesn’t exist anymore. An anti-racist organization could never pull off a fundraising stunt like the ice bucket challenge because not everyone agrees that racism is still a problem. It will take having hard conversations with friends, classmates, roommates, and family, and then maybe we can create a world where no one thinks of gunshots when he or she hears a loud bang. Racism is a social disease that kills, and public outrage should match the importance of the issue.

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


THE HEIGHTS

A6

Monday, September 15, 2014

‘Eleanor Rigby’ makes a strong reappearance on the big screen BY GRACE GODVIN For The Heights

The first of three installments of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is set to premiere in Boston this Friday, after opening in New York and Los Angeles last week. Directed by first-time director Ned Benson, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them tells the story of a young couple—Eleanor Rigby (Jessica Chastain) and Conor Ludlow (James McEvoy)—recovering from the loss of their first child. The film, however, includes virtually zero detail of the actual THE DISAPPEARANCE tragedy— OF ELEANOR RIGBY Ned Benson Benson rather alludes to the incident by showing the effects this loss had on each parent. Eleanor and Conor handle the heartbreak in very different ways, with Conor striving for the return to normalcy while Eleanor finds herself swallowed by the devastation. In one of the first scenes of the film, Eleanor rides her bike to the Brooklyn Bridge and jumps off. Amazingly, she survives, but the miracle does nothing to raise her out of her

depression. Following the incident, Eleanor and Conor effectively separate. In a response to her suicide attempt, Eleanor moves back into her parents’ house. Her parents, who conveniently are professors, suggest that Eleanor start taking classes in an effort to bring structure into her life. Eleanor audits a class entitled “Identity Theory,” and she winds up forming a relationship with her professor, played by Viola Davis. Chastain and Davis have an amusing chemistry. The relationship feels authentic, with both characters a little rough around the edges. While on the surface their interactions give little background on the characters, their simpatico tells you more than any conversation could. Conor grieves quite differently. A restaurant owner in New York attempting to break into the city’s already overcrowded restaurant scene, he does everything he can to return to normalcy. With the help of his restaurant’s chef, Stuart (Bill Hader), and bartender, Alexis (a lackluster performance by Nina Arianda), Conor slowly picks up the pieces—but his recovery only distances himself from his estranged wife, whom he spends the whole movie trying to find and with whom he desires to make amends. McAvoy turns out one of the best performances of his career in Rigby, playing a

conflicted but devoted husband, struggling to accept the notion of how to live without his wife, and all the while keeping up an almost perfect upper-class New York accent. He also turns to a parent for shelter, living in his restaurateur dad’s apartment. Spending the beginning of the film living out the spawn of a successful parent cliche, Conor is too proud to ask his dad for help with his restaurant. But by losing Eleanor and the dwindling success of his own restaurant, he finally finds himself capable of turning to his father—with a touching performance from Cirian Hinds in that role. While the death of the couple’s son precedes all plot action in the film, these moments are contrasted with flashbacks of the couple’s earlier romance, a period filled with blissful, happy, carefree memories. When Conor finally locates his wife—after her family encourages her to isolate herself following the suicide attempt—there is a scene in Eleanor’s classroom when Conor tries to pass a note up to her, a la sixth grade. Conor makes an attempt to be fun and easygoing, whereas Eleanor finds Conor’s levity insulting, considering the magnitude of what has happened. The minute she turns around and sees Conor, Eleanor runs out of the room. It’s at this moment that it becomes clear that their former life together—alluded to with the film’s occasional flashbacks—can

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

Benson seamlessly navigates emotional material in the first film of his ‘Eleanor Rigby’ trilogy. never again exist. In this scene, we also realize what we, the audience members, are missing. The concept for the film has changed radically from Benson’s original script. He first released The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby a year ago at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival. It was then two films, “Him” and “Her”—one told completely from the perspective of Conor, and the other from Eleanor. But when The Weinstein Company picked it up, it realized that watching two films in a row in a four-hour time frame was not conducive to commercial success. “Them” was its answer—a third installment designed

for wide release, with “Him” and “Her” to premiere in art house cinemas next month. Ultimately, Benson’s film is a story about parents and their children: the way a child can shape you, how he or she grows dependent on you, so do you on him or her, how each shapes the others’ lives in ways unknown to either. And, while the loss of a child is an easy catapult to explore these emotions, Benson navigates this potentially unwieldy material in an incredibly authentic manner. Benson has a gift for storytelling, and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is a film not to be missed. 

Despite strengths, ‘The Drop’ falls short

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCREEN GEMS

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REPORT TITLE

WEEKEND GROSS

WEEKS IN RELEASE

1. NO GOOD DEED

24.5

1

2. DOLPHIN TALE 2

16.6

1

3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

8.0

7

Strong acting performances from Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini struggle to redeem the conclusion of Roskam’s crime drama ‘The Drop.’

4. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

4.8

6

BY TYLER WILKINSON

5. LET’S BE COPS

4.3

5

6. THE DROP

4.2

1

7. IF I STAY

4.1

4

8. THE NOVEMBER MAN

2.8

3

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

For The Heights The Drop, directed by Michael R. Roskam and written by Dennis Lehane, is a brazen film and James Gandolfini’s last acting credit. The simple yet extremely well done crime drama focuses on the Chechen-run New York money-laundering business. Any bar in Brooklyn can be randomly selected by the THE DROP Chechens Michael R. Roskam to be the “drop” bar of the night where all of the money in Brooklyn comes to be collected by the mob. Marv (Gandolfini) owns a bar in Brooklyn that is selected to be the “drop,” but some thugs receive word of this and decide to rob the bar run by Marv and his cousin Bob (Tom Hardy). The film follows Bob as he investigates who robbed the bar while trying to dodge a crazed and lethal ex-boyfriend of his newfound romance, the recovering addict Nadia (Noomi Rapace). Moviegoers tend to do genre analyses and compare each new film to the best of that genre. For crime dramas, each film is compared in the light of The Godfather. One might consider the film a type of epic,

with a “war” between five families and a plot that spans continents. The Drop is nearly the exact opposite. It is about one bar in a tiny corner of Brooklyn. The whole film takes place in five or six locations and still is enthralling. The director of photography knows when to accentuate different cinematographic aspects of each locale to keep the film aesthetically fresh. Gandolfini acted in no lesser way than one would expect of the great Sopranos star, but Hardy gave the best performance in the film and possibly his career. Hardy can be too cool, as in his Inception performance, but this Hardy was of a different caliber. He plays a simple and seemingly likeable bartender due to his sympathy for the defenseless, which causes him to adopt a beaten pit bull that was left in a trashcan. There is an air of mystique that one might quickly ignore and just attribute it to a workingclass man who very rarely leaves the city, however. His acting is nothing less than dynamite, and the full force of his character, like dynamite, is made apparent at once in the thrilling finale. No matter how amazingly written and acted Hardy’s character might be, though, the film ultimately falls off the cliff due to its ending. The end of a movie is arguably the most important part of the beginning-

middle-end trinity, the storytelling arc that has been floated throughout western consciousness since the age of Aristotle. An ending to a great movie needs to meet certain criteria. First, the ending of the film has to have a resolution to the dilemma that arose in the first act or beginning of the film. Second, a great film will have an unexpected twist, and the best twists are those in which a twist is not expected at the end. The Drop adheres to both of the criteria. There is also a hypothetical list of what not to do in crafting an ending, which includes writing an ending that comes out of left field while having characters act in a way in which no human being would under any circumstances. Sadly, The Drop also satisfies these criteria. At the end of the film, we learn a shocking secret about Bob. Nadia, despite the knowledge of this secret and Bob’s sudden and extremely violent outburst, is still willing to be with him. Her reaction is not that compatible with that of a recovering junkie who knows the tribulations that come with an abusive boyfriend. The film suffers from having both very intimate knowledge of humanity and having almost no knowledge of it whatsoever. Despite the film’s ending, The Drop is one of this year’s best crime dramas and should be on everyone’s (pre-) Oscar-season list. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALCON ENTERTAINMENT

BEST SELLERS OF HARDCOVER FICTION 1. PERSONAL Lee Child 2. SOMEWHERE SAFE WITH SOMEBODY GOOD Jan Karon 3. THE BONE CLOCKS David Mitchell 4. THE SECRET PLACE Tana French 5. THE EYE OF HEAVEN Clive Cussler and Russell Blake

3

3

6. COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE Haruki Murakami 7. THE LONG WAY HOME Louise Penny 8. THE GOLDFINCH Donna Tartt 9. BIG LITTLE LIES Liane Moriarty 10. MEAN STREET Sandra Brown SOURCE: New York Times

Winterbottom’s ‘Trip to Italy’ turns out to be a dull two-hour ride BY CAM HARDING For The Heights

The Trip to Italy is director Michael Winterbottom’s sequel to his largely extemporized comedy The Trip (2010). In the new film, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reunite on a gastronomical road trip through Italy’s premium restaurants to write an article for The ObTHE TRIP TO ITALY server. Like its Michael Winterbottom predecess or, T he Tr i p t o Italy relies heavily on the interplay between Coogan and Brydon (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) as they ramble on various topics, compete in a wide range of impersonations, and, naturally, exchange jabs. There is also a fair share of interpersonal ruminations as the two characters contemplate their careers, the difficulties of family life, and the inevitable affliction of aging and mortality. Winterbottom’s cinematography is topnotch, as the camera lovingly gleams over beautiful Italian landscapes and cities as well as culinary masterpieces. While achieving the lavish setting of an ideal vacation, much

of the imagery begins to wear thin about halfway through the movie. You can only view so many gorgeous Italian vistas and pastas before they start to amalgamate into a tiresome blur, especially on occasions when they are unnecessarily drawn out. It is possible that Winterbottom underestimated the limitations of film, as watching the character’s magnificent vacation soon becomes as fulfilling and awe-inspiring as browsing a tour guide pamphlet. Some of the smaller settings are well placed and are reflective of the movie’s core themes, but these are few and far between. Much to their credit, Coogan and Brydon are an excellent pair with truly vibrant chemistry. They play off of each other well and offer a few hilarious moments while exercising their improvisation skills. Their competitive relationship often compels them (quite convincingly) to attempt to outdo each other in their craft. Winterbottom also does a superb job with editing, effectively using selective breaks that render Coogan and Brydon’s banter natural and flowing. What is likely the biggest flaw of The Trip to Italy, however, is how painfully demanding it can be for a comedy. At times, it becomes a chore simply to fixate one’s full attention on the incessant garrulous

ramblings. Aside from the myriad references that are rapidly catapulted in volleys at the audience (a fair portion relating to Romantic poets some audience members may never have even heard of—fans of Byron and Shelley will likely appreciate this film), many of the imitations hardly connect to anything. This results in many scenes that seemingly encompass impersonations for the sake of impersonations while being devoid of any actual jokes. Even when Coogan and Brydon’s mimicry is extremely impressive, it isn’t necessarily always funny. As for the impressions themselves, they range from absolutely spectacular to cringingly inaccurate (most lean toward the former). Coogan and Brydon’s impressions of Michael Caine in particular are absolutely hysterical. Another issue with the comedic aspect of the film is that is can also become rather agonizing when some of the gags (like the scenery) are carried to the point of exhaustion and are then dragged onward. Nonetheless, there are a few genuinely side-splitting moments, such as when Brydon narrates a two-way conversation between an ancient petrified victim of the Pompeii eruption and himself. In addition, it is fairly interesting how the humor is utilized in many cases as the characters’ method of deflecting their

PHOTO COURTESY OF BBC

With only a few comedic moments, ‘The Trip to Italy’ overall lacks an entertaining storyline. midlife crises and mortality. In terms of storytelling, The Trip to Italy is ineffective in creating any interesting character developments or conflicts. Coogan deals mainly with having just finished a TV series in Hollywood that is on an indefinite hiatus while trying to connect to his teenage son Joe (Timothy Leech). Brydon feels alienated and neglected by his wife, which is further complicated by his affair with an attractive deckhand (Rosie Fellner). The conflicts and introspection of

the characters feel rather generic and hardly endearing. Coogan’s fleeting scenes with his son are simply uninteresting while Brydon’s struggles are difficult to become invested in. Nothing within this area is blatantly terrible so much as underwhelming and all too familiar. For a more cultivated audience, this film may be a delight, but to the average viewer it can be a laborious two hours. In all likelihood, The Trip to Italy will either be tastefully entertaining or a tedious bore. 


