The Heights April 29, 2019

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Monday, April 29, 2019

University Announces Commencement Speaker

Ayokay, Zucker, Cutler to Headline Modstock 2019

Isabel Capeloa Gil among five honorary degree recipients.

This is the first time the concert has hosted multiple artists.

By Jack Goldman News Editor Boston College has announced that Isabel Capeloa Gil will speak at the University’s 143rd Commencement Exercises, which are taking place on May 20. Gil, the first female president of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, alongside fellow degree recipients Dan Bunch, BC ’79; Rev. Robert D. Farrell, S.J., GMCAS ’58, STM ’65; Thomas D. O’Malley, a former BC trustee; and Marilynne Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Gil has served as president of the IFCU, which has over 200 member institutions from around the world, for the past year, according to a University release. The IFCU’s next general assembly will take place at BC in 2021. Gil spent her childhood in China, where she became interested in “researching

issues of diversity and conflict,” according to the release.

She is the rector of Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), where she is a professor of cultural studies in UCP’s School of Human Sciences. She has written, co-authored, and co-edited over 180 published works, the release says, concentrating on cultural theory, inter-art studies, and visual culture.

She also was one of the founders of the Research Centre for Communication and Culture and currently works there as a researcher focusing on culture, art, and conflict. Gil has held visiting professorships at prestigious universities in Europe, Brazil, and South America, in addition to once being a visiting fellow at Stanford’s Spogli Institute for International Studies, according to the release.

Bunch, who served as director of BC’s Learning to Learn program for 30 years, will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Social Sciences degree. He retired in 2017 before returning to the University in the wake of the Silence is Still Violence protests as a special assistant to the vice president of Student Affairs. He concentrated on outreach to AHANA+ members of the BC community,

By Jack Miller Assoc. News Editor photo courtesy of boston college

while also working with the Office of the Provost, the Division of University Mission and Ministry, and the Office of Human Resources.

He has served as an advisor to the Black Student Forum; has been a chair and member of the Black Faculty, Staff, and Administrators Association; was a founding member and former treasurer of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Committee; and has served as a member of the AHANA Alumni Council, according to the release.

Bunch also co-founded Dedicated Intellectuals of the People, which is made of of “AHANA men dedicated to character-building.” He also co-founded Concerned Black

See Commencement, A3

The Campus Activities Board (CAB) announced Wednesday that Ayokay, Jeremy Zucker, and Chelsea Cutler will share the spotlight at Boston College’s annual Modstock festival—the first time the concert will ever feature multiple artists.

Each year, CAB brings a new artist to campus to celebrate the last day of classes, which occurs May 2 this year. The concert will take place in the Mod Lot. On Thursday, student bands faced off for the chance to open the festival at BC’s Best,

By Abby Hunt Asst. News Editor Vice Provost for Enrollment Management John Mahoney, BC ’79, discussed the current landscape of cost and financial aid in higher education—which he described as “pretty terrifying”—at the fourth student-administrator forum of the academic year on Tuesday. The forum was hosted by interim Vice President of Student Affairs Joy Moore and the Undergraduate Government of Boston College.

While family incomes in the United States have not grown in any category since about the year 2000, about 6.5 percent of American households fit BC’s “full-pay profile,” meaning they can pay the full cost of attendance, Mahoney said. These house-

holds have an adjusted gross income of at least $200,000.

“Between now and 10 years from now, that percentage of full-pay families will move to 7.5 percent—in other words, not much,” Mahoney said. “Eight years from this year, academic year ’26-27, will be the year that Boston College’s total cost for tuition, room, and board exceeds $100,000 a year.”

Mahoney, who has worked at BC for 35 years—including serving as the director and then dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid—said that the things that makes him proudest about BC are that the admissions process is “need-blind” and that the University meets the full demonstrated need calculated by the University of every student it admits. Being need-blind means that a family’s ability to pay tuition and fees has no bearing on the admissions decision for an applicant.

The factors of rising tuition and stagnant income mean that it is not a guarantee that BC can remain need-blind and meet full demonstrated need “by any stretch of the

imagination,” Mahoney said. He explained that families who are currently classified as “no-need” in the admissions process are going to started requiring need-based aid, and families that are currently classified as “low” and “medium” need are going to move into the high-need category.

There are a total of 20 private universities and 18 private liberal arts schools that fit this category of being need-blind and meeting full demonstrated need, according to Mahoney. While there used to be 19 private liberal arts colleges in this category, that number dropped to 18 when the College of the Holy Cross was not able to meet full need or be need-blind this past admissions cycle.

“Those are lofty principles to live up to—[they’re] very expensive [principles] to live up to,” he said in reference to the University’s commitment to being need-blind and meeting full demonstrated need.

It’s going to cost BC a lot of money for

See Financial Aid, A3

See Modstock, A3

Boston College’s Highest Paid Employees Steve Addazio

$2,586,249

Jim Christian

$1,319,710

John Zona

Mahoney Cautions End to Need-Blind Aid Tuition is expected to rise to over $100k in next eight years.

an annual Arts Fest event that features the final rounds of Singer Songwriter and Battle of the Bands. In past years, only Battle of the Bands contestants were considered for Modstock. This year, soloist Isobel Knight, a student from University of New South Wales, won BC’s Best and will open at Modstock.

Given the greater number of artists than in previous years, CAB has blocked out 30 minutes for the student performers and two hours for the three artists.

In early April, students speculated that A$AP Ferg would perform after a video of Derek Ali, the rapper’s sound mixer, referencing a performance at BC was uploaded to Barstool BC’s Instagram and Twitter accounts. CAB quickly confirmed the rapper would not be performing. It is likely that Ali

$987,260

Jerry York

$594,556

David Quigley

$581,238 Ikram ali / heights editor

University Releases Tax Filings for Fiscal Year 2018 Scholarships rose to $32 million, lowest increase in five years.

By Jack Goldman News Editor Boston College released its annual 990 tax filings last week, with football head coach Steve Addazio and men’s basketball head coach Jim Christian remaining the University’s highest-paid employees.

The University’s net assets increased by $112,842,019 in fiscal year 2018 (FY18).

In total, BC’s total assets were worth $3,290,712,940 at the close of FY18.

The highest-paid employees at BC during FY18 were Addazio; Christian; John Zona, the University’s chief investment officer and associate treasurer; Jerry York, BC’s men’s hockey coach; and Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley.

Addazio earned $2,586,249 in 2017, and Christian earned $1,319,710.

The IRS requires all tax-exempt organizations to submit a Form 990 explaining expenditures made over the course of the previous fiscal year.

BC paid out $5,094,191 to the Jesuit community on campus, a total which includes what otherwise would comprise the compensation for major Jesuit administration figures such as University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.; Vice President and University Secretary Rev. Casey Beaumier, S.J.; Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Rev. Jack Butler, S.J.; and Dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Rev. Greg Kalscheur, S.J. Zona runs BC’s investment portfolio and manages the University’s endowment.

He earned $987,260 in FY18, which includes deferred bonus payments available

See Taxes, A3

‘The New England Classic’ Pushes to Abolish UGBC Satire news outlet seeks to accomplish its policy bracket winner.

By Jack Miller Assoc. News Editor jonathan ye / heights editor

Once Again, BC Falls to UNC in ACC Title Game For the second straight year, the No. 3 Tar Heels spoiled No. 1 BC’s perfect season in the ACC Championship.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

FEATURES: Tommy Mazza

Mazza ran his third marathon and unveiled his secret identity as Baldwin.....A8

The New England Classic, Boston College’s resident satirical news outlet, is making good on its promise—by campaigning against the Undergraduate Government of BC for not making good on its own. The editors and writers of the Classic will take

METRO: Indie Bookstore Day Bookstore owners and employees explain staying power in a digital age.......................... A4-5

INDEX

to Stokes Lawn to call for the abolition of UGBC on Wednesday.

The Classic released its annual NEC Policy Bracket, featuring entries such as “47 is the new sex number,” “Leahy denounces racism,” and “Give Addazio hair,” on March 18. After 10 days of Facebook and Twitter polls, the people spoke, selecting “Abolish UGBC” as their 2019 policy champion.

The group knew from the outset that whatever won, they would push for it somehow—they just weren’t sure on the

See Abolish UGBC, A3

NEWS.........................A2 METRO..................... A4 Vol. C, No. 11 © 2019, The Heights, Inc. MAGAZINE.................. A8 SPORTS.................... A10 www.bchelghts.com OPINIONS................... A6 ARTS..................... A18 69

The Heights

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things to do on campus this week

UGBC is holding the final meeting for “Lean on Me,” a peer-to-peer non-emergency mental health hotline, tonight at 6 p.m. in Stokes South 213.

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Monday, April 29, 2019

CAB’s Modstock festival will feature Chelsea Cutler, Jeremy Zucker, and ayokay in the Mod parking lot on Thursday at 5 p.m.

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The Carroll School of Management will host a Digital Innovation Workshop on Friday at 9 a.m. in Fulton 515.

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NEWS Jones Provides Latest on ResLife, Housing BRIEFS

Jury Trial Pushed to Sept. 16

Sept. 16 is the start date for the jury trial in the $3 million lawsuit being brought against Boston College by an alumnus who is alleging that the University violated its contract with him during disciplinary proceedings that stemmed from a sexual assault accusation in 2012.

The trial has been delayed from its original start date on April 22 because the plaintiff ’s lawyer fell ill with pneumonia. Recently, the University received a legal win in the form of a decision that limited the scope of the lawsuit, eliminating multiple witnesses and pieces of evidence.

The plaintiff, identified as “John Doe” in court documents, was covering the 2012 AHANA Leadership Council Boat Cruise for The Heights when the alleged assault occurred.

Two key expert witnesses, Brett Sokolow and Nancy Moore, wanted to testify about alleged malfeasance on the University’s part. Last week, District Court Judge Denise Casper ruled that the work of Joseph Herlihy, BC’s general counsel, who Doe believes violated the basic fairness of the proceedings, will not be considered by the jury.

Both witnesses’ testimony was ruled irrelevant to the claims remaining in the case: whether BC breached its contract with Doe or violated basic fairness by improperly ruling out an alternative culprit defense, or if the Dean of Students office inappropriately influencing the disciplinary proceedings.

Steven Shedlin, a vocational expert, will not have any testimony relating to emotional distress damages ruled out from being used in the trial, officially ruling out any chance that the jury can award Doe emotional distress damages.

BC Receives $4.7 Millon Grant Boston College’s psychology and philosophy department received $4.7 million through three grants from the John Templeton Foundation—the largest amount of total funding that a single foundation has given Boston College in one year. $3.6 million went to the psychology department in the form of two three-year grants under the banner of “Reasoning in Moral Thought and Action,” which will be led by professor Liane Young, and “Building Virtue: Environmental and Social Influences on the Development of Fairness, Forgiveness, Honesty and Trustworthiness,” which will be led by professor Katherine McAuliffe.

The philosophy department also received a three-year grant for a total of $994,071. The funds will sponsor “Philosophy, Theology, and Psychology of Christian Trust in God.” Daniel McKaughan will lead the research effort. Other grant recipients have used funding for research projects, such as “Why Buddhism Matters to Philosophy” and “Project to Foster Intellectual Humility and Counter the Psychology of Tribalism.”

The Templeton Foundation was founded in 1987, and it has been ranked as one of the nation’s largest foundations for grant-making. Its interests include scientific research in philosophy, theology, and the sciences.

“Our team is honored and excited to be working on this project that explores the role of reason in moral thought and action,” Young said, according to a University release. “We are grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for its generous support of our work on the psychology and the neuroscience of moral reasoning. The project reflects a truly interdisciplinary effort.”

By Abby Hunt Asst. News Editor

Greg Jones, director of housing operations, disclosed details regarding the number of AHANA+-identifying RAs in the coming academic semester, housing trends in the past fall and spring semesters, and planned renovations to various on-campus residence halls.

Of the resident assistants who have been hired for the upcoming year, 45 percent of them are AHANA+, which is down from 52 percent last year, although higher than the proportion of AHANA+ students in the overall student body, which is 33 percent.

Forty-five percent of the RAs are male, while 55 percent of them are female—fairly in line with the overall makeup of students, which is 53 percent female, 47 percent male. Twenty-eight percent of the RAs are seniors, 29 percent are juniors, 21 percent are sophomores, and 22 percent are graduate students.

Jones noted that these demographics could change between April and August, however. ResLife has not filled a few RA spots yet, because it holds a few spaces open until it knows the incoming first-year class and what the RA needs are. These vacancies will be covered over the summer, Jones said.

Jones said that ResLife does not set a cap for the number of RAs within each demographic, but that ResLife thinks that having a diverse group of RAs is very important.

“We have a very diverse campus and

want to make sure that the RAs represent the wide diversity of the community and the students,” he said.

Jones went on to note that the number of spring vacancies in residence halls is trending down. There were 184 open beds this spring, which is down from 217 last year and 283 the year prior.

While about the same number of people left their housing to study abroad for the spring semester as last year, vacancies went down because BC brought in more transfer students and exchange students for the spring semester this year, and there were more students living on campus during the fall semester.

“This was the most full we have been a fall semester in the six years I’ve been here,” Jones said. “So starting off the fall semester with fewer openings and fewer people leaving means that when we hit spring semester, there was fewer vacancies to begin with.”

Imbalances between the number of students leaving in the spring and fall semesters led to the University placing limits on “each semester and program for students studying abroad.” Students had to apply to at least one fall program on their study abroad applications.

Jones said that ResLife won’t know how the new system will affect housing until spring semester actually rolls around.

ResLife does not currently know how many students are going abroad in the fall or going to be living on- or off-campus in the spring, and some of students who have signed up

to study abroad in the spring may change their plans.

“On the onset, we’re looking at seeing more students being abroad in the fall than in the current year, which hopefully will mean that we’ll have more students coming back to campus for the spring, so we’re hoping that differential between fall and spring semester will be less,” Jones said.

Jones said that, while it’s still likely that more students will be abroad in the spring and that there will be more spaces to house students in the spring semester than the fall semester, he anticipates there being fewer vacancies in the spring of 2020 than there are this year.

The total number students who participated in the room selection process for oncampus housing was 5,073, which is down 46 students compared to last year. The main reason for this change, Jones said, is that there was a smaller first-year class, which means that about 100 fewer students were eligible to participate in room selection.

Because of the large size of the sophomore class, 50 more rising juniors opted for on-campus housing this year than last year, but Jones said that the larger number of rising juniors selecting for housing was balanced out by the smaller number of rising sophomores.

Jones pointed out that something interesting he found with room selection this year was that while the apartments at 2150 Commonwealth Ave. were the last to fill on the six-person selection day, they were the first to

fill on the four-person day. Jones said he does not know why this is the case, but that one possibility is that once four-person day rolls around, people already know other people in 2150 who they may want to live near.

“There’s this narrative of like, ‘Oh, nobody wants to be there,’ or ‘Oh, it’s everyone’s last choice.’ But it’s not—the next day, it becomes the most popular building,” Jones said.

ResLife will be doing renovations in Ignacio Hall over the summer, which it started during Winter Break. The kitchens and bathrooms in Ignacio B will be renovated, and new apartments are being constructed on the first floor of Ignacio B and the ground floor of A. Five new apartments and 26 more beds will be added to the building—spaces that were already chosen during room selection.

This is the third summer ResLife had done renovations in “the Hillsides,” Jones said. Renovations were done in Rubenstein C last year, and in Ignacio A the year prior.

ResLife will also be doing some smaller projects throughout campus as well—most of which will be related to infrastructure, maintenance, and repairs—so students might not actually see the results, Jones said.

The fifth- and sixth-floor lounges in Walsh Hall will also be renovated this summer—the third-, seventh-, and eighth-floor lounges were worked on last year. n

Newton Judge Indicted for Allegedly Impeding ICE

By Colleen Martin Metro Editor A Newton judge, Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, was indicted yesterday on an obstruction of justice charge for allegedly helping a man escape from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Newton courthouse last year. A court officer, Wesley MacGregor, who has retired since the alleged incident, was also charged with obstruction of justice and an additional charge of perjury. Joseph is a Boston College graduate.

Joseph, 51, allegedly instructed the court officer, MacGregor, 56, to take Jose MedinaPerez, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who reportedly entered the United States illegally three times, downstairs to retrieve something. MacGregor then used his security access card to open the sally-port exit downstairs and release Medina-Perez out the back, according to court documents.

Prior to Medina-Perez’s release, there is a recording of Joseph, MacGregor, a defense attorney, the assistant district attorney (ADA), and a clerk discussing his release.

The defense attorney told Joseph that ICE was “convinced” that Medina-Perez was the man they were looking for in relation to a crime in Pennsylvania, citing a “biometric match.” Joseph then asked the clerk to take the conversation off the record, at which time the recording stopped, according to court documents.

When they came back on the record,

the defense attorney said that they were reasonably sure that Medina-Perez was not the man in question, after they had looked at photos and social security numbers.

Bringing Medina-Perez downstairs to collect personal belongings was part of Joseph and MacGregor’s conspiracy to release him, court documents said.

“The idea of anyone interfering with federal law enforcement is troubling but if a judge did it, that is far, far worse,” said Andrew Lelling, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney, at a news conference yesterday. “This case is not intended as a policy statement.

At least not beyond making the point that the laws have to apply equally even if you’re a state court judge.”

Some have criticized the charges, though, saying that they are motivated by politics and the role of federal officials who have been told by President Trump to crack down on immigration enforcement.

“This prosecution is absolutely political,” said Tom Hoopes, Joseph’s attorney, outside of court. “Shelley Joseph is absolutely innocent.”

Maura Healey, the state attorney general, expressed outrage at the decision to prosecute, saying that the matter could have been handled by the Commission on Judicial Conduct and the Trial Court.

“Today’s indictment is a radical and politically motivated attack on our state and the independence of our courts,” Healey said in a statement. “It is a bedrock principle of our constitutional system that federal prosecutors should not recklessly interfere

with the operation of state courts and their administration of justice … I am deeply disappointed by U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s misuse of prosecutorial resources and the chilling effect his actions will have.”

Daniel Kanstroom, a professor at Boston College Law School, has studied and published articles about immigration law and founded the BC Immigration and Asylum clinic, which has law students represent indigent noncitizens and asylum-seekers.

He said he isn’t familiar with any previous indictments of a state judge or court officer.

“It strikes me as a substantial federal prosecutorial over-reach, given the complexities of state/federal intersections over immigration enforcement and major current controversies over ICE agents in state courtrooms,” he said in an email to The Heights. “The state judicial system— whether civil or criminal—simply cannot function properly if witnesses and others fear coming to state court because federal agents are using the courts as venues to catch and arrest people, especially for civil immigration violations.

“The alleged facts of this case are rather unusual, but the indictment is likely to have chilling effects far beyond those unusual facts.”

Joseph has been suspended without pay and MacGregor retired in March, according to The Boston Globe. She was appointed in November of 2017 by Governor Charlie Baker, who has since called for her temporary removal from the bench and a federal investigation.

“Look, judges are not supposed to be in the business of obstructing justice,” Baker said to reporters in December. “And as far as I can tell, based on the facts as they were presented, she clearly violated the court’s own policies with respect to the way they’re supposed to handle detainers.”

On the day in question, an ICE official arrived at the Newton Courthouse at 9:30 a.m., according to the court documents.

He identified himself to people working at the court, including a clerk who informed Joseph that he was there. At 10:34 MedinaPerez, who is referred to as an Alien Subject (A.S.) in the document, was appointed a lawyer by Joseph and then arraigned.

Joseph agreed to re-call the case later, ordering the ADA to provide more information about the defendant’s fugitive charge. The A.S. was called back at 12:04, the report says, and the ADA said they would not seek to detain the defendant on the drug charge but would make a bail request for the fugitive charge.

Following this, the clerk told the ICE agent to leave and wait outside the courtroom, where the A.S. would be released, the court document says. It also stated that this is against Department of Homeland Security policy.

At 2:48 p.m. the conversation that was recorded and then cut off when Joseph asked to go off the record occurred. The ICE agent was unable to take custody of Medina-Perez, the court document said, because MacGregor released him out the back door. n

Thursday, April 25

Friday, April 26

POLICE BLOTTER: 4/24/19 – 4/26/19 Wednesday, April 24 8:46 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding suspicious circumstances at Fitzpatrick Hall.

4:30 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding possession of class D drugs with the intent to distribute at Rubenstein Hall.

9:33 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation at McElroy Commons.

12:18 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation at Reservoir Apartments.

8:46 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation at Donaldson Hall.

8:29 a.m.- An officer filed a report regarding a medical incident at McElroy Commons.

6:59 p.m.- An officer filed a report regarding a medical incident at Stuart Hall.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

CORRECTIONS What do you think of the headliners for Modstock?

“I think [CAB] chose new artists but not relevant ones.”

— Kate Werle, CSOM ’22

“I didn’t know who they were before Modstock, so I think they need to get better performers.”

— Eric Lowe, MCAS ’21

“I think if we don’t know who they are, that says something about Modstock.”

— Shivansh Padhi, CSOM ’21

“They need more popular, well-known artists.”

— Annie Williams, MCAS ’22

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

The Heights

Monday, April 29, 2019

A3

Students Share Frustrations as ‘Abolish UGBC’ Gains Traction Abolish UGBC, from A1 method yet.

“We were just talking about this earlier,” Josh Artman, editor-in-chief of the Classic and MCAS ’19, said. “In the finals, it was between like ‘Abolish UGBC’ and ‘Rename Fulton ‘East Stokes.’ And we were just lamenting, like, ‘Oh my God, if that had won it would have been so much easier.’”

When the results of the bracket came in, a braintrust, aimed at finding some mechanism to abolish UGBC, formed. After some digging, Aidan Fitzpatrick, a writer for the Classic and CSOM ’20, found a form to register a student protest through UGBC. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, guys,’” Fitzpatrick said. “‘What if we use UGBC resources to try to abolish UGBC and protest them in the most satirical way possible?’”

Artman and Fitzpatrick quickly discovered that tearing the system down through the system doesn’t work. The next day, their request was rejected by the Office of Student Involvement (OSI), and the form was taken down. Naturally, Artman just turned around and filled out UGBC’s “Free Expression Reporting Form,” which promises to assist students who feel as through their freedom of expression has been restricted, as well as “provide a means for the UGBC to voice these concerns to the appropriate

administrators.”

Artman ended up in the office of the OSI employee who rejected their requests.

There, he learned that the UGBC protest registration form hadn’t been used in over two years. UGBC no longer handles protest registrations—the Dean of Students Office deals with them directly—but the form to register was still up on the UGBC website.

The Classic posted an Exploratory Survey for the Abolishment of UGBC on April 10, which received over 100 responses in 24 hours, according to Artman.

The responses ranged from lengthy essays—the longest clocked in at 256 words— to a single word, such as “sucks;” “lame”; and “yes,” which appeared three times.

