The Heights, April 3, 2023

BC Admits Record Low 15 Percent

By lucy freeMaN Asst. News Editor

Boston College admitted 15 percent of 36,525 applicants to the Class of 2027, according to a University release.

“These students’ intellectual inquiry, the time and care they’ve committed to their communities, and the personal stories they have shared with us are both impressive and inspiring,” Director of Undergraduate Admission Grant Gosselin said in the release. “We look forward to the impact they will have on the Heights and in the world at large.”

Last year, the University received a record 40,477 applications for the Class of 2026, with 17 percent of applicants admitted.

BC’s acceptance rate dropped roughly 2 percent from last year, with 94 percent of admitted students ranking in the top 10 percent of their high school class, according to the release. Admitted students averaged 1511 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT this year.

According to the release, 44 percent of admitted students identify as AHANA+, 9 percent are international students, and 12 percent are first-generation college students.

Compared to the Class of 2026, which saw approximately half of students admitted through early decision (ED), a little more than half of the students were admitted through ED this year. The number of applicants who applied by regular decision (RD) also dropped by roughly 4,000.

Tyler McClellan, a current senior at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md. and CSOM ’27, was accepted into BC via ED II. She said she chose to apply ED II after she toured the Chestnut Hill Campus in November 2022.

Masti Wins Showdown

By Josie McNeill Arts Editor PatersoN traN Assoc. Arts Editor

Even before the dance teams took the stage in Conte Forum at ALC Showdown on Saturday, audience members and the show’s judges stood out of their seats, dancing to songs by Rihanna and Jay-Z in anticipation of the sold-out show.

Hosted by the AHANA+ Leadership Council (ALC), 2023 Showdown featured a record-breaking crowd and one new dance team, according to hosts Deena Mohamed, ALC chair and MCAS ’23, and Rihana Ali, ALC vice chair and MCAS ’23.

See Showdown, A10

NPS Posed To Cut Positions

By ella soNg Asst. Newton Editor

Following the failure of the operating override, Newton Public Schools’ (NPS) proposed fiscal year (FY24) budget includes budget cuts, such as eliminating 56.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, according to interim superintendent Karen Smith. NPS will also make cuts to student services and raise fees for services such as parking spaces and extracurricular activities, Smith said when presenting the FY24 budget on Wednesday night.

“I can’t stand here and not talk about some reductions, but we did it across the board, so as to try to move into a budget that we can sustain and eventually build if the need is there to build,” Smith said.

According to the budget proposal presentation, the $9.7 million—or 3.73 percent—increase in city funding does not cover the expense increases in out-of-district tuition, health insurance, van transportation, utilities, and rising student needs, leaving NPS with a $4.9 million budget deficit.

NPS had a $2 million carry forward—which are funds that city officials can appropriate from the previous fiscal year for the next year —from FY23, made possible by the spending and hiring freeze implemented in January, according to the budget proposal. Smith said relying on a carry forward for the next fiscal year, although smaller than it was for FY23, is not a long-term solution.

“This continued reliance on ‘carry forward’ each year creates a structural budget deficit that

is unsustainable over time,” the proposal reads. The largest net year-over-year FTE reductions in the proposed budget—which does include adjustments not caused by the budget deficit—are the 25.3 FTE reduction in elementary education, the 20.4 FTE reduction in secondary education, and the 5.8 FTE reduction in student services, according to the budget proposal.

BC Races to 20 Wins Faster Than Any Prior Season

By grahaM dietz Sports Editor

It’s the top of the ninth inning, and there’s just one player who can carry No. 3-seed Roger Williams baseball to another round of conference tournament play in

its 2022 season. It’s Chris Flynn. Flynn is no ordinary ballplayer. A batter-pitcher hybrid, Flynn held the second-best batting average on Roger Williams’ 2022 roster with a .322 and second-best ERA at 2.21.

That’s no fluke. Flynn is highly skilled, with abilities to not only

With 24 runs, Eagles top Georgia

Tech.

play on both sides of the ball, but excel in both.

After collecting a win over No. 4-seed Nichols and a loss to No. 2-seed Endicott in the 2022 Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, Roger Williams went on to face top-seeded Salve Regina to either make or break its season depending on the outcome of the game. If the Hawks won, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee would likely have selected Roger Williams to host a regional. But thanks to Salve Regina’s closer, Andrew Roman, they did not.

In four previous appearances at the plate before his final at-bat in the ninth inning, Flynn flew out, was hit by a pitch, singled, and then struck out at the hands of Roman.

By Nick fursey For The Heights

In 11 seasons at the helm of the program, Boston College baseball head coach Mike Gambino has only seen BC reach at least 22 runs in a game once. On Sunday, in his 12th season, he got to witness it again.

After losing the first leg of a three-game series against Georgia Tech on Friday, No. 14 BC (20–6, 8–4 Atlantic Coast) responded with vengeance in games two and three—notching a 24–12 victory over the Yellow Jackets (17–11, 6–6) on Sunday and a 3–1 victory on Saturday. The Eagles showcased their bat strength in the latter contest, and their best pitcher combo—Chris Flynn and Andrew Roman—in the former contest.

BC’s win on Sunday marked its

fourth straight ACC series win of the season—it’s the first time the Eagles have won their first four ACC series since they joined the conference in 2006—and pushed the Eagles to their fastest 20-win start in program history. BC has yet to lose a series in 2023, and its 24 runs on Sunday marked the most scored since March 24, 2015.

“When things go wrong, you’re going to have your initial reaction stimulated,” Gambino said. “Once that happens, regroup and figure out a way to respond. And they’ve been doing that all year.”

The Eagles rolled out with starting pitcher John West for Sunday’s game. West has struggled this season with a 7.43 ERA. He started off a bit rocky, giving up an early three-run home run to Georgia Tech’s Angelo Dispigna.

Baseball, A14

VIKRUM SINGH

CONNOR SIEMIEN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

This Week’s Top 3 Events

BC Sees Lowest-Ever Admit Rate for Class of 2027

“I ended up touring it, and I listened to a lot of the students who spoke, and they all just seemed really thoughtful about their answers, and they seemed to really enjoy the school,” McClellan said. “And we walked around the campus, and it was really beautiful.”

Rosie Schneider, a current senior at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, Fla. and MCAS ’27, applied RD to BC. Schneider said she liked BC’s campus and its close proximity to Boston.

“Boston is a great college town,” Schneider said. “It’s not just BC people around—like you can be friends with everybody that goes to any school in the Boston area.”

Schneider said her college application process was long and difficult, as she applied to about 20 schools.

According to Schneider, she was in a boba shop with her friend when she

first found out that BC accepted her.

“I think I screamed in the boba shop,” Schneider said. “I was really excited.”

Looking to her upcoming time at BC, McClellan said she is interested in pursuing a concentration in finance, as well as working at the Hatchery, a new makerspace located at 245 Beacon St.

“I’ve been doing ceramics and glass work for four years and just to see a school that was super into the arts—like I saw people sewing their own clothes there, and I thought that was really amazing,” McClellan said.

“So I’m really excited to see that and see what opportunities they offer.”

Schneider is also looking forward to attending football games in the fall and taking advantage of opportunities such as retreats.

“I heard a little bit about the retreats and stuff that they do,” Schneider said. “That seems really cool. I’m excited to just, like, be in Boston.”

McClellan said while BC is expensive, she knows it will provide her with useful alumni connections in the future.

“I also knew that it’s sort of an investment myself because BC is a very expensive school, but it’s also a very good school,” McClellan said.

“So I knew the connections that the City of Boston and Boston College could offer me could really improve my future.” n

Del Soto Talks Dual Roles for Migrant Women

B y A lexis T hom A s Heights Staff

Migrant women can serve as both caregivers and human rights defenders, according to psychologist and sociologist Arancha Garcia Del Soto.

“Universally, women tend to be kind of the effective providers within their families, right?” Del Soto said. “What happens when the situation is deeply unequal, or

there’s a conflict going on? Usually, women are forced to become economic providers.”

In a presentation sponsored by Boston College’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice on Friday afternoon, Del Soto discussed how migrant women as well as gender roles as a whole can change when adapting to the cultures of new countries.

“What we tend to get now in many places, are the new roles

of young migrant women in having to raise their families by themselves—you can find them in almost every single country,” Del Soto said. “From a sociological perspective, where we need to be very aware of history, many of these women become politically engaged or are already activists before they leave their countries.”

Migrating can result in women having to adopt new responsibilities as they navigate

their new geographical contexts, according to Del Soto.

Ongoing violent social conflict also significantly affects women who recently migrated, often subjecting them to genderbased violence.

“What we have is that some new violence might overlap with this other violence connected to inequality, in the sense it’s proven that many of the women … experience sexual violence in conflict,” Del Soto said. “Think about the conflict in the Central African Republic, or some of the past conflicts in Colombia. On top of being sexually abused, many of them also experienced domestic abuse afterwards.”

According to Del Soto, migrant women also often experience changes in their relationships with their children when they migrate to new countries.

Growing up in countries different from their country of origin often furthers generational divides, Del Soto said.

“Only today, we were spending some time this morning with this woman that was talking to us, originally from Puerto Rico, about her two kids, and how they are completely fluent in English, while she doesn’t speak it,” Del

Soto said.

Del Soto also said another challenge migrant women face is learning how to participate in the economies of their new countries, citing the experiences of Spanish immigrants as an example.

“Two-thirds of the manual workers in the official caregiving sectors are foreigners,” Del Soto said. “The majority of them come from Latin America and Asia. The reality of the job market in Spain is not only that when these women arrive they don’t have the right support network, but they also don’t have the knowledge of their rights and the legal system in Spain.”

According to Del Soto, feminist groups are now discussing the importance of giving migrant women the opportunity to choose whether to serve as a family caregiver, rather than just immediately forcing them into the role.

“If you get to talk to different feminist groups, they will tell you that it is ultimately about having options: Women can take care of their family members, but shouldn’t feel as if they had to,” Del Soto said. “The ideal situation here is having the opportunity to make a decision.” n

BCPD Brings First Annual Polar Plunge to Campus

As the front of the line rapidly approached, Catherine Nidds nearly backed out of the Polar Plunge.

“At first I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ and then I actually almost stepped out of line when I was walking up,” Nidds, LSEHD ’25, said. “But then after you get out and all your friends are soaking wet and also freezing, it’s just so fun.”

Children, police officers, and students came together at Margot Connell Recreation Center for Boston College’s first annual Polar Plunge on Saturday morning. The BC Police Department (BCPD) hosted the event along with Special Olympics BC and the Law Enforcement Torch Run.

“Boston College Police wanted to bring a Polar Plunge to campus in conjunction with the Special Olympics club that’s on campus,” said Stephanie Esposito, assistant vice president of development for fundraising and partner engagement at Special Olympics Massachusetts. “And they brought the idea to us and we

jumped at it.”

President and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts Mary Beth McMahon said Saturday’s event raised over $23,000.

She added that the organization’s plunge program has raised over $870,000 in total this year—breaking its record for the third year in a row even with the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We could actually not do that without every single person, from every plunge here, from the smaller fundraisers to the bigger fundraisers,” McMahon said while addressing the crowd. “This is money we use every day in every community. So thank you all very much.”

According to Esposito, Special Olympics Massachusetts is always looking for ways to bring the Polar Plunge to various communities.

“We have a great partnership with Boston College Police but also law enforcement across the state who host Polar Plunge events and other fundraisers for us throughout the year,” Esposito said. “So this was kind of a no-brainer when they pitched the

idea to bring it to campus.”

After this year’s large turnout, Esposito said she expects the word-of-mouth will result in an even higher attendance at next year’s Polar Plunge.

“The turnout’s incredible,” Esposito said. “I mean, you have a packed gym right now, and I think, you know, people are gonna see photos and videos from today. People are gonna go back to their dorms and their clubs and their

classes and share their plunge story.”

McMahon then presented the top fundraising teams with awards for their donations following her speech, with the BC women’s club water polo team raising over $700 and BCPD raising over $5,145.

After McMahon presented the awards, the event moved outside of the Connell Recreation Center, where each participant was called up one by one to climb

in and out of a temporary aboveground pool of cold water.

“Oh, it’s the look of shock on everyone’s face as they come out of the water—I think this is pretty entertaining,” Esposito said. “And you know, I think that, if I can be earnest, you know, that people come together around the idea that everyone should belong to a community and that like, the world should be a little bit more inclusive for all of us.” n

BC’s Research Program on Children and Adversity and the Trauma and Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital will discuss trauma-based care for refugee youth in a webinar on Monday. The event will be held over Zoom from 1 to 3 p.m.