The Heights

Monday, September 15, 2014

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Jordan Pentaleri / heights Photo Illustration

Coming soon to theaters: a preview of this season’s biggest releases From Fall Movies, A8 at the movies this summer than most years before. Just like Bilbo surprised and proved crucial to Thorin’s quest (fine, last Hobbit reference), some little movie will come out of nowhere and steal your heart. Some, though, will try to steal your lunch, but that’s life at the movies. Kicking off the fall festivities next weekend is the latest young-adult dystopian adaption, The Maze Runner. When something works, stick with it. If ain’t broke, don’t fix it. (Insert favorite sports jargon here). Hollywood will continue to throw these movies at us until we stop watching them, and given that there is still a mountain of dystopian young adult literature out there to be plundered, it can produce them as long it wants. “Your

fate is in your hands,” Katniss would say. Shut up, Katniss. Who knows, maybe The Maze Runner might have something new to say. I’m excited for Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf) and Kaya Scodelario (Skins) to make their decisive leap to the big screen, after years of great work on television cult classics. Okay, maybe Teen Wolf isn’t a cult classic, at least not yet. My gut says The Maze Runner is just keeping the seat warm for The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part One. My heart hopes it surpasses that absurdly titled movie. Paired with The Maze Runner for a Sept. 19 release, Hector and the Search for Happiness starring Simon Pegg looks like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty without the reckless creative abandon. It goes for pleasantry, not shock, which is a welcome approach. Gone Girl is set to pick up the piec-

es in October. What can I say about a movie I already love but haven’t seen? Fincher, Affleck, the wondrous rural Missouri country side. When David Fincher is given a good story, he makes a great movie (ex. Se7en, The Social Network). When Fincher is given a lousy story, he makes a good, though tiresome movie (ex. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Scripted by the novel’s author, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl has a great story, and it’ll take a precise filmmaker to convey its intricacies. Thankfully, there’s no one as precise as Fincher. I’d pay $30 to see this movie. Fine, I’ll take you to see this movie. Brad Pitt returns to the war movie on Oct. 17 with Fury, which follows Pitt and his Sherman tank crew behind enemy lines. Will we be making movies about World War II in 2050?

Probably, and if Brad Pitt is still in them, I’ll still be watching them. No one is as consistently believable in war as Pitt. Fury also features Shia LaBeouf, bearded not bagged. I’m perfectly comfortable walking into Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar in November with no idea what it may be about and will be perfectly comfortable walking out of the theater three hours later with no idea what I’ve seen. I know enough about wormholes to I know that I’m not going to understand the plot of this movie. For those interested, that Hunger Games movie comes out in November, too. Reece Witherspoon has three movies coming out this fall. One (The Good Lie) will be instantly forgotten. One (Wild) will earn her an Oscar nomination for pretending to walk 1,100 miles. And one (Inherent Vice)

will be one of the best movies of the year, because it’s directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Capping off the season, Ridley Scott continues to document every epic moment in human history with Exodus: Gods and Kings, which surprisingly doesn’t star Russell Crow— probably only because he played Noah only a couple months ago. Christian Bale stars as Moses and Jessie Aaron Paul supports as Joshua. Then there’s the final Hobbit. I’m fairly certain I’ll regret 80 percent of this in a month. But that’s why going to the movies is fun. Expectations are realized and crushed. Just go see some movies.

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

A ‘Pretty Recklessly’ late start From Reckless, A8

Arthur Bailin / heights Staff

Playing for a large crowd at BC’s new ‘SuperFan Zone’ in Alumni Stadium, folk rockers Free Alley performed both orignal and cover songs before the game started on Saturday night.

Student band Free Alley performs in new SuperFan Zone From Free Alley, A8 high-energy and heavily electric—a push away from the acoustic sound characterizing Free Alley. Navarro has been originating a fair deal of new content for the band in the past few weeks and heavily leveraging Free Alley’s material via social media. The Alumni Stadium performance gave a good sampling of the band’s range, but

understandably, considering the audience, did not venture far into this fresh material. As for the venue of the SuperFan Zone, it was refreshing to see BC musicians put into a context that might help them break out of the relatively closed scene of singer-songwriter events on campus. One trouble with most of the opportunities out there for University bands is that

it’s tough to reach an audience that’s not just there to listen to music. While nearby Boston neighborhoods like Allston have a reputation for hosting concerts at house parties, BC’s music scene is relatively incubated, with most performances limited to coffeehouse-style functions. Creating venues where students organically congregate opens up new possibilities for BC musicians. (All right, I will admit “organic” might be a strong word to

describe the ambience of the SuperFan Zone—especially consideringthe fact that hundreds of dollars in merchandise was given away at the time of the performance—but still, the event did bring in a very large, new audience.) Free Alley’s show on Saturday marks what could be the beginning of a strong tradition of giving exposure to BC artists on game day, helping the University’s band scene finally break out of the coffeehouse. n

“Absolution,” The Pretty Reckless’ first set of songs had no mercy, but the band took it down a notch during the second half of its performance. Switching to an acoustic set, Taylor began with old favorites “Zombie” and “Waiting for a Friend,” which were a nice break from the intensity she began with. To close, however, she brought the energy level back up and finished off the concert with “Make Me Wanna Die” and “Going to Hell.” It was a great way to end, with two of the band’s most popular songs that one could not help but sing along to. Once The Pretty Reckless left the stage, it was already midnight, but that didn’t stop fans from wanting more. After some much-deserved bouts of applause, Taylor reappeared and serenaded the crowd with three more songs before calling it a night: “My Medicine,” “House on a Hill,” and “F—ked Up World.” Overall, it was a great concert, and Taylor Momsen reminded the crowd once again that she’s a force to be reckoned with. She may be tiny, but her vocal performance and body language are certainly not. Cindy Lou Who who? n


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ARTS&REVIEW MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

THE FINER THINGS

If walls could talk

ARIANA IGNERI My roommates and I are decorating our last Boston College dorm room together. Obviously, it’s a little sad, but as it has been in the past, it’s exciting, too. When the four of us were shopping around for things that would deck out our Voute suite and make it fancy, I felt like a third grader let loose in the school supplies aisle of Target, picking out bright binders and Crayola crayons—all the trendiest back-to-class gear. I remembered how, in elementary school, the designs on your notebook could say a lot about you. Flowers, stripes, or polka dots? It was never an easy question, but it was always fun to answer. In college, it’s not that different. I may not care very much about what goes into my backpack, but I’ve thought a good bit about what I put on my common room walls. Tapestries have replaced tape and flags have replaced folders, but the idea is the same—what do I want these things to say about me? Over the years, my dorm room decorations have told an ever-changing story. As a freshman, I lived in a forced triple in Chevy. I shared a bunk with a cheerleader from Texas who had hot pink sheets and a cheetah print comforter, which would, more often than not, hang over from the top, turn my bottom bed into a sort of cave, and hide the little space I had to display my photos of my high school friends, my family, and my dog. The next year, BC housing was kind to me, and I landed an eight-man in Walsh. My roommates, whom I didn’t know well at first, lined the doorway to the suite with Cosmo magazine covers, hung a Disney princess poster near the kitchen table, taped beer boxes by the fridge, and for some reason or other, ordered a life-size cop cutout to put next to the window. It was terrifying. Junior year I hopped around, moving from my off campus house in the fall to a room in Edmond’s for the spring. That room, I discovered when I got there, had already been decorated by the girls who had formerly lived there—blue shower curtains tied with pink ribbons were draped above the TV, yellow feathered boas were lying on the window sills, and homemade flower balls were hanging from the ceiling. It was like Pinterest gone horribly wrong. As a senior, I’m living with four of my best friends in a dorm room that has two whole floors of white walls that are just begging to be decorated. It’s the first time I feel like I have the chance to make this place my own, but, believe it or not, it’s also the first time that I don’t want to. With their eclectic and sometimes questionable tastes and styles, my various roommates have taught me more than I could have expected while I’ve been at college. I may never care for neon colors and animal prints like my freshman year roommate did, but she taught me to appreciate differences, and along the way, became a part of this story I’ve spent three years creating. I bought 15 black empty picture frames for my suite from Amazon this weekend. They should be coming in the mail tomorrow, but I don’t plan on filling them by myself. I want my roommates to do it, my friends, my family, and anyone or anything that’s meant or will mean something to me at BC to do it—because if these dorm room walls could talk, I don’t think it’d be only my story they’d tell. It’d be ours.

Ariana Igneri is the Assoc. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LEGENDARY PICTURES, ALCON ENTERTAINMENT, AND NEW LINE CINEMA

‘Interstellar,’ starring Matthew McConaughey, ‘The Good Lie’ with Reese Witherspoon, and the last installment to Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy are some of the movies to see this season.

A (purely speculative) guide to the fall semester in film RYAN DOWD There are few things I enjoy more than making bold declarations about movies I haven’t seen. The Artist should never have won an Oscar. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was an abomination of a brilliant short story I’ve never read. Of course I haven’t seen either of these movies. If you graciously read this column last year, you’ll remember my soft assertion that the romantic comedy is a dying genre.

And I think I come out fairly well on that one. Scrolling through IMDb’s list of upcoming movies, I can’t spy a single one. Not that romance is dead. There are about 50 rom-com sitcoms premiering across television this fall, but I think I deserve some recognition regardless. Now, if you paid to see That Awkward Moment, you have my deepest sympathy. I truly never meant to do any harm. Sometimes, usually, I’m wrong. On that note, off we go. This fall features (shockingly) a few sequels,

two different movies about a woman walking really far, Mathew McConaughey in space, and a hobbit. I can see three things distinctly in my crystal ball. Gone Girl will unquestionably be my favorite movie of the year. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day would be my least favorite movie if I actually saw it. And at midnight on Dec. 19, I’ll be in line to see The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies in a mix of excitement and apprehension. Everything else lies shrouded, hidden like Durin’s

Door before moonlight. Last year I could boldly declare that Gravity or The Wolf of Wall Street would win the Oscar and not sound like an idiot. Spoiler alert, this is a weird year for movies. It might be the weakest year since 2011 (take that, The Artist). This summer didn’t have any behemoth blockbusters, and this fall likewise lacks any behemoth Oscar contender. It’s a bottom-heavy field. This doesn’t mean it won’t be fun. I had more fun

See Fall Movies, A7

JOHN WILEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Before Saturday night’s football game, BC student band Free Alley played a show in the new ‘SuperFan Zone,’ a pre-game venue at Alumni reserved for Gold Pass holders.