More than anything, the responses were jokes: Highlights included “I got a bad housing and pick time and feel they’re responsible,” “I’m tired of seeing people wear their fancy ugbc sweaters,” and “Chaos is it’s [sic] own reward.” Another blamed UGBC for a whole host of issues, ranging from the respondent’s GPA, the lack of sunlight in his or her dorm, and UGBC’s complicity in the existence of the sewing club and Irish dance team.

Some of the more serious responses included complaints that the student government lacks any real power and that members of the Executive Council receive

stipends for their work. Many also said that UGBC’s budget, which is set at $329,138 for the 2018-19 year, is too large for an organization that accomplishes too little.

Just like the responses to the survey, the revolutionaries at the Classic are straddling the line between satire and real criticism.

“The line is massively blurred,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think at this stage, I think we still have license to continue making fun of UGBC. I think there are a lot of shortcomings. But one thing that I find really surprising and backwards with this whole thing is how much more I’m starting to like them since starting ‘Abolish UGBC.’” Fitzpatrick admitted that he had prejudice against the elected members of UGBC, one that stemmed from their overly serious demeanor. Judging by the student replies, he wasn’t alone: “UGBC is one-sided and does not reflect the views of all of BC,” one student wrote. “It is a bubble and is not transparent. Abolish UGBC.” BC is a serious place—too serious, most of the time, in Artman’s eyes.

“I feel like if UGBC was a little bit more humble, they would present themselves more as an advocacy group,” he said. “But I think a lot of times, or at least just what you end up seeing on social media, [they’re saying], ‘It’s a student government, NYAH!’” The OSI employee recommended to

Artman that the Classic put together some sort of plan for the movement before meeting with Dean of Students Tom Mogan—in Artman’s retelling, “so [he was] not just going to be in his office looking like an idiot.”

Enter Doug Girardot, a writer for the Classic, contributor for The Heights, and MCAS ’21—the Martin Luther to the movement’s 95 Theses—who put together a petition for the dissolution of UGBC. The dissolution resolution touched on many of the points raised in the student body’s responses, specifically mentioning UGBC’s budget and lack of influence, in addition to pointing out that, given low student turnout, the organization is generally not reflective of the student body.

Preempting charges of anarchism, the Classic’s manifesto included a proposal section. Prior to abolition, it recommends that the non-elected branches—the AHANA+ Leadership Council (ALC), the GLBTQ+ Leadership Council (GLC), and Council for Students with Disabilities (CSD)—split from UGBC and receive direct financial support from the University.

While Artman said ALC, GLC, and CSD do great work, he described the student Senate as “basically a dressed-up advocacy group,” since every resolution it passes is non-binding.

One surprising response to the move-

ment came from Reed Piercey, UGBC President and MCAS ’19. He caught wind of the protest and contacted Artman.

“The way I interpreted it was that they are comically expressing a lot of the disengagement and issues of UGBC that I think everyone perceives,” Piercey said. “Which I think is definitely worthwhile, and that’s why I wanted to talk to them about it.”

Artman recalled that Piercey understood the complaints about the size of the organization as sincere criticism and noted that UGBC began restructuring to meet that very problem earlier this year.

“The way we can frame it at the protest is that we’re not abolishing ourselves, sorry to disappoint, but we’re doing the next best thing, which is cutting a third of our members,” Piercey said.

Artman also expressed some sympathy for UGBC, saying that they have a solid foundation. He pointed to the recent referendum on divestment from fossil fuels as an example of the organization forcing the University to create a “paper trail” on an important issue.

“Hey, someone has to fill out the paperwork, file the motion, show it to the University for them to say ‘Hey, great, we don’t care.’ Having them on record saying we don’t care, I think is huge. And it’s an important part of the process.” n

Mahoney: Aid Outlook ‘Frightening’ Four Further Honorary Degree Recipients Financial Aid, from A1

the University to maintain its needblind and full-need policies, Mahoney said, which is why he has been working with the Board of Regents Financial Aid Committee in the hopes of getting them to join him and the Office of University Advancement in leading a major component of BC’s capital campaign.

“You can only do need-blind admission and meet full need if you’ve got an endowment the size of BC’s, and as I said, BC’s is sort of rock bottom in the national universities category,” Mahoney said.

BC funds some of its financial aid out of the endowment, Mahoney said, but most of the funds come from tuition revenues that have been rolled back into the operating budget.

This year, the University is spending $131 million—more than 10 percent of BC’s operating budget—on needbased grants to students, which does not include loans, work-study, athletic scholarships, or the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program.

Mahoney said that, in his new role, he is trying to ensure that qualified and deserving students from all kinds of economic backgrounds are going to be able to come to BC. Mahoney said he believes that in order for BC to remain the institution that it is, it has to continue to be need-blind and meet full demonstrated need.

Maintaining these two principles is going to depend on motivating the donor base to understand that these two aspects of admission are crucial to BC’s survival. He said that he, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., and most of the members of the Board of Trustees are committed to keeping BC need-blind and meeting full demonstrated need.

“To have to abandon that at this point, it would be difficult, and it would it would change this place,” he said. “I would hope that that change doesn’t come.”

One student asked Mahoney about

the factors that are considered in deciding to raise tuition every year.

Mahoney explained that while most businesses try to function in a way that maximizes efficiency and profitability, this kind of model doesn’t work in higher education.

“The more efficient you become, the less valuable the product becomes,” Mahoney said. “We could, say, cut the faculty and raise the student-faculty ratio to 18:1 from 12:1. We could raise the average class size from 27 to 51.

There’d be a diminution in quality of the experience, right?”

BC also has to maintain its infrastructure, said Mahoney. He pointed out that the University is trying to respond to the times with the new Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society and that the construction of the Fish Field House was a necessity on account of BC’s choice to be in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“The budgets aren’t set arbitrarily,” Mahoney said. “There are some very wise financial minds down there that pinch every single penny. … [There’s] not a lot of loose spending around this place.”

One student asked Mahoney if he pictures the number of merit scholarships BC offers ever changing. BC currently only offers one merit-based scholarship, the Gabelli Presidential Scholarship, to 15 qualified students each year—which is a specifically endowed program founded by the Wall Street Council and funded primarily

by Mario Gabelli.

“I don’t think there’s a great appetite at BC right now for more merit-based scholarships, because if we’re going to be able to meet need, that’s really got to be the priority,” he said. “Right now, the majority of the people at the upper level, on the Board of Trustees, I think they get it, and I think they’re as frightened as I am about what the next 10 years holds for all of higher education, but BC in particular.”

Another student asked Mahoney to talk about the recent college admis-

sions scandal. Mahoney said that while he thinks the scandal is misnamed—it’s really a “college athletics scandal,” he said—the situation was a byproduct of what the college admissions process has become.

Mahoney pointed out how electronic applications have led to increased numbers of college applicants, and college ranking systems have paved the way for increased marketing and a race for selectivity among colleges. Today, Mahoney said, there are a small number of elite institutions that the rich and famous want to attend, which gave rise to an industry of independent counselors who help high school students with their schoolwork and exam preparation.

“It was sort of inevitable that these agencies would become scurrilous in some way,” Mahoney said. “And what they figured out was a neat little side door to getting into some of these schools—and it’s sports.”

Mahoney said that admissions counselors are vulnerable to coaches who may be taking bribes to flag students as athletes during the admissions process.

“Nobody on the admissions staff sits across from the tennis coach and says, ‘You know, I don’t think the speed of her serve is all that great,’” Mahoney said. “We’re looking at grades and scores and are they going to be a strong student at Boston College.”

A couple of days after the scandal broke, one of the associate athletic directors pulled all of the BC coaches together and said, “If you’ve got something to tell me, you better tell me now,” according to Mahoney—and nobody had anything to tell him.

Mahoney said that he’s run lists of every current BC student who came in flagged as an athlete and that almost every one of them is still on the roster, and those who have dropped off have done so for good reasons.

“There’s nothing here,” Mahoney said. n

Commencement, from A1 Men of Massachusetts, a non-profit mentoring organization. Bunch was the 2015 recipient of the BC Community Service award, according to the release.

Farrell, who became a member of the BC faculty in 1990 teaching writing in the Woods College of Advancing Studies—where he still teaches—will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He also served as assistant dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, according to the release. Farrell became a Jesuit in 1951 and was sent to teach at Baghdad College—a Jesuit high school in Iraq’s capital—in 1958, where he remained for three years. A scholarship fund at Woods has been established in his name that supports local part-time students.

O’Malley, who hails from Staten Island and has long been a benefactor of BC—as well as other non-profit organizations—established the O’Malley Family Athletic Endowed Scholarship Fund for BC studentathletes in 2015 through his family foundation and will receive an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree.

O’Malley put himself through college by working as a taxi and school bus

driver, a cafeteria worker, and a lifeguard.

He and his wife, Mary Alice, are the most generous donors in Manhattan College’s history—its school of business was renamed in their honor and their name is also on the university’s library, according to the release.

O’Malley graduated from the institution in 1963 and chaired its board of trustees for seven years while serving on the board for 15.

His family has also funded Trinity Catholic High School scholarships for children of Stamford, Conn., police officers, firefighters, and nurses, and supported the Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut as well, according to the release.

Robinson, who was awarded a National Humanities Medal in 2012 by former President Barack Obama, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. She received the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction in 2016, according to the release.

Robinson has written both fiction and nonfiction—the latter of which has earned her nominations for the National Book Award. She is professor emeritus at the University of Iowa and taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop for 25 years, according to the release. n

Concert Details Emerge Modstock, from A1 was referencing Tufts University, as A$AP Ferg is set to perform at Tufts’ Spring Fling on April 28.

Ayokay—whose real name is Alex O’Neill—began making music in high school with longtime friend Mike Temrowski, also known as Quinn XCII. Zucker, an indie electronic singer-songwriter and producer, released his music on his own until 2017, when “talk is overrated” launched him into the spotlight.

Cutler began releasing covers in 2014 before releasing her first song, “Anything for

You,” during her freshman year at Amherst College.

All three artists, alongside Quinn XCII, work together as “the Mutual Friends” artist collective.

Last year’s Modstock faced blowback after the invited artist, B.o.B, was found to have espoused anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in his songs.

More than 200 faculty members signed a letter expressing concern about the artist over the anti-Semitic lyrics and other views for which the artist had publicly expressed support, including that the Sept. 11 attacks were an inside job. n

BC 990 Form Discloses Top Salaries, Scholarship Increases Taxes, from A1

as a part of the University’s “performance compensation plan,” which established “certain awards” when BC’s investments perform well, according to an attachment included in the 990. The form notes that, in total, $389,298 of Zona’s salary was paid as a bonus—some elements of that total are paid to retirement plans and are converted to deferred compensation.

At the end of the fiscal year—May 31, 2018—B C ’s endowment sat at $2,567,405,000, which was an increase of $166,932,000 from the previous year. The 990 noted the endowment’s investment returns were $245,287,000—or around 10.7 percent—down from the fiscal year 2017 mark of $279 million and about 11.5 percent.

Over the last five fiscal years, BC’s endowment has grown by $369,123,000—a

down year in 2016 slowed progress, but FY17 made up all of the losses and more, and FY18 saw the endowment return to its more typical, upward trajectory. BC’s Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead said the endowment sat at $2.6 billion last September.

York earned $594,556 in FY18, down from the $660,141 he earned in FY17. He did not appear on the 2016 990 but was paid $1,249,617 in FY15, which likely included a signing bonus. York signed a contract extension in February.

Quigley earned $581,238 in FY18, followed closely by James Husson, BC’s senior vice president for University Advancement, and Dean of the Carroll School of Management Andy Boynton. Husson earned $578,574 and Boynton $564,560 in FY18.

Brad Bates, the University’s former director of athletics, made $542,475 in FY18. He resigned in February 2017, but salary numbers

posted in the 990 take into account earnings from calendar year 2017, according to Financial Vice President and Treasurer John Burke. BC’s current AD, Martin Jarmond, does not appear in the 990 since he did not make more than $100,000 in 2017.

Addazio earned $85,000 in bonuses in FY18 while Bates made $25,000 in bonuses.

BC’s trustees are not paid and volunteer their time to the University, according to the 990. “Current officers, directors … and key employees” were paid $6,690,654 in FY18.

BC’s scholarship numbers continued to rise as they have in previous years. The University gave out $32,394,000 in scholarships in FY18—in FY14, BC gave out $21,871,000. The largest increase in scholarship awards took place in FY15, when the University increased its scholarship output by $4,596,000. The FY18 increase from FY17 was $1,144,000, the smallest increase of the

past five years.

The “Auxiliary Services” category— which includes revenues and expenditures for dining halls, residence halls, the BC bookstores, health services, and the University’s 31 NCAA Division I athletics programs—operated at a $12,266,643 deficit. The category saw $172,728,478 in revenues during FY18. BC spent $148,579,008 on student services expenses.

As usual, BC paid $200,000—according to publicly disclosed lobbying reports—to Cassidy and Associates, a lobbying agency, to “assist in management in the identification, development, and presentation of institutional initiatives for consideration by committees of Congress, federal regulatory agencies, and others,” according to the 990. Only slightly more than $75,000 of those payments show up on the 990 as taxable expenditures.

BC received $131,641,150 in dona-

tions during calendar year 2017, according to the 990, which is down from the 2016 mark of $171,722,628—2016 was the final year of the University’s Light The World capital campaign, which raised about $1.6 billion in funds. The 2017 level is slightly lower than the amount of donations made during the heart of the Light The World campaign: In 2013, BC took in $139,307,553 in gifts.

The University donated to the Glorious Orphanage Corporation, the city of Newton, and the Allston Brighton Community fund in FY18. In addition, BC donated $35,000 to the Jesuits USA Northeast Province, $94,000 to the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province, and $94,000 to Caritas de Puerto Rico. During 2017, Puerto Rico suffered greatly from the effects of Category 5 Hurricane Maria. n

The Heights

A4

Monday, April 29, 2019

Boston’s Bookstores Editor’s Note: Every bibliophile’s favorite holiday was celebrated in Boston on Saturday: Independent Bookstore Day. Trolleys took people on tours of Boston-area shops, giving book fans a chance to check out a variety of stores.

The Heights headed out across the city to talk to the people who make independent bookstores possible and see how they maintain their staying power in a digital age.

Brookline Booksmith: Dedicated to the Fine Art of Browsing

By Mary Wilkie Asst. Metro Editor A smith is a craftsman, one who typically practices welding and forging to produce some kind of metalwork. The term most often refers to a blacksmith, but as a suffix it attaches to a variety of metal products, from locks to blades to copper.

Marshall Smith, though, is a different kind of smith—he’s a booksmith.

Brookline Booksmith, an icon of Coolidge Corner and the former workplace of Smith, has occupied its space for over 50 years. It has only changed location once, just down the street to a bigger site, and with the move it became Brookline Booksmith. Before that, it was Paperback Booksmith.

Paperback books came into the mainstream during the Great Depression. In 1935, at a time when most books worth reading were only published hardcover, Allen Lane—founder of Penguin Books— wanted to print renowned literature with softcovers for readers’ accessibility, both physically and economically. Beside magazines and papers on newsstands around the globe, paperback books hit the market with great success. They were a convenience for travelers, a reasonably priced resource for avid readers, and a disposable necessity for deployed soldiers during lengthy periods of inactivity.

In the ’60s, Smith took that idea and ran.

Leaving a career in business, Smith ached to do something important. Nick Petrulakis, assistant manager of Brookline Booksmith,

recalled Smith telling him about it.

“He didn’t feel qualified to be a teacher, so he decided to open a bookstore,” he said.

Intentionally or unintentionally, Lane’s idea to make quality literature available in an accessible form inspired Smith to open one Paperback Booksmith, which quickly led to a second location in 1961 that’s now Brookline Booksmith.

Various iterations of Smith’s business have opened and closed—at one point with as many as 75 locations and a Videosmith in the basement of the Brookline location—but Brookline Booksmith is the sole survivor.

The Videosmith existed until the mid2000s, when video stores gave way to digital movie providers.

Repurposing the space, the Booksmith built the Used Book Cellar, an underground feature that’s easy to miss because of the spectacle of the first floor but makes the experience all the better.

Buying and selling used books, the Used Book Cellar also offers free gift wrapping for customers.

In Brookline Booksmith’s beginning, before the Used Book Cellar and Videosmith were even ideas, Paperback Booksmith was a sweet juxtaposition to the stuffy, uppity bookstores that contemporaneously existed. Smith wanted to bring literature in a convenient form to readers through a casual and comfortable setting, so he sold only paperback books for the first five or so years of the bookstore’s operation.

When he decided to incorporate hardcovers into their inventory, they dropped

Paperback from its name but continued to greet customers with their original slogan, “Dedicated to the fine art of browsing.”

Today, from as early as 8:30 a.m. to as late as 11 p.m., Brookline Booksmith operates with this philosophy still in mind, but with even more to browse.

Against the northwest wall of the store, the Giftsmith carries cards, tchotchkes, book paraphernalia, knick-knacks, and local products that are perfect presents for friends and family. Books—new and used, hardcover and paperback, planners, children’s, and stationary—make up displays between the floor to ceiling bookshelves on every wall. Schedules of events on the storefront’s chalkboard and fliers by the door welcome customers.

Every Sunday, the Kidsmith hosts gaggles of giggling children eager to hear the next story animatedly read by one of the Booksmith’s 40 team members.

Still, like any other bookstore, Brookline Booksmith has had its fair share of struggles. With the familiarity of bookstore chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble, the uncertainty of the 2008 Recession, and the unmatchable convenience of Amazon, there’s no way it couldn’t have. But being in a community as dedicated to the Booksmith as the bookstore is to the fine art of browsing, the Booksmith lives on.

Before Petrulakis began at the Booksmith, he had ran numerous bookshops in northern California. In May of 2008, he had been managing a shop which would be welcoming a new neighbor: Barnes and Noble. The day the store opened, its

manager gave Petrulakis’ shop a visit. In a moment incredibly reminiscent of You’ve Got Mail, he introduced himself, gave his condolences to the store with an “It was nice to know you,” and left.

The Booksmith never experienced any antagonism as hostile as that, but for about 15 years between the early ’90s and 2000s, a Barnes and Noble lived just down the street.

There’s a reason that indie bookstores like Brookline Booksmith have been able to outlive the chains that have been eaten by the monopolizing monster that is Amazon.

The singularity that prevents indie bookstores from becoming chain bookstores along with adaptability ensures that these small businesses quickly react to social, economic, and technological changes in the world. Unable to make a sustainable change across hundreds of locations in a short period of time, bookstore chains strained to cope with those fluctuations.

Indie bookstores are surviving Amazon because they have what the internet cannot provide: what Petrulakis called, “the experience that you can’t download.”

That experience is reliant on people.

Book clubs, readings, and author events are scheduled regularly and held either in whatever space is available between the two levels of the shop or at a nearby location, usually the Coolidge Theater, The Wilbur Theatre, or the Brookline Library.

Not quite as noticeable as a recent aesthetic change in the layout of the bookstore—the art books have been moved to a new corner in the front of the store,

just next to the cookbooks—a few administrative changes have occurred in the Booksmith workshop in the last few years.

In the summer of 2018, longtime manager Dana Brigham retired. She was with the shop for almost 40 years with an ever-present intention to make the Booksmith the best it could be—a sentiment that certainly didn’t leave with her.

This past January, Smith stepped down for good from the Booksmith, leaving the ownership in the hands of Peter Win and Lisa Gozashti, both former assistant managers of the store. Although Smith has since moved on from his time as a bookseller and a shop owner, part of him will always be in the store—and its name—for as long as Brookline Booksmith exists. And the citizens of Brookline will make sure that continues for a while.

Brookline Booksmith is forever changed by those who kept it running smoothly, and it’s constantly affected by the people who walk through its doors. From regulars to new customers, there’s a sense of magic about being engulfed in books, a kind that even the youngest readers can detect: “A child came in, being pushed in a stroller, but there was a blanket over the stroller so you couldn’t see her,” Petrulakis said. “But I heard something, then I looked, and saw a little tiny hand poke out and wave from underneath the blanket—the little tiny voice said, ‘Hello, books! Hello, books!’”

Finding Tradition and Tranquility Inside Harvard Book Store

By Doug Girardot For The Heights Getting off the Red Line at Harvard Square is always an experience of excitement mixed with the slightest bit of dread.

Visiting Harvard University’s campus and its Cambridge surroundings, it’s exhilarating to saunter among students who are learning from the most brilliant minds in the world.

As I walk among the handsome red brick buildings of the campus’ gates and buildings, however, déjà vu creeps over me as I reflect on the cutthroat college admissions process that preoccupied me for the better part of my high school career, the one which seems to whisper to me that I am not worthy to be standing on such holy ground.

Whenever this latter sensation occurs, a trip to the Harvard Book Store is always an effective remedy to put my mind at ease.

Located on Massachusetts Avenue, directly across from the southeast corner of the Harvard campus where three of the University’s libraries stand, the Book Store serves as an equalizer of sorts among the throngs of people who visit the storied institution.

The Harvard Book Store, while not affiliated with the eponymous University, attracts many of its students and faculty members.

Even so, the Book Store’s clientele extends beyond a strictly academic circle.

“I think the Cambridge-Somerville community is definitely part of the customer base,” Alex Meriwether, the store’s general manager, said. “We definitely see our share of tourists.”

I spoke with Meriwether in mid-March at his office, which is located not at the Book Store’s retail location, but instead occupies the dimly lit first floor of a somewhat austere building rear. The entrance is on a quiet narrow street off Massachusetts Avenue that seems to be some amalgamation of a lane and an alley. His office in the back left corner has standard white walls and

DOUG GIRARDOT / FOR THE HEIGHTS

The independent bookstore in Harvard Square hosts lectures and other events, welcoming people from outside of the Ivy League. small bookshelves warmly illuminated by a desk lamp.

Meriwether is a quiet, bookish man, and when I met him he was dressed surreptitiously in a black sweater and jeans.

He has dark brown hair and a peacefully soft voice, which sounds somewhat like that of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, but not nearly as loud and with much less forced formality.

Somewhat paradoxically, Meriwether told me that part of the reason that the Harvard Book Store appeals to so many different people outside of Harvard is its focus on selling academic titles—almost anything published under the aegis of a university press qualifies—alongside mainstream books.

“There are probably only a few stores in the country that are a combination of an independent general interest bookstore that has a kind of academic focus,” he said.

The scholarly focus of the store—perhaps inevitable, given its location—dates back to the founding of the store in 1932 by Mark Kramer, who opened what was initially a shop that sold new and used textbooks.

His wife, Pauline, entered into the business after they were married in 1934, and their son, Frank, likewise became part of the venture in 1962.

Originally located on what is now John F. Kennedy Street, the Harvard Book Store moved to its current location in 1950. By 1987, it had expanded to include two of the neighboring storefronts.

The Kramers were the proprietors of Harvard Book Store for more than 75 years until Frank stepped down and sold the store in 2008 to the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Mayersohn and Linda Seamonson.