The opening ceremony of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month will be held in Gasson 100 on Monday. Join the event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for food and a keynote address from Interim Director of the Office of Student Involvement Roatha Kong.

Francis Ricciardone, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Egypt, and the Philippines, will visit BC on Monday to discuss his experiences as a diplomat during the wars in Iraq. The lecture will be held in the auditorium of 245 Beacon St. from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.

B y K A ryl C lifford Editorial Assistant

UGBC Candidates Face Off in Final Debate

By Lucy Freeman Asst. News Editor

The two teams running for UGBC president and vice president faced off in a final debate on Thursday night, tackling issues including sustainability, academic advising, and mental health resources ahead of Monday’s election.

The Elections Committee held the final debate, which began with opening statements from presidential candidates Jonah Kotzen and Jordan Nakash, as well as their respective running mates.

Kotzen, policy coordinator of the Council for Students with Disabilities (CSD) and MCAS ’24, said he and running mate Meghan Heckelman, LSEHD ’25, based their campaign around creating a community for students at Boston College.

“I found my community in UGBC, and I found my community in CSD,” Kotzen said. “And that’s what our campaign is based on— community, ‘Eagles for Others,’ you know, servant leadership. We want to make the student body feel like they have a community here.”

Nakash—BAIC ambassador, former Student Assembly (SA) representative, and MCAS ’24— said she took the past year off from UGBC. During that year, Nakash

said she learned how to advocate for students by being there for them.

“It’s not just about hearing their complaints or their concerns and then going to advocate for them, but getting to know them,” Nakash said. “Not so much about ‘What do you want,’ but ‘Why do you want it, and how I can help you.’”

The teams then talked about ways they would plan on improving BC’s academic advising process if elected.

Kotzen said there should be special advising for double majors. He also added that professors should be better trained in how to advise students on what classes to take.

“When individuals seek out help from our professors, they should be able to have access to that resource, and I think that that’s something that Meghan and I want to communicate with the administration here at our school,” Kotzen said.

Yosan Tewelde, Nakash’s running mate and MCAS ’24, said their team aims to offer more advising resources for students, including full-time academic advisors.

“If elected, me and Jordan would also advocate for full-time advisers, so that there are people who are dedicated to advising

before another profession as being a professor, and more required check-ins throughout the year, not just around registration time when it always feels like it’s too late already,” Tewelde, AHANA+ Leadership Council general coordinator, said.

Nakash said she and Tewelde have discussed ways to improve mental health for all students, including implementing de-stress events specifically for student-athletes.

Tewelde suggested implement-

ing excused mental health days and making University Counseling Services (UCS) easier to access.

“Boston College definitely needs to improve their mental health services in general for students,” Tewelde said. “And we want to implement initiatives in addition to the ones we highlighted for athletes, but including a mental health day initiative to let all students have a day off and to make UCS more accessible.”

Heckelman advocated that the University better utilize the peer

wellness coaches at the Center for Student Wellness and more clearly advertise UCS’ resources by making its website more transparent.

“1,100 college students commit suicide every year,” Heckelman said. “How can we make sure that doesn’t happen at BC? It’s about caring for each other. It’s about expanding those resources and advertising those resources broader.”

Read

SA Addresses Access to Flo Rida Tickets

they’ve taken it down to prepare it and put it and put it back up,” Spagnola said.

Robinson Discusses Runaway Greenhouse Effect at Lecture

Kim Stanley Robinson, a science-fiction writer, analyzed the future of the climate crisis as part of the Boston College Lowell Humanities Series on Wednesday night, explaining that it is not too late to combat the runaway greenhouse effect.

“Our culture is driven between stories right now,” said Tim Kreider, a New York Times columnist and the opening speaker. “The old ones we lived on for thousands of years aren’t working anymore, and we had to come up with new ones to replace them. … What Robinson is telling us over and over is that it’s not too late. Don’t get scared. Don’t give up.”

Since World War II, Robinson said social scientists have identified what they call the “Great Acceleration,” a surge in human activity that causes issues such as population increases, pollution of the natural world, and possible human extinction. According to Robinson, acceleration is high right now due to world issues like COVID-19.

“I want to suggest that there’s been an acceleration within the acceleration … I think it’s feeling a little choppy

again, and I’d like to point out the COVID pandemic, but also recently Russia’s invasion, and the financial crises that have happened,” Robinson said. Robinson also talked about the importance of staying within planetary boundaries, environmental limits within which humanity can safely live. According to Robinson, if humans cross these limits it could cause a crash in the biophysical system.

“The reason there are boundaries is that if we press beyond them, we can create a mass extinction event and a runaway greenhouse effect that could develop such momentum that even if all humanity decided to stop there, it might have got too much momentum,” Robinson said.

Robinson said while he thinks mass extinction is unlikely, he still worries about various issues that threaten humanity, including food scarcity.

“Humans are too clever, resourceful, and have too strong technologies to actually run ourselves to extinction of humanity,” Robinson said. “But we could wreck civilization. And the main driver of that would be the moment there’s a scare about adequate food. There are eight

billion people on this planet. Keeping that system going is a remarkable achievement.”

To stay within planetary boundaries, Robinson said the process of decarbonization— creating an economy based on energy sources that produce low levels of greenhouse gas emission—is vital.

“Decarbonization is happening, but it’s not happening as fast as it needs to be to stay under the 1.5 degrees Celsius minus the global average temperature,” Robinson said. “We’re at about 1.1 degrees Celsius. We’re on course and it’s pretty good compared to where it has been, but it’s not good enough as resistance as we get closer.”

Robinson also emphasized the importance of regenerative agriculture, a farming practice used to reverse climate change through soil regeneration and increased biodiversity, as a way to not only increase employment, but also as a way to bring carbon out of the atmosphere and back into the soil.

“We’ve depleted carbon out of the soil,” Robinson said. “And right now there’s as much as about 1 percent carbon by weight in the soil, so you can increase that by way of regenerative agriculture to 3 or 4 percent.” n

UGBC Vice President Julia Spagnola addressed recent student concerns about a lack of ticket availability for the Flo Rida concert during the Student Assembly meeting Tuesday night, explaining that every student should be able to attend the concert.

“It’s a ticketing issue with Robsham I believe,” Spagnola, MCAS ’23, said. “[Matt Razek] said he was looking into it, but every student should be able to get a ticket.”

Chair of the Student Life Committee Thompson Penn, who raised the issue, said he had heard many people saying the tickets were sold out online when they tried to secure them.

“The whole point of Marathon Monday is to keep us on this side of campus so we can cheer on and support the runners that go by,” Penn, CSOM ’25, said. “If tickets aren’t available, people, they’re going to go off campus.”

Spagnola added that the Flo Rida concert is no longer listed on the box office page of Robsham Theater’s website.

“[That] makes me think that

Continuing discussions of Marathon Monday, Spagnola also shared that UGBC’s Student Initiatives division is looking into using its funds to set up hydration stations for student cheering sections on race day.

“Kind of like how runners have Gatorade and water, we would have maybe, by the cheering sections on the student side, just stations [where] students can get water,” Spagnola said. “I know last year’s Marathon Monday was kind of a hot day, too, so they said that was something they would have available throughout the day, which I thought was good.”

The SA met with only 13 of its 24 members present, an atypically low attendance just above the 50 percent necessary to meet quorum.

Various SA members are involved with the ongoing UGBC presidential and vice presidential campaigns, which were given from 7 to 8 p.m. tonight to canvas for votes on Upper Campus, according to an email sent to the student body from the Elections Committee last Thursday. n

B y L ydia B oer Heights Staff

B y W i LL m arT ino

Asst. News Editor

Candidates discussed issues of sustainability and mental health at final debate before elections.

The SA talked about issues surrounding access to

CAROLINE CANNON / HEIGHTS STAFF

NEWTON

NPS Superintendent Projects Layoffs for FY 24

Budget, from A1

Smith highlighted the impacts of the budget reductions on various services within schools,

pointing out the elimination of disability awareness programming, string lessons, and the reduction of kindergarten aide support in elementary schools, as

well as the reduction of elective offerings, classes with smaller enrollments, and extracurriculars for the middle and high schools.

“Again, students will still have

opportunities,” Smith said. “It is just a reduction to deal with the deficit before us.”

The proposed budget does increase funding to some budget items, including the STRIDE program at Bowen Elementary School, information technology infrastructure, the restoration of curriculum coordination—including the addition of two FTE—and academic support funding, and the increase in charter maintenance funding, which came from one-time funding in the FY23 budget.

“When you make the reductions that we’re making, it is critical that we offer support from the superintendent and their team to all our department heads, making sure that you are fully resourced to support those principals throughout the district,” Smith said.

She said, however, that the proposed budget does include some unknowns, including contract negotiations with unions,

health insurance costs, and enrollment-based need expenses.

In the face of a net $650,000 proposed increase in fees, according to the budget presentation, Smith said NPS’ objective is still to make education accessible to all students.

“No student will be turned away from any program or any opportunity based on financial need,” Smith said during her presentation.

Smith closed her presentation with the timeline for the proposed budget, which includes a public hearing on April 12 and a final vote on the budget on April 27. She encouraged the viewers to remain involved throughout the process.

“It is one of the most important things that is under your umbrella, you know, to work through this with us, and I look forward to meeting and hearing from the very people that are stewards of what happens to our school district,” Smith said. n

Professor Recounts History of Black Western Film

By Shruthi Sriram Assoc. Newton Editor

Mia Mask, the Mary Riepma Ross endowed chair of film at Vassar College, spoke about her book Black Rodeo, A History of the African American Western at an event at the Newton Free Library, organized by the Ashland Public Library Wednesday.

“I feel like this is the book I really wanted to write for a long time,” Mask said. “This was a project that was near and dear to my heart because I’m a rider, I am a life-long lover of horses, so the equestrian culture I was involved in was just really fun for me.”

There is not a lot of literature about Black westerns made after 1955, Mask said. She intentionally chose the films she wanted to write about to fill the lack of material.

“I was able to select actors that had made some imprint on the zeitgeist,” Mask said.

Mask showed a video she made on the history of Black westerns to provide context on her book. In one clip from the video titled “Turning Up the Political Volume,” Mask spoke about the evolution of former NFL player and actor Jim Brown’s roles to emphasize the shift in the portrayal of Black cowboys in westerns.

“We see the films begin to turn

up the volume on the political content, the ways in which the Black cowboy is demanding and openly expecting respect,” Mask said.

The Black western genre has evolved from the 1950s to include elements of other genres, she said in her video.

“You see over time, the way Black westerns begin to amalgamate, incorporate, a range of other genres to reward their loyal fans, the Western spectators, by bringing in some of the visual pleasures of other genres and just mixing it up, to create something that is recognizable as a western, but still pleasurable in other ways,” Mask said.

Meena Jain, the director of Ashland Public Library, asked Mask if it was more accessible for Black actors to be a part of westerns compared to other film genres.

“It was probably less accessible, because there has been the perception that African Americans had not been a part in the settling and shaping of the American West,” Mask said. “That is an issue historians have been a part of for some time.”

Mask named her book Black Rodeo after a documentary by independent filmmaker Jeff Kanew with the same name. The documentary covered a small African American traveling rodeo that traveled to Randall’s Island

in Manhattan.

“We see these performers have a relationship with their animals, with their livestock but also with their horses, that we haven’t really had an opportunity to see in popular culture,” Mask said. “A real caring relationship. So that has been nice to uncover as well.”

Mask explains that not all of the films she writes about represent Black culture well, with some films considered “Blaxploitation.”

“Even though in the past, people have said, you know those aren’t high brow artsy, expensively made films— they’re trash and low-brow, so I don’t want to look at them and talk about them,” Mask said. “Luckily, in film cine-

mas, we’ve come a long way so that lots of folks are now looking at exploitation cinemas, and understanding that they spoke to and speak to audiences in specific ways.”

Mask was very intentional about balancing the stories of both hardship and triumph Black actors experienced in this genre of film, she said.

“There was definitely an effort to balance the challenges they are encountering with the industry, with society, and expectations of Black actors on one hand, and their sort of triumphant desire to push through, push the envelope in some ways,” she said.

Mask was always more interested in analyzing films than making them,

she said.

“If I wanted to be making films, I would be making films,” Mask said. “I love film history, theory, criticism—I really wanted to be a film critic. But at the time, we found that there really wasn’t a lot published on African American cinema.”

