The Heights Jan. 22, 2015

RED, WHITE & SOARING

BOSTON VISION

AS-I-AM

SPORTS

METRO

SCENE

Allyson Swaby and Steph McCaffrey make the jump to U.S. national soccer teams, B8

Sean Collins created one of the city’s first timelapse videos that is taking the internet by storm, A8

The story of how BC’s emerging Asian-American literary Magazine came to be, B1

www.bcheights.com

HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

established

1919

Thursday, Janurary 22, 2015

Vol. XCVI, No. 2

BC alone in dissent of stipend Athletics outvoted 79-1 on cost-ofattendance measure

BY MICHAEL SULLIVAN Heights Editor

ARTHUR BAILIN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Sophomores Calnan and Gilmour lead BC over Merrimack BC rebounded from a disappointing loss at Maine last Sunday, defeating the streaking Merrimack team 2-1. Chris Calnan and Adam Gilmour scored for the Eagles, while Thatcher Demko made 22 saves to stymie the Warriors. BC will welcome Connecticut to Chestnut Hill on Saturday, seeking to avenge a loss to the Huskies in November. See page B8.

ResLife site opens doors off-campus Online resource designed to connect students with credible realtors and roommates

BY GUS MERRELL Asst. News Editor For students not guaranteed four years of housing, the search for a place to live off campus can be all-consuming. To simplify the process, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) plans on rolling out a new website at the end of the month that will consolidate all major resources for off campus living into one location.

Partnering with the third-party Off Campus Partners—along with Suffolk University and Northeastern University—ResLife hopes to build a database that will allow students to connect with realtors and landlords, browse pictures of available properties as well as a comprehensive list of amenities, and find roommates or subletters.

“This is what we’re going to tell everyone needs to be their first point of contact because they can more easily—without even contacting a realtor—connect with properties and see it and not waste their time going to it and finding out you didn’t like what it looked like,” said Peter Kwiatek, assistant director of Off Campus Housing.

“You can see it on the map, you can see photos of it much more easily.”

The resources that were given to students in the past consisted of a basic list of realtors and a sheet of paper with listings that had only basic information such as rent per unit, address, and number of residents. In the past, many students would come into his office with these sheets printed out and have no idea what they were supposed to do, Kwiatek said.

See Off-Campus, A8

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM COBURN

Former BC students Tom Coburn (above) and Jonathan Lacoste have been named among the top young marketers and advertisers.

Jebbit co-founders recognized among Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ Coburn, Lacoste take company founded on BC’s campus to national level, land spots on list of top marketers

BY ARIELLE CEDENO Assoc. News Editor As sophomores at Boston College, Tom Coburn and Jonathan Lacoste would reserve a private study room every week on the fifth floor of O’Neill Library—though not much studying would get done. Together, with a team of friends for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday, they developed their startup Jebbit back in 2011. It was a collaborative work ethic—one that has defined the startup since its inception—that propelled Jebbit’s founders from the confines of an O’Neill study room to the annual Forbes “30 Under 30” list for Marketing and Advertising.

Co-founded by Coburn and Lacoste—who now serve as CEO and COO respectively—Jebbit is an online marketing platform for “post-click engagement,” which captures consumer attention through an interactive question-and-answer ad experience and rewards the consumer for learning about the brand. After pivoting and relaunching in November of 2013, Jebbit has seen large-scale success, amassing clients like Dell, New Balance, and Harvard University, according to Forbes.com. The startup’s most recent feat has been landing its

founders a spot on the highly-selective Forbes “30 Under 30” list, which annually recognizes the top companies, executives, and entrepreneurs in a variety of professional fields across the U.S.—making Coburn and Lacoste this year’s youngest winners to be selected. The Marketing and Advertising list, of which Jebbit was a part, highlights those “who are setting the standard for new strategies and tools for brand engagement,” according to Forbes.com.

“I’d like to think that while Tom and I were the ones honored for ‘30 Under 30,’ it’s truly been a team effort,” Lacoste said in an email. “Everyone that has helped contribute to Jebbit’s success over the years, starting off with the very students, faculty and administration of Boston College, deserve credit.”

After discussions with Forbes about the potential of a partnership and the use of Jebbit’s marketing technology, Coburn and Lacoste were notified of their prospective candidacy for the award—yet they entered with little expectation of winning.

“We didn’t really think twice about it—we filled it out the questions and sent it back [to Forbes] and figured there was

See Jebbit, A3

Members of each school in the NCAA’s Power Five Conferences (Atlantic Coast Conference, Big XII Conference, Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference, and Pacific-12 Conference) and a panel of student-athletes voted by a measure of 79-1 Saturday to provide full cost-of-attendance scholarships to student-athletes. This vote will allow schools to provide, on average, an additional $2,000 to $5,000 stipend to cover cost of living expenses to varsity athletes, supplementing the NCAA’s full grant-in-aid scholarships, which covers tuition, books, and room and board. These living expenses range from laundry to school supplies.

Boston College, however, was the only school to vote down the measure.

“Boston College is concerned with continuing to pass legislation that increases expenses when the vast majority of schools are already institutionally subsidized,” BC Athletics said in a statement. “The consequence of such legislation could ultimately hurt student-athletes if / when programs are cut.

This legislation further segregates student-athletes from the general student population by increasing aid without need-based consideration. Legislation already exists for student-athletes in need through Pell grants and the student-assistance fund.

We have concerns that the Federal Financial aid formula is sufficiently ambiguous that adjustments for recruiting advantage will take place.”

As reported in October, the gap between what BC’s financial aid office determines as the cost-of-attendance and the provisions for full scholarship athletes sits at $1,200. This gap represents the smallest in the ACC, tied with the University of Notre Dame. On the other hand, Virginia Tech has the largest cost-of-attendance in the ACC at $5,480. Carly Pariseau, BC’s associate athletics director for compliance, told The Heights. BC’s status as a private school with students that often remain on campus—two traits they share with Notre Dame students but not with many of the ACC’s large public schools, like Virginia Tech or Clemson University—may be the cause for this small cost-of-attendance gap.

Many officials from both the school and conference levels spoke out in favor of this measure. The most notable statement comes from ACC Commissioner John Swofford, who threw support behind providing full cost-of-attendance scholarships for student-athletes in July 2013, according to ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “It is history,” Swofford said in a report by USA Today’s George Schroeder. “It’s a culmination of a lot of things over the past several years.”

The ruling overturns a decision by the NCAA from 1975, which required that additional living expenses not be included in determining financial packages granted to student-athletes. Therefore, the maximum amount student-athletes may get is known as full grant-in-aid, consisting of tuition, room, board, and books. Student-athletes in dire need can still apply for federal aid, such as through Pell grants, or can request funds fairly easily from the NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund.

This proposal marked the first time the Power Five used their power to vote separately from the NCAA since being granted

See Financial Aid, A3

The Heights

A2

3

Top

things to do on campus this week

Join Edward Hirsch, Jill Lepore, Lawrence Weschler, and Carlo Rotella for a discussion on the rise of “New Journalism” and contemporary media as outlets for personal reflection in an age of entertainment.

The event will take place Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. in Devlin Hall, room 101.

1

Thursday, January 22, 2015 Come to Kelley Rink on Saturday at 2 p.m. to watch the No. 1 women’s hockey team face off against the No. 3 team in the country, Quinnipiac. Support the Eagles, who boast the top offense in the nation, as they seek to continue their undefeated streak on the march to Minnesota.

Directed by Tina Packer, the theater will be producing a Shakespeare Anthology Project titled ‘Honor, Shame, and Violence.’ The performance will feature a compoliation of war scenes from Shakespeare’s works, and will run until Jan. 25. Tickets are $10 with a valid BC ID.

2

News Race in the USA panel urges student action at BC Briefs

By Yolanda Bustillo For The Heights

Plexapalooza Los Angeles producer Dillon Francis will headline Boston College’s Plexapalooza concert on Jan. 31, according to the Campus Activities Board (CAB). The annual concert—staged in the Flynn Recreation Complex—is set to start at 9:45 p.m, with doors open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale at Robsham Theater on Jan. 21 for $25, with two tickets allotted per BC ID. Francis is known best for “Get Low,” which he recorded in collaboration with DJ Snake in 2014, but made his way to the national stage after getting the attention of American dance artist Diplo, whom he later collaborated with on the track “Que Que.” “Last year we had an unknown artist and that really hurt us, but this year we brought a world-class DJ who is capable of putting on an amazing show,” George Fabrikarakis, assistant director of concerts and A&S ’15, said in an email. “We’ve worked really hard to blow last year’s show out of the water.”

Changes in UGBC Chris Marchese, A&S ’15, will no longer be eligible for reinstatement to the position of executive vice president of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC), with the Executive Council announcing Friday that it is withdrawing its nomination for him to return.

“Based on new information that has come to our attention, we have decided to withdraw our nomination of Christopher Marchese as the Executive Vice President of UGBC,” Nanci Fiore-Chettiar, UGBC president and A&S ’15, said in an email. “We believe that this decision will best allow us to move forward as an organization and effectively represent the needs and interests of students.”

Sloan Renfro, A&S ’16, was confirmed to the position of vice president of student initiatives Sunday afternoon by the Student Assembly of the UGBC. Renfro now holds the position vacated by Connor Bourff, A&S ’15, who replaced Marchese, as executive vice president in November following Marchese’s resignation.

St. Mary’s Opens After two years, the new St. Mary’s Hall opened last week for use by the Boston College community.

The move-in period began Dec. 9.

Previously used to accommodate the majority of BC’s Jesuit community, the refurbished building now includes an academic section housing, the Woods College of Advancing Studies, the Communication and Computer Science departments, and 33 private rooms for members of the Jesuit community.

The new building replaces a St. Mary’s marred by tobacco smoke and time, while maintaining the architectural style seen in the academic buildings of middle campus. Students wishing to access the newly housed departments can do so using the front entrance on the southern, academic wing while the Jesuits who live there will use a separate entrance on a different part of the building.

“A building is a building, but when occupied it becomes something special,” Jesuit Community Rector Robert Keane, S.J., said to The Chronicle last week. “Having St. Mary’s open again makes a strong statement to our mission as Jesuits of being a presence at BC.”

Stories from Ferguson, Mo. and Staten Island, N.Y. have sparked questions of race across the country and on campus at Boston College. In an effort to address these concerns and increase awareness of racial issues in Chestnut Hill, the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties, along with the Jesuit Institute, hosted a panel discussion, moderated by Jesuit Institute Director Rev. James Keenan, S.J. The Wednesday night panel touched on the issue of race and differences between classes with informative commentary from five featured faculty members from various disciplines, including professor of English Min Song, assistant professor of sociology Rev. Gustavo Morello, S.J., Dean of BC Law School Vincent Rougeau, associate professor of history Martin Summers, and associate professor in the School of Theology and Ministry Nancy Pineda-Madrid.

The panel focused on discussing concerns and hopes about race and diversity in 2015. With recent mass media coverage of police brutality, many students came to the panel with questions of reform and response.

Song delved into the perspectives of both police officers and civilians. In efforts to make sense of these recent racial issues, Song tried to place students in the mindset of police authorities.

“What I am certain of is that if a civilian has all sorts of fantastic ideas of what the life of a police officer is like, so too will an officer harbor ideas of civilians from the same sources, especially if they are black,” she said.

Both Song and Summers refer-

Thomas Mogan started as the new Dean of Students and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at the beginning of this month, coming to Boston College from his previous role as Director of Student Development at Villanova University.

“I really enjoyed my time at Villanova, but this was a wonderful opportunity to come to Boston College,” Mogan said.

“The timing was right in terms of being ready for a new, professional opportunity.”

Vice President for Student Affairs Barbara Jones named Mogan the new Dean of Students and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs in October.

“It is exciting for Student Affairs to have Tom Mogan join us as associate vice president / Dean of Students,” Jones said in an email. “Dean Mogan has already shown his commitment to engaging with the student body through his ‘Dinners with the Dean’ program. I hope students will also take advantage of his open office hours to get to know

arthur bailin / Heights Editor

Five faculty members commented on differences between classes, race, in Wednesday’s panel in Gasson 100. enced the lasting legacies of racism from a historical perspective. Summers highlighted the various anniversaries that will occur this year, like the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, the 50th anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination, and the 50th anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. These celebrations of civil rights allow students and faculty alike to place recent issues of race into perspective.

With the recent events in Ferguson and Staten Island in mind, Summers considered possible solutions to cases of police brutality. The panel emphasized that there is not one easy path to lessen these injustices, discussing various modes of educating the public and promoting systematic change.

“At one point in the process of Ferguson, I thought that police brutality and unequal policing would have to be addressed at the local level,” Summers said. With his commentary,

more about him and the Dean of Students office.”

He succeeds former Dean of Students, Paul Chebator, who retired in May after 34 years at BC. Mogan brings experience with student affairs from his former job at Villanova, and the Office of the Dean of Students (DOS) is eager to work with him, said Carole Hughes, senior associate dean of tudents, in an email.

DOS is a part of the Division of Student Affairs that focuses on planning, implementing, and evaluating programs and services that promote student development. It oversees Assistance for Students in Crisis or Distress, Community Standards, Disability Services, and Off-Campus Student Life.

Mogan hopes to make the DOS office more than a place students go for disciplinar y action, with plans to increase outreach efforts to students.

Before moving to BC, he spent 20 years working in student life and teaching history at Villanova, where he said he found his role as an educator outside the classroom.

“I really enjoyed working with

he expressed a need for students to respond to racism.

While the panel discussed possible strategies to combat prejudice, it spoke about the importance of investing in communities of color and more broadly on education. The panel explained that not only must people become more informed about minority populations, but they must also accept diversity into their lives.

Summer stressed the importance of having a more racially diverse student body and faculty. The panel emphasized that before creating change, students must first examine their own perspectives regarding these issues.

Pineda-Madrid advised students about exactly how to understand racism on a more personal level.

“We all must first take an inner journey and look at the pieces in our own lives,” Pineda-Madrid said.

“We need to take time to reflect by ourselves about what is going on. It’s the place where we can look at the

external biases and push them to a different place, but we can’t do that without knowing ourselves in diverse situations.”

Throughout the panel, faculty members gave students questions to think about in regard to their experiences at BC. “Are we doing enough as an institution?” Summers asked.

Although many echoed the need for individual change, the panel discussed how true civil rights activism comes from systematic change.

After its discussion of race, the panel took a moment to look around the room. Acknowledging the fullness of Fulton 511, Rougeau noted how the audience itself was representative of change on campus.

“We are seeing in this panel a real commitment of those who are devoted to the race issue at Boston College,” Rougeau said. “We should celebrate that we are here for these conversations.” n

students in that capacity to help them sort of learn and grow and develop their leadership skills through programming events on campus,” he said.

As Director of Student Development at Villanova, Mogan worked closely with the school’s Student G overnment Association and said he believes he will have a role in advising the Undergraduate Government at Boston College (UGBC), which is currently overseen by the Office of Student Involvement.

“We’re just going to take a look at the advising structure and see what makes sense,” Mogan said. “I think that it would be beneficial to both me and to UGBC to have a relationship with the Dean of Students office,” Mogan said.

He also plans to evaluate the new student conduct guidelines, as well as the partnership created between UGBC and the Campus Activities Board, which was created this academic year.

“For me, coming in with a whole new perspective, I think it’s going to be good for me to sort of evaluate the changes that have already taken place,” he said.

“And so I think we’re going to do

a lot of evaluating—is it working well, are we communicating expectations to students clearly.”

Another goal Mogan has for the semester is to focus on reaching out to students.

Rather than simply meeting with student leaders on campus, he wants to help students who are still transitioning or struggling.

With this, he wants to improve the BC student experience, he said.

Mogan described the mission of DOS as one not only to care for the students, but also to promote their success and learning.

“We’re not necessarily teaching in the classroom, but we’re helping to support all the learning that happens inside the classroom by providing students with the support that they need,” he said.

“The first semester is to really learn as much as I can about the Boston College experience for students and how we can help to make the experience a better one and how we can work on things that we need to work on,” Mogan said. n

Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Carolyn Freeman, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights.com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk.

Arts Events For future arts events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk. Call Ryan Dowd, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com.

Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact John Wiley, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 5522223, or email eic@bcheights.com.

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

Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

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

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

1/16/15 - 1/19/15

Friday, Jan. 16

Sunday, Jan. 18

10:21 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a disorderly person. Officers arrested a student for disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest.

4:29 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a larceny theft.

Monday, Jan. 19 4:37 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was transported to a medical facility.

Saturday, Jan. 17 2:24 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding event ejection for alcohol.

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

Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823

POLICE BLOTTER

11:36 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding an elevator entrapment.

A Guide to Your Newspaper

Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223

Mogan looks to teach outside classroom as new

By Jenn Suh Heights Staff

3

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

If BC is a host for the 2024 Olympics, which building would you want featured?

“The chocolate bar...need I say more?”

—Emma Arcos, A&S ’18

“Stokes, because it’s the newest.”

—Olivia DiNapoli, A&S ’18

“The Plex, so they know what we go through everyday.”

—Aine McAlinden, A&S ’18

“Fulton. I’m a business kid, it’s beautiful, it could be useful.”

—Riley Soward, A&S ’18

A3

The Heights

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Local startup pays students for completing household tasks

By Pasquale Difilippo Heights Staff

“How do you plan on paying for all this?” These words changed Woody Klemmer’s life.

