The Heights October 24, 2019

THE

HEIGHTS For a Greater Boston College - Independent since 1970

19 19

CENTENNIAL

201 9

www.bcheights.com

Thursday, October 24, 2019

six Straight

Triple Threat

SPORTS

ARTS

Behind goalie Sarah Dwyer and forward Margo Carlin, field hockey has surged to six wins in a row.

In teaching, visiting professor Melinda Lopez draws from playwriting and acting experiences.

A9

A16

Vice Provost, Former Dean Dies at 66

New Faculty Hires

79

NEW HIRES

Alberto Godenzi died Sunday from leukemia complications.

MALE

34% AHANA

57%

By Jack Miller

FEMALE

43%

News Editor

Ikram Ali / heights editor

Faculty Hires Continue to Slowly Diversify University Low rates of faculty turnover inhibit the hiring process.

By Owen Fahy Asst. News Editor Faculty Boston College, led by Vice Provost for Faculties Billy Soo, is working to continue to diversify its faculty population through a variety of programs and initiatives. Forty-two percent of the current faculty is female and 20.4 percent is AHANA+, according to Soo. As with racial diversity, an obstacle to increased gender diversification at BC is the relatively low rate of turnover among faculty and the decentralized hiring process.

With less than 10 percent of the faculty leaving each year, it is difficult to overhaul the makeup of the faculty, according to Soo. “Given the turnover rate, it’s so much harder,” Soo said. “We’re all very proud that with every new batch we bring in, we’re increasing the diversity of the faculty. Our [diversity] numbers are always above whatever our current averages are.”

The most recent batch of faculty hires— 79, including 20 visiting faculty—34 are women and 27 identify as AHANA+, according to Soo. Of the non-visiting faculty hired, 24 are women and 19 identify as AHANA+.

Women make up 32 percent of the full professors at BC, 47 percent of the associate professors, and 43 percent of the assistant

See Faculty Hires, A3

Baker’s Vape Ban Upheld

by Judge, Requires Changes The four-month ban on vape products was implemented in Sept.

By Colleen Martin Metro Editor A Superior Court Judge ruled that the four-month vape ban in Massachusetts can stand, but it requires that the executive branch issue an emergency order by Oct. 28 and that a public hearing be held. If that is not done, then nicotine vape sales must be permitted to resume. The ruling does not affect black market products or vape products that contain THC.

It seems that the plaintiffs in the case did not consider the financial burden that would be placed on the businesses that sell only vape products to adults, wrote Douglas Wilkins, the justice in the case. The business owners were told of the ban at the same time as the public and weren’t given any formal opportunity to speak against it.

“If the executive branch avoids such input and safeguards it unwittingly creates an echo chamber in which government officials’ own viewpoints reinforce each other, potentially causing unnecessary harm

See Vape Ban, A8

Alberto Godenzi, vice provost for Global Engagement and a former dean of the Boston College School of Social Work, died on Sunday from leukemia complications, according to a University release.

Godenzi, who was 66, was the dean of the School of Social Work from 2001 to 2016. Under his leadership, the School of Social Work created programs, such as the Latinx Leadership Initiative and the Immigrant Integration Lab, to work with communities affected by today’s most pressing social issues. He also oversaw the founding of BC’s Center of Social Innovation, which conducted research for new social service practices and agendas, and the Global Prac-

tice concentration, which addressed global social work and humanitarian aid through international field placements.

“Alberto Godenzi led the school to national prominence,” Guatam Yadama, Godenzi’s successor at the School of Social Work said in the release. “He was a leader among the deans in social work and a tireless advocate for Boston College.”

Outside of BC, he had served as the president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work and was on the Council on Social Work Education’s board of directors, according to the release.

After stepping down from the School of Social Work in 2016, the Switzerland native worked as a special assistant to University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. As the Vice Provost of Global Engagement and co-chair the University’s Global Engagement Committee, Godenzi expanded BC’s international partnerships and organized more globally focused academic programs.

Some of his efforts included promoting the inclusion of international students and faculty and advocating for increased financial support for study abroad programs.

“I was blessed to serve alongside Alberto Godenzi as a fellow dean from 2008 until 2014 and greatly enjoyed partnering on a range of initiatives over the years,” Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said in the release. “Alberto was a remarkable leader for the School of Social Work and for the field at the national and international level.”

Godenzi’s research primarily focused on violence against women, which led to his inclusion on the Council of Europe’s Group of Specialists for Comabting Violence Against Women, according to the release.

He studied the development of nonviolent conflict resolution in response to family problems, according to the release.

He is survived by his wife, Brigitt, his daughter, Franca, and his son-in-law, John Nurczynski, according to the release. n

BC Launches Prison Education Program Professors have begun teaching three classes to men at MCI-Shirley.

By Jack Miller News Editor Boston College opened up its latest satellite campus this fall in a less-than-traditional location: the Massachusetts Correctional Institute, a men’s correctional institute in Shirley, Mass., (MCI-Shirley), where 16 men are currently taking classes through the University’s new Prison Education Program.

The program is modeled on and supported by the Bard Prison Initiative, which has offered liberal arts education in New York state correctional facilities since 2001. Since then, Bard College has helped prisoners earn over 500 degrees across six programs.

Over the summer, BC hired Isabel Lane to direct the program, thanks to a large anonymous donation. Before coming to Chestnut Hill, Lane taught two courses through the Bard Prison Initiative.

“Because Bard has a lot of experience, they are essentially providing a

support system and a template for us,” Lane said. “But at the same time this really is a BC program.”

