October 21, 2024
BC Included in List of Schools Sued
The lawsuit alleges that 40 colleges are wrongfully considering the financial information of students’ noncustodial parents.
By AnnikA EngElBrEcht Asst. News Editor
A lawsuit named Boston College as one of 40 private universities alleged of overcharging tuition by considering the financial information of students’ noncustodial parents.
Several other Massachusetts universities were included in the class action lawsuit, including Harvard University, Tufts University, Northeastern
University, and Boston University, as well as the College Board.
Maxwell Hansen, a Boston University student, and Eileen Chang, a Cornell University alumnus, filed the suit against the universities and the College Board on Oct. 7, alleging that the schools engaged in concerted action to consider financial information of noncustodial parents as a means to determine aid eligibility.
The College Board created the CSS Profile, a
method for private universities to calculate the amount of non-federal aid a student should receive based on their custodial and noncustodial parents’ finances. According to the suit, all of the university defendants require the CSS profile as a part of their application for aid.
A student must include their noncustodial parent’s financial information in their aid applications, even if the parent has no intention of helping to pay for college, the suit alleges.
“Students were told there were no exceptions to the requirement – even if a divorce court order was issued concerning college expenses,” the suit reads. “Formulas are then used to generate a financial aid offer. The student then ultimately receives an estimate for the family contribution based on what the two parents can contribute, regardless of whether both parents do actually contribute.”
See Lawsuit, A2
BC Dominates AIC 5–0
By MAriA StEfAnoudAkiS Asst. Sports Editor
Gabe Perreault smacked his stick down on the ice once, then twice, summoning Eamon Powell to pass him the puck.
Powell answered the call, and Perreault fired a one-timer that slid just between the legs of AIC goaltender Peyton Grainer, putting No. 2 Boston College men’s hockey up 2–0 with 4:40 remaining in the first period of the Eagles’ Friday night matchup.
“[Perreault] is probably 10 pounds up,” BC
‘More Than A Village’: Cina He’s First Solo
Art Exhibit
On Oct. 17, He's exhibition opened in Carney 203. The woodblocking exhibit is the result of He’s time in Guilin as the apprentice of sixth-generation artist Hu Bo.
BC to Triple Amount of AEDs on Campus
By ElizABEth MAhEr
For The Heights
In cases of cardiac emergency, the timely usage of an automated external defibrillator (AED) can make the difference between life and death.
At Boston College, the Office of Emergency Management and BC Emergency Medical Services (BCEMS) hope to improve these chances of survival by tripling the number of AEDs located on University-owned properties.
“We’ve had AEDs on campus for a number of years in specific buildings,” said John Tommaney, director of emergency management. “We wanted to bring it under one streamlined, standardized approach.”
AEDs will be installed in a two-phase rollout, Tommaney said. The first phase, scheduled to be completed by the end of this semester, will result in AEDs being installed in almost every major building on campus, including most academic buildings—many of which currently lack defibrillators.
“We’ve actually started the installation,” Tommaney said. “Out of the new ones, there’s about 45 new ones—close to 50 now—that we’ve rolled across campus. We have a little more than another 50 that’ll be going out over
the next couple of months.”
By the end of phase one, a total of 106 new AEDs will be installed in major buildings on campus.
The AEDs will be strategically located near entry points or areas of buildings, usually at eye level, according to Tommaney.
“Our goal is to make sure that they’re visible to people,” Tommaney said. “It’s not to go hunting for it.”
Phase two focuses on installing AEDs in residence halls and other areas, further increasing the number of AEDs on University-owned properties.
All AEDs installed under the initiative will be the newest available model, the Avive Connect AED.
Additionally, all current AEDs will be replaced with this model before being sent back to vendors through a buyback program, Tommaney said.
The Avive AED model was selected for its auditory and visual elements, as well as its ability to provide emergency responders with an instant cardiac rhythm, according to Tommaney.
head coach Greg Brown said. “His shot is heavier than it was last year, and he still has the ability to see things that not a lot of guys can see.”
After dropping the second of last weekend’s two-game series against No. 4 Michigan State, the Eagles’ home opener against AIC (0–3–1) was set up to be a much easier fight. So it didn’t seem like much of a surprise when the Eagles (2–1–0) shut out their opponent 5–0 to grab their first home win of the season in front of a packed Conte Forum.
See Home Opener, A10
‘La Siembra’ Documents Connection in Ecuador
ente community.
Filmmaking and human-centered engineering are an unlikely combination, but the two complement each other in La Siembra, an Eagle-produced documentary featuring an Indigenous community in Ecuador and a group of Boston College students working to create a way to conserve water for the dry season.
Cyrus Rosen, MCAS ’25, and John Mendizabal, BC ’23, both studied abroad in Ecuador during the summer of 2023. During the month they were there, their group spent 10 days engineering solutions to water constraints facing the San Clem -
The most critical component of their service, according to Rosen, was not the water-conservation invention they ultimately created but their conversations with Indigenous community members. In order to find a successful solution, they had to focus on listening first, Rosen said.
“I think the one word that was always emphasized by Glenn and the program and by ourselves was listening,” Rosen said. “It’s very easy to interject or jump to your own conclusions, but you really have to take a step back and listen—listen actively.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF CINA HE
CHRIS TICAS / HEIGHTS EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF CYRUS ROSEN
This Week’s Top 3 Events
1
Celebrate fall and Homecoming Week with games, raffles, performances, and free food.
Stop by the festivities hosted by the Campus Activities Board on Stokes Lawn from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday.
2 3
Learn about the role of religion in the reconstruction of post-war nations at two documentary screenings organized by the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. The event takes place on Thursday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Devlin 110.
Immerse yourself in performances by the newest members of BC’s 18 dance teams at Rookie Showcase. Attend the show Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. on the MAC courts in the Margot Connell Recreation Center.
BC Included in List of Schools Sued for Price Fixing
Lawsuit, from A1
According to the CSS Profile’s website, if a student does not have contact with their noncustodial parent, they can file a waiver, however, “each college will look at your waiver request and determine if they will waive this requirement.”
BC’s financial aid website states that the “refusal of [the] noncustodial parent to provide information or support does not constitute a waiver.”
In a statement to The Heights University Spokesman Jack Dunn said BC has not yet been served legal notice from the plaintiffs, but that the University intends to “vigorously defend against the claims in court.”
The lawsuit alleges that, starting in 2006, the College Board “made an intentional push to require schools to agree to the consideration of the income and assets of noncustodial parents when making financial aid determinations.”
“The effort was led and organized by individuals from the
University Defendants,” the lawsuit reads.
The CSS Profile was established under the College Board’s Financial Aid Standards and Services Advisory Committee. The lawsuit alleges several university defendant employees worked to develop the method alongside the College Board.
“The NCP Agreed Pricing Strategy was the product of a collective effort of University Defendants to agree on for the process for making financial aid determinations for students,” the suit reads.
As a result of considering noncustodial parents’ finances, these universities have “unlawfully caused the net price of education to increase,” according to the suit.
Compared to 10 private universities that do not consider noncustodial parents’ financial information, these 40 universities have tuition prices that are $6,200 more, the suit alleges.
“The average net price for the forty Defendant universities who use the NCP Agreed Pricing Strategy is approximately $6,200
more than for the ten non-NCP universities in the top 50 private universities – indicative of the anticompetitive effects from Defendants’ concerted activity,” the suit states.
When first adopted in 2006, the price to attend certain universities drastically increased
and their aid eligibility decreased, according to the lawsuit.
“For a significant minority of students (those from single-parent families), that change essentially at least doubled their available parental assets/income practically overnight,” the suit reads.
The suit alleges that these universities participate in the alleged scheme by attending College Board meetings, supervising and helping to develop College Board aid operations while also requiring noncustodial parents’ financial information to determine need-based financial aid. n
New Initiative to Triple Number of AEDs on Campus
“They're small, they're lightweight, they're not scary, right?” Tommaney said. “That's part of the reason we selected this particular model. We wanted to
be less obtrusive and less kind of intimidating for people to use the device.”
The Avive Connect AED is also easier to use for those who are not trained to operate defibrillators, according to Madison Carr, a
BCEMS member who works at the Office of Emergency Management.
“The company really pushed to make them very approachable for someone who has no idea what the device is,” Carr, MCAS ’25, said.
Tommaney, with the assistance of BCEMS members including Samantha Strasser, CSON ’25, proposed the initiative to BC administrators about a year ago.
“I did a lot of research on cardiac arrest instances on campus and helped John [Tommaney] mark that initial PowerPoint, which was shown to senior administration showing why this was important, why we need this,” Strasser said. “John and I started to place where AEDs should be on campus based on what other college campuses have done, because their programs, like MIT’s, are super, super successful.”
Now that the initiative is ongoing, the Office of Emergency Management and BCEMS are focusing on emergency preparedness and education among the BC community, according to BCEMS Director of Education Kate Serpe.
“We do a lot of different tabling events teaching people about these new AEDs, teaching people about hands-only
CPR as well,” Serpe, MCAS ’25, said. “We also offer American Heart Association CPR courses through BCEMS. We actually bring our new AEDs to all these classes so people can interact with them during the CPR course as well.”
Serpe said she encourages students to take part in these CPR classes, which are accessible via the Office of Emergency Management and BCEMS Instagram accounts. The BC Safe app also provides resources for students regarding safety and preparedness, including a map with AED locations on campus. This map will be updated as more AEDs are installed throughout phases one and two, Serpe said.
“Something like knowing where the nearest AED is could literally save someone’s life,” Strasser said. “When we think about being a man and woman for others and the impact we make on BC’s campus, what better way to do that than knowing how to save a life.” n
Winston Talks Impact of Religion, Media on Reagan Era
By AshnA PoTluri Heights Staff
The religious imaginary, a collective sense of what provides purpose for citizens, plays a large role in how Americans operate as a society—including who we choose to elect—according to Diane Winston, professor of journalism and communication at the University of Southern California.
“I want to focus on religious imaginary,” Winston said. “It’s a shared orientation that reflects a higher purpose, and it is enacted through everyday life—who we elect, where we put our money, how we raise our children, and more.”