Mask said she was interested in writing on Black comic book characters in the future.

“I learned on this journey, Lobo was the first African American comic book character to have his own series,” Mask said. “He was a Western hero, and I would love to write more about Lobo, and write some articles and publications around this figure.” n

City Debates Limiting Single-Use Plastic

By Ella Song

Asst. Newton Editor

The city of Newton is considering an ordinance that would expand Section 12-72 of the city’s charter, “Sustainable Food Containers and Packaging Ordinance,” to limit the prevalence of single-use plastic waste in the city.

“The calls are simply to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that’s out there,” Alan Gordon, a member of the Plastics Reduction Working Group that helped craft the ordinance, said. “You know, a lot of a lot of different reductions such as this do happen at the local community level.”

The proposed ordinance, which the Programs and Services Committee discussed at a recent meeting, includes retail bans on a variety of plastic items typically used by restaurants, such as black plastic packaging, plastic water bottles, single-use plastic utensils, and plastic stirrers.

“The goal of the city isn’t to go find people and collect fines, it’s to

impact behavior and to have people really think about how they individually, whether as individuals or as businesses, can reduce their use of single-use plastic,” Gordon said.

Not all parts of the ordinance may be reasonable for retailers to follow, according to Greg Reibman, the president of the Charles River Regional Chamber, who spoke at the committee meeting where the item was presented.

“We understand that plastics are a problem for the environment— they’re a problem for our health, they are difficult to recycle, they cause all kinds of issues,” Reibman said. “But some of the suggestions or some of the items in the proposed docket are just difficult to execute.”

Reibman, who wrote an op-ed in Fig City News on the topic, pointed to the ban on single-use dishware for dine-in eating as an example for something that could financially hurt businesses.

“One, some restaurants are so small, they don’t have a place to do dishwashing,” he said. “And the other

time is sometimes the places are too busy or in this era when labor is really difficult … it’s just not a practical requirement at a time when people are so strapped for labor.”

He also said the retail ban on black plastic takeout containers would be challenging for businesses, given the difficulty of acquiring recyclable white plastic alternatives.

“It’s a supply chain problem,” Reibman said. “If you can’t find an alternative, well you need to tell the customer, ‘Sorry, I can’t serve you today, we couldn’t get any takeout containers.’”

The requirement that restaurants only provide plastic utensils and condiment packages with takeout orders upon request are more reasonable components of the proposed ordinance, according to Reibman.

“The last committee when this was discussed, the committee agreed to take the ordinance, which has about 12 different items on it, and break it into two pieces,” he said. “And take the ones that are more difficult, more

controversial, I guess, and put that on a … separate ordinance and then have a discussion about them.”

The presence of legislation similar to the proposed ordinance in communities such as Brookline and Cambridge suggests that such an extensive ban is possible in Newton, according to Gordon.

“The feedback we’ve gotten from other communities is that there was pushback when the ban was proposed, and when they were passed, people obviously accepted them and were able to adjust accordingly,” he said.

Gordon also said that when many smaller communities all pass green legislation, there is a cumulative impact. “It’d be great if the state or the federal government passed certain bans, but a lot of times, they trickle up from the community level before they reach a broader adoption,” he said.

“Plastic bag ban is a specific example … the fact that [about] 150, probably of the larger communities have passed it means we’re moving toward effectively

a state-level ban community by community.”

Gordon said that the quality of tap water in Newton would limit the impact that such a ban would have on the average Newton consumer.

Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller included a survey in her newsletter on March 24, which asks residents to share their perspectives on the impact of the single-use plastic water bottle aspect of the ban.

“We have MWRA water, which is some of the best water in the country,” he said. “We’re not going to realistically ban every plastic bottle out there, that’s not realistic. But for people that want water, there’s a fantastic, great, and effectively free alternative solution.”

Gordon said that the goal of the ordinance is to reduce as much plastic in the environment as possible.

“How much plastic is, you know, in our oceans, in our environment?” Gordon said. “So again, the calls are simply to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that’s out there.” n

VIKRUM SINGH / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Mask joined the library’s event to talk about her book, ‘Black Rodeo, A History of the African American Western.’

CONNOR SIEMIEN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Kathleen Smith, the interim superintendent of NPS, delivered the budget presentation on Wednesday morning.

Newton Bakery Features Viral Croissants

B y h enry B lanche TT e Heights Staff

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, dozens of people line up along Lincoln St. in Newton, vying for Lakon Paris Patisserie’s coveted weekend specialty croissants.

The bakery, which opened its doors to the Newton community in November 2020, has seen an

explosion in business since a March Boston Magazine article detailed its expansion to Coolidge Corner in Brookline.

“Brookline is just a really good like, neighborhood,” store employee Tammie Satrawaha said when explaining the business’ decision to open its second location. “We’ve always wanted to be a part of like, that community.”

Store owner Urupong “Kope”

Kharuharat said the success and high demand of the business prompted him and his wife, Vichaya “Jenny” Kiangkaew, to open a second location.

“I feel like it’s also a good opportunity to kind of tap into the Brookline market as we are continuing to grow,” he said.

Lakon’s everyday menu features classic croissants and pastries with the most popular croissants being

plain, chocolate, and almond, according to Satrawaha. On weekends, Lakon sells a variety of specialty croissants, including a caramel ring croissant and strawberry cheesecake croissant.

“For weekends, the ring croissants are really popular,” she said. “We have chocolate, caramel. Now we have lemon meringue and pistachio.”

The drink menu features espresso beverages, tea lattes, and other drinks. Though croissants are Lakon’s speciality, Satrawaha said the coffee is high quality, featuring espresso beans used in North End restaurants and bakeries.

“I would like to add that our coffee is really good,” she said.

Following the opening of the Brookline location, Urupong said the next stop is to move the bakery operations to a commissary kitchen and increase production by upwards of seven times its current levels.

“We can scale accordingly to kind of keep up with the demand,” he said. “We’ve been kind of steadily growing, but right now it’s to the point where we can’t even keep up with the demand itself between the two locations.”

another location in Brookline.

Urupong said he hopes to maintain Lakon’s values and standards while pursuing any future endeavors.

“Our vision is to grow Lakon but, at the same time, at our own pace,” he said. “What I’m trying to do is to carry out Jenny’s vision, continue building our brand and customer service, as well as the quality of our products.”

Once the commissary kitchen is established, Urupong said he is excited for what Lakon’s future entails.

“I feel like in the next three to six months, you’ll see us growing significantly,” he said. “I think a few other storefronts are coming.”

Satrawaha said she hopes that Lakon can increase the quantity while maintaining the quality of the products.

“I hope that as we grow, we can always keep like, the quality of our pastries,” she said. “Also … our branding and who we are.”

Expressing similar feelings, Urupong said that preserving quality is the most important factor in mind as Lakon continues to grow.

“Quality over quantity,” he said. “We don’t want to compromise that.” n

School Committee Rejects Advisory Group

By ella song

Asst. Newton Editor

The Newton School Committee unanimously voted to reject a petition for the creation of an academic principles advisory committee for Newton Public Schools (NPS) at a public hearing on Tuesday night. Over 250 residents requested time to speak about the petition at the hearing.

“Oddly enough, tonight was helpful to restore some of my confidence in our community,” Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said at the close of the hearing. “Others tonight have said this: We have very passionate and engaged residents here.”

ImproveNPS, an education advocacy group in Newton, organized the petition, which received 168 signatures. Fifty signatures is the minimum amount required for a petition to be presented and voted on at a public

hearing in accordance with Section 10-2 of Newton’s City Charter.

expressed their unhappiness with the potential bias of the proposed committee, which was to have at least five petition signatories as members if approved.

“We already have an elected school committee … I reject the idea that an unelected group of people who bear no accountability to anyone at all should establish the core principles for Newton Public Schools,” Newton resident Kerry Prasad said.

Daniel Blumenthal, an NPS parent who opposed the petition, said he believed the proposed committee would be inefficient.

The committee the petition proposes would have advised the school committee on NPS’ curriculum, mission statement, and other operations if approved, according to ImproveNPS’ website.

Speakers at the hearing included NPS students, parents, teachers, city councilors, and other community members.

Several dissenters of the petition

“You could make the argument that this committee is just going to create non-binding recommendations, but the school board is going to have to respond to each in writing, and this will create a huge burden on their time,” Blumenthal said.

Several proponents of the petition pointed to the difficulties

of having their voices heard

petitioners can do,” Albright said.

One area of debate regarding the petition dealt with the way NPS addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Some proponents of the petition expressed displeasure with the way that DEI is handled within NPS.

within the present system of communication between NPS and residents.

“Parents have tried to individually present concerns shared by many of Newton to administrators, school committee members, and the mayor’s office,” said Phoebe Olhava, an NPS parent. “Up to this point, detailed information is rare. Each person’s individual communication remains in its own silo.”

Meanwhile, other proponents expressed their concerns with the quality of students’ education at NPS.

“I was shocked to see this data … if you go to AP tests in calculus, Newton North failure rate 2022— 70 percent,” Dmitry Genis, an NPS parent, said. “I’m asking to vote to support creation of this committee, because we can ignore it, you can vote against, but it will not help our kids.”

Ward 2 councilors-at-large Susan Albright and Tarik Lucas, Ward 2 ward-councilor Emily Norton, Ward 7 councilor-atlarge Marc Laredo, and Ward 5 councilor-at-large Andreae Downs all spoke at the hearing and expressed their disapproval of the petition.

“As always, any resident can make recommendations to the school committee in the school department on any topic at any time, and that’s what these

“At Franklin specifically, there are several affinity groups that only allow students who identify as BIPOC to participate … they are segregating students by race and discouraging students to be allies,” Amanda Caruso, an NPS parent, said. “This is wrong. All students who want to support each other and enhance their social-emotional learning should be welcome.”

Several dissenters voiced their support for NPS’ approach to DEI, pointing to programs like Dover Legacy Scholars and the Calculus Project as important resources available to students from marginalized communities. Dover Legacy Scholars is an academic community for Black and Hispanic high schoolers and the Calculus Project provides math support for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students.

“When my junior honors students use linear combinations of trigonometric functions to parameterize the path of a point on a rolling wheel, or when they use the hypergeometric distribution to model bad actors trying to change the outcome of a national election, they weren’t distracted by the fact we have a Calculus Project,” Ryan Normandin, a teacher at Newton South, said. “In fact, several of them are in the Calculus Project.”

At the conclusion of the hearing, Newton School Committee chair Tamika Olszewski emphasized the importance of DEI programming in schools and her opposition to the petition.

“We should teach our teachers that this is something they should recognize as a risk because we’re all a microcosm of our greater society, and bias exists,” said Olszewski. “That’s an objective truth.” n

Lakon Paris Patisserie, which opened in Newton in 2020, recently expanded to

“I was shocked to see this data … if you go to AP tests in calculus, Newton North failure rate 2022—70 percent.”

“I’m asking to vote to support creation of this committee, because we can ignore it, you can vote against, but it will not help our kids.”

Wargo Fosters an Inclusive Future for Education

For The Heights

Throughout his career as a teacher and researcher, Jon Wargo said he has always followed his heart and passion for justice.

“I was a kindergarten teacher and after school I walked across the playground and was the gender and sexuality alliance leader at the high school,” Wargo said. “These two hats, both GSA leader and kindergarten teacher, are really representative of the work that I do as a researcher.”

Wargo is a core faculty member of the Teaching, Curriculum, and Society department in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

His research focuses on how schools can create more inclusive learning environments for queer students and educators. In 2020, Wargo was selected for the National Academy of Education’s fellowship. As a fellow, Wargo received professional development support and funding for his research.

“Receiving the National Academy of Education fellowship is probably sort of the highlight of the last six years,” Wargo said.

Through the program, which connected him to many other educators, Wargo said he built meaningful connections with mentors.

“This allowed me to expand my professional network while doing research on what is of critical importance given the current policy backdrop,” he said.

The project he received funding to work on was rooted in some of his earlier work with Garden State Equality, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in New Jersey.

“I was doing pro-bono lesson planning with teachers in New Jersey when Illinois passed HB0246, which is known as the inclusive curriculum law,” Wargo said. “They reached out to Garden State Equality seeking out resources to help with implementation”

While he was working with Garden State Equality, Wargo said he realized he wanted to study

how inclusive curriculums are first implemented in schools.

“This was one of the first seedlings, if you will, of ‘Huh, I wonder what it would look like to study how this first year of implementation goes in a state that newly signed legislation advancing LGBTQ inclusion,’” he said.