Just outside of the store, on the edge of the block, a sign indicates that the small intersection is called the Frank, Mark, and Pauline Kramer Square, named by the City of Cambridge in honor of the family in 2007.

Over the course of its operation the business has changed radically—first, from the rise of big-box stores like Borders and Barnes & Noble, and in the last decade or so, because of the increasing presence of digital books and retailers.

One result of this abrupt seismic shift in book sales has been the rapid closure of

several bookstores around Harvard Square.

Meriwether recalled how Wordsworth shut its doors in 2004, among several other shops like Schoenhof’s, which sold foreign language books.

In the wake of these jolts to the bookselling landscape, a corresponding change has come in the nature of traditional competition between small bookstores.

The relationship between these shops was once characterized by their competition and for each other’s customers. Recently that’s changed.

“We’re kind of in on the same mission,” Meriwether said. “We each have our specialized contributions to our individual communities.”

Even the traditional, almost clichéd enmity between small independent bookstores and large chains—think The Shop Around The Corner versus Fox Books in You’ve Got Mail—has seen remarkable changes. In Meriwether’s view, e-books’ intrusion upon the traditional book market has made the dynamics radically different from what they once were in only the last 15 years or so.

For suburban and rural just as much as

for metropolitan areas, “we want all these communities to have a brick-and-mortar bookstore, even if it’s a ‘chain bookstore,’” he said.

Meriwether emphasized the important role that any bookstore, but especially the Harvard Book Store, plays in community engagement with patrons. Part of the process of embedding the Book Store into its Cambridge home has been by hosting events—over 300 every year—featuring prominent authors including Martha Nussbaum, the philosophy professor at the University of Chicago, and Jim Lehrer, the former host of PBS Newshour.

Meriwether thinks that these events, where members of the public come to meet authors, are central to both the mission and economics of the Book Store, but are also important in their capacity to “give back” to members of the community.

The evening I visited, Preet Bharara— the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who was conspicuously fired by President Trump in 2017—was scheduled to visit, speaking as part of the book tour for his career reflection piece, Doing Justice. Harvard Book Store had reserved Harvard University’s Memorial Church, a short walk away from the store, for an interview between Bharara and Michael Sandel, the noted professor of political philosophy at Harvard.

The line to get into the event stretched all the way from the middle of campus out to the street outside the University’s gates.

Inside the church, sparingly adorned with its whitewashed walls, shoulder-height pews, and plaques commemorating Harvard alumni who had perished in various American wars, hundreds of people came to see the ticketed event. In the process, as a sign placed on the altar indicated, they were indeed “supporting their independent bookstore.”

The Heights

Monday, April 29, 2019

A5

Newtonville Books Stays Town Staple

By Isabella Cavazzoni Copy Editor Just after celebrating its 20th anniversary, Newtonville Books is still up and running. Despite a transfer of ownership and a change of location, Newtonville Books remains a relevant, independent brick-and-mortar bookstore, even in the age of Amazon retail.

From the hands of original owner Tim Huggins to current owners Mary Cotton and Jaime Clark, Newtonville Books doesn’t try to compete with online retailers.

Rather, it “can co-exist,” in the words of Cotton, and for her, nothing can replace the experience of an independent bookstore.

Fresh out of her undergraduate education at Williams College, Cotton began working at the original Newtonville Books.

Huggins, who learned about bookselling at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Miss., opened Newtonville Books in 1998—which later moved to its current location in Newton Centre—on Walnut Street in Newtonville, Mass.

Upon entry to Newtonville Books, the sheer magnitude of the store’s book collections is startling. For a quaint, independent bookstore, Newtonville Books packs a lot of literary content—books cover the walls, shelves stand tall, and tables of books often fill every nook and cranny of free space.

It’s easy to get lost browsing books, punny greeting cards, and cute (albeit unnecessary) knick-knacks—Cotton continues to

fulfill Huggins’ desire of an entertaining, cozy bookstore.

From the very start, Cotton fell in love with bookselling. Her background is rich in literature and writing. With an M.A. in English literature from Boston University, an M.F.A. in creative writing from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine, and multiple editorial positions under her belt—most notably, she’s the current fiction editor for Post Road, a literary magazine—Cotton seemed destined to take over Newtonville Books from her first days as an employee.

“I started working at the bookstore after college, and I loved everything about it,” Cotton said. “Being a bookseller and helping people find the book they don’t know they are looking for is very satisfying.”

So, in 2007, Cotton bought Newtonville Books from Huggins with her husband, Jaime Clark. Clark is also a pro in the literary world. With experience as a creative writing professor at University of Massachusetts, Emerson College, and Boston College, an author of multiple novels, and founding editor of Post Road, Clark and Cotton create the perfect literature powerhouse couple to take the reigns of Newtonville Books.

Today, the dynamic duo host programs and events in the store—distinguishing the experience of buying a book or attending an event in a real bookstore rather than clicking away on the internet to purchase books and novels online. Once or twice

a week, Newtonville Books hosts author events. An author of a novel or book will come into the store, usually read an excerpt of their work, and participate in a Q&A session for those attending—the best part of the evening, according to Cotton.

With the likes of novelists of fiction works—like Juliette Fay, author of City of Flickering Lights: A Novel—to authors of non-fiction books—such as Lee McIntyre, author of The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience—Newtonville Books has an event for every bookworm in the area. Recently, Newtonville Books hosted an event with author Amy Hempel, a contemporary short story writer, and successfully filled the store with fans. “[Hempel] is my favorite contemporary short story writer. She’s incredible. It was packed,” Cotton said. “We’ve had the store for a long time now but I still am moved by hearing an author read their work, and by listening to them answer questions that provide even more insight into their writing or writing process.”

Still, there’s a personal element to shopping at Newtonville Books that makes the trip to Newton Centre worthwhile. For Cotton, it’s the booksellers of Newtonville Books—Cotton’s own entrepreneurial roots—that bring the store to life. Talking to customers, giving recommendations, refilling the shelves with new works are all part of the job—adding an intimacy to this book-buying experience.

ISABELLA CAVAZZONI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

One such bookseller at Newtonville Books is Deb Handy—an employee for almost eight years. Her primary job is taking care of customers, but there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes before the actual sale.

“But before we get to the actual taking their money, making the sale, there’s very frequently the making [of ] recommendations, showing them different things, making suggestions, trying to gather a read on what they like to read… what might suit them,” Handy said.

Each of the employees tend to have a genre of books he or she is well-versed in—a specialty of sorts to help find the customer the perfect book for their tastes. And there’s no shortage of works to recommend. Monday through Friday, Newtonville Books receives a shipment of books they’ve ordered to stock the shelves chock-full of the latest books and novels.

Nestled in the heart of Newton Centre, alongside the likes of Johnny’s Luncheonette—an infamous diner with plenty of

traffic from BC students and parents—and other well-liked restaurants, such as Little Big Diner, Newtonville Books receives plenty of foot traffic, many of which are couples or families popping in on their way to dinner.

“We’re close to the Little Big Diner, which has incredible ramen and always a wait, so we get a lot of people who are waiting for a table,” Cotton said. “Then they get a phone call, say they’ll be right there, and then usually buy a book. ‘Ramen?’ I’ll say to them, and they’ll nod. I’m always jealous.”

Newtonville Books is quaint, but the energy of the bookstore and passion of the staff and owners is anything but. Attracting regulars, randoms, and all those in between, Newtonville Books has a variety of kitschy knick-knacks and a slew of books for any bookworm to enjoy.

Between the Common and the Crossing, a Literary Fixture Remains

By Colleen Martin Metro Editor During the gusts of wind and torrents of rain ripping through the Northeast last week, the tarp on the wall outside of Brattle Book Shop ripped. It was a mural that had images of famous writers on it—such as Toni Morrison, William Butler Yeats, and Franz Kafka—and signaled to passersby what was inside the unassuming brick building that has been inhabited by thousands of books since the 1960s.

Inside, customers continued to browse through the three floors of shelves, and employees chatted with people as they came in.

The shop seemed unfazed by the loss—even though the tarp had been up for more than 30 years—probably because nothing has

been able to shake its business. With the rise of national booksellers and Amazon, Brattle has remained a fixture not only in Boston but in the country. People call from all over asking for an appraisal for a book, or two, or a thousand.

Owner Kenneth Gloss and his wife, Joyce Kosofsky, are regulars on Antiques Roadshow, traveling around the country to tell people the worth of their pages. Gloss inherited the shop from his father, George, who bought it in 1949. It was founded in 1825 and was close to going out of business when George took over. He was forced to relocate from Brattle Street in 1969 when City Hall was being constructed, and the shop has been on West Street since.

In 2017, Gloss started a podcast—two weeks ago he posted his 44th episode. The

COLLEEN MARTIN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Brattlecast is co-hosted by Jordan Rich and has covered topics from the history of the shop to the year 1968 to Map Quest. In a history of the Brattle Book Shop, written on a pamphlet kept behind the front desk, Gloss is described as being quieter and calmer than his father.

While his father rode in a car and tossed books out the windows to pedestrians when he moved from Brattle Street to West Street, the younger Gloss is more comfortable speaking through Apple Podcasts and Google Play, where you can find Brattlecast.

The neighborhood that Brattle is in now, situated between Boston Common and Downtown Crossing, was referred to as The Combat Zone when the shop moved in. It had a reputation for prostitution and drugs and was occupied by strip clubs, X-rated movie theaters, and adult bookstores. One day, a man, who was high at the time, fell down the stairs of Brattle’s basement. After that, they decided to put an alarm on the door to prevent any more injuries and make sure the staff was safe.

Today, the area is home to reputable theaters and college students, and the more notable alarm system in Brattle is the one that arms its third floor, where the rare books are housed. People spend thousands of dollars at Brattle if they can find the one book they’ve been looking for.

“I don’t think a book is really expensive,

until it’s like, a year’s worth of tuition or a down payment for a house,” said Nicole S. Reiss, manager for Brattle Book Shops.

Reiss graduated from Boston University 20 years ago and was looking for what to do next. She was deciding between being a grant writer and a bookseller at Brattle, and went with the latter because she thought it would be more interesting. She enjoys the research that goes into book buying and selling, and the travel that sometimes accompanies the work. Her favorite find is a pamphlet on traveling out to California for the Gold Rush.

“It was very small and unassuming and it had a map in it,” Reiss said. “And it was a really, really, really expensive book.”

Last month, she traveled to Pennsylvania to look at a collection. The collection didn’t end up being something Brattle would be interested in, but the trip was worth it, she said. Another colleague recently made a purchase for 5,000 books—people call Brattle Book Shop because they can handle that shipment volume, unlike other shops,.

Down three flights from the rare books and outside to the left is a patch of pavement that is used for outdoor bookselling in the good weather. Rows of $1, $2, and $3 books on carts with wheels fill the space between Brattle and the building next door, where patrons can spend hours browsing the secondhand collections. Sections like that

are great for students who are looking for something, say a copy of Hamlet, for class, Reiss said. Instead of spending $35 to order it online, they can come in and get it for less than their coffee costs.

Sometimes, Brattle finds these books nestled among more expensive treasures.

When they go to appraise a collection, they might find that they really only want 10 out of the 300 books, but they might buy the rest to put in their outdoor collection.

Regardless of what kind of customer you are—shopping in the $1 to $15 range or the $10,000 to $150,000 range, you’re treated the same, Reiss said.

“It’s a community where people talk to strangers and talk about books and, and it’s pleasant, and it’s cozy,” Reiss said.

“And there’s always something interesting coming in.”

Some people who visit the shop used to come in as children with their parents, or browse every lunch hour, or are in the area for a medical treatment once a week and use it as a treat afterward. The shop is an institution in the city, and its reputation helps carry its books into the homes and onto the shelves of people who hear of it.

“We have regulars who call in sick,” she said with a smile.

Equal Parts Indie Bookstore and Cafe

By Steven Everett President In 2016, only 3.9 percent of responses by the Boston Fire Department (BFD) were for actual fires. In fact, more departments are training their firefighters in other skill sets since there are simply fewer fires than there used to be. So when the BFD responded to a 2018 call on Newbury Street for a bookstore fire, it must’ve made for a compelling story to recount back at the station.

The fire changed Trident Booksellers.

But it also didn’t.

“We wanted to come back as the same Trident,” said Caitlin Kling, an events coordinator for the bookstore.

And as disasters go, this one certainly could’ve been worse. There was a huge outpouring of support from surrounding locals and businesses, no major injuries, and it came right as the independent bookseller was looking to sharpen its community engagement. The reopening was held in late August 2018.

Trident Booksellers and Cafe first opened on Newbury in 1984 as a hole-inthe-wall bookstore replete with regular customers, tightly packed shelves, and everything else we mean when we talk about that old bookstore at home that “sadly closed a few years ago.” But not The Trident. It’s probably because of the food.

“The [oiginal] owner, Bernie Flynn, would just, like, grab a hot plate and cook eggs on demand for people. And then it sort of evolved into a restaurant,” Kling said.

The Trident still offers eggs (affection-

ately called “Bennies” on the ever-evolving menu), but also everything from craft beers and loose-leaf teas to unlimited-refill coffee that—despite being from an industrial Mr. Coffee, filters and all—is not to be put to shame. The Trident isn’t simply a bookstore ft. a cafe, but a full-service kitchen working from 8 a.m. to midnight, everyday, functioning in lockstep with one of the last independent bookstores in Boston proper.

And that bookstore still has a lot to say.

If management wanted to be thorough, The Trident could be renamed “Trident: Booksellers, Cafe, and Events,” but the old, gothic style sign hanging out front has only so much space on it (none), and URLs should be only so long (tridentbooksellerscafe.com is already pushing it).

“Having one to two events every night is special, because then people can just like, check the calendar online and be like, ‘I wonder what’s happening tonight?’” said Dana Guth, another event coordinator for The Trident.

Getting people in the door even once is vital to keep them in the orbit and coming back and ensuring the store remains on their roster of Newbury St. shopping spots.

Locals from Back Bay or the South End, college students, and people in Boston’s literary circles all have opportunities to host or attend events that fit their interest, activity, and even levels of extroversion.

If your goal in life is to have that one chance meeting at a bookstore that changes it all, The Trident offers speed dating. Or if you’re a week deep into finals season with six essays to write, there’s self-care nights

where Kling promised me that if I went, I wouldn’t even have to talk to anyone. Even though there’s never (yet) been a line out the door for self-care night or silent book club, these events are all well-attended with customers enticed with food (or beer) coupons as their tickets in. Or, they found, just pick a good movie.

“Two hundred people showed up and wanted to watch Into the Spiderverse with us,” said Guth, who expected a maximum of 100 people to watch.

“Just play Spiderverse and they will come is what we learned,” Kling said.

After the fire, The Trident added a second cafe space to accommodate just the kind of population influx that anything from a Marvel screening to the Saturday afternoon lunch rush between boutique shopping might generate.

It is “The Trident,” by the way.

“Makes it seem more legit,” Guth said.

The Trident is legit for a bookstore in 2019 that’s not only still standing, but successful. Bookshelves line walls and centerpieces, but so do Moleskines, kitchen towels with eccentric and sometimes explicit language, and not a single greeting card that isn’t wrapped in that premium see-through plastic meant to preserve the artisanal paper quality that lies within.

“Looking at all that is like real-life scrolling,” said Danielle Deluty, a Boston University Law School student as she motioned behind her toward the cards and trinkets and discounted books.

The same is true as you look down the bar: Two TVs are constantly running on

STEVEN EVERETT / HEIGHTS EDITOR

mute as they play through a well-curated list of selections that includes everything from subtitled, feature-length animes to Monsters, Inc. to Night at the Museum. I’ve yet to see them play anything twice.

There’s people scrolling to be had, too.

Many customers come to the bar for an entire morning or afternoon, ordering another drink or snack every few hours while trying to get some school or office work done. Between them, though, are the people actually just coming for hip comfort food and a place to talk. It’s also a great vent space.

During my last visit, I overheard—at length—two college friends as they met up to share extensive relationship updates while they nursed hot chocolates fit for a ski lodge. Despite not opting for the CBD oil shot (a four dollar addition to most drinks offered), they were certainly comfortable.

Their conversation was better suited for a 1:30 am weekend chat with approximately

zero strangers in earshot. But The Trident has a way of evoking that energy anytime.

“I’ve also heard of us referred to a lot as ‘the third place,’” Kling said. “If you spend all of your time at work or at home, that can get monotonous, so you want like, a third one.”

Homestyle cooking and literary events have, so far, been successful in fostering just that kind of community no matter if you’re looking for new friends or just trying to cram out an essay without staring at a graffitied library stall. The Trident flies right in the face of the trope that all independent bookstores are either closing or on the way out. While next to it on Newbury Street sits a Starbucks, a Muji, and a Patagonia, there’s something keeping it there, thriving.

“We try new things all the time, “ said Guth. “People feel like they can be heard here.”

THE HEIGHTS

A6

EDITORIAL

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Increased Fundraising Necessary to Keep Current Financial Aid Levels Boston College is one of only 18 private liberal arts universities that is both need-blind and meets all demonstrated need. The University takes pride in being need-blind, as it helps BC to live up to its Jesuit values, therefore allowing the school to include and educate a more talented and diverse pool of students.

At a student-administrator forum on April 23, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management John Mahoney, BC ’79, cautioned that—due to rising tuition costs—the University and its donors will need new solutions in order to meet these financial needs. According to Mahoney, the total cost of attendance at BC is expected to surpass $100,000 in eight years. Increasing tuition trends remain constant across American universities.

It is exactly people like Mahoney—committed and proactive in ensuring that BC’s financial aid policies do not change—who are necessary to ensure that BC remains need-blind. More families will require financial aid, and families

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019

who already qualify will re-qualify for higher amounts of aid as BC’s tuition continues to climb. The University will need to increase its fundraising efforts so that it can meet full need, and to confirm that those donations are unrestricted so that they can be used for financial aid. The University and the Board of Trustees should make sure that remaining need-blind is a top priority for the school.

As Mahoney explained, the hike in tuition will likely cause families who are currently classified as “low” and “medium” need to become “high” need, and some families who currently do not qualify for financial support to require need-based aid.

The cost of university attendance in the United States has risen almost eight times faster than income since 1986. Of all undergraduate students at Boston College, 67 percent receive need-based financial aid.

This admissions cycle, the College of the Holy Cross announced that it could no longer afford to be needblind. The change drops the number

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”

-Rumi

of private liberal arts universities within the U.S. that are need-blind and meet full demonstrated need to only 18, BC included. The University awards over $130 million in financial aid each year. In expectation of mounting financial aid need, BC should look into expanding fundraising campaigns and events, such as the popular Pops on the Heights, a concert during parents weekend, which alone raised $13 million for financial aid.

BC is a better place, thanks to its need-blind admissions policy and its commitment to meeting full demonstrated need. It is imperative that further fundraising efforts begin soon, to ensure that there is no potential disruption of aid. The Heights commends the current financial aid policy and encourages the University, donors, and Board of Trustees to follow the example of Mahoney in seeking to widen the scope of fundraising and other methods to ensure that BC’s financial aid policies align with its Jesuit values for long into the future.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers: The Heights used to change its masthead frequently. The Gasson emblem didn’t appear until a decade into publication. In fact, it wasn’t even called Gasson until the 1940s when someone suggested it in the opinions pages. Once, the entire issue was all red-and-green for Christmas. Occasionally, all that appeared alongside that header on the front page was “STRIKE” or “CENSORED” in times of discordance between the organization—an officially sanctioned club—and Boston College.

But we’ve never strayed from our mission, first stated in the original editorial published November 19, 1919, when the paper was no larger than a flier: “For a Greater Boston College.”

The Heights has served as BC’s newspaper of record since 1919, and as we begin our centennial year of publication, our dedication to our mission is as strong as ever.

And in what now seems like a Heights tradition, we’ve changed the masthead yet again. In our 100th year, we want to renew our commitment to the mission of our past while striving to offer BC coverage today, and for decades to come. In order to focus more directly on being a digital-first publication, we reduced our printing schedule in the fall of 2017 to once a week—just like it was in 1919 until the early 2000s. This was also motivated by the inescapable truth of a declining advertising market felt by all news organizations— college and professional alike. We

Editorial Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Magazine Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022

still believe that our longstanding commitment to print journalism ensures The Heights remains a tangible presence on campus and within the sphere of printed college journalism.

To best provide that service to BC and the surrounding community, we have begun the first major capital campaign in our history.

As an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we are proud to receive no compensation from the University. Instead, we turn to you. Through donations, readership, interaction, and support, you allow us to further our mission “For a Greater Boston College.”

Signed, Steven Everett President, Editor-in-Chief

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

CUSTOMER SERVICE Clarifications / Corrections

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The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2019. All rights reserved.

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 Steven Everett, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com.

To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Kristen Bahr, General Manager at (617) 552-0547.

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

EDITORIAL

THE

HEIGHTS Established 1919

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

STEVEN EVERETT, President, Editor-in-Chief KRISTEN BAHR, General Manager ANDERS BACKSTROM, Managing Editor

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 off ice at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

Cartoon by Allyson Mozeliak / Heights Editor

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

JACOB SCHICK, A1 Editor EMERSON DEBASIO, Creative Director JACK GOLDMAN, News Editor BRADLEY SMART, Sports Editor KAYLIE RAMIREZ, Arts Editor BROOKE KAISERMAN, Magazine Editor COLLEEN MARTIN, Metro Editor MADISON HADDIX, Opinions Editor CELINE LIM, Photo Editor DANNY FLYNN, Copy Chief EMILY ROSATO, Layout Editor IKRAM ALI, Graphics Editor

The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel.

The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted to the newspaper.

MAEVE REILLY, Asst. Magazine Editor ALLY MOZELIAK, Graphics Editor ISABEL FENOGLIO, Assoc. Metro Editor JHON DE LA CRUZ, Online Manager AMY VANDERSCHANS, Social Media Director MARY WILKIE, Asst. Metro Editor MAGGIE DIPATRI, Assoc. Photo Editor MEEGAN MINAHAN, Multimedia Editor JONATHAN YE, Asst. Photo Editor CHRIS CHILTON, Outreach Coordinator ÉAMON LAUGHLIN, Asst. Multimedia Editor JACK MILLER, Assoc. News Editor SCOTT BAKER, Copy Editor ABBY HUNT, Asst. News Editor IZZABELLA CAVAZZONI, Copy Editor PETER KIM, Assoc. Sports Editor STEPHANIE LIU, Copy Editor LUKE PICHINI, Asst. Sports Editor OWEN FAHY, Assoc. Investigative Editor EMILY HIMES, Assoc. Arts Editor CELIA CARBONE, Asst. Investigative Editor JILLIAN RAN, Asst. Arts Editor TIMMY FACCIOLA, Assoc. Magazine Editor

Letters and columns can be submitted online at www.bcheights.com, by e-mail to editor@ bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS WILL POWERS, Operations Manager BARRETTE JANNEY, Centennial Director DAVID GOODFELLOW, Collections Manager KRISHAN HINZEN, National Accounts Manager PETER PINTO, Local Accounts Manager SOPHIE LU, Local Accounts Manager ASHLEY YOON, On-Campus Accounts Manager

THE HEIGHTS

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019

A7

The Neighbors Don’t Just Borrow Sugar the least eventful day of the week—it is still the beginning of the week but the weekend “high” is gone. Tuesday nights are for studying, quiet movie nights with the roommates, and early bedtimes.