Winston spoke at Boston College on Thursday at the sixth annual Wolfe Lecture on Religion and American Politics. Winston discussed former President Ronald Reagan’s impact on American history and its effects today, particularly regarding former President Donald Trump’s rise in politics.
Reagan was raised in the Church and was deeply faithful, according to Winston. However, Reagan’s religious beliefs changed over time, especially during his presidency.
“Reagan was a man of faith,” Winston said. “He admired Christian books about faith, and many of his
childhood friends expected him to go into the ministry. Like many of us, his faith changed over time, and it wasn’t in his later years, especially in the White House, bound to an institution.”
Reagan did seek and receive endorsements from conservative Christians during his campaigns and elections through his openness about his faith, but he did not publicize his faith purely for transactional purposes.
“During these years in the White House, many reporters questioned whether he was a Christian and claimed that his religiosity was a pretext—the way to win Christian votes,” Winston said. “Now it’s true, Reagan sought and received endorsements from conservative Christians, but it was not simply a transactional relationship. He was a believer, and many, if not most, of his policies were expressions of his faith.”
During his election in 1980, Reagan rearranged the then-dominant American religious imaginary to fit his vision that was informed by his Christian beliefs, his belief in American exceptionalism, and his notion of a biblical city on a hill.
“Reagan also used the media to shift the narrative, to shift the imaginary, to tell a different story,” Winston said. “It was also a shift in perspective
in which the news media played a significant role. I argue that newspapers normalized Reagan’s religious imaginary when they circulated speeches, press conferences, and interviews, and normalized ideas through repetition and professional choices.”
Winston went on to explain the “epidemic” of social media and how it has transformed the media into a place where loneliness and extreme marketing are exacerbated.
“Trump is a creature of the markets, an embodiment of individual freedom to its extreme, and today’s
news and media has helped normalize his words and ideas,” Winston said. “Statements and behaviors that were once deemed deviant and malicious have become commonplace.”
Winston then brought up an example of how the media still impacts the narrative used by politicians. She quoted an article written by Lucian Truscott, which stated that even The New York Times is normalizing Trump’s words by writing off Trump’s phrases that were directly said by Adolf Hitler.
“Donald Trump, in speaking
about the issue of immigration has inserted eugenics and his belief in the superiority of the white race into the campaign,” Winston quoted from the article.
Winston ended the lecture by discussing the current state of democracy and how it relates to Reagan.
“Reagan was, I believe, a decent person who believed in democracy and thought he was acting in the best interest of this country,” Winston said. “And the irony is, I don’t think Reagan would have been at all happy with this ending.” n
BEN SCHULTZ / HEIGHTS ARCHIVES
The class action lawsuit was filed against BC, 39 other private universities, and the College Board on Oct. 7.
MATTHEW DE FAZIO / HEIGHTS STAFF The Office of Emergency Management and BCEMS began rolling out the new AED initiative at the beginning of the semester.
AEDs, from A1
Torn-Down Newton Homes Typically Replaced by Larger Homes, Says Zoning Committee
B y N ikita O sadchiy
For The Heights
A study showed that most Newton houses that are torn down are replaced with larger ones, a development that councilors on Newton’s Zoning and Planning (ZAP) Committee said on Monday is harmful to the city’s goals of making housing more affordable.
“What we want is to incentivize them to not build these big houses—maybe build smaller houses, maybe more of them,” said Ward 3 Councilor-at-Large Pam Wright.
The study revealed that in home sales between 2017 and 2022, the primary motivation for demolishing older homes was to increase livable square footage. In many cases, smaller single family homes were replaced with significantly larger ones.
“The demolished homes, generally speaking, tend to be smaller,” said Loren Rapport, associate at Utile, a Boston architecture company. “They’re on larger lots and generally built post World War II. The teardowns tend to happen for every 10 percent of home sales.”
According to a presentation by several ZAP councilors, these redevelopments fail to support
Newton’s objectives of increasing housing density, reducing usable open space, creating “out-of-place” homes that do not fit the character of the neighborhood, and driving up prices for single family homes.
Teardown and redevelopment activity plays a big role in Newton’s fiscal health. Residential property taxes are the city’s largest funding source, with 83 percent of all revenue coming from property taxes, according to the Newton Fiscal Year 2025 budget.
Jennifer Caira, deputy director of the Newton Planning Department, emphasized the importance of continued residential growth to sustain essential city services.
“Property taxes comprise a majority of Newton’s annual revenue, and because of this, as well as legal limits on taxing, new residential growth is a significant portion of the annual revenue increases necessary to maintain services,” Caira said.
Recent changes to city ordinances, however, have made it less attractive for developers to pursue projects in Newton, which could threaten the city’s annual revenue.
“Builders are getting more selective about the sites that they’re willing to engage with,” said Jon Trementozzi, co-founder of Land-
wise, a planning and real estate development advisory firm. ”Some of them, not all of them, but some of them have mentioned that adjacent communities are [becoming] slightly more attractive now, and so they’re probably going to be pursuing more building there.“
To address the problem of demolishing small homes, the committee proposed three potential solutions.
The first involves introducing new lot standards for cases where an existing single-family home is torn down and replaced with a home that is 30 percent larger or more.
The second proposal calls for adjusting the floor area ratio,
which measures a building’s floor area relative to the lot size using a sliding scale. This adjustment would reduce the allowable floor-area ratio for larger lots, helping to preserve more open space on the property.
The third option is to establish a large house review process to mitigate the impact of new builds or additions that exceed established spatial thresholds for a residential area. A large house review would involve an administrative or binding review process for projects that surpass specific limits in the area where the construction is proposed.
“There are different ways and mechanisms to get into the process, and it can be advisory or binding, you know, you have those choices,”
said Rena Getz Escudero, Ward 5 councilor-at-large. “But it looks specifically at criteria and standards that consider the preservation of the existing landscape, the scale of the proposed buildings, lighting, open space, drainage, and the actual traffic circulation to and on the site.”
The committee generally agreed that a large house review, combined with further control ordinances, could help achieve Newton’s housing goals.
“I’d love the large house review,” said Rick Lipof, Ward 8 councilor-at-large. “I hope it’s not hard to get done. Let’s get it right so we have the character of our neighborhoods maintained by homes fitting within the streetscape.” n
Rules Subcommittee Discusses Code of Conduct
B y E lla s ONg Newton Editor
The City Council Rules Subcommittee discussed the creation of a code of conduct at its meeting on Thursday.
According to Ward 5 Councilor Bill Humphrey, the council needs to have clearer behavioral guidelines, especially due to the absence of a human resources department for councilors.
“I definitely feel there has been in the time that I’ve been here that I have seen and witnessed and heard inappropriate remarks and inappropriate conduct, and it is, in a sense, a workplace, and people should not be subjected to that in the workplace.” Humphrey said. Ward 4 Councilor-at-Large Josh Krintzman agreed that the subcommittee should discuss a potential code of conduct, but also noted the difficulties of enforcing such a code.
Krintzman said. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a code of conduct and there shouldn’t be other things that we could do. You know, you can lose committee assignments, you can lose different privileges … I’m more than happy to have that discussion.”
“I don’t think I would vote in favor of a code of conduct for which a remedy was expelling a member,”
This comes after the whole city council discussed implementing a code of conduct following a harassment incident involving Ward 8 Councilor-at-Large Rick Lipof last term.
The subcommittee also discussed ways to make city government meetings more understandable for the public.
“I think that to the extent that the web page for the City Council and other documents can maybe have a link, [which can say], ‘If you want to know how this works, just click here and we’ll take you there,’” Baker said.
Moving forward, Ward 1 Councilor-at-Large John Oliver said he hopes the subcommittee will have completed its proposed rules by next September, so that the full City Council can vote on them then.
“The goal is to be able to report out by end of calendar year to the full City Council the items that we are considering and any items that we will have completed if there are any,” Oliver said. n
“As a member of the public, you should be able to go to a meeting and understand what’s happening and not be confused by, you know, first call, second call, stuff like that, or what’s coming up tonight versus next time,” Humphrey said. Ward 7 Councilor Lisle Baker said he believes this initiative wouldn’t require a new City Council rule.
Finance Committee Approves Bike Share Grant
By laNEy McadEN
Asst. Newton Editor
Newton’s Finance Committee met Tuesday to discuss a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) concerning Bluebikes bike share operations.
Requested for authorization by Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, the grant totaled $217,800 from MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program and would bolster the bike program across the city.
The Finance Committee approved the grant unanimously with a 6–0 vote.
Bluebikes is Metro Boston’s public bike share program. It is comprised of more than 3,000 bikes, with over 400 stations across the city and the surrounding suburban communities, according to the website.
Jenn Martin, director of transportation planning for Newton, joined the committee meeting to discuss the grant.
Martin said this is the fourth
grant the city has received to support the bike share program.
“We have fully completed the first three projects,” said Martin. “We currently have 194 Bluebikes spread across 15 stations, and we have approximately 9,000 rides a year.”
The grant in question will fulfill bike share operations in Newton for the next two years, according to Martin.
“Most of our stations operate seasonally, April through November,” said Martin. “The Boston College station is the most popular and is open year-round.”
Ward 2 Councillor David Micley asked for further explanation on what the demand is expected to look like.
“I love to see more biking activity going on around the city,” said Micley, “But I’m wondering about projected demand for use of the new stations and grades of maintenance.”
Martin clarified that the grant will be used for the current 15 stations that exist across the city, but not for the creation of new stations.
“One thing that we’re starting to see as Boston and other municipalities introduced e-bikes is that we have riders that are coming from much further away into Newton,” said Martin.
She explained that since Newton obtained electric bike options, more people have taken the opportunity to bike both within the city, as well as into Newton as a destination.
“It could be Newton residents that are trying out e-bikes, or that this is just another option to be able to go a lot further,” Martin said. “But
at some of our [MBTA] stations, we’re seeing that over half the trips [there] are via bike.”
Martin said she expects to see continued growth in e-bike use in Newton.
“I do think that we’ll continue to see ridership increase and the distance and duration of trips increase as more electric bikes are introduced into the system,” Martin said. Micley raised potential concerns about how the bikes are used on multi-use pathways across Newton.