Wargo and his team had to adapt their original plan because they were conducting research in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I like being on the ground in general which is ironic for this project because I do not feel like I was on the ground because of COVID,” Wargo said. “The research project, in terms of the work that I was going to do, was going to do more on the ground work so I had to pivot.”

Though Wargo’s team was still able to complete the research by adjusting their methods, he said it was tough to advance his study during such a tumultuous time.

“So I think one of the most difficult parts of the process was how do I forward a project that is really sort of grounded in equity and inclusion while knowing my participants were already carrying a lot on their plate,” Wargo said. “The redesign part was really difficult.”

spondents filled out based on their perceived beliefs, biases, and thoughts to gain insight into their perspective on teaching and queer inclusion.

“The question was both on a personal level, their individual beliefs, and the broader sense, like the community they serve,” Wargo said.

While conducting this research, Wargo worked alongside a graduate research team. He said one of the best parts of his fellowship was gaining the funding to support this team. His research assistant, Alexander Corbitt, said he sees Wargo as a mentor and has learned a lot while working alongside him.

“Jon’s work ethic is an inspiration to me,” Corbitt said. “He models a passion for research-based inquiry that inspires me to be a better scholar.”

Marilyn Cochran-Smith, a colleague of Wargo’s and BC’s Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools, said he brings great value to the Lynch school through his new perspectives.

“The department is clearly all the richer for having Dr. Wargo as a faculty member,” Cochran-Smith said.

search LGBTQIA+ programs because he believes in the importance of inclusive educational policy.

“When you are talking about educational policy that is rooted in human rights, practice becomes a question of personhood,” Wargo said.

By researching how education can move forward and welcome educators from diverse backgrounds, Wargo said he hopes to create a more just future within the world of education.

To conduct their research, Wargo and his team spoke with queer teachers to develop an understanding of their experiences in the workplace.

Wargo said the study looked at descriptive statistics that re -

“Working with Jon Wargo has expanded how I think about literacy and language learning both as a teacher and a researcher,” Corbitt said.

Corbitt said it is clear that Wargo is deeply committed to his research and bettering the future of education.

According to Cochran-Smith, Wargo is a breath of fresh air for the department. She said she was impressed by Wargo since the beginning of his journey at BC.

“Dr. Wargo’s scholarly work, his activism, and his cutting-edge perspectives on many issues related to language and literacy as well as to equity and anti-racist education are among his best qualities,” she said.

Wargo said he chose to re -

He sees this goal as clearly aligned with the Lynch School’s mission.

“I am a gay cis educator, and one of the things that I hope to forward with my work is a deep commitment to issues of equity and justice,” Wargo said. “Our mission is to make the world more of a just place. It is a critical part of the the Lynch school’s mission of expanding the imagination and driving equity and justice to make the world more of a just place.” n

Morgan’s Guide to Boston’s Chinatown District

By Morgan Santaguida Heights Staff

If you’re looking for a break from dining hall food and hoping to explore some new off-campus restaurants, Boston’s Chinatown is a great place to visit.

The area is full of authentic Asian cuisine and affordable meal options, but there are so many incredible restaurants that navigating the area can be daunting. So if you want to dive into what Chinatown

has to offer, look no further than my guide to Boston’s Chinatown.

Empire Garden Restaurant

This Chinese dim sum spot is a traditional-style theater turned into a restaurant near Boston’s Theater District. The vaulted ceilings, paintings on every wall, and traditional decor make this restaurant feel warm, inviting, and most of all, grandiose— it’s like you are eating in a preserved historical artifact.

Each plate of dim sum costs

around $4 to $6, with larger plates costing from $9 to $15. So, this place is much more affordable than other Boston restaurants, where a meal can average $25. Plus, sharing some plates with friends will allow you to try many different foods without breaking your wallet.

Pho Pasteur

This wonderful restaurant is perfect if you love traditional Vietnamese dishes.

Its pho is fantastic and afford-

able, only costing around $11 for a small bowl or around $13 for a large one. For those not familiar, pho is a traditional Vietnamese soup that is both delicious and satisfying.

There are many different types so you can choose which meat you’d like to include in the soup. Pho Pasteur also offers a lot of other dishes like lo mein or vermicelli for those not in the mood for soup.

TeaDo

If you are in the market for boba, then look no further than TeaDo. TeaDo has a huge menu of milk teas, black teas, smoothies, and even meals that customers can choose from. Many of the specialty drinks incorporate yummy flavors into classic boba options. You can also pick your toppings, sugar levels, and amount of ice. Whether you’d prefer a brown sugar Tiger Milk Tea or Matcha Nimbus Tea with cheese foam, TeaDo has every flavor you can dream up.

Jia Ho Supermarket

Jia Ho Supermarket is a great local Asian marketplace where you can find all of the grocery store essentials.

Even if you aren’t in the market to shop, this place is a great site to just walk around and look at the different products. The shop packs many dif-

ferent items into a small space, and it’s fun to explore the aisles of candy, hot sauce, or live fish. This place is also affordable and a great option for college students looking for cheap snacks or pantry essentials.

Hei La Moon

If you’re looking for Boston’s best dim sum experience, check out Hei La Moon. This place is decorated with linen chairs and interesting art along the wall, but where it truly excels is the food and service. I recommend ordering the shrimp dumplings and pork buns but skipping out on the taro dumplings. After eating at many different dim sum restaurants in Chinatown, I can safely say this one exceeds the others and is still incredibly affordable with plates being priced around $5.

Bao Bao Bakery

Bao Bao has everything. From pastries to cakes to drinks, you’ll find everything your sweet tooth desires at this spot.

Bao Bao is an Asian fusion bakery with French influences that specializes in fresh and creative baked goods—and its cake decorations are amazing. The bubble tea is divine, and the prices are relatively cheap. If you are looking for a place to grab a quick bite or even a drink on the go, this bakery is perfect for you. n

Wargo’s research focuses on how schools can create a more inclusive environment for queer students and educators.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JON WARGO

“When you are talking about educational policy that is rooted in human rights, practice becomes a question of personhood,” Wargo said.

An Ode to Shenanigans

its peak. While a warm patch of sun on the Quad might melt away the frost of seasonal depression, stepping foot into O’Neill for an eight-hour study session brings everything crashing down again.

then who cares if the rest of the communal bathroom hears?

This past week sucked. The week before that kind of sucked too, but this last week really drove my misfortune home. Every day felt like a challenge. I was overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious from the minute I woke up to the instant I finally fell asleep. Even though I was maintaining healthy habits—eating regularly, working out, taking breaks, getting enough sleep—I still felt like shit.

I was so stressed that I felt like my hold on reality was slipping. I would forget about assignments until they were due in a few hours or completely forget to respond to important emails and texts. Then I would get angry at myself for falling short and become even more stressed until I had fulfilled my own prophecy. Whenever I wasn’t doing work or studying I felt guilty. Even in the moments when I was trying to take care of myself, I couldn’t really be present because my mind was always elsewhere. I was completely consumed with what I should be doing.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this experience is unique to just me. I think a lot of Boston College students feel this way, especially as the semester begins to reach

I’ve learned that taking care of yourself is integral to preventing a bad week from turning into a much darker spiral. But sometimes taking care of yourself doesn’t exclusively mean journaling or waking up early to hit the Plex. Sometimes, self-care means letting yourself be a little kid again, even if it’s for five minutes.

Be completely honest with yourself for a minute, when was the last time you participated in a shenanigan? A little tomfoolery? Horseplay? I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s been a while since you let yourself have fun.

This is not the kind of fun that involves going out with your friends on the weekend. Instead, it’s the kind of fun you had in middle school when you saw how many Oreos you could stack on your friend’s forehead. It might sound ridiculous, but sometimes the best way to ground yourself and calm down is to let yourself be a little ridiculous.

The trick to implementing this practice in your everyday life is to give more power to the voice in your head that tells you to buy dinosaur chicken nuggets instead of regular ones. Now, I’m not saying that launching pencils at the ceiling with rubber bands is a good idea—we should respect property and others’ general well-being. I am saying, however, that if you need to play music in the shower and sing along incredibly loudly to stop taking things so seriously,

If you have to skip to your class to feel less anxious before taking an exam, then skip to class! If hitting a box jump on the Quad is going to make you feel better about having to study for the next 48 hours, go for it! I had a friend openly share that last year during a final he brought Uncle Ben’s chicken flavored rice and ate it while taking the exam. His reasoning? “Why should I care what other people think? I’m not disturbing anyone else and my final was more enjoyable.” Not only did I laugh out loud at the thought of someone eating chicken flavored rice during a final, but I also realized he was 100 percent right. The few times last week when I did not feel stressed were when I was with my roommates dancing around the kitchen to 2000s throwbacks or playing keep-it-up with a birthday balloon.

Life is never going to stop throwing 30-mph curveballs, so you might as well learn how to have a little fun while you’re up at bat. The most confident, intelligent, and productive people I know are the people who have learned how to have fun even in the midst of difficulty or pain. Hard work pays off, but if you push yourself too hard you’re just going to end up burnt-out and bitter. So the next time you have a bad week, I suggest you allot 30 minutes to do something silly, goofy, and/or ridiculous. If you don’t feel better afterward, then fine, you can go back to your problem sets and emails, but I have a feeling life won’t seem quite so serious.

Embracing Your Inner Deipnosophist

My favorite word in all of the English language isn’t some overused swear or a funny term to say like “diphthong,” but the grandiose word, deipnosophist.

I first encountered the word during my freshman year of high school. My English teacher was infamous for his “daily words.” Every day, he would come in with a new word for us to memorize and add to our lexical roster. Of the 150 words I learned that year, deipnosophist will always be my favorite. It’s a pretentious enough word to make me appear smarter than I actually am, but it is not so pretentious that it becomes the bane of my spelling memorization, as floccinaucinihilipilification has. But the real reason I value the word deipnosophist is for its definition: a deipnosophist is someone who is skilled at dinner table conversation—a quality I think we should all strive to possess.

So, why is table talk so important?

It all starts with the food. There is something comforting about food—with science behind the term comfort foods. For example, carbohydrates have been shown to actually increase your serotonin levels. Just think, “meet the parents” dinners would be a lot more awkward without food as a buffer. What’s more, food has played a symbolic role throughout the course of history. Catholicism points to the importance of The Last Supper, and the French Revolution is remembered by Marie Antoinette’s alleged passionate declaration: “Let them eat cake!” In these cases, food held important meaning. When we eat a meal together for the purpose of just spending time together, we sit down, we talk, and that’s it—that’s all we really care about. It’s beautiful. And deipnosophists have a knack for this ability to be present and connect with others.

Additionally, table talk has the power to turn formality into something comfortable. Dinner table conversations in college can cover everything from March Madness to roommate drama to future plans—there’s no limit! And in unstructured, unplanned conversation comes the opportunity to shift the subject to whatever you want. In mimicking a deipnosophist, we can learn how to transition topics to make our chaotic conversations meaningful.

Finally, table talk gives us a sense of individualism. There are an infinite number of conversation topics, but you and I only get to choose one—or at least only one at a time. But being a deipnosophist is empowering. And, mastering this kind of conversation can make it less stressful! We don’t always realize it in the moment, but navigating a conversation is hard, especially when we’re chewing in between sentences. Yet, we each find a way to get through it, and as we learn to make our conversations meaningful, we work our way toward the honorary title of deipnosophist.

When we act as deipnosophists, we understand the importance of talking during a meal. We take what is already great about food—both the comforting and symbolic aspects—and make it better by adding meaning to the otherwise casual, surface-level conversation. Whether you’re eating with a friend, a roommate, a professor, a significant other, a romantic interest, or anyone else, it does not hurt to be a deipnosophist. You never know where a conversation will go, whether it’s at the breakfast, lunch, or dinner table, and honestly, that’s the beauty of it. “Deipnosophism” teaches us to embrace the mayhem that is the present.

Quality Speakers Abound

From the Clough Colloquium’s lecture series to UGBC’s speaker sessions, Boston College has no shortage of prominent speakers showing up to campus. There’s something for everyone in the guests that visit the Heights—from powerful politicians to influential social media stars. Any undergraduate can learn something interesting from a guest lecturer or two. These speakers aren’t afraid to respond to student questions, either—the vast majority of them answer questions no matter how challenging they are.