FREE ALLEY KICKS OFF CONCERT TRADITION BY JOHN WILEY

Arts & Review Editor The premiere of the “SuperFan Zone” at Saturday’s football game brought with it a new venue for student musicians. The area just inside Gate A of Alumni Stadium will be sectioned off at certain home games for Gold Pass holders, offering t-shirt giveaways, free food, and live music for those willing to get to the game a couple hours early. BC

folk band Free Alley was the first to appear at the new pre-game event, performing a 90-minute set with over a dozen covers and original songs, closing triumphantly (as all sets should) with a cover of Old Crow Medicine Show ’s “Wagon Wheel.” Connecticut-native Alex Navarro, CSOM ’15, is the smokey voice behind Free Alley. His low, gravelley vocals added an almost Southern color to the show. That said, the

band was quite versatile with its sound, performing selections ranging from Outcast’s “Roses” to Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.” Navarro vocals were well supported by the other members of Free Alley—Danny Mercurio, drums and A&S ’15, Arman Mohammad, keys and A&S ’15, and Lisa Bai, violin and CSOM ’16, as well as guest guitarist Steve Cerrato from Mohammad’s other band. While Free Alley has been around

for over a year, the folk rockers were brought back onto the radar here at BC in the spring semester as a featured act in the school’s Battle of the Bands competition. Eliminated from that contest in the first round, the act has since evolved a fair deal, expanding from what was then a heavily folk-based repertoire into new fields like hip-hop. Saturday ’s performance was

See Free Alley, A7

Cindy Lou Who? The Pretty Reckless at the House of Blues BY LIZ HOLMAN For The Heights Taylor Momsen is no longer innocent little Cindy Lou Who. This petite, pretty blonde girl makes you entirely forget about her previous roles as both Cindy Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Jenny in Gossip Girl. Now, she has a stage presence that evokes mosh pits and head-banging, and that’s exactly the attitude she brought to the House of Blues Boston this past week. Two opening acts prefaced her performance—Crash Midnight and Adelitas Way. Crash Midnight did not do a great job involving the crowd, but once Adelitas Way came on, all that changed. Adelitas

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Way really started the concert, with its vocalist Rick DeJesus yelling, “BOSTON, ARE YOU READY?” The crowd immediately gathered in front of the stage and filled in any remaining floor spots as it began its first song “Invincible.” Soon, everyone was jamming and throwing up his and her devil horns. Adelitas Way touched upon a range of emotions with its set list, making it very relatable. From “Alive,” a feel-good song dedicated to the people we love, to “Sick,” an aggravated song dedicated to the people who drive us crazy, everyone was able to get involved. As good as Adelitas Way was, however, the entire crowd started to wonder, “where is the band we came here for?” The concert was supposed to start at 7

‘Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’

First-time director Ned Benson presents a compelling story of parenthood and loss, A6

p.m., but instead doors opened at 8 p.m.. The next two and a half hours consisted of opening acts and sound checks so, by 10:30, fans started to get pretty impatient. Finally, a familiar mop of blonde hair appeared on stage. The crowd roared and Taylor came on the mic—“Sorry we’re a little late ... The bus caught on fire,” she said. According to the girl who was in front of us in line, the band’s

‘The Drop’

The crime drama features ‘Inception’ actor Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini in his final acting role, A6

tour bus must catch on fire pretty often, seeing as it had also shown up two hours late to their previous show in Philly. Look out for tour buses that catch fire—they’re apparently ravaging our cities. Based on this late arrival, The Pretty Reckless was going to have to put on a pretty stellar performance. Luckily, it delivered. As one man in the audience so eloquently put it, “Holy s—t, I had no idea they were this heavy.” People got riled up pretty quickly and the mosh pits started. From “Follow Me Down” to

See Reckless, A7

Bestsellers...............................A6 Box Office Report........................A6


SPORTS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

BC EAGLES

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USC TROJANS USC TROJANS

THE FALL OF TROY EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC finally pulls off the perfect ending

Rookie roommates explode in upset

BY CONNOR MELLAS

BY AUSTIN TEDESCO

Sports Editor The Dude storms in. Red bandanna sticking out of his back pocket, Steve Addazio rips through the door like a tornado of unrelenting, unadulterated energy—this is Super Saiyan, Rocky IV Addazio—the highest form of Dudeliness. Blasting through the room, Addazio stares it down from end to end and demands more energy, violently clapping in the faces of the reporters in the front row, literally screaming, “Where’s the juice?” The media has no juice for Addazio, but he will indulge reporters anyway—he makes it to the table and plops down. Addazio starts speaking immediately, and within seconds both of his eyes are closed and his hands are flat on the table. He speaks, soaking it up. On his left rests a poster with Boston College’s “Time Tested & Infallible plan to win.” It reads, “Play Great Defense. Win The Turnover Battle. Run The

Football. Score In The Red Zone. Play Great Special Teams.” A week and a day before the USC game, BC failed to do almost every single one of those things, and lost—terribly. But on Saturday night, Addazio’s Eagles transformed into the living, breathing, season-blowing-up embodiment of those words—and executed perfectly on almost all of them. And oh, did they ever win. Playing like men possessed by a coach possessed, BC took down No. 9 University of Southern California 37-31 in the biggest game Chestnut Hill’s seen in years. When Tyler Murphy cranked into top speed, it all became starkly real. Like a stutter-stepping Messiah with a firm handle on the read option, Murphy leaned into a sea of worshipping fans and absorbed the madness as hand after hand reached out for his golden helmet. Murphy’s 66-yard, flat-out sprint of a fourth quarter touchdown marked a significant turn-

See Game Story, B3

Heights Editor Sherman Alston wasn’t supposed to make the first play of Boston College’s biggest win in 10 years. Alston’s 5-foot-6 frame is supposed to be down at Rutgers fighting for playing time, but the Scarlet Knights never paid attention to the local dynamite out of St. Joe’s. BC offensive coordinator Ryan Day and running back coach Al Washington snatched him away from the likes of Bryant, Albany, and Delaware like it was nothing. If Rutgers would’ve come calling, Alston would’ve answered. The slight has been in Alston’s mind since he arrived on campus this summer. Alston’s roommate, Jon Hilliman, wasn’t supposed to make the second play of BC’s biggest win in 10 years either. A star out of St. Peter’s, Hilliman flipped his commitment from in-state Rutgers to BC last December

after a slew of controversies surrounding the New Jersey program and the hard running of BC back Andre Williams drew him to Chestnut Hill. Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida all wanted Hilliman, but Day and Washington won him over. So the two New Jersey products talked to each other all week leading up to BC’s matchup against No. 9 USC. If the coaches finally put them in, they were going to make a difference. They’d played sporadically throughout the first two games of the season—a win against UMass and a home loss against Pitt—but something felt different about this week. The Eagles were going to need young weapons to pull off the shocker, and the roommates were itching to earn their coaches’ trust. The first quarter came and went without

See Rookies, B3

A reading from the ‘Book Of Dudes’: Addazio’s ten commandments

CONNOR MELLAS Two days after the seventh day— which turned out to be a really sweet time for a nap—the Lord determined that there was a terrible lack of heart, toughness, and family in the world. Saddened by the incomplete nature of his vision, he molded a new creature from the saltiest tides of the oceans, the richest bark of the

great sequoias, and the leftover granite from his kitchen renovation. And in that moment, the first Dude was born—and he was forever deigned to DEFEND THIS HOUSE. For an epoch, The Dude carried out his mission with great enthusiasm. Eventually, though, the weight of his task became too great, and he passed on the title of Dude to his rightful heir. Since then, a succeeding line of Dudes including, but not limited to, Joan of Arc, Daniel Boone, Sir Francis Drake, Teddy Roosevelt, and most recently, Boston College football head coach Steve Addazio, have perpetuated the art of Dudeliness throughout the

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world, obeying and constantly updating the Book Of Dudes with dudely wisdom. The Heights very recently obtained a passage from the BOD, written by Addazio before the season to guide his eventual successor. The following is an unaltered copy of Addazio’s 10 Commandments, presented in light of his transformation into the highest form of Dude after BC’s victory against No. 9 USC. 1) There is only one way to start the day. First, you must shower in glacier water and shave with an 18th century scimitar to ready your skin for the punishing adversity of the coming hours. Without

Field hockey: BC drops the Huskies BC defeated defending national champion No. 2 UConn in a shootout on Sunday.....B2

toughness, we are left with just heart and family, so the body must be upheld via punishing boulder lifts, rip current swims, and mountain sprints. After working out, a balanced breakfast of one adult goat will provide enough energy to begin another day of spreading the word of the Dude. 2) Beware of the usurpers. False Dudes will emerge to obstruct your mission, but you must remain vigilant—they possess neither the respect, nor the heart of a true Dude. A list of potential usurpers to be wary of includes Steve Spurrier, Jon Hamm, Rex Ryan, Anna Kendrick, and of course, Blake Shelton.

Women’s soccer: BC improves to 7-1

The Eagles defeated Harvard 2-0 on Friday to continue their winning streak....................B4

3) There will come a time when I elect to kick a field goal on third down. All will doubt me, but it is something I must do—for there are times when you need neither timeouts nor four downs. You, too, will be faced with a test that confuses and frightens the people you care for the most, but you mustn’t be afraid—all will be well in time. Follow your heart as I will follow mine. 4) Finding success as a Dude is highly contingent on your ability to lead and motivate, of which I have learned the secrets. When speaking,

See Book Of Dudes, B3

Volleyball..........................B4 Sports in Short.........................B2


THE HEIGHTS

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Monday, September 15, 2014

Eagles downed by Clemson in Friday night conference opener BY ALEX FAIRCHILD Asst. Sports Editor Any high school soccer player will tell you that man-marking is the worst thing to happen to his or her life since that time last weekend when his or 2 Clemson her parents set a Boston College 0 curfew. But the system is easy for coaches to teach and simple for players to comprehend. On the other side is zonal marking, which is hard to teach and takes a lot of concentration to pull off, but it’s extremely effective and efficient on the body, because it takes less running. A team is most effective when it uses both. It helps the team gain advantages all over the field, so that one can win the ball back fast, have players to pass to when in possession, and take opposing players out of the match. The worst thing that can happen on a soccer field is being outnumbered and being man-marked by different players, who are all at full strength. Soccer is a game in which space comes at a premium, and the winner of each match usually controls the most amount of space for the longest period of time. The way that space is dominated is through those man advantages, or at least by making the most of a man-to-man battle. That’s the gist of what happened to the Boston College men’s soccer team on Friday night, as it was man-handled by Clemson in its ACC opener, which ended in 2-0 loss to the Tigers. The kryptonite to the diamond 4-4-2, which BC uses, is the 4-2-3-1, which can be disguised as a 4-4-1-1. No soccer formation is perfect, and no one formation is guaranteed to trump the other, but a double screen on defense and pivot when playing the ball out of the back is meant to take the opposition’s creative force (which is in this case Zeiko

Lewis) and the build-up man at the base of the diamond (in this case Henry Balf) out of the game. Clemson had advantages all over the pitch, and its athleticism was able to carry it through. The Tigers have struggled so far, as they skated past lowly Radford before dropping three straight matches. Head coach Mike Noonan’s team is physically imposing, but low on skill, outside of T.J. Casner. Clemson’s first step was to knock Balf off his game. The former Bolts FC midfielder had lots of time on the ball in his first few games with the Eagles. In possession, he was excellent at distributing the ball and was able to play short, smart passes in the build up. Clemson marked him immediately. Casner took him on for most of the second half, while Thales Moreno had his number in the first half. By marking Balf, the effect was twofold: 1) It stopped Balf from getting on the ball. 2) If Balf got on the ball, he was immediately pressured and forced to make a bad pass. For most of the match, the first effect occurred, which caused BC to play wasteful long balls. While Phil Sandgren has the strength to

hold up play, and Isaac Normesinu has the speed to beat any tree at the back, that is not how attacking in the diamond is supposed to work, and not how this team is meant to play its football. Balf also has to speed up his decision-making and find the open man faster. “It was definitely a step up from who we’ve been playing against,” Balf said. “But obviously, we were expecting that, so it’s not like it came out of the blue. “I think it’s good to get the first one under our belt, and we’ll get adjusted and come back stronger,” he said. Balf is aware that he needs to change his game, though. “It’s definitely a different game,” Balf said. “But some of that is I need to be better, I think, and make space for myself and switch the point of attack more.” While Balf does not see himself as someone set to split the back four and take on a role as a center-half, he must work harder off the ball to spur BC’s attack. The Eagles built the majority of their goals in the first few matches by doing what

the diamond is supposed to do—press high to create a chance or work the ball forward through quick build-up play. BC had numbers all over the pitch and moved as a unit even in wide areas in those games as well, but against Clemson the numbers battle in each part of the pitch was lost. On the flanks, Clemson was tireless when it came to coming after the Eagles. Noonan must have remembered how good Giuliano Frano was in the center of midfield and been relieved to see him playing at right back, as he deputized for the injured Matt Wendelken, who will return to the squad next week. Frano is competent at right back, but it is not his natural position. While Cole DeNormandie did his best to assist Frano out wide in the early going, Clemson found it easy to get behind. At times it was Casner, while at others it was Iman Mafi who popped up down the flank to hammer away. The Tigers’ wingers took advantage of Mohammed Moro in the buildup to the first goal. Oliver Shannon took the ball down the right and drilled a cross into the danger area, which Kyle Murphy out-dueled Nick Butler in order to poke it home on

The Eagles dropped to 3-1-1 in their first outright loss of the season to Clemson on Friday night, shut out at home by the 2-3-0 Tigers.