Klemmer’s father asked him this question prior to attending a Baltimore high school lacrosse tournament in the summer of 2006. With hopes of being recruited by a college lacrosse program, he began searching for part-time jobs to support his expensive athletic endeavor.

When this proved to be futile, along with his father’s advice, Klemmer began asking his neighbors if they needed help with anything around the house. Inspired by this work and with the help of a friend, Klemmer started WAK Jobs, which eventually evolved into his startup GladlyDo. After leaving a sales job in New York, Klemmer returned to his hometown, Needham, Mass., where he decided to launch GladlyDo into a full-fledged business. Through a few mutual friends, he met his current COO Liam Cunningham.

Cunningham, also from Needham, met with Klemmer this past summer while working in the non-profit sector.

GladlyDo is a service in which college students who would like to earn some extra money apply to be “doers.”

These “doers” respond to job posts on the website, and perform services ranging from babysitting to driving to moving to vacation needs. Doers also get to keep 100 percent of their tips, either through the website or in person.

“Doers get compensated very well — $15 per hour — comparatively to other options,” Klemmer said. “I could sit in the school library and make $8 an hour, or I can bang out two jobs with a flexible schedule for $50 and have money for the weekend.”

Posters can select from one of the nine categories of work on the GladlyDo website, or can submit a request which is then reviewed by Woody or Liam. Prices of the tasks are shown on the website, and posters can pay online by credit card using GladlyDo’s simple payment system.

Currently GladlyDo has “doers” at various universities across the Boston area, including recent students from Babson University and Boston College.

Not all “doers” are currently studying.

Some are recent graduates in between

jobs. In one example, the “doers” are a few semi-pro baseball players who are trying to earn some extra money.

One of the hardest things for Klemmer was “transitioning the business from a group of kids who were unorganized into a legal entity—hiring people, solidifying processes, building the website, getting all the legal stuff in order, and starting marketing functions.”

Klemmer believes that works take a lot of pride in the jobs they do with GladlyDo and understand that they have the opportunity to make connections. The biggest difference for Klemmer is the quality of work. A host can rate a “doer” one to five stars after his or her work is completed.

The doers’ recognize that their work is not only a reflection of themselves, but also GladlyDo and their referrals.

Currently, GladlyDo bills itself as “the perfect neighbor,” and touts its doing business and goodwill for others in the community. Rather than traditional marketing, GladlyDo is physically outreaching to users and hopes to link up with local nonprofits, senior living communities, and realtors.

“People are generally overwhelmingly satisfied with the product and happy with the jobs we’ve done,” Cunningham said.

“What we’re constantly striving for is adding new customers. When they have a good experience, most of the time, they’re going to be a repeat customer.”

Recently, GladlyDo has been seen a surge of popularity across the city. Many local small businesses are even starting to use GladlyDo as a courier service. Due to the recent holidays, GladlyDo was called on to help setup, cleanup, and even serve food at events. The startup also benefited from the large amount of rental turnover in the city during this past fall before classes started.

January has been one of GladlyDo’s most successful months, with almost 60 jobs already completed. To Cunningham and Klemmer’s surprise, job requests have not dwindled during the winter months, but continue to achieve a high number of requests. Klemmer’s startup is hoping to expand to Cape Cod this summer. “If it can work here, I have a feeling that it can work in a lot of places,” Klemmer said.

Klemmer wants to see his “doers” succeed using their experience through Glad-

Arthur bailin/ heights editor

GladlyDo CEO Woody Klemmer works to connect local students with people who need help with various tasks across the city. lyDo. “If we can get college kids working, making money, and make it so it’s a good thing to put on their resume so that they can leverage being a doer to get a job or an internship because that shows that they’re a high integrity kid, but also working hard during school and also making extra cash,” Klemmer said. “We also want these kids

to be on board with us and our goal to give back—which is a cornerstone and the foundation for the company.”

Klemmer hopes to grow his network of “doers” and clients in the city. Looking to the future, the startup would like to achieve a greater presence in the Boston community and link with nonprofits within

the greater metro area.

“Right now we’re a helping hand to those that need odd jobs done, but long term we’d also like to be a helping hand for people in need,” Klemmer said. “That’s the type of work we’d like to get more and more involved with in the future.” n

Athletics opposes landmark decision Financial Aid, from A1 autonomy in August of last year.

This allows those top 65 schools to create their own legislation, further widening the monetary gap between them and the remaining 286 Division 1 institutions.

While these other schools can enact the same measures the Power Five institutes, many do not have anywhere near the same financial support for their athletic programs. This creates an irreversibly large competitive imbalance between the Power

Five and the schools from the remaining 27 NCAA Division 1 Conferences. In addition to cost-of-attendance scholarships, the Power Five also approved removal of athletic scholarships based on game performance and concussion safety measures.

The Heights estimated that, if all 351 student-athletes who currently have some financial aid package also received a cost-of-attendance stipend, it would cost the school about $421,000. This figure assumes that all student-athletes

require this stipend as part of their financial aid.

Nothing from the NCAA’s ruling indicated whether the proposal will be approved at a conference level or if it will be made a choice by the individual schools, according to ESPN. This means the measure, openly supported by the ACC, may still be decided on a school-by-school basis. This would allow BC to still deny student-athletes full cost-of-attendance supplements in spite of the NCAA’s decision. n

Forbes honors work of Jebbit’s founders Jebbit, from A1

Photo courtesy of sean collins

At 750 feet above ground, Sean Collins spent each day recording the city’s movements.

Filmmaker captures Boston’s beauty Timelapse, from A8 consultant—submitting over 50 scripts to executives at various studios and agencies each day.

“I would sit in the library reading movie scripts all day,” Collins said. “It wasn’t glamorous, but my work as a story consultant was good preparation for my work today.”

After participating in a few films, productions, and a reality TV show, Collins came across a timelapse video two years ago that would completely alter his career path.

“I saw a timelapse video of L.A. and immediately became fascinated with them,” he said. “I realized that these videos were done on inexpensive consumer cameras, and you could achieve a really high resolution with them and do some pretty amazing things.”

Collins began to create timelapse videos featuring nature, but soon realized that people were more interested in watching the places where they lived. After seeing

the success of the Los Angeles timelapse video, he set out to give people what they wanted to see. He travelled to Boston two years ago to visit his best friend and the two worked together to produce his first video, “This is Boston.”

“The LA timelapse video completely changed the way I saw my own city,” Collins said. “After I fell in love with Boston, I knew I wanted to give that same feeling to Bostonians.”

Following the immediate success of “This is Boston” and “A City Upon a Hill,” Collins plans to return to Boston next month in order pursue his long-term goal of creating a travel show within the city, focusing on the history of the various neighborhoods of Boston. Instead of monitoring the city from the tops of the city’s skyscrapers, Collins hopes to become more grounded in his approach.

“I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time on the streets walking around with my camera.” n

no chance that it was going to happen,” Coburn said. “Sure enough, we came into the office for the first Monday of the year and found out that we had made the list—it was definitely a big surprise, not something we were expecting.”

The story of Jebbit begins not in an O’Neill study room, but further back to Coburn’s freshman year room in the Shaw House, where he decided with his roommate, Jeb Thomas—the ‘Jeb’ from which the company derives its name—to create a startup to enter in the Boston College Venture Competition (BCVC), which they proceeded to win their sophomore year.

Jebbit was the fifth idea that Coburn and his colleagues started, after four failed attempts at startups.

“I think I definitely had a hunch when I first came up with the idea, pitched it to my roommates—the idea that this one had a lot more potential than some of those first four ideas,” Coburn said. “From each of those first four, we kind of learned different reasons why each would never be a big business.”

The idea for Jebbit’s interactive ad platform came after Coburn was watching a show online and realized that, as a consumer, he was completely ignoring the ad.

“I just had an ad come up before the show and my immediate reaction was: ‘OK, this ad is 30 seconds,’” Coburn said. “Should I open up a new tab and check my email for 30 seconds while the ad plays? And it just kind of hit me: there’s something broken here. The brand is obviously spending a lot of money trying to get this ad in front of me and I’m completely ignoring it and showing zero percent of my attention is being driven to it.”

Jebbit was born in an effort to drive consumer attention back to the brand itself through an interactive, questionand-answer ad experience that rewards the consumer for answering correctly.

Jebbit partners with brands and provides the platform for post-click brand engagement.

Brands, using Jebbit’s technology, can design the entire ad experience— from uploading the rewards they give out to consumers to ranking the questions, according to Coburn.

The first version of Jebbit was launched in October of 2011, exclusively to BC students, and was based on a simpler business model where the consumer would go directly to Jebbit, answer questions about brands, and receive cash for correct answers.

That version eventually expanded from 150 BC students to college stu-

dents from 3,000 students nationwide, before the company shut down and relaunched at the close of 2013.

Since the company’s relaunch, Jebbit has seen national success, which Coburn attributes to his team’s collaborative work ethic. He sees it as a testament to the startup spirit that defined the company since its inception.

“A lot of the full-time employees here at the company today literally started just at BC giving up their spare time on nights and weekends to help build the company,” Coburn said.

For current students seeking to create successful startups, Coburn stressed participating in BCVC, as well as seeking out other programs—he currently sits on the executive committee of Soaring Startup Circle, an accelerated summer program designed to elevate startups.

“My two biggest pieces of advice are to just find a team of other students that you like working with or are motivated to work with and just commit every week to working on the business and trying to move it forward,” Coburn said. “It’s a lot of work, and the biggest thing I think are just people not sticking to it—and not necessarily sticking to the specific idea you have, but just sticking to the goal of trying to build a company." n

The Heights

A4

Thursday, January 22, 2015

T for Two

My cities and their subways

Sarah Moore In what seems like the year of Uber, city public transit systems are constantly getting overlooked in favor of speed and convenience.

Although the T, the Metro, the Subway, the L, and the Tube have been relied on by commuters for decades, it seems that now, these traditional means of transportation are losing their charm for many.

I have the pleasant opportunity to commute on the T at least once a week, and although squeezing into a packed Green Line car on my way back to campus from the Fenway stop isn’t the most ideal at 5:30 p.m. on a weekday, I never return back to my bunk bed without a good story for my roommates.

For me, rickety T rides still maintain some of their vintage appeal, even if they are more crowded than a Mod on a Saturday night.

Christopher Ingraham of The Washington Post recently published an interactive quiz of major city’s subway maps, including Boston’s T, stripping the rail systems of their stops and identifiers. The Buzzfeed-esque post is different from most of the articles typically produced by the paper that most frequently graces my father’s coffee table a few states south in the D.C. suburbs.

In the post’s brief introduction, Ingraham promises that this quiz will be hard to accomplish as all one is left with to identify a city is “a stylized skeleton of a region’s transit system.”

Although I am proud of my seven-out-of-ten on the quiz—which warranted a “pretty darn good” rating from the The Post—my apparent knowledge of city subway systems wasn’t the highlight of the post, but it was Ingraham’s so subtly intelligent notion of the subways as city skeletons that impressed me the most.

Of the 10 cities, stripped of their subway stops, I have roamed and ridden on the public railways of five of them: London, New York, Chicago, D.C., and, of course, Boston. Although it will be disappointing to my Dad, who tried just so hard to make me city-sufficient on many trips along D.C.’s Red Line to a Smithsonian Museum of my choice, I should probably attribute my correct answers to good guessing.

Although I think of these maps as defining to the world’s major cities, when stripped simply to a rainbow of angled lines, they seem interchangeable.

Primary colors make their way into one great junction from what I assume to be suburbs or city limits. It is as easy to imagine the increase in activity as one follows the lines in as it is to picture the briefcase-wielding worker who follows them as well, be it to a job at the Prudential Center or the EPA. Yes, the B-Line will always be horrendous and yes, the Metro is significantly more terrifying post-House of Cards but a city’s subway system will always maintain a unique attribute that Uber is unable to conquer—the ability to both characterize and define a place’s “city-ness.”

The “skeletons” that Ingraham presents aren’t, in fact, of a certain city’s transit system, but skeletons of the cities themselves. In the same way, once again coupled with their stops, the rail systems develop neighborhoods and personalities, the specifics of a city. They are both the literal and figurative backbones of a city, allowing the stops and the people who frequent them to flesh out the rest of the map. This combination results in the inherent charm, regardless of the potential inconvenience, that subways like the T and the Metro will always bring to their cities.

Sarah Moore is the Asst. Metro Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com

Photo courtesy of associated press

Pictured above are marchers at the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration in Clearwater, Florida. BC hosted its own memorial service on MLK day, in Gasson 100.

Memorial service celebrates MLK’s movement for equality

By Laura McLaughlin For The Heights On the 50th anniversar y of the march for voter rights in Selma, students and faculty gathered in Gasson 100 to celebrate the movement Martin Luther King, Jr., led and also discuss the ongoing struggle for equality.

The memorial gathering began with a dance performance by the Spirit and Truth Dance Ministry Jubilee Christian Church group, and a vocal performance

by Against the Current, Voices of Imani, BEATS, and The Liturgy Arts Group.

Several scriptural passages were read, including a Lamentations passage beginning with, “I have been deprived of peace.” The event ended with a reading from Ephesians about wearing the “armor of God” against evil powers.

The atmosphere of the event was energetic, with a band interspersing the speaking with music and singing, and a more vocal audience than one at

Boston College might be used to. Reverend Howard McLendon, an interfaith campus minister, greeted the audience and told them he expected them to act as if they were in the new faith Baptist Church where the audience does not say “Amen” occasionally and quietly, but loudly and with other interjections when they hear something that moves them.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we should commit ourselves to his ideal and vision of the world as it could be, said Barbara Jones, the vice president of Student Affairs.

Fr. Jack Butler, S.J., vice president of the Division of University Mission and Ministry, spoke about his experience hearing King’s father speak to his high school in Atlanta, demographically similar to BC about 10 years after King was assassinated. King’s father spoke about his son’s movement and the need to continue to carry it forward. He asked if the students felt “uncomfortable,” and

said that they should, and that they should take those feelings and use them to come together and enact change.

Patience Mark, CSON ’15, received the Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial scholarship for her work as a student of nursing and commitment to solving the inequities of health care.

Mark gave a passionate spoken word poetry performance called “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” in which she expressed anger and sadness over recent victims of racial violence in America and their “dreams deferred.” Mashaunda McBarnett, LSOE ’16, Ashlie Pruitt and Daniel DeLeon, both A&S ’15, gave a joint spoken word performance entitled “I (I) Have (Can’t) A Dream (Breathe).”

Reverend Brandon Crowley, a pastor at Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, spoke about King’s idea of the “beloved community” at the core of much of his writings. Crowley saw this principle in action one day when he was waiting for the bus on a bitterly cold January day

and saw children of several different races playing jump rope together. They did not allow the outside climate to stop them from playing, just like we should not allow hostile political or social climates to silence voices demanding equality, he said.

Crowley detailed the way in which the children played, giving each their turn at being the “man in the middle,” and not seeing the game as a competition, but a way to encourage their friends to perform at their best. He also noted the ongoing wealth and education disparity between whites and blacks.

Crowley called for our recommitment to manifesting the beloved community by having open philosophical and political conversations. The event ended with a performance by Sexual Chocolate interspersed with statements about their commitment to the ideals expressed throughout the night, and a final song by the choir that the audience joined. n

Brookline Booksmith maintains local charm in Coolidge Corner

By Rebecca Moretti Heights Staff Located in the middle of the humdrum of coffee shops and chain stores in Coolidge Corner, the Brookline Booksmith offers visitors a small world of books that contain enough stories, knick-knacks, and wisdom to get lost in for hours.

This little haven on Harvard St. was founded in 1961 by Marshall Smith, who remains the store’s majority owner today. At the time of its opening, the bookstore was considered a novelty for mainly selling paperback books, especially in a period when hardcover books were much more prevalent.

“Marshall did open other locations and at one time, there were many Booksmiths throughout New England,” said Peter Win, four-year Assistant Manager.

“But this store always remained the ‘headquarters,’ and for many years now it has been the only one.”

On its first level, the store carries a wide but carefully chosen selection of books divided by section and genre, including a space for new, recommended books. Small, colorful notes posted next to specific books allow patrons to browse through hundreds of titles recommended by employees.

“We want to have the books and gifts people are already looking for, as well as the ones they may not know about,” Win said in regards to the merchandise selection process. “Knowing what your customers like and want and being able to communicate with them on a personal level about those things is a key characteristic of a good independent bookstore, and in fact of any small business.”

Amidst the regular selection of books is the Globe Corner, which sells a variety of titles and maps for those looking to travel. The Globe Corner is also filled with personal, little notes recommending places to visit in select cities. At the back of the first floor is the kids’ section, an area that serves as a hideout for children to read, explore, and play. Another popular feature of

the main floor is the newly installed gift shop, which sells a range of items from Boston knick-knacks and scented candles to gift cards, jewelry, and socks with sassy quotes on them.

“The books and other items we carry are determined by our buyers,” Win said.

“All of these people work to make sure we have the best selection possible for our customers.”

One of the Brookline Booksmith’s most notable features is its “Used Book Cellar.” The cellar offers a secluded space with a variety of used books that are very popular to patrons that flock to the intimate section of the store.

“Over the years the business has always tried to adapt to changes in culture and society,” Win said. “But I think it has always tried to remain, first and foremost, a community bookstore.”

The bookstore also hosts many free events such as author readings, monthly book groups, and story times in the kids’ section. For example, this month authors Steve Himmer and Robert Repino will visit the Booksmith in order to read from their new novels.