Never once have I thought “Thank God it’s Tuesday! Time to blast music and go out!” According to my neighbors, Tuesday nights are an acceptable time to turn up the bass and make sleep impossible for everyone who does not plan on losing consciousness at Mary Ann’s “Senior Night.”

69

ISABEL LITTERST Okay, I will preface this with an honest admission: this is personal and potentially a little bit petty, but my will can only go so far. I suppose I could silently let the rest of the semester pass by, but my silence would not be reciprocated by my downstairs neighbors. So, I will make noise in my own way to cope during these last few weeks of the school year. At the beginning of my sophomore year, I moved into a double-unit house that was split between numbers 12 and 14 on a street that, for the sake of anonymity, I will refer to as “Bake Street.” There are six girls in my unit, and three senior boys in the unit below who I will call Isaac, Collin, and Anthony (names changed). It may seem obvious that this was a recipe for disaster, but the battle with the boys of “Bake Street” began amicably—as do many relationships-gone wrong.

The idea was appealing: a happy house full of friends! For over a month, that was a pretty accurate description of what we, at the time referred to as the “People of “Bake”—we would borrow a few eggs to make brownies, maybe hang out on our collapsing porch, or go out together on the weekends.

We were wrong to be fooled by the freedom of our open-door policy and friendly sharing of space.

We were trapped in a honeymoon phase with our housemates, and for a time it was possible to overlook their quirks and give them the benefit of the doubt. But this relationship quickly proved to be toxic, and the only way out was our front door—a last resort option to take on days when the conditions were unbearable and apparently nonnegotiable. Tuesdays have been especially problematic.

I would argue that Tuesday is quite possibly

“And to the boys

downstairs: I hope you all go places ... far, far way from here.”

question other disruptive behaviors that I had allowed in the past. Why was it acceptable for them to throw rocks at my roommate’s window? Why did we tolerate them waltzing through our door unannounced and finding us half-dressed? Was it really okay for Collin to play hide and seek with his girlfriend on the Monday night before finals? Or at all? My tolerance level is pretty high, but quite frankly so are they, and I am sick of the smell, I am sick of the sounds of exertion when they punch holes in the walls, and I am sick of not having any way to change the situation. To put it bluntly: Isaac, Collin, and Anthony are simply the worst.

In these past few months I have become more calculated in my approach. I asked my boyfriend who studies law about what is legally considered to be a “disturbance of the peace.” I concluded that the boys downstairs are disturbing the peace. My peace. And I get the itch to report them at least once a week.

I am still holding out on making that call ... do I have the guts? In my final weeks of not sleeping on account of Anthony’s middle-of-the-night, unnecessarily aggressive EDM sessions and explaining to my friends that the explicit expressions of anger from downstairs are justified by Collin’s devastating defeat in a game of Fortnite, I would like to believe that I will have the courage to make the call.

But if this totally composed expression of my personal vendetta against the boys at Bake Street is my final act of vengeance, then I am okay with that. And to the boys downstairs: I hope you all go places … far, far away from here.

On a particular Tuesday night, I had asked a friend to sleep over because I needed to talk about a stressful day. It was a week night so I really appreciated her coming to support me despite her having an early morning class. It was 11:30 p.m. when our heads hit the pillow and 12 o’clock when the bass dropped downstairs and the room began to shake. This frustration did not peak all at once—it built over time. I texted them, politely asking them to turn the music down, I called, I knocked on the backdoor, and still there was no response. So I lost it. I was furious, and I stormed down the stairs of Bake and marched through the piles of snow in my pajamas. I looked ridiculous, but I gave them a piece of my mind. This was not an unlucky coincidence that they wanted to party when I needed a quiet night—this was normal, and now someone other than myself had to deal with it too.

Dani Thomas is an op-ed columnist for The In light of this revelation about the reality Heights. She can be reached at opinions@ of my living conditions, I started to objectively bcheights.com.

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Finals

Take Home Finals You’ll put it off until the exact last minute, pull an all-nighter, and snort cold brew to finish it, but anything is better than an actual final, right?

Unpaid Internship Season

New York City is expensive. If only these internships actually, you know, paid you in exhcnage for work. Good luck explaining this concept to your parents.

Your Spot on the Fifth Floor of O’Neil is Taken

“It’s Summer, Ryan.

Everything Changes”

Yes, the whole school has Whether summer takes you very important studying to to Goldman Sachs, a Puerto do, but that window seat Rican beach, summer camp and outlet are essential. for a counseling job, or It’s honestly rude that simply back home, have a everyone else is here. wonderful break.

A Reflection from a First-Year Student experience was a shock, to say the least. Along the same lines, I have been taken aback by how much faculty members and the administration at BC care. As a student who had numerous grievances against every academic administration I had encountered, I was surprised to find many people within BC’s academic departments who ALICIA KANG loved their work and did it right.

The night after my first college class, I lay Here at BC, I encountered both students down in my dorm bed and, for a moment, genu- and faculty who had read my writing from The inely wondered how I had been left here. How Heights, after coming from a high school where did it happen that I had been left to my own none of the students read the paper. There are devices, parted from my family, and sentenced to definitely areas that I think can be improved four years of reading, reading, and more reading? within BC—such as direct communication It wasn’t that I was upset or sad about the situabetween the administration and the students, as tion—instead, I was baffled. well as student diversity—but so many individuFor a minute I could not believe the premise als within the campus community are willing to of college itself—of making an 18-year-old who help out if a student just asks. It is not the greater could barely cook an egg survive on her own Jesuit message of the school that resonates with for four years. So rather than entering Boston me, but rather the one-on-one interactions I have College with a pocket full of confidence or with had with students, professors, and advisers who anxiety in my heart, I began with disbelief. The truly want the best for me. task of growing up became very real very quickly.

The strangest thing I have come to appreciate Moreover, the dilemma of managing my own at BC is the ability to experience more conservatime seemed monumental. tive attitudes. Back home in New Jersey, I was I can safely say that my first year at BC has only surrounded by liberal people: the few conbeen a genuinely formative experience. I don’t servatives at my school were essentially silenced mean this to sound like an ad for admissions, but by Democrats. While I enjoyed talking to people I learned more in one year of college than I had I could find common ground with, I knew that I learned throughout all of high school. Whether was being sheltered and that there was a whole that learning is about philosophy or writing or other political party I had barely ever encounmyself, it has made me more reflective than I tered. have ever been before.

At BC, I have been able to both find my comIn particular, I’ve realized how lucky I’ve fort zone with other Democrats and still converse been to find professors who care. Throughout with others from more conservative backgrounds. middle and high school, I had met only a handAnd truthfully, I have found myself the better for ful of teachers who genuinely made an effort to meeting them. I have enjoyed and grown from our conversations. I think BC’s particular politiencourage their students to succeed. I definitely became skeptical, if not downright critical, of cal diversity is something students should recogteachers. nize, appreciate, and take advantage of: BC is an Coming to BC and having the exact opposite environment in which, if proper respect is given,

people can contribute to a more tolerant environment. On other college campuses, one might find it difficult to find a conservative voice at all, but BC itself is a Jesuit, Catholic institution that tends to lean more conservative, and all political parties on campus make their voices heard.

Attending college has still been something of a surreal experience. This incredible quality is not in the day-to-day walks to class or my rooming situation, but rather it’s rooted in the premise of being a college student. I remember being a child and looking at teenagers and wondering when I would ever get that old. I pondered who I would be as a college student and what kind of adult I would become afterward.

I remember seeing my sister off at her college—my sister, who was always three years older and three steps ahead—and contemplating, as we drove away, how she would fare. And then I wondered, in turn, how I would ever make it. Now, with my first year of college over, I guess I am closer than ever before to that time of my life that I thought so distant when I was little.

The strangest thing is that it’s no big deal. And that’s not to say that living independently—or really, somewhat independently, since I have three roommates and one of them is basically a mom— isn’t enjoyable or liberating. Rather, it’s to say that this is my life now. It’s not the wild fever dream of buying whatever I want, so much as it is learning not to spend money on everything I see online.

But now, living the life at an age I couldn’t even envision when I was younger, I’ve realized that I can’t picture myself any other way. I’m happy to say that this life fits and that, even if I still don’t know what kind of adult I am going to be, I am not just wondering anymore—I’m searching.

Alicia Kang is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.

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

Advice to Future Eagles MARIA ROSS In my communication methods class, my professor asks us a specific question every day. Last class, she asked us what advice we would give ourselves if we could go back to the summer before starting at Boston College. Answers ranged from investing in a good mattress pad to taking Perspectives, though it may seem daunting, as well as suggestions to explore new club opportunities.

I wondered what I would tell a younger version of myself—the version that had no idea what my college experience would be.

As I near the end of my sophomore year and arrive at the halfway point of college, I have come to the scary realization that my time here at BC is almost over. Grappling with the reality that the “best four years of my life” will soon be over while simultaneously struggling to find a place in this world after college has put my mind into overdrive. Every college undergraduate endures this misery—I have heard it dubbed the “mid-college crisis.” It’s the point in college where you can’t touch the finish line, but are also worrying about post-college internships and jobs. You’re rethinking the last two years and going over missed opportunities, possibly trying to make up for the lost time.

So, hence, here’s my advice to you, rising Eagles: It is true, there is no rush to declare a major. I was adamant about needing to declare a political science major even though I had no idea what it fully entailed. I ended up hating it and switched majors. However, don’t waste four years thinking that what you’re looking for is going to fall into your lap. College is not solely about going out and partying—it also involves making connections and developing skills that you can utilize in the future. Taking core classes, speaking to advisors, and having discussions with students really helped me understand what I enjoyed studying. I learned which classes would facilitate those interests into something I could pursue, which in turn makes me work harder with the hope that my dedication will translate into graduating with a fulfilling job.

Along those lines, I would fully encourage any student to join clubs or apply for positions that both provide an academic push but are also fun. If someone told me that I would be writing for The Heights a year ago, I never would have believed them, After realizing my love of writing, I applied on a whim and was lucky enough to do something I really enjoy. Another piece of advice: apply only to internships about which you genuinely care. If you are passionate about a company and its mission, you can translate that passion into one hell of a cover letter.

I have also learned that life throws curveballs, and the opportunities presented to you don’t always come at the “right time.” I was very upset recently when I had to decline an internship offer due to financial reasons, but I have the utmost confidence that it will only give me time to develop new ideas about myself and better prepare for the next opportunity.

The “mid-college crisis” certainly tugs at the heartstrings when I think about all the times during freshman year I said, “no I probably won’t go out because I’m tired and I don’t know anyone who will be there.”

Bad excuse. Time flies and I don’t want to remember that one Thursday night I spent at home getting sleep for my 10 a.m. class.

Instead, I want to remember going out with my best friends, meeting new people, and dancing all night.

Let me assure you, you will be fine without eight hours of sleep, and you will have memories to hold onto for many years.

Along those lines, BC introduces you to so many people, one or two of which can become your soulmates. And I’m not talking about the romantic soulmate, though that could happen too, but a best friend whose very presence makes every possible experience that much better.

When I sit back and think about the last two years, I know I could never have anticipated the growth I would experience, both academically and socially. There are many preconceptions about college, but I challenge you to knock them down and create your own concept of college. I hope that one day I can look back and say, I challenged myself to study new topics and embrace opportunities, along with being a supportive and loving friend to those around me.

Maria Ross is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.

The Heights

A8

Monday, April 29, 2019

Tommy Mazza: The Marathoner and The Mascot

By Brooke Kaiserman Magazine Editor

E

very runner knows that cross-training is one of the most integral aspects of mar- athon training. While most fulfill this through activities such as swimming, lifting, or cycling, Tommy Mazza, MCAS ’19, took a more unique path—one that involved profuse sweat, overheating in 16-degree weather, and 30 pounds of gear. Shortly after the completion of his third marathon, Mazza revealed his identity as one of the faces behind BC’s beloved mascot Baldwin the Eagle.

Mazza grew up in sunny Los Angeles, Calif., the youngest of three. While many younger siblings tend to follow in the footsteps of their big brothers and sisters, Mazza is the only runner in his family. He initially picked up the sport in eighth grade and joined Loyola High School’s track and cross country teams in the subsequent year.

As a varsity athlete on a nationally ranked team, the ball was rolling for Mazza to join the Division I ranks in college. Toward the end of his senior year at Loyola, however, Mazza sustained a Freiberg infraction in his right foot.

This meant that the tissue in one of his metatarsals became necrotic, and he was rendered unable to participate in any physical activity—aside from riding a stationary bike—for eight months.

“The bones of my feet started collapsing on themselves,” he said. “So after that, it kind of, you know, really ruined [my progress]. … I was getting pretty decent at running. Maybe, easily could have ran in college, whether or not it would’ve been here is … I don’t know.”

The following summer, before Mazza arrived at BC, he stuck to a strict but limited running regimen—“Twice a week, 30 minutes in the morning.

Slow,” he said. When he arrived at the University, Mazza discovered WeRunBC, now Boston College Club Running.

The recreational running group had been established that very same year, in 2015. As the running club takes in a combination of competitive and recreational runners, it provided the perfect platform to ease Mazza back into the sport.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool. This club’s brand new. They seem like nice people,’” Mazza said. “And I started running with them, and definitely got back into it. I remembered how much

I loved running, especially competitive running.”

Mazza spent his freshman and sophomore years gradually increasing his strength and endurance with WeRunBC until he felt that he had rebounded from his injury to the point where he could conquer a feat of 26.2 miles via the Los Angeles Marathon (LA Marathon). Instead of spending his sophomore Spring Break on vacation, Mazza flew home to complete his first-ever marathon. “[I] loved the race up until mile 20,” he said. “Took it out a little too fast— first 13 1/2 I went a little faster than I was in shape for, and I paid for it. The last 6 miles, the last 10K, was … in the running world, we call it a death march.

You’re in a lot of pain, you’re struggling to finish. So, it was a bad experience. I told myself, ‘Never again will I run one.’”

This decision would soon change when Mazza chose to join a more rigorous running club a few months later. Rather than simply running for recreation, Mazza hoped to return to an aspect of his high school running career he missed immensely: competition.

So, in 2017, at the end of his sophomore year, Mazza tried out for the Greater Boston Track Club (GBTC), a USA Track & Field (USATF) Elite Development Club that was founded in 1973. The GBTC is a competitive running team with around 200 members, all dedicated collegiate and post-collegiate athletes with many 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials hopefuls. The club competes in several competitions throughout the year—these are mainly for distance running, but track events are also sprinkled into the annual schedule.

Mazza made the cut and began his junior year training with GBTC at the team’s weekly practices, held on Tuesdays at 6:45 p.m. After convening at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury, Mass., the group will either run to Franklin Park—located 2.7 miles away from the center—or stay and do track workouts on the “Reggie’s” indoor track.

“You need to be in good shape to be in this club,” Mazza said. “What’s great about the BC running club is that you could have no running experience and join. This is not one of those clubs, you know—it’s a serious club for very serious runners. The first year I was part of it, it kicked my butt. … And, you know, they built me back, and [now] I’m stronger than ever.”

One of the perks of being a member of the GBTC is that each year, the club is given around 30 waved entries to the Boston Marathon. So, in his first year with GBTC, Mazza was offered one of the spots on its 2018 Boston Marathon team. He accepted the invitation and finished last year’s marathon with a time of 2:59:26—just 34 seconds under the qualification mark to gain automatic re-entry into this year’s marathon.

At the close of Mazza’s first semester of senior year, he had every intention of running the 2019 Boston Marathon faster than before. While most BC students spent the weekend before finals cramming for their upcoming exams, Mazza was sponsored by the GBTC to compete in the National Club Cross Country Championships (Club Nationals) hosted by USATF in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 8. “My first impression of Tommy was that he’s young,” GBTC Head Coach Tom Derderian said. “He was our youngest guy, because our club is mostly post-collegiate, and he was in the midst of it. ... He’s certainly fun to be around, and he shows up and does the workouts and goes to the races, and puts a lot of thought into the sport, the club, and the whole organization of the sport.”

In what he considered to be his peak physical condition, Mazza raced a 33:45 cross country 10K as part of a 6.5 mile course, along with 600 other runners—including a few Olympians— to compete as part of the GBTC team, which finished 32nd in the country out of 42 teams racing.

“So we’re towing the line and we’re looking down, and we see Ben Blankenship—he’s an Olympian,” Mazza said.

“And then there’s the four, five, six of us just in our pretty much mismatching uniforms just out here to have fun, but it’s great.”

Coming off the adrenaline rush of running in Club Nationals, Mazza’s teammates predicted that he would run a time of 2:41 in the 2019 marathon, when he got another stress fracture in his foot. Mazza took 10 weeks off to recover and resumed running just six weeks prior to the Boston Marathon.

“The goal in this marathon, like, I really thought this was going to be the year I hit 2:45 or faster, but it’s looking like I’m just going to have fun with it,” he said.

Mazza completed the 2019 Boston Marathon in three hours, two minutes, and 35 seconds. The day prior, Mazza awoke at 6:20 a.m. jittery with the real-

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JESS RIVILIS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Mazza revealed his identity as Baldwin one week after running the 2019 Boston Marathon.

ization that the next day he would be running the 26.2 miles. He collected his uniform, shorts, and hat—along with all of the other belongings he would be bringing with him to Hopkinton the next day, and laid them out neatly on his 2150 Commonwealth Ave. common room table.

After tossing and turning all night, Mazza rose at 5:00 a.m., then met his teammates at Arlington T stop, from where they bused over to the start line.

“I was excited,” Mazza said. “You know, you don’t get to one of these things and just not be excited. … Nothing really compares to the starting line of the Boston Marathon.”

Standing at the starting line, Mazza also felt uncertain about how he was going to race. His recent injury still loomed in the back of his mind, and while he had no doubts about his ability to finish the race, he feared that his body would start bonking too early. Bonking is a term used by endurance athletes to describe the sensation when their bodies suddenly run out of energy.

Mazza began the marathon at a pace of 6:40 per mile but began to bonk around mile 20. As he was approaching the Newton Hills, Mazza spotted two-time Boston Marathon winner and Olympic medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, now 61 years old. She was running at a pace of about 7:05 per mile, but Mazza needed to be under seven minutes consistently if he wanted to break three hours to qualify for next year’s race.

As he reached Coolidge Corner around the 23-mile mark, he began running 7:15 and 7:30 minute miles—“The wheels started falling off,” Mazza said.

As he reached mile 24, he started to feel the cramps in his legs. At that point, Mazza knew his time wouldn’t make the cut, so he shifted his focus to crossing the finish line.

“Nothing compares to Boylston as a finish line,” Mazza said. “There’s flags of every country lining it, there’s six or seven people deep all screaming at you.

I don’t want to say [I] crawled to the finish line, but there had to be a couple of times I had to stop [and] work out the cramps in my quads.”

Mazza felt conflicted about whether his 3:02:35 race time was something to be proud of or disappointed by. But given his injury, Mazza knew he had pushed his body to its limit and had finished the race shaken, but strong— ultimately, he was happy how he’d performed.

“On paper, the time was frustrating,” he said. “But in context, it was satisfying.

It was another Boston Marathon, you know, good or bad—it does not matter, it’s the Boston Marathon. It’s a 26.2mile parade.” xactly one week after Mazza completed his third marathon, he decided to reveal a second defining aspect of his college career, one he had kept secret—save for a few close friends—despite describing it as the most rewarding part of his time at BC. In an Instagram post on April 22, Mazza revealed that he had been one of the faces behind the mask of Baldwin the Eagle for the past three years. He wrote, “People always said I had two personalities! … To these experiences I owe my college career!”

Though the identities of Baldwin are meant to be kept under wraps, Mazza’s reveal coincided with his retirement from representing BC’s beloved mascot. Mazza was admitted to the Baldwin team, made up of around five individuals, the second semester of his sophomore year—shortly before also being accepted to the GBTC. He opted to try out for the team after receiving an email from Boston College Athletics, which notified its Listserv

E

of the upcoming tryouts. Mazza’s decision was based purely on whim—as he described it, he felt an “urge” to try his hand at auditioning for a spot on the team.

“I always like to kind of think I’m a little bit weird, but definitely sort of, just, I have no real sense of shame,” Mazza said. “I’d be like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll go do that.’ I’m always that guy who when someone’s like ‘Hey, I’ll bet you $5,’ I’ll be like, ‘Alright fine, it’s an easy five bucks.’”

With this aspect of his personality in mind, Mazza thought he’d be a perfect fit for the role. Shortly after his audition, Mazza was accepted to be the newest recruit and had to learn the nuances of the role largely through hands-on experience.

The first event Mazza performed as Baldwin was a BC baseball game— which he accidentally showed up to without pants on. No one had taught him how to put on the suit, and he didn’t realize he needed to put shorts on over it.

“Eventually a cop pulled me aside, and said, like, ‘Hey Baldwin, you don’t have pants on.’ I was like, ‘Uh… .’”

After starting on the bottom tier, he worked his way up to become the team captain within two months, once the other members either quit, graduated, or went abroad.

Suddenly, he was the one with the most experience, making sure that events and sports games were staffed— for football games, two to three team members will split the halves, unless they’re understaffed for away games, in which case it’s a “beating.” Though he was often faced with the difficult task of planning his marathon training around the scheduled games and events, the time he spent in the suit far from hindered his progress.

“It’s tough,” Mazza said. “It’s 30 pounds worth of gear, especially for football when we’re running the flag, or running back and forth or jumping up and down. It is actually a very good workout, and I noticed it functioned a lot like a cross-train for me. I don’t lift, I don’t swim … my arms are like spaghetti noodles. It worked enough different muscle groups in the legs, the back, the chest, that it actually provided a lot of good cross-training.”

During his time as Baldwin, Mazza’s taken part in big-ticket items like College GameDay and a SportsCenter commercial back home in Los Angeles.

He’s also had less exciting experiences like being pushed off the wall at Alumni Stadium by a disgruntled Florida State fan and traveling to Dallas, Texas, for the canceled SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. From every Campus School visit to Red Bandana game, Mazza wouldn’t trade any of it. “It was definitely the best decision I’ve made of college, arguably, of my life,” Mazza said. “But my life’s been pretty short so far.”

Mazza’s future remains promising, yet uncertain as he nears graduation.

Mazza’s history and economics double major has opened doors for him in term of jobs—with interviews set up in Boston and a couple back home in California, Mazza doesn’t know which coast he’ll be living on next year. One thing he does know, though, is that he wants running to remain a part of his life for as long as possible.