Residents who use these paths, which are maintained by the state instead of the city, have lodged complaints about the electric bike riders using the pathways without consideration for others, explained Micley.
“I have heard some issues of e-bikes going too fast and not respecting pedestrians,” Micley said. “Something to keep in mind, if we do start to see more e-bike usage, would be ways to make sure that e-bikers are mindful of other users of bike paths.” n
STEVE MOONEY / HEIGHTS ARCHIVES
The Rules Subcommittee aims to have finalized a list of proposed rule changes by September 2025.
IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS ARCHIVES Martin anticipates the demand for e-bikes growing alongside the increase in bike availability.
M AGAZINE
Seigenthaler Pierce's Role as Honorary Consul
B
For The Heights
On St. Patrick's Day 1994, Amy Seigenthaler Pierce received a phone call that changed the trajectory of her life.
It was from her uncle, who had worked for John F. Kennedy’s White House administration, calling to tell Seigenthaler Pierce, BC ’88, that Jean Kennedy Smith, U.S. ambassador to Ireland at the time, was looking for an assistant—someone who could write, handle the press, and work alongside her. Seigenthaler Pierce seemed like the perfect candidate. He asked if she would be interested in interviewing.
Seigenthaler Pierce flew to Washington, D.C., to meet with Ambassador Smith the next day, and just a few months later, on July 4, 1994, she touched down in Dublin as special assistant to the United States ambassador.
Though it has been 25 years since Seigenthaler Pierce served as special assistant to the U.S. ambassador, her life and career are still intertwined with Ireland and the Irish people.
That connection was solidified in March 2024, when Seigenthaler Pierce was named the first Honorary Consul of Ireland in the state of Tennessee.
“I represented America there,” Seigenthaler Pierce said. “And that became my home. And now I'm representing Ireland here in my first home. It's magical. I mean, it feels like it was a gift.”
As honorary consul, an unpaid position, Seigenthaler Pierce works to represent the Irish government, support Irish citizens, and promote business and cultural ties between Ireland and Tennessee.
“It's supporting [Irish] citizens who are here,” Seigenthaler Pierce said. “However, I can also support Irish businesses that are here, Irish business people. So it’s representing the Irish government and looking for new opportunities to bring people together.”
A native of Nashville, Tenn., and a member of a family strongly connected to their Irish heritage, Seignethaler Pierce studied English at Boston College.
After graduating, Seigenthaler Pierce worked as a crime and politics re-
porter at the Dedham Daily Transcript and the Salem Evening News.
I come from a family that's very involved in politics and current events and journalism,” Seignethaler Pierce said. “So it wasn't a surprise that I followed that path into journalism, and I loved it.”
After about six years working as a journalist in Boston, Seigenthaler Pierce decided to return to Nashville to work at her father’s public relations firm, Seigenthaler Public Relations. During this period, she was offered the opportunity to serve as special assistant to Smith, a role she held from 1994 to 1999.
Seigenthaler Pierce arrived during an important period in Irish history.
In August 1994, the Irish Republican Army, an Irish paramilitary group fighting against British rule in Northern Ireland, declared a ceasefire. In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was signed, ending a decades-long period of violence across the island.
“What rose from that was this period—this sort of amazing period of which is still held—of peace and also prosperity,” Seigenthaler Pierce said. “It was called the Celtic Tiger … all of a sudden the world is focused on Ireland.”
Seigenthaler Pierce returned to the United States in 1999 and began working for Rasky Partners, a Boston and D.C.–based public relations in Boston and D.C., where she reconnected with an old BC classmate, Tim Pierce, BC ’88.
The two married in 2001.
In 2005, the couple moved to Nashville so Seigenthaler Pierce could rejoin her father’s firm following his death. For ten years, Seigenthaler Pierce served as president until the company was acquired by FINN Partners, where she now works as a managing partner.
“That’s been my career, public relations,” Seigenthaler Pierce said. “I do political work. I do a lot of crisis work … But then I also really cut my teeth on crisis overseas, in the peace process.”
In 2023, Seigenthaler Pierce heard that the Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta, a branch of the Embassy of Ireland in D.C., was looking to establish an honorary consul in Nashville, Tenn. She applied and was appointed in March 2024.
“It was a competitive process, and there were a lot of great people who were up for it,” Seigenthaler Pierce said. “I think that my sort of mix of, my sort of being really embedded in Nashville and Tennessee, as well as having this experience already in diplomatic service, was attractive to the Irish government consulate.”
Deana Ivey, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp, said Seigenthaler Pierce’s experience and personality made her a great fit for the role.
“She is an outstanding communicator,” she said. “She's a great connector of people. She understands the cultures of both Tennessee and Ireland, and she understands what makes for a great synergy between the two. She loves both of the communities equally.”
Since her appointment in March, Seigenthaler Pierce has connected with Irish leaders and immersed herself in Nashville’s Irish community.
“I’ve spent really the first six months getting to know Irish businesses here, Irish people here, and hearing what they’re already doing,” Seigenthaler Pierce said. “And a lot of people have been working for a lot of years in this area and have a lot more knowledge than I do. And so going out, I'm meeting with people every week who are connected to the Irish community to
really get a sense of what they're doing and what they need.”
One of the Irish leaders Seigenthaler Pierce works closely with is Conor Doolan, a co-founder and current president of the Irish Network Nashville.
Doolan said Seigenthaler Pierce has already been very successful in her role.
“She’s got a very welcoming personality,” Doolan said. “She’s very enthusiastic about the role. She’s been very helpful with me and guiding and advising me with how to move forward with growing the parade and things like that.”
Doolan also said the presence of an honorary consul will positively impact the Irish and Irish-American community in the area.
“It's important because—especially in the Southeast and particularly in Tennessee—there seems to be somewhat of an amnesia when it comes to Irish history, and the presence of Irish people in the state seems to be somewhat forgotten,” Doolan said. “It’s a big statement from the Irish government to have someone appointed [as honorary consul in Tennessee] for the first time ever.”
Seigenthaler Pierce also works with the city of Nashville to promote connections between the city, the state of Tennessee, and Ireland.
“What she’s doing in her consulate
role actually affects tourism and is really good for tourism,” Ivey said.
One of the projects surrounding tourism that Seigenthaler Pierce spearheaded is a new, nonstop flight on Aer Lingus between Dublin and Nashville, beginning in April 2025.
“[The flight] is great for tourism because we can bring more visitors in,” Ivey said. “She’s been instrumental in helping us get this flight and then also in bringing the minister for tourism from Ireland to Nashville so we could meet and make that connection and collaborate together.”
Moving forward, Seigenthaler Pierce hopes to continue strengthening ties between Ireland and Nashville culturally, professionally, and beyond. As someone from an Irish-American family who grew up in Nashville and had the opportunity to live and work in Ireland, Seigenthaler Pierce said she feels grateful and excited for her future as Ireland’s first honorary consul in Tennessee.
“Do you believe in just chance, or does it happen for a reason?” Seigenthaler Pierce said. “I don't know, but I'm not going to question it. I really feel Ireland has given me so much, and Nashville and Tennessee have given me so much. To be able to give back to both through this role is, as I said, a gift. And I feel so honored to be of service.” n
What Your Mod Yard Furniture Says About You
B y S ofia L a B oy Outreach and DEI Coordinator
Congratulations, you did it!
You’ve climbed to the pinnacle of the housing pyramid by snagging a highly sought-after mod. As seniors, getting a mod feels like winning the lottery—if the prize included a charmingly outdated, two-story prefab from the 1970s and a grill that’s seen better days.
After just a month in my mod, I can confidently say this experience is a game-changer. The best part?
The backyard space serves as your personal oasis to decorate however you’d like.
Life in these modular homes feels like existing in a fishbowl—everyone can see you, and you can see everyone. With 76 six-person mods, every outdoor space tells a different story.
Your mod is a testament to your senior journey, so embrace the freedom to turn your backyard into the ultimate reflection of who you are!
Wicker Furniture Set
Okay, I need to know—how did you, a 21-year-old college kid, manage to pay for and transport what looks like a Restoration Hardware wicker furniture set? You’re clearly boujee. Your ultimate goal is marrying a Kennedy cousin, summering in the Vineyard, and being buried in head-to-toe Aritzia.
Let’s be honest, you would’ve jumped at the chance to attend the University of Miami if it was ranked a little higher. And yes, it stings a little that you can’t immerse yourself in the sorority life you always dreamed of.
Yet here you are, crafting an Instagram-worthy space that masks the jealousy you feel when Bama Rush Tok is in full swing.
Your decor screams high-class, but behind those curated throw pillows lies the disarray of your daily life. You’re a walking contradiction: part glam goddess, part whirlwind diva. You’re the prototype of a Boston College girl, embracing the beautiful
messiness of being young, stylish, aspirational, and a tad bit lost.
Flag
Flag fellas, you’re a self-proclaimed “social liberal, fiscal conservative,” never affiliating with a party because you see yourself as one of the last true free thinkers. And let’s be real—you’re definitely a man because no self-respecting woman would wave a five-by-eight BC or Delbarton flag aside her mod. You take pride in starting the USA chant at every sports event, and let’s not forget your momma’s boy status: bringing home an extra suitcase full of dirty laundry for your mom to wash. After all, you insist it’s cheaper than doing it in Walsh Hall.
Adirondack Chairs and Cornhole
Boards
You embody the All-American spirit, desperately yearning for that classic college experience. When Bryan Adams’ "Summer of ’69" echoes through your speakers, you dream of a simpler time, long before TikTok and Lululemon came onto the scene.
You live for football season and proudly sported that aggressively yellow Superfan shirt to the first tailgate, championing the revival of cherished traditions.
You’re also the type who mastered grilling long before moving into the mods—no YouTube tutorials or FaceTime help from dad needed.
Nothing
You’re either an RA, stuck mediating roommate disputes while pretending to care about “community building,” or a senior who got a lucky pick time and felt pressured to choose a mod even though you’d rather live in 2150, where direct roommates don’t share a desk and closet. You’ll never be the type to claim college was the best four years of your life.
With college expenses already so high, why spend more when you can make do with the provided picnic table and grill?