“Though we are definitely a community business, we also cater to and are known by people from outside of Brookline, and sometimes much further away,” Win said about the local hotspot.

“We are a longtime fixture in a great community and are lucky to have very supportive customers.”

As a small bookstore in an increasingly digital age, the Booksmith has experienced some challenges over the last decade. Win explained how the shift to digital resources has impacted the way consumers read and acquire books. He also mentioned the threats these new methods pose to small bookstores.

“Amazon, larger chain bookstores, and other large retail chains have impacted us over the years, just as they have other independent bookstores and smaller businesses throughout the country,” Win said. “Electronic book sales have also posed a challenge to small and large bookstores alike. In our modern society, where time is scant and everything can be ordered online

and downloaded electronically, people hardly ever take the time to walk into a bookstore and that’s a shame.”

According to Win, the store has kept its historic charm, and he believes patrons regularly visit in order to enjoy the pleasure of a traditional bookstore.

Looking to the future, the Brookline Booksmith hopes to continue to grow,

despite the emerging presence of electronic books.

“While some independent bookstores have continued to survive and even thrive in recent years, I am sure they have done so thanks to endless hours of hard work put in by dedicated staff, and once again, the support of their communities,” Win said. n

The Brookline Booksmith offers patrons a historic atmosphere with hundreds of titles.

rebecca moretti / heights staff

Situated in the heart of Coolidge Corner, the Booksmith attracts customers from across the city.

The Heights

Thursday, January 22, 2015

A5

Alden & Harlow redefines farm-to-table philosophy Boston from

By Colin Couch Heights Staff

Located in the heart of Cambridge, Alden & Harlow is looking to change the way restaurants serve food by providing a local source of ingredients to consumers.

Chef and owner Michael Scelfo, formerly of Russell House Tavern in Harvard Square, explained how combining local ingredients with a student atmosphere reminded him of a familystyle dining table—one with an eclectic mix of college students, neighborhood regulars, and sophisticated diners.

“He [Michael Scelfo] likes to use local ingredients, work with people that are based out of Boston or nearby Boston, and just sort of stuff that is environmentally conscious,” Jen Fields, the general manager of Alden and Harlow, said.

Before founding Alden & Harlow at 40 Brattle St. in Harvard Square, Chef Michael Scelfo had a number of other professional culinary endeavors. The Russell House Tavern, Temple Bar, and North Street Grille formed a following for Chef Scelfo before he made the transition into the space once claimed by the beloved Harvard Square restaurant Casablanca. Now, since replacing the Harvard Square benchmark, Alden & Harlow has reclaimed the title of a quintessential Cambridge eatery.

The welcoming feel of Alden & Harlow can be credited to the atmosphere of a close-knit group of family and friends at a warm dining table projected onto a larger, subterranean dining space.

Bright, bold, contrasting colors and flavors play equally on the eyes and taste buds of patrons at Alden & Harlow.

“Cambridge is a very mixed area, especially Harvard Square, so we see all types of people,” Fields said.

With a changing menu every week, the Alden & Harlow selection of food pivots around the fulcrum of environ-

mentally aware American food. Although the menu fluctuates, there are several mainstays on the menu.“Things that have been on the menu since we opened would be our charred broccoli, our chicken-fried rabbit, our Pat Woodbury’s clams with smoked pig’s tail, the secret burger has been on since we opened, those are some of our most popular items, the pickled corn pancakes as well,” Fields said.

Alden & Harlow’s secret burger only has one flaw—the name. After trying this decadent, eight-ounce masterpiece made of thickly ground beef, patrons of Alden & Harlow will have a difficult time preventing others from spreading the word about this magnificent burger. The vegetables in Chef Michael Scelfo’s arsenal are put on the plate in contrasting, colorful arrangements that culminate in a feeling of having just eaten a homecooked meal at the family dinner table.

The meat paired with the vegetables, as in Alden & Harlow’s New York strip steak is just as fantastic and eye-popping as dishes that boast standalone meats or vegetables, such as the pickled Verrill Farm corn pancakes or the braised and fried chicken thighs.

With Alden & Harlow’s one-year anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks, Fields said that business has been “fantastic.” It has not been easy for Alden & Harlow to fill the gap left by the absence of Casablanca, but through the reworking of simple ingredients such as vegetables, nuts, and the classic hamburger, Alden & Harlow has become Harvard Square’s new standby restaurant.

Although Alden & Harlow is the first restaurant that Scelfo opened himself, his first foray into founding his own eatery has shown to be an early success, along with a lesson in determination and implementation of his family-table philosophy.” n

30,000 feet

Bennet Johnson

Alden & Harlow is serving sustainable meals to patrons in its Harvard Square location.

Photos Courtesy of Alden & Harlow

Michael Scelfo at Alden & Harlow highlights the family-table with a local twist.

Adam Hirsch hopes to keep Harvard Square ‘curious’

By Sarah Moore Asst. Metro Editor

In the heart of Harvard Square stands a storefront packed with 40 years of the city history. The story behind One John F. Kennedy Street has little to do with the nation’s oldest university, which is just a few steps away, but instead focuses on an inquisitive primate.

The World’s Only Curious George Store, loudly accented with its red and yellow facade, began to establish a presence in Cambridge since the creators of the character, Margaret and H. A. Rey, moved to the area in 1963. Now one of the city’s most visited shops, the destination store has earned its place as a local favorite.

“We are The World’s Only Curious George Store, which is exciting for us,” Adam Hirsch, the store’s owner, said.

Almost a real-life “Man with the Yellow Hat,” Hirsch and his wife Jamie adopted a passion for the curious character when they took over the store in 2012.

Although Adam’s professional background lies in 20 years of sales and marketing, he and Jamie did not intend on opening up a store dedicated to the world’s most meddlesome monkey when they began looking for a small business venture in 2009. While living in the Boston area, and Jamie working

in the Boston public school system, the couple weighed options close to home and settled on this special opportunity.

“My wife and I decided we wanted to run our own business, but just had to find one that fit the profile we were looking for,” Hirsch said. “Once we saw that there was an opportunity with the Curious George Store—and of course after looking over the assets—we couldn’t say no to its potential.”

When Adam and Jamie Hirsch came across the store in 2010 they immediately grew attached to George and Harvard Square.

The roots of Curious George in Harvard Square extend much farther than Hirsch’s store, however, as the neighborhood was the home of the Reys for about 25 years. “Their story in itself is quite amazing, and that is just another reason we fell in love with this opportunity,” Hirsch said.

After escaping World War II, the two German immigrants moved from place to place with little but an illustrated manuscript of the first Curious George story. After traveling from Paris to New York and having their mischievous monkey picked up by Houghton Mifflin publishing, the couple settled in Cambridge and wrote seven stories

in total.

“Why here?” Hirsch said. “Well, you could say that Curious George essentially grew up in Harvard Square, with his creators.”

Although the Reys had no direct affiliation with The World’s Only Curious George Store, Margret was involved in its humble beginnings. WordsWorth Books was opened in 1975 by neighbors and friends of the Reys. After her husband’s death, Margret helped WordsWorth open a nearby children’s annex bookstore which they called “Curious George Goes to WordsWorth.” Despite the independent bookstore closing in 2004 after almost 30 years of business, the store’s affiliated children’s book branch operated from 1995 until about 2011, when it fell into the hands of Jamie and Adam Hirsch.

Now with a determination to “stay curious,” the Hirsch’s have worked tirelessly to both promote and increase the energy that the Reys’ stories originally brought to Harvard Square.

Now, in addition to the books that made the curious primate so famous, the Curious George Store sells toys, apparel, home decor, and what Hirsch calls “exclusive gift ideas,” which are custom pieces of merchandise made especially for the store and its website.

“Part of making it a unique destination store is really having it stand out with these custom products, that are special for only our store,” Hirsch saidw.

Similar to other popular characters, Curious George is a licensed brand and is owned by the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, which is based in Boston, and NBC Universal.

To accomplish the goals for their store, Adam and Jamie have cultivated a close relationship with Curious George as a brand, and constantly continue to work on improvements to their line of products.

“Since opening, we have run a lot of events with the community which have been very well received,” Hirsch said. “People just really seem to love Curious George.”

Such events include weekly story times for fans of any age, many of which are graced by the presence of the curious character himself.

“It’s just really fun, you know?”

Hirsch said. “People walk in with a huge smile on their face which really explains what we are all about. The store is a special experience and we know that people, whether they are from Harvard Square or New York or anywhere, love it.” n

Arthur bailin / heights Editor

The World’s Only Brick and Mortar Curious George Store at 1 JFK Street in Harvard Square. Margret and H. A. Rey, the creators of Curious George, lived in the neighborhood for 25 years.

I think about Boston when I’m highest in the sky. At well over 30,000 feet in the air—halfway between Boston and my home in St. Paul, Minn.—I thought of the city that has been my new home for the past year and a half. With the conclusion of final exams and a sudden lack of any obligations, it seemed that I would finally have time to focus on family and friends, and an old, familiar lifestyle.

But as I put on my headphones and attempted to doze off, I found myself returning to the thoughts of the city, and an accompanying feeling of nostalgia halfway through my sophomore year.

When most people think about Boston, some of the first things that come to mind include universities, hospitals, museums, and the Red Sox. Or maybe you fantasize about walking down Newbury St. toward the Pru. Some may even have an overpowering craving for a cannoli from Mike’s Pastry in the North End. In his first State of the City address last week, Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, described his vision of the city in front of a crowd of 2,500 at Symphony Hall.

After 20 years of a Menino-led Boston, Walsh entered last year under Menino’s shadow. What was remarkable about Walsh’s speech last week was the fact that he injected his own idea of Boston as a community—one contingent upon the individual voices that give the city a sense of character.

“When I think about what that means, I think about all the people who inspired me in my first year as mayor,” Walsh said in his address.

Similar to Mayor Walsh, as I sat on that flight back to the Midwest, I thought of the individual people that have formed my vision of Boston. Immediately, I thought of Didi Delgado—a diminutive woman with an overpowering voice—who led thousands of demonstrators across the streets of the city last month, protesting the decision not to indict the officer involved in the alleged homicide of Eric Garner. In the wake of the countless protests across the city, Delgado proved that one woman could make a huge impact in the city by organizing a peaceful protest and raising awareness for something that affected thousands of people in Boston.

She was relentless.

I also thought of Cleve Rea, an unemployed software developer who was in a crowd of ex-convicts, recovering addicts, and others as over 700 homeless people were evacuated from Long Island and the city’s largest homeless shelter after the bridge was shut down. As Rea slept on countless cots in temporary homeless shelters across the city, he stayed positive. He rose each day at dawn and slept through the coughs and moans throughout the night, moving from shelter to shelter.

Now, the city recently opened an upgraded shelter on Southampton St.—a huge step in confronting the problem of finding shelter for the city’s homeless population.

When I think of Boston, I remember Rea’s resilience.

As I present my first column as Metro Editor for The Heights in 2015, I encourage BC students to find the individuals that will shape their view of the city. Yes, there is so much to do here, but there is much more to our college experience than our beloved campus, despite one’s willingness to never leave it.

In Sean Collins’ timelapse video, “A City Upon a Hill,” we see Boston from every angle. We see it from atop the Prudential Center, the John Hancock Tower, and along the Charles River. We see sunrises, sunsets, and fireworks across the city’s skyline. Despite the video’s beauty, we do not truly see what is going on in the city everyday.

There is much more to a city than a video, an Instagram of the Boston Public Library, or a trip down Newbury St. Too often, BC students are contained in their own bubble and do not truly get to know what is going on in the city in their school’s name.

So, what did I learn about Boston while I was on an airplane 30,000 feet above the ground? Only that there is much more to learn.

Bennet Johnson is the Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com

The Heights

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Editorials

A6

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Takei’s visit a step forward for University

The joint work between the Asian Caucus Cabinet, GLBTQ leadership, FACES, and Allies in bringing activist George Takei to campus is commendable, particularly for the unique perspective he brought to Boston College. Of Star Trek fame, Takei spoke to a full audience in Robsham Theater last Friday, addressing his personal experience in the Japanese internment camps and on coming out as a gay man long after his acting career had begun. While Takei’s activist work does not fully coincide with Catholic teaching, offering him a forum on campus ultimately strengthened BC’s work as a Jesuit institution, adding a new voice to the four-year conversation students are invited to engage in at orientation.

The event was and remains a model work of collaboration between different—yet in this case aligned student groups—those working towards greater autonomy for Asian Americans and the LGBT community on campus. There is obvious strength in alliances between student coalitions, in this case pooling resources to bring an important

national figure to BC. A speaker does not have to align perfectly with Catholic ideology to enhance a Jesuit education, with commencement speakers often diverging from the Church on major issues. The politics of past speakers Enda Kenny and John Kerry, for example, have been questioned by the Catholic community, but providing a welcoming environment for ideas is necessary for BC to fairly represent the diverse pool of students it admits.

Issues of race, sexuality, and identity are supremely relevant on a college campus. The University’s willingness to engage students with those issues this semester—whether through Takei’s lecture or its “Race in the U.S.A.”—is a mark of positive institutional growth.

Student groups and the University should continue to find and offer speakers who thoughtfully question classical modes of thinking, to keep BC healthily engaged as a community of the liberal arts. Only in a committed, communal effort can student groups and the school support speakers who publicly raise questions that allow for an open discourse of thoughts.

With asymmetry of information a major concern for students looking for housing off-campus.

The Office of Residential Life is launching a website dedicated to simplifying the search. This new hub of housing information allows realtors to maintain listings of offcampus options, and visualizes those properties on a map to be reviewed by prospective tenants.

Realtors will be encouraged to include photographs and floorplans with their listings, as well as extensive descriptions and contact information.

The Off-Campus Housing Site can serve as a powerful resource that connects students with available properties, and also educates students before they go into potentially high pre ssure ne gotiations with realtors. Students’ uncertainty when they are likely, working with realtors for the first time, is often exploited in the process of signing their leases, with a lack of information on the availability of other spaces and the price of comparable properties stealing away negotiating power from students.

The Office of Residential Life also plans to delist “problem” houses with negligent landlords or deception lease information. If the site is widely adopted, it will increase the sense of accountability and transparency among those who maintain and lease out the off-campus.

Following the site’s rollout, the addition of a rating system for landlords and tenants could significantly increase its usability.

The housing site should employ a system similar to that of “Uber,” which allows drivers and riders to rate one another.

This manner of rating when leasing off-campus properties would restore a sense of service and responsibility in the landlordtenant relationship. This could also work well with the city’s aim

of improving safety conditions in off-campus spaces.

Worth noting is the Office of Residential Life’s refusal to list properties in violation of the city’s “No More Than Four” rule.

Although a necessary concession in complying with the city, this decision will significantly decrease the number of listings on the site.

What the really great artists do is they’re entirely themselves. They’re entirely themselves, they’ve got their own vision, they have their own way of fracturing reality, and it’s authentic and true, you feel it in your nerve endings.

-David Foster Wallace (1962-2008), American author

Website helps with the off-campus problem

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

“The Off-Campus Housing Site can serve as a powerful resource that connects students with available properties and also educates students before they go into potentially high pressure negotiations with realtors.”

In a Boston Globe Spotlight report, it was projected that 80 percent of Boston College students living in off-campus residences were in violation of this rule.

While the success of the site could encourage landlords to retrofit spaces to comply with the rule, a no tolerance policy by the University, in the short term, will bar the majority of available properties from being listed on the site.

Adding transparency to the offcampus housing process, this new site has extraordinary potential for prospective leeses, and at the very least should be used as a jumping off point for those planning to live outside University dorms.

If the site is properly advertised to realtors and students, it should grow into an important environment for the off-campus community, providing benefits to those on all ends of the lease agreement.

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

Heights

The

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 John Wiley, Editor-in-Chief Chris Stadler, General Manager Maggie Powers, Managing Editor

Editorial

Magdalen Sullivan, Copy Editor Julie Orenstein, A1 Editor Carolyn Freeman, News Editor Michael Sullivan, Sports Editor Corinne Duffy, Features Editor Ryan Dowd, Arts & Review Editor Bennet Johnson, Metro Editor Ryan Daly, Opinions Editor Arthur Bailin, Photo Editor Joy Li, Layout Editor

The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 400 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages.

The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted Breck Wills, Graphics Editor Alex Fairchild, Online Manager Alec Greaney, Assoc. Copy Editor Archer Parquette, Asst. Copy Editor Arielle Cedeno, Assoc. News Editor Gus Merrell, Asst. News Editor Jack Stedman, Assoc. Sports Editor Tom DeVoto, Asst. Sports Editor Mujtaba Syed, Asst. Features Editor Chris Fuller, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

to the newspaper.

Submissions must be signed and should include the author’s connection to Boston College, address, and phone number. Letters and columns can be submitted online at www.bcheights.com, by email to editor@bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.

Summer Lin, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Sarah Moore, Asst. Metro Editor Drew Hoo, Asst. Photo Editor Keaton McAuliffe, Asst. Layout Editor Francisco Ruela, Asst. Graphics Editor Juan Olavarria, Editorial Assistant Mattie Mouton-Johnston, Executive Assistant Hannah Say, Asst. Online Manager

Business and Operations

Jordan Pentaleri, Business Manager Jessica Turkmany, Advertising Manager Kayla Famolare, Outreach Coordinator Donny Wang, Systems Manager Zach Jayson, On-Campus Advertising Manager Madeleine Loosbrock, Account Manager Evan Gatti, Collections Manager Russell Puleo, Project Coordinator

The Heights

Thursday, January 22, 2015

A7

Justice in the sociological imagination Both old and new Solina Jean-Louis

Fuel America - The Chocolate Bar is a prime location to get work done, convene after class, and go on semi- ser ious f irst dates. The coffee? Eh. But go down Comm. Ave., hang a left onto South St. and hang another left onto Chestnut Hill Ave., and you come to Fuel America, home of a richly brewed blend that really puts everything else around BC to shame. Not to mention the place has a great built-with-calloused-hands atmosphere, and catchy indie music looping in the background. We highly recommend it. We also advise avoiding it at two in the afternoon on a Saturday, because the place gets packed.