Easter Break

In the midst of an all too stressful semester, the few days off that Easter Break provides could not be coming at a better time. Whether you spend the long weekend with family and friends or simply catch up on sleep in your dorm room, it is nice to have the mid-semester rest to come up for air. Make the most of your few days off—take a few deep breaths, eat good food, bingewatch your favorite TV show, hunt for Easter eggs, and prepare for the final push when we return!

Course Selection

With the release of pick times, BC students are once again entering the dreadful period of course selection. As if the use of EagleApps is not painful enough on its own, we have to plan out three sets of back-up plans and schedule send emails to the professors of the classes we inevitably won’t get into. We are each probably on revision 10,001 of our four-year plan by now, and until the dust settles on add/drop week next semester, we will be on edge about each of our decisions. So take a breather and make sure you are cleared by your adviser, pick days are coming whether we like it or not.

Stop Cutting in Line!

BC’s campus features beautiful buildings, spotless landscaping, and lots of lines. From dining hall lines to elevator lines to campus-wide event lines, we are waiting in formation … a lot. And yet, the most frustrating part of the waiting process is always the people who run up late just to jump in line with a friend ahead of you. It’s one thing to cut our fellow students in line— but when alumni, parents, and other visitors are around, it becomes extra annoying to inconvenience others. Come on guys, we are students for others—let’s act like it and stop our silly line-cutting habits!.

Olivia Franceschini

Pat cOnnell

The opinions and commentaries of the op-ed columnists appearing on this page represent the views of the authors of those particular pieces and not necessarily the views of The Heights

GRAPHICS BY PAIGE STEIN / HEIGHTS EDITOR Pat Connell is a columnist for The Heights . He can be reached at patrick.connell@bc.edu.

Olivia Franceschini is a columnist for The Heights She can be reached at olivia.franceschini@bc.edu.

‘The Heights’ Endorses Jordan Nakash and Yosan Tewelde in UGBC Presidential Election

The Heights endorses Jordan Nakash, MCAS ’24, and Yosan Tewelde, MCAS ’24, for 2023–24 Undergraduate Government of Boston College president and vice president.

After examining the two teams’ policy platforms and holding an in-depth meeting with each ticket, The Heights Editorial Board found that Nakash and Tewelde are best equipped to effectively lead UGBC in the upcoming school year.

Nakash and Tewelde communicated as a team and responded to questions with moving sincerity, demonstrating a commitment to their three pillars: dedication, collaboration, and unification.

Through their concise policy platform, the two look to uplift all BC students in a variety of ways, from calling for more single-stall, gender-neutral bathrooms to advocating for improved on-campus housing options for transfer students. They acknowledged the importance of continuing to pursue systematic change at BC but also prioritized small-scale, achievable goals.

Nakash and Tewelde’s opponents, Jonah Kotzen, MCAS ’24, and Meghan Heckelman, LSEHD ’25, created a long and comprehensive platform. The Heights recognizes that Kotzen and Heckelman are also strong leaders with impressive UGBC track records, and we hope they both continue serving the BC community.

Still, Nakash’s long list of accomplishments and practical, charismatic leadership style leaves the board confident that her ticket is best equipped to improve the effectiveness of UGBC and build a greater BC.

Nakash would be a strong head of BC’s undergraduate community. Her involvement both inside and outside of UGBC

improves campus life—whether through leading the Caribbean Culture Club or working as a BAIC ambassador.

During her time as a Student Assembly (SA) representative, Nakash built a resume packed with initiatives that improved student life. She helped create several important measures, including the return of the grocery shuttle program, the laundry subsidy pilot program for Montserrat students, and the installation of water bottle fillers in Stokes Hall. These efforts demonstrate Nakash’s past commitment to meeting the needs of all BC students, and they serve as testimony that she could use her presidency to push the University forward.

The editorial board is also confident that Tewelde can improve UGBC’s culture. In the meeting, Tewelde highlighted the need to revamp the way SA members are onboarded, and she made a strong case for how this can improve efficiency within the SA. She plans to work with Nakash to introduce a mentorship program for the SA, provide an already-complete guidebook to new members, and lead the assembly in a welcoming way. Nakash and Tewelde’s action-oriented approach to improving the University would extend to their conversations with those in charge: BC’s administrators. The candidates will adjust if given a “no” by University leaders. For example, if the University denies proposals such as Upper Campus accessibility projects or an LGBTQ+ resource center, Nakash and Tewelde promise to work around these decisions and implement other intermediary steps to improve student life.

With a platform built on the desire to “Unite the Heights,” Nakash and Tewelde

are committed to doing whatever it takes to improve students’ experience at BC.

The Heights Editorial Board was impressed with Nakash and Tewelde’s approach to tackling the issues facing BC’s AHANA+ community. They want to focus on ensuring every student feels at home at BC, and they hope to be a voice for all of BC’s diverse communities. And that’s reflected in their platform.

The two committed to hosting periodic town halls where they would discuss and respond to issues affecting campus and beyond. They would also consider opening those spaces to administrators—a move that would give more students an opportunity to hold the administrators that make decisions accountable.

They additionally call for the University to hire a full-time rabbi and full-time imam to better support Jewish and Muslim students on campus. Plus, they plan to advocate for the expansion of the Fr. Rutilio Grande Intercultural Experience Living & Learning Community. The two would work to build a campus that is more inclusive and engaging for every student.

In their meeting with The Heights Editorial Board, Nakash and Tewelde spoke convincingly about their love for BC and its community. Nakash said she wants every student to have at least one thing they can love at BC, and her passion was palpable throughout the meeting.

Based on the ticket’s pragmatic approach to policy building, experience as leaders, and mission to build a place for every student at the University, The Heights believes that Nakash and Tewelde have the skills to best lead UGBC for the 2023–24 school year.

CALLIE OXFORD / HEIGHTS EDITOR KENNETH CHEN / HEIGHTS STAFF BC attacker Erin Walsh scored her second goal of the season in the Eagles’ win against Dartmouth on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

KELLEN DAVIS / HEIGHTS STAFF

The Jewish studies program and film studies program co-sponsored an event where Kevin P. Spicer,

C.S.C., spoke on the role antisemitism played in the response of Catholic leaders to national socialism.

KELLEN DAVIS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Kim Stanley Robinson, the author of more than 20 books, spoke in Gasson Hall on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. about the future of climate, technology, and society.

ran with the ball in the Red

danna game in which the Eagles defeated Pittsburgh

on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

Midfielder

Smith carried the ball behind the

goal in

ARTS

Showdown, from A1

Seventeen dance groups competed to win a donation to a charity of their choice. Masti won first place, UPrising Dance Crew won second place, and Fuego del Corazón won third place. Females Incorporating Sisterhood Through Step (F.I.S.T.S.) won the crowd choice award. Masti chose to donate its winnings to South Asian Americans Leading Together, an organization committed to achieving racial justice through structural change, according to its website.

“I want to thank God,” Gia Mitcham, co-captain of Masti and MCAS ’23, said as the group received the award. “I love this team so much, so, so much. We put so many hours into this.”

As the show began, the lights in Conte Forum dimmed and the stage’s green and yellow lights centered on ALC Showdown’s two hosts.

“Welcome to the ALC Showdown 2023,” Mohamed said. “We are back. We are back and better than ever.”

A division within UGBC, ALC is dedicated to improving the lives of students of color on campus and encouraging and promoting diversity. This mission was reflected in the variety of dance and music styles presented at Showdown, ranging from tap and bachata dances to music such as Christian rap and television theme songs.

This year also marked Capital Dance Ministry’s first year in the competition, bringing the total number of teams up to 17.

As was the case at 2022 Showdown, each group was introduced with a short introductory video that talked about the story behind its theme, its choreography process, and the charity that it is competing for.

VIP Vida de Intensa Pasión (VIP) brought the audience to Carnival with its opening set. The female dancers came out in red and glittery skirts and the male dancers dressed formally in all black, while a central dancer sported a yellow, orange, and red cape that matched typical Carnival attire. The screens to the side of the stage flashed diamonds to pair with the group’s performance, and the lighting matched the bright red costumes that VIP wore to the show.

The winged dancers left the stage as the troupe danced to “Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William. The upbeat song enticed the crowd to dance along, sending a message of solidarity within the Latin American community. VIP soon tossed one of the dancers in an extravagant lift that wooed audience members, as indicated by the amount of cheering from the crowd. The group mixed several Latin styles of dance, in cluding salsa and bachata, throughout its performance.

In its routine, the group formed lines and v-for mations, energizing the audience to start off the night’s series of dances. VIP’s danc ers moved with the tempo of

Record-Breaking Crowd Energizes

ed with Bad Bunny’s reggaeton hit, “Tití Me Preguntó.” VIP executed lifts in the background alongside a final formation before the lights shut off and the next group got ready to come on stage.

UPrising

“Let’s get ready to rise up!” UPrising Dance Crew yelled at the crowd as it entered the stage.

UPrising, dancing for the Mass Cultural Council, formed a semicircle in the center of the stage while wearing monochromatic dance suits.

As “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio and L.V. played, the members stood a symmetric formation, extending their energy beyond the stage and into the stands. The anticipatory beat in “Gangsta’s Paradise” prepared the crowd for UPrising’s intense performance.

UPrising stayed on beat as it hit every mark and moved as a complete unit. During Imagine Dragons’ “Believer,” the bass drop sent the dancers into a frenzy—they ran in a circle formation into a robotic-like dance that had the audience cheering. They even threw one of the dancers in the air.

Rainbow strobe lights highlighted each of the group’s moves, showcasing its fluidity and smooth transitions.

UPrising ended its set with Jay-Z and Rihanna’s “Run This Town.” The group had colored flags hanging out of its pockets during the song and pulled them out as it hit its last move. The rowdy cheers from the audience overshadowed the music’s last notes.

Phaymus

Formed in 2004, Phaymus Dance Entertainment is a creative and inclusive space for students of all backgrounds. The group chose to dance for Urbanity Dance, a group that aims to empower individuals and communities through art and movement.

As the hip-hop group came onto the stage, a booming voice blasted over the speakers.

“There cannot be pleasure without pain,” the voice said. “This is Too Hot to Handle.

Phaymus chose the reality show Too Hot to Handle as its theme, and its set transitioned through different eras and seasons of the show. Sticking to its Too Hot to Handle theme, the group dressed in neon red, pink, and orange outfits, and several members wore sporty sunglasses and white caps. Phaymus’ beachy summer outfits were fitting for the beginning of spring.

The group began its set by dancing to “I’ve Been Thinking About You” by Klaas and Londonbeat. Phaymus later transitioned into “Slumber Party,” by Ashnikko ft. Princess Nokia and quick ly moved on to SZA’s Saturday

the audience to twerk. The flexibility of the dancers was demonstrated in their flips and other gymnastic techniques used throughout the set.

BCDE

Boston College Dance Ensemble (BCDE), the first dance team created at BC, ran onto stage to the beat of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” wearing burgundy one-legged jumpsuits and spinning and jumping onstage. The group opted for a theme centered on women’s empowerment with a focus on women in rock music. The team danced to songs such as Miley Cyrus’ cover of “Heart of Glass” and “I Love Rock ’N Roll” by Joan Jett. To the tune of “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks, the dancers twirled in a lyrical style, leading audience members to get up from their seats and cheer on the female rock dancers. Clips of art ists played through the speakers narrated about the influence of women in the rock ’n roll scene over the years.

“She is the only goddess in a sea of rock gods,” Nicks said, encapsulating BCDE’s theme.

The group paid tribute to other famous female rockers like Tina Turner in its quick formations and fast transitions. BCDE aroused applause with ev ery spin and skip across the stage. It swayed confidently, as the members’ loosely styled hair whipped around their heads in typical Nicks fashion, to the message of the music, in an effort to prove that BCDE is in tune with women in rock history.

BC On Tap

BC On Tap came up next with the mission to “spread love of tap dancing to BC and beyond,’’ the captains said in their introductory video. The dance team presented itself as a group focused on highlighting sexual violence, choosing Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), an anti-sexual violence organization, as its charity.

According to the team’s introduction video, it took the audience back to the 2000s for its routine, which was expressed with the Mario Bros. theme. The dancers entered the stage dressed as characters such as Mario and Luigi. They moved uniformly while the Mario theme song played. “Princess” by Pia Mia was next, in which a dancer dressed up as Princess Peach took center stage.

The dancers dressed as Ma

Fuego Latin dance group Fuego del Cora zón danced for Centro Presente, a non-profit organization dedicated to immigration services. Its introduction video revealed Fuego’s theme—a Latino wedding, specifically highlighting the cultures of Cuba and the Do mini can Re-

sensually.