“What it is about running, it’s, you get out what you put in—it’s always having a reward,” Mazza said. “It’s knowing that, hey, here’s this crazy idea I have, I’m going to go run from Hopkinton to Boston 26.2 miles, and I’m going to try and do it in under three hours. And then when you hit that mark, it really is the encapsulation of everything you put into it. … To see it all kind of come together at the end like that is really beautiful.” n

Thursday, January 17, 2014 Thursday, 2016 Monday, April April7,29, 2019

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SPORTS

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LACROSSE

No. 3 NORTH CAROLINA 15

No. 1 BOSTON COLLEGE 13

DIFFERENT YEAR

SAME STORY

JOnathan Ye / HEIGHTS Editor

BC blew a five-goal lead, then watched a late comeback fall short, losing to No. 3 North Carolina in the ACC Championship game after posting a 19-0 record to start the season for the second straight year.

By Luke Pichini Asst. Sports Editor Last year, Boston College lacrosse saw its perfect season spoiled in the ACC Championship against North Carolina. Up to that point, the Eagles were a perfect 19-0 before falling to the Tar Heels, 14-11. This season, the Eagles followed an almost identical trajectory.

After—for the most part—steamrolling its competition, No. 1 BC was once again pitted against No. 3 UNC in the title game, a prime opportunity to avenge its loss from a year prior. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they suffered a similar

fate on Sunday.

BC saw an early 5-0 lead disappear, as the Tar Heels stymied the Eagles on offense while simultaneously cracking their formation on defense. When it was all said and done, UNC edged out BC, 15-13.

The Eagles (19-1, 7-0 Atlantic Coast) could not have started any better. Star senior Sam Apuzzo gave BC an early advantage with two quick goals in the first couple minutes of regulation. Cara Urbank then took over, as she notched two scores of her own to further extend BC’s lead. And then Taylor Walker—who scored the game-winning goal against

Syracuse to cap off an incredible comeback—found the back of the net as well.

After the Eagles’ initial five-goal outburst, UNC (15-3, 5-2) finally tallied a goal, as Olivia Ferrucci beat sophomore netminder Abbey Ngai. Shortly after, though, Sheila Reitano drew a foul from Kayla Wood and scored on the free position shot. Through the first nine minutes, BC was dominating every facet of the game, as it raced out to a 6-1 lead.

But the Tar Heels found their mojo.

UNC goaltender Taylor Moreno was switched out for Elise Hennessey. Over

the course of the next 12 minutes, the Eagles were held scoreless while the Tar Heels developed an offensive rhythm.

UNC tallied five straight goals from five different players to the knot the game at six apiece.

“I think we really lost the game in that second stretch when [the Tar Heels] scored [five] straight,” head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said after the game.

“That was the period we are probably going to tackle as coaches. I think the girls will be spend a lot of time thinking about that stretch of time.

“I think if I had slowed down the ball a little bit more and maybe called some

offensive plays a little bit differently, we could have held onto the ball to maintain the momentum.”

BC did end the half on a positive note. Freshman Jordan Lappin ended the drought by whipping a shot past Hennessey. A couple minutes later, Kenzie Kent displayed her game-changing ability, scoring two unassisted goals in the span of a single minute. The Tar Heels ended the half with a goal by Scottie Rose Growney, cutting BC’s lead back down to two.

To begin the second half, Taylor

See LAX vs. UNC, A11

Lindstrom Picked 14th Overall by Falcons in 2019 NFL Draft

By Andy Backstrom Managing Editor

Boston College football has produced five NFL defensive backs in the past four years, but BC hasn’t lost its knack for churning out league-ready offensive lineman. It lived up to its OLine U reputation on Thursday night, when Chris Lindstrom was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 14th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Now, dating back to 2000, 14 of the Eagles’ last 39 draft picks have been O-Linemen. To put that in perspective, no other program in the country has had a higher percentage of its picks originate from the offensive line during that 19-year span.

Lindstrom is the first Eagle to be picked in the opening round of the

draft since Luke Kuechly back in 2012 and the program’s 10th prospect to go on Day One since 2000.

“Chris is one of the most dominant offensive linemen I have coached in my career,” BC head coach Steve Addazio told BCEagles.com. “He has a toughness to him, along with tremendous athleticism. He is a student of the game and will do just a phenomenal job with the Falcons.”

After receiving just two scholarship offers at Shepherd Hill High School—Old Dominion and BC—and arriving on campus at just 260 pounds, the Dudley, Mass. native blossomed into a top-tier ACC guard, starting his final 47 games in an Eagles uniform and earning All-ACC honors in each of his last two years on the Heights.

While at BC, Lindstrom was as con-

sistent as it gets, anchoring one of the better offensive lines in the conference and finishing his senior campaign as the team’s top-graded lineman. Yet it wasn’t till after the 2018 season ended that he played his way into the first round of the draft.

Lindstrom wowed scouts at the Senior Bowl and was one of NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s “Save the Best for Last” honorees—an in-game award recognizing four players that improved their stock the most throughout the week in Mobile, Ala. At 308 pounds, the senior showcased his quick feet and calculated hand placement off the line.

Despite getting pushed into the pocket in the game’s first few series, Lindstrom erased all doubt in the fourth quarter with three straight

punishing blocks, carving up a great deal of space for the North offense. Not only that, but he also demonstrated the skills to swiftly pull across the line, rise up to the second level, and act as a lead blocker—a task that Lindstrom even performed from the backfield at BC. After the Senior Bowl, some analysts rated Lindstrom as the top guard in this year’s draft. He persuaded many more five weeks later at the NFL Combine. Lindstrom ran a 4.91 40yard dash, the second fastest of 2019 Combine participating O-Linemen, and was one of just four in his position group to cross the line under five seconds. That said, the “short-armed” guard paled in comparison to some of his fellow prospects on the bench press, only recording 25 reps. But what he lacks in upper body strength, he

makes up for in athleticism. All draft season, most notably the Combine, Lindstrom impressed NFL personnel with his footwork and ability to burst out of the trenches.

As of Thursday morning, Lindstrom was projected by ESPN NFL Draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay to go 18th and 31st overall, respectively.

Instead, the interior lineman became the first BC player to be drafted by the Falcons since Matt Ryan, the quarterback he’ll now be protecting on a week-to-week basis.

Lindstrom is BC’s fifth-highest pick since the NFL adopted its current seven-round draft model (1994-present) and eighth-highest selection in school history. Thursday marked just the beginning of what was a historical weekend for BC football. n

Lindstrom the Latest to Prove Addazio’s O-Line Prowess Bradley Smart

A favorite pastime of sportswriters and college football programs alike is to dub themselves as “Position U,” whether it was Penn State’s run as “Linebacker U” or Southern

INSIDE SPORTS

California’s five Heisman-winning running backs that earned them the nod as “Tailback U.” There’s something about position groups at certain college football programs that create a standard of excellence that those that follow seek to live up to.

So, on Thursday night, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Boston College football offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom as the 14th overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons, it was no surprise that many

pointed to BC’s prolific history in the trenches. Lindstrom became the 20th Eagle to be drafted in the first round, and of that group, nine have been offensive lineman. The numbers reveal more if you look back to 2000—no other school has had a higher percentage (36 percent) of their draft picks come from the offensive line during that time period, per PickSix Previews.

Much has been made about BC’s impressive secondary, especially in recent years under former defensive

backs coach Anthony Campanile with five defensive backs selected, but a thorough look at what head coach Steve Addazio has been able to do with his offensive line—alongside assistant coaches Justin Fyre and Phil Trautwein—is more than deserved.

Addazio and his offensive coordinators have been rightfully criticized at times for poor game planning, ineffective red zone scoring, and a reliance on the run game. But in his five-year tenure, there’s never been a question

BASE: Eagles Lose Weekend Series to Duke FB: Allen, Harris Picked on Day Two of Draft

of the ability to develop and form capable offensive lines, no matter the turnover from the year before.

When Lindstrom arrived at BC in 2015, he held just one other collegiate offer (Old Dominion). He weighed 240 pounds and had a smile defined by braces on his signing day. Still, he measured in at 260 pounds and started from the third game on as a freshman, started all 13 games as a

See O-Line Pipeline, A11

SPORTS IN SHORT...................................

A11 A12 BC won the series opener, but lost both games of a Saturday The defensive end and strong safety, who were among four BC SOFTBALL................................................ doubleheader against the No. 25 Blue Devils....................A12 players drafted, were both picked in the third round..........A13 FOOTBALL..............................................

A13

The Heights

Monday, April 29, 2019

A11

LACROSSE

Eagles Lose Early Lead, Fall to No. 3 Tar Heels in ACC Championship LAX vs. UNC, from A10 Warehime, Kara Klages, and Katie Hoeg each scored, allowing UNC to take its first lead of the game. Though the rest of the contest would prove to be a back-and-forth affair, the Eagles never retook the lead.

BC tallied its first score of the second half, thanks to Dempsey Arsenault, who found the back of the net after an earlier shot by Kent went off the post.

The Tar Heels and Eagles continued to trade goals. Just 30 seconds after Arsenault’s goal, Gianna Bowe responded with one of her own. Apuzzo, on a free-position shot, launched the

ball toward Hennessey, who blocked it but accidentally bumped the ball back int her own goal, tying the game once more.

Following that, UNC broke the tie by notching three straight scores over a nine-minute span. During this period, Hennessey came up with several enormous saves to keep the Eagles’ offense at bay.

With eight minutes left to play, BC trailed by three and needed a comeback similar to the one it had against the Orange on Friday if it wanted to come away with the ACC title. It appeared that Arsenault provided the initial spark, as she scored at the seven-minute mark. Jordan Lappin then

scored on a free-position shot, cutting the Tar Heels’ edge to just one.

On the next possession, Apuzzo forced a turnover from Charlotte Sofield and gave the Eagles a chance to record the equalizer—but they couldn’t find the same magic. Apuzzo and Urbank combined to launch three quality shots, but none of them found the back of the net.

UNC took over as a result of a shot clock violation, and Hoeg provided what ended up being the dagger. After a Tar Heels shot went wide, Hoeg approached from behind the net and ripped one past Lauren Daly, who had taken over for Ngai in the second half. That goal made it 15-13 in

UNC’s favor with only two minutes remaining.

The Eagles lost the draw control on the next play, and the Tar Heels slowly whittled down the clock, as they secured the victory. This loss marked the second straight year in which UNC had spoiled BC’s undefeated season, as well as the Tar Heels’ fourth straight ACC title.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Walker-Weinstein continued. “The season’s not over. It’s going to sting— it’s another agonizing loss that the program is going to have to fight through. But they’re resilient. We’ve got a really good group of leaders. I believe they’ll find a way to build off

this. You win or you learn.”

Every loss is difficult, but this defeat is especially tough considering the striking similarities between this contest and last year’s ACC title game.

With a 19-1 record in hand, BC awaits its seeding in the NCAA Tournament. While this loss is certainly a setback, the Eagles will still secure one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

An ACC Championship would have been quite the accomplishment, but BC still has the same goal in mind—capturing a national championship after losing the title game each of the past two years. n

BC Uses Late Comeback to Beat No. 4 ’Cuse, Advance to ACC Final

By Nicole Pla Heights Staff

As the rain came down in Alumni Stadium, Boston College lacrosse geared up for its ACC Tournament semifinal matchup.

With a perfect Syracuse 13 record heading Boston College 14 into Friday evening’s game, the Eagles brought an intensity and grit that matched their reputation. After a game that saw over eight lead changes, BC lived up to its wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking with its most thrilling victory of the season—a 14-13 victory over Syracuse.

The Eagles (19-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast) came out of the gates firing, with Sam Apuzzo winning the game’s first draw control and BC quickly settling in around goalkeeper Asa Goldstock. With just over a minute into regulation, the Eagles found the back of the net on a Cassidy Weeks free-position attempt. It didn’t take long for the Orange (15-4, 5-3) to respond, as a wraparound shot by Mary Rahal slipped past Abbey Ngai.

The goal did little to faze the top-ranked Eagles, however. Deep in Orange territory, Taylor Walker picked up a pass from Sheila Rietano and buried it in the net, restoring the BC lead. The rain did little to stop either team, both of which were just as aggressive in the inclement weather as they were in their previous meeting in February, which took place in the Carrier Dome.

A yellow card called on Brooke Troy led to a one-man advantage for Syracuse that evened up the score for the second time of the night. Shortly after, the Orange

took its first lead of the game when Emily Hawryschuk bested Ngai, forcing the Eagles to play catch up. Hawryschuk struck again with a tight shot that went right over Ngai’s shoulder, pushing the Eagles even farther in the doghouse. BC looked to respond, but with top scorer Apuzzo double-teamed near Goldstock, the Eagles struggled to find twine. After a few minutes looking for an opportunity, Kenzie Kent picked up a ground ball in front of the junior goalkeeper and ripped it between her legs. A quick response

by Nicole Levy put the Eagles right back to down two, and BC quickly met to regroup.

But once Troy was knocked to the ground by Levy in the ensuing minutes, the Eagles were given a player advantage. After being locked out by the Orange defense, the Eagles capitalized on a turnover, and Jordan Lappin fired a shot past Goldstock. Not long after Lappin’s goal, Kate Taylor managed her first scoring play of the game, tying up the contest for the Eagles. After Taylor’s equalizer, Apuzzo was credited with her first goal of the game, retrieving the Eagles’ lead. A free-position goal by Walker was recalled by the referees, but BC was able to retain possession. Yet, even with multiple freeposition chances, the Eagles weren’t able to build on their one-goal lead.

A free-position attempt by Sam Swart tied the game back up for the fourth time, and, with less than five minutes left in the half, the Eagles had to respond quickly in order to head into the locker room ahead of Syracuse. It didn’t take long for BC to get back in the driver’s seat, thanks to a Dempsey Arsenault free-position attempt— one that led to an Orange timeout. The half

closed out with a Hawryschuk equalizer, sending the Eagles into the break tied up at seven goals apiece.

After a back-and-forth first period, the Eagles took the field for the final 30 minutes of the matchup. While BC logged the first goal of the opening frame, Megan Carney answered and ripped a shot past Ngai to give Syracuse the lead just 45 seconds into the half. Apuzzo answered, as she is wont to do, and whipped a bouncing shot between Goldstock’s legs to knot the contest up.

Her equalizer was her 100th point of the season, the third time the senior captain has achieved such a feat.

After Swart tied up the game for a seventh time, head coach Acacia WalkerWeinstein decided to replace Ngai with senior Lauren Daly. A Walker free-position goal put the Eagles back ahead, followed by a BC timeout.

As the second half wound down, the Eagles were running into trouble. With just under nine minutes left in regulation, BC was down two, and it was struggling to piece together any sort of offense. Its shots on Goldstock were either gobbled up by the goalkeeper or missed the frame entirely. As the Eagles’ deficit extended to three, following a goal by Maeghan Tyrrell, their perfect season was in jeopardy.

Under the seven-minute mark, Arsenault was able to kickstart the comeback after firing a shot past Goldstock, cutting Syracuse’s lead to two. Cara Urbank followed in her teammate’s lead and secured her first goal of the evening, giving the Eagles their second in a row in their fight to tie up the game late in regulation.

Jonathan Ye / Heights Editor

Taylor Walker’s late goal propelled BC to its second consecutive ACC Championship game.

With just over two minutes left, Levy was issued a yellow card, giving the Eagles a player advantage to attempt to tie up the game. After a turnover just in front of Goldstock, Apuzzo clinched a hat trick to tie up the game, with a nail-biting one minute and 40 seconds to spare. With just one minute left in regulation and the rain only getting heavier, it was do or die for BC. And when the Eagles needed a scoring play most, they pulled through: Walker fired a shot past Goldstock as she fell to the ground, solidifying the Eagles victory with a 17-second cushion.

If there was one word that Walker-Weinstein would use to describe her thoughts

about the final six minutes of the game, it would be “impressed.”

“I was just impressed by how composed every single one of the girls were,” she said.

“They knew exactly what to do in any of the situations. It takes a lot of poise. I’m just proud of all the different pieces of teamwork it took to come back in the game, and they did it. I’m just impressed.”

In a way, the rain added to the intensity of a game that wasn’t over until the final horn, and after a fight to the last minute, the Eagles were able to win their fourth straight game against Syracuse and punch their ticket to their second straight ACC Championship. n

Eagles’ Offensive Line Quality Never a Question Under Addazio O-Line Pipeline, from A10 sophomore, then grew into an All-ACC Second Team selection as a junior. He graded out that year as the team’s top offensive lineman, a pivotal piece of a bunch that allowed just 13 sacks while piling up almost 230 rushing yards per game. The senior year was his coronation—an All-ACC First Team nod featuring a 1.1 percent pressure rate without a sack allowed—and culminated in a selection by the Falcons.

If that’s not a striking example of the work Addazio and Co. are able to do, I’m not sure what else to point at.

Lindstrom is far from the first and certainly won’t be the last player that the former Florida offensive line coach molds into a NFL-worthy player. Take

a look at the other member of the departing offensive line group who will compete for a NFL roster spot: Aaron Monteiro. The senior signed with the Miami Dolphins shortly after the draft concluded on Saturday.

A former three-star prospect, Monteiro had offers from four schools—Iowa, Massachusetts, and Connecticut—and chose the Eagles. He was ranked outside the top-100 at his position in the country, but quickly made five starts as a freshman and didn’t relinquish his spot on the line the rest of his career.

He went from weighing 336 pounds to 320 by his senior year, where he wrapped up his career having made 32 straight starts at left tackle.

This story repeats time and time again, especially under Addazio. When

he arrived at Chestnut Hill and took over in 2013, BC was coming off of a 2-10 season under the much chagrined Frank Spaziani.The Eagles managed just 3.2 yards per carry, finished 111th in points per game, and the offensive line was chasing defenders all around the field—BC allowed 34 sacks, 102nd of 124 teams. Under Addazio’s watchful eye, that number quickly took a nosedive.

The Eagles have ranked 46th, 31st, 72nd, 71st, 12th, and 37th in protecting the quarterback. That improvement also appears in the rushing offense, as BC has ranked outside the top-50 in rushing yardage just twice during the same span.

This success has been the result of excellent offensive line development from Addazio and his staff. Lindstrom is the shining example, going from a

little-regarded prospect to a first-round NFL Draft pick, but he’s not the only one. Monteiro’s rise from a Brockton, Mass. recruit is similarly impressive, as is several other All-ACC examples. Under Addazio, 11 offensive linemen have earned all-conference nods. Of those that Addazio recruited and coached from start to finish, not a single of the five earned higher than three stars on 247Sports and several held few offers.

Thus, a simple star rating next to an incoming BC offensive line recruit shouldn’t reflect the potential of the position group. With Jon Baker, Monteiro, and Lindstrom departing, the burden will shift to the next crop of linemen.

Ben Petrula is a returning All-ACC Honorable Mention selection, and he’ll anchor the line alongside the likes of

Alec Lindstrom, John Phillips, Elijah Johnson, Davidson transfer Zion Johnson, and Tyler Vrabel.

All this being said, Lindstrom’s selection in the first round was a fitting continuation of a run of strong offensive line play at BC. Much of the attention the last few seasons has gone—deservedly so—to the likes of star defensive ends Harold Landry and Zach Allen or running back and preseason Heisman candidate A.J. Dillon. Still, you’d be remiss to not appreciate the consistency Addazio has found through recruiting and development of offensive linemen, even if it’s just an undersized local kid with a few offers.

Bradley Smart is the sports editor for The Heights. He can be reached on Twitter @bradleysmart15

SPORTS in SHORT ACC BASEBALL Standings

Numbers to know

Atlantic Conference overall Louisville 15-6 34-9 N.C. State 14-9 33-11 Florida State 14-9 28-14 Clemson 11-12 26-18 Wake Forest 11-12 25-19 Notre Dame 11-12 18-23 Boston College 8-16 22-24 Coastal Georgia Tech North Carolina Miami Duke Virginia Virginia Tech Miami

15-8 14-9 13-10 13-11 10-13 7-16 4-17

30-13 32-12 30-14 27-17 26-19 24-20 14-28

.236

Team batting average for softball this season, second-worst in the ACC.

8

Home runs for baseball’s Jack Cunningham this season, four more than any other Eagles player recorded in 2018.

6

Hat tricks recorded by Sam Apuzzo this season after the senior’s three-goal effort against UNC.

QUote of the week

“I believe they’ll find a way to build off this. You win or you learn.”

— Lacrosse head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein, on the Eagles’ first loss of the season.

The Heights

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Monday, April 29, 2019

BASEBALL

Bats Silenced, BC Drops Weekend Finale to No. 25 Blue Devils

By Luke Pichini Asst. Sports Editor Outside of Dan Metzdorf and Mason Pelio, Boston College baseball has struggled to find other consistent pitchers Duke 8 in its rotation.

Boston College 0 While this pitcher-by-committee arrangement has worked against non-conference opponents to a certain degree, it has resulted in disastrous results against ACC foes. Saturday night’s matchup against Duke—the second game of a doubleheader—was yet another example of that. While the Eagles stayed competitive in the early juncture, they fell behind by a significant margin and were shutout in an 8-0 loss.

John Witkowski drew the start for BC (22-24, 8-16 Atlantic Coast), and he held the Blue Devils (27-17, 1311) scoreless in the first two innings despite running into some trouble. In the first frame, the senior gave up two singles, but Kyle Gallagher grounded

into a double play to end the threat.

During the next frame, Chase Cheek hit a leadoff single off Witkowski and then stole second. Cheek advanced to third following a Michael Rothenberg groundout and an Erikson Nichols hit-by-pitch, at which point Duke had runners on the corners, but Nichols was called out at second after Rudy Maxwell grounded out to shortstop.

While BC was ultimately shut out, it still finished the night with eight total hits. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they simply could not drive anybody home.

In fact, they stranded one or more runners in five of the first six innings.

In the bottom of the second, BC had both Dante Baldelli and Cody Morissette on first and second, respectively, but Joe Suozzi grounded to shortstop, stranding two runners. The Eagles once again stranded two runners in the third after Jake Alu walked and Brian Dempsey recorded a single. But, with two outs, Jack Cunningham went down swinging.

Meanwhile, in the fourth, Duke

scored the first run of the contest.

Joey Walsh walked Ethan Murray and proceeded to give up a single to Rothenberg, which put runners on first and third. Nichols then singled to center, scoring Murray. While Walsh logged the next two outs to end the inning, he ran into more trouble in the fifth. Matt Mervis reached base on a fielder’s choice, and Cheek doubled on the first pitch of the at-bat, putting himself and Mervis in scoring position.

Walsh was pulled for Sean Hughes, who ended up balking. Mervis scored off Hughes’ blunder for the Blue Devils’ second run.