Eagles Without the Lines - Sneak in at the right time, and all of the terrific food at Eagles is at your disposal. A salad? A New England Classic? A build-your-own sandwich? There are no lines to trip you up. The power is so extraordinary that it might make your eyes bulge out. What is the right time? What we can tell you is that it’s not right after class, or right before class. So, good luck figuring out the rest.

Dar ties - We g e t to s e e o u r friends, and we get to have a good time, and drinking that much that early sets us up for a good night’s sleep. Because, let’s be real, it’s too cold at night anyway. And we don’t want to walk all over the map for parties that last for an hour and a half with a bunch of people we don’t know.

Darties, they solve everything.

I remember one of the first times I saw a person who had no home. It was third grade, and my class was on a fieldtrip in downtown Atlanta, a location that, unbeknownst to eight year-old me, had a large homeless population.

When we walked in single file from where our bus parked to the museum, I saw a group of people huddled together to keep warm as I was bundled in a coat and gloves. But I couldn’t stop and give them money or food— I couldn’t do anything. The chaperones kept us in a straight line, one after the other, and told us to keep our heads straight. We were shielded from this social injustice.

We live our lives every single day knowing that there is injustice in the world. Many other kids, just like I was, were shielded from it. Sure, we knew they were happening, but in the back of our minds, we thought, “Well, I’m just a kid. I can’t do anything about this. It’s the adults that need to make a change.”

We were granted the privilege of childhood.

Now we are the adults that need to make a change. But before we do that, we have a decision to make: What part of life are we going to live in?

According to 20th century American psychologist C. Wright Mills, there are two main ways that humans tend to view the world. There are those who tend to have a more biographical approach to society, and those who have a more historical approach to life.

Those with a biographical mindset tend to think on a more individualistic level. When they hear about a 35-yearold man who has been unemployed for six months, the first thing to pop into their minds is something along the lines of, “Is he too lazy to find a job? Did he

Walsh Fire Alarms - They are meant to keep us safe, we get that. But what they have been d o i n g i s s hu f f l i n g u s o u t at seven in the morning when we are trying to sleep, and at 10:30 at night on a Saturday when we are trying to have a good time.

It’s not even like the fire alarms make any sense. In Walsh, the first five floors can clear, while the last three are left untouched.

If the building is burning down, we would think being stuck on any floor would be a problem, but maybe not.

Lines At Lower - It has been a long day, and we just want to get a nice piece of grilled chicken before hitting the librar y. Of course, the line is four miles long, so, once again, we resign ourselves to a bowl of soup and salad, and cry quietly as we walk to Bapst.

Like Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down?

Follow us @BCTUTD

of the world’s troubles, but run the risk of becoming extremely pessimistic?

In his article, “The New Sociological Imagination: Facing the Challenges of a New Millennium,” sociologist Hector Raul Solis-Gadea discusses the challenges young people today face with trying to take in all that is going on around the world with increasing access to open information about global crises. He offers a possible solution that dates all the way back to 20th century Sociologist C. Wright Mills: We need to be taught that it is okay to have a sociological imagination—that it is okay to be confused and that we need to learn how to balance ourselves to keep us from becoming oblivious or pessimistic about the state of the world.

The sociological imagination enables us to live in the middle of these two perspectives. It teaches us that it is okay to have a biographical approach to the world, as long as we keep in the historical approach and the bigger picture in mind. Each person’s own personal view will be different—it’s inevitable. In order to make positive change in the world, we need differing ideas. But no positive change ever comes from people who are completely one-sided. That has been proven throughout history, and we can even see it today in our American government.

We have to live in the middle of life.

We cannot be oblivious to the systems and structures of society as the cause of social injustice, but we cannot attribute it to purely outside societal influences.

So, to my younger self, I would tell her: it’s going to be difficult when you grow up, there is no doubt about it.

There are no more shields put in front of your eyes. There are no teachers telling you to stay in line and not look to your left or right. Nobody is forcing you to not look, but at the same time, nobody is stopping you from helping either.

Solina Jean-Louis is a staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Playing religion roulette

Zachary Russell

Da r t i e s - It ’s h o t , w e c a n’t breathe, we can’t move—we’re the one throw ing this p ar ty, damn it. By dinner time, we can barely keep our eyes open, and by 8 p.m., we’re already curled into bed with a hangover, and our body just doesn’t know how to process.

choose to drop out of high school or not get a college education?”

Those with a historical mindset tend to think big-picture. When they hear about this same 35-year-old unemployed man, they first consider something along the lines of, “Was he born into poverty? Was he unable to get an education because of the systems holding him back?”

Viewing the world the first way is much simpler. It is easier on our consciences to not think about society’s structures and systems, and instead blame people’s hardships on their own decisions. It is the unemployed man’s decision to be unemployed. If he really worked hard enough, he could find a job. But, viewing the world this way is oftentimes limiting. Going through life oblivious of the bigger structures of society can leave one with a supposedly clear conscience, but it can oftentimes lead to insensitivity and leave one with an unwillingness to see the need for change, purely because their own mindset provides them with a shield from society’s fundamental problems.

Viewing the world the second way is much more sympathetic, but can be difficult in that it can leave one with little hope for the world. Viewing the unemployed man’s decision as a reflection of society’s tendency to keep the poor in poverty or favor those with higher intellectual abilities is much more difficult than blaming him, because we are part of society. We make these social “rules,” and by not actively attempting to change them, we are passively contributing to the power of them over our lives. The historical approach—while it does give one a greater perspective on the world— runs the risk of making one becoming extremely pessimistic. If there are all these systems that have been in place in society for hundreds of years, what can one person do to change them?

So, which way is better? Should one choose to live in oblivion but remain happy with one’s own life? Or should one choose to live while being conscious

Religion is undoubtedly comforting. It’s the massage-chair-lava-lamp package deal you bought on Black Friday. It offers you a defined place in the world, protects, and distracts you from the harshness therein, and teaches you not to question the sentience of its fluorescent globs—there is an order to the movement of the globs.

There must be. It just isn’t for you to know.

In your massage chair, you know you are special. Religion cushions our lives with the assurance that we are the apex of creation, a conscious decision rather than quantum coincidence.

And that’s all very fine and good, but in order to access that comfort, a great deal of suspended disbelief—commonly known as “faith”—is required. Perhaps evident from my flippant analogy, I’ve yet to find that faith. I’ve found logic in philosophy, love in friendship, emotion in my bi-semester stumblings for a real relationship, but where is the indisputable source of faith?

To those who point to religious texts, I say, “Stop that, stop pointing,” for the impact of any set of words corresponds directly with one’s disposition to seriously consider them. It seems rather a catch-22, that to gain faith one must go to the Bible, and yet to go to the Bible one must already have at least a modicum of faith. And yes, I would argue that a certain predilection is necessary: How are we to separate fairytale from scripture when the physical laws of the universe bar either from the realm of possibility? Without the predisposition of faith, or the inherent holiness of the words and stories so described, we cannot.

Certainly, my faith is not unshakable—in fact, it more resembles a maraca that only ceases to shake when good times fade into the horizon and disappear beneath life’s responsibilities. No, I am not religiously disposed, although I was raised Presbyterian. But, like any minimalist Christian, I saunter into church every Christmas and Easter to a loaded “So nice

to see you,” from the minister. Lovely to see you too.

During my confirmation process, I set a personal record for most consecutive attendances at church, and once I was confirmed, I took that as my cue to enter into the lackadaisical sect of Christianity known as the “Chreasters”: not true fans of the whole discography, but willing to shell out some time every holiday season for the greatest hits.

I was taught the Bible my freshman year of college by a Jewish man who was not a man of any sort of cloth, aside from some poorly-kept, wrinkled polos. He wasn’t embittered­—he simply had a general sense of being flabbergasted by what he was reading. He was a man of logic and accepted his fate as an atheist, stating, “Well, if there’s no God, there really is no reason to live, or meaning to life for that matter. But does there need to be?” I found this somewhat comforting, in an admittedly uneasy way.

But teleology is hard, so let’s get back to logic, because I am running out of topics.

What religion is the most logical to follow, or disavow? While it seems widely accepted that atheists can, and indeed do, claim ownership of logic in religious realm, they really cannot. The stereotypical atheist sees the world as too unjust for there to exist a God of Christian goodness, and consequently he refuses to believe in the frightening alternative of a capricious governing entity (which, by the way, sounds an awful lot like a human). After all, who wants to be governed by a dictator, benevolent or evil? Certainly not the Western world. If an atheistic President is ever elected, I will be thoroughly disappointed if we don’t start quibbling about Weapons of mass Divinity and arranging drone strikes on the Heavens. Just as a precaution, of course. Can’t be too careful.

But I digress.

Unfortunately, atheism’s rejection of a just God doesn’t quite hold up because it attacks the problem the wrong way. It mistakenly anthropomorphizes God by assuming that He is just a more powerful version of us: One who can be everywhere, see everything, and do whatever He wants. “Ah ha!” they triumphantly cry. “Can God make something so large even He can’t move it?”

But, this assumes that God is constrained

by human logic. Maybe He operates under something higher than logos, or perhaps is unadulterated reason. Truly, He could be nothing like us. We are made in His image, but anyone familiar with Plato’s Cave, or art in general, understands that the image is always lacking. The two-dimensional selfportrait is not the three-dimensional artist.

Weighted down by all of this mystery, it seems rather haughty to claim existence or non-existence, which is why to the agnostics go the spoils. Detractors of agnosticism brand it weak and indecisive.

“Make a decision, pick a side!” they shout, to which I reply, “Pretend to know!” It’s all very productive.

Undoubtedly, it is better to acknowledge ignorance than to disguise it as knowledge, but Christianity and atheism alike believe definitively in God’s (non) existence out of a desire to be right, comforted, or both.

Conversely, agnostics are only certain that they really don’t know anything. Wouldn’t Socrates be proud?

With respect for the long run, the answer is less clear. We’re on this Earth for a cosmic second, and it’d sure be nice to secure some guarantee for whatever comes next. Just close your eyes, throw the dart, and adopt whatever religion you just hit, just to be safe. Yet as fun as religion roulette is, if God does exist as defined in the Bible, a mercenary adoption of religion probably doesn’t count. It’s kind of cheating. But really, if you see any worth at all in agnosticism, I fear for your relationship with God. What I’m saying is this: If this argument has at all taken root in your mind, and you consider yourself even slightly of the same bent as that hemlock-drinking philosopher, you might as well nurture the seed, let it bloom, and eat of its fruit, because you’ve already fallen too far down the stark pit of rationalism to feel the soft light of religion without also noting its uncomfortable itch. What I’m saying is that you’ve already watched Avatar on your friend’s 70-inch LED screen, you can’t go back to your blocky, proletariat television now. What I’m saying is, if you’re at all like me: You’re religiously screwed.

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

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

Eleanor Hildebrandt I got asked a lot of questions over winter break. Some were fun, like “Are you really still sleeping?” and “Do you want to go see a 3-hour play about Lyndon B. Johnson and the Civil Rights Act of 1964?” (I was, and I did). Most were variations on the expected—nay, dreaded—“So, what are your plans after graduation?” (Cue hysterical laughter.) The most intriguing question, though, was posed by a friend of my mother’s who came over one night for lasagna. “What’s the one thing my generation has screwed up the most for you guys?” she asked. Oh man.

Real life looms large these days, and it would be wonderfully liberating—and so easy—to scapegoat adults for a whole host of national issues (if the LBJ bit didn’t clue you in to my political leanings, let me wipe away the last traces of doubt): the restriction of safe access to abortion services, the War on Drugs, egregious and increasing wealth disparities, militarized police, low standards and low funding for public education, FOX News. And that’s without even touching foreign policy.

As hard as it is to pick one social ill more terrible than all the others, it’s even harder to neatly divvy up the decades and place blame squarely on one generation. How many problems are so new that they’re utterly detached from the attitudes and actions of 20, 50, 100 years ago? Any at all? I doubt it.

So I stand by the answer I gave that night: We young’uns face the same disservice done by every generation to those who follow, which is simply the expectation that the world works the same way now as it did then.

I was thinking narrowly at the time, about livelihood and success and my own future.

(Should I add that the aforementioned hysterical laughter is just the soundtrack to a miasma of helplessness and near-panic?) Millennials are generally supposed to mimic our parents’ paths, but the costs and benefits of what used to make a meaningful life—college, career, family, car, picket fence—have changed. We’re supposed to save money, read the news, think, vote, but we have lost confidence in banks, newspapers, intellectuals, our government. The world is different, and you guys just don’t get it. (Please feel free to read that last sentence with as whiny a tone as you like.)

That’s what I meant then. But the past few weeks, if not months, have driven home the fact that holding static expectations and moving through life as if there’s only one reality isn’t just a generational problem. The Charlie Hebdo attacks were rooted in several individuals’ inability to tolerate a world where their faith could be openly mocked. Germany’s new right wing, anti-immigration, anti-Islam group, PEGIDA, is pushing back against a changing definition of “German.” That laundry list of issues from a few paragraphs back? Each can be traced back to a failure or unwillingness to understand how someone else’s reality diverges from one’s own.

These days, it takes concerted, ridiculous effort to interact only with the likeminded, but people everywhere still have trouble coexisting and cooperating. And when we disagree, do we then seek to destroy? To assimilate? Do we ignore that which seems alien and distasteful? Or do we strive to understand?

It’s worth pondering these questions now, soon after the day designated to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. He worked to call attention to difference—but he wanted equality, not homogeneity, and this country still struggles between those two attitudes toward diversity. The marches and protests that began with Ferguson and Staten Island and Cleveland as their focal points are born out of anger at injustice, but they also address the fact that, in many ways, the world does not work the same way for everyone. Black America does not have the same rules as white America. Educated America is not the same as uneducated America. Poor, rich; straight, gay; the dichotomies go on. We do a disservice to ourselves and to the next generation when we claim that everyone lives under identical rules and restrictions; but we err just as egregiously by saying that the only way to be fair is for everyone to be the same.

Even though I’m hard-pressed to think of any other time when the world was friendlier toward diversity, we still have a long way to go. So perhaps the older generation’s failure is not what they “screwed up,” but what they were unable to accomplish: a recognition of difference, and the ability to live with it on equal terms.

What’s the solution? I only wish I knew. But having these conversations can only help; and the lasagna doesn’t hurt, either. (I’ll keep my peace— for now—on the instructive value of LBJ.)

Eleanor Hildebrandt is a former editor-in-chief of The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 22, 2015

A8

THE DALY DISCOURSE

Halfway done, and cashing in RYAN DALY

PHOTO COURTESY OF SEAN COLLINS

A City In Motion

One of Boston’s first timelapse videos renders ‘A City Upon a Hill’ frame-by-frame

BY BENNET JOHNSON Metro Editor Sean Collins shuffles from side-to-side across the roof of the 750-foot Prudential Tower, looking for the right shot.

He methodically adjusts the tripods of his four film cameras holstering red 5K lenses to different angles—all aiming in a 360-degree radius as the sun fades away on a clear summer evening in Boston. At the end of a typical day, such as this, on top of Boston’s iconic skyscraper, Collins has captured thousands of images, looking off the building at all angles to the city.

“You really can’t get a bad view from up there,” Collins said. “Wherever you put your camera down, you are bound to get something good.”

After spending this past summer filming from the rooftops of various buildings across the Boston, Collins and his partner Julian Tryba released “A City Upon a Hill,” a video that—as one of Boston’s first timelapse videos—has recently taken the Internet by storm.

“Every major city has a very good timelapse video, but Boston never did,” Collins said. “When it came to my mind where I wanted to go make a timelapse video, Boston was at the top of my list.”

Collins was one of the first filmmakers to create a notable timelapse of Boston. His first video titled “This is Boston” went viral as it captured iconic locations across the city in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. The video received over a quarter of a million views in one day, and was an immediate hit. “A City Upon a Hill” was released last week, and has already been more strongly received than Collins’ previous film.

“In the first video, it seemed like I barely knew what I was doing,” Collins said. “I put in so much more work for ‘A City Upon a Hill’ and really seemed to outdo myself.

I wanted to give Boston a timelapse video that was just as good as any other major city.”

Creating a timelapse video requires multiple weeks of filming and editing. On a typical day, Collins will spend three or four hours at a given location, with four cameras constantly rolling. When Collins and Tryba were not capturing the city on top of the Prudential Building or the John Hancock Tower, the duo could be found moving along the Charles River.

“Filming a hyperlapse requires a lot of manual work,” Collins said. “You have to use a ruler to measure out each foot with the tripods and take a photograph. You do that process over a hundred times within a 12-second window, and you cannot miss a single shot.”

In total, Collins and Tryba spent over a combined 40 days filming the city, while editing, filtering, and layering images at night through a program called AfterEffects.

After the video was completed, Collins returned to California to continue producing feature films.