36 minutes. It was not the prettiest goal of the year, but it was effective because of the advantage Clemson had outside. The Tigers used the wide attacking midfielders perfectly, knowing that they could take on BC’s defenders and not worry about losing the ball, because they had cover behind them at full back—at least one player to mark Lewis and a pair of strong center-backs to keep Normesinu and Sandgren at bay. Casner tormented Ampadu in the build up to the second goal as well, putting the center back on his butt with a fake, which opened up space in which he could slide the ball across to Murphy, who beat Kapp for his second of the night in the 70th minute. There were other elements that contributed to the defeat, including the amount of time a lot of the Eagle attackers spent dribbling. “I just thought there was too much running with the ball,” said Kelly. While Derrick Boateng and Lewis are talented on the ball, having two midfielders to deal with them meant that even if one scraped past a defender, the other was bound to either slow them down or strip them of possession. This coaching staff wants fast football and sometimes the dribbling stops that. The fancy footwork and intricate passing that the Eagles are going after, though, are easy on the eye, but Clemson played ugly and won. “We’re making the game, and they played it well tactically, you know chip it up to the big guy, flick it on,” said Kelly. “They didn’t try to pass, pass, pass, pass.” Clemson also had numbers as well. The Tigers pressured and won using a strength and athleticism that is associated with college soccer. By crushing the Eagles in each part of the pitch, Clemson gave this BC team a lesson in space and numbers, which it will have to learn from if it wants to be successful in the ACC. 

Eagles pull past No. 2 Connecticut

BC tops BU in first OT victory of the weekend

BY JACK FARRIS

Friday night marked another matchup in what Boston College field hockey head coach Ainslee Lamb calls “an institutional Boston University 1 rivalry.” BC led Boston College 2 the rivalry 1312 going into Friday night, and it would have been very easy for the Eagles to overlook the 2-2 Terriers and instead focus on their Sunday matchup with the No. 2 Connecticut Huskies. The Eagles took care of business in the end, though, defeating BU 2-1 in overtime. Early in the game, the Eagles controlled the ball with great midfield play from senior Emma Plasteras. BC outshot the Terriers in the first half 7-3, and many of BC’s shots came from team efforts, including four penalty corners in the first period. Conversely, BU’s tries were all individual efforts from distance. Despite the Eagles’ game control, there was no score in the first half. The Eagles carried their momentum into the second half and almost scored off a penalty corner, but the goal was disallowed. Only a few minutes later, BC was finally able to capitalize on a penalty corner when Brooke Matherson recovered a deflection and slipped it past BU goalkeeper Valentina Cerda to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead and her first goal of the season with 19 minutes remaining.

BY GEORGE LIDDY For The Heights

For The Heights GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

SPORTS in SHORT

“Refuse to lose.” That is the motto of the Boston College field hockey team, according to head coach Ainslee Lamb. On Sunday, against the 2 UConn No. 2 team in Boston College 3 the nation and reigning national champion University of Connecticut, the squad did just that. This game ended in a 3-2 Eagles victory. The first half was marked by solid defense on both sides, and a standout performance by junior goalkeeper Leah Settipane. With three saves in the first 35 minutes of play, Settipane made it clear that she was not going to let much by her. The Huskies outshot the Eagles eight to four, but the combination of great defending and excellent goalkeeping meant the shots UConn got were never too threatening. If the first half was marked by minimal offensive chances and defensive battles, the second half would be categorized as a gunshow. The scoring started early, with UConn getting on the board less than five minutes into play. Chrissy Davidson of the Huskies finished off a great pass from Sophie Bowden, making the score 1-0. It took BC a few minutes to bounce back from the Connecticut goal, another close chance coming soon after for the Huskies. During an offensive surge by the away team, Settipane stepped out of the goal to make

The Eagles are 5-1 overall after their second win of the weekend, this one over No. 2 UConn. a save. The ball bounced back to the stick of a Huskie attacker, however, as she faced an empty net. Seeing the dire situation, BC sophomore Emily McCoy stepped in front of the net and made a stick save. The game could have gone downhill for BC, but the quick thinking of BC’s defense helped avoid disaster. The Eagles began attacking with vengeance. UConn finally gave way with 13 minutes left in the half, when sophomore Brittany Sheenan finished a rebounded shot, scoring her sixth goal of the season. UConn was quick to respond, however. No more than four minutes later, the Huskies were given a corner. A well-placed insertion and even better stick-stop, Sophie Bowden put UConn up 2-1. The BC offense was surging, but could not find the back of the net. That’s when Lamb decided to pull the goalie, to give the Eagles an even better chance at tying the game up. “They know if we are down, I am pulling the goalie,” Lamb said. “We will battle until the end.” The decision paid off. With 1:09 left in regulation, the Eagles were given a corner and Eryn McCoy put the ball in to the back of the net assisted by Brooke Matherson. And so, overtime began. Once again, the offensive chances were bountiful, with both

ACC Men’s Soccer Standings Team North Carolina Virginia Notre Dame Louisville Wake Forest Clemson Syracuse Boston College Duke NC State Pitt Virginia Tech

Conference

Overall

1-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0

4-1-0 3-1-0 3-1-1 2-1-2 3-2-0 2-3-0 4-1-0 3-1-1 2-2-1 2-2-1 2-2-0 2-3-0

teams having multiple corners. Counteracting these surges, however, was the solid goalkeeping this game had become so familiar with. The first overtime finished with both teams still hungry for a victory. As the second O.T. began, it was clear both teams were starting to feel the fatigue of playing 85 minutes of field hockey. Each was given multiple corners, but neither could get the ball past the goal line. The format of the shootout began with a best-of-five series. Katlyn Soucy was able to finish the Eagles’ fourth chance, but UConn responded and buried its final shot. This brought in a new, best-of-five series. With more scoring in the second round, BC took an early lead. UConn was able to answer, and then take the lead, before the Eagles buried their last three opportunities, the final coming from senior captain Emma Plasteras. Plasteras’ goal was good enough for BC to hold onto victory. While the victory over such a highly ranked team and respectable organization was huge, this game offered an emotional win as well. This puts the team up there with national-champion caliber teams, but more importantly, Coach Lamb wants it to be fun for the players. “Take it one game at a time,” she said. “Enjoy each win.” 

Numbers to Know

20

The Terriers would storm back , though, gaining momentum and fighting to survive as they trailed late in the game. They controlled the ball and missed on two good penalty opportunities before finally scoring on their third. A good cross from BU led to two saves from BC goalkeeper Leah Settipane before Amanda Cassera of the Terriers tipped it in, tying the game with 12 minutes left. With only a few minutes left, BU almost won the game on a hard outside shot, but a brave leg save from Settipane kept the scored tied and sent the game into overtime. BC controlled the ball for most of the 15 minute overtime period. Both goalies were forced to make saves off of penalty corner tries, and the score remained locked. With around four minutes left in OT, BC’s Leah Frome took the ball up the field by herself, beating a few defenders along the way, until she forced Cerda to make a save. The save deflected to Plasteras, who centered the ball, which was eventually chipped into the net by Klecie Hromisin, giving the Eagles a win. Lamb attributed the win to the team’s fitness and work over the summer, which helped them outlast BU in overtime period. “It was great to see assistant coach Kelly Doton run the overtime and win that game for us,” Lamb said. 

Quote of the Week

“It started in practice. You gotta hone in Net rushing yards by USC on Saturday night. BC had 452. Emily Fahey / Heights EditorCupicatuidet L. Fulessedo, querfecta, nihilicii ineri fic and realize what you have to do to win... 5 we grinded it out this Goals scored by Hayley Dowd for the women’s soccer team so far this whole week in pracyear, equalling last season’s total. tice, we tackled a lot. 86 And it paid off.” Kills by Katty Workman in the Eagles’ —Eagles safety first nine volleyball matches of the year. Dominique Williams

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR


Monday, September 15, 2014

The Heights

B3

By shocking USC on the national stage, BC football kept the faith From Game Story, B1 ing point in the mental atmosphere of Alumni Stadium—as soon as the quarterback reached open space, it became clear BC was actually going to do it. Before going up 37-24 on the Trojans, history suggested heartbreak was imminent for BC. Be it a dagger of a touchdown from Jameis Winston just before halftime, a missed field goal against Duke, or a crippling fumble against Clemson—BC found so many ways to lose over the last few years that a devastating collapse seemed inescapably imminent. The law of BC football clearly stated that the missed extra point from the first quarter would throttle the Eagles late in the fourth—but somehow, it didn’t. BC’s unexpected, field-storming victory over USC was a throwback to that of an older ilk, a programdefining victory largely absent from Alumni’s recent history. “Waking up this morning, just knowing that it was a night game, it was going to be a little rainy, it was going to be a BC-style football game, and those are the things I’ve heard about ever since I came here,” said captain and center Andy Gallik. “Those were the types of games BC was winning in its heyday—the cold, wet games versus tough teams. I think that the O-line really took that personally and accepted it as a challenge to play like that tonight.” Three games into the season, only psychics, liars, and time travelers can confidently say how good Addazio’s team is—week two to week three was a roster-wide performance deviation of a Jekyll and Hyde nature. One thing is absolutely clear, though—the Eagles will go as far as their legs can take them.

Like a shoulder pad-wearing phoenix, BC’s run game rose from the desolation of the Pitt game and began picking the Trojans apart one carry at a time, working its way up to 452 rushing yards over the course of the night. Myles Willis finally showcased his speed on a 52-yard breakaway after two fairly disappointing games and finished with 89 yards on the night. Addazio threw Jon Hilliman, a 6-foot, 215pound freshman, into the fire of the main north-to-south running load, and Hilliman responded with a defense-bruising, trust-validating performance, rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Tyler Rouse and freshman Sherman Alston chipped in a touchdown each, with the 5-foot-6 Alston hitting speeds upward of 64 mph on his 54-yard dash to the end zone. For the third game in the row, it was Murphy leading the rush—the quarterback averaged 14.7 yards per carry and rushed for 191 yards on the night. For as much as Murphy’s struggled in the air, he’s run the ball brilliantly and remains BC’s most dangerous weapon. BC’s passing offense stalled out again on Saturday, accounting for a total of 54 yards, but BC’s running ability made up for the drops, mistimed routes, and pick thrown by Murphy. The emergence of a dominant defense was just as striking as the run game’s renaissance. After tackling terribly against Pitt, the Eagles knocked the crap out of each other all week to prepare for USC. BC captain Dominique Williams was extremely confident leading up to Saturday, promising the defense’s greatest performance, and his crew delivered, lighting up USC quarter-

back Cody Kessler with five sacks and limiting USC to 20 rushing yards in the entire game. BC came up with 11 stops when the bells rang on third down, and corners Manny Asprilla and Bryce Jones provided lights-out coverage when called upon. “We worked very hard this week,” Williams said, emphasizing the “very.” “It started in practice. You gotta hone in and realize what you have to do to win. And that just shows—we grinded it out this whole week in practice, we tackled a lot. And it paid off.”