After she was hired, Lane immediately jumped into curriculum development and the admissions process. Ninety-nine men applied to the courses, a process that required both an admissions exam and an interview.

Although just 16 students were able to enroll this year, a second cohort will join them next fall.

“I believe it is personally and socially important to offer high quality college education to people who otherwise would not have access to it,” Lane said. “That’s what has driven me personally in my career and what drew me to this job. It’s about giving educational access to people who deserve, as I think everyone does.’’

Lane credited Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, who has been involved in conversations about starting a prison education program for over two years, with doing much of the behind-the-scenes work to get the program up and running, especially over the summer. He traveled to MCIShirley, which is over an hour away, multiple times over this summer to run information sessions and oversee orientation.

“It was really exciting to see the way in which there was such widespread interest among the men at MCI-Shirley and to see the kinds of impact that the three BC instructors are having already,” Quigley said.

Lane said that the program currently offers three courses: algebra, taught by retired professor Richard Jenson; philosophy, taught by professor Cherie McGill; and first-year writing, taught by Patrick Conway. The goal, she said, is to provide students with bachelor’s degrees that closely follow the Woods College of Arts and Sciences’ core curriculum.

“So we obviously can’t have the same number of majors or course offerings that you have on the regular campus,” Lane said. “But I think ultimately, the goal is to have a set of several possible majors that students will actually specialize [in].”

In the spring, the men can take theology, histor y, and literature, the latter of which Lane will teach, although the University hasn’t made any final determinations.

“Some peer schools have taken the approach of having a bachelor of arts in liberal studies or liberal arts,” Quigley

See MCI-Shirley, A3

ABLED@BC Promotes Education, Awareness The new affinity group provides resources for staff with disabilities.

By Maddy Romance Asst. Investigative Editor and Julia Kiersnowski

For The Heights Boston College recently established a new affinity group for faculty and staff members with disabilities, Awareness Benefiting Leadership and Employees about Disabilities, or ABLED@BC. Affinity groups at BC serve as a way for staff and faculty members to promote education and awareness for

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

a common interest in order to sustain an environment that celebrates inclusion.

The group is led by Richard Jackson, who has worked at BC since 1979 and is currently a professor of Special Education in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. Jackson explained that he is impressed with the rise in popularity of affinity groups among companies and universities because he believes it is important to acknowledge and promote diversity in the workforce.

“These affinity groups have been emerging for several years, and they’ve had a real impact on employees’ and

See Affinity Group, A3

Ikram ali / Heights Editor

Eagles Log Program-Best Sixth ACC Win

BC matched last year’s win total and improved to 5-0 on the season in five-set matches, with 10 games left.

METRO: Boston Face Mask Ban FEATURE: Abroad in Middle East City councilors debated banning face masks at protests in Boston on Monday..A5

Kyle Costa explored Arabic language and culture in Jordan and Lebanon this past summer........ A4

INDEX

NEWS.........................A2 METRO..................... A5 Vol. C, No. 19 © 2019, The Heights, Inc. MAGAZINE.................. A4 SPORTS.................... A9 www.bchelghts.com OPINIONS................... A6 ARTS..................... A16 69

The Heights

A2

TOP

3

things to do on campus this week

1

Director Emeritus and Editor-at-Large of Kiepenheuer and Witsch Publishers Helge Malchow will talk about about European history and politics tonight, Oct. 24, at 5:30 p.m. in Devlin 101.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Julia Olson will speak on climate change and her work at the organization she founded, Our Children’s Trust, tonight, Oct. 24, at 6:00 p.m. in Devlin 110.

2

The McMullen Museum is hosting “Art After Dark: Into the Shadows” tomorrow night, Oct. 25, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

3

NEWS Panelists Critique Vatican Doctrine on Gender BRIEFS New Trustees Join BC Board

Three new members are joining the Boston College Board of Trustees: Guido Barilla; Marc P. Seidner, BC ’88; and Elizabeth Eder Zobel, BC ’87. Beth Vanderslice, BC ’86, and Robert J. Cooney, BC ’74, are rejoining the board after having previously served from 2010 through the 2017-18 academic year.

Since 2003, Barilla has been the chairman of Barilla Group, a multinational food company based in Italy that is known for its line of dry pasta.

He spent one year at BC before finishing receiving his undergraduate degree from the Università Statale di Milano, according to a University release.

Seidner was an economics major at BC and has accrued 32 years of investment experience since his graduation from the University. He currently works as the chief investment officer for Non-Traditional Strategies while also holding positions as managing director and head of portfolio management PIMCO, a global investment firm.

Zobel, who was born in Colombia, graduated in 1987 from BC with a degree in philosophy and economics, but she now resides in the Philippines. She is the co-founder and chairman of Teach for the Philippines, a country partner of Teach for America which recruits talented Filipino citizens to be educators in the public school system.

Vanderslice graduated summa cum laude from BC and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Council for Women of Boston College. She is also a partner at Trewstar Corporate Board Services, a search firm that works to place women on executive boards.

Cooney has worked as a city public defender, but is now a partner at Chicago law firm Cooney & Conway.

Cooney also holds a lifetime trustee position on the Fenwick High School Board of Trustees, where he was formerly the chairman of the board.

UGBC Elects Committee Chairs The Undergraduate Government of Boston College elected committee chairs at a meeting earlier this month.

Cr ystal Pu, LSOEHD ’20, was elected to serve as President Pro Tempore for the year. Pu promised to expand the avenues of communication for students with UGBC and the administration. She plans to use social media, mentorship programs, and increased involvement in student groups as ways to help support and communicate with the community.