Fuego del

eVille’s “Sexy” and SZA’s “Low”.

Phaymus used Too Hot to Handle ’s narrator, Lana, as it transitioned from song to song while dancing and sliding across the stage. It even turned its backs to

In the middle of “Fire Burning” by Sean Kingston, the group gathered in a circle and the music stopped, giving the crowd an opportunity to exclusively hear the sound of the team’s tap shoes.

To close, “Level Up” played as the tap dancers jumped on beat with the taps from their shoes echoing to the crowd.

The fun and energetic cartoon sound effects interspersed in On Tap’s set provided the performance with an air of childlike wonder.

popular club song “Baila Conmigo” by Tiësto. The tempo of its dance matched with the beat of the music. Each movement was coordinated among the dancers.

“May Fuego have many anniversaries to come,” the narrator exclaimed as the group slowed down its set to a sampling of the classic first dance song “Por una Cabeza” by Carlos Gardel.

Marc Anthony’s ubiquitous Latin classic “Vivir Mi Vida” followed, as dancers partnered up and danced

BC Irish Dance

Boston College Irish Dance (BCID) brought Irish dancers together to celebrate Irish culture through classic Celtic formations and partner work. The group mixed classic Irish dance styles with contemporary elements in its routine. Dancing for Rosie’s Place, the first women’s shelter in the United States, the team began its dance routine with “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Thin Lizzy, quickly using its step dance to transition into “Great Balls of Fire” by Miles Teller. The group wore military rompers which enabled it to easily hit each jump and section of rapid footwork without being constricted.

BCID included an Air Force theme into its dance, including flight-centered songs like “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. The group waved its arms to resemble the wings of planes as it spinned.

Like with its Game of Thrones theme last year, the group included a section of steps without music playing in the background, highlighting the loud volume and precise technique of its dance style.

The crowd erupted in applause before the group ended its set with a circle dance to “Levels” by Avicii. The green strobe lights complemented the Air Force jumpsuits.

Golden Eagles Dance Team Holding gold pom-poms to accompany their silver costumes, the Golden Eagles Dance Team shined as it made its way onto the stage.

A short buzzer sounded as the Golden Eagles counted down from three to start their routine. As the official dance team of the BC Marching Band (BCMB), the Golden Eagles fittingly added a parade scene to its New York–themed routine and buzzer sounds separated each section of the performance.

To start off its set, the group moved in perfect coordination to Robert BGM’s “Am Arbeitsplatz.”

The Golden Eagles then transitioned into the more energetic “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys. Batons flew above the performers’ heads as they transitioned from song to song. The set was flowy and airy, as complemented by the sparkly silver leotard dresses that bounced as the dancers moved to “The Rhythm of the Night” by Corona.

See Showdown, A11

Conte Forum at 2023 Showdown

Showdown, from A10

The group brought nostalgic elements to its routine, referencing the 1995 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade—which the BCMB marched in—with a marching band group’s dance.

The dance group finished its set with a nod to the Rockettes, as it performed a series of high kicks in a line formation.

BC Full Swing

BC Full Swing’s Phineas and Ferb theme proved to be a crowd pleaser as the audience sang along to the group’s fun and theatrical dances.

Members of Full Swing were fashioned in the outfits of the classic Disney Channel TV show’s characters, such as Candace, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Jeremy, and of course, Perry the Platypus.

BC Full Swing put together a comical set that included cliché couple dances in line with the

formations before breaking out to highlight individual groups and dancers on the stage.

At the end of the routine, the Masti dancers in traditional outfits stood with their fists in the air, showing they were victorious in fighting for their freedom in the storyline of the routine.

PATU Loud beats reverberated through the speakers as the dancers of Presenting Africa To U

white wardrobe for the ethereal song “Where the Wild Things” by Labrinth. A girl in a pink nightgown emerged in a crowd of dancers in white costumes during the peak of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” All dancers except for the girl in the pink nightgown dropped to the floor after spinning until the end of “Dream On.”

A slow lullaby started the team’s performance, partnered with members jumping on one another, displaying a smooth and talented agility very early on in the set. The dream theme of the set worked well with the dancers’ airy lyrical and ballet movements.

F.I.S.T.S.

“Chestnut Hill to Paris, we ask that you please fasten your seatbelts,” the narrator exclaimed to launch F.I.S.T.S.’ routine.

The group highlighted the first female Blackowned airline, with an aviation theme pervading throughout its set.

AeroK

“Welcome to the Aero Universe,” AEROdynamiK Dance Crew (AeroK) said to close its introduction video and introduce the audience to its routine.

AeroK, a dance group formed under the Korean Student Association, took the stage wearing VR-looking visor glasses and matching gloves for its techno-themed routine.

The visors and gloves glowed, so at times, the audience could only see the outline of the glasses and the intricate and fast movements of each dancer’s hands, giving the appearance that objects were flowing and twirling around the stage. The glowing aspects of AeroK’s costumes accentuated how precise and in sync each move was.

In addition to the tech-inspired elements of their outfits, the dancers wore shiny silver pants and black harnesses, emphasizing the futuristic video game feel of their routine.

Sexual Chocolate

“Our theme is Creed,” Sexual Chocolate announced on its introductory video before the group entered Conte’s stage.

The all-male step team was last year’s crowd choice award winner for its performance of a 90s hip-hop style dance battle. This year, the group opted for a boxing theme, playing on the relevance of Creed III ’s recent release. The team centered on boxing as culture and sport, a theme represented by red and blue athletic outfits and a member dressed as a referee in the center.

The group engaged in a mock boxing match, supported by round-ending bell rings and hiphop and rap music.

The team incorporated solo step dances without music into its routine, hitting beats that showed off its agility.

group’s signature colors.

PATU chose One Track International, an organization that works to end the global orphan age crisis, as the charity it was performing for.

The introductory video celebrated the all-female step group’s start in 1999.

Clean formations characterized AeroK’s routine, and the purple lighting added to the galactic feeling of it, especially as it reflected the sheen of their silver pants.

The team danced in contemporary street style and stepped to songs such as “Keep Their Heads Ringin’’’ by Dr. Dre. The song reflected the tense battle plot between the two leading fighters of the team.

At points, the opposing groups chanted, building the anticipation of a fight’s winner that would be determined through song.

performed songs from the soundtrack, including the show’s theme song and the classic “Gitchee Gitchee Goo.” Full Swing incorporated quick clips of dialogue from the show Phineas and Ferb right before swing dance broke out across the stage. The soundtrack also included sound effects and songs from the beloved 2010s kids show.

According to its introductory video, in past years, BC Full Swing solely incorporated the East Coast style of swing dance into its routine, But for 2023 Showdown, the group added in the West Coast variation as well.

Lifts, including one where the female dancers put their legs around their partners’ necks and swung around with no hands, evoked loud cheers.

Masti

Bollywood fusion dance team

Masti began its routine with a theme summarized in two words: unapologetically cultural.

Through dance, the first place-finishing group theatrically told a story about villagers fighting for their freedom.

Many dancers sported traditional outfits, coordinated based on each person’s role in the storyline of the routine. Some dancers wore cargo pants and black shirts, which contrasted well with the colorful, sparkling traditional outfits. Masti used multiple props, including batons, throughout its routine.

Masti’s choreography stood out for its storytelling narration and movements, using explosive

tine, members of PATU stood with their arms crossed before breaking out into dance to songs such as “Môkôdô” by PATU integrated a Black Panther theme throughout its set, putting up the hand symbol for Wakanda and including audio from the movie between songs.

Red lights flashed over PATU’s routine, matching the group’s props of batons with red tassles that it brought out during “King’s Dead” by Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar from the Black Panther soundtrack.

The team members danced in a line, quickly breaking apart to spotlight each individual, yet synchronized, movement. Kicks, high arm raises, and dancing transitions between slow and fast tempos dominated the group’s routine.

Toward the end of the performance, a dancer dressed in the Black Panther costume appeared among the dancers, closing out the movie theme for PATU’s set.

DOBC

Dance Organization of Boston College (DOBC), a team formed by and for women from all races, economic standings, and religions, chose Rosie’s Place as its charity.

The all-female group wore white and blue bodysuits as it danced to “Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes.

“Whatever you do don’t fall asleep,” a dreamlike voice announced over the speaker before an eerily calm cover of “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics played over the speakers. The dancers performed slow movements to match the song. The dance picked up as the music changed into the original, upbeat version of “Sweet Dreams.”

The team changed into an all-

Since then, the dancers in F.I.S.T.S. have cultivated new relationships with one another through the love of step-dancing, according to the team’s president Elizabeth Oduro, MCAS ’23 in the introductory

The team members wore custom F.I.S.T.S. varsity jackets embroidered with the letter “F” in the video, showing off a crisp vintage look.

In flight attendant uniforms and Y2K tracksuits, F.I.S.T.S. took the stage to loud cheers and fanfare from the audience. The dancers came out on stage replete with loud vibrating beats and a tension-building setup. Repeatedly, the music cut out to reveal the group’s step dance solos. The booming steps heard reverberating off the stage built to a crescendo that left the audience to cheer.

The group emphasized the importance of step dance, complete with solos that spotlighted the members’ talent and skill without the need for background music.

F.I.S.T.S. danced as a unit to Beyoncé’s “Diva” synchronized like a mirror image.

A lift that concluded the set mimicked a flight through the air. The dancers carried a member up as if she were flying like a plane. As the music stopped, the sounds of the mem bers’ loud clapping and foot stomping filled Conte Fo rum.

To close the set, the dancers gathered in other formations with one dancer standing up with their arm out victoriously, almost as if he won the simulation AeroK created within their routine.

Capital Dance Ministry

This year marked Capital Dance Ministry’s first time participating in ALC Showdown, and the group danced for student missionaries on campus.

The Christian dance team’s logo, the alpha fish logo, shined on the screens as it took the stage. All the dancers were wearing the same outfit, a black vest with white underclothes.

The team said its goal was to bring “people from all cultures and backgrounds coming together to worship one God.”

To begin, the team played Proverbs 3:5 over the loudspeaker.

“Trust the lord with all your heart,” the narrator said over the loudspeaker.

Throughout their routine, the group told a story of a student going through the turmoils of faith and finding God.

To go along with this theme, a telephone rang over the speaker, calling a character—Mary’s daughter—to deliver bad news as some dancers left the stage. The rest of the dancers, wearing white masks, came out to perform a song about sin.

“A Tale of 2 Citiez” by J. Cole had audience members singing and screaming together, as dancers proactively showed off through the beat of the music. The set concluded with the blue team winning, pronounced by the referee to the audience’s cheers.

The blue team boxer held up his prize belt into the air, walking to the front of the stage as the lights dimmed to close off Sexual Chocolate’s performance.

Synergy

Wearing all-black basketball jerseys and athletic shorts, hiphop dance troupe Synergy showed off its agility by launching into complex dance formations. Missy Elliott’s “I’m Really Hot” and “I Get Crazy” by Nicki Minaj played as the team moved through every corner of the dance stage in unison.

The team’s set, based on the “SynBA Draft,” was marked by the prominent use of basketballs as props, and fast but concentrated motions highlighted the team’s synchronization.

Synergy lined up like dominoes and executed the same one after another in a line. At times, the troupe organized formations by height. Its choreography blended a lot of contemporary dance and street hip-hop, complementing the tempo and mood of the songs in the routine.

An excerpt from a viral TikTok sound saying “BFFR, be f—ing for real” played, arousing cheers from the audience.

Cory Asbury, mem bers’ fingers waved above their heads as they turned their back from the audience before breaking back into their smooth dance moves.

The dancers spun in synchronous motion as they ended with “Battle Belongs” by Phil Wickham.

Synergy played to its strengths with slick, fast-paced transitions from song to song, while still giving time for the audience to react to their freeze poses.

Fittingly, the group finished its set with “Ball” by T.I., leading to cheers and some fans’ standing ovation in Conte. n

A Look Into the McMullen Museum’s Faculty Research

By Eliza HErnandEz Projects Editor

Enclosed in an ornate golden frame on the walls of the McMullen Museum is a painting of the Madonna and Child alongside John the Baptist that Stephanie Leone said she and her students found particularly intriguing.

“We really knew very little about the circumstances of its production,” said Leone, an art history professor and chair of the art, art history, and film department at Boston College. “How did it end up in Boston? What happened between 18th century Verona and 21st century Boston?”