Collins, 31, is a writer and director at his company Bodhi Films—a film production company based in Beverly Hills—that hopes to eventually produce feature films. He has licensed his work to ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS, and other major media outlets. His other recent clients include the Boston Celtics, Hyundai, Marriott, The Boston Convention Center, Putnam Investments, and Northeastern University.

Although Collins is currently living in Los Angeles and pursuing his dream of producing major films, his passion for the film industry came when he was just a child. At 11 years old, Collins was accompanying his cousin to a movie audition in Ohio when the director pulled Collins aside and felt he would be the perfect fit as a character in a small film. After spending the summer working on the movie, he immediately fell in love with the film industry. Collins went on to graduate from film school in California and worked primarily as a story

See Timelapse, A3

Website offers resources for off-campus community Off-Campus, from A1 One of the key features of the site—and one that Kwiatek believes will be the most popular and useful for students—is an interactive map that allows students to see the proximity of different properties to campus.

“A lot of people are concerned about location,” Kwiatek said. “That’s the number one priority for most people: location and price.”

Kwiatek sees the impacted groups on campus as being undergraduates with only three years of housing, transfer students with only one year of guaranteed housing, and any faculty, graduate students, or teaching assistants who is new to the Boston area. These groups will be heavily targeted through emails and information sessions, and Kwiatek also wants to get Human Resources involved to give information to new faculty and staff who are unsure of housing options in the area.

The biggest struggle that Kwiatek foresees is getting students to use the site.

Many students disregard or are confused by the resources that the University provides them, according to Kwiatek, prefer-

ring to try to find housing on their own.

“It’s kind of a catch-22 in the sense that the more traffic, the more students that use the site, the more agents are going to want to post more properties on the site,” Kwiatek said. “And then the more properties, the more students are going to want to use it.”

A potential complication that students will face in the future will be whether their housing will be in compliance with the city’s “No More Than Four” zoning ordinance which prohibits more than four undergraduates living under the same roof, something that Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, is intending to heavily enforce.

“If students want to live in those environments, which we don’t advise, they won’t be able to do it through us,” Kwiatek said.

Housing that violates the ‘No More Than Four’ ordinance can often be owned by landlords that are given poor referrals by their tenants. While there is no official rating system for landlords, Off Campus Partners and the universities involved will closely monitor complaints regarding landlords. Landlords or realtors that are accused of misrepresenting their proper-

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

ResLife’s new website will show photos of off-campus properties for students to browse. ties or providing substandard housing for students will be pulled, pending a review by the University.

Ultimately, ResLife hopes that searches for all off campus housing will be done through the new website, but he said that depends on the number of students who use the site and the number of realtors that list properties. Regardless of the number of people who end up using the site, Kwi-

atek believes that the website is the best starting point for students or faculty to find housing.

“We recommend that everyone start their search on our website,” Kwiatek said.

“Word of mouth and all that is great, but start here and see what you can do here, and if that’s not going to work out, go somewhere else. But definitely make this your first point of contact.” 

Spoon University ventures into BC food scene Media network provides recipes, reviews for college food lovers

BY ALLIE OLIVIERI For The Heights Students looking for recipe inspiration beyond the classic peanut butter and jelly will soon be able to go online to find Boston College-specific recipes, restaurant reviews, and cooking tips.

Spoon University, currently at 45 colleges and universities nationwide, is a website that consists of opinion pieces, reviews, cultural pieces, and recipes written by students. The site was founded by two students at Northwestern University to help college students eat better.

The culinary media network consists of

approximately 1000 student contributors from colleges across the nation. Julianna Khoury, A&S ’17, is in the process of starting a Spoon University club at BC with Phillip Schneider, A&S ’17, Kristina Downey, A&S ’17, and Maria Battaglia, CSOM ’17.

Khoury contacted the marketing manager of Spoon University to start the process of bringing the media organization to BC. She also brought Real Food BC and BC professor of English Lynne Anderson into the process of furthering Spoon University’s potential presence at BC. Khoury, Schneider, Downey, and Battaglia intend to boost participation and create a new club. Their goal is to grow BC membership to 20 students by their application deadline on Jan. 25.

“Boston College students are exposed to this great city with so many great food opportunities,” Khoury said.

“It only takes four voices on campus to

get everyone to know about something,” Downey said.

K h o u r y, S c h n e i d e r, Downey, and Battaglia are exploring ideas for content and how they can engage a larger audience, and they are open to new ideas that could potentially enhance the site and make it more accessible for students.

“Everyone should get involved because everyone loves food,” Khoury said. “It’s a lie if they say they don’t,” Khoury said.

The website also features grocery stores specific to different health needs as well as reviews of local restaurants. Spoon University includes recipes for making brownies in your microwave, for example,

and provides the reader with ways in which they can use ingredients they already have to make something unique.

All of the articles on the Spoon University website are written by college students and are intended for college students.

The website strives to expand college students’ knowledge of food and improve how they incorporate it into their daily lives both innovatively and creatively.

Downey is living off campus next year and expects to frequently cook meals. She plans to document her culinary efforts through regular, informal articles. Battaglia intends to focus on the food and restaurants that are along the Freedom Trail, while Schneider plans to focus on restaurant reviews.

“You don’t have to be someone who wants to pursue food as your career for it to be a huge part of who you are and what you become,” Downey said. 

Home is a small, New York suburb. White picket fences next to chain link fences next to white picket fences, containing yards of dual-level colonials of pale greens and tans. Clusters of houses are broken by entwining roads, spitting traffic into various shopping centers. The summers cover the landscape in a golden veneer. The winters cover the landscape in pale white snow.

But I romanticize.

“Time is neat, when you think about it,” a friend told me a day before I left to come back to school. “You leave tomorrow, and you come back in May. You have your strange life that I really know nothing of—you don’t know mine, either, when I go to school—and you come back, and we pick up.”

“Like a game.”

“Like a game” he repeated. “And it’s almost halftime.”

Halftime. Even though yesterday could be confused with freshman year, and the day before could be confused with senior year of high school, The Past is hanging out right where it belongs, and, in The Now, I realize that I’m approaching a major point within this specific bracket of my life.

See, the neat dividing of time isn’t just for categorizing relationships, but for individuals to categorize personal lives—to bracket. The most common split is grade school/high school/college. Then there’s graduate school, maybe, and then adulthood, maybe parenthood, but that’s the thing: you don’t know the brackets until you’re moments away from walking into them.

Time’s almost halfway up—with college, yes—but I’m just getting started. And, since I will not know the brackets before they are point blank in front of me, should I really worry then about The Future? It will happen regardless, and against my better judgment if I spend too much time thinking about it.

The question, therefore, becomes how to spend The Now (besides the obvious one, which is to take classes and learn, because being a student is my job, and your job). With a city of raw material that a suburb could never provide me, I must get out: out of the dorm and into the city.

Where I go and what I do is just as important as what I see along the way. All of the time spent in the Museum of Fine Arts is matched by seeing the man sitting on the milk crate on the corner shaking a Styrofoam cup. All of the time spent tutoring at a charter school is matched by the mother on the T with shopping bags surrounding her feet and a baby in her arms that won’t stop crying.

Every bit should be feverishly consumed—it should be gawked at—but it is in the city that a strange paradox emerges, where the proportion of raw material met with slack-jaws and bleary eyes is the highest. (Certainly a lot higher than in the suburbs.) It’s in the city where nobody looks at anybody else, but instead looks down and silently comments on how very lonely the city is. Or blanks out on a cell phone. For a place so fundamental for the discovery of self, the city seems to breed a humdrum mass, where the most vibrant pieces of culture and human experience are ignored in favor of aggregation and emotional isolation.

But I trivialize.

The trick is realizing the roughness of the draft that is you in The Now. Boston should play as big of a part in the revisionary process as your actual education does—going to school near a city is, in this way, a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Cash in.

If you’re a freshman who can’t conceive of ever reaching the halfway point, cash in.

It’s never too early, not during this bracket.

If you’re a senior who is scared of how far in the rearview mirror the halfway point is, cash in. It’s never too late. The trick is realizing you’re even holding anything in the first place.

Play the game.

Ryan Daly is an editor for The Heights.

He can be reached at metro@bcheights. com.

COLUMN

SUPER SMASH BROS.

HOW A LEGENDARY FIGHTING SERIES STANDS THE TEST OF TIME, PAGE B3 ALBUM REVIEW

THEATER REVIEW

LUPE FIASCO KEEPS SKIRTING STATUS QUO ON NEW ALBUM, B4

THE THEATRE DEPARTMENT STAGES AN EPIC ANTHOLOGY IN BONN STUDIO, PAGE B2

‘TETSUO AND YOUTH’

War and Shakespeare

SCENE THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

THE

asiam

asian american literary magazine

Summer Lin - Asst. Arts & Review Editor

BRECK WILLS / HEIGHTS GRAPHIC

The Heights

B2

Reasonable Dowd

Thursday, January 22, 2015

V

‘Selma’ and truth in film

Ryan Dowd I’m usually quite proud of my last name. It’s Gaelic and roughly means “dark”—most likely we think in reference to hair. Dowd appears occasionally but not often: not like other Irish names like Doyle, McGrath, or O’Brien. If you happen to miss my little byline, you’ll often find “Dowd” in the sports section in much bigger print than my credit.

Soccer star Hayley Dowd (of no immediate though possibly long lost relation) is the one scoring the goals, after all.

This is all fodder for my introduction of a certain Maureen Dowd—an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times. If you Google “Dowd,” she’s the first of us to appear. Though if you search “Dowd, The Heights,” I’m the first to appear, right above another article about Hayley Dowd. Proof you do, in fact, win some.

Last Saturday, Maureen Dowd took on Selma. It’s her job to take on things—she’s a columnist. But she took on more than Selma in the Saturday edition: she took on arts.

She doesn’t start well, opening her column by describing how she “found [herself ] watching it in a theater full of black teenagers.” Her frankness is commendable, though reeks of superiority.

She goes on to argue that “artful falsehood is more dangerous than artless falsehood, because fewer people will see it.” She agrees unequivocally with pretty much everyone else that Selma is a great film, though she disagrees with director Ava DuVernay’s depiction of Lyndon B. Johnson, who she affectionately refers to simply as L.B.J., for short.

By painting L.B.J. as a curmudgeonly, patronizing figure in the film, DuVernay has distorted history for these black teenagers in the audience, said Dowd.

She’s performed falsehood. But arts always wins.

Maureen Dowd wholeheartedly believes that she, in fact, has the true story—that M.L.K. and L.B.J. worked in tandem to forge the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And I’m sure there is some fabrication in DuVernay’s take on the matter, just like there’s some serious fabrication in The Imitation Game, or The Theory of Everything, or Foxcatcher—pretty much any serious movie about serious people that came out this year except Boyhood, whose entire premise, goal, and crowning achievement was capturing life (growing up) as is.

Like all the other arts, films try to convey a truth. A professor once explained that under all the layers a film might have, a film carries a little kernel of truth. That truth might be as simple as “only love can thaw a broken heart.”

And that movie would be Frozen. That truth could be the meditation Stanley Kubrick made on humanity in 2001: A Space Odyssey that I’ll never fully understand and in which case the kernel has become some massive, bean stock type structure.

Regardless of the physical or evolutionary state of the kernel, the little truth films are there to convey a truth, not the Truth as Maureen Dowd would have it. She says that “the truth is dramatic and fascinating enough.” She strives to measure films by their historical accuracy.

I don’t have the word count to get into objective versus subjective truth here for my more esteemed counterpart. Truth (in the capital T sense) is for journalistic endeavors—reports, features, or even a documentary. Films don’t deal in Truth—they deal in truths or at least the good ones do. And those little truths may build up to some higher truth, but it’s a truth of (for lack of an admittedly less dramatic phrase) human experience, not of what exactly happened in such and such a place (this, that, and the thing).

If you want clean cut delivery of Truth, read a history book. If you want a good story that maybe even gives your life some meaning it didn’t already have, go watch a good movie. Watch Selma.

Ryan Dowd is the Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

claire kim / Heights staff

Tina Packer’s Shakespeare acting course brings the bard to life in the cozy Bonn through his violent plays such as ‘Othello,’ ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ and ‘Henry IV, Part 1.’

Shakespeare anthology honors the classics Ryan Dowd

Arts & Review Editor Shakespeare works. It worked a couple hundred years ago, and it works today in varying effectiveness. From London’s Globe Theater to city parks, the plays still work wherever they are staged. Romeo and Juliet speaks to teenagers now as it surely did a long time ago, much as the racial tensions in Othello were relevant during Shakespeare’s writing as they are now.

A product derived from a semester-long Shakespeare acting course taught and directed by Tina Packer, Honor, Shame, and Violence, put on by the Boston College theatre department in the Bonn Studio banks on this continued relevancy.

In fact, they hinge the entire performance on this relevancy, with members of the show continually hopping up on platforms on either side of the stage to explain the relevance of the play today to the audience.

The notes the performance adds through the drama are helpful and—because of most college students don’t have a stellar memory of their high school English classes—maybe even necessary.

They act as a live No Fear Shakespeare.

Honor, Shame, and Violence takes a risk, though. Any old Shakespeare play will work if done with competence. But a combination of the old and new relies on the right composition, and a setting that will work as an alternative Verona, Rome, Venice, or England. Though the show is hosted in the smaller, more intimate Bonn, the stage is fairly traditional. It takes inspiration from the traditional structure of Shakespeare’s theater with a gold, cobbled floor and stocky pillars that help frame the stage. It faces the audience straight on without any frills and lays the action bare at the audience’s feet.

The show moves from Henry IV Part 1, to Othello, to lesser known Coriolanus, and finally to Romeo and Juliet. With each move comes an explanation on why this particular show and these particular scenes are relevant for us today.

Henry IV is connected to the dangers of righteous crusade resulting in the current unrest in the Middle East. Othello is connected to violence against women as seen in the NFL Ray Rice case, and Coriolanus is thrown together with the onset

of drone warfare and the casual way humans are killed in modern war.

Finally, the show proposes Romeo and Juliet as some sort of answer to this madness of honor, shame, and violence—that Shakespeare is about honor, shame, violence, and love. All the problems we have seen in the previous scenes are again raised in Romeo and Juliet, but the show offers their desperate love as the only thing that can heal these contentious divisions.

Despite the serious tone of the plays, there is still a lot of fun to be had here. As usual with Shakespeare, the tragedy is accompanied by a nimble dose of wit and cheer. The most fun part of the play is watching the cast roll from one role to the next without a hitch. Matt Appleby, A&S ’15, plays the burly Othello, and also stars as a Roman woman in the next section. Aryn Mellow Pryor, A&S ’16, plays the virtuous Desdemona of Othello, only to reappear as a boy in Coriolanus.

For Romeo and Juliet, Will Krom, A&S ’16, and Micheila Jacobson, A&S ’17, appear almost out of nowhere, and in the space of just a few scenes carry the audience threw the rough emotional waters of the later part of the play.

While the versitility of the actors is one of the performances hallmarks, the chameleon-like stage also helps enliven the action. The set and atmosphere carry a smooth variance. The lighting is especially startling in the first section as Henry, the crowned prince, kills his rival Henry “Hotspur” Percy. His death scene is a particularly

intimate moment between the crowned prince played by David Makransky, A&S ’17, and his felled foe and rival played by Joe Meade, A&S ’15.

The lighting also takes on noir, shadowed elements during many of the confrontations in Othello, while reverting to a bright blaze for the battles in Coriolanus. In what was the best lit and most striking atmosphere in the show was the masked ball scene in Romeo and Juliet. The lights seemed to perfectly mirror moonlight, as if it were coming straight through the ceiling.

The impressive swordplay also effectively brought the audience in on the action, especially given that the actors didn’t have the usual space and perspective they would in Robsham. Given that the audience was right on top of the action, the swordplay was sold and each fight successive fight felt original with its own beats and decisive moves.

If there’s a disappointing aspect to the show, it is the need the show feels to do the interpretive work for the audience, even as the actors laid themselves bare to convey the emotion of the Bard’s work.

The structure of the play worked, and it would have worked even better without the reminder that Bush too went on his own crusade, that Ray Rice knocked out his wife, that Romeo and Juliet is about love. The thing about Shakespeare is that sometimes it is best to let him do most of the talking. He has proven he’s pretty good at it. n

claire kim / heights staff

This weekend in arts

By: Chris Fuller | Associate Arts & Review Editor

BC Dynamics tryouts (Saturday 1/24 through monday 1/26.)

‘mortdecai’ (Ongoing)

Screen legend Johnny Depp returns in this kooky comedy alongside Hollywood hitters Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Goldblum. Art dealer and artisan Charlie Mortdecai must hunt down a stolen painting that holds the secret code to a lost bank account.

Auditions are being held for the BC Dynamics a capella group this weekend. Prepare a verse and chorus of a song and arrive ready to show what you’ve got! Info for locations and times are found on the Spring Audition Facebook page.

Miss ccc pageant (Saturday1/24 7 P.M.)

The Caribbean Culture Club is throwing its first Miss CCC Pageant in the Heights Room in Corcoran Commons. The night features fashion, trivia, and talents that highlight Caribbean culture. Donations go to the Dominican Service Learning Trip.

‘Honor, Shame, and violence’ (Through Sunday 1/25)

The theatre department presents this anthology of war scenes from selections of Shakespeare’s best. This collection features scenes from Romeo & Juliet, Othello, and others. Tickets and

claire kim / Heights staff

‘abrazos’ (tuesday 1/27, 7 p.m.)