Salvador Norton de Matos and Czar Sepe, both senators for the class of 2021 and MCAS ’21, were confirmed as the chairs of the new Institutional Innovations Committee.

The pair ran as a tandem, with de Matos serving in the fall while Sepe is studying abroad and then switching in the spring.

In their shared platform, they stated their goal is “to increase and enhance the efficiency of Boston College in regards to their ecological policies, transparency, and overall governance in the school.”

Laura Perrault and John Gehman, both at-large senators and MCAS ’21, were elected to the lead spot on the Intersectional Experience Committee. They will also split the responsibilities, as both plan to study abroad.

Perrault will serve in the fall with Gehman taking over in the spring.

Perault has advocated for UGBC to lead “uncomfortable” conversations on campus because it is their job to be an advocate on campus.

By Brandon Kenney For The Heights

The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life hosted a panel discussion about the relationship between the natural sciences and theology on Tuesday.

This event was largely in response to “Male and Female He Created Them,” a controversial Vatican document that instructs Catholic schools how to deal with issues surrounding gender identity.

The panelists critiqued the teaching for enforcing too strict of a view, and several argued that society should reexamine views of human nature over time.

The panel included Julie Hanlon Rubio, professor of social ethics at Santa Clara University; Welkin Johnson, professor of biology and chairperson of Boston College’s biology department; Rev. Andrea Vicini, S.J., professor of bioethics and moral theology at BC; and Rev. Mark Massa, S.J., professor of theology at BC and director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life.

The discussion began with an introduction from the event’s moderator, Richard Gaillardetz, professor of Catholic systematic theology and chair of the BC theology department. In his introduction he discussed how, as theologians became more involved with the natural sciences, the idea of nature has disconnected from religion, causing complications.

“What was meant by a miracle in the Biblical world,” Gaillardetz asked. “Would they have understood a miracle as a suspension of the so-called laws of nature, which is the way many define miracle today?”

Gaillardetz then posed the first question in which he asked each panelist how they understand nature, and the natural in terms of their fields of research interest.

Rubio responded by discussing the

complexity of human nature and Christian ethics when the two are fused together.

She also mentioned the benefits of applying feminist thought to theological claims. Today’s view of women is much different than the view of women in the past, according to Rubio.

Johnson approached the question by giving what the term nature means specifically to the scientific community. It is a definition that may differ from what a theologian may consider nature.

He went on to explain how science has its own limitations and cannot answer all questions, especially questions of the supernatural.

Vicini used the word “complexity” to describe theology’s relationship with human nature. He added that human nature must be interpreted and reflected upon when we think about what this interpretation brings to our understanding of human nature.

“We cannot avoid interpreting human nature,” Vicini said. “An interpretation is limited and situated, as we should ask ourselves, ‘What are we projecting on our understanding of human n ature?’”

Massa referenced the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn, who wrote that the concept of nature is a “human construct,” used by humans to explain the world.

Massa added his own opinion on human nature. Human nature is something that evolves, just as other parts of humanity have also evolved, according to Massa.

In the second half of the discussion, Gaillardetz asked the panel to weigh in on the consequences of when there are disagreements among appeals to nature and the natural and how these disputes have an effect on church and society.

Rubio answered this question by addressing “Male and Female He Created Them.” She appreciated the dialogue be-

tween the Church and gender theory, but she said that the attempt to acknowledge both gender theorists, who recognize transgender people, and some conservative Catholics, who do not recognize transgender people, did not work well.

“The document provocatively asserts that though gender theory has a few areas they can agree with, they were wrong about gender identity and asserts that Catholic teaching is superior because, actually, it is rooted in the body,” Rubio said.

In explaining why there may be disagreement among certain people and the Vatican on this issue, Rubio asserted that there is a major problem in the Vatican’s reasoning.

“There’s a lot of oversimplification in the document and the Vatican ignores the reality of intersex persons and seems to think that sex is simply something easily identifiable, even despite all of the conversations that have gone on about sex in recent years,” Rubio said.

Johnson answered this question by considering the sources of disputes when it comes to controversial appeals to nature.

He came up with three sources of these disputes.

“The first one [is when] people don’t trust science because our own anecdotal experiences don’t match what science says,” Johnson said. “The second one … is when we award too much importance to the average or the mean of a population or a group.

The third one … is controversies that arise due to, what I would call, an illegitimate application of the scientific premise.”

Vicini approached the second question by discussing four sides to this problem: diversity, variations, healing, and culture.

He mentioned how people respond to differences among us and the unjust way we create norms.

“We react to [variations] by deciding what is normal, what is natural, and what

is abnormal, or unnatural,” said Vicini.

“We address this complexity by defining arbitrarily who is in and who is out, who is normal and who is not.”

Vicini also discussed how human nature may be different among different cultures.

Therefore, human nature must be looked at within the context of the humans being examined, he said.

“The diversity of cultural dimensions is a blessing,” Vicini said. “However, we need to discern this diversity. So to focus on the importance of culture reminds us that our understanding of human nature is always situated in a specific cultural, social, and religious context.”

Massa decided to answer the question by pointing out his disagreement with those who believe only scripture can tell us about God. While some believe that human reasoning cannot tell us anything about God, he did not agree.

“The Catholic tradition, and I am part of that Catholic tradition, said that’s not true,” Massa said. “In fact, we can use our reason, we can use human reason, and look at human experience, and look at the real world and actually come up with reliable information about the ends and purposes of life.”

He closed the discussion by giving his opinion of what was wrong with “Male and Female He Created Them.” He referred back to his understanding of what nature is and used that to show a flaw in the Vatican’s reasoning.