That wasn’t the end for Hughes, though. While the righthander got Rothenberg to groundout to commence the sixth, he then struggled immensely to find the strike zone. Hughes gave up walks to three straight batters in Nichols, Maxwell, and Joey Loperfido.

Head coach Mike Gambino had seen enough, as he inserted Matt Gill to replace Hughes. That decision didn’t exactly pay off, as Kenny Taylor singled

to right, driving in both Nichols and Maxwell and allowing Loperfido to move to third. Shortly after, Mervis launched a sac fly to conclude Duke’s scoring run.

Gill may have escaped the seventh without getting flagged for a run, but the same could not be said in the eighth. After Loperfido singled to leadoff the inning, Taylor immediately followed with a triple—his third of the series. Mervis then notched his second sac fly, giving the Blue Devils their second run of the inning. Gill struck out Gallagher, but he couldn’t notch the final out.

Cheek singled and stole second base, and Murray’s single put him and Cheek on the corners. Rothenberg tallied his second hit of the night with a single to center, driving in Cheek and capping off Duke’s eight-run bonanza.

Gian Martellini and Morissette both singled in the bottom of the eighth, but Baldelli hit into a double play, which left the Eagles scoreless once more. Not much changed in the

ninth, either. Lucas Stallman singled to left, but Suozzi, Chris Galland, and Alu all went down to Eli Herrick.

Shockingly, the last and only time BC won a game on Saturday came in its first series of the year against Jackson State. Outside of Dan Metzdorf and Mason Pelio, the Eagles lack a consistent starter and have had to rely on a wide array of arms in each game in an attempt to stitch together a complete effort.

As a result of this setup, BC has had a hard time yielding consistent results against conference opponents. The only time that the Eagles won an ACC series came against Florida State down in Tallahassee on March 31. Other than that, though, BC has only recorded a single win in each of its weekend series, with the lone exception being a sweep at the hands of North Carolina. As it stands, the Eagles’ conference winning percentage of just .333 is third-worst in the conference, which puts them in jeopardy of missing the ACC Tournament. n

SOFTBALL

Eagles Struggle Offensively, Swept on Senior Day by Hokies

By Peter Kim Assoc. Sports Editor

In the bottom of the first inning of Boston College softball’s Senior Day contest against Virginia Tech, Emme Martinez lined Virginia Tech 8 a single into Boston College 1 right field to score Jenna Ergle and give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. The play marked the first time all series that BC held a lead against the No. 24 Hokies and gave hope that the Eagles would be able to end the weekend with a win on Senior Day. Much like the first two games of the series, though, BC’s pitching simply couldn’t quiet the Hokies’ bats.

VTech exploded for five runs in the third inning and never looked back, finishing off a sweep of the Eagles with an 8-1 win.

BC (16-32, 4-17 Atlantic Coast) turned to C.C. Cook—who made just her third start of the season—to try and slow down a Hokies (43-8, 20-4) lineup that had racked up 20 runs in the first two games of the weekend series. It seemed like a tall task, but

the sophomore was effective to begin the game.

She worked around two walks and a double from Cana Davis to keep BC ahead for the first two innings but ran into trouble quickly in a disastrous third.

Darby Trull legged out an infield single to begin the inning, and Caitlyn Nolan quickly plated her by depositing a home run over the left-center field fence.

The VTech bats didn’t stop there, though, as Emma Strouth worked a walk on a full count before advancing to second on another infield single from Kelsey Bennett. Friedt compounded the problem by hitting Mackenzie Lawter to load the bases.

A well-executed double play got Strouth on a forceout at home and gave Cook a chance to limit the damage.

Instead, Davis notched her second hit of the game in emphatic fashion, crushing a 1-1 pitch for a home run to center field to extend the Hokies’ edge to 5-1.

In the aftermath of the big fly, Eagles head coach Ashley Obrest re-

placed Cook with Camryn Dolby, and the freshman got the last out of the inning. Dolby pitched two innings in relief, allowing two hits and one run, issuing a four-pitch bases-loaded walk to Lawter in the fourth inning.

Lawter would also account for VTech’s final two runs, hitting the Hokies’ third home run of the game in the sixth inning.

But it wouldn’t matter much. After VTech’s five-run explosion in the third inning, BC notched just two hits—a Martinez single to right in the fourth and a one-out double from Lexi DiEmmanuele in the fifth.

DiEmmanuele was stranded at third after Keely Rochard—who finished off the game for the Hokies with three scoreless innings of relief—struck out Jenna Ergle, ending the Eagles’ final serious threat.

BC would go down in order in the final two innings, while Susannah Anderson finished off the game in the circle for the Eagles, getting all three outs of the sixth after Lawter’s big fly and pitching a scoreless seventh.

The loss means that BC has now won one or fewer games in each of its

JOnathan Ye / HEIGHTS Editor

C.C. Cook, making her third start, gave up five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings of work.

last five ACC weekend series. What’s more, it’s difficult to diagnose exactly what the Eagles’ issue is. BC has been plagued by both inconsistent hitting, and a pitching staff that has struggled at times to adjust to the ACC’s excellent offenses.

The youth of the team certainly has something to do with that—the Eagles honored just four seniors Sun-

day and have 10 freshmen (including Anderson and Dolby, the two pitchers with the most starts on the team) on their roster.

BC fans can look to that as a reason for optimism, but for now that means the Eagles will likely go through plenty of growing pains. The latest sweep at the hands of another ranked ACC foe was just the latest of those pains. n

BASEBALL

Early Blunders Cost BC in Defeat to Blue Devils at Home

By Jack Coleman

For The Heights

On Saturday afternoon, Boston College baseball had a chance for the second straight home weekend to claim just its second conferDuke 4 ence series win, Boston College 1 this time against Duke. In a similar fashion to its matchup with Georgia Tech two weeks ago, the Eagles won the Friday night game by a comfortable margin—dispatching the Blue Devils, 5-0—but were once again let down the next day.

In its annual ALS Awareness Game, BC’s defense let down starting pitcher Mason Pelio, committing three errors in the first inning and allowing three runs in the process despite visiting Duke failing to register a hit. That three-run margin would prove to be enough—even though Pelio at one point retired 15 of 16 batters faced—as the Blue Devils took the first game of the

doubleheader, 4-1.

Duke (26-17, 12-11 Atlantic Coast) blew the game open during the first inning, much to the chagrin of the Eagles (22-23, 815). The Blue Devils’ Kennie Taylor started the inning early on by getting hit by a pitch on a 3-2 count. This was shortly followed by first baseman Matt Mervis reaching on a fielding error by BC’s Cody Morissette.

Morissette looked ready for a ball to come soaring toward him, as he should have had at least one easy out, or potentially even a double play, but the freshman was already turning to throw before the ball was even fully in his glove. This caused him to bobble it and lose control mid-throw.

After a walk loaded the bases, Duke right fielder Chase Cheek got enough air on a fly ball to bring in Taylor for the game’s first run. Ethan Murray was ready to make his presence known to the Eagles as well, and he hit a sharply hit ground ball toward third baseman Jake Alu. He attempted to get the final out at first, but

BC first baseman Jack Cunningham could not snag the ball off the throw, and Murray arrived safe at first.

The frustrating inning continued as catcher Michael Rothenberg would bring in the final two runs of the inning by reaching on a fielding error. Gallagher and Mervis were able to score, with Duke’s left fielder turning on the jets to slide into home before Burns could even tag him. The Eagles would not score until the bottom of the sixth but even that one run was scored in grand fashion.

Cunningham stepped up to bat in the sixth with a yearning to get BC on the board. As his bat connected with the ball, everyone in the stands could hear the crack and knew that the ball was absolutely crushed. Duke’s Taylor went chasing after it, perfectly playing the ball, but could only watch as the ball soared just over the center field wall.

Once his concentration was turned toward the wall, it was all too late, for he

crashed head-on into the outfield structure and had the wind completely knocked out of him. With his legs sprawled out, he fell back onto the ground and was slow to get up. After a good three minutes, ample time for Cunningham to cross home plate and bring the score to 3-1, Taylor was able to rise, albeit a bit shaken up, and remained in the game.

Another scary injury occured in the third but on the Eagles’ end. Cheek lined a ball straight at Pelio on the mound. The ball hit the freshman pitcher, who was throwing extremely well and hard on the day—pitches were coming in at consistent high-90 speeds.

When the ball connected with Pelio’s wrist, he immediately held it up in pain. He was still able to recover the ball, though, and got the out at first. And after recovering, he continued to deal. Pelio eventually exited with two runners on in the seventh—one would score on a single after Thomas Lane came in—but still finished with a strong day

on the mound.

The final inning was rather uneventful, as there was limited hope for a comeback.

The Eagles went 1-2-3 at the hands of Thomas Girard, who spun two scoreless innings for the six-out save. He closed out an efficient effort from the Duke pitching staff, as Bill Chillari worked around four walks for 4 1/3 scoreless innings and middle reliever Jack Carey only gave up Cunningham’s bomb over 2 2/3 innings.

It was a tough defeat for the Eagles, especially considering that they were attempting to lock up the series win and that they were done in by uncharacteristic mental mistakes. Before the loss, the Eagles ranked fourth in the conference in errors, a troubling trend as of late. The last time BC didn’t commit an error was back on April 12, and in conference play it has committed multiple errors in four of its last five ACC games. If the Eagles are going to find any more weekend series wins, they’ll have to shore up their defense. n

SOFTBALL

Eagles’ Pitching Falters in Blowout Loss to No. 24 VTech

By Sam Bresnick For The Heights Boston College softball has won three of its last four non-conference games, but it has hardly achieved the same success in ACC play. The Virginia Tech 11 Eagles entered Boston College 2 the we ekend having lost their last four ACC games—by a combined score of 26-2 nonetheless—and a return home to welcome No. 24 Virginia Tech hasn’t gone much better. After dropping the series opener by a 10-2 margin, the Saturday rematch had a similar outcome, as the visiting Hokies won, 11-2.

The game did not start out the way

BC (16-31, 4-16 Atlantic Coast) hoped, as starting pitcher Kendra Friedt surrendered seven earned runs off five hits, a walk, and a hit batter.

Despite pitching well as of late, Friedt was only able to record two outs in the top half of the first frame. She was relieved by Susannah Anderson, who went two innings and allowed three earned runs off five hits, three walks, and a hit batter. Sophomore C.C. Cook fared slightly better, finishing off the game with 2 1/3 innings of relief, conceding an earned run off four hits and two walks.

So far this series, command has been an issue. VTech (42-8, 19-4) has enjoyed plenty of offensive success—in back-to-

back games, the Eagles’ pitching has surrendered 10-plus runs and averaged more than a walk per inning.

“I would like our pitchers to come out and throw the ball hard,” head coach Ashley Obrest said. “We walked too many and we gave up way too many hit by pitches.

When that happens, essentially every inning there’s at least two base runners on, and I think that makes it hard for a team to defend, and I think it’s hard for the hitters to feel like they’re always making up for runs.”

It’s a pattern that the Eagles would like to reverse, as they saw themselves facing a nine-run deficit at the end of three innings of play. Offensively, BC only marginally im-

proved throughout the day, as it recorded a total of five hits and was able to get just two runs across the plate against Hokies pitcher Carrie Eberle. She kept the Eagles’ bats at bay on her way to throwing a complete game.

There were some bright spots in the lineup, though. First baseman Allyson Moore led the Eagles with two hits, going 2-for-3. Another BC player who had a good day at the plate was right fielder Gianna Randazza, who reached base safely in all three of her plate appearances. Obrest wasn’t completely discouraged by the offensive performance but knows there is still work to be done.

“I think some kids today were able to

get to really good counts and then find a mistake to hit, and then I think some kids were just swinging at a drop ball that was in the dirt because they weren’t watching it all the way in,” she said. “I think a lot is discipline, to be honest, and if we get ourselves in good counts, then we’ll have good pitches to swing at, but when were not disciplined we’re kind of just swinging all over the place.”

The Eagles will get a chance to avoid a second straight weekend sweep in conference play, as they host VTech in the series finale on Sunday. The game will also be Senior Day for BC—the Eagles will look to celebrate their seniors with an upset win over the Hokies. n

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Monday, April 29, 2019

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FOOTBALL

Allen, Harris Both Selected in Third Round of 2019 NFL Draft

By Andy Backstrom Managing Editor

The wait took a little longer than most would have expected this past fall, given his first-round draft projection, but Boston College football defensive end Zach Allen’s journey to the NFL is finally over. On Friday night, the Arizona Cardinals selected the 6-foot-4, 281-pound New Canaan, Conn. native with the 65th overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. About an hour later, teammate and safety Will Harris came off the board as a Detroit Lion, having been selected with the 81st overall pick.

Back in November, Allen was slotted as high as a top-15 pick, and entering draft season was still regarded as a first-round selection. Following a junior campaign in which he was one of two defensive linemen in the country to log 100 or more tackles, Allen decided to return to BC for his senior season. To say that he made the right choice would be an understatement.

While it might not show on paper, Allen turned in his best year of his career in 2018, recording 61 tackles—including 15 behind the line of scrimmage—and a personal-best 6.5 sacks, all while being double-teamed by some of the best offensive lines in the country. What separates the All-ACC Second Teamer from similar sized players at his position is his versatility.

In Week Four, Allen leapt over David

Blough after the Purdue quarterback was hit from the behind, in order to make an acrobatic interception. Then, seven days later, he logged a potential game-saving sack by wrapping up Temple gunslinger Anthony Russo with one arm for a loss of seven yard, forcing an Owls punt—one that ultimately defused their second-half comeback. A couple weeks after that, he got a hand on a Louisville extra point—the first of two blocked kicks for Allen on the season. Put simply, he’s as complete as defensive linemen come.

When all was said and done, Allen finished his Eagles career with 199 tackles—40.5 of which were for loss—18.5 sacks, 14 passes defended, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and four recoveries, in addition to the two aforementioned blocked kicks. The problem was, in the weeks following the 2018 season, Allen’s draft stock plateaued.

He took a huge hit before and during the Senior Bowl, sliding out of the first round of most mock drafts. On the opening series of the annual all-star game, Allen tried to close the inside gap on a goal line stand, but instead was stood up in his own end zone by Alabama State’s Tytus Howard, creating an open path for Temple running back Ryquell Armstead to score. Aside from a blocked extra point, there wasn’t much to highlight from Allen’s outing. He didn’t tally a single tackle on the day and, at one

point, was called for roughing the passer.

The penalty came just two days after Allen got in a scuffle with Kansas State offensive tackle Dalton Risner. Clearly, the defensive end was far from himself.

At the NFL Combine, Allen ran a 5-flat 40-yard dash, but showcased his quickness with a 1.65 10-yard split and a 7.34 threecone drill. Because his numbers didn’t stack up to the Rashan Garys and Montez Sweats of this year’s Draft class, Allen was overshadowed in Indianapolis, but his agility and tenacity during the drill portion of the Combine spoke to his skillset.

Because of everything Allen can do on the field, his tape is much more representative of his talent than his measurables—and the Cardinals took note. Arizona could use all of the help it can get on the defensive side of the ball, considering that last season it was the worst team against the run in the NFL, allowing 4.9 yards per carry. Allen could very well start from day one opposite Chandler Jones.

“Zach is a big man and is a great athlete,” BC head coach Steve Addazio told BCEagles.com. “He has tremendous versatility—whether it is on the edge [or] inside—and his ability to go from speed to power is incredible … Zach is going to play a long time in the NFL with the Cardinals.”

Unlike Allen, Harris’ draft stock didn’t drop in the months leading up to April—

rather, he quickly became one of the more notable defensive backs in this year’s draft class. BC fans, however, have known the saftey’s name for years.

Harris started the final three games of his freshman season at strong safety and never looked back, locking down the position for his final three years on the Heights.

The Suwanee, Ga., native developed the reputation as a hard-hitting defensive back in no time.

As an upperclassman, Harris upped the ante, finishing both his junior and senior seasons with the fourth-most tackles on BC’s roster. In 2018, he delivered a number of punishing hits, most notably a devastating a blow on Virginia Tech quarterback Ryan Willis, en route to earning All-ACC Third Team honors and a share of the William J. Flynn award—given to BC’s most valuable player—with tight end Tommy Sweeney.

“Will is a unique, physical player who had tremendous measurables at the NFL Combine,” Addazio said, per BCEagles.com.

“He has a passion for football and will be a guy who can do a lot of different things on Sundays for the Lions.”

Those measurables are the main reason why Harris started climbing prospect rankings everywhere. After a fine Senior Bowl— one in which he recorded two tackles and a pass deflection—the hard-nosed defensive back stole the spotlight from his fellow BC

prospects at the NFL Combine. Harris ran a blistering 4.41 40-yard dash, the fourth best among 2019 Combine participating safeties. To put that in perspective, that split is at least a tenth of a second faster than each of the last four Eagles defensive backs to be selected in the NFL Draft.

Factor in his 20 bench press reps—tied for third among safeties—and top-five finishes in the three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle, and Harris had himself quite the pre-draft performance.

Coming into Thursday, ESPN NFL Draft analysts Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. rated Harris 96th and 64th, respectively, in their final top-300 prospect rankings. On Friday, he fell in between where the two pundits expected, reuniting with former BC defensive line coach and current Lions defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni in Detroit. Harris, the fifth Eagles defensive back to be drafted in the past four years, should be able to make an immediate impact in the Lions’ secondary—or perhaps at the rover position—given that the team allowed opposing quarterbacks to post the fifth-highest yards per pass attempt (7.9) and third-highest passer rating (102.7) this past season.

Allen and Harris experienced very different pre-draft processes, but now they’re both in the same boat, as thirdround picks primed to make a difference in year one. n

Walker, Ray Headline Eagles’ Undrafted Free Agent Signings

By Bradley Smart Sports Editor

When Boston College football tight end Tommy Sweeney was selected in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft, he marked the fourth Eagles’ player to come off the board—tying a school record for the number of selections in a given year since the league adopted its seven-round model (1994-present).

While Sweeney was the last selection for BC, he was far from the last player to sign with a NFL team. When the dust had settled after the post-draft frenzy, nine Eagles—according to reports—had signed as undrafted free agents.

Former Eagles defensive coordinator and current defensive ends coach Jim Reid was the driving force in announcing the signings, taking to Twitter to congratulate the assorted alums.

Wyatt Ray Ray signed with the Cleveland Browns after surprisingly sliding out of the draft.

Overshadowed by third-round counterpart Zach Allen on the defensive line, Ray

was pegged by many as a sixth or seventh round pick after racking up nine sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss as a senior. He’ll likely try to catch on with the Browns’ special teams unit, as analysts raised questions regarding his strength at the point of attack but still saw ability as a developmental pass rusher.

Michael Walker Walker, an All-ACC Second Team honor, enjoyed a distinguished four-year career with the Eagles as a kick and punt return specialist and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Walker, who hails from Naples, Fla. In 2018, Walker piled up a career high 1,080 kickoff return yards while also besting his junior year mark for average punt return yardage (13.7). While also taking snaps as a wide receiver, Walker finished with 130.8 all-purpose yards per game, an impressive number.

Connor Strachan He’ll be joined by a familiar face in Jacksonville, as Strachan signed with the Jaguars as well. Strachan bounced back from a 2017 season that was cut short

due to knee surgery with a strong graduate campaign. The 6-foot, 230-pound linebacker returned to the middle of the BC defense and worked his way on to the All-ACC Third Team, finishing with 91 tackles, eight for loss, and three sacks.

Taj-Amir Torres and Hamp Cheevers Another team that will have a pair of Eagles competing for a roster spot is the Tennessee Titans, who are no strangers to players from Chestnut Hill. The Titans are took Harold Landry in the second round last season. This year, they scooped up the likes of defensive backs Hamp Cheevers and Taj-Amir Torres after the draft concluded.

Cheevers is a signing that drew praise from assorted media, as he saw his stock rise during the college season. The junior slot corner earned All-ACC First Team honors after piling up 39 tackles and seven interceptions. He decided to leave campus early but didn’t make much buzz throughout the draft process and was pegged by many as a priority free agent.

He’ll be joined by Torres, a teammate in his positional group. The senior

showed strength in rallying to the ball in 2018, pegged by Pro Football Focus as the conference’s leader in coverage stops with 16. He had 52 tackles, three interceptions, and a career-high 14 passes defended.

Lukas Denis The third and final member of the secondary, Denis, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Like Cheevers and Torres, Denis drew criticism for his size. He also saw his numbers take a step back as a senior, going from 83 tackles and seven interceptions in 2018 to 49 tackles and one interception this past fall. Denis earned high marks as a smooth and athletic safety, but he slipped after running a 4.64 40-yard dash that ranked outside the top-15 at his position.

Aaron Monteiro After Chris Lindstrom went 14th overall, his offensive line counterpart in Monteiro eventually signed with the Miami Dolphins. A 6-foot-7, 320-pound left tackle out of Brockton, Mass., Monteiro earned All-ACC Third Team honors in 2018 and made 32 straight

starts at his position.

Ray Smith Ray Smith was reunited with his former position coach, as the Detroit Lions and Paul Pasqualoni signed the defensive tackle. Smith was an All-ACC Third Team selection in the fall after piling up 50 tackles, four for loss, as a standout in controlling the line of scrimmage. He impressed at the BC Pro Day with his athleticism but his size—the senior stands 6-foot-1, 302 pounds—means that he likely won’t play as a nose tackle when he arrives at the Lions’ training camp.

Jeff Smith Finally, Jeff Smith—who made plenty of noise in the pre-draft process after running a blistering 4.34 handtimed 40-yard dash at the Eagles’ Pro Day—signed with the New York Jets.

Pegged by NFL.com as having a “better than average chance at making a NFL roster,” Smith will likely try to make his living as a special teams contributor, as scouts raised plenty of questions about his pass-catching ability. n

ALL OVER THE MAP

Thirteen players on the Eagles’ 2018 roster have an NFL destination, and those teams are located all over the country. Here’s a look at who will be playing where next season.

Draftees

IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EdiTOR

A14

Monday, April 29, 2019

Isobel Knight Wins BC’s Best, Will Open Modstock Unit One won the Battle of the Bands portion of the event.

By Cassie Perez Heights Staff Student musicians and spectators alike flocked to the tent on O’Neill Plaza Thursday night for BC’s Best, an Arts Fest event jointly organized by the Arts Council, the Campus Activities Board (CAB), and Music Guild.

An evening dedicated to BC’s homegrown music scene, three singer-songwriters and three bands took to the stage to compete for the opportunity to open for Ayokay, Jeremy Zucker, and Chelsea Cutler at the upcoming Modstock festival.

The event was restructured this year to give the Singer-Songwriter competitors a chance to open for Modstock. In past years, only Battle of the Bands competitors were considered for the performance. Isobel Knight, a soloist, won BC’s Best and will open at Modstock. Unit One won the Battle of the Bands portion of the event.