BC welcomes acclaimed filmmaker Luis Argueta for a presentation of his new film chronicling the travels of U.S. citizens going to Guatemala to meet their grandparents for the first time. The free screening will be held in Fulton 511.

Newsworthy (thursday 1/22 6 P.M.)

The Clough Center hosts this discussion on entertainment’s impacts and encroachment on journalism in the 21st century.

The feature will be hosted in Devlin 101.

‘Strange magic’ (ongoing)

George Lucas’ fantasy musical comes to life this weekend.

Strange Magic takes on a creative and luscious world filled with goblins, elves, and all sorts of mischief. Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth provide their voices for the film.

taste of chocolate festival (through sunday 1/25)

Come on down to Harvard Square this weekend for a chocolate extravaganza as well as deals and specials from local retailers. Admission is free and all are welcome to join the feasting and festivities. There’ll be appetizers, entrees, cocktails, and deserts for all who come.

The Heights

Thursday, January 22, 2015

B3

Photos Courtesy of ASIAM

Finding the Asian-American voice on campus “You can’t divorce personal experiences from your creative work. If you’re writing about something important to you, it’s going to relate to social issues.”

By Summer Lin Asst. Arts & Review Editor Where are you really from?

For ASIAM Literary Magazine’s co-Editors-in-Chief Yoshika Watson, LSOE ’15, and Long Yang, CSOM ’16, the answer isn’t as simple as a one-word response. “When you hear that question, it’s a subtle form of microaggression that can really be harmful,” Yang said. “There is an underlying assumption that questions the nature of your identity.”

Boston College’s only Asian-American literary magazine, ASIAM first emerged in 1993 as the brainchild of Asian Caucus and BC Professor Ramsay Liam. Originally titled True Colors, the literary magazine underwent significant creative changes since its revival in 2012 by Lucilla Pan, BC ‘14, departing from its traditional journalistic roots. The magazine was rebranded as ASIAM (“As I Am”) in 2010 to represent a more artistic focus.

ASIAM starts by choosing a central theme pivotal to the publication’s focus on Asian-American culture. Past themes include “Wholes of Our Identity” and “Past, Present, and Future.”

ASIAM is currently accepting submissions for this year’s issue, “Where Are You Really From?,” and hopes to release its publication

by April 2015.

With the namesake itself as a phonetic double entendre, ASIAM’s seeks to bridge the gap between Asian and American dualities and foster a sense of selfhood and identity by dismantling boundaries according to its mission statement. The magazine aims to cultivate a unique space that celebrates Asian-American culture and produce work that would not fit other traditional literary magazines on campus. While the goal is to promote a common experience and to educate on social progress, the emphasis is placed on the individual. Through the combi-

nation of literary works and multicultural identity, ASIAM places personal experiences at the forefront by highlighting social issues and cultural trends affecting the Asian-American community.

Watson describes instances where artistic expression has endured even in times of creative hindrance. In her research over the summer of Japanese internment camps during World War II, she discovered that literary magazines emerged in camp communities as people searched for alternative forms of creative expression. Social issues—such as the model minority myth, female adoption, and parental expectations—have all played a part in ASIAM’s previous literary publications.

“You can’t divorce personal experiences from your creative work,” Watson said. “If you’re writing about something important to you, it’s going to relate to social issues.”

While ASIAM relates incidences where social issues that impacted Asian-American lives, the magazine also seeks to showcase creative work produced by Asian-Americans that would have otherwise gone unpublished. By incorporating poems, prose,

essays, photography, paintings, and short stories, the magazine’s primary goal is to validate creative talent and facilitate discussions on identity and social change.

For Yang, his experience working with ASIAM has been a particularly enriching one. Bemoaning the under-representation of Asian-American students in English classes and Asian-American authors as a whole, Yang recalls a fond memory of a friend who decided to submit a story to ASIAM who would have otherwise never considered being published.

“The most important message to get across to others is that there is diversity within the Asian-American community,” Yang said. “We’re not all the same. When you think of authors, you hardly ever think of Asian-Americans. Not all of us are good at math and some of us are English majors.”

While ASIAM emphasizes the personal experiences of growing up Asian in America by highlighting artistic and creative expression, the literary magazine seeks to expand its on-campus presence at BC. The editorial board has considered the possibility of including other minority perspectives in addition to Asian-American in the future. Watson and Yang expressed that the ultimate goal is trying to fit the mission of embracing a common identity without being entirely limited by it.

“There is a certain vulnerability when you write from personal experience and your heart that other people might not understand in another situation or perspective,” Watson said. “Literary magazines are a way to validate your creative work.

Simply producing is not enough.”

So where are you really from?

“We wanted people to answer [the question] on their own terms,” Watson said. “We wanted to give them an opportunity to say that this is where I’m from, this is what I’ve gone through, this is who I am as I am.” n Arthur Bailin / Heights editor

The sultans of smash: The combat series that keeps kicking

Chris Fuller There’s a something endearing about a room full of men playing Super Smash Bros.

“Smash,” as many fondly call it, permeates all social hierarchy in the gaming community. Smash possesses an accessibility and familiarity among gamers that few games can rival. Since the release of the first of Nintendo’s ambitious fighting experiments in 1999, the Super Smash Bros. series has stood as an indisputable champion in the fighting game genre.

Having been an avid fan of the series for some time, I recently started to examine the feelings this series inspires. How is it, after near two decades of clashing with a familiar cast of Nintendo legends on an arguably monotonous stage, that we can still

lose ourselves for hour after joyous hour in this virtual colosseum?

Ask any fan of the series how many hours they think they have poured into this series and you will see her life flash before his or her eyes. From the sleepovers turned Smash tournaments to the birthday Brawl extravaganzas, if you have played the game for any serious amount of time, you can remember a day when you simply could not stop hacking away at an enemy player.

Anyone who has played a Nintendo game in the last few decades can probably find a character that they recognize and, more often than not, assimilate into that character’s skillset.

It is Nintendo’s exponentially grown cast and skill system that is primarily indicative of its success in the gamer community.

Against competitors like Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has collected an iconic band of heroes, heroines, dastardly villains, and adorable powerhouses. From the more popular, beloved franchise classics like the Mario Bros. to less notarized or generally less

appreciated series like Fire Emblem, Nintendo does an excellent job of intricately reaching across its spectrum of successes and modeling the right characters and maps for a very general audience of players.

Smash also provides a unique experience for each player. It can be played very casually amongst dorm mates on a Wednesday night or it can be played for huge sums of cash in epic tournaments nationwide. While Smash is in no way a huge exception in its social scope of play, I would venture to guess walking around this campus’ dorms (and the dorms of most colleges across the country) that the most played game would be one of the Super Smash Bros. games.

It is interesting for me to note that among my friends in life, all with varying senses of competitive drive, Smash might be one of the lesser argued over games. Despite their heart-racing intensity, Smash rounds rarely make a player feel cheated of their opportunity for victory. Most defeats are self-explanatory and even some of the

most epic defeats can put a player in awe of the terrible slash or smack that led to their unfortunate demise. I often find when playing other fighting games that players are upset by a tiny quirk in design they felt gave their opponent the upper-hand or changed the tone of a match, but Smash’s, at least to me, air-tight design allows players to appreciate both the most rewarding and self-destructive instances of combat.

Especially with the recently released edition of the game, Smash’s art direction and suavity is a notable achievement itself. Its lucious color palette adds hugely to the game’s vitality. In spite of the flack Nintendo has received for focusing less on graphics than its competitors, Smash has always held a level of finesse and colorful design that other Nintendo titles and competing game consoles strive for.

This latest 2014 edition for the Wii U is exemplary of the technical prowess of Nintendo’s graphic designers and style. The game plays seamlessly and nothing quite makes my day like seeing the heavy charge and swing

behind the swords of series veterans Ike and the deathly Roy. The Super Smash Bros. developers have always done an exceptional job adjusting to players’ critiques and even some of the more hindering technical additions to the series have an option of being turned off.

The Super Smash Bros. franchise has been a huge part of a lot of our lives. Its accessibility and nostalgic appeal can draw in even the most basic of gamers and the series has only grown to be more accommodating throughout its development. Despite, and because of, its almost basic approach and learning curve, Smash has made a place for itself among the greatest video game franchises in history. Though most of us might not think of it this way, what better way is there to blow off a little steam than smacking your best friends , screeching, to an explosive off-screen fatality?

Chris Fuller is the Assoc. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

B4

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Fall Out Boy falls flat in ‘American Beauty / American Pyscho’

BY EILEEN KAO For The Heights Fall Out Boy made a comeback in the pop-punk world in 2013 with Save Rock and Roll and returns to the charts this week with American Beauty / American Psycho. The group originally had gone into a hiatus when the group members felt the need to rediscover themselves away from the band, and came back in strong form.

Despite having a solo career, lead singer Patrick Stump was hit hard with a bout of depression during Fall Out Boy’s off period.

The group got back together after Stump met up with the band’s primary songwriter and bassist Pete Stump. After the break, the band first released Save Rock and Roll, an album inspired by and driven by a desire to save a generation of music. In its new album, American Beauty / American Psycho, the band showcases a musical variety it hasn’t always displayed.

The album features 11 tracks that all vary a bit in musical style and vocals, but one can categorize each song. Some of the songs fall into a more cookie-cutter Fall Out

Boy pattern, creating a repetitiveness that wears on the listener.

“Irresistible,” “Novocaine,” and “Favorite Record” all fall into this aforementioned structure. Unfortunately, these songs seemed to feature much more of the usual boy band aesthetic one usually hears on mainstream radio.

Folks turn to Fall Out Boy expecting a more original sounding track. The band has set itself within the mainstream, but also apart from other pop bands. In American Beauty / American Psycho, the band slides away from what originality that album might have once had. Stump’s voice is rendered auto-tuned and less distinguishable from most of the songs that he usually sings. The music also heavily relies on his vocal and lyricism rather than instrumentation at parts, which at times can sound rather cacophonous.

Fortunately, most of the album sounds more like American Beauty and not so much American Psycho.

For instance, “Immortals”—which was recently featured in the Disney film Big Hero 6—is a good addition to the album since it shows more of the “rock and roll” revival that the band has been trying to

achieve. It contains more of the different types of sounds and the powerful rock chords for which Fall Out Boy is known.

“Centuries,” which was released last year as well, is featured on the album and showcases Stump’s powerful voice in cohort with rising instruments.

Other stand-out songs in the album include: “American Beauty / American Psycho,” “Twin Skeleton’s,” and “Uma Thurman.”

“American Beauty/American Psycho” combines a 90s pop with rock elements and unlike the other songs on the album, the use of guitar is distinguishable. “Twin Skeleton’s” invokes an eerie feeling while still coming across as a rock song. “Uma Thurman” references back to part of a sound clip of the show “The Munsters.” The song combines the 1960s sitcom loop with the more modern sounds of Fall

Out Boy by singing about Uma Thurman of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill fame. There is a catchy and upbeat feeling to the song with a nostalgic, cartoony feel.

After evaluating the album, there are a few songs that aren’t that original, but there are many songs that make up for the cookie cutters and will probably define the landscape for the pop-punk rock community in the coming year. 

AMERICAN BEAUTY FALL OUT BOY PRODUCED BY ISLAND RECORDS RELEASED JAN. 16, 2014 OUR RATING

Heights Staff

Lupe Fiasco’s artistic journey has not always been aligned with popularity and fan appreciation. Though his earliest work earned him a significant fanbase, Lupe’s success has dwindled in recent years to subpar album releases. With his newest record, Tetsuo & Youth, Lupe Fiasco stands his ground.

He maintains his musicality over all else, focusing on passion and lyrics and ignoring marketability. Tetsuo & Youth is not for the casual listener. Its lengthy tracks are more like novels than songs, and the complexity of the rapping and instrumentation requires intense focus to understand.

The album is inaccessible in many ways, but that’s how Lupe seems to like it. His work is art demanding to be heard. It is not simply background radio tracks.

Significant markers throughout Tetsuo & Youth are four interludes, entitled “Summer,” “Fall,” “Winter,” and “Spring” that warily serve as transitions among the album’s 12 other songs. Their connection is weak, though, and these seasonally-named tracks are gimmicky at best. Quick minute and a half snippets of evocative sounds portray kids playing in the sun, leaves crunching under footsteps, wind blowing eerily, and birds chirping. They fit awkwardly into the album as a whole and serve little purpose

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEGEND RECORDS

musically. He has a vision and he’s following through with it––no matter how clumsily it presents itself to listeners, buyers, and producers––and that is worth supporting.

It is probably most effective to first consider what makes Tetsuo & Youth a less than perfect album. While all of these claims could be defended

by Lupe Fiasco’s artistic lens, some elements of his work are genuinely difficulty to listen to. Though Lupe does comfortably employ an array of instrumental parts in his songs, some do seem out of place. Particularly, the western intro and outro to “Dots & Lines” are off-putting, and their lack of relevance with the song makes it more difficult to settle into the track’s

TETSUO & YOUTH LUPE FIASCO PRODUCED BY ATLANTIC RECORDS RELEASED JAN. 20, 2015 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATLANTIC RECORDS

melodic groove as it progresses. A jazz-inspired interlude to “Adoration of the Magi,” for example, is also problematic.

Lupe Fiasco does effectively feature various different vocalists in his songs for hooks and choruses, and some of his best collaborations are with singer Nikki Jean. Jean is featured on three different songs of Tetsuo & Youth, and for good reason. The two artists perform together impressively, and their collaborations don’t tire over multiple tracks. In “Little Death,” the two sing and rap separately, yet still complement each other to create a unified piece. The two sing alongside each other in “No Scratches,” a standout single on the record that shows Lupe Fiasco’s depth as a musician. He doesn’t need to produce a standard rap record; he wants to delve into new genres, even at the expense of popular appeal.

Another Nikki Jean collaboration on the track “Madonna (And Other Mothers In The Hood),” is arguably one of the album’s most influential singles. Nikki Jean provides a crucial female aspect to this song––where the heavy rap is entirely devoted to the importance of mothers in crumbling societies, Nikki Jean’s vocal line softens and comforts. The juxtaposition in sound is indeed elemental to the song’s thematic entirety: in chaotic, violent times, a mother’s love serves to calm. Lupe intelligently included evocative soundbytes—sounds of police and prayers —to emphasize the

degree of turmoil in these communities. “Madonna” is indeed an example of what Lupe does best, and its social critique is undeniable.

“Prisoner 1 & 2,” featuring Ayesha Jaco, is another socially-inspired track that evokes a powerful argument about the justice system. An automated voice from jail introduces this song, and the listener is instantly associated as an outsider. As Lupe critiques crime and social injustices, he simultaneously creates an engaging musical interlude, utilizing dramatic stringed instrumentation to work against the more urban contents of the track. As the automated voice continues on throughout the song, it is clear how intensely Lupe sees art amidst a struggle.

The core of Tetsuo & Youth is in its poignant, socially-aimed lyrics that frequently present injustices in an honest way. This is what Lupe Fiasco most embodies as a rapper, and its value to him has remained well into this record, which unapologetically represents himself. Because of the music’s nature, though, it is not an easy listen, or one that will be played on the radio or at clubs. To truly understand what it is that Lupe tries to propose with his songs, a listener has to be focused. The songs are dynamic and multifaceted, and different elements—whether lyrical or instrumental—are constantly emerging. Tetsuo & Youth is an album that grows with its individual listeners, and will make for a vastly formative experience. 

Marilyn Manson still the god of shock in ‘The Pale Emperor’

BY PHOEBE FICO For The Heights

Marilyn Manson has spent his career as a cultural icon. From the idiosyncratic look of almost translucent skin to his painted on-cherry red lips, his single warped blue eye to the flamboyant interviews where he proclaims himself the “god of f—k,” Manson has been a hard voice to ignore.

Yes, Manson the cultural icon, the king of the shock factor, has done well in keeping relevant. Marilyn Manson the musician, on the other hand, hasn’t been relevant since the 90s, when he slogged his way through “The Beautiful People”: a scratchily sung, ironic ode to, well, the beautiful people, which came of his classic album Antichrist Superstar.

There he lived up to his name, which is a combination of the silly bubblegum in Marilyn Monroe and the downright sinister in the notorious serial killer Charles Manson.

Both of whom are iconic, infamous, and represent America’s obsession with fame. Never has he truly represented the silly and the sinister in one album as well as he did in Antichrist Superstar.

That is until his latest release, The Pale Emperor. Manson collaborated with Tyler Bates, a film composer,

who has done some of Rob Zombie’s best horror movies, on all of the music for this album. He gives the music and overall dark, electronic sound that somehow incorporates the blues and classic rock and its guitars to great effect. Manson and his band’s instrumentation and musical direction have not been this sharp and interesting since he parted ways—in a nasty fight—with Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor.

With all this in mind, the first track “Killing Strangers” is one of sparse, snare sounds like something an army would march to. This is Manson’s march back into relevance. On the track he uses this dreary production to create the mood of people who “kill strangers” so they “don’t kill the ones that [they] love.” Throughout the first verse, the backing vocals that sing the lines “a bigger knife” and “we got guns” are sung in whispers, only playing in one ear as it alternates. At the center, the song is bare and electronic, but manages to use rock guitar to add drama in a way that younger artist and DJs—even Avcii—have not mastered yet.

In contrast, “The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles” uses guitar as its base, beginning with heavily, delayed notes that hail back to the golden era of 90s alternative. Suddenly, it goes into a

chugging heavy guitar with blues solo overlay. This song is interestingly thematic in that it allows Manson to play the character that he has created: the patron saint of all Hot Topic-hanging mallrats.