“That was a tough game last week and that was a hard loss on us,” Williams said. “The coaching staff—they really emphasized that we’re better than that, and we bought into what they were telling us, and this win is a testament to everything we put in.” BC’s work paid off in front of a prime-time, national audience on an emotional night honoring Welles Crowther, a BC grad who died helping at least a dozen people to safety in the World Trade Center on 9/11. It was a game no one watching at home or on scene will soon forget. While Addazio

made sure to say that the win doesn’t make a season, it’s without a doubt the type of win capable of saving it, especially one that looked ready to spiral a week ago. Saturday will go down as the most perfect game BC football’s played in years. Faith was rewarded on the field, and for a generation of fans begging for just one shining moment to hang on to, faith was rewarded in the stands. The defense played like it was a up against a fateful last stand on every down, and the offense capitalized on its opportunities, running

like a bat out of hell destined for the end zone. Addazio’s been talking about energy, heart, and passion ever since he arrived in Chestnut Hill. By the end of the night, it was nearly impossible to find a spot on campus devoid of his famous pillars, a place lacking in jubilant BC fans just soaking in the night. The Dude came into the press conference shaking reporters and begging for more juice, but he was being greedy—he’ll have to wait a week for more. Right now, BC has plenty. n

Emily Fahey / Heights Editor

BC’s golf teams post mixed results By Tom DeVoto

emily fahey / heights editor

The Dude’s mission never ends From Book Of Dudes, B1 emphasize certain words repeatedly. Then, randomly shout some sentences, and make sure you always pound your fists on the table with precise symmetry to bring home your points. The people will listen. 5) Family. 6) Build immunity to fire. I, too, was once vulnerable to flames, but I have found life considerably easier ever since I reached the incombustible stage of toughness. 7) Treasure old friends, but make new ones, too. I hope my old friend, Tyler, and

my new friends Jon, Sherm, and Myles, will play key roles in my football family. Carve their names on your family tree, and if you do not have one, plant the seeds of a mighty oak. With proper sunlight, water, and togetherness, there is no limit to how tall we can grow. 8) Just laugh at the little things. That way, the little things are not scared of you, and once they let their guard down, you can crush them with all of your might. 9) Guard your smile. Even during your most victorious moments, be careful. Smiling exposes your teeth, which

guard your throat, which is just two turns away from the heart—and if they get your heart, they can get your family. No one is tough enough to withstand a teeth-throat-heartfamily attack. 10) Maintain a secret lair for kicking back. Even the strongest of Dudes must recharge their toughness in the sand and surf. There, you can spend time with your family, and your heart, and your toughness. Heart. Toughness. Family. #HTF.

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

Heights Staff Fresh off a victory in the CCSU Fall Invitational this past Monday, the Boston College men’s golf team took a road trip down the coast to Chapel Hill for the Tar Heel Intercollegiate tournament. The weekend-long event boasted participants from primarily southeastern states, and BC was the furthest traveler for the contest. The Eagles’ group of five players consisted of seniors Max Christiana and John Jackopsic, junior Nick Pandelena, and freshmen Patrick Hallisey and Connor Greenleaf. Overall, the Eagles finished in 13th place with a score of 878, good for 14-over-par as a squad. The hosts from the University of North Carolina emerged victorious 40 strokes ahead of BC with an incredible 26-under performance as a team, 23 strokes better than the second place UNCGreensboro. The Tar Heels’ own Ben Griffin won the individual title, completing the weekend 10 strokes below par. Pandelena was named Eagle of the Week by BC Athletics for his performance at CCSU, and he followed up that stellar weekend with

an impressive top-10 finish in Chapel Hill. Despite an even outing on Friday, Pandelena finished his remaining two rounds below par with scores of 69 and 71, respectively. The sixth hole at UNC Finley Golf Course proved to be Pandelena’s strongest, as he birdied the par-5 in each of his three rounds. He was able to shoot himself up the leaderboard with three birdies on his last four holes of the weekend, moving up from 14th place to a tie for ninth. Jackopsic sandwiched a phenomenal 4-under finish on Saturday, with two rounds above par to start and finish the tournament. His Saturday 68 was the lowest score for a BC golfer on the entire weekend. He finished 22nd overall. The trio of Hallisey, Christiana, and Greenleaf each had a single round that did them in. For Greenleaf and Christiana, it was the opening round on Friday in which they each posted an 81. Hallisey shot out of the gate with an even-par opener, but faltered on Sunday with a 7-over score. BC’s women golfers hiked up to New Hampshire to open their season at the Dartmouth Invitational. The five golfers sent to play for the Eagles

were Cristina McQuiston, Katia Joo, Christina Wang, Jocelyn Chia and Katelyn Reynolds. Katie Barrand and Marissa Grillo also played in the tournament, but as individuals, so their scores didn’t count toward BC’s team score. Despite an impressive outing, the Eagles finished second in the invitational behind Boston University. BU’s Emily Tillo got a jump on the field with a score of 70 on day one and wouldn’t relinquish the lead on Sunday. Three of the top five individuals in the tournament were also from BU. McQuiston impressed with a second-place finish, finishing three strokes behind Tillo for a 3-over weekend score. Her one-over round on Sunday was BC’s lowest at Dartmouth. Reynolds came next on the leaderboard for BC, turning in a performance good for a tie for 12th overall. Chia, Joo, Wang and Barrand all finished within two strokes of each other with scores good enough to crack the top 30 in a tournament with over 75 participants. Grillo struggled on Saturday but rebounded with a round Sunday that was 14 strokes better than her previous one. n

An injection of young talent helped fuel BC against the visiting Trojans From Rookies, B1 either ro okie making much noise. Day and head coach Steve Addazio kept putting them on the field, but they couldn’t quite deliver. That changed in the second quarter. Hilliman broke through first. The coaching staff trusted him with two goal line carries, and he delivered by easily shrugging off a USC defender as he bounced out to the right and stretched the football past the pylons , bringing B C within four points of the Trojans after having trailed 17-6 entering the second. BC and USC traded scoreless offensive ineptitude until the half only had one and a half minutes left. A poor punt gave the Eagles the ball at their own 46, and Alston knew what

was coming. “I’ve just got to get in the end zone,” Alston thought. Ty l e r M u r p h y f a k e d a n option to the right as Alston sprinted in reverse to the left side of the field. The second he caught the ball, he noticed Charlie Callinan’s freeing block and exploded into space. He saw the lane, and it felt good. “Gotta go, gotta go, gotta get in the end zone,” he thought. Alston wanted to score the first time he touched the ball for BC. It didn’t happen. He’s been almost obsessively waiting for the moment, and finally, darting 54 yards across the Alumni Stadium field past helpless Trojan defenders, he made it. “It felt like everything,” he said.

After Alston’s score, Hilliman added another one of his own in the third quarter. Hilliman finished with 89 rushing yards, averaging 4.7 per carry and sealing the victor y with clutch fourth quarter running that used to be handled by Williams. Now Day and Addazio were entrusting those touches to a freshman from Jersey. A freshman who came so close to playing for Rutgers, rooming with another freshman Rutgers is probably dying to have—both of them living their dreams three weeks into their first college season. Neither of them could believe it. Alston, bouncing around and smiling ear to ear, was asked about Rutgers after the game. “Them guys made a mistake,” he said. n


THE HEIGHTS

B4

Women’s soccer gets sixth straight win

Monday, September 15, 2014

WOMEN’S SOCCER NOTEBOOK

Bernard leads defense in shutout of Crimson BY JIM HILL Heights Staff

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

A late strike by Andrea O’Brien padded Boston College’s one-goal advantage, as the forward scored her first goal of the season. BY BRIAN BROOKS For The Heights The Boston College women’s soccer team continued its impressive run this past Friday thanks to a pair of late goals from Eagles 0 Harvard str ikers AnBoston College 2 drea O’Brien and Hayley Dowd, beating back a resilient Harvard squad to stretch its winning streak to six games—the program’s longest since its 2011 campaign. Both teams struggled to get anything going early, with the ball pinning back and forth around the pitch, as one team would clear its defensive zone, make a brief push, and then get turned back around as the back line would boot it back across midfield. Play was choppy on both sides from the onset, as players struggled to complete passes, and the ball found its way out of bounds seemingly as often as it found the foot of the intended teammate. The early stages of the game were a testing-out period for both sides before BC began to slowly take control, garnering the majority of the first-half chances and racking up the possession time. In the eighth minute, BC saw its first real chance of the game when a pair of Harvard defenders misplayed a fluttering ball up in the air over the middle of the box before it was gathered by BC sophomore Hayley Dowd who struck the ball hard, but put it directly on the Crimson keeper. Twelve minutes later, with Harvard threatening deep in BC territory and putting on a passing clinic as the offensive players looked for their shot; the Eagles’ senior captain Stephanie McCaffrey intercepted a pass and went

streaking down the middle of the field before losing the ball. Dowd, hot in pursuit, picked up the loose ball and had a clear shot on net with just the keeper to beat, but put her chance weakly rolling on the ground into the waiting hands of the goalie. McCaffre y and junior defender Lauren Bernard both facilitated a lot of opportunities for BC, frequently surging down either side of the field, but struggled with indecision, repeatedly unable to find that final pass or know when to take the shot. In the 36th minute, McCaffrey was once again pushing the ball—having beaten a Crimson defender in the box and searching for her shot— and was taken down from behind by an errant slide tackle and awarded a penalty kick. McCaffrey, however, was unable to capitalize as the keeper guessed right and halted her hard curving shot at the lower left corner of the goal. “It’s a bit deflating when you miss a PK, and I thought there was a bit of a drop off after that, and you have to get back up psychologically to where you want to be … I think [we showed] a little bit of persistence, the shots were seven to zero the first half, I thought we were managing the ball okay, I thought we had possession,” said Eagles head coach Alison Foley of their first half performance. It would be that persistence that, in the end, would break the stalemate for BC. As the second half progressed, the story was much of the same, with Harvard struggling to get anything going and BC failing to capitalize on its opportunities. “Harvard hadn’t lost a game, and they have Margaret Purce up top, who’s as good as any forward in the ACC. She started for the U-20 world cup team, so

we had to manage her and keep an eye on her, and I thought we handcuffed her pretty well,” Foley said. “She didn’t have any really true looks at goal.” Harvard’s best chance to go ahead came in the 70th minute on a corner kick taken by freshman defensemen Marie Becker. Becker put a perfect ball over the heads of the Eagle’s defenders on the near post, giving junior midfielder Brooke Dickens a clear header on an open net on the far side of the goal—a chance she sent wide left. Dickens would walk away shaking her head, clearly frustrated. BC’s resilience finally paid off in the 77th minute when McCaffrey was awarded a free kick from about 25 yards out on the left side. She put a strong cross to a streaking Dowd who deflected the ball from the six-yard box into the left side netting, past the outstretched fingertips of Crimson keeper Lizzie Durack. Soon after, in the 82nd minute, BC quelled any chance of a Harvard equalizer when McCaffrey once again charged down the middle of the field with the ball and passed ahead to Bernard on the left side, who drew the attention of the goalkeeper. Bernard sent a low, hard cross to the waiting boot of sophomore forward Andrea O’Brien, who tapped the ball in to covert the goal and secure the win for the Eagles. The win marked six straight for BC and the fourth-straight victory against Harvard, and head coach Alison Foley is determined to let the good times keep on rolling. “We bought into the fact that detail, game management, and everyone buying into their role was going to be necessary for victories, and their collective effort has been excellent, and game by game and we will keep on going,” she said. 