Hammock
Hammock enthusiasts are automatically cool. You’re a good time and take advantage of the elite outdoor hang-out spot. Standing hammock owners, you secretly envy that fancy wicker set, but you’re a kid on a budget, seeking outdoor comfort without sacrificing your liver for it. Ultimately, it worked out—you’d rather be the hammock mod than join the wicker cult. You’re a social chameleon, shifting from wild social butterfly to cozy hermit crab. You love chaotically piling three friends into your hammock on game days as much as swaying peacefully with your morning coffee on a quiet Tuesday. You balance the chaos and the chill. Is your hammock tied to a tree? You’re next-level cool. You probably walk outside barefoot, did an Outward Bound expedition in high school, and are an Arrupe leader at
BC. Nothing phases you. Cooler Cooler kids, you’re the life of the party, proclaiming “It’s not a problem until you graduate.” Mod life is a blast when your main contribution is a cooler filled with Keystone Lights and a playlist that peaked in high school. Real talk, I’ve seen you sneak out for a cigarette on weekday mornings, sitting at your picnic table with a red solo cup of coffee and your accounting notes.
But seriously, everyone gravitates toward your tailgate spot and secretly jams out to your aux. A true giver, you personify the “men and women for others” spirit by generously distributing cans of your favorite bottom-shelf beer. Cheers to you for keeping the good times rolling—may your ice stay frozen and your hangovers be mild!
Inflatable Pool
I see you over at country club 20A, living your best life by the pool. Pool kids are a unique breed, aren’t they? You probably reminisce about the saltwater oasis in your parents’ backyard or at the pristine country club back home.
You have a job at Blackstone Inc. lined up for next year while grumbling that BC should consider investing in some Blackstone barbecues for the mods.
But even if the grill situation isn’t ideal, you’re still the ultimate chiller, soaking up the sun and making the most out of every splash-filled moment. n
In March 2024, Amy Seigenthaler Pierce was named the first Honorary Consul of Ireland in Tennessee. GRAPHIC BY
PHOTO COURTESY OF AMY
Five Tips for Navigating the BC Transfer Experience
By Kaylee Dunleavy For The Heights
Congrats! You’ve been accepted to Boston College as a transfer student. Now that the dust has settled, you may be left wondering what to expect as a brand-new Eagle. I am sure you’re looking for answers to the big questions: “How do I connect with my new school?” “How do I make friends when everyone has known each other for at least a year?” “Did I make the right choice?”
Everyone’s situation is unique, and there may not be one answer that fits all. As a transfer student myself, however, I present five tips that hopefully will help you navigate your first year at a brand new school.
Live in Tandem, Get a Roommate
While sharing close quarters may be intimidating, the dorm-influenced proximity creates the closest of friendships. If screened cautiously, your roommate may become one of your dearest friends and a center for support as you face social and academic challenges. Starting with one friend makes branching out to meet new people a world easier.
Even if you and your roommate are not the best buds, having one person to say hi to or eat with will make your transition period much
smoother. No matter what living situation you had at your last school, finding yourself a dorm-room pal or two is essential.
Don’t Overextend
In both classes and clubs, it is of the utmost importance not to overextend yourself. Though it’s reasonable to believe that the best way to meet new people or achieve academic success is by taking on an intense workload, that’s not actually the case.
BC may be extremely different from what you are used to at your last institution—classes may be more demanding or graded differently than expected. You may find yourself studying more to do well or going out more to make new connections.
No matter which way you sway, signing on for too much will be a hindrance to the main goal—integrating into BC. Instead, take an average amount of credits and find one, maybe two, extracurriculars that you really enjoy and look forward to participating in. Not trying to overachieve and having a bit more free time will prove more fruitful than an overloaded schedule.
No Skip Days: Go To Class No matter how tempting it is to
skip, you should always go to class when you can. Making friends hinges on meeting new people, which is much easier to do by attending all of your lectures.
Your BC courses may also be completely different from the lectures and seminars at your last school. Even if you attended a competitive school, the format changes alone could cause some strife.
For at least the first semester, it is crucial to go to all classes, prioritize academics, and begin to feel at home in BC’s academic environment.
Say “Yes”
For new students everywhere, the best rule of thumb is to say “Yes” to everything you can! While it is super important to find time for yourself, you should also branch out and try something new. Go on a date, go to a show, meet up with your friends in the city, or try a new restaurant. What you do is not important—it’s the effort that counts! It may seem like basic advice, but it’s true: “Yes” is the key to adventures!
Comparisons Kill I know it’s difficult not to compare
where you are now to where you were a year ago, but doing so will mar your experience. Remember that you transferred for a reason, and you got into BC for a reason! Even if it takes time, you will see that you did, in fact, make the right decision. You will find your spot on the Heights, so just keep putting yourself out there and know that you will make it through the inevitable growing pains.
I hope this list will help you find your way through your first year in Chestnut Hill. I promise you’ll love it here. n
‘La Siembra’ Captures Connection and Service
Without intentional conversations with the San Clemente community, Rosen said he and Mendizabal’s work wouldn’t have been impactful.
“Sometimes it’s just facilitating a conversation and also making sure that the trade-offs of what you’re doing don’t outweigh the positive impact of what you’re doing,” Rosen said. “Sometimes it can be more damaging to do something than not to do something at all.”
Rosen said the Indigenous community welcomed the BC students’ efforts to engineer a solution for them, and the BC students endeavored to not disappoint. With a limited amount of time and resources, Rosen helped build a gray water filtration system for his host mother, Susana Pupiales, to recycle water for her garden.
“The project, the pilot system that we implemented, was actually in my host mother, Susana’s, backyard, and it was a gray water filtration irrigation that is more water efficient,” Rosen said. “And so that enabled her, for the first time, to be able to grow a small plot of vegetables during the seasonal dry season, where before they would be able to grow no fresh vegetables at all.”
To further alleviate the tight water constraints the community was operating under, Will Purnell, a fellow member of the trip and MCAS ’25, helped build a fog net to collect morning dew and store it as a water supply for the locals.
Though the group created tangible projects addressing water con-
cerns, Rosen said that he wanted his impact to be larger than the things they created.
“More than anything that we actually built in our time there … I’d like to think at least that the impact that we made was just about the interpersonal connections we made with the community,” Rosen said.
Prior to the study abroad trip, Rosen was given the opportunity to apply for the Salmanowitz Progam, a BC grant that gives students funding to create films abroad. While talking to his mom about these two opportunities, Rosen said she brought up the idea of combining the projects.
“I was like, ‘How do I do both?’” Rosen said. “And then she’s like, ‘What if you combine these two projects and make a film about your engineering project?’ And I was like, ‘You’re so right.’”
Originally co-workers at The Hatchery, Rosen and Mendizabal decided to work on the documentary together. With a mother from Ecuador, Mendizabal said his ties to the country run much further than the month-long trip with BC that inspired the project.
“I think our work ethic on this project kind of inspired each other, because at the time I remember telling him once— this is the most meaningful and inspiring work that I’m doing, right now,” Mendizabal said. “This film—it’s about my family. It’s about my mom’s country. It’s about this really wonderful group of people that are working together to solve this problem and their story needs to be told.” Rosen and Mendizabal said the
ultimate goal of producing La Siembra was to share the story of the San Clemente community they had come to love during their time abroad. One scene from the documentary shows the group riding in a car, struggling with the idea of how to leave the community in a better state than when they arrived.
“There’s a couple scenes where we’re essentially debating this question about whether it is okay to build something that we think may benefit the community, but in the long term, maybe just won’t work in a couple
months, or it was just a bad solution to begin with,” Purnell said. “I don’t know if that’s actually something we solved.”
After leaving Ecuador, Rosen and Menizabal finalized the documentary together. Though he never expected to produce a project like this, Mendizabal said La Siembra’s importance to him cannot be understated.
“I’m super stoked with the final edit of the film,” said Mendizabal. “I never thought that I’d be teaching or doing anything related to videography, but it’s fun and funny how life introduces passions to you at random points.”
Rosen also said that the San Clemente community was excited to have their story reach a larger audience.
“I think they were very excited about the prospect of their community and their story getting told outside of their very small kind of circle of influence, to have eyes on what their values are and what they’re trying to accomplish—over in America and hopefully in the future spread around Ecuador as well—is actually exciting to them,” Rosen said.
Purnell said Rosen’s commitment to creating a realistic film without imposing a narrative makes the film particularly vivid and memorable
“There’s a scene where we fall into, like, a ditch because we had to cross a ravine every day,” Purnell said. “[The documentary] wasn’t kinda trying to make up any story that wasn’t there. It was just trying to represent our experience as a whole.”
Though most of the group was not able to speak conversational Spanish with the San Clemente community, Rosen said they nonetheless were able to build lasting connections.
“I actually wasn’t expecting how much we would end up connecting with the Indigenous families we stayed with,” Rosen said. “I’m still in touch with them over WhatsApp.”
Upon completing La Siembra, Rosen said many of his favorite moments were not filmed and would never get shared, which he initially found frustrating. But eventually, Rosen said he realized that filmmaking is about more than the files on his SD card.
“The most special moments of connection can only happen off camera,” Rosen said. “So that was an interesting, just like personal lesson for me as a filmmaker going forward as well, that sometimes you gotta let go of trying to get everything and just as important as what you do capture is also like the actual, genuine connections you’re making with the people who are in your film.” n
‘La Siembra’ shares the story of the San Clemente community in Ecuador and BC students service there.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CYRUS ROSEN
GRAPHIC BY PARKER LEAF / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Documentary, from A1
Rosen said that the San Clemente community was excited to have their story reach a larger audience.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CYRUS ROSEN
OPINIONS
Connor Kilgallon Opinions Editor
“Everything that can be eaten crispy is better crispy.”
Addie Kinnaly Copy Editor
“Once you put food in the fridge, it becomes a new food and shouldn’t ever be reheated.”
Aidan Gravina Copy Editor
“Peppermint Mocha should be served year round.”
Associate Photo Editor
“The sun setting earlier is the worst thing about Winter.”
Makayla Hickey
Associate Opinions Editor
“Bikers who ride in car lanes are infuriating and dangerous.”
Emily Roberge
Associate Sports Editor
“People need to stop screaming into their phones in public.”