Dalton Letorney, MCAS ’21, kicked off the Singer-Songwriter portion of the competition with two original songs: “Fantasy” and “Heart on Display.” Letorney opened with comedic quips about his “angsty” songwriting, but ultimately captivated the audience with lyrics like “But I know inside / You don’t see what you’re doing to me.” Both powerful piano ballads that highlighted his impressive vocal ability, the songs spoke to

Hello...Shovelhead! Celebrates 30 Years of Comedy

See BC’s Best, A15

Shovelhead held its 30th Anniversary Spooktacular this weekend.

MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Awards Recognize BC’s Artistic Acheivements Poet C. Dale Young, BC ’91, received the Alumni Award.

By Tonie Chase Heights Staff

JONATHAN YE / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC Theatre’s ‘9 to 5’ Stuns on Stage ‘9 to 5’ rocked Robsham with provocative humor.

By Kaylie Ramirez Arts Editor Is there any phrase in the English language as mundane as “working 9 to 5?” Days seem to waste away within the breath it takes to verbalize the phrase. As seniors reveled in each “last” before the start of their post-grad 9 to 5s, the Boston College theatre department staged a production of Patricia Resnick’s musical 9 to 5. At the dress rehearsal on Tuesday, the cast’s performance was anything but mundane.

The musical follows the newly-hired Judy Bernly ( Jessie Shaw,

MCAS ’19), her boss Violet Newstead (Natalie Marsan, MCAS ’21), and co-worker Doralee Rhodes (Elizabeth Koennecke, MCAS ’19) as they dream of—and eventually unintentionally attempt—ousting the sexist CEO of the company, Franklin Hart (Nick Swancott, MCAS ’19).

The production opened with a rousing musical number that introduced each of the main characters and featured adept blocking on behalf of the director and choreographer David Connolly. Cast members moved different props across the stage, including a moving bed that Doralee rolled out of with a male companion during her verse of the popular Dolly Parton song “9 to 5.” Koennecke stunned in the role of the seductive and sharp southern belle, keeping up a southern accent throughout the entire production and singing with a distinctive

twang à la Parton.

Smart set design played a major role in transforming the production into a full experience. A massive clock was projected on the stage for the entirety of the performance, only dissolving when Judy, Violet, and the newly-befriended Doralee smoked weed and discussed the ways in which they would theoretically take down Mr. Hart. While the clock hands usually made their way around the numbers between scenes, the lighting and sound departments highlighted the dissolution of time by projecting smoke on the stage and voicing over sharp inhales between the dream sequences.

Daz zling costumes and props made for a stellar visual experience.

Judy’s dream sequence saw her ditch

See 9 to 5, A15

‘The Aliens’ Scene Stimulates Intrigue Cast members performed one scene from the play.

By Grace Mayer Heights Staff The cast of The Aliens, by playwright Annie Baker and directed by Alex O’Connor, MCAS ’20, returned for a snippet-performance of their show this past Saturday at Arts Fest.

“This is the first play I’ve ever [directed at Boston College]. I fell in love with the script, and I find it to be really hilarious.

I knew it was something Boston College students could realistically be cast in,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor decided to show Act I Scene III at Arts Fest, a part that introduced the shifting tones of the show—both humorous and somber—and allowed the cast to interact with the nuances of each other’s eclectic characters.

The scene only consisted of three characters: Jasper (James Stevenson, MCAS ’20), K.J. (Matthew Dolly, MCAS ’21), and Evan (Will Dooley, MCAS ’22).

Each of these characters struggles with

internal conflicts that are concealed by the layers of humor within the show—humor takes on the form of a coping mechanism, becoming one commonality that draws these characters to each other. But Jasper and K.J. in particular are also drawn together by personal struggles and passion-projects: Jasper’s novel, K.J.’s inclination to write wacky songs, and their collective dream of starting a rock band with the play’s namesake. Underlying these dreams, Jasper, who is best friends with K.J., fights emotional stability issues, while K.J. tries to ignore his own struggles.

“K.J. is a very quirky character, [but] he has inner turmoil he buries with a lot of bubbliness and strangeness,” Dolly said of his character.

Jasper and K.J. decide to take Evan, a high school student who works at a coffee shop, under their wing, finally providing Evan with the role models he’s been in search of.

“The way [my character] interacts with people is really interesting, because he’s a smart individual but he gets really nervous,” Dooley said.

Dooley projected these personality traits by incorporating hand mannerisms and a shifting gaze. He was interested in the

connection formed between his character, Jasper, and K.J., taking the characters’ large age difference into account (KJ and Evan are around the age of 30, and Evan is 17).

This scene jumped from Jasper’s animated novel readings to a comical serenade of “Frog Men,” performed on guitar by Stevenson and Dolly, but it’s also the last scene where all three characters are together before the show takes a more serious turn. For all of the humor included in this show, the full play deals with a lot of dark subjects, like coping with grief and and drug use, events that come to the surface in Act II of the play.

“This is a really key scene because it brings a lot of the pieces of the play together, in terms of Jasper’s relationship with his best friend K.J. It’s a snippet in time of how things were when things were going well, before things go downhill,” Stevenson said.

At the end of this scene, the play reroots itself, the characters seated together in a line of three chairs on stage in a family-like arrangement.

“Looking at them all together, they looked sort of like a strange family, and I think there’s something really familial going on in the show—a search for a father, a search for role models,” O’Connor said. n

On Friday evening, art lovers, native and not to BC’s campus, gathered for the BC Arts Council’s annual Arts Award Ceremony. Crystal Tiala, chair of both the Arts Council and theatre department, explained the tremendous growth that the Arts Festival has undergone since its inception in 1999. In its early stages, the festival once only lasted for a single day.

It now spans across three days and includes over one thousand faculty, students, and staff. The goal of holding the festival has never been overlooked, and the BC Arts Council still aims to showcase the talents of the BC community and inspire increased engagement with arts.

Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley gave a University Address for the Arts Council Award Ceremony. He noted the school’s Jesuit-Catholic traditions’ explicit connections to the arts through aesthetics—particularly the landscape scene of Gasson tower during any time of day throughout the year.

For Quigley, these architectural images are powerful, as they bring together the divine, transcendent, and aesthetics—all elements that speak across generations. At the Awards Ceremony, the Arts Council recognized a dedication to the arts across different populations: students, faculty, and alumni.

First, Sandra Herbert, director of the performance and chamber music program, presented a student award to Derek Cho, CSOM ’19. He is a highly proficient jazz and classical clarinetist who performs with the Boston College Symphony Orchestra and serves on the executive board.

He is also a member of BC bOp! and a jazz and a classical saxophonist. When he received the Advanced Study Grant in the Arts, he traveled to New York City to study with a jazz saxophonist Andrew Gould and collaborate on a feature for an Amazon television series.

On campus, Cho assisted the coordination of jazz in the chamber music program after proposing the idea to Herbert.

Ryan W. Gardner, MCAS ’19, received an award for his work in stage management, which includes designing the projection and media in some BC shows and working as a theatrical electrician

and carpenter. He was a participant and winner of the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Gardner serves as the student advisor on the Theatre Council and production manager for the Arts Festival.

Jeremiah McGrann, professor in the music department, honored Michael Oh, MCAS ’19, for his performance as a soloist, chamber musician, and principle chair of the cello section in the symphony orchestra.

Vicky Zhang, CSOM ’19, was recognized for her musical performances across various ensembles: the piano ensemble, three chamber music groups, solo piano performance, Symphony Orchestra, BC Baroque, and the African Drumming ensemble. Zhang also assists the Music Department in putting programs together.

Cecilia Russell Christman, MCAS ’19, received the Jeffrey Howe Art History award, presented by Stephanie Leone, a professor in the art history department.

Her dedication to art history studies heightened when Christman used her Advance Study Grant to pursue research in Italy on 17th century artist Francesco del Cairo. In her senior thesis, she interprets the meaning of these paintings of biblical and historical female subjects.

On behalf of the Arts Council, Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J, honored associate professor of theatre John Houchin with the Faculty Award. Houchin has established a dedication to studying black theatre, evident through his course offerings and other on-campus engagements.

This year, he staged the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf at BC and compiled a database of Black Broadway plays and performances.

Suzanne Matson, professor of English, presented the Alumni Award to C. Dale Young, BC ’91, poet, physician, and professor at Warren Wilson College.

While Young practices radiation oncology in San Francisco, he also maintains his relationship with the literary arts through publishing his literary works.

Young has published four original poetry anthologies, a novel of stories, and his work has been featured in various journals, including The Paris American, thus far.

Matson notes that Young wakes up daily at dawn to write before starting his medical practice duties. The balance may seem difficult to juggle, but healthy habits help Young engage with the practices he loves. n

ALEXA SPITZ / HEIGHTS STAFF

The Heights

Monday, April 29, 2019

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Feminism, Progressivism Make ‘9 to 5’ Work for BC Theatre ‘9 to 5,’ from A14 her usually drab work attire for a sparkling silver gown, as she performed a heated partner number with Hart before gunning him down and kicking him into a printer. Doralee’s high took her to the Wild West, where her cowgirl boots danced in front of cacti before hog-tying her pig of a boss on stage.

Roz (Lexi Auth, LSOE ’19) also made a name for herself during her own musical number, although she found herself lusting after the object of her co-workers’ hatred. Roz dedicated her musical number, which featured six backup dancers in lush red velvet costumes, to expressing her secret affection for Mr. Hart.

This creates palpable tension for the plot, as Roz later gets in cahoots

with Mr. Hart when she delivers the news of the other women’s plans to take down their boss. Auth’s portrayal of Roz was spot on, and her facial expressions and voice brought Roz’s disdain for her co-workers to life.

The production, which was bursting at the seams with promiscuous scenes and sex talk, was both intriguing and entertaining.

Good theatre should provoke, and 9 to 5 was certainly thought-provoking for a BC audience. BC students are not permitted to have sex on campus (technically, anyway), but in one scene Swancott brazenly humped his desk while voicing Hart’s burning desire to have his way with Doralee.

The smoking scene was another particularly provocative part of 9 to 5, as Shaw was slumped on the couch in perfect stoner form between joint

hits. Despite recreational marijuana’s recent legalization in Massachusetts, BC students are not allowed to have weed on campus because BC receives federal funding.

Based on the 1980 film, the themes explored in Resnick’s 2008 9 to 5: The Musical made the production a perfect selection for BC theatre in 2019.

Watching Violet and Judy overcome their disdain for the sultry Doralee to finally see her value as a quick-witted and clever woman was not only heart-warming, but also refreshing.

A #MeToo-era audience is bound to find this theme to be incredibly relevant, and the women’s eventual takedown of Hart is just the icing on the cake—the real value in the play lies in the unshakeable bond created between the three protagonists when they take charge of their treatment in

Jonathan Ye / Heights editor

Violet tells off Mr. Hart after she suffered from painful remarks from him. the workplace.

The audience sees Violet take a stand against Mr. Hart’s patronizing and frankly agonizing language, Doralee overcomes the sex symbol stereotype, and the once-timid Judy finds

confidence in female friendships.

Empowering, thought-provoking, and whip smart, 9 to 5: The Musical was the perfect production to close out what has been a stellar year for BC Theatre. n

BC Filmmakers Depict Morality, Social Justice

By Tim Healy Heights Staff

Ikram Ali / Heights Editor

Global Dance Displayed at Showcase

By Jillian Ran Asst. Arts Editor Despite pouring rain and occasional bouts of thunder, a sizable audience took shelter under the tent on O’Neill quad for the Cultural Showcase Friday night.

The event began with The Identity Project, a play written and performed

by Boston College students and codirected by Maurice Parent and Dawn M. Simmons. Set in a hospital waiting room, the play explored different facets of identity and how they affect our lives.

The actors were seated in chairs lined up across the stage. When it was each actor’s turn to share their story, they rose and addressed the audience.

The accounts were deeply personal confessions that addressed individuals’ struggles with racism, sexual orientation, and gender. A disturbingly peppy infomercial interrupted the stories, offering a product called “Ambighumanty” that promised to erase the features that distinguish people from one another, such as disabilities and accents.

The narrative traveled down to the morgue of the hospital, where the corpses recounted their deaths. One woman died when her misogynistic circus partner refused to catch her, while another was killed by her neighbors in a racist attack. The play’s innovative format helped make familiar

themes feel fresh.

Next up was the hip-hop dance team Uprising, which performed a love-themed routine that was debuted at Showdown earlier this semester.

The other two dance teams that performed—Masti and Vida de Intensa Pasión (VIP)—followed suit, also performing their Showdown routines.

Romantic love, friendship, and self-love were all conveyed throughout the Uprising piece. Dancers paired up in a coy, flirty segment set to Trevor Wesley’s “Chivalry is Dead” that drew excited cheers from the audience. The tone grew darker, as the team created the illusion of mirrors.

Dancers mimicked each other’s movements on either side of empty frames to Billie Eilish’s somber “idontwannabeyouanymore.” Graceful string music accompanied a traditional Chinese fan dance performance.

The dancers, lit by a striking red background, wore flowing crimson dresses and held delicate white fabric fans, which they fluttered and waved in time to the music. They glided across the stage in ballet shoes, their dresses accentuating their elegant movements. Fernando Lujan, CSOM ’20, shared his heritage with the audience through a series of works, titled “Memories of Mexico.” He began with a performance of Beethoven’s “Für Elise” on an electric keyboard before sharing an original slam poem that explored his Mexican heritage on

both a personal and national level and protested social injustices.

He then performed a rendition of “Remember Me” from the animated film Coco, assuring the audience that “It’s OK to cry” before strumming the first guitar chords.

Sure enough, the emotional song was striking in its beauty, and the audience grew quiet and contemplative.

Masti took the stage for a Scooby Doo-themed routine. The fusion of Bollywood dance with the classic cartoon was an unexpected choice, but Masti pulled it off with the help of illustrative costumes and audio clips.

The team exuded infectious energy, jumping, wielding batons, and slamming wooden percussion instruments in time to the music.

VIP finished off the night with a saucy routine also inspired by the film Coco. The team began with traditional partner dancing before the ladies of the team, decked out in Day of the Dead masks, took the stage to Bad Bunny’s “La Romana.”

The men joined them wearing skeleton-emblazoned shirts as the music switched to Cardi B’s “I Like It,” an apt song choice for a group that blends traditional Latin dance with modern and hip-hop inspired moves. The routine came to a close with a dramatic drop into the splits, an energetic finish for an evening of both spectacles and more thoughtful performances. n

Moviegoers packed the auditorium in Devlin Hall for the social justice film portion of Boston College’s 21st Annual Arts Festival. The screening was part of the Jacques Salmanowitz Program for Moral Courage in Film, which provides student filmmakers with the resources to inspire future generations through documentaries that display acts of moral courage. After a short speech by John Michalczyk, the head of the program, the audience saw what BC’s young filmmakers were all about.

John Mohler, MCAS ’21, kicked it off with Saving Faith, a film covering the hardships of Iraq Christians facing persecution from ISIS and the 2006 kidnapping of Father Douglas Al-Bazi

by Islamist militants. Despite tortures involving a hammer to the face, AlBazi refused to renounce his beliefs, sympathized with his captors, and even forgave them for their actions.

The film’s simple yet powerful last words, “love, love, love,” summarized Al-Bazi’s beliefs and promoted what the world seems to be lacking nowadays. Alfonso Gonzalez, MCAS ’20, presented a quote at the beginning of his film Limbo that stated, “In order to find who you really are, you must peel away all the layers of your identity and discover the truth within.” Alanis felt lost as he moved from Mexico to America, a journey that reflected his transition from identity to true self.

Away from home, he soon realized how proud he was of the pivotal role Mexican culture played in his life. The touching film reminded us, whoever we may be, to own ourselves regardless of what others think. In Art of Reconciliation, Kelsey McGee, former Heights editor and MCAS ’19, and Ciarra Duffy, MCAS ’20, discussed the easing of the Northern Ireland Conf lict between Irish Catholic Republicans and British Protestant Loyalists through creativity.

Interviewing professors and artists, the pair revealed the power of the murals in Northern Ireland and how

the artistic expression gave people a sense of identity, encouraged them to learn from the past, and granted them long-lasting wisdom.

Louise Nessralla, MCAS ’19, presented her film Unveiled, which centered on the hijab-wearing French Muslims’ reaction to the 2010 French bill that banned face-covering headgear for security and identification purposes. Some of these Muslims spoke about how the bill interfered with the freedom of their self-expression, discriminated against their religious values, and pressured them to conform to French social norms.

Lizzy Barrett, former Heights editor and MCAS ’19, and Narin Briar’s, MCAS ’20, film To Resist explained what it means for Palestinians to exist in Israel, where they argue that policies are focused on keeping Israel Jewish. Palestinians have been expelled, held under martial law, and kicked out of government positions just for their political opinions. The film suggested Palestinians channel this frustration in a positive manner, not by resisting through force, but by peacefully refusing to be seen as enemies.

The Hanauma and Maalaea bays in Two Bays are polluted, and Laura Huepenbecker, MCAS ’19, tackles the environmental effects in her first experience with short films. She interviews bay volunteers, trashcleaning divers, and city council members about the harm inflicted on oceanic wildlife, drinking water, and air quality.

The film encourages people to pass on their stories of pollution in hopes of them reaching government officials and encouraging stronger environmental protection policies.

Th e S a l m a n o w i t z P r o g r a m’s screening exhibited blooming talent among BC’s filmmakers, who depicted moral courage in times of violence, uncertainty, segregation, conformity, discrimination, and pollution.

The program encourages students to spread these positive messages and even contribute their own, especially in an age of questionable morals and political polarization. n

Shady Lady, Brendan Ronan, Unit One Dazzled at BC’s Best BC’s Best, from A14 unrequited love and overcoming the fear of being authentic. The audience was on its feet and aggressively cheering long before Letorney finished his last resonating note.

Knight was the next to take center stage, quickly charming the audience with her indie-folk acoustics and intimate vocals.

The Sydney-based artist began her three-song set with “Copenhagen,” a track from her debut album The Nest, released on Spotify in early 2018. A song backed by serene fingerpicking, it had the audience swaying along to lyrics like “I’m not gonna kiss people who don’t love me anymore.” Knight followed with “Kitchen Table,” an unreleased song about a serious car accident she had experienced. Although more subdued than its predecessor, the track was just as moving, with Knight’s

vocals rising in intensity at the bridge to match the song’s dire subject matter.

Knight concluded her set with “Ring a Bell,” an upbeat love song that’s steady guitar thrummed with tangible desire throughout.

Brendan Ronan, MCAS ’19, rounded out the Singer-Songwriter portion of the evening with deft musicality. Performing three original compositions from his band Alpacka, “BC’s resident mountain man” enraptured the audience with his earthly vocals. Ronan opened his set with “Pines,” a song with moving, intimate lyrics like “Have you heard the battle call / Do you know why we’re fighting at all?” The song entered a new cadence at the chorus, taking on a heavier tempo to match the weight of the words. The result was a superb performance that invoked images of the rugged yet peaceful wilderness.

After a brief intermission, the Battle of the Bands portion of the evening

commenced with an explosive performance by indie-rock group Word on the Street. Beckoning the audience off their seats and closer to the stage, the band opened its four-song set with “Stuck,” an uptempo track with snazzy guitar riffs and plenty of summer fun. The group also took the time to debut “Superman,” a new song that featured an impressive drum solo from Alex Eichler, MCAS ’20, and skilled vocals from Madeleine McCullough, MCAS ’20.

Shady Lady, a clear crowd favorite and Battle of the Bands incumbent, took the stage soon after. Opening with “Ride or Die,” a bluesy track off its 2018 EP, the five-piece, all-female band commanded the stage with practiced ease. Lead singer Nicole Rodger, MCAS ’19, cruised through the set, delivering impressive vocal runs with little effort.

Stevie Walker, MCAS ’21, took the reigns on “Icarus” for a head-banging drum solo that earned her a raucous

Celine Lim / Heights editor

Singer-songwriter Brendon Ronan performs an original song at BC’s Best at Arts Fest. round of applause from the audience.

The group’s chemistry was both palpable and refreshing, the ladies feeding off each other’s energy for what proved to be a memorable performance.

Unit One wrapped up the evening with indie-rock flair. Despite being the smallest band in the competition, the trio hardly lacked stage presence. Open-

ing with “Came Around,” a track off its debut album Altered State, the group effortlessly roused the audience with its groovy basslines and explosive drum hits. Guitarist Rachel Moon, MCAS ’19, stole the show in the last song of the set, jumping into the middle of the crowd to deliver a rambunctious electric guitar solo that left the audience speechless. n

ARTS

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@BCHeightsArts

Monday, April 29, 2019

Hello...Shovelhead!: Laughing the Decades Away

By Kaylie Ramirez Arts Editor

The O’Connell House, Fulton 511, and the Vandy Cabaret Room have become the standard locales for comedy at Boston College and typically act as welcoming hosts for the four comedy groups on campus. Had you walked by what is now Stokes Lawn, but what was lovingly known as the Dustbowl until 2010, on a sunny day in 1992, however, you may have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one of the early performances of a group that would eventually become a hegemon for humor at BC. Although now a sketch comedy group with regular performances in front of the chalkboards of the Fulton 511 lecture hall, Hello...Shovelhead! started out in 1989 as small group of My Mother’s Fleabag rejects who would perform just about anything just about anywhere. One early performance that took place at a show done in conjunction with Contemporary Theatre, Love Me Tender, was a play that was a “hilarious look into the progression of a fresh college grad from a naïve lad to a cold, unscrupulous insurance salesman,” according to a recap of the event published in The Heights on Nov. 20, 1989. That same semester, Shovelhead hosted its own fall show titled A Day in the Life of the Heights Review, a clip of which was featured in a promo video for Shovelhead’s 30th Anniversary Show.

Bob Karwin, founder of “Hello, Shovelhead” (punctuation has changed throughout the group’s 30 years) and BC ’89, and Tim Canty, co-founder and BC ’92, were both on hand for the performance, in which Canty “stole the show” and any role Karwin portrayed “caused the audience to roar,” according to writer Candace Coakley.

Comedy is a particularly hard industry to survive in because the humor often comes with an expiration date—what is funny in 1989 might not play so well with a 2019 audience. Luckily for Karwin and Canty, this was not the case when Shovelhead screened a video Karwin graciously filmed for the 30th Anniversary Show.

In the opening video, Karwin was candid about the rejection by Fleabag, the oldest comedy troupe at BC and coincidentally the oldest college comedy troupe in the nation. Karwin conducted interviews with numerous past members of the group, including two of his co-founders, Liza Jones, BC ’89, and Canty.

Reminiscing about her days in the comedy group, Jones brazenly opened up about being the only female in the group when it first started. When Karwin jokingly asked about the sexual harassment she faced—presumably manufactured for the bit—Jones gave a bold response that earned thunderous laughter from the crowd: “All of it was just magical,” Jones said.

Canty took on the task of explaining the group’s peculiar name, which was inspired by the quirky greetings of his friend Mike. According to Canty, Mike would often greet him by addressing Canty as some random object, such as a doorknob or bottleneck. One day, that object was inexplicably a “shovelhead,” and the rest

is history.