In the team’s home opener, the Boston College women’s soccer squad rallied late in the second half to win 20 over Harvard. A hard-fought contest between the two Boston-area schools, the game marked the Eagles’ sixth consecutive victory and the Crimson’s first loss of the 2014 season. The win was also the BC squad’s fourth straight against Harvard. Over the course of those four matches, the Eagles outscored the Crimson by 13 goals, 15-2. While this combined margin of victory seems to point toward the Eagles’ consistent dominance on the pitch, the first half of Saturday’s game was far from an exhibition. While BC succeeded in taking shots, with seven total volleys in the half, Harvard was able to disrupt many of the team’s drives—and able to foil several close opportunities. The Crimson played steady midfield and upfield defense through the first 45 minutes of play, keeping pressure on the Eagles and restricting their passing game. Potential BC breakaways were also met with strong defense—specifically those led by Lauren Bernard. The junior midfielder, who pushed the ball upfield several times throughout the half, was given limited space by Harvard defender Bailey Gary. Gary appeared to mirror each of Bernard’s moves, as each No. 5 from both teams battled for possession of the ball. While Harvard played solidly in these respects, BC came close to scoring on a few occasions. The most notable of the team’s chances was a penalty kick. An errant Harvard tackle in the 35th minute sent BC’s senior forward Stephanie McCaff rey hurtling to the ground inside the box. Awarded the penalty, McCaffrey struck a low volley to her left. But Harvard’s goalkeeper, Lizzie Durack, leapt and snagged the shot keeping the game level. The narrative of the second half,

which BC and Harvard entered 0-0, initially seemed to copy that of the first. But the BC squad’s capitalization on some major scoring opportunities toward the game’s end gave those final 45 minutes a much different outcome. The first of the Eagles’ two goals came in the 77th minute. Fouled once again, this time just outside of the box, McCaffrey was the chance’s architect. Twenty-four yards to the left of the Harvard goalkeeper, the senior forward sent an arcing cross off the side of her neon green boot. Sophomore forward Hayley Dowd rushed toward the looping ball and one-timed it into the back of the net, giving BC the 1-0 lead over Harvard. The goal was Hayley Dowd’s sixth of the 2014 season, and McCaffrey, who was credited with the assist, tied ’13 graduate Victoria DiMartino for fifth all-time in the assists category. The successful cross improved McCaffrey’s career helper total to 25. While Dowd’s goal gave BC the lead, a second score ended the game. As the benches at Newton Soccer Field rattled with excited stomps, and as visiting youth soccer players led the fans in chants of “Let’s go Eagles,” the BC squad once again moved the ball upfield. In the 82nd minute, speeding from the left sideline, Bernard strode into Harvard’s box with the ball and passed it over toward the far right goalpost. Sophomore forward Andrea O’Brien met the pass and launched it into the net, recording the first goal of her BC career. O’Brien’s shot firmly ended what nearly was a Harvard rally. Four minutes before the BC team extended its lead, the Ivy Leaguers almost notched a goal of their own, as one of the Crimson’s midfielders, Brooke Dickens, narrowly missed with a headed effort. In spite of this late drive, and the fact that Harvard almost matched BC’s second-half shot total (3-4), the Crimson were unable to come back and defeat the surging Eagles. In front of a home crowd, BC improved to 7-1 on the season. 

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

The Eagles have won six straight games and play USF before ACC play begins.

Volleyball takes down Temple and Northern Kentucky at LIU Tourney BY ALEC GREANEY For The Heights Following a difficult tournament at Yale, the Boston College volleyball team fought its way to two victories in three games at Long Island University Brooklyn this weekend. BC began the tournament against Temple University on Friday night in what would be a lengthy match. The Eagles handled the first two sets with relative ease, however, finishing 25-18 and 25-17, respectively. The team hoped to close out the match in three sets, which would have made for its fourth sweep of the year. The Owls had other plans, however, forcing the match to carry on. The two teams evenly traded points through the beginning of the game. Temple took its first lead of the match, pulling one point ahead of BC, 14-15, though the Eagles quickly rallied. While BC headed into the final few points with a 20-18 lead, Temple proved too strong to go down. The teams traded another hard-fought 10 points before the Owls finally came out on top, 29-31. The Eagles found themselves playing from behind for most of the fourth set,

eventually succumbing to the Owls’ newfound momentum, 17-21. BC turned on the motor again in the fifth and final set, with five of its hitters racking up doubledigit kills. Although Temple would push to a 14-14 tie, two attack errors would give the set and match to BC. Outside hitter Katty Workman and middle hitter Brittany Pavich led the effort with 18 kills each, while Sol Calvete highlighted the defensive performance with 19 digs. This win gave the team its first 3-2 win of the season. BC opened early Saturday morning in a match against the host of the tournament, LIU Brooklyn. BC began this match similarly to its first set against Temple, with tough, backand-forth points, culminating in an Eagle run toward the end of the set that gave the team a 1-0 lead. Set two also began this way, but the Eagles drifted behind halfway through the set and eventually lost 16-25. The Blackbirds held onto their momentum for the third set, but BC pushed back, scoring 23 points before falling. BC continued to push in the fourth set, where the Eagles battled back from a five-point deficit. The team took this fourth set 27-25,

forcing LIU Brooklyn into a fifth set. The Eagles didn’t have enough to close out a victory in this match, however, sticking close by the Blackbirds throughout, but falling 15-13 and 2-3 in the match. Workman again led the team in kills with 18, while Calvete and Pavich were the only other two Eagles players in double digits, finishing with 12 and 10, respectively. The Eagles wrapped up the third of three games against Northern Kentucky, a team that had just improved to 6-2 this season after a 3-1 win over Temple. While the Eagles actually were down multiple times in the first two sets, the team recovered both times, winning 2521 and 25-20. The Eagles never looked back from there, defeating Northern Kentucky 25-18 to pick up their fourth sweep and fifth win of the year. Calvete, Workman, and Pavich again led this game in kills, with 11, 10, and 10, respectively. Courtney Castle had 25 digs, while Kellie Barnum totaled 28 assists—both team highs for this final game. Volleyball’s next match will be this Friday night, when the Eagles will hope to come out on top against a .500-Northeastern squad. 

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

BC has played in three weekend tournaments in preparation for its conference season.


CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, January 17, 2014

The Heights The Heights

B5 B5

Monday, September 15, 2014

Community Help wanted $$ SPERM DONORS WANTED $$ Earn up to $1,500/month for less than 5 hours’ time. Help families with California Cryobank’s donor program. Convenient Cambridge location. Apply online: www.SPERMBANK.com.

Directions: The Sudoku is played over a 9x9 grid. In each row there are 9 slots, some of which are empty and need to be filled. Each row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 to 9. You must follow these rules: · Number can appear only once in each row · Number can appear only once in each column · Number can appear only once in each 3x3 box · The number should appear only once on row, column or area.

The “It’s Only Another Beer” Black and Tan 8 oz. pilsner lager 8 oz. stout lager 1 frosty mug 1 icy road 1 pick-up truck 1 10-hour day 1 tired worker A few rounds with the guys Mix ingredients. Add 1 totalled vehicle.

Never underestimate ‘just a few.’ Buzzed driving is drunk driving.


THE HEIGHTS

B6

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Monday, September 15, 2014

PROFESSOR PROFILE

First sunset Oh explores family ties, immigration in America in France BY CORINNE DUFFY

DANIELLE NISTA The first thought I had when I landed at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris was, “Is it too late for me to turn around and go home?” For the person who in high school begged her parents to allow her to go on the French exchange, only to be told she would have to wait until junior year in college to go abroad, this thought was a rather strange one to be having. It seemed like I had packed everything in my suitcase except for my excitement. Once I arrived at my homestay in the 10th arrondissement (which is removed from the center of Paris, but still in the city limits), I was given a tour of the apartment by my hostess and was introduced to my roommate, another girl from BC, and I went to my room, closed the door, sat on the bed, and fell asleep, my mind spinning with self-doubt. I was petrified that I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. The next day, I woke up feeling more rested, but just as scared. My roommate and I decided that since it was Sunday, we would go to a local church for our first taste of French culture. The mass was, obviously, in French, but we could follow along well because the pattern of the mass was exactly the same. I honestly have never been so grateful for the strict traditions of the Catholic church. It felt like I was in a home of sorts, where I knew just where to find the table, my seat, and the order of affairs. When we sang the “Sanctus” (in Latin), it was even the exact same melody we use at my church at home. It was nice to have something familiar to start my day, and I found myself starting to relax a little bit more, but I was still very much ill at ease in my new surroundings. After mass, we hopped on the Metro. We looked at a map that made my head spin and figured out which line we needed to take and the stop at which we needed to get off. The Metro turned out to be easier to navigate than the map indicated, and the ride was great. Right before we got to the stop, there was an apartment building. Then, all of a sudden, when the building rushed past … BAM. THERE IT WAS. The Eiffel Tower! My eyes became moist, but my tears were not an expression of loneliness and fear, but of happiness and belonging. When I saw that iconic Parisian landmark, the experience of being in Paris became very real to me. I was finally realizing my dreams. As great as this experience was, it did not completely erase every worry I had about being abroad. That night, I still cried when I went home because I missed my parents, my sister, my family, and my friends. But every day, as I’ve settled into a routine of going to classes and seeing landmarks that I’ve only read about in books, I’ve begun to feel more and more like Paris is another home. Granted, I’ve only been here for a week, but I already have memorized the Metro stops that will get me back to my apartment, figured out the fastest route to get to class, and discovered my favorite quarter. Slowly but surely, I am making this place and this experience my own adventure. It’s very easy to see the study abroad experience through rose-tinted glasses before embarking on the journey. Everything seems like it will be just so, like a neat little picture on the front of a travel brochure. Once there, it’s equally easy to see everyone else’s experience through those colorful lenses and to look at your own through foggy sunglasses. My limited time in Paris has taught me that in order to see clearly and to live the experience truly, it’s important to remove your metaphorical sunglasses, and let the sunshine hit your face and cast the shadow of doubt behind you where it belongs. I know that I am going to see countless monuments, take interesting classes, and meet wonderful people during my time in the City of Lights. I believe the most illuminating piece of my experience will be watching myself grow and change over the course of this semester, though. When the sun does finally begin to set on my semester abroad, I will be incredibly sad. But, I will love my sunset more because it shines with the light of my adventure.

Danielle Nista is a contributor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com

Heights Editor

WHO: Arissa Oh

Arissa Oh emigrated from South Korea with her family and resettled in Canada at a young age, traveled solely to the United States for college, spontaneously departed for the Czech Republic following an investment banking program on Wall Street, and journeyed to various regions of America for her academic pursuits after her return. It is no wonder then that Oh, an assistant professor within the history department at Boston College, specializes in U.S. immigration and race, family and kinship, transnational Asian-American history, gender, and Cold War political and social history. Oh was 2 years old when she and her family immigrated to Canada from her birthplace in Pusan, South Korea. For her undergraduate education, she attended Yale University, journeying south to the U.S. by herself for her collegiate studies. Originally, Oh set out to become a human rights lawyer, obtaining a B.A. in political science and international studies in 1996 for this reason. “I wanted to save the world,” Oh said. “I was all set to go to law school, but the night before the LSAT, I had an epiphany.” She decided that she truly did not desire to practice law and instead decided to explore the world of investment banking after college. Following her experience on Wall Street through a two-year analyst program, however, Oh concluded that this was not her niche, either. “I hated it,” she said. “So, I bought a one-way ticket to the Czech Republic.” Three years in Europe encountering discrimination—both personally and otherwise—engendered within Oh a profound interest in identity, immigration, and race, and she began to consider graduate school as a means of researching and analyzing these topics. “At first, I was thinking maybe I would get my master’s in political science, but I eventually chose history,” she

TEACHES: U.S. Immigration History, Adoption and Kinship in America EXPERIENCE: Majored in political science and international studies at Yale and got her masters in history at the University of Chicago

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

said. “History offers more of the narratives, the stories of the past, as opposed to the statistics and policies, which political science interprets more closely.” Oh came back to the States for school, migrating this time to the Midwest for her graduate education at the University of Chicago. She acquired both her master’s and doctorate in U.S. History in 2002 and 2008, respectively, afterward leaving for the University of Illinois and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Asian American Studies Program. Following a year there, she left for the University of Illinois at Chicago, instructing as an adjunct professor in the Asian American studies department. Due to the dismal job market, however, Oh almost did not continue in academia after UIC. “I certainly was preparing my resume at the time that this job became an option,” she said of her prospects for possible employment when BC offered her a position. She took advantage of the opportunity, accepting the job and moving from Chicago to Boston with her husband and two children. On the Heights, Oh began in 2010 by teaching The Study and Writing of Histor y, which she centered on adoption, and an additional course on Asian-American history. In the past, she also taught a course entitled Nannies, Maids & Mail Order Brides: Gender &

FUN FACTS: Oh emigrated from South Korea and has lived in the U.S., the Czech Republic, and Canada.