The
and commentaries of
Washington Must Protect the US Dollar
As the dust settled from the Second World War, Washington emerged as the leading power in the collapsed world order. President Harry Truman recognized this chaos as an opportunity for the United States to act swiftly and assert the country’s dominance worldwide.
The Bretton Woods Agreement, which followed the Allies’ victory over the Nazis, established new international monetary systems, placing the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
Through the initiatives that stemmed from this agreement, the United States positioned itself as a hegemonic power, setting the stage for Washington’s unipolar moment.
The Cold War became the stepping stone for the U.S. to achieve its goal of becoming the world’s leading power, as it successfully deployed George Kennan’s strategy of containment to defeat the Soviets, a policy that should be endorsed today to protect the U.S. dollar. The glow of this unipolar moment is beginning to dull as new rising powers have emerged as challengers to the neoliberal world order.
Among these, China and Russia have become the most prominent nations confronting the U.S. position in the new status quo. Their growing coalition directly threatens the U.S. dollar’s status as
the world’s reserve currency.
BRICS, a coalition of nations that came together in 2006, seeks to leverage global resources in a manner that contrasts with the U.S.-dominated order. Among the group’s key objectives is a macroeconomic policy aimed at creating a new currency for the grouped countries, intended to facilitate economic transactions to deter U.S. interference.
BRICS, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has since expanded, with countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia joining in recent years. This expanded group now accounts for 35.6 percent of global GDP.
As highlighted by Alexander Gabuev and Oliver Stuenkel in their Foreign Affairs report, over 40 other nations have expressed interest in joining BRICS, making it a viable alternative to organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank—both of which were created by the U.S. during its unipolar moment.
It is important to note that approximately 90 percent of all currency trading is conducted using the U.S. dollar, which enables Washington to easily extend and receive foreign loans. Additionally, the White House can deploy effective sanctions against adversaries because it is likely that millions of U.S. dollars are woven into these states’ economies. Signs of de-dollarization are already apparent, but with global oil trading conducted in U.S. dollars reportedly dropping by 20 percent according to a 2023 report.
The New Development Bank, a financial institution set up by BRICS nations, was established to allow member states to support each other financially, creating a rival to the IMF and World Bank. Although a new currency has not yet been released, Russia and Iran have argued that its implementation could shield countries
from the crippling effects of sanctions. This is a critical economic weapon that has been effective in containing states like Iran and Russia.
For example, during Donald Trump’s presidency, the sanction packages imposed on Iran were instrumental in curbing the country’s actions after the collapse of the nuclear deal. Similarly, U.S. sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have severely damaged Russia’s domestic economy, leaving longterm recovery uncertain.
These sanctions would not have been as impactful without the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency. President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that one of his primary geopolitical goals is to undermine the U.S. dollar’s hegemony, which illustrates how vital U.S. sanctions are in curbing Kremlin ambitions.
Maintaining sanction power is crucial for containing the influence and capabilities of authoritarian regimes. While the BRICS currency initiative is still in its preliminary stages, with no specific release date and little detail about its structure, Washington must develop a strategy to contain this potential threat. Doing so is essential for countering the efforts of China, Russia, and Iran, all of whom are engaged in various forms of confrontation with the United States— whether through military actions in the South China Sea, the war in Ukraine, or Iran’s support for militant groups like Hamas.
In this geopolitical chess game, Washington must safeguard one of its most valuable assets—the U.S. dollar—from this emerging tactic, which its adversaries are deploying to diminish its global leadership.
Garcia is a columnist for The Heights. He can be
“What are your hobbies?”
For pretty much my entire life, my answer to the classic icebreaker has been reading. It’s been one of my only reliable means of relaxation for as long as I can remember—the collection of books spilling off my shelves can attest as much. The benefits of reading for fun, even occasionally, should be enough to get any college kid’s attention. It is scientifically linked to academic success, it can help ease your mind, improve time management, and even teach you empathy. Reading is quite literally good for your health.
To say that I am a proponent of reading would be an understatement, and I am certainly not the only one. Gen Z is turning toward reading more than ever
before, cracking open physical copies of books at booming rates. But this turn reading revival has a gender bias.
For years now, men have been reading less than women, especially when it comes to fiction.
Some strong arguments point to the fact that reading is not often encouraged among young boys to the same degree that it is with young girls. There are a plethora of young adult books with girls as their target audience but far fewer for boys.
Young men are also encouraged to focus on hobbies that society deems “manly,” like sports. This early attitude shift away from reading is a critical reason why so many men aren’t inclined to pick up a book as adults.
Figuring out who you are in college feels nearly impossible. Men seem to be particularly struggling with this issue, with many college-age men feeling lost and unsure of where they fit into the world. Young men are finding ways to confront this issue, but usually not with reading.
Gen Z has rebounded the world of physical fitness after the pandemic. People have found a renewed understanding that taking care of one’s physical body is
also taking care of one’s mental health. The world of physical wellness also offers community to many people lacking it.
So many of the men I know go to the gym as a way to relieve stress and better themselves. But for many, that is their only “healthy” outlet. Their leisure time is more likely to be dominated by something like video games.
Meanwhile, women are more likely to set aside time throughout the week to read. This can provide a second outlet for relaxation and a different sort of self-improvement. Allowing yourself to get wrapped up in a book means putting yourself into new worlds and perspectives. In my opinion, you’d be hardpressed to gain the social awareness and reflection that reading provides through anything else.
Reading has allowed me to better understand the world and those around me. This understanding has allowed me to grow closer to myself and the person I want to be. There is absolutely no reason that these benefits should only be understood by one gender—in fact, men might need it the most.
Jose Garcia
GRAPHICS BY PARKER LEAF / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Jose
spillane
Weynand & Stitzel: The Most Terrorizing Slasher
By Jack Weynand Assoc. Arts Editor Leah StitzeL Asst. Arts Editor
As Halloween approaches, The Heights’ arts editors continue our tradition of bringing you our picks for the best—and scariest—seasonal film favorites.
After reading our roundup of the best slasher film villains, both iconic and unfamiliar, readers will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite via a poll on The Heights’ Instagram.
The winner will be featured in a final Halloween film column, just in time for a quick pre-Halloweekend movie night with your favorite chilling villain.
Freddy Krueger, from A Nightmare on Elm Street
One of the most popular Halloween costumes for kids who just want to scare their neighbors, Freddy Krueger is chilling both onscreen and off.
Although Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) first captured audiences with its terrorized teen protagonists Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and Glen Lantz, played by a young Johnny Depp in his film debut, the movie’s lasting legacy ended up being its central villain, Krueger (Robert Englund).
Krueger, in most of the countless installments and spin-offs of the film,
is a timeless slasher villain. His origin story—just your typical raised-fromthe-dead-after-being-burned-alive arc—means he can be brought back, year after year, to terrorize yet another Ohio suburb in yet another sequel.
Perhaps the oddest part about Krueger’s status as one of the most recognizable slasher villains is his trademark red-and-green sweater and brown fedora.
These are coupled with his infamous bladed glove, which has bled over into other iconic horror franchises, appearing in Bride of Chucky and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
While Krueger’s victims are as resilient as those in any horror franchise, and continue surviving so that they can appear in further films, those he does kill are especially chilling.
Krueger is every kid’s worst nightmare villain, because as the film’s tagline insinuates, if you don’t wake up screaming after seeing him, you won’t wake up at all.
Pearl, from Pearl
What happens if the most terrifying slasher villain is just … the girl next door?
Ti West’s Pearl, the second in a trilogy of A24 camp horror flicks following Pearl’s life, features Mia Goth as the chilling, yet somehow endearing, Pearl.
Although the film opens with Pearl as a naive, wistful farm girl who yearns for a life onstage, we quickly
get a glimpse of her less charming creative outlets when she begins wielding her farm tools as weapons.
Interestingly, the most chilling part of Goth’s performance as Pearl is not her violent breakdowns or piercing screams.
What makes Pearl one of the most unsettling modern slasher characters is her apparent innocence and genuine passion for her craft— show business, that is, not murder— for most of the film.
Watching Pearl feels like watching two separate movies, one about a passionate young girl trying to make it as a dancer, and one about a serial killer.
As the film progresses, Pearl’s two personas merge, leading her to channel her homicidal rage into her personal life and career.
“Please! I’m a star! I’m a star!” Pearl screams in one scene at a panel of judges who reject her for a role, the dialogue of which has since become popular online.
No matter the scene, Pearl feels her emotions deeply, and this might be the most relatable, and scariest, thing about her.
Ghostface, from the Scream series
The phone rings, a deep voice is on the other end of the line, and all of a sudden, someone’s been stabbed in the most gruesome and bloody way possible.
Audience, meet Ghostface. Ghostface is an iconic Halloween villain for a murderer who is never the same person—the mantle of “Ghostface” is passed on from person to person throughout the Scream series.
The gore and violence that follows Ghostface, though, is still as bloody as ever, regardless of whoever is under the iconic mask.
Ghostface has undoubtedly left his mark on the slasher genre, and on Halloween as a whole.
Countless trick-or-treaters rep his mask yearly, and a new Scream film is produced every couple of years in response to the audience’s high demand.
What really makes Ghostface memorable are the people he attacks—the protagonists of the Scream films always present as likable, relatable, and tough as nails.
Cina He Preserves Woodblock Printing in Exhibit
By Sofia torreS Arts Editor
When Cina He, MCAS ’25 and LSEHD ’25, arrived at her grandparents’ home in Guilin, China, at the end of her junior year at Boston College, she witnessed the aftermath of a severe flood that altered the river-based city’s flora and fauna.
Aside from the effects of climate change in Guilin, located in He’s native province of Guangxi, she was struck by the subtle and overt socio-political transformations she
encountered. More Than A Village, He’s upcoming solo art exhibition, will celebrate its opening on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in Carney 203. The exhibition explores the environmental and cultural shifts that continue to develop in Guangxi. The exhibition is the result of He’s time in Guilin as the apprentice of sixth-generation artist Hu Bo.
During her time at Bo’s studio, He learned the traditionally passeddown skill of woodblock printing, a Chinese printing technique that involves carving a unique design on
a piece of wood to create a representation of folk culture and religion.