“The problem I had with that document was it presumed that human nature was something set and given and … sort of objective in third person kind of way,” Massa said. “In other words, it was using that older understanding of nature as something out there quite apart from us, distinct from us that we can discover and look at sort of write down its laws.” n

First ‘Courageous Conversations’ Addresses Racism

By Julia Remick For The Heights The Boston College Office of the Provost hosted the first of its “Courageous Conversations,” a new initiative that aims to foster discussion about difficult topics between faculty and students, on Tuesday.

The inaugural edition was titled “What is Racial Justice” and focused on race and racism.

Last spring, the environmental studies program hosted an event called “Courageous Conversations: Diversity Environmental Sciences.” After this event, students began asking for the Provost’s Office to sponsor similar discussions about racial justice, according to Akua Sarr, vice provost for undergraduate affairs.

“One of the things we are trying to do in these dialogues is really, while recognizing intersectionality and all of those other ‘isms,’ is that we’re trying to keep the focus on race,” Sarr said.

Sarr said this event was “in part” inspired by the racist vandalism that occurred in Welch Hall last year.

“It’s not in direct response to that, I think what we are trying to do now is be proactive rather than reactive,” Sarr said.

“So, like talking about blackface before Halloween is being proactive. You know, rather than waiting for an incident to happen and then responding. We’re hoping that having this conversation is a proactive way to, you know, understand that these conversations are important. Even if no incidents happen you know these are still important conversations.”

The session was intended to be based around conversation, rather than a lecture—the 25 faculty, staff, and student facilitators present split up to lead six small discussion groups after a brief presentation.

The evening began by establishing norms and standards for the conversation.

Some of these included “avoid shaming or blaming yourself,” “be aware of intention versus impact,” and “to practice selfawareness.”

The discussion facilitators provided the audience with two “artifacts”: a Saturday Night Live skit mocking the revelation

that the governor and attorney general of Virginia had worn blackface in college and a CBS video that discussed the history and impact of blackface.

Blackface has a long history of being used in the entertainment industry. In the 1830s, white performers used blackface in racist minstrel shows, which black performers adopted in the 1860s, according to the CBS video.

The facilitators used the video to transition into a conversation about the use of blackface in Halloween costumes before asking their groups to write down a time when they witnessed someone wearing blackface or a racist costume. They also asked the audience to include how they responded and how they felt they should have responded.

After the self-reflection, participants were divided into six small groups for conversation about the self-reflection and further exploration.

The groups discussed why racist costumes made them feel uncomfortable and how to respond to these situations. They reached a consensus that proactive action

and timely education are powerful tools in preventing instances of cultural appropriation and racist costumes.

Through the conversations, the groups also deemed it necessary to be considerate, informative, and understanding when confronting a person about a racist costume.

They discussed how inciting shame can be harmful.

They also decided that normalizing instances of cultural appropriation can misinform people about what attire is offensive. This includes sports teams such as the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Blackhawks, whose mascots feature stylized images of Native Americans.

After the small group discussion concluded, everyone reconvened as a large group to share what they discussed.

During this part of the session, the conversation turned to educational institutions and what they can do to better inform students about these issues. Together, the group determined that both universities and K-12 schools have a role to play in educating students about race and cultural appropriation. n

POLICE BLOTTER: 10/21/19 – 10/22/19 Saturday, Oct. 19

Sunday, Oct. 20

1:02 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding an underaged intoxicated person at Hardy.

11:45 p.m.- An officer filed a report regarding found property at Brighton Campus Lots.

2:17 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a suspicious circumstance at Cheverus Hall.

4:55 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a medical incdient at Commuter Lot.

1:24 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a medical incident at Stuart Hall.

6:45 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation at Stayer Hall.

6:41 p.m.- An officer filed a report regarding a larceny of a property valued over $1200.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

CORRECTIONS What famous person would you invite to a dinner party?

“Michelle Obama.”

— Margarita Velaquez, MCAS ’23

“John Mulaney, that’d be such a good time.”

— Khayli Petigny, MCAS ’22

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

“Adam Sandler, because he’s funny.”

— Maria Bechara, MCAS ’23

“Michael Scott — Julia Havertine, Lynch ’22

The Heights

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Female Faculty at BC 65%

UGBC Leaders Meet With BC Trustees

By Lauren Wittenmeyer For The Heights

60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 14-15

15-16

16-17

17-18

18-19

19-20

Allyson Mozeliak / Heights Editor

Faculty Gender Diversity Levels Off in Recent Years Faculty Hires, from A1 professors.

Last year, of the 68 new faculty hires, half were female and 26 percent were AHANA+. Among all faculty, 19 percent identified as AHANA+ last year, again continuing the steady trend—approximately a one percent annual increase—and 41 percent were female.

Last year, 43 percent of Boston University’s faculty, 37 percent of Harvard’s faculty, and 31 percent of Northeastern’s faculty were women, according to the Common Data Set Initiative. BC’s number also hovers around Georgetown’s 38 percent, University of Virginia’s 40 percent, and William and Mary’s 43 percent, according to the Common Data Set Initiative.

The distribution of female faculty throughout BC is not uniform: During the 2018-19 academic year, 86 percent of the Connell School of Nursing faculty was female, and women composed 64 percent of the faculty in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, according to the 2018-19 University factbook. Women made up 34 percent of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences faculty and 36 percent in the Carroll School of Management last year, according to the 2018-19 University factbook The two most popular departments at BC, economics and finance, are overwhelmingly male—the economics department has four women on its fulltime faculty, while the finance department employs five women full-time.