Migration. “I didn’t realize BC students pick by name of the course, so I had to spice up my course titles a bit to attract people to them,” Oh said. This semester, she instructs both U.S. Immigration History and Adoption and Kinship in America, a small discussion class that examines the relationship between gender, nation, identity, class, race, culture, rights, and citizenship in the U.S. from the late 19th to late 20th century. Oh will be teaching the second half of the core next semester—America in the World II—along with The Study and Writing of History, which she is titling Happy Days: The American Family from the Bomb to the Sexual Revolution. “Again, I had to give it a sexy title,” she said, jokingly. In the future, Oh wants to offer a class called “War and Sex”—a course that examines the profound effects that military conflict has in terms of marriage, rape, adoption, and the like. “I think the title might interest some students, at least,” she said. This past summer, Oh finished her first book, a work that details the history of immigration. Within the book, she argues that immigration has its root in the Cold War, and that one of the ways the U.S. tried to combat the Cold War was through international adoption, a phenomenon that precipitated drastic

change to immigration legislation and foreign and domestic policy. The book’s tentative release is scheduled for the spring of 2015. For her next book project, Oh hopes to cover marriage migration—namely, the ways in which people attempt to manipulate immigration policies through fraud; the ways the IRS attempts to catch these offenders; the genesis of green card marriages with the U.S. army abroad; and how these overseas relationships came back to the U.S with the military’s return. Regarding her experience at BC thus far, Oh referenced both her colleagues and students. “I love my department,” she said. “Everyone is so committed, so supportive, and so helpful, and they all do so much for their students. I love my students, too—they’re so polite and dedicated to their school work.” She did note that this politeness often begets a hesitancy to disagree during discussion, however. “I want to get them to argue, to try to have a more open, productive, civil disagreement,” she said. “I like it when the classroom gets uncomfortable. I want more disruptive, diverse thinking. Students don’t need to be so intimidated by history—we are just trying to ask a lot of questions, learn how to read, write, and argue, and discover how to be a well-rounded, good citizen.” 

Neenan’s Midwestern roots shaped his time at BC From Neenan’s Legacy, B8 tions, including dean of A&S for seven years, academic vice president and dean of faculties for 11, and vice president and special assistant to the president for 16 years. Quinn met Neenan even before his time on the Heights. “I knew him two or three years before he came to BC,” Quinn said. They met at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin, where the two spent many of their summers. “He always knew about BC, being a Jesuit, and he became the first Gasson Fellow.” The Thomas I. Gasson chair is held by a distinguished Jesuit scholar in any field and is the oldest endowed professorship at BC. “Once he was here, he fell in love with BC and simply never left,” Quinn said. Dunsford met Neenan in a very different way, but around the same time—about 35 years ago. “My husband and I were at a party with St. Louis University grads in Boston at the Connolly House, and because the basketball play-offs were on, my husband went off to find a room with a TV,” Dunsford said. “When he came back, he brought Fr. Neenan with him, introducing him like, ‘This is my friend, Bill.’ From there we invited him over for dinner, and we have been friends ever since—he even baptized my son.” Upon introduction, Neenan always made sure to mention one defining characteristic about himself. “The first thing he always said in introducing himself or in speeches is that he was from Iowa, so I think it was a very big part of his identity,” Dunsford said. “He was such a Midwesterner, and sometimes he would tease people on the East Coast about their accents,” Quinn said. From his love of his home state stemmed perhaps the most popular program of the dean’s office: the state luncheons. “Once it became known that Father Neenan came from the Midwest, a student by the name of Chuck from Omaha dropped by to introduce himself as a

fellow Midwesterner,” said Mary Lou Connelly, Neenan’s personal secretary of 33 years, in an email. “Father invited him to lunch and as he always did, suggested Chuck bring along others from that area. This was the start of the Neenan Luncheons.” The lunche ons expande d from smaller Midwestern states all the way to California. Later, the luncheons were geared more toward freshmen who most needed a reminder of home. “There were so many Californians we had to divide them by area code into two sittings,” Connelly said. “I tried to vary the menu for Father’s sake. The Texans asked for Southwestern fare: a taste from home.” In addition to the popular state luncheons, Neenan created an annual Dean’s List of Recommended Reading that was highly anticipated by students, faculty, and alumni alike. “Soon after arriving at BC, Father Neenan and a professor in the English department had a discussion of favorite books,” Connelly said. “It concluded with the professor suggesting that a

list of Father’s favorite books be sent to incoming freshmen, and this became the ‘Dean’s List.’” The 27-book Dean’s List was updated each year. Neenan would take three to four books off and add new ones. “His list was a compilation of books you might not have thought of,” Quinn said. “For example, you wouldn’t find Hamlet on the list, but he did have a soft spot for BC authors.” “I think only three books have been on the list since its inception,” Connelly said. “One that I recall is A Man for All Seasons.” Neenan’s friendship did not end after graduation. He made an effort to maintain the friendships he had started by attending hundreds of alumni eventsofficiating countless weddings, and baptizing BC couples’ children. “I know back in the ’80s he was at 125 weddings,” Quinn said. D orse y exp er ience d f irst-hand Neenan’s passion for post-graduate friendships when travelling with him on various University Advancement trips.

“It was a job that Father Neenan thoroughly enjoyed because of his genuine love for BC alumni, parents, and friends, interest in their stories, and deep desire to advance the Jesuit, Catholic mission of the University,” she said. Neenan left a rich legacy behind at BC that many of his friends intend to spread in his absence. “Students can learn so much from him,” Dunsford said. “I think mostly they can learn to be genuinely interested and curious in other people.” “He took the time to interact with people—from Bookstore staffers to waiters to trustees, he treated everyone the same,” Quinn said. ““He thought the best of everyone and was a positive force in every dimension.” “He had the great ability to relate to anyone at their level,” Dorsey added. “He balanced his great intellect with tremendous kindness and compassion, and Father Neenan is one of the true giants in the history of BC whose legacy will live on in all the lives he has impacted over his lifetime.” 

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEENAN SOCIETY

Neenan will be remembered for starting BC traditions, such as the Dean’s List of books and state luncheons, and his signature fist bump.


The Heights

Monday, September 15, 2014

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The Heights throughout the century Convocation at Boston college

Editor’s Column

Wanted: A creative job

Freshman Convocation ignites sense of community and intellectual cultivation for first-year students Samantha Costanzo By Caroline Hopkins Heights Staff Seniors often say they remember it like it was yesterday: hundreds of freshmen anxiously scattere d across Upp er and Newton campuses, dressed in their formal attire. Boys in blazers, girls in swapped high school homecoming dresses. Everyone is lining up for pictures with their new hallmates—the people they’ll someday remember as their “first friends in college.” It’s freshman convocation day—a chance for Boston College’s newest Eagles to officially assume their places at the University and to take a step back as they prepare to “set the world aflame.” In the ceremony ahead, they will come to understand what it means to be a student at BC, and what unique themes, rituals, and ideas will incite the ambitions of the freshman class. Each year, Freshman Convocation kicks off the next four years for these eager first-year students, welcoming and preparing them for the journey that is their time at Boston College. Many Heights articles offer insight into the development of the convocation ceremony as it exists today. Since the fall semester of 2004, Freshman Convocation has been a culminating moment for “Conversations in the First Year,” a series of discussions organized around a common text. The book is given to the incoming students through the mail or during Freshman Orientation. Each student reads the text over the course of the summer in preparation for the convocation speaker, the author of the text, who addresses a common theme,

inspiring ideas and igniting the “eaglet” minds. This year’s Freshman Convocation, on Thursday, Sept. 11, featured Dave Eggers, author of The Circle. The ceremony addressed the theme of “The Challenge of Vulnerability,” struggling with “Relationships in the Digital Age: the Desire for Connectivity, Community, and Companionship.” Each year, these carefully selected themes and authors are pertinent to that particular moment in history. When the Conversations first began in 2004, the chosen text was Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Paul Farmer and Tracey Kidder. Through an inspiring inaugural First Year Convocation, Kidder explained why he held up Farmer as an exemplar, outlining the medical work the doctor had been doing in Haiti since the 1980s. A September 21, 2004 issue of The Heights titled, “Frosh Welcomed in a Grand Fashion,” recounts Kidder “encouraged students to take part in a moral adventure of their own.” Kidder also encouraged freshmen to question conventional ideas during their time at BC. “The root of all that is wrong with the world is the belief that some people’s lives matter more than other people’s,” he said. Kidder was careful to emphasize that although it sounded overly idealistic, he believed that “one small group of people can in fact change the world.” In the years following this inaugural convocation, the chosen themes and keynote speakers upheld the standard of inspiration set by Farmer and Kidder. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama spoke about the “prom-

Club Series

ise of America,” highlighting the question of empathy. That is, “how far an individual’s obligations extend to the wider community” as well as the “forging of one’s own identity.” A Sept. 19 issue of The Heights titled, “Obama fills Conte Forum” highlights the increasing population of this recently instituted ceremony. “In addition to the 2,400-person freshman class, Conte Forum was overflowing with upperclassmen and other members of the Boston College community excited to see the rising political star. Because only half of the 8,600 seat stadium was set up to see the senator, people were sitting in stairways and standing in the wings of the stadium.” The 2006 convocation ceremony continued with the political figure trend, bringing in Senator John McCain to speak about “transcending self interest” through lives and careers, citing our own nation as the prime example of an entity that “cannot sacrifice our values in the War on Terrorism.” These relevant themes continued with Author Jeanette Walls in 2007, J.R. Moehringer in 2008, Ann Patchet in 2009, Daniel Wolf in 2010, Colum McCann in 2011, Dan Barry in 2012, and Bill Strickland in 2013. All drawing from themes of inspiration, personal intellectual cultivation, and community expressed within the chosen texts, the Freshman Convocation keynote speakers of the past eight years have established a tradition of innovation and incentive, “igniting” the hearts and minds of the freshman class as they prepare to go forth and “set the world aflame” in their four years at BC and the rest of their lives. n

Featuring BC’s student organizations

Students for Soldiers partners with local homeless shelter to serve veterans By Kathryn Sewall For The Heights

With so many volunteering and service opportunities, Boston College strives to embody the Jesuit ideal of “men and women for others.” One particular student organization that stands out among the plethora of other volunteer and service clubs on campus is Students for Soldiers: a non-partisan service and advocacy group where members volunteer at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans (NECHV) near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston. Founders Bejamin Lockhart, president and A&S ’15; Kevin Dory, vice president and A&S ’15; and Kevin Holbrook, secretary and LSOE ’15, began Students for Soldiers last year. Their faculty advisor, Michael Lorenz, who works for the Office of Residential Life, is a war veteran himself, and each of the founders has a personal connection to the cause they serve for on a regular basis. The founders are excited for the future of their volunteer organization, and they are looking for new members to help maintain the club after they graduate. They

have been pleased so far with the interest that has been shown in their organization in the past few weeks, espeicially during the annual Student Activities Fair, and hope to see an increase in the club’s membership as the academic year progresses. “The organization was founded to give back to people who sacrifice so much and have given so much,” Lockhart said. In addition to the club’s benefits for the veteran community, student members also gain valuable lessons and experiences through their service. One of the main goals of the organization is “to raise awareness, and to interact with veterans and learn about their experiences,” said Shane Gregoire, treasurer and A&S ’15. Students for Soldiers currently has more than 50 members and stresses that any students remotely interested in service are welcome to join. “We are really excited about getting more people involved,” Holbrook said. Some activities that the group plans to do this year include volunteering at the NECHV, writing and sending Christmas cards

overseas to active duty soldiers, in the Middle East running fundraising events for active soldiers and veterans, and having movie nights on campus. It also hopes to host a 5K run in conjunction with the Wounded Warrior Project this April. Events that Students for Soldiers hosted last year included sending hundreds of Christmas cards to wounded veterans in a German hospital through a volunteer program with the Red Cross and handing out yellow ribbons at the Army football game to show support for active duty soldiers, war veterans, and military personnel. NECHV provides rehabilitation, classes, and meals for veterans, among several other necessary services. Volunteering opportunities for Students for Soldiers members at the NECHV include “serving dinner there, teaching volunteer classes to veterans on basic programs such as Microsoft Word and other computer programs—something that any college student can teach—and the center is very open to other individualized community service opportunities,” Lockhart said.