From a young age, He has been interested in making art. It was only when she moved from Liuzhou to Buenos Aires at age 12 that she found the encouragement she needed to see the potential of art as a career rather than a hobby.
In her time at BC, she was awarded the Arts Council Award at the 2024 Arts Fest, and in 2023 she received the Salmanowitz Film Grant, which made it possible for her to co-produce Hagamos que el Arte Suceda, a documentary filmed in Buenos Aires exploring the social impact of independent theater and performance art through interviews.
After receiving the Advanced Study Grant in the 2023–24 school year, He was determined to come into her senior year at BC with a collection of art pieces to assemble her first solo exhibition.
He wanted to craft an exhibition that would celebrate the cultural landscape that had influenced her as
an artist and individual.
During her extensive time in Bo’s studio over Summer Break, He learned that an apprentice normally needs to spend a year in the print shop just to master the alchemic relationship between water and paint on wood. It is a necessary step before someone can begin carving on a woodblock or even developing their own print designs. He challenged this typical time frame by condensing this process to seven arduous days.
Every morning, He would ride a moped from her grandparent’s house to Bo’s studio, where she spent around six hours under his guidance.
She then spent her 30-minute ride home reflecting on the ways she would improve the following day.
In many ways, He believes that the process and post-process of woodblock printing mirror the changing systems that makeup Guangixi’s environment.
“Wood blocks—they morph
and they deform if there is a change in humidity or temperature,” He said. “So the four wood blocks I have right now in the gallery, they probably would not print exactly like they did a month ago.”
It takes courage and a sincere passion for art to accept the ephemeral nature of one’s work. Historically, possessing and making art has been an attempt toward immortality.
Chinese emperors and powerful figures worldwide were buried with funerary art that was believed to follow the dead in their afterlife.
The Ming Dynasty, for example, believed that the ceramic pieces that high-ranking members were buried with would last forever, an idea that the emergence of museums has since committed to with its careful preservation of art as a way to document history.
‘The Apprentice’ Dives Into Trump’s Psyche
By Lola Milazzo For The Heights
The Apprentice, a docudrama from the burgeoning director Ali Abbasi, is a cutting, yet often comedic, look into Donald Trump’s rise to notoriety. The film, released on Oct. 11, stars Sebastian Stan of Marvel fame alongside Jeremy Strong, most known for his Emmy-winning role as Kendall Roy in the decorated HBO series Succession
The Apprentice follows Trump (Stan) on his journey from bumbling status-seeker to conniving businessman with the mentorship afforded to him by Roy Cohn (Strong), a prosecutor who was a prominent figure in both the federal government and New York City during the 1970s.
The first part of the film introduces the audience to the gritty reality of New York City during the ’70s, a scene that may be familiar to those
who either have lived through it or seen Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver
The cinematography adapts characteristics of the time period’s most acclaimed films—dark, obscuring shadows, grainy film, and jarring camera shots. These effects place the audience in the year the film starts following Trump: 1973.
Trump’s characterization over the course of the film, with the help of Cohn’s mentorship, transforms him from an awkward and unpolished laughingstock into a cutthroat businessman whose success seems to be linked to his ability to lie, cheat, and be morally bankrupt.
Trump’s true “killer,” a term used many times by both Trump and Cohn in the film, emerges in the film’s second act and becomes prominent by the film’s end. He commits a number of heinous acts, including raping his wife, Ivana, and tossing Cohn to the side when he is diagnosed with, and
eventually dies of, AIDS.
The film as a whole dives into Trump’s inner psyche, and how his mentee relationship with Cohn allowed his inner qualities of narcissism and his lack of empathy to emerge fully, transforming him into the Trump infamous today.
It also, through a deeper read, provides an insight into the dangers of American conservatism and capitalism. Using Trump as a character study, the film showcases how the pursuit of these ideals is dangerous to those inherently oppressed by their systems or how this pursuit leads one who would be advantaged by these systems to adopt a mindset lacking emotion for anyone but oneself and one’s accumulation of wealth.
Specifically, Cohn and Ivana try to align themselves with conservatism and capitalism in the film through their business pursuits. Yet, because these systems are set up against them,
they eventually are oppressed by those who hold power in these systems: Trump. Cohn is rejected due to his inner identity, and Ivana is tossed aside and abused by Trump when other women begin to excite him more. While this gives Trump power in the systems he exists in, the film showcases how empty and soulless he and his life must be to perpetuate this oppression. Thus, conservatism
is seen as a danger to all, even those who may benefit from its effects. Overall, The Apprentice was a rich look into Trump’s psyche and what made him into the man he is today. It also, being released about a month before the presidential election, serves as a moral warning to its audience about the oppression he endorses and perpetuates as a candidate. n
‘BRAT’ Gets an Upgrade with New Collaborations A RTS
B y C A ther I ne d utmer
For The Heights
Charli XCX milks her iconic album of the summer with her latest proclamation of pop stardom with Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat
In an attempt to make the album of the summer stay relevant into fall, Charli XCX released the album with the same tracks as BRAT, but with new featured artists.
The album features an onslaught of artists, from the underground Swedish rapper Bladee, to the queens of pop themselves: Lorde, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eilish.
The new album, released on Oct. 11, screams—literally—edgygirl angst, as Charli XCX copes with her rise to stardom solidified during this summer.
Charli’s remixes embody the ideal collection of musical artists.
The new tracks possess a familiarity from the originals, with a newness that only fresh talent can supply.
The album contains some
standout hits, most notably its finale “Guess featuring billie eilish.”
It’s the quintessential addition to running or hot-girl walk playlists, as it captures the feminine prowess that defines the album.
“Club classics featuring bb trickz” is another standout. Spanish rapper Bb trickz perfectly conveys the international-party-girl-in-her-20s persona the album pushes forward.
With overly mixed and post-produced vocals, “Club classics featuring bb trickz” provides the energy needed to stay up all night long.
“Talk talk featuring troye sivan” is a stroke of genius. It’s a song sure to be used at your local SoulCycle studio.
It’s catchy and promiscuous, demonstrating Charli’s chokehold on the Gen Z “girls and gays” demographic, frequently referenced on social media in reference to Troye Sivan’s fanbase.
For the third track, Grande provides the most striking vocals of the album in “Sympathy is a knife featuring ariana grande.”
The song has the potential to be a 2024 pop staple with its unpre -
dictable, yet cohesive, sound.
“Von dutch a.g. cook remix featuring addison rae” is notably heavy on the autotune, but unashamedly so.
It often succeeds in portraying the ‘it girl’ energy that Rae channels in her own music.
“I’m just living that life,” Charlie and Rae sing repeatedly.
The notion of ‘that life’ is perfectly ambiguous because no matter what this means, the audience knows that Rae is still en vogue.
As a much-needed reprieve from the album’s weekend-heavy energy, a couple of songs feel like slow Sun-
days in college. These tracks feel like the hours of 3–9 p.m. on a Sunday, also known as prime hours for soul-searching sorrow and lingering flashbacks from the night before.
“I think about it all the time featuring bon iver” is a collab with surprising efficacy.
Bon Iver brings his classic sound that creates profound meaning out of ordinary themes such as time and love. Yet, some of the tracks in Charli’s new album feel boring and even unnecessary, such as “B2b featuring tinashe” and “Rewind featuring bladee”—perhaps an ef-
fect of the extensive tracklist that composes the 98-minute album.
In this ultimate encapsulation of brat-hood, Charli leaves fans reeling with her release of Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat , an album definitely worth a listen, especially for women entering adulthood.
Charli’s fame is on the rise, and t-his is undoubtedly not the last we will be hearing from the young starlet.
Her brilliance embodies that signature shade of neon green that has since become a symbol of the never-ending girl party. n
MUSIC
Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat by Charli xcx
Released Oct. 11
‘Saturday Night’ is a Tribute to SNL Origins
On Oct. 11, 1975, a group of groundbreaking writers came together to change the course of comedy forever. Fast forward exactly 49 years later, and Canadian American filmmaker Jason Reitman astonished audiences by retelling this story through the release of the Saturday Night comedy-drama film.
The movie is set during the 90 minutes before the premiere of NBC’s first airing of the Saturday Night Live (SNL) television series.
It follows producer Lorne Micheals (Gabriel LaBelle) and his crew of writers, actors, and technicians as they prepare to air live for the very first time.
The SNL team faced immense pressure from individual doubts, NBC executives and regulations, and the physical deterioration of
the set. It’s important to remember that the writers were under the influence, the actors were getting into fights, and even lights were falling from the ceiling on that hectic Saturday night.
Reitman’s cinematographic choices truly encapsulate the tension and the overall craziness that unfolded during those 90 minutes before air time. Camera movements were chaotic and utilized a documentary style to make the audience
MOVIE
Saturday Night Released Oct. 11
feel dizzy and as if they too were rushing around the set to make sure that Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien) made it on time for his sketch.
The film contained an instrumental soundtrack of fast-paced music, as well as pauses for on-set musical performances in the midst of rehearsals. When the music stops, a change in scenery and tone is heavily noticeable and is defined through serious moments of character connections or a break from the chaos.
The acting in the film is astonishing as actors portrayed complex characters crucial in shaping comedy throughout the 20th century. Matthew Rhys’ portrayal of late comedian George Carlin left the audience in heavy laughter. Rhys’ witty and sarcastic remarks were mainly in response to Carlin’s ultimate rival, also known as the NBC content regulator.
Rachel Sennott, on the other hand, handled her role as comedic writer Rosie Shuster in a warm and flirty manner to become a fan favorite with her comforting attitude
toward many actors on set.
LaBelle played the producer Micheals, and he outshined Sennott in his role. He truly encapsulated the stressful demeanor that running a set requires, and yet he still was the backbone of the entire show. LaBelle managed to play a highly intense character with delicate undertones. Overall, the film’s actors came together to showcase the SNL community and the strong chemistry that formed in the process of putting on the show’s first episode.
Nothing about this film is straightforward or consistent beside the main factors of chaos and absolute failure from every corner. The atmosphere of the SNL production was constantly shifting and bending, and when you think things couldn’t possibly get worse, they do. But in this very sense, it answers the question of what happens when people bet on us to fail. If anything, Saturday Night proves that the show business is harder than it looks on the silver screen.