The issue of gender diversity is a systemic issue faced by all American universities because there is a greater demand for female faculty than are available nationwide, according to Soo. “We make every effort to bring [female faculty members] in,” Soo said.

“If they get an offer elsewhere, we try to match it. We’re very competitive. When we see a faculty member that we really like, we really stretch ourselves.”

Recently, couples have been applying for faculty positions as a duo, Soo said. This practice requires universities to find space for two new faculty members, even if they may have only been interested in recruiting one. Boston-area schools share resumes with each other in the hopes of being able to accomodate a spouse in the city, but BC’s relatively small range of departments makes it difficult for them to offer positions to a spouse every time, according to Soo. Soo said that the introduction of the new African and African diaspora studies major and the upcoming engineering department and Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society will present opportunities to diversify the faculty.

Soo said he is hopeful that they can continue to move the needle in the direction of change because all departments are making a concerted effort and they have introduced programs to eliminate bias in the hiring process. He said it is easier to change the gender composition of the University rather than the racial makeup because there are more female faculty candidates than AHANA+ faculty candidates.

“You need to have a core number [of faculty] to sustain continued growth,” Soo said. “When you’re starting with a smaller number, it’s just harder to get that momentum going.”

The decentralized nature of the faculty hiring process can be a major contributor or obstacle in the diversification of the faculty, Soo said. Between January and March, deans from every department make faculty search requests to the Office of the Provost, which is responsible for hiring. The requests are often triggered by retirement or resignation from the University.

In June, departments receive approval to advertise for their positions and the recruitment and hiring process begins.

The University allows departments to hire their own faculty, with approval from the Office of the Provost, so it is hard to implement universal hiring procedures, which can contribute to the gender imbalance, according to Soo. Search requests can also be made if a department is expanding, as is the case in the computer science and economics departments. If the University believes the growth is sustainable, then it will attempt to fill positions with full-time faculty instead of part-time faculty, Soo said.

Requests are approved with considerations made for the following academic year, since hirings actually happen a full calendar year after a request is submitted.

The creation of the Schiller Institute and its engineering department are requiring the Office of the Provost to evaluate hiring requests while also considering the large and impending requirement for new faculty in STEM fields.

“We need to be aware of these current growth spurts, even as we’re approving the current faculty growth,” Soo said. “It’s a very inexact science because of faculty leave, so you can’t exactly plan for it.”

The demand and supply of faculty members varies heavily between departments, according to Soo. In computer science, economics, and business, there is demand for faculty that far outweighs the supply. But in departments such as English, there can be hundreds of applicants for a single position, leading the hiring process to be more of an art than a science, he said. n

A3

Michael Osaghae, president of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College MCAS ’20, and Tiffany Brooks, vice president of UGBC and MCAS ’21, met with the Board of Trustees on Sept. 30 to discuss their top priorities for the upcoming school year.

The meeting primarily surrounded general topics that the duo has planned to focus on, rather than specific proposals.

September’s meeting marked their first quarterly meeting, although the two groups had an introductory session last June.

Osaghae said that they addressed mental health on campus, resources for AHANA+ and LGBTQ+ students, and campus innovations.

“We talked a lot about what are some of the things students are calling for, what are some of the things that students are experiencing on campus,” Osaghae said.

Among the many points that Osaghae and Brooks presented was the issue of mental health.

Both parties discussed the resources available on campus to support students, as well as what actions UGBC and the Board can take in the future to further aid students with mental health initiatives.

Osaghae said that much of this initial discussion addressed UGBC’s role as a middleman between the student body and the University.

This position allows student representatives to both listen to student concerns and keep track of Univer-

sity initiatives and offices that the student body might have overlooked, he said.

He said that he hopes to drive action, conversation, and policy changes concerning mental health resources for students, faculty, and staff by virtue of that role.

“We talked a lot about what are the areas that are lacking, what are areas that students feel they could be more supported, but also how can UGBC play a role in dispersing more knowledge about what is going on on campus, what is already available, and how can we better assist the many programs that many offices try to take on,” Osaghae said.

No long-term goals were set at this meeting, Osaghae said. Instead, he and Brooks provided the board with an array of issues on students’ minds in hopes of it leading to more substantive conversations and actions by both parties in the future.

UGBC has planned to reach out to different student organizations to further understand the needs and wants of students on campus.

“For future meetings, we hope to do more intentional outreach to various student organizations, specifically across the lines of intersectional experience, like students of color, LGBTQ+ folks, but also how can we push forward the conversation around climate change [and] the environment on campus in a real visceral fashion,” Osaghae said.

Topics that did not come up at the meeting aren’t necessarily excluded from future agendas—UGBC is meant to reflect the priorities of the student body, Osaghae said.

He gave the example of environmental activism and sustainability efforts as something that could come up in the future.

“We’re a student government for all students so listening to the student body and then coming up with what is the most pressing and [what] things we need to prioritize given the moment on campus,” said Osaghae.

Osaghae noted the emphasis he placed on conveying student voices to the Board of Trustees at this meeting and UGBC’s ongoing effort to listen to the student body.

He believes the board is open to hearing the student opinion and perspective.

“It’s our job as UGBC to amplify the voices of our student body and by taking a generalist approach in this first meeting we conveyed a lot of student opinions, student perspectives on some of the programs, initiatives, and issues on campus that might not otherwise have a student voice or student perspective,” he said.

Looking forward, UGBC has plans to tackle more specific issues and topics on campus with the Board of Trustees and aspires to continue to incorporate student voices whenever possible.

“We’re really excited to, one, just represent [the] student body, amplify their voices at the next meeting, and if you have an issue on your mind or want to bring a topic forward to reach out to us,” Osaghae said.