Although unintentional at the time, the “shovelhead” greeting is a fitting characterization of what Shovelhead does in the present: The comedy group digs deep into the foundations of life at BC to find the basis for its skits—well, at least for some of the skits. At its Surprise! We’re Moving. Fall Show last year, Shovelhead parodied topics that hit home for liberal arts students—such as a skit where Matt

sketch writing—during any given show, various humor types ground different bits.

Huepenbecker and McCrory agreed that “2 Apricots” is the weirdest sketch they’ve done. In the skit, someone simply goes to a store and buys two apricots. Huepenbecker described the humor behind that sketch as “very fifth dimension subreddit.”

Others are grounded in common BC experiences, like not being able to find a table in Hillside. McCrory wrote the

education, which apparently includes an undergraduate degree from the one and only Boston College, when (unsuccessfully) auditioning for yet another role during the pilot of the hit sitcom—or at least graduating from BC was supposed to be part of his character arc, according to IMDB, an admittedly inconsistent source.

For the purposes of the final cut, Tobias’ post-grad degree from MIT is the only educational experience that is mentioned

COURTESY OF HELLO...SHOVELHEAD!

Wilson, MCAS ’21, and Sean McShane, MCAS ’19, butchered a performance of Hamlet—but also veered into wackier territory with an asinine skit about a relentless BuzzFeed reporter, the personal favorite skit of Laura Huepenbecker, a current director of Shovelhead and MCAS ’19.

Going into the 30th Anniversary Show, however, Huepenbecker and co-director Rob McCrory, MCAS ’19, decided to widen the scope of the concepts covered by the sketches. Once the group had announced the date for its 30th Anniversary Show, dubbed Hello Shovelhead! Presents: Our 30th Anniversary Spooktacular, alums began to book their flights from various locations around the world.

“I see [the 30th Anniversary Show] as a nod to the alumni,” Huepenbecker said.

“Just [a] thank you so much for putting in the work that makes it so fun for us to do now.”

This outlook translated to designing the show around humor that would be accessible to many age groups, not just college students. With the pressure on, the group’s current members went about the strenuous writing and selection process, which lasts months leading up to show.

During a typical week, group members will spend up to eight hours writing potential sketches for shows. Shovelhead then comes together to read sketches for about three hours a week, a time during which members pitch their new sketches to the group.

“It’s a great structure for teaching people how to write—it’s like the most collaborative thing and that’s one of the keys to our success,” McCrory said.

Shovelhead greatly benefits from allowing all members to contribute to

sketch and opted to feature a voiceover of the main character’s thoughts while he listens in on a girls’ conversation about guys.

“And then he [runs] into his friend who is like playing the Millenium Falcon, and he’s like, ‘I don’t want to sit with Kevin.

He’s being weird over there,’” McCrory said.

For the 30th Anniversary Show, Shovelhead elected to perform a riskier skit that threw back to the days of abundant musical theatre pieces. In October of 1996, Shovelhead performed one such piece to celebrate the inauguration of University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. In the musical skit during the anniversary show, Sean McShane, MCAS ’19; Matt Wilson, MCAS ’21; and Zach Erickson, MCAS ’20, performed a song about a business meeting in a near-scatting style.

The group’s hilarity extends far beyond the BC bubble, however, and alumni have had post-grad success in the comedy business. Sascha Rothchild, BC ’98, writes for GLOW, a 2018 Netflix show about female wrestlers in the 1980s. Meanwhile, Kevin Allocca, a former director of Shovelhead and BC ’06, succeeded on the business side of the industry as the current Head of Culture and Trends at YouTube. As such, Allocca is tasked with tracking the website’s most popular videos.

One such format that often receives heavy viewership on YouTube is the “best of” compilations for popular shows like The Office or Arrested Development. The very same shows Allocca frequently sees are connected to his alma mater.

Tobias Fünke (David Cross), a flamboyant Daisy-Duke wearing and chronically unemployed actor on Arrested Development, introduces himself as “Dr. Tobias Fünke,” and goes on to detail his

in his brief introduction.

Pilot name-drops and U.S. News college rankings aside, Arrested Development does in fact have ties to BC. Shovelhead alumna Bri LeRose, a former director of Shovelhead and BC ’11, was a writer on the popular show that ran from 2003 to 2019.

It was Fleabag alumnus Amy Poehler, BC ’93, however, who inspired LeRose to break into the comedy scene at BC. “My tour guide was in Fleabag and she was telling us stories about performing with Amy Poehler and all the fun things that she was doing, and I was like, ‘Wow, that sounds great,’” LeRose said in a 2010 profile in The Heights. “So I had actually intended to join Fleabag my freshman year. Then, I don’t know why, but I saw a Shovelhead banner, and I thought, ‘You know, I really like to write, too.’ I thought maybe that would be a better fit for me.

So just sort of on a whim decided I would try out.”

Luckily, LeRose’s audition went much better than that of Tobias—LeRose went on to describe the moment she learned she had made the cut to be in Shovelhead as “one of the highlights of college,” despite the fact that the returning members of the group had woken her up in the middle of the night to deliver the good news. The tradition of disturbing the sleep of the new members in order to induct them into the group didn’t end in 2011, however, and Shovelhead members still make the midnight trek to Newton and Upper to give new members a warm welcome. This exciting introduction to Shovelhead is a fitting reward for the strenuous audition each member has to endure.

The audition process spans two nights and starts off fairly easy, but progressively wears down prospective members. The

first night consists of circle sessions where auditioners tell a little about themselves and their style of humor after being questioned by current members. This year, 65 people tried out for spots on the 13-person team, and only 12 prospects made it to the second round of auditions.

The pressure is on for the second night, and auditioners are asked to partake in improv games and edit a sketch.

The number of people accepted into the group varies each year, but all new members undergo the same initiation ritual—one Huepenbecker and McCrory dubbed “Meet the Members Night” to avoid accusations of hazing.

“We wake up everyone in the group,” Huepenbecker said.

“It’s a late night,” McCrory added.

“And then we don’t go to bed,” Huepenbecker finished.

A few lost hours of sleep is a small price to pay for all that Shovelhead provides its members. Huepenbecker described the current members as “so weirdly close,” and the group has meant so much to her that she has even decided to get a tattoo of the Shovelhead logo.

“Part of the reason I am so excited about this tattoo is cause I’m like, ‘Ah, Shovelhead showed me what a true best-friendship is,’” Huepenbecker said.

Finding friends who can share a common sense of humor is not only important for Shovelhead, however. Huepenbecker and McCrory view comedic relief as a potential remedy for some of the stress that BC students can face during their time on the Heights.

“We all take ourselves so seriously,” Huepenbecker said. “This school—I love it—but I think that a little bit of comedic relief from people that just are not trying to take themselves seriously at all and provide something that is purely just for fun I think is meaningful. I think it’s worthwhile.” n

ALLYSON MOZELIAK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Hello...Shovelhead! Commemorates 30 Years with ‘Spooktacular’

By Kaylie Ramirez Arts Editor

What’s better than a bunch of self-described My Mother’s Fleabag rejects performing in a dimly lit lecture hall on a Friday night? I don’t know, probably a few things—a Walsh party, a game of stack cup, or a murder at the skatepark—Hello...

Shovelhead! spoofed at its Spooktacular shows commemorating the sketch comedy group’s 30-year anniversary.

The group’s founder Bob Karwin, BC ’89, graciously filmed a series of interviews for Shovelhead to screen at the show’s opening. One unnamed former member candidly gave his reason for joining the comedy group in its inaugural year.

“We enjoyed getting the chance to insult the audience,” the Shovelhead alum said of the first Shovelhead ensemble.

Karwin, acutely aware of the impending start of internship season, went on to question him about the internship the alumnus held at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla. When blank mentioned his pay at the spa, Karwin reminded blank interns in fact do not get paid.

“Oh, well I did get paid,” blank said in

the video, earning thunderous laughter from the Fulton 511 crowd.

Kieran Harrington, MCAS ’20, and Erin Bucci, MCAS ’19, hiked across the makeshift stage to find the tent of Laura Huepenbecker, a director of Shovelhead and MCAS ’19, and Matt Wilson, MCAS ’21, during the first skit. The offbeat couple greeted the hikers by jumping out of their tent with white beard masks on. The campers soon revealed they had been living in the tent for 30 years, after discovering one night in that they had liked life in the woods.The audience eagerly followed the quirky comedy further into the woods for a night of sketch comedy that boasted an impressive range of comedic styles. In one skit, Dana Connolly, MCAS ’22, landed jokes as a burnout skateboarder named Casey whose offstage best friend Dijon had just died. Unshaken by witnessing the murder just minutes before, Casey informed the police officers investigating the crime (Sean McShane, MCAS ’19, and Alex Gardilcic, MCAS ’21) that he performed the not oft landed “dead man’s ollie” over Dijon’s body before asking the cops if he could get a lift back home—Dijon was his ride.

Feminism and football clashed in a skit about a girl who was “not like the other girls.” Portrayed by Grace O’Hare, MCAS ’22, Jess complained of the estrogen in the air when she hangs out with other girls, likening it to “breathing in a Luna Bar” when meeting her boyfriend’s friends for the first time. Although taking to her vulgar humor at first, the trio of men were less impressed when Jess had a full on meltdown, screaming “Other girls, Pinterest. Me, PornHub.” Frat boys also provided their take on feminism later in the night. Posing as flesh and blood Brad and Chads, Rob McCrory, a director of Shovelhead and MCAS ’19, and McShane started out the skit with the typical frat fare, talking about their dates (or lack thereof) to their fraternity formal.

Things took a turn for the woke when McShane pulled a “big bag of tolerance” out of his pocket and McCrory pulled “empathy out of his shoe.” The boys’ feminism was tested, however, when Bucci arrived to talk about her impending test.

“I’ve got something in my ear—feminism,” McShane said, informing Bucci he had not listened to her complaining.

True to form, Shovelhead treated its audience to a feature film in the middle

MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Rob McCrory and Sean McShane parodied frat boys during one particularly funny skit.

of its show. This year’s movie, titled Lady Brunch, featured the Shovelhead women chatting over breakfast at Moogies. Each woman imagined their life without Shovelhead: O’Hare imagined marrying Connolly in front of Gasson; Krista Roze, MCAS ’20, dreamed about joining Surf Club instead; and Huepenbecker pictured her life as an activist, one that unfortunately ends with her getting hit by a car while protesting in the streets.

Ultimately, Huepenbecker and Bucci,

whose alternate life was one in which she (unsuccessfully) cured cancer, decide to drink an odd elixir presented by McCrory that would grant them an eternity in Shovelhead. For those in the audience, it was abundantly clear why the two seniors would want to extend their time in the group by the end of the night—watching a bunch of quirky college kids sound off about gender equality (but in a tastefully funny way) actually isn’t a bad way to spend a Friday night. n

The Heights

Monday, April 29, 2019

A17

CCE Plays With Mystery

By Peter Gavaris Heights Staff

Maggie dipatri / heights editor

Dance Showcase Features BCID, BCDE

By Stephanie Liu Copy Editor Arts Fest opened up on Thursday with the Dance Showcase and featured various Boston College dance and culture groups.

Each presented a short routine, and the event showcased the various styles of dance that contribute to the vibrant arts scene at BC.Boston College Irish Dance (BCID), which took second place at Showdown this year, was first to perform, setting its number to “Glanfaida Mé” by Kíla. Showing off their expert footwork, the dancers stomped in unison, weaving into different formations with remarkable precision. The Golden Eagles dance team followed, dancing to “To Build a Home” by the Cinematic Orchestra, presenting a contemporary piece with melodic fluidity.

The Golden Eagles formed a long diagonal line across the stage and moved both as

a cannon and in unison, with the highlight being a series of fouetté turns that dazzled the crowd.

Full Swing brought high energy with a number set to “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes, spinning partners around and doing a series of lifts and balances that elicited both gasps and cheers from the crowd. Dance Organization of Boston College (DOBC) took to the stage with a number prepared to “London Bridge” by Fergie. The heavy beat filled the tent, as the DOBC dancers performed an attitudefilled hip-hop dance. BC On Tap brought an impressive tap piece set to “Come Together” by The Beatles, where all the tap dancers clicked their tap shoes in perfect synchrony, with clean taps that escalated in speed as the piece progressed.

Boston College Dance Ensemble (BCDE) brought the funk with their rendition of “Uptown Funk” by Bruno

maggie dipatri / heights editor

Dance Organization of Boston College performs a dance to “London Bridge.”

Mars. A sassy and flirty number, BCDE dancers whipped their hair and blew kisses at the crowd, with the dance reaching a climax when all the dancers dropped into side-splits, showing off their skill and flexibility.

Synergy performed “Choose Your Own Syn-venture,” the same routine it rolled out at Showdown, where the dancers choreographed a choose-your-own-adventurestyle number in which the narrator told a story where the audience could fill in the blanks—allowing them to choose between actions, such as fighting or fleeing from a lion. Synergy’s hip-hop dancing was clean and precise, with strong swagger and energy behind all their movements.

The dance group elicited shouts from the crowd, which enjoyed participating in the piece.Finally, the Hellenic Society of BC performed a Greek folk dance showcase to round out the first performances on the Arts Fest stage. Showcasing three styles of traditional Greek dance, the performers entered the stage holding hands and stepping to “Ego O Xenos” by Stratos Dionisiou, weaving in and around each other. They then transitioned to “Den Thelo Tetious Filous” by Natassa Theodoridou, where the members of the dance group formed a half circle, and individual members stepped in the middle as their fellow dancers and the audience clapped and cheered.

The third dance was to “Pentozalia / Otan Eskeftike O Theos” by Nikos Zoidakis and featured the dancers showing off their expert footwork in two lines. n

In A Murder Most Fowl, a birder murder sets off a zany investigation filled to the brim with smoking guns and bird puns. The Committee for Creative Enactments’ (CCE) latest murder mystery concerns a rowdy cohort of ornithologists—bird scientists, for those out of the loop—and the fast-talking detectives tasked with investigating them after Clarence Fillmore (Ben Blumenstock, MCAS ’19), set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the show’s start, is fatally poisoned.

Hilarity abounds, as the mystery unspools in the show directed by Colleen Doyle and written by Ben Blumenstock and Hank Camacho, all MCAS ’19.

“This isn’t Casablanca,” says one character, yet much of the show feels like a riff on hard-boiled noirs and mysteries of old. The trio of sleuths at the center, Detective Alice Rhubarb (Sam Kramer, MCAS ’20); Detective Davis Wells (Christian Moro, MCAS ’19); and Lieutenant Ross (Gerry Menna, MCAS ’20) snoop around for the killer while doling out one-liners in trench coats and fedoras—except Ross, who hilariously and inexplicably wears a cowboy hat and speaks in a southern drawl. Most characters in the production speak with a florid vocabulary, and even those deliberately dimwitted, like Wells, speak in an assertive, fast-talking manner like the rest, even if what he’s saying is usually moronic. Attention has even been given to the character names, like Sue Sanderson (Cassie Dineen, MCAS ’19) and Archibald Winters (David Schector, MCAS ’19), which feel ripped from the pages of an old mystery.A Murder Most Fowl plays with these tropes while still giving each and every character a unique and memorable personality. The prime suspect for the murder, Percy Jones (Firebird LaRocca, CSOM ’22), is a quintessentially pretentious, patterned-sweater wearing academic type prone to breaking out into monologue and evil laughter.

He’s also been plagiarizing his

work for years. His shady lawyer (Sam Frechette, MCAS ’22), another suspect, never appears on stage without his sunglasses and an inconspicuous, powdery substance on his upper lip.

A group of ornithologists, including Winters, Faye Bergman (Emma MacKinnon, MCAS ’20), and Parker Rizzo (Will Hespe, MCAS ’22) act as the Greek chorus, commenting on the drama in between making jokes about hotboxing the aviary.

From beginning to end, the show is a treat. The quick-witted dialogue keeps conversations interesting throughout, and the script makes use of a number of recurring jokes that make for more and more laughter as the show goes on.

The CCE even finds humor in

iKRA

between scenes, using a number of bird-themed songs (i.e. The Beatles’ “Blackbird” and Nelly Furtado’s “I’m Like a Bird”) as transition music. As expected, there are a number of surprise twists and turns along the way, including one surreal sequence where Ross, after a couple of drinks, gets a pep talk from the physical incarnation of Lady Justice (Mark Schmitt, MCAS ’22). As delirious as things get, however, A Murder Most Fowl soars because of its characters and the strong performances bringing them to life. n

Dramatics Society Raises Questions About Body Positivity

By Cassie Perez Heights Staff The idea of a “good body” was dissected in the tent on Stokes Lawn Friday afternoon during a performance of The Good Body, an Arts Fest event jointly directed by the Boston College Dramatics Society and the Women’s Center. The Good Body, written by Eve Ensler—also the author of the Vagina Monologues—addresses the pressure all women feel to change the way they look in order to be accepted by society.

The play opens with a monologue by Ensler herself, portrayed by Holly-Anne Grell, MCAS ’21. She explains that since she was a little girl, definitions of what it means to be “good” have changed drastically. What hasn’t changed, however, is the expectation that all women should be “good,” a feat her “less-than-flat, post-40s stomach” makes difficult to achieve.

While Ensler remains the central focus

of The Good Body, the play takes a broader approach to the issue of negative body image, highlighting how the problem is pervasive across different cultures and backgrounds.

Over the course of her journey to reach self-acceptance, Eve encounters a bevy of woman who all have struggled with how to inhabit their own body. Bernice (Monica Orona, MCAS ’21), a teenage fat camp attendee, lamented how much harder overweight women had to work to keep their men. Carmen (Elena Akins, MCAS ’19), a Puerto Rican woman from Brooklyn, blames her critical mother for her body insecurity and laments that she’d died before she was able to “earn” her affection.

Even Nina (Elyse Gaertner, MCAS ’21), a thin Italian woman whose body Ensler initially envied, asserts that she hated her breasts, and the only way she could overcome this self-loathing and achieve freedom was through reduction surgery.

Told in a number of moving monologues,

these scenes enraptured the audience, revealing how body shame transcends cultural boundaries to become something more.

While many of the scenarios came across as hilariously ludicrous—such as in the case of Carol (Cassandra Pearson, MCAS ’20) a woman who pursued vaginoplasty as a “gift” to her husband Harry—they still rang true to the way women scrutinize and ultimately reject their own body, as evidenced by the audience’s affirmative snapping. But even this highlights the irony of recognizing the foolishness of others’ issues with their body while not being able to recognize the issue in oneself. One of the most pivotal scenes of the play sees Ensler talking to Leah (Mariam Ahmed, MCAS ’19), an African woman she meets while traveling the continent with her husband.

When confiding in Leah that she doesn’t know how to inhabit her body because she feels insecure about her stomach,

Kaylie Ramirez / Heights Editor

The Dramatics Society joined the Women’s Center to adress body positivity.

Leah puts her self-doubt into perspective.

“Do you say that tree isn’t pretty cause it doesn’t look like that [other] tree?” Leah asserts, “We’re all trees. You’re a tree. I’m a tree. You’ve got to love your body.”

While young girls are taught to hate their bodies from an early age, The Good Body flips this notion on its head, revealing

how absurd the women’s obsession with “fixing” her figure is. The performance culminates with all of the actresses coming together for a moving final scene, driving home the assertion that there is not one true “good body” but that all bodies are inherently good—whatever shape they take. n

A Capella Brings Harmony to Arts Fest Flute and Cello Ensemble Mixes Modern, Classics

By Emily Himes Assoc. Arts Editor

The A Capella Critics’ Choice Showcase allowed students to get a taste of six of Boston College’s a cappella groups in one concise set. Even though it was a cold and rainy Friday afternoon, the O’Neill Plaza was packed with students trying to get a glimpse of the skilled singers. Families, friends, and roommates were all in attendance to cheer on the many students performing throughout the showcase.The BC Dynamics, a co-ed a cappella group, kicked off the showcase with impressive harmonies. They performed crowd-pleasing songs like “Electric Love” by BØRNS and “Trippin’ On You” by Ella Mai in front of a vibrant backdrop of bright colors.

The Acoustics performed a variety of moving, slower ballads that displayed the group’s more emotional side. They started off their set with

an emotional rendition of James Arthur’s “Naked,” which was poignant and heartfelt. At several points in the song, the audience erupted in applause due to the sheer power and control in the voices flying off the stage. Later, The Acoustics performed “Burning House” by Cam. The group conveyed the heartbreaking character of the song in an impressively cathartic manner.

Up next was The Heightsmen, BC’s only all-male a capella group.

The group drew a huge applause from the audience as they crooned songs about love and heartbreak in front of a gradient backdrop. In typical Heightsmen fashion, the show was not complete without some Frank Sinatra. The group closed out its set with a beautiful rendition of the 1959 hit “Somewhere Beyond the Sea.” Against the Current, a non-denominational Christian a cappella group, was founded 20 years ago with

the purpose of bringing the gospel to BC as a music ministry. The passionate and talented group performed a mix of slower songs and even included some rap verses in its set. Against the Current ended its set with an excellent cover of “Us,” a rousing duet by James Bay and Alicia Keys.

Last but not least was The Sharps, BC’s only all-female a capella group.

They first performed “No Roots” by Alice Merton with palpable energy and spirit. The singers skillfully added their own twist to the fiery and passionate song. The group closed out the entire showcase with an incredibly powerful cover of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” by Carole King.

The pure emotion in each of the girls’ voices was potent and clear throughout the entire song, causing the audience to burst into applause at multiple points amid the performance. n

By Emily Himes Assoc. Arts Editor The Chamber Music Society sponsors both the Cello Ensemble and Flute Ensemble. The various ensembles are able to collaborate and learn from Boston College faculty members as well as perform at different events throughout the year.

At their collab performance at Arts Fest, the Cello Ensemble opted to play some modern hits which were easily recognizable to the audience.

The ensemble started out with Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and then transitioned into “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars.

The cello-based interpretation of “Uptown Funk”’s upbeat bass line and catchy chorus was intriguing, and many audience members were enjoying the

unexpected selection of pop music and were singing and clapping along.

The Flute Ensemble performed in front of a vibrant and colorful illustration of different flutes and musical notes. The group played a variety of whimsical, airy pieces but the final song was the most impressive.

To close the set, the ensemble played Gareth McLearnon’s “Single Yellow Line,” which was unexpected in various aspects. It was not as light and peaceful as the other songs. Instead, it shed light on some dissonance and tension. The flutists even ditched the flute for other noises, in some cases making repeated “-ch -ch” sounds that sounded like a train chugging along tracks. This unique performance allowed the audience to experience a different aspect of the Flute Ensemble, which made for a more balanced concert as a whole. n

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BY ALLYSON ALLYSON MOZELIAK MOZELIAK // HEIGHTS HEIGHTS EDITOR EDITOR