“Art is but a measure of sacrifice and tears,” Michaels says. n
‘Outer Banks’ Is More of the Same in New Season
B
y A lex A ndr A I r A usqu I n Heights Staff
Part One of Season 4 of Outer Banks, composed of five episodes, remains true to its predecessors.
Despite the introduction of a new treasure and a shift in protagonist, the newest addition to the hit Netflix series feels like more of the same.
The season opens with a narration by John B. (Chase Stokes) acknowledging the audience’s concerns for the plot’s development after the treasure hunt that was the basis of the whole show drew to a close in the previous season.
“So you might be wondering, what happens after you find the lost city of El Dorado,” John B. says.
The show reveals that the Pogues—the show’s group of teen protagonists who live on the “rough side” of the fictional Kildare Island—have made $1 million in gold, used it to set up a business, and are living the good life, free of adventure.
While prior seasons of the show have followed John B. as the primary male protagonist, it seems that JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow) will take on a greater role this season.
Although John B. was hardly a rational protagonist, JJ’s actions are
harder for viewers to sympathize with. John B. came across as a misguided teenager, making decisions based on his desire to satisfy his missing father’s dream of discovering long-lost treasure.
JJ, however, comes across as nothing but a selfish and irresponsible character as we witness him spend $700,000 of his friends’ money in a bidding war for a house, and then gamble away the only money the Pogues have to keep their business afloat.
JJ has never been one to think before he acts, but his choices within the first few episodes of this new season contrast his character as one beyond impulsivity.
Within a single episode, JJ pays 33 percent over market value on a home, loses the Pogues’ savings on a dirt bike race, and, in an attempt to get the money back, drags the rest of the hesitant group into a shady deal that wraps them up in a new treasure hunt.
After three seasons of searching for gold on the sunken Royal Merchant, a new treasure is introduced.
After JJ loses the last of the Pogues’ money, they are recruited by Wes Genrette (David Jensen) and his son-in-law Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) to find Blackbeard’s lost treasure in exchange for money.
Genrette is after this treasure because he believes that, after his ancestor killed Blackbeard, his family was cursed, leading to the tragic death of his daughter and grandchild.
The Pogues, however, are not the only ones searching for Blackbeard’s treasure.
The group encounters Lightner (Rigo Sanchez) during an already dangerous dive searching for an amulet on a shipwreck.
Though Lightner is not afraid to use violence against the teenage characters, he falls flat compared to villains of past seasons.
Where past antagonists have
had personal connections to both the Pogues and motivations to go after the treasure, Lightner is driven solely by greed, making him appear as a more one-dimensional villain compared to those who came before him.
Though the show sometimes struggles to find its footing entering an entirely new chapter for the series, it should not deter longtime fans from continuing with the series. The shift to a new treasure benefits the show, as it seemed to be struggling to find ways to extend the mystery in prior seasons. Season 4 seems more sure of itself in terms of the show’s plot direction.
The treasure hunt itself is entertaining, though nothing surprising compared to the Pogues’ continuous struggle as they compete against treasure hunters, parental figures, and local authorities as they set out to find the lost treasure of Blackbeard.
The conflicts in each episode are high stakes, making for a tense, easy-to-binge viewing experience.
Following the trend of two-part releases for Netflix, Part Two of Outer Banks Season 4 will be released on Nov. 7, 2024.
The first half of the season plays it safe, giving fans reason to return in a month for the season finale. n
PARKER LEAF / HEIGHTS EDITOR
SPORTS
Hokies Humiliate Eagles
By Graham Dietz Alumni Director
After a crushing loss to Virginia in which the Cavaliers’ tallied 24 unanswered points to hand Boston College football its first conference loss, Eagles’ head coach Bill O’Brien sounded off in his postgame press conference.
“Thank God we got 12 days before our next game,” O’Brien said. “Maybe we can get some things corrected.”
But not a single thing appeared corrected in the first half at Virginia Tech on Thursday night.
The Eagles surrendered 28 points, 332 yards of total offense, and an average of 11.1 yards per play.
More notably, quarterback Thomas Castellanos fumbled twice to keep a miserable streak of turnovers from the Virginia loss alive. The second takeaway marked Castellanos’ fifth turnover in the previous seven drives.
Hokies’ quarterback Kyron Drones, meanwhile, had no trouble moving the ball in the first half, recording 144 yards and a passing touchdown on 12-of-13 passing, and 45 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The only statistic Virginia Tech (4–3, 2–1 Atlantic Coast) trailed in during the first half was time of possession, showing just how flawless
and efficient the execution of the Hokies’ offense was. While Virginia Tech surrendered 21 straight points to start the second half and give the crowd in Blacksburg a scare, it capitalized on its colossal first-half lead, defeating BC (4–3, 1–2) 42–21.
“I got to get the team to understand what it takes to win,” O’Brien said. “They don’t understand. So I have to coach it better.”
Castellanos and Drones are considered two of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. They both finished top-10 in the country in rushing yards for quarterbacks last season and top-40 overall.
Less than 12 minutes into the Eagles’ road contest on Thursday, only one showed why, as Drones swiftly established a 14–0 lead under the lights at Lane Stadium.
After Drones took an 11-yard carry to finish an 11-play, 88-yard drive, which chewed up 5:44 of the game clock and put the Hokies up 7–0, Castellanos fumbled on 3rdand-1 on the Eagles’ 34-yard line to set the Hokies up to score once again.
“I’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball,” Castellanos said. “Those are not on the backs of anyone else. The ball is in my hands every play, every snap. I’ve got to do a better job protecting the ball.”
Drones converted a long third down with a 15-yard completion to Stephen Gosnell, which handed Virginia Tech the ball on the one-yard line. He then bulldozed in to make
it a two-score game.
BC advanced all the way to Virginia Tech’s five-yard line on its next offensive possession, but the ball-handling miscues continued for BC’s signal caller.
The timing on a handoff from Castellanos to Kye Robichaux allowed the Hokies to pounce on the ball and get Drones back on the field.
“We’ve done that in all our losses,” O’Brien said. “We have to figure out how to correct it. We can’t turn the ball over and win. There’s no correlation between winning and turnovers. God, there’s nothing more important than possession of the ball. It’s not translating.”
The Eagles’ sloppy miscommunication resulted in more points for the opposition, as Bhayshul Tuten broke free untouched for 83 yards to the end zone to put Virginia Tech ahead 21–0 with 12:40 left in the first half.
The Hokies scored again to make it 28–0 before the second half with a 20-yard strike from Drones to Tuten, who finished the affair with 266 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and a 20-yard receiving touchdown.
If one player put the team on his back in the second half against the Hokies, it was Ohio State transfer Cameron Martinez. The turnover battle remained a point of emphasis, only this time, it was Martinez and BC’s defense winning it.
Martinez lit up every department of the Hokies’ offense in the third
quarter, recording an interception and a fumble recovery, both of which resulted in touchdowns for the Eagles’ offense.
He also registered a crucial sack in the waning minutes of the quarter to set up 3rd-and-14 and an eventual punt.
“He came up big for us,” O’Brien said. “He was injured early in the season with a bad hamstring pull, and it took a while to come back from it. When he came back, he wasn’t quite ready, so we were kind of inching him in there. He’s back to full strength now.”
Treshaun Ward and Jeremiah Franklin collected touchdown receptions of 25 and 11 yards, respectively, and Robichaux’s five-yard touchdown scamper made it 28–21 with 2:55 left in the third quarter.
The shift in momentum even had O’Brien clapping frantically on the sideline with a sliver of hope. But a turnover on downs on 4th-and-1 with 12:28 left to play put the Eagles on the ropes once again, and Virginia Tech tacked on a pair of rushing touchdowns—the last of which took just one play for Tuten to rumble in from 61 yards—to seal the 21-point victory.
“I mean, [I] give Virginia Tech a lot of credit,” O’Brien said. “They did a good job, we did not. We got a lot to figure out, but we can figure it out. It’s not over. The sun will come up tomorrow. But it’ll come up slowly." n
GRAPHIC BY BROOKE GHALY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Notebook: Turnovers Continue to Plague Eagles
By SouraBh Gokarn Deputy Managing Editor
Primetime, nationally televised, standalone games are a rarity in college football, especially for programs like Boston College football.
In Week 1, the Eagles made the most of that opportunity, dominating then-No. 10 Florida State 28–13.
That was the largest top-10 road win in program history and enough to vault BC into the Top 25 a week later.
Given the same opportunity six weeks later against Virginia Tech, the Eagles came crashing right back down to Earth.
The Hokies caught BC sleeping from their very first drive and raced out to a 28–0 halftime lead.
Even a 21-point BC surge that reset the game at 28–21 couldn’t change its humbling reality. Virginia Tech responded with back-to-back touchdowns to secure a 42–21 victory, dropping the Eagles to 4–3 and leaving them in desperate need of some soul-searching.
Here are three observations from BC’s loss.
Halloween Comes Early Bhayshul Tuten announced his intent to transfer from North Carolina A&T to BC on Dec. 24, 2022. Twenty-one days later, Tuten flipped his commitment to Virginia Tech.
Since then, he’s done nothing but haunt the Eagles.
In the two team’s last meeting, Tuten recorded 78 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately for BC, he was only getting started.
On Thursday night, Tuten relentlessly slashed through the Eagles’ front, ultimately piling up 266 of the 368 rushing yards BC allowed.
Tuten added another 20 yards through the air, en route to a four-touchdown performance. And just as the Eagles had captured a sliver of momentum entering the fourth quarter, their Boogeyman reemerged to close the deal for the Hokies. Tuten pushed Virginia Tech ahead 35–21 with a six-yard touchdown and delivered a dagger 61-yard score to sink BC for good less than three minutes later. Even with the Eagles’ fate sealed, Tuten kept rolling and eventually broke Virginia Tech’s single-game rushing-yard record in the team’s last drive.
Mountain of Missed Opportunities
For much of its season thus far, BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos largely kept his record clean, turning the ball over only twice through the first five weeks.