“Reach out to our email. Reach out through our social media cause we’re always listening, and that’s what we always want, to be proactive in our approach.” n

Group Unites Faculty With Disabilities Affinity Group, from A1 faculty’s perception of quality of life here,” Jackson said.

The Office of Institutional Diversity approached Jackson last spring and asked him to start a new affinity group for faculty and staff with disabilities, and has since been working to develop the mission and strategy of ABLED@BC. Jackson explained that, as a person with vision and hearing impairments who has been advocating for people with disabilities throughout his whole career, he was eager to take on this new project.

“Its mission is to build awareness of the strengths of people with disabilities as opposed to reinforcing stereotypes about people with disabilities having deficits and limitations,” Jackson said.

Although there is still a long way to go, Jackson believes BC has made significant improvements in accessibility over the past 10 years.

He said BC has taken steps to be more inclusive for people with physical disabilities, such as removing architectural barriers and installing more ramps and elevators.

The University has also worked to remove instructional barriers in order to make learning more accessible to students with learning disabilities,.

Jackson believes that taking these steps is critical because all students have the right to equal access of instructional resources.

He cited an increase in accessible textbooks, such as e-textbooks with audio components, and in-class note takers for students with disabilities like dyslexia, which has brought many

benefits to a variety of students, even those without disabilities.

“If you design for people in the margins and the people that are most vulnerable, your solutions end up benefiting everybody,” Jackson said.

ABLED@BC will build awareness about not only the needs of faculty and staff with disabilities, but also the capabilities and strengths of people with disabilities, according to Jackson.

He said that wider society and culture holds a lot of stereotyped beliefs about people with disabilities, and disability is considered to be a negative thing.

“We don’t expect much of people with disabilities so maybe [employers] offer them jobs and experiences out of charity and kindness,” Jackson said.

“This kind of legacy over the decades has led to negative expectations, and those expectations have led to limited opportunities for employment and advancement.”

In addition to raising awareness about faculty and staff members with disabilities, one of Jackson’s hopes for ABLED@BC is for it to provide a place where people with family members or friends who have disabilities, or those who believe they will soon be acquiring a disability, to gain information and resources.

Jackson emphasized that involvement with ABLED@BC is not exclusive to faculty and staff members with a disability.

He welcomes anyone with an interest in disabilities to be a part of this new group.

“ABLED is not just for people with disabilities, but people that are interested in disabilities or people that

have family members with disabilities or people that are expecting to one day be disabled,” Jackson said.

“You know, if we live long enough, we’ll all be disabled eventually.”

Above all else, Jackson wants ABLED@BC to challenge the biases that are often set against people with disabilities, which are often the result of ignorance and negative perceptions of others.

“Unless that can be challenged, those beliefs will continue and more importantly, those beliefs will be reinforced if they’re not responded to,” Jackson said.

Although Jackson is currently the only member of ABLED@BC, he is planning to officialy introduce ABLED@BC to the BC community with the group’s first luncheon meeting on Oct. 24. and begin working with other faculty members who are hoping to make thier voices heard.

This luncheon will consist of a panel of several different presentations. These presentations will include one on the communication challenges for someone with Asperger syndrome in a social workplace as well as one on depression and anxiety in the workplace.

Moving forward, Jackson hopes to continue the ABLED@BC Lunch and Learn talks to build up membership.

He also believes it’s very important to work with other affinity groups in order to promote the concept of intersectionality and celebrate the idea of diversity in the workforce.

“It’s advancing BC’s recognition and respect for diversity among our faculty in the workforce,” Jackson said.

“Because it’s not responding to a problem, it’s just moving forward.” n

BC’s Prison Education Program Aims to Further Jesuit Mission MCI-Shirley, from A1 said. “Other places have designed a robust set of majors, and the others have found that a midpoint approach of having divisional majors. For now, we’re kicking it around at the steering committee level, thinking about what makes the most sense.”

The Bard Prison Initiative allows its students to major in the arts, language, literature, and the humanities; science, mathematics, and computing; and social studies. At the end of their studies, students write a thesis in their area of study.

Lane said that, while the Bard program is a strong model, BC wants its

program to be unique as well.

Conway, a graduate student in the Lynch School, also teaches first-year writing seminars at BC, which he says he runs similarly to the MCI-Shirely curriculum.

“The only potential changes are stuff that relates to the limitation of the prison itself,” Conway said. “Research papers are obviously a little more difficult. But other than that, it’s a very similar course to what’s offered on the BC campus.”

Conway, who teaches the 75-minute class twice a week, has noticed that his students at MCI-Shirley have shown an intense desire to learn in the classroom.

To distinguish BC’s program from others’, Lane was careful to ensure that the program was specifically designed to exemplify the academic rigor, character, and Jesuit mission of the University.

“It really fits in nicely with BC’s philosophy of forming the whole person, because here it’s not about changing or rehabilitating necessarily, it’s about kind of giving people a framework for going out into the world and making a meaningful impact,” Lane said. “All the things that you want from a 22year-old BC graduate, we want from our students at MCI-Shirley.”

Like Lane, Quigley hopes that the new program can further BC’s Jesuit

mission.

“Going back to the 16th century, [the] Society of Jesus has long had its members doing interesting work in education, but in other forms of ministry as well, in prisons with the incarcerated,” Quigley said. “For me, it’s an exciting way of thinking about Boston College’s distinctive history and mission.”

Conway, who used to be a criminal defense investigator and has taught at Boston Univerity’s prison education program, believes that BC’s program is a key part of rectifying flaws in the criminal justice system, especially as obtaining an education becomes more and more important to finding lifelong

employment.