Rather than the actual portrait on the canvas, Leone said it was these questions about the painting’s history that sparked an archival research project she and her research fellow conducted to find information about the 19th century owner of the painting.

“It really allowed us to get into the mentality of earlier time periods, so that always stands out as a very special research project,” Leone said.

The McMullen Museum of Art has produced more than 75 large-scale loan exhibits since its inception in the 1990s, but it is distinguished from other university museums because of its dedication to the highest standard of scholarship and installation, according to Nancy Netzer, a professor in art, art history, and film department at BC and McMullen director.

“That’s because we’re focused on

go to her with an idea,” Leone said.

“And even if she doesn’t know them, if somebody comes to her with an idea, she’s always very receptive.”

From there, Leone said faculty-driven research at McMullen is just a matter of development, which includes building an appropriate team and planning logistics about establishing an exhibition.

“It’s a conversation—you usually start it with the director of the museum, and then she brings in other people to help develop it, and then the person who has proposed the idea thinks about other collaborators that they would like to work on the project,” Leone said.

Leone also said the research team follows up with meetings and brainstorms about themes and subthemes, as well as how to approach creating a catalogue that would best fit the collection.

“And then when you get close to opening the exhibition, you start to think about programming, like ‘What kind of people would you like to bring to campus to talk about the ideas that are in the exhibition?’”

Leone said. “‘Or what kind of events might be organized around the themes of the exhibition?’”

While some of McMullen’s research projects have demonstrated a consistent focus on specific time periods, themes, and regions, Netzer said the types of projects change in conjunction with the varied interests of faculty.

“When we started out, there was a lot of interest in Irish studies because Irish art had not been studied back in the ’90s to a great extent,”

to other scholars, both at BC and around the world,” Netzer said.

McMullen’s 2004 exhibit, Fernand Khnopff: Inner Visions and Landscapes, exemplified a significant faculty-driven research project, according to Netzer.

“A really good example was a faculty member called Jeffery Howe,” Netzer said. “He’s retired now, but he was the greatest authority on a 19th century Belgian artist called Fernand Khnopff—he had written a book on him, and had long ago done his dissertation on him.”

Netzer said that while Howe was working with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium, he also wanted McMullen to collaborate on a project about Khnopff.

“He was writing for the catalog, and he asked if we at the McMullen would be co-organizers of the exhibition,” Netzer said. “So, the exhibition opened in Brussels and came to the McMullen.”

From Jan. 16 to May 9, 2004, Fernand Khnopff received overwhelmingly positive reviews in the European press and garnered over 163,000 visitors at the Royal Art Museums, according to McMullen’s website. The Khnopff exhibit opened at the McMullen in September of that year.

“This exhibition provides a fascinating window into late-19th century Belgium, an era in which the country was emerging as a leading international center for art,” the McMullen’s website reads. “Khnopff developed his art in a highly intellectual culture that embraced and defined the major themes of Modernism.”

Netzer also noted an example of another faculty-driven research in which two BC faculty members collaborated with David’s Collection—a museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The BC professors studied Islamic art history within the David’s Collection and initiated an international research opportunity for McMullen, Netzer said.

porate the full array of Islamic art from its origins to modern times, representing vast spans of time, space, and media,” the website reads.

The 2022 exhibition Martin Parr: Time and Place was another product of international connections and research, Netzer said. BC professor of studio art Karl Baden was well known at the Martin Parr Foundation’s photography gallery in Bristol, England and helped establish a collaboration between the

ter technology and better tools,” Netzer said.

During the initial wave of COVID-19, Netzer said that her team moved almost all of its publications to its virtual platforms. Because this transition increased the museum’s audiences both locally and around the world, Netzer said McMullen continues to publish scholarly information and collections online in addition to its in-person exhibits.

“And we wanted to keep that

temporary exhibitions that reflect research of our faculty, and research that’s done sometimes by our faculty in conjunction with courses that they teach, and with their students,” Netzer said.

Leone said that faculty members interested in starting research with McMullen find that it is an open process, as Netzer quickly sets up meetings to learn about their ideas and types of objects they plan on researching.

“Because professor Netzer is also a faculty member, she knows a lot of the faculty, so usually [they]

Netzer said. “And then more recently, we’ve had faculty member Elizabeth Goizueta, and she has had great interest in Latin America.”

Netzer said that McMullen has done a number of important research projects on Latin American—and specifically Cuban— artists. The museum plans on continuing this work with another Latin American art exhibition next year, Netzer said.

“There’s just a lot more material available for loan and faculty members who are deeply embedded in the field with good connections

“It had never been shown in America and hadn’t really hadn’t been researched thoroughly,” Netzer said. “And the David’s Collection, which had a small staff, wanted the scholars at BC, Sheila Blair, and Jonathan Bloom to do research on their collection.”

Netzer said that after the BC professors published a catalogue for David’s Collection, the musuem offered its collection to McMullen in 2006.

The exhibit, Cosmophilia: Islamic Art from David’s Collection, Copenhagen , comprised 123 examples of Islamic art from David’s Collection, according to McMullen’s database.

“The works presented incor-

two museums, according to Netzer.

“They called us because they wanted to bring at least part of an exhibition that they were putting together for Ireland to the United States,” Netzer said. “And we teamed up with them, and put all of our Irish studies and history of photographer scholars on the team.”

Netzer said the BC scholars wrote all the exhibit plaques and organized the sections and the narrative of the exhibition, and they expanded the exhibition that the Parr Foundation originally displayed in Ireland.

On display from Jan. 31 to June 5, 2022, Martin Parr: Time and Place was the most comprehensive show of the renowned Irish photographer’s work on display in the United States.

“It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for faculty research, for bringing together faculty members from different disciples, and for teaching students from across the University,” Netzer said.

Netzer said that while visitors feel a greater impact—and simply have more fun—by walking into the McMullen’s installations in person, the museum’s virtual walk-through feature is a scholarly tool for attaining information about the museum’s research. She added that anyone can read catalogues, labels, and public programming on McMullen’s extensive database.

“The reason that we have this archive is that we want to preserve whatever we can from the exhibitions, and you’ll see that we can preserve more of the exhibition online now, because we have bet-

audience because BC—especially with its broad alumni network—has people who are interested in what we do from far away,” Netzer said. Whether online or in-person, Netzer said she thinks it is clear that the goal of McMullen’s faculty research is to generate new knowledge for the public.

“What it’s meant to do is tell people that we’re sharing with them what’s normally more private enterprise of art historical scholarship, and scholarship in general from a lot of disciplines, with the public,” Netzer said.

Leone said that research is the most important part of art exhibitions.

“I always tell my students that if you want to find the latest information about a topic about a work of art, that you look to see if there are any exhibitions—and you read the exhibition catalogs if you haven’t been able to go to the exhibition,” Leone said. “So research is absolutely central to the whole purpose of a museum exhibition.”

Netzer said that she and her colleagues are proud of the fact that like its galleries, McMullen makes its research completely free to the public. This has a lot to do with the Jesuit tradition, Netzer said.

“We couldn’t have this kind of operation without the sense of cooperation and the backing of Boston College, which is a really special place,” Netzer said. “Everybody is committed to the mission and I think that’s a really, really important part of what has allowed us to be successful as we have been over the last three decades.” n

PHOTO COURTESY OF MCMULLEN MUSEUM

NICOLE VAGRA / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Beyond canvases and frames: the second installment of a two-part series about a BC art landmark

McMullen transformed Martin Parr: Time and Place into a virtual gallery.

ANEESA WERMERS / HEIGHTS ARCHIVES McMullen displayed Irish photography in 2022 Martin Parr: Time and Place

From Rivals to Roommates:

Flynn and Roman Anchor Eagles’ Pitching Core

Pitchers, from A1

Roman locked down from there, sitting down the side in the top of the eighth and striking out the first batter he faced in the top of the ninth. After letting up two singles and a walk, however, it was up to Flynn to tie the game up—down 5–1 with three runners in scoring position, a home run could do just that. But the Hawks’ tournament run would go no further, as Roman forced Flynn to fly out in what would become Flynn’s last plate appearance as a member of Roger Williams’ program.

Fast forward to the summer of 2022—just weeks after Salve Regina’s season came to an end as well—and Flynn and Roman were meeting up once again. Only this time, they were discussing next steps in their careers, respectively, while competing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s summer season.

for bringing Flynn and Roman to the Heights as graduate transfers for the 2023 season.

“I ended up touring the Pete Frates Center first with Coach Vance,” Roman said. “And what I really liked about my visit is that he was just straight up with me. They, like, laid it out for me that you had to work really hard in order to be in a situation. I looked at myself and was like, ‘this is something I want to do and I think I can.’”

Flynn said it was also a matter of helping the Eagles bounce back from a season in which they captured only five conference wins and uplift the rotation.

“And coming off the year they had—I know I wasn’t there—but I know there was a lot of talks about, you know, the pitching staff not getting it done,” Flynn said. “I feel like I automatically took that personally.”

While Flynn had been recruited to be a sure-fire starter for BC, Roman’s

told the two of them during preseason. “They weren’t afraid to say, ‘even though I’ve had success with this in the past, I understand I might have to make adjustments and change things.’”

While Flynn has stamped his name on the Saturday starter role, Roman has appeared in all types of high-leverage situations this year. He’s best known for closing out games and posting consecutive zeros across the scoreboard while doing so.

“They basically said that we need you in high-leverage, doesn’t matter if it’s the fifth inning, sixth inning, seventh inning,” Roman said. “That was good prep for my brain for positions like that. So that even if I’m closing or we’re going into the 10th tied, it doesn’t matter—get your outs.”

In 10 appearances this season, Roman has contributed six saves. His 1.08 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched is the lowest among all BC relievers by a wide margin.

Flynn’s 1.76 ERA is good for first on the team for starters and eighth in the entire ACC. In 41.0 innings, the 6-foot-4 right-hander has registered 53 strikeouts to just 14 walks.

For both pitchers, the numbers jump right off the page. But they put up those numbers so differently.

his pitching style. “Pitching’s personal, you know what I mean? It’s me versus the batter, you know, for as many batters as I face in the game. It didn’t take long for me to take identity with this pitching staff.”

After throwing strikes, Flynn remains tranquil but keeps his composure, glaring down every batter he faces.

ically,” Roman said of his development at Salve Regina. “So I think coming here, there’s been some cues that I picked up that have really helped me with putting the ball in certain spots in certain counts, and then being able to work away from each of those pitches.”

With those two on the mound, Gambino said he feels a kind of stability

“It was crazy when we both committed to BC,” Flynn said. “I knew who he was, and we played each other in the summer. I went up to him, I was like, ‘what’s up.’ You know, I love talking to DIII guys who are playing NECBL— which is mainly all DI—so I go up to talk to him.”

Flynn didn’t just want to know what was up with Roman, though. He wanted to know if Roman was getting the same attention from Division I programs that were scouting in the area, just like he was.

“Of course I knew who he was,” Flynn said. “We were rivals. So we’re just talking, I’m like, ‘how’s it going? Like, you know, how’s everything working out, what are your plans?’ And he’s like a beast, he’s actually talking to me. I’m like, ‘damn, crazy,’ because then, you know, Coach Vance told me that he committed and then a week later I committed. It was really cool.”

After an abysmal year in terms of pitching for No. 14 Boston College baseball—the Eagles ranked last in ERA in the ACC in 2022—BC head coach Mike Gambino and pitching coach Kevin Vance, who was added to the staff in 2022, looked toward the prospect portal. Vance, with duties as both a pitching coach and a recruiting coordinator, was highly responsible

assignment was less visible at the time.

“They would label me as the closer at Salve [Regina],” Roman said. “I think the biggest difference between there and here was that Vance told me straight out that they didn’t want to have a closer role. We have a bunch of guys that can fill that position.”

But 26 games into the 2023 season, and with BC notching its highest rank in program history, Flynn and Roman have solidified themselves as the Eagles’ top starter and closer, respectively.

“Both of those guys are very focused,” Gambino said. “There’s a very professional feel about it, and they’re coming into a program that they didn’t have any of the facilities resources that we have. There’s humility and there’s a gratitude, which I feel is really important to our program.”

From rivals to roommates, Flynn and Roman did not only climb the ranks of Division III baseball to make mere contributions to a Division I program. They’ve become two of the best pitchers in the ACC in their respective fields and are prime reasons for BC’s success this season.