At his core, Manson is a vocal actor. He is at his best on this album when he can play a role, (“Warship My Wreck” and the aforementioned “Killing Strangers”) and at his worst when the songs are generic, gothic tunes,

TOP SINGLES

1 Uptown Funk!

Mark Ronson 2 Blank Space Taylor Swift 3 Take Me To Church Hozier 4 Thinking Out Loud Ed Sheeran 5 I’m Not The Only One Sam Smith 6 Lips Are Movin Meghan Trainor 7 Jealous Nick Jonas 8 Love Me Harder Ariana Grande & The Weekend

TOP ALBUMS

Lupe stays rough around edges, but still a formative fiasco

BY MARIAN WYMAN

CHART TOPPERS

(“Third Day of a Seven Day Binge” and “The Devil Beneath My Feet”).

The album’s most astonishing tune has Manson in the role that he knows all too well: fighting middle America. “Slave Only Dreams To Be King” opens with a man with a southern accent—accompanied by what sounds like guns firing. The sounds of sirens permeate throughout the song, as drums beat on. It is as though Manson is leading an army

against ignorance. Also in this new role his vocals have gone from an unclean scratch to a drawl that recalls Jim Morrison.

The only place where the album falters is in its lyrics. In “The Devil Beneath My Feet,” the lyrics come off as corny, but that’s when you realize he is in on the joke. His music is a haunted house: you know the blood is fake, but you’re too excited to care. Welcome back, Marilyn Manson. 

THE PALE EMPEROR MARILYN MANSON PRODUCED BY LOMA VISTA RECORDS RELEASED JAN. 19, 2015 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOMA VISTA RECORDS

1 1989 Taylor Swift 2X Ed Sheeran 3 The Pinkprint Nicki Minaj 4 In The Lonely Hour Sam Smith 5 SremmLife Rae Sremmurd Source: Billboard.com

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK

BY MARIAN WYMAN

“HOTEL CEILING” RIXTON

Rixton, an all-male pop group from Manchester, has been quickly developing in popularity. The band recently used its single “Hotel Ceiling” to create a powerful music video that has already solicited a dramatic audience response.

“Hotel Ceiling” in itself is an intense song, and one that tells the story of a lost lover. Rixton’s music video gives an intimate storyline to the lyrics with its latest video, and its plot has shocked many.

The video introduces viewers to a woman, initially calm, but soon she becomes very distraught.

Receiving a sudden phone call, it appears that the woman’s lover has disappeared. Much of the rest of the video details pleasant moments shared with the woman and her former flame. Though the scenes are beautiful, they are interrupted by moments of concern.

The newscasters say they have a suspect in custody for the man’s disappearance, and the woman is shown to be drinking herself away in sadness, clearly undergoing a mental breakdown.

As more of the woman’s memories are relived, warning signs of her decline become apparent.

When she was still with the man, she grew to express significant anger and even ventured toward violence. Shifting quickly between past memories and her turmoil with the loss of her lover, the video depicts impending disaster.

In a subtly creepy ending, the woman finds herself at the end of a vastly emotional episode next to the man’s lifeless body. Just as soon as viewers realize what transpired in the video, the song abruptly cuts off and the video ends.

Because of the grim twist in this music video, Rixton separates itself from various other pop groups and their typical love-story videos. “Hotel Ceiling” certainly does not specify such a violent take on loss, but taking this less direct approach in the music video was novel and worthwhile. 

SINGLE REVIEWS BY ABIGAIL FARR MEGHAN TRAINOR “Lips Are Movin”

LAURA WELSH “Ghosts”

NE-YO FEATURING T.I. “One More” Fans of “All About That Bass” will enjoy this similarly upbeat track by critically praised newcomer Meghan Trainor.

Trainor’s range is better seen on other tracks, but this bubbly song is a ton of fun. The track isn’t anything truly groundbreaking, but you’ll want to clap along.

This track, coming off Ne-Yo’s upcoming album Non-Fiction, is pretty lackluster.

Slow and seductive, but ultimately boring, this recent work of the R&B artist isn’t much different from what we’ve heard before. Hopefully the album proves to be some of Ne-Yo’s more passionate, reinvigorated work.

English singer-songwriter Laura Welsh may be unknown by most, but a recent contribution to the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack and upcoming debut album release is starting to change that. Her intoxicating voice and catchy lyrics posture her as a mix of Adele and Ellie Goulding.

This hypnotic track is a must listen.

CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, January 17, 2014

Thursday, January 22, 2015

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

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

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

THE HEIGHTS THE HEIGHTS

B5 B5

FOR RELEASE JANUARY 14, 2014

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Like many bar brews 6 2013 World Series champs, familiarly 9 PC problem solver 13 Garlicky sauce 14 Stinky Le Pew 15 Storybook baddie 16 Recycled sheets for scribbling 18 Senior’s big dance 19 Rain heavily 20 Dry as the Gobi 21 Perfect spots 22 Org. headed by the U.S. Comptroller General 23 End-of-filming cast event 25 “Alley __” 26 Under lock and __ 27 Pervasive glow 28 Used a rotary phone 30 Fried rice ingredient 31 Spider’s trap 34 Scandal-ridden Texas-based corporation 35 Pirate’s “yes” 36 Odometer button 38 Fast sports cars 39 “Great” primate 40 Skiing coats 41 Rain delay rollout 43 Pick up the tab 44 Tattoos, slangily 45 Toy gun loaded with rolls 48 Morning hrs.

49 Plane handler 50 Stun with a police gun 51 Shopping bag 53 Admit frankly 54 Scrubbing brand with two periods in its name 56 Christmas candle scent 57 Works in un museo 58 With glee 59 Serving whiz 60 Golfer’s smallest wood?

61 Tough journeys

1/14/14

By C.C. Burnikel

DOWN 1 Brewer’s oven 2 “Good job!”

3 Ripped to shreds 4 Shrine to remember 5 Dot on a domino 6 Old-timey photo hue 7 Spot with regular and guest columnists 8 Gen-__: millennial preceder 9 First-rate 10 Long-legged wader 11 Chum 12 Tailoring borders 14 Fencing defense 17 Poked at like a cat 21 Lobed organ 24 Wrinkly little dog 25 Keats’ “__ on Melancholy” 26 Historical novelist Follett 29 Suffered a blackout 30 Cyclone center 32 Ice cream treat

Monday’s Puzzle Solved

THE HEIGHTS HAS A NEW AND IMPROVED

WEBSITE, UPDATED DAILY,

JUST FOR YOU. CHECK IT OUT. BCHEIGHTS.COM. (c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

33 Jack’s access 35 Supplier of software hidden in 16-, 23-, 45and 54-Across 36 Bit of sunlight 37 Pooh-pooher’s sound 39 Tycoon Onassis 40 Prefix with -lithic 42 On point 43 Hustlers chasing rustlers

1/14/14

45 Word with duty or pride 46 Like a hermit 47 Personal shopper’s asset 48 For the bondissue price 49 Bearded Smurf 52 “Grand” ice cream maker 54 Went unused 55 TSA employee

The Heights

B6

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Goaltending keeps Warriors in game, but BC’s possession too strong

By Michael Hoff Heights Staff

Arthur bailin / heights editor

Adam Gilmour and the Eagles kept the puck away from Merrimack en route to a win.

The Eagles maintained possession throughout all three periods on Wednesday night against Merrimack College, and would have won by even more if it hadn’t been for the strong play of Merrimack’s goalie, Rasmus Tirronen.

Both of Boston College’s goals came off Warrior breakdowns. An uncovered Adam Gilmour banged in a rebound from in close, and Chris Calnan waltzed in from the blue line on goaltender Rasmus Tirronen for his game winner—sans Merrimack resistance.

While the Warriors defended their end well for most of the night, they were in their end so much that they cracked enough times to lose.

BC wore down its opponent by dominating the puck, firing 19 more shots than Merrimack, and while BC missed the net on 54 of those shots, the Eagles’ possession game won them a crucial two points in the Hockey East “pennant race,” as Head Coach Jerry York dubbed the latter part of the season.

“How many times can you say you win the special teams matchup and lose the game?” Merrimack Head Coach Mark Dennehy said after the

game, whose team’s only goal came on the power play.

BC suffocated Merrimack at even strength in every area. The Eagles’ forwards provided a relentless forecheck and hustled back into their own zone to give extra layers to the defense when they needed to.

Those instances were rare on Wednesday, though, with BC either turning Merrimack over in its own end or stifling the Warriors in the neutral zone. BC’s defensemen cleaned up their own end when a need arose too, winning battles behind the net and starting smooth breakouts.

Merrimack usually stayed with its checks in its own end, but the Eagles kept winning battles and races for the puck that kept the Warriors playing defense.

The Eagles’ lackluster offense made for quality defense, while preventing their own defense corps from wearing down as Merrimack’s did.

“I thought we were getting good running time,” York said. “We’re possessing the puck better than we did early in the season, and our offensive zone play has been better. We’re protecting pucks and creating some good offense and some good shots.”

BC’s ability to keep the puck for long stretches would have produced a rout against most goaltenders.

Merrimack’s Tirronen didn’t stand on his head in the process of turning away 30 shots because he was in such good position all game. Tirronen had a .930 save percentage heading into Wednesday and flashed all the reasons why against the Eagles.

The Finn-gloved bombs from all of BC’s star-studded defense core, at one point picking off missiles from Ian McCoshen and Noah Hanifin on consecutive faceoffs. He filled the net with his six-foot-four frame with good positioning. For a netminder of that size, he got from post to post with relative ease, robbing both Austin Cangelosi and Ryan Fitzgerald on point-blank looks.

Then, in the third period, BC was looking to ice the game when it sent out its first power play unit, and its one-three-one formation had Merrimack’s penalty kill scrambling.

McCoshen and Gilmour were on each half-wall, feeding the puck back and forth to each other, but Tirronen tracked the puck around the zone and didn’t give any shooters daylight with his powerful kick-slide.

“He’s one of the elite goaltenders in college hockey,” Dennehy said.

Elite wasn’t enough for the Warriors, but that adjective understates Tirronen’s performance against the Eagles. n

Eagles can’t reclaim last year’s magic, dropped by Syracuse in NY

By Alec Greaney Assoc. Copy Editor The last time Boston College men’s basketball left the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, the team was still aglow with the wwmagic of the night.

The 6-19 Eagles, flailing on their longest losing streak of the season, took on the most powerful team in the ACC and the No. 1 team in the nation, and came out victorious. Their sophomore phenom led the way, dropping 20 points. It took an overtime period, but it was enough, and the Eagles took home a win.

This season things are a little bit different. Syracuse remains unranked this year. Although the team is 13-5 overall and currently fourth in the ACC, it is 0-2 against ranked teams, and hasn’t played one of the five ranked ACC squads yet this season.

The Eagles, meanwhile, picked up a new head coach, a win against Harvard for the first time in seven years, and three more wins than they had at this time last season.

BC also came in fresh from one of its best games of the season against No. 2 Virginia, which only pulled away in the latter part of the second half. For a short stretch, optimism returned.

In the first edition of BC-Syracuse this season, however, the Eagles were tripped up again. After taking an early lead, BC could do little right on either end of the court. A late comeback in the final two minutes of the game made things interesting, but the Orange came away as the better team, wrapping up the contest with a 69-61 win.

For the first five minutes of the game, BC was almost still playing like a good team. On the defensive end, it certainly was—BC Coach Jim Christian had his team use a series of double-teams and switches to keep the ball away from Syracuse’s six-foot-nine leading scorer, Rakeem Christmas. It actually took Syracuse almost five minutes to hit its first field goal, going 0-6 until Christmas knocked down a jumper.

On the other end, BC’s senior trans-

fers shined. Aaron Brown and Dimitri Batten combined to go 4-6 from beyond the arc, launching BC out to a quick 12-4 lead.

Anyone who has watched BC this season, however, has heard this story before. While the team can have spurts of success in long-range shooting, a sudden cooldown is inevitable. In Tuesday night’s game, that came just over five minutes into the half, when BC began a nine-minute stretch that included seven missed jumpers, one missed layup, and four turnovers.

The only positive result: a made free throw by Patrick Heckmann.

In that same time, the Orange put up 18 points, which included four layups and a dunk. They would never relinquish the lead.

After such an abysmal first half, it’s a wonder how BC could have ever hung with a ranked team, let alone the number two team in the country.

The best answer? Try Syracuse’s zone.

The Orange began the game using it and rarely varied, and it wasn’t until the second half that BC found ways to penetrate it.

In the first half, however, the Eagles had no answer other than to shuttle the ball around the perimeter and pray that someone else would make a play.

No one did.

Instead, BC would shoot 10 threes before the team even attempted a single 2-point field goal. No one made a two until Brown dropped a jumper 14 minutes into the game, and BC’s first successful shot at the hoop didn’t come until two minutes into the second half.

Even though Syracuse’s zone was a good one, BC had no excuse for playing this way. Against UVA, the Eagles rarely settled for 3-pointers, preferring to drive inside. Even though a good amount of their attempts weren’t successful, this opened up enough space for BC to find good looks from in front of the arc.

After all, as Christian has emphasized already this season, the Eagles depend on this type of offense..

Individually, this zone most seri-

Arthur bailin / heights editor

Jim Christian’s team started hot against the Orange, but were unable to maintain offensive consistency in the loss at the Carrier Dome. ously affected BC’s top two leaders in offensive win shares: Dennis Clifford and Olivier Hanlan. Hanlan was held scoreless in the first half, completely failing to penetrate.

Hanlan did hit a few 3-pointers of his own in the second half, but ultimately, he finished with an underwhelming 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting, certainly failing to surpass his 20-point performance last time at Carrier.

Clifford, who was locked in a battle with Christmas most of the game, proved to be almost a complete nonfactor in the scoresheet. He attempted just one field goal, and finished with one point after going one-for-two at the line.

He picked up just one rebound and one block, and fouled out with two minutes to go in the game—a direct result of

guarding Christmas.

Christmas, though, fouled out just eight seconds after Clifford, adding some intrigue to an otherwise uneventful second half.

With both big men out of the picture, Syracuse faltered slightly, missing eight free throws and committing two turnovers. This prodded the Eagles into action—BC cut it as close six points—but they didn’t have the same magic on their side, chucking up threes that clanged off the rim instead of finding the center.

Like a good amount of the games BC has played and will play this season, this wasn’t one that necessarily should have been won. Syracuse has a talented basketball program, and at the moment, BC’s isn’t at the same level.

But there are certain things that

will drive Christian crazy. One of the biggest, perhaps, came in the waning seconds of the first half. Syracuse threw up a long, fadeaway 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer. Instead of grabbing the rebound, the Eagles stood around and watched as Orange guard Trevor Cooney slipped through a hole, grabbed the ball, and laid it in, nearly uncontested, as time expired.

This wasn’t necessarily the difference, but it was something BC could control— and something it should do if it wants to rise from the cellar of the ACC. Christian also has to figure out how to consistently get his three guards—Hanlan, Brown, and Batten—to drive and create better shots for themselves and one another, or the shooting streaks will stay cold for as long as a New England winter. n

Bright spots still exist, but much has gone wrong this year at BC From Column, B8 But where do I go from here?

On the ice, BC men’s hockey is average this year (gasp), causing murmurs over whether the team will even earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

A lot of air came out of the balloon after Jack Eichel and BU took down the Eagles at Kelley Rink in November. Recently, a revenge win against the Terriers was washed away by a follow-up loss to Maine.

At least BC fans can look forward to the Beanpot.

On the pitch—a place I prefer to be—the Eagles went from competing with Duke, Clemson, Louisville, and even upsetting then No. 1 Notre Dame to snowballing down the stretch and missing the ACC tournament.

I watched Phil Sandgren pump

his fists triumphantly in front of the crowd after scoring two incredible solo efforts against the Cardinals, only for BC to lose in overtime.

I later sat through 100 minutes of a scoreless draw against a weak North Carolina State team, and could only stomach one half of a loss to Dartmouth.

Even BC’s best fall sport, field hockey, made a quick exit stage-left from both the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Sigh.

And then there’s the gridiron. The extreme highs of an upset over USC are forgotten by the abysmal lows of that pesky extra point, and so here we are looking back at a 7-6 season of what could have been. I still expect another improvement next year, but that is a ways away.

The recipe for BC sports this year has been simple: Cook on high, add

garnish, and then accidently drop the dish on the kitchen floor. Serves thousands of Superfans.

The only treatments available for my incurable disease are women’s hockey, women’s lacrosse—this is me officially jumping on that bandwagon—and women’s soccer. Expect great things from these teams now and in the future.

Katie Burt, Alex Carpenter, and the Eagles are dominating the women’s hockey circuit, and are serious contenders to hoist the big trophy this season.

Women’s lacrosse is a perennial contender and is the preseason No. 7 in Lacrosse Magazine’s latest poll.

Meanwhile, women’s soccer looks strong for next season, especially after the recent call-up for Allyson wwSwaby to the U-20 National Team.

McKenzie Meehan should be back

from injury to form a deadly partner with Hayley Dowd up top.

For now, with those teams in the back of my head, I can only look forward to watching professional-caliber players like Hanlan and Noah Hanifin work their magic. Expecting wins and trophies is not on the to-do list.

Optimism can be fatal, especially in sports. I’ve learned this in my few months at BC so far. The lowest of the lows can be much worse the highest of the highs.