“It’s not always just really bad people who end up in prison, a lot of factors that contribute to it,” Conway said. “And I think when you start getting a sense of the scope of what mass incarceration is, you feel compelled to do something about it.

“Mass incarceration is one of the most serious problems I think our society faces, and I think higher education should be involved in addressing some of the problems that are at the root of it.

“And I think these types of programs that connect two worlds that are often completely separate are extremely valuable.” n

A4

The Heights

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Kyle Costa’s Linguistic Journey to Jordan and Lebanon

By Lauren Abrams For The Heights There’s often a certain look to the typical American college student—maybe they’re sitting at a dining hall table, papers strewn about in front of an open laptop, coffee in hand. As you walk across any university campus, you’ll see thousands of these archetypes.

But there are some students, like Boston College senior Kyle Costa, MCAS ’20, who have an entirely different world of experience beyond this “stereotypical university student” profile. While most BC students were walking to Gasson for their first class, Costa was speaking Arabic with Syrian refugees. As they meandered into the dining halls, Costa was spending the night in a Bedouin camp in Jordan. As some students listened to a political science lecture about Middle Eastern conflict, Costa was approaching the Israel-Palestine border and crossing over into the West Bank.

A political science and Islamic civilization and societies major from Cincinnati, Ohio, Costa started his Arabic journey during his freshman year. He had learned the Arabic alphabet the previous summer, which inspired him to take courses in the language upon his arrival at BC. Unlike romance languages like Spanish, French, and Italian, which are often studied in high school, Costa’s Arabic class was mostly a group of beginner, non-native speakers— this made it much easier for Costa to get his footing.

After going through the elementary and intermediate levels offered at BC, Costa decided he needed more of a challenge.

He applied to study the Arabic language through the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES), a leading interdisciplinary learning center at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon, where he spent the summer following his sophomore year.

Costa was drawn to this particular program both because of its reputation and his desire to put his Arabic skills to use— CAMES provides interdisciplinary learning in Middle Eastern studies and the Islamic world, along with Arabic language study.

Here, Costa spent time further developing his language skills beyond the classroom

and immersing himself in a society of Arabic speakers.

Following a successful summer in Lebanon, Costa took an Arabic seminar at BC, and then planned to spend his junior spring semester abroad in Aman, Jordan, for more Arabic language study.

He chose Jordan because he wanted to maintain consistency with the dialect he had begun developing while at AUB the previous summer. The logistics, however, were far from convenient—BC itself offers a fairly small amount of abroad programs to the Middle East due to potential safety concerns, and the selective nature of majors that specifically relate to the region.

“Lebanon is considered a level three [travel safety alert] from the State Department, which means it’s more dangerous,” he said. “But a lot of that is pretty political I think, it’s a really safe country. It has a lot of issues but it’s an amazing place to be abroad.”

For Costa, this meant finding a previously unapproved external program, petitioning for the University to allow him to go, and starting his planning process months in advance (since then, Costa has added a new external program to the list of abroad destinations for BC students, should any future students want to travel to Aman to further their study of the Arabic language).

Kathleen Bailey, associate director of the Islamic civilization and societies department and Costa’s senior thesis adviser and mentor, said that she would never forget her meeting with Costa before he began his travels.

“He was so surprised when I said we have all these options, and every time I mentioned a different program, his eyes opened wider,” she said. “I think he realized he could apply for these things because he’s qualified, and he got a little bit more confident. I feel like I created a Frankenstein monster, because after that he just applied for everything.”

This past summer, Costa decided to return to Lebanon, yet again, for language study. He headed back, this time to practice his Arabic in a teaching role. Working with a non-governmental organization in a school called Al-Jusoor, Costa helped provide educational services to prepare Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon for the Lebanese

school systems.

Though an overwhelmingly interesting volunteer opportunity, Costa noted the difficulties of witnessing aspects of the refugee crisis first-hand.

“We’re not using emergency education strategies in these schools anymore,” he said.

“It’s literally crisis strategies, because there are so many kids who don’t have access to education anymore, and they don’t have those resources available to them.”

With this humanitarian crisis in mind, Costa was required to take on a strict instructor-style position while working at Al-Jusoor. Having participated in BC’s Appalachia Volunteers program freshman and sophomore year—which emphasized emotional connection to the community at hand—this mindset required a bit of a mental switch. He explained that, although meaningful relationships can always occur as an instructor, the goal was to reserve his feelings as much as possible to provide a sense of stability for his students.

“You try and keep it as professional as you can, because it is only a three- or four-week program, so you try to keep the attachment at a minimum,” Costa said. “Just because you don’t want these kids to feel like, ‘This person is coming into my life,’ and then you leave.”

Having immersed himself in two different Middle Eastern nations, Costa has unavoidably acquainted himself with some of the region’s biggest challenges. Whether that be language and dialect changes between each nation or variations in cultural traditions, there is much to be said about the outside perspective of the Middle East and the refugee crisis. In many cases, these nations are largely generalized and lumped together as sharing one overarching culture and painted as one violent zone of conflict, he said.

“My experiences in both countries were really different, and I think that’s another stereotype that people have, is that they lump all the countries in the Middle East together, and assume they’re all kind of the same,” he said. “But they’re so different. So many different ethnic and religious groups.”