That all changed with a disastrous fourth-quarter sequence of events in the Eagles’ Week 6 loss at Virginia. In the final 15 minutes of play, Castellanos committed three turnovers, all but giving the game away to the Cavaliers. That erratic play bled right into BC’s first half against Virginia Tech, where Castellanos fumbled twice. Both miscues led to Hokies’ touchdowns and played a key role in the Eagles’ 28–0 halftime deficit.
“We’ve done that in all our losses,” BC head coach Bill O’Brien said of his team’s turnovers. “We have to figure out how to correct it. We can’t turn the ball over and win. There’s no correlation between winning and turnovers.”
The missed opportunities only mounted from there.
BC kicked off a critical early fourth-quarter drive in desperate need of a score. On the first play of the drive, the Eagles picked up a false start penalty.
Castellanos managed to offset it with a 46-yard toss to Reed Harris, but another illegal formation penalty hindered the Eagles.
The Eagles drove to the Hokies’ 19-yard line, but they found new ways to squander chances.
Castellanos missed a wideopen Jaedn Skeete in the end zone, and Lewis Bond couldn’t come up with another potential touchdown ball on the following play. The drive ultimately fizzled out after a high snap on a field-goal attempt, closing the door on the Eagles’ comeback attempt.
Death by 4th-and-Short Four weeks ago, in BC’s Red
Bandanna Game matchup against Michigan State, the Eagles faced a crucial 4th-and-goal at the Spartans 1-yard line. Castellanos, however, was stuffed on a designed quarterback run, and BC turned the ball over on downs.
Although the Eagles eventually overcame that setback, their inability to convert in such a short-yardage situation raised a major red flag—one that again reared its head for BC against the Hokies, this time in the game’s pivotal moment.
After having just forced a Virginia Tech three-and-out, BC somehow appeared poised to tie the game up at 28 points apiece.
The Eagles advanced all the way to midfield, needing just one more yard to keep their drive and comeback hopes alive on 4thand-1. That proved too much to ask for.
Lined up in the shotgun, Castellanos took the snap and handed the ball off to the Eagles’ bruiser Kye Robichaux, who the Hokies immediately walled off to force a turnover on downs.
From there, Virginia Tech took over and restored a two-score lead in three plays, derailing BC’s miracle comeback bid for good.
The Eagles have fared well enough on 4th down this season, converting 50 percent of the time. That being said, BC’s fourthand-short woes have grown into more of a concerning trend than a random outlier.
Through seven games, a number of areas for improvement have emerged for the Eagles, with 4th-and-short play calling being as glaring as any. n
CHRIS TICAS / HEIGHTS EDITOR & PAUL CRIADO / HEIGHTS STAFF
PAUL CRIADO / HEIGHTS STAFF
Boston College football has lost three of its last five contests.
No. 2 Eagles Shut Out AIC 5–0 in Home Opener
“It’s unreal, obviously the student body showed out again,” Perreault said. “When those fans are showing up early for warm ups and it’s all packed, I think it makes it a lot easier to play.” Prior to the win, BC honored the lives of Tony Voce and Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, three former BC hockey players that died earlier this year.
“It was great to see a full building for that tribute to Tony and Johnny and Matty,” Brown said. “I think the effect that those guys had on people is so much more than just hockey. They were great hockey players, but you don’t have that reaction, you don’t get that reaction if they’re just good hockey players.”
It took less than a minute for the Eagles to double the 2–0 lead Perreault’s goal earned them.
BC opened up the second period with two goals scored just 21 seconds apart.
On the first, Perreault took the puck all the way up the left side of the ice, then delivered a dish backward to Will Vote as he cut toward the net.
Vote delivered, picking up his third goal in three games.
Vote scored one goal in the entire 2023–24 season, suffering an injury that limited him to playing in 20 games.
“[Vote] put in a lot of work this summer, so we’re so happy to see him rewarded,” Brown said. “To have him back and healthy and playing as well as he is, is a huge boost for our team.”
It wasn’t long after the goal buzzer sounded for Vote’s score that it blared again—this time for Will Skahan, who got the puck after a won faceoff for the Eagles and almost immediately launched a shot from near the blue line to put the Eagles up 4–0.
The goal was Skahan’s first for BC.
After that, the Yellow Jackets were able to silence the Eagles for
all of 12 minutes.
That is until James Hagens followed Skahan’s example and picked up his first collegiate goal as well.
A Teddy Stiga pass from the right side of the goal paved its way through AIC defenders to Perreault on the left side.
Without skipping a beat, Perreault found Hagens conveniently waiting on the right corner of the net, ready to deliver the short-handed goal that put BC up 5–0 before the second period had ended.
Perreault tallied two assists in the win.
Hagens spent the last two years with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. His 187 points across those two years puts him fifth for most points in program history.
“If James just plays his game, that’ll be plenty,” Brown said. “He doesn’t have to try to be Superman. He doesn’t have to do stuff to try and win the game every shift. He just has to play with his ability, his skills, and his hockey IQ.”
The Eagles entered the final period looking for a shutout win, and that’s what they found.
The Yellow Jackets got 27 shots off in the matchup compared to the Eagles’ 58, and BC netminder Jacob Fowler tallied 20 saves.
BC also successfully main -
No. 7 BC Fends Off No. 13 Albany
By ZaCh laTour
For The Heights
No. 7 Boston College field hockey has only allowed one goal in its last three games and has been absolutely stifling as a defensive unit. That pattern continued on BC’s senior day on Sunday when the Eagles took on No. 13 Albany (12–3, 4–0 America East).
Once again, the Eagles’ (11–3, 5–0 Atlantic Coast) defensive dominance was enough to hold their opponents to one goal and gain a 3–1 victory over the Great Danes.
“Albany is such a good team,
they kind of broke our press and we didn’t really have a solution for it,” BC head coach Kelly Doton said. “But we kind of countered that with just some defensive effort individually.”
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to score their first goal in the matchup.
Just 3:58 into the first frame of the game, Mia Garber swiftly swept the ball to Yani Zhong. Juking her defender, Zhong nailed the ball into the lower right-hand corner of the Great Danes’ net and through the legs of Albany’s Lara Behn— marking Zhong’s eighth goal of the season.
But the Eagles were not done quite yet.
Less than two minutes later, BC responded with another goal.
Dribbling down the field with the ball, Garber strongly swung her stick back, as she launched a shot toward the Great Danes’ net.
Landing in the back of the net, the shot marked BC’s second goal within six minutes of the first frame, sparking a dominant start to the Eagles’ offense.
And the Great Danes were unable to deliver any goals within the first frame.
In the first 15 minutes of the game, Albany tallied zero shots on net compared to BC’s seven shots on goal.
The second frame, however, proved to be different for Albany.
Only 27 seconds into the second frame, Albany’s Charlotte Triggs proved to be the difference maker that the Great Danes needed for a possible comeback. Firing the ball into the back of the Eagles’ net and through the legs of Charlotte Kramer, Triggs limited the goal deficit to just one goal.
But the chance of an Albany comeback was short-lived as the game continued, though.
The highlight of the second half came from the Eagles’ Eva Kluskens’ goal with less than 10 minutes left to play in the game, which brought the score to 3–1. BC’s defense limited Albany to only four total shots in the second half, paving the way for its two-goal victory.
Garber led the Eagles offensively with one goal and one assist.
When asked about Garber’s role on offense, Doton was clear about her impact.
“She always has, even if she doesn’t show up on the stat sheet,” Doton said. “She’s got such great speed and great hands up there.”
The win carried extra weight for the Eagles this afternoon as it was the team’s Senior Day.
“They’re definitely emotional,” Doton said. “We never know what’s going to happen down the road, especially when we get into the tournament and how we finish, so this was our last regular season game, but hopefully, maybe we could host.” n
tained its perfect penalty-kill percentage, shutting down the Yellow Jackets’ three power-play opportunities.
“[Fowler’s] consistency is really impressive for a young player,” Brown said. “He doesn’t really have off nights.” n
Miami Sweeps Eagles 3–0, Drop Third Straight Match
By Caroline KowalsKi Heights Staff
Boston College volleyball began an ACC showdown weekend with a 3–2 loss to No. 19 Florida State on Friday, and continued its losing streak on Sunday Miami Boston College 3 0 with a 3–0 loss to Miami. Miami’s win handed the Eagles another home loss—something BC has become very familiar with this season.
BC has been swept in its last two games, and has not won a home game since August.
Starting off strong, the Eagles (8–12, 1–7 Atlantic Coast) held the Hurricanes (13–6, 4–4) to a close first set, providing Miami with little opportunity to pull ahead, but the Hurricanes rallied and took the matchup in a swift three sets.
Miami led the first set with 17
kills and 36 attacks to the Eagles 14 kills and 32 attacks.
After knotting the game at 24 points apiece, the Hurricanes logged two-straight points and the Eagles gave up the first set 26–24.
With the first set on the line, Eagles middle blocker Anna Herrington had a service error to push Miami ahead. For Miami’s matchpoint, Eagles outside hitter, Audrey Ross, had an attack error to put the Eagles in an early hole.
The Eagles got off to a slow start in the second set, giving up 10 straight points to Miami.
BC tried to work their way back from the score deficit, forcing a few errors from Miami.
But with the score so heavily in the Hurricane’s favor, the Eagles’ efforts were ineffective and Miami ultimately took the second set with a score of 25–7. At the start of the third set, BC
looked to gain their first set win of the game, keeping the Hurricanes to a close score and refusing to fall behind by more than five points. But the Eagles seemed to fall back into their play from the previous two sets, and Miami began to tip the score in their favor, taking a 19–14 lead. But BC worked its way back, tying the score 21–21 with a 4–0 run. A kill from Anna Herrington and a forced attack error off a block from Julia Haggerty tied things up at 24–24. The teams continued to alternate points, tying things up again 25–25 with a kill from Haggerty.
But Miami outside
Albany Boston College 1 3
In the Eagles’ matchup against the Hurricanes, Miami tallied 16 more kills than BC in the game. EMILY AHERN / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Will Vote scored his third goal in three games in the shutout win. CHRIS TICAS / HEIGHTS EDITOR
The Eagles tallied 17 shots compared to the Great Danes’ six shots in Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
TRISHNA CONDOOR / HEIGHTS STAFF