“The way they’re going about your business, you’re earning the respect of your teammates, and you can start to take a leadership role towards the end of the fall,” Gambino said of what he

“In different ways, they bring maturity, confidence, and like a chip on their shoulder,” Gambino said. “We as a program want all three of those things for all of our guys, right? Flynny’s is louder, more boisterous. Ro’s is more of a quiet confidence. But yeah, the confidence, the maturity, the competitiveness, and the chip on their shoulder.”

But after ending an inning, Flynn explodes with fiery pride, curling his fists into a strength pose before strutting to the dugout with a stomp in his step. He is what the Eagles lacked in 2022—a recognizable identity.

“You have the opportunity to own it—to own the game—to dictate what happens,” Flynn said. “Some people see that and don’t think anything of it. Some people see it and nerves get to them. Some people see it as an opportunity to prove themselves. I love it. I rise up to it.”

Roman’s style, like Gambino expressed, is silent but game-deciding. Sporting a mustache and standing at

he’s lacked in years prior.

“The combination of those two basically shuts down the run game,” Gambino said. “You know, Adonys [Guzman] said to me the other day, he’s like, ‘Coach, I haven’t thrown anybody out in a while.’ Well, Flynny’s controlling the runners and everybody sees what you can do behind the plate. They just can’t go—you are stopping them. So it’s just a really good combination, with Roman as well.”

And if it weren’t for Gambino’s style of coaching, the two of them—who room together along with right-handed reliever Ian Murphy—probably

Saturday’s 3–1 victory over Georgia Tech—in which Flynn pitched six innings, earning just one run and striking out nine batters and Roman closed the game, earning zero runs in 1.1 innings—showcased exactly what Gambino was talking about. When Gambino said that Flynn throws with a chip on his shoulder, it really shows.

“Angry but in control,” Flynn said of

6-feet tall, Roman will quietly put a lineup to sleep without missing a beat, but will do it with grace. His professionalism is glowing, and his slider, with a menacing hook on the ball, fools batters with its precision.

“I would say I had the confidence and was getting the pitch in the zone, but I’d have days where I’m backing it up and I’m trying to figure it out mechan-

wouldn’t have come to BC in the first place.

“I’ve been around college baseball to know that you’re not committing to the bells and whistles,” Flynn said. “At the end of the day, you’re committing to a coaching staff. I felt like from the beginning, Coach Gambino was really honest with me. This is where I wanna be.” n

KELLEN DAVIS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Chris Flynn recorded 95 strikeouts in the 2022 season with Roger Williams.

KELLEN DAVIS / HEIGHTS STAFF

In all seven starts this season, Chris Flynn has pitched at least five innings, maxing out at seven against Florida State.

ALINA CHEN / HEIGHTS STAFF

Andrew Roman has walked zero batters this season with only two runs allowed.

SPORTS

BC Takes Fourth ACC Series Win With 24 Runs

Despite being down 3–0, BC responded in the bottom of the first inning with a Patrick Roche threerun home run to left field. Roche finished the game with four RBIs, continuing his strong season.

“He consistently gives us creative at-bats and he’s one of those guys who just has a knack for driving in runs, situational at-bats, big two out hits,” Gambino said.

After the early hiccup, West settled in and pitched two scoreless innings in the second and third inning to keep the game knotted at three. BC managed to gain its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning when Nick Wang blasted a two-run home run to give the Eagles a 5–3 cushion.

But Georgia Tech remained steady, scoring its fourth run of the game off John Giesler’s home run to cut BC’s lead to one in the top of the fourth inning.

No more runs were scored until the Eagles’ offense really picked up in the seventh inning, as Peter Burns, Travis Honeyman, Roche, Joe Vetra-

no, Daniel Baruch, and Cohl Mercado all recorded RBIs en route to seven runs scored. Georgia Tech’s pitching was out of sorts, as Baruch got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score BC’s 11th run of the game.

The Yellow Jackets, however, took BC’s punches and fought back with five runs of their own in the top of the eighth, as Jake DeLeo ripped a threerun home run to cut BC’s lead to five.

RBIs from Stephen Reid and Dispigna

closed the inning to make it 12–9.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, BC delivered the final blow, which proved to be too much for Georgia Tech. The Eagles exploded for 12 runs, starting with Cameron Leary sending a three-run home run into right field. Honeyman, Mercado, Baruch, Sam McNulty, Vetrano, and Wang all recorded RBIs in the inning, expanding BC’s lead to 24–9. Georgia Tech’s three runs in the top of the ninth

inning wasn’t nearly enough, and the Eagles walked away with a series win and their most-ever runs scored in an ACC game.

Saturday’s game was vastly different from Sunday’s, as BC showed off their pitching and defensive expertise in a low-scoring, 3–1 victory against the Yellow Jackets.

Flynn started the game for BC and continued to display why he is one of the ACC’s top-tier pitchers with

his 1.76 ERA. Flynn threw six total innings, recording nine strikeouts while allowing only one run.

“It’s good stuff,” Gambino said. “It’s really good carrying of the fastball. It’s a curveball, it’s a cutter. But it’s toughness, it’s competitiveness, it’s composure, it’s pitch ability. … Even more than the stuff, it’s those things that makes him really special.”

The Eagles were quiet offensively but came up with big hits when it mattered most. Vince Cimini opened up the scoring for the Eagles with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the third inning to give BC a 1–0 lead.

Honeyman added to the Eagles’ tally with a two-run home run to left field in the fifth inning, giving BC a 3–0 lead. The only blemish on Flynn’s performance was the concession of an RBI double to Georgia Tech’s Nicholas Romano in the sixth inning, which cut BC’s lead to 3–1.

Joey Ryan and Roman followed up Flynn’s performance with three innings of scoreless relief pitching of their own, allowing only two hits.

“If you look from top to bottom, it’s a different person every game,” Gambino said. “And same thing on the mound, you got guys picking each other up and it’s just a very good feel.” n

BC Records One Hit, Fall To Tigers

By BraSSil Moran Heights Staff

Heading into Sunday’s game against No. 5 Clemson, Boston College softball faced a steep battle after dropping both of its games to the Tigers on Friday while giving up 15 total runs in the process.

With fans filling the stands and lawn of Harrington Athletics Village to watch the Eagles on a sunny Sunday afternoon, no upset was in store. BC (16–17, 1–8 Atlantic Coast) instead produced its fifth scoreless game of the year en route to an 8–0 loss to the Tigers (36–1, 12–0), who used a five-run third inning to secure the five-inning, run ahead-rule win. Sunday’s loss extended the Eagles’ losing streak to six games.

BC struggled at the plate all game long against Clemson ace Valeria Cagle. The Tigers, who boast the third-highest combined batting average and the lowest combined ERA in the NCAA, dominated on all fronts, with seven hits and no errors. BC, meanwhile, had only one hit and gave up six walks.

“Today I think Cagle came out and had a lot of good stuff,” BC head coach Amy Kvilhaug said. “What we could’ve

done better, maybe swing at more strikes and we were just pounding the ball into the ground, we need to drive the ball through the middle.”

The Eagles’ starting pitcher Susannah Anderson allowed one hit and no runs in the top of the first inning, but failed to capitalize in the bottom of the inning. Cargle hit Abigail Knight with a pitch to advance Knight to first base, but Nicole Giery struck out looking and Kamryn Warman grounded out to end the inning with both teams scoreless. Defensive errors in the second inning led to Clemson getting two players on base. Ally Miklesh then sent a double to left field to give the Tigers a 1–0 lead. Reedy Davenport followed with a perfect bunt to bring Arielle Oda home, doubling the Tigers’ lead.

Clemson continued its hot hitting in the third inning, striking the ball powerfully and finding gaps in the infield. Anderson struggled to find the zone, walking two batters to load the bases, and Clemson then scored its first run of the inning on a fielder’s choice at third.

Anderson’s shaky performance continued, as she walked two more batters to give the Tigers a 4–0 lead. Clemson, however, didn’t stop there, registering two more runs after Miklesh singled to right field. Abby Dunning then replaced

Anderson, who let up a single to center field on her first pitch, allowing Clemson to go ahead 7–0.

But Dunning managed to escape with the bases loaded, striking out Cagle to end Clemson’s five-run third inning.

“Abby Dunning has been a rock for us this whole season and I think she has grown leaps and bounds from last year,”

base and managing to narrowly beat the throw. But she was less successful in her attempt to steal second base, getting thrown out to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.

Davenport capped off Clemson’s scoring in the top of the fifth inning by hitting a rocket of a home run to left field to extend the Tigers’ lead to eight.

NICOLE WEI / HEIGHTS STAFF

BC’s loss against Clemson extended its losing streak to six games.

Kvilhaug said. “She’s just been executing and getting it done in the circle.”

BC couldn’t put anything together in response, going 0 for 3 in the bottom of the third inning, recording a pop-out and two ground outs.

Dunning pitched BC’s first hitless inning of the game in the fourth inning, walking one batter in the process. Zoe Hines knocked an infield single in the bottom of the inning, hustling to first

The Eagles went out quick in the bottom of the inning, failing to get on base, and the game concluded after five innings. It marked the first time the Eagles have failed to score since March 24.

“If you take this series on the whole I think we made a lot of strides with our offensive approach,” Kvilhaug said. “We scored seven runs against this team in a series, more than any other ACC opponent has.” n

BC Holds Pitt to Two Goals, Medjid Scores Seven

By SouraBh Gokarn

Copy Editor

Led by Jenn Medjid—who entered Boston College lacrosse’s matchup against Pittsburgh leading the ACC in goals per game with 3.8—BC’s offensive firepower has played a cen-

tral role in its identity this season. On Saturday in Alumni Stadium, however, the Eagles left their mark on the defensive end, blanking the Panthers over the game’s first 38 minutes and seven seconds.

Surrendering a season-best two goals, BC (9–3, 5–1 Atlantic Coast) cruised to a 17–2 win over Pitt (4–9, 0–6)—the ACC’s lowest-ranked team.

Medjid led the Eagles with seven goals, and the win kept BC undefeated at home.

“They were playing amazing one v. one defense, executing the game plan perfectly, and they were aggressive,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said.

BC debuted its Red Bandanna jerseys on Saturday, making the win even sweeter, according to Walker-Weinstein. The Eagles’ Red Bandanna Game honors the legacy of Welles Crowther, BC ’99, who died after saving multiple lives in the Sept. 11 attacks.

“For us to be able to wear the jerseys for the first time ever and to be able to honor Sophia [Taglich]—it was a really special day,” Walker-Weinstein said.

Despite controlling possession early, BC had nothing to show for in the opening minutes. On a sleepy afternoon dulled by overcast skies and intermittent rain, missed opportunities plagued the Eagles. BC’s passing appeared shaky and a number of its shots sailed over the net.

On the defensive end, however, BC broke up Pitt’s passing and blocked shots, holding up just long enough for Medjid to put her team on the board.

Well over eight minutes into the game, Belle Smith found Medjid amid a circle of Panthers defenders, who buried her 39th goal of the season to break the scoreless tie. Smith, who Inside Lacrosse and ILWomen recently named to its Midseason All-American First Team, tallied a goal of her own just a minute and 23 seconds later to send the Eagles into the second quarter ahead 2–0.

“I think they were determined to get through any lulls in the game and they did right from the very beginning,” Walker-Weinstein said.

Unlike the first quarter, BC wasted no time getting going in the second quarter. After Cassidy Weeks scored off a free-position shot less than a minute into the frame, it was all Eagles for the following 14 minutes.

Five different Eagles scored in the quarter, including three goals from Medjid.

Though BC ended the first half

ahead by a comfortable nine-goal margin, the Eagles refused to let up their defensive intensity, pitching a first-half shutout to make it 9–0. BC’s defense made life easy for freshman goaltender Shea Dolce, who did not face a single shot on goal in the opening 30 minutes.

Pitt needed over eight minutes in the third quarter to register its first goal. Sophomore Sydney Naylor ended the Panthers’ scoring drought, notching her 17th goal of the season at the quarter’s 6:53 mark.

Pitt added another goal at the fourth quarter’s 10:37 mark, but the Eagles responded with a torrent of goals, highlighted by a no-look, behind-the-back goal from Annabelle Hasselbeck.

Medjid capped off the run by scoring her season-high seventh goal of the game with 52 seconds left to play.

“She’s huge,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She’s the quarterback of our offense, and she’s the leader, and she played great today. I think all her goals and points were a product of the offense working really unselfishly.” n

ADITYA RAO / HEIGHTS STAFF

The Eagles reached 20 wins faster than it ever has in program history with its victory on Sunday.

Baseball, from A1