From Costa’s experience, Lebanon seemed to be comparatively more culturally liberal and Jordan more culturally conservative, even in small details like alcohol

MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Costa spent his past summer in Lebanon as an instructor for Syrian refugee children. consumption and pricing. In addition to these social differences, Costa found a new social world attending school with a primarily Muslim campus on the other side of the world at AUB. “I guess now it’s pretty common for men and women to kind of hang out together on [AUB’s] campus, but before the young men would stand over here,” he said, gesturing to his left side, “and the women would stand over here.”

Even linguistically, Jordan and Lebanon differ in terms of phrases and accents as well. Although both’s dialects fall under the Levantine Arabic—the main dialect of Arabic spoken near the Levantine Sea’s eastern coast, which includes regions of Jordan and Lebanon—it was still difficult to adjust initially. While BC teaches written, formal Arabic, native speakers rely on colloquial speech to communicate. Costa affirms that the formal Arabic taught at BC is still hugely important, as prospective Arabic speakers do still need to learn to read, but these forms are not generally used in verbal conversation.

In spite of all these differences, internal or external, Costa fondly recollects that travel has helped him understand cultural differences. His journeys abroad have also helped him realize that, regardless of these cultural divides, people have a shared humanity that makes them more or less no different than the people he knows from home.

“I think that the more you travel the

more you realize that people everywhere are pretty much the same,” Costa said. “Outside of, you know, basic cultural differences, most people care about family, people care about food, especially in Middle Eastern culture.”

Not only does Costa see faces of humanity where outsiders might see political unrest, but he also finds trust where others might find suspicion. In fact, Costa felt that developing self-reliance, particularly in an area of the world that so many people view with mistrust, was one of the most influential aspects of time abroad.

“I feel like a big thing that I took away from my abroad experience, was realizing that I can travel from Jordan to Israel, and maybe no one along the way will speak English, but I can make it happen and I can follow through the steps and I can do what I want to do.”

Despite how dangerous this type of travel might seem, he finds that trust in others is the biggest factor. Particularly from the perspective of students who have traveled somewhere assuredly safe and with a large group of people, or who have never traveled at all, the idea of relying on others and forgoing the advantage of language familiarity is daunting.

“So much of that is just trusting people too,” Costa said. “No matter where you go, whether that’s England, France, or wherever, having faith in the people around you is huge. You can’t travel and not rely on the people around you.” n

Salmanowitz Project Helps Students See Through New Lenses

By Anna Lonnquist For The Heights Behind the doors of Devlin 420 lies an often overlooked gem of Boston College: the Jacques Salmanowitz Program for Moral Courage in Documentary and Film (JSP). Its home base may be Chestnut Hill, but the JSP has brought students as far as New Zealand, Siberia, and India in pursuit of topics ranging from refugee crises to political graffiti.

Three-quarters of a century later, Jacques Salmanowitz’s legacy of moving individuals trapped behind Nazi lines during WWII to neutral countries found a new life at BC. Since its establishment in 2001, the Salmanowitz program has allowed students to continue this work of moral courage through its $25,000 of grant funding annually allocated to student filmmakers.

John Michalczyk, director of the film studies program and of JSP, works alongside students with wide-ranging social justice interests, empowering them to plan and create a film on their own. The program gives students an uncommon amount of freedom, as it has produced more than 60 films since its inception.

“They use this experience as a springboard for something they became very interested in,” Michalczyk said. “My idea of the program is to get students to get out of our bubble, to travel, to see another culture with its social issues and get some personal insights into the issue and bring that in a powerful visual form back to BC.”

David LaMattina, BC ’03, was the first student to receive the grant, which he used to travel to Johannesburg, South Africa and examine the legacy of Nkosi Johnson, a South African child activist. Johnson, who dealt with discrimination due to being afflicted with AIDS, founded Nkosi’s Haven, an NGO offering multifaceted care and housing for mothers and children who have AIDS or are HIV-positive.

“I saw this little posting in the film office about the Salmanowitz grant, and at the same time, there was a little AOL instant messenger news ticker up on my laptop that told the story of this young boy in South Africa,” LaMattina said. “He had died from AIDS, but had been raised by a white woman who adopted him during Apartheid, which really stood out to me as an interesting story.”

With just an introductory filmmaking course under his belt and limited knowledge of documentary filmmaking, LaMattina embarked on the project during his junior year.

“I went in to Michalczyk and said, ‘This is something I want to do,’ and he was like, ‘Cool, let’s write a proposal.’”

Years later, Solina Jean-Louis, BC ’18, used the Salmanowitz grant to examine the role of art in memorializing tragedy by studying four different Holocaust memorials in Berlin and interviewing individuals involved in their construction.Though she had no prior filmmaking experience, her interest in German studies led to a partnership with film studies major Audra Hampsch, BC ’18.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN MOHLER

John Mohler’s documentary features Iraqi-Christian families who fled to New Zealand.

“What intrigued me about filmmaking was how it presented information in a way that was much more accessible to those outside the academic sphere,” Jean-Louis said.

Michalczyk’s wife Susan Michalczyk, an adjunct faculty member of the Woods College of Advanced Studies, also advertises the opportunity provided by JSP to students with a directed social justice interest. Jean-Louis, who met Susan through an AHANA+ mentorship program her freshman year and displayed clear interest in the field of German studies, was soon put in contact with Michalczyk.

“Professor Michalczyk has done a lot of films about Germany and WWII or about related topics, so he proposed the partnership and really helped us narrow down our initial idea,” Jean-Louis said.

The combination of Michalczyk’s role as the head of BC’s film department and Susan’s position teaching interdisciplinary classes like Perspectives allows them to find a diverse array of students interested in the grant. With the only requirement for the application being the completion of Filmmaking I by one member of each filmmaking team, the two often propose partnerships between students with