Students in the club are encouraged to incorporate their hobbies into their volunteering. For example, any student who plays an instrument would be able to go and play music with veterans at the NECHV. Providing opportunities for individualized volunteering is one way that Students for Soldiers stands out among the other volunteering organizations at BC. Students for Soldiers also welcomes all students who are interested in continuing any of their former veteran volunteer projects at BC, and students are encouraged to propose their ideas. “We are open to anyone with new ideas as long as their project benefits veterans in some way,” Lockhart said. Students for Soldiers is dedicated to its mission. “Serving veterans and serving people who have sacrificed so much and in some cases have given the ultimate sacrifice … is the least that we feel we can do to give back,” Holbrook said. The group will be hosting an information session in the next two weeks, and a representative from the NECHV will be there to speak to volunteers. n

I have a theory that the seniors who most dread graduation are the ones who will be leaving without a job. At Boston College, it’s more than likely that these are the ones who are majoring in something kind of creative. When the Career Center sent out a jaunty email reminding us that graduation is only months away, it also highlighted the fact that the over 100 employers tabling at the Career Fair will be looking for new recruits in all majors. That’s all well and good, but I, a senior who is admittedly in desperate need of a job after graduation, am far from qualified for the majority of them. Around 50 of the 128 employers currently listed as attending the career fair focus specifically on finance. These range from huge names like Barclay’s and Liberty Mutual to Belvedere Trading in Chicago and Point72, a firm whose sole purpose is to manage the assets of its founder. The next biggest industry represented is technology, although many of these companies relate back to business software in some way. There are a few marketing and public relations businesses and some health care, volunteer, and teaching gigs up for grabs as well. In terms of media jobs—not public relations, marketing, or communications firms, which are completely different—two employers will be represented. One is NESN, the New England Sports Network, and the other is a foundation geared toward getting more minority students into the media industry internships. There are no arts-related employers attending. The news business is tricky in terms of finding a job, and I use it as my main example here because it’s the one with which I have the most experience. It’s one of the few somewhat creative jobs that usually requires someone to employ you, unlike becoming a novelist or filmmaker, but that also doesn’t fit into a neat box. As a result, the Career Center seems to disregard it entirely. While it’s true that proportionally speaking, few BC grads probably want jobs in journalism or other creative-type jobs, the fact that over half of the careers represented at the fair relate to either finance or technology is absurd. A marketing- or public relations-focused student can easily find a firm to join, but an English major interested in publishing? Not a chance. BC does attempt to remedy this problem, but it does so in a rather sloppy way. The Communications and Marketing job fair looks promising and is sponsored by BC, but it takes place downtown at Suffolk Law School on a Wednesday evening. A motivated student would have no problem going off campus, but it’s highly unlikely that such a student would want to skip the writing or journalism class he or she is probably taking in the evening—when the majority of writing courses are held. The same issue arises with BC’s Career Night For the Arts. It features job opportunities and advice for writers of all stripes, filmmakers, and artists. But it’s happening from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., smack in the middle of those pesky, once-a-week classes. If these were held at the same time as the “regular” career fair, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., more of the target audience would actually be able to attend. The Career Center does many things well. When I brought in my resume, it was critiqued and polished to perfection. Its interview prep sessions and cover letter workshops are equally spectacular, and I routinely recommend those services. But when I wanted information on where to find an internship, I wasn’t directed to specific companies or even to alums who might be able to help me. My answer was EagleLink and Google. The emails I get telling me about info sessions and networking opportunities are always packed with more CSOM-style employers, and because I’m hoping to enter a field in which whom you know is almost as important as how well you write, a networking session would be immensely helpful. If the Career Center is truly going to help prepare BC students for their careers, then it needs to acknowledge those of us who don’t want to deal with numbers and wires. Our search should be just as supported as that of any CSOM student.

Samantha Costanzo is the Asst. Features Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.


FEATURES

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Hello Friend:

“ ” “ ”

The legacy of Rev. William B. Neenan, S.J.

“He was always so grounded, sane, pragmatic, and very much himself. Sometimes very spiritual people can present themselves as being in another world or not always present, but Fr. Neenan was always present.” – Clare Dunsford, associate dean of A&S

“He was always so interested in what you were doing, and he was never rushed – always stopped to have a conversation. You always ended the conversation feeling better about life.” life.” - Joseph Quinn, professor in the economics department

“I always thought this was a regular-guy type of priest ... and over the next 33 years that I worked for him, this indeed proved true. He demystified the Catholic faith for many.” – Mary Lou Connelly, former personal secretary for Neenan

“Father Neenan’s life was one of deep gratitude for all the gifts he had been given … As he would say, ‘I fell in love with Boston College and I never left.’ Over the next 30 years, Father Neenan became one of the most beloved members of the BC community.” – Gemma Dorsey, associate director of Major Giving, Capital Giving, and Development

ANDREW SKARAS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Neenan spoke at a February Agape Latte event titled “It’s Not All About You!” inspiring students’ selflessness. KENDRA KUMOR Features Editor “Hello friend,” Rev. William B. Neenan, S.J. said to everyone he passed. “Bill had thousands of friends,” said Clare Dunsford, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “When you walked across campus with him it would take forever to get from Gasson to McElroy—he knew so many people.” “‘Hello Friend’ is a tradition of the early Jesuits who referred to each other as ‘Friends of the Lord,’” said Gemma Dorsey, associate director of Major Giving, Capital Giving, and Development, in an email. Dorsey travelled around the U.S. to countless alumni events with Neenan. “‘Hello Friend’ was the hallmark of how he lived his life. It could be … engaging a stranger on an elevator, greeting them with ‘Hi Friend, have you ever met someone from Iowa?’ If they said no, he would say, ‘Well, cross that off your bucket list,’ while proceeding to learn their life story between the lobby and 15th floor,” she said. “Personal interactions were his life,” said Joseph Quinn, a professor in the economics department. “If he was on his way to a meeting, he would still stop to talk to you and simply be three minutes late to his meeting.” On June 25, 2014, Neenan’s signature greeting was silenced as he passed away in his Jesuit residence due to health complications with bronchitis and other illnesses. Neenan worked at Boston College for 35 years, and he held several administrative posi-

See Neenan’s Legacy, B6

Women’s Center focuses on accessiblity, ending sexual assault on campus From Women’s Center, A1 and staff from across campus met during the summer months to re-envision and solidify the mission of the center. Dalton broke down the resulting vision into four sections: Being highly accessible for all members of the community; building a network of faculty, staff, and alumni to support and challenge women on campus; empowering female students to embrace their potential and become leaders; and ending sexual assault on campus. The final pillar of the vision is where DiBella’s work is focused. A 2008 graduate of Framingham State College, DiBella has spent nearly her entire career focused on aiding victims of sexual assault. She worked for several years at the Victim Rights Law Center in Boston, a nonprofit that provides free legal representation for victims of rape and sexual assault. “It was really illuminating to be working with and advocating for survivors in a community-based setting,” DiBella said. She came to BC in 2012 to earn a master’s in clinical social work, during which she did her clinical placements at the Sexual and Domestic Violence Program at Newton Wellesley Hospital and the Violence Recovery Program at Fenway Community Health. “Rachel is known in the community and so well-connected to the breadth of resources that we have around Boston, and that also

makes her such a great resource for students,” Dalton said. While she was a master’s student, DiBella worked as the graduate assistant for BC’s Sexual Assault Network, which is one of the many programs she has plans for in her new role as assistant director for Sexual Violence Prevention and Response. She hopes to professionalize the network by providing more extensive training to the advocates that take phone calls. She also hopes to move away from the historically volunteeroriented nature of the network. “This year there will be more training, the training will be more in-depth, and we are actually excited that this is no longer solely a volunteer position,” DiBella said. “We’re able to actually provide a stipend to advocates who are active on the hotline in order to deepen the investment and retention in being a member of the network.” She is also looking to work more visibly with departments and organizations around campus in order to display and celebrate the many partnerships of which the Women’s Center is a part. To this end, the Center is cohosting an event with the athletic department on Oct. 15 that will feature as a guest speaker Katie Hnida, the first female Division I college football player to score points and a survivor of sexual assault. Certain changes that DiBella and the Women’s Center made have already been

I NSIDE FEATUR E S THIS ISSUE

put into effect: Freshmen all had to complete an online sexual assault education course before arriving on campus, and this year, welcome week featured “Are You Getting the Signal?”—an improv show that educates students about the issues of sexual violence on college campuses. The class of 2018 will also be the first class to have all of its members go through Bystander Awareness training by the end of their freshman year. Most will participate during their second semester through residence hall programs, but members of Courage to Know may go through the program this fall. The decision to have most students participate in the spring is a deliberate one based on years of research conducted by the Women’s Center itself. For three years, the center gave three assessments to Bystander participants: one before the training, one immediately after, and one three months later. The responses to these assessments, which gauged things such as attitudes toward sexual assault and willingness to intervene, concluded that the first semester of freshman year is usually too early for the training to be as effective as possible. “We’re looking to build awareness of students at the onset of their college experience but at the same time be conscious of where programs are most effectively placed,” Dalton said. The other programs and developments of the Women’s Center and the University as a

whole in regard to sexual assault are similarly intentional and based on research conducted by the Women’s Center itself, national research, or best practices. DiBella’s position was the result of a committee formed four years ago to identify better ways of responding to victims of sexual assault. In April, after several high-profile incidents of sexual assault on college campuses and subsequent mishandling of investigations by university administrations, the White House released a report giving guidance to colleges on how best to prevent and respond to sexual violence. BC was already employing many of the methods suggested by the report. “I think it speaks volumes about how proactive Boston College has been that even when I came here [in 2012] and now that a lot of that White House guidance and legislation has come back—the research that it cites and the best practices it cites—a lot of it is stuff that we are already doing, and it’s using research that we’ve been using a really long time,” DiBella said. “BC has been uniquely proactive.” O’Dair, Dalton, and DiBella work together with many other partners to ensure that BC is work towards a safe campus. O’Dair was part of a team last year that developed a sheet with information about resources available to students who have been assaulted and suggestions on how to respond to a student who has been affected by sexual assault. All faculty and staff members were

Heights Through the Centuries Convocation serves to unite Boston College’s freshman class through a common reading and speaker....................... B7

given a copy of this sheet. A 17-person steering committee that began meeting over the summer in response to the White House report reviewed the University’s policy on sexual assault and initiated an overhaul by the Dean of Students’ Office. Now students can find clear definitions of terms related to sexual assault in the policy. In addition, the University has moved from a hearing board model to a single investigator model for students who file a complaint concerning sexual assault with the Dean’s Office. O’Dair stressed that the topic of sexual assault on campus is not one that can be addressed by a single department or office. “We are very lucky to have great collaborations and good will and ultimately, people here at BC who care a lot about our students and who want to reduce the incidence of sexual violence,” she said. DiBella’s and the Women’s Center’s goal is to use this interest and enthusiasm on the part of the community to ensure that any and all victims of sexual assault are met with an appropriate, informed, and compassionate response, no matter who they turn to. “We don’t care where they’re approaching , we want ever y student here to get the same experience and we want that to be a full experience,” Dalton said. 

Foreign Affairs.........................B6 Editor’s Column............................B7


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