For this reason, a lot of people throw away any hopes in the name of cynicism and low expectations.

Low expectations means you can’t be disappointed, right?

Wrong. That’s lame. I would rather go into every game expecting the upset and be let down every time. That’s just how I’m wired.

It’s something I’ll never be able to

get away from. I’ll come into every season saying, “This is going to be our year.”

I will truly believe that statement until times get as bad as these.

Unfortunately, Chestnut Hill is not a favorable place to be for someone like myself.

The struggle of watching the Eagles come so close yet still remain so far away has popped my shiny helium balloon. I’ll be back, though—you can count on it.

This may not be BC’s year, but next year can be. My inner optimist is telling me everything else will fall into place leading up to a 8-5 football season (at least) and triumphant bowl victory next year.

Jack Stedman is the Assoc. Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 22, 2015 Standings TOM DEVOTO

4-0

JACK STEDMAN

3-1

MICHAEL SULLIVAN

2-2

HEIGHTS STAFF

1-3

B7

Recap from Last Picks

Game of the Week

The No. 17 BC men’s hockey team took home a thrilling 4-2 upset over No. 2 Boston University.

The Eagles gave No. 2 Virginia a good run at Conte Forum before falling, 66-51. The BC women’s basketball team fell to 8-10 with a loss to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. With a miraculous second half surge, the Seattle Seahawks overcame a poor start to take down the Green Bay Packers 28-22 in overtime for the NFC Championship .

Women’s Hockey

Boston vs Quinnipiac College

Guest Editor: Bennet Johnson Metro Editor

“What? Friends listen to Endless Love in the dark.”

MICHAEL SULLIVAN

This Week’s Games

Sports Editor

JACK STEDMAN

Assoc. Sports Editor

Asst. Sports Editor

TOM DEVOTO

BENNET JOHNSON Metro Editor

Women’s Hockey: No. 1 BC vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac

BC

BC

BC

BC

Men’s Hockey: No. 19 BC vs. Connecticut

BC

BC

BC

Connecticut

Women’s Basketball: BC @ Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

BC

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Islanders

Rangers

Islanders

Islanders

NHL: NY Islanders vs. NY Rangers

In the most highly anticipated matchup of the year, the No. 1 Boston College women’s hockey team takes on the No. 3 Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday. This game comes down to a battle of the country’s two best goalies: the Quinnipiac senior Chelsea Laden and Eagles’ freshman phenom Katie Burt. Both are one and two in goals allowed, respectively—the only two goaltenders to let in an average of less than one goal per game. BC holds a significant offensive advantage—the Bobcats are 10th in the nation, scoring 3.08 goals per game, while the Eagles score 5.78 goals per game, a full goal ahead of second place Minnesota.

Saturday, 2 p.m. at Kelley Rink

Demko’s strong game leads the way for Eagles From Men’s hockey, B8

ARTHUR BAILIN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

It wasn’t the sharpest game for the Eagles, but goals from Adam Gilmour (bottom right) and Chris Calnan spurred a key win.

strike throughout the majority of the 40 minutes.

It was Merrimack, however, that almost converted on a quick-strike in the latter half of the period.

While on the power play, BC’s Michael Matheson fumbled away the puck in the neutral zone, allowing a shorthanded breakaway for the Warriors.

After a slash, the official’s hand rose to signal a penalty shot. Merrimack chose to send out senior Kyle Singleton for the shot, who was denied by Demko’s shoulder.

Only moments later, Chris Calnan made Merrimack pay for squandering its chance to tie the game, taking a beautiful pass from defenseman Scott Savage and depositing the second Eagles’ goal of the night in the back of the net. After two, the game had decidedly swung in favor of BC. In the final period, B C seemed poised to continue its dominance of the pace of play. It failed.

At the beginning of the third period, the game took a major turn for the worse for the Eagles. Steve Santini was almost immediately booked for hooking, gifting the Warriors a power play opportunity.

Merrimack capitalized as Jace Henning netted a pass across the crease to cut the lead to one less than two minutes in.

Only about a minute later, it appeared as if Austin Cangelosi and the Eagles had struck back, when the sophomore chipped in an easy rebound past Tirronen.

The officiating crew, however, saw what looked to be a good goal a different way.

The call on the ice was that contact had been made on the goaltender by Ryan Fitzgerald, and after a minute or so of deliberating, the officials decided to stick with the original call on the ice, sending loud boos throughout Kelley Rink.

But, as he has done so many times throughout the season, Demko shut the door for BC. Despite his team’s clear decline in play during the third period, the goaltender made save after save, highlighted by a series of gorgeous stops with about a minute and a half to go.

The Eagles needed this one, and they knew it.

The execution was there for at least two periods, while they relied on their star in net to close the deal in what could truly be described as an all-around team victory.

It wasn’t always pretty, but BC will take what it can get in the team’s lateseason push for another NCAA Tournament berth.

After the game, York recognized the importance of the win. “We want to stay in the pennant race,” he said. “We want to stay there and we’ve got to battle to get there. I think over the last stretch of games, 10, 12 games, we’re playing as good of hockey as we’ve played all year. But it’s a tough league and points are hard to earn. We want to stay in the pennant race. We want to do that.”

With performances like Wednesday night from Demko, that pennant might not be as far of a pipe dream as those ominous pairwise rankings suggest. 

Swaby and McCaffrey to make strides in stars and stripes From Soccer, B8

GRAHAM BECK / SENIOR HEIGHTS STAFF

spectacular, is her ability to receive balls in one versus one situations,” Foley said.

“When you have something like that, you want to make sure that continues to be a strength.”

The talented forward scored six goals and led the Eagles with seven assists in her final season at Boston College, en route to earning All-ACC first team honors this past season for the second consecutive year.

After participating in the U-23 camp last spring, McCaffrey made the necessary personal leaps forward to prepare herself for a second go at the youth camp.

While her technical skills may have only needed fine-tuning, the effort to raise her fitness level was the last necessary step that gave her the edge and allowed her to move up to the full national team.

“She really focused on becoming a better athlete, and she’s as fit as she ever was after the last camp,” Foley said. “She took her work in strength and conditioning much more seriously.”

On top of all the national team news, McCaffrey is looking forward to starting a new chapter in her soccer career, as she

m. hockey

scoreboard

BC BU

4 2

M. basketball UVA BC

66 51

boston, ma 1/16

will graduate from BC this spring.

Last week, she was drafted fifth overall by the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL College Draft, and was subsequently traded to the Boston Breakers, where she will team up with former teammate Kristie Mewis. After training with the Breakers for the last two years, the move to her hometown team seemed inevitable.

“It’s so fun,” McCaffrey said. “I’m so excited to be playing in my hometown. The Breakers are a great organization, and I’m just so glad it worked out.”

Swaby joins McCaffrey and other teammates in the latest in a line of recent U.S. call-ups for BC women’s soccer.

Sophomore Hayley Dowd was called into the U-20 camp as a freshman last year, and most likely would have been back with the youth teams this year if not for an untimely injury at the end of the season.

Similarly, junior McKenzie Meehan’s hopes of building off an incredible display in the U-20 CONCACAF Championship were derailed by a preseason ACL tear.

BC’s best player from recent years is Mewis, a current USWNT player and Eagle from 2009-2012, which includes two

w. hockey

TUCH 2 G 1 A BC LANE 1 G UVM

chestnut hill, ma 1/17

4 0

W. BASKETBALL

BROGDON 20 PTS CUSE 64 46 HANLAN 18 PTS BC

years alongside McCaffrey.

“It’s great to come in and have your best friend here,” McCaffrey said of her former teammate. “She’s been so great in easing my transition and showing me different tricks in how to do better on and off the field, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have her here.”

With the spotlight now on Swaby and McCaffrey, the team that surrounds them has been influential in the development of both players.

“For the most part, the advice has been to not put too much stress on yourself, and be as relaxed as possible when you get there,” Swaby said.

“I have to give credit to my teammates at BC,” McCaffrey said. “The team and the coaches do a great job of making us better players. Being around such a great group of people definitely improved my game over the fall.”

For one player, it’s just the beginning of an exciting future—for the other, it’s the high point of a lengthy career in maroon and gold.

But for both Swaby and McCaffrey, there is a common goal: Make an impact in the red, white, and blue. 

BURLINGTON, VT 1/18

BURLINGTON, VT 1/17 W. HOCKEY CARPENTER 2 G 1 A DEPEW 32 SVS

BC UVM

2 0

chestnut hill, ma 1/18 M. HOCKEY FORD 15 PTS HUGHES 11 REBS

BC 2 MAINE 4

.

BURT 13 SVS, SHO LITCHFIELD 49 SVS

ORONO, ME 1/18 FITZGERALD 1 G ROMEO 34 SVS

GRAHAM BECK / SENIOR HEIGHTS STAFF

M. BASKETBALL

SYRACUSE, 1/20 Boston, MaNY 11/11

BC 61 CUSE 69

BROWN 21 PTS GBINIJE 18 PTS

M. HOCKEY

CHESTNUT HILL,MAMA11/09 1/21 Newton,

MERR 1 BC 2

HENNIG 1 G DEMKO 22 SVS

sports

b8

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Merrimack goes down in crucial Hockey East victory for BC

By Johnny Carey Heights Staff

Arthur Bailin / heights Editor

Alex Tuch waits patiently in front of the net, seeking a chance to score on Rasmus Tirronen.

On Wednesday night, the Boston College Eagles (14-8-2, 7-5-2 Hockey East) took down the No. 14 Merrimack Warriors (13-7-2, 4-5-1 Hockey East) 2-1 at Kelley Rink in a game, one which carries massive implications, according to the end-all-be-all of college hockey: the ever-so-powerful “pairwise rankings.”

These PWR rankings, published by United States College Hockey Online (USCHO), seek to imitate the selection process of the NCAA to choose 16 teams for the tournament. Although the PWR rankings aren’t used by the NCAA to make its decisions, the rankings are generally indicative of the tournament field.

Even after taking down the Warriors, the Eagles still fall outside the top-16. They are ranked 18th in PWR, just one point below Merrimack and Colgate, who are tied for 16th with 42 points. In order to secure a spot in the tournament, BC will need to surpass

both teams.

In a matchup featuring two of Hockey East’s best goaltenders, there wasn’t expected to be much in the way of offense.

Everyone on the Heights knows the credentials of sophomore goaltender Thatcher Demko, whose 2.19 goals against average and .923 save percentage have carried the Eagles through tough scoring droughts throughout this offensively inconsistent season.

On the other side of the ice, Merrimack senior Rasmus Tirronen, while lesser known to the population of Chestnut Hill, has been anything but a slouch between the pipes.

Sporting a 9-3-1 record with a 1.94 GAA and .930 save percentage entering Wednesday night’s showdown, Tirronen has been the heart and soul of his team, much like Demko.

Neither goaltender disappointed.

Coach Jerry York praised Demko’s 22 save performance. “I thought the key to our win was the play of our goaltender,” York said. “I thought he was outstanding. I thought he played a great

American Eagles

60 minutes.”

If you like offensive back-and-forth hockey and missed the first period, don’t lose any sleep over it.

Expectations were largely met in this initial segment: both goaltenders kept the scoreboard at zero, although neither faced many shots in the process.

By the end of the period, there were only 13 total shots recorded between the two teams: nine for BC and four for Merrimack.

In the second period, the Eagles turned up the pressure. Only 1:15 in, Adam Gilmour put the Eagles on the board, tapping in a Noah Hanifin shot from the point on what appeared to be a blown defensive coverage by Merrimack.

From that point on, the Eagles spent most of the period near the Merrimack net or in the neutral zone, rarely resulting in any quality chances for the Warriors.

BC’s forecheck showed up in a big way, keeping the team in position to

See Men’s hockey, B7

BC sports have no room for optimism Jack Stedman

Graham Beck / senior heights staff

Steph McCaffery and Allyson Swaby selected for USWNT camps

By Jack Stedman Assoc. Sports Editor Unbeknownst to Allyson Swaby, another present was waiting for her in her inbox on Christmas day.

It was not until two days later, however, that Swaby saw the surprise email from United States Soccer. The same email was waiting for Steph McCaffrey, as both players received an extra gift this holiday season: a call-up to U.S. Youth team camps.

Swaby, a freshman, was called up to the U-20 team, while McCaffrey, a senior, turned her call-up to the U-23 camp into an invitation to train with the full U.S Women’s National Team (USWNT).

“I was really excited, obviously nervous at the same time, when I got the news,” Swaby said.

“But, I mean, these are rare opportunities, so I am excited.”

The call-up comes as a very pleasant surprise for Swaby and her coach, Alison Foley. Knowing she had the talent to make it with the national teams, Foley originally laid out a timetable in which Swaby would get the call-up after next season, but a fantastic showing from the defender in ACC competition provided immediate rewards.

“For defenders especially, it’s a tough adjustment in the ACC because of the talented and experienced forwards, and she certainly held her own and matched up well,” Foley said in a phone interview.

“She really was a full year ahead than we thought she was going to be.”

For McCaffrey, the surprise came only recently.

Training with youth teams has been nothing new, as she had been called up to the U-23 camp last spring, but this time, the forward made the leap into the full national team camp after impressing in inter-squad scrimmages.

The U-23 and full USWNT camps were held simultaneously in the venue, so McCaffrey was able to show off her talents in front of the national team coaches. A day after youth camp ended, McCaffrey received the offer of a lifetime: to stay and train with the full team for the remainder of the camp.

“Everybody at this camp is so good, and I never really thought of myself as on their level, so I was so surprised, so honored, and so humbled to be called up,” McCaffrey said in a phone interview.

“It was awesome.”

Even as a freshman in high school, Swaby was always ready for the next level.

A starter on varsity from day one at Hall High School in West Hartford, Conn., Swaby competed physically with players two or three years older than her.

“She was ready to play from the first time she stepped on the high school soccer field,” Scott Ferguson, Allyson’s high school coach, said via phone interview. “And as she got older and faster, she was so much fun to watch.”

Raw athleticism defines the strong defender. Although her strongest talent was on defense, Swaby was called upon by Ferguson to play forward at times in high school when the team needed goals. Even there, she shined.

While able to play anywhere, she started working

out more seriously her junior year of high school as she started her fast track to the U.S. youth camp as one of the most physically gifted defenders out there.

“Her athleticism is second to none,” Foley said.

“In terms of pure athleticism, she may be the best our program has ever had.”

Starting all 18 games, Swaby made the all-ACC freshman team after a fantastic first season and, as a result, drew the attention of the youth national team coaches.

She is, however, of a much different mold than most of the current national team’s defenders. At all levels, most are converted forwards, so playing alongside these more technically skilled players will help the out-and-out defender more than anything.

The most interesting aspect of the U-20 camp, which will be held from Jan. 24-31, is the scrimmage against Bayern Munich. The German club boasts a number of players on the full German Women’s National Team, giving the U-20’s quality experience against top competition.

“It’s going to be interesting, because that’s a full age team,” Swaby said. “It will definitely be good experience to play against older and more mature players, and hopefully we’ll do well against them.”

Playing against older players will come as no surprise to Swaby though, as she looks to seamlessly transition into a new phase of her soccer career.

On the other side of the field, McCaffrey tortures defenses with an incredible ability to create individual scoring chances.

“What separates her, and what makes her so

See Soccer, B7

In August, I stepped into the world of Boston College Athletics with a helium balloon of optimism keeping me afloat. I’ve fallen a long way since. Nearly seven months of gradual deflation all came together in a single moment last Saturday in Conte, as I watched BC fans pack up and leave the game against the University of Virginia early to beat the rush.

I was late getting to the game, and entered to a surprising buzz from the crowd. I found a nice spot behind the media seats, and dove headfirst into the contest in front of me. BC came to play, and were neck and neck with the Cavaliers early in the contest. Game on.

For 35 minutes, I watched BC play arguably its best basketball of the entire season against the No. 2 ranked team in the nation. For 35 minutes, the crowd got behind every Patrick Heckmann finish, every defensive stop, and every Olivier Hanlan shake and bake. My balloon was nearing the rafters.

And then everything came crashing down around me, as it usually has this season. Why can’t BC finish games?

How can the team play its best game of the season and still lose by 14?

Three days later, I watched Aaron Brown start 3-of-3 from behind the arc as BC jumped out to a lead against Syracuse, only to fall behind a few minutes later, come back late in the second, and ultimately fall short.

These moments lead me to ask, “What more can I be optimistic about?”

On the hardwood, Heckmann flashes brilliance, but then fades into oblivion at times. Hanlan cannot do it all by himself. Brown and Dimitri Batten are streaky. Dennis Clifford and the big men can’t compete with the size and athleticism in the ACC. And Idy Diallo is lost for the season. Where does this bring the program? Where is the silver lining—the one thing that can patch up my broken seams?

Sure, the Eagles can get to 12 wins this season, but that’s still not good.

And now look at the future. Warning: It’s bleak. Brown and Batten will soon be gone, as well as seniors Heckmann and Eddie Odio. Hanlan will presumably enter into the NBA draft.

In searching for answers this season, I’ve found nothing but dead ends and trap doors. The bottom-line: BC is mediocre at basketball right now. I’m moving on, begrudgingly.

See Column, B6

i nside S PORTS this issue

Not In the Zone: Syracuse Topples BC in New York

Unable to reclaim last year’s magic, the Eagles fell to their bitter rivals, incapable of beating the stout Orange zone defense....................................B6

Scoreboard...........................................................................................................B7 Editors’ Picks.........................................................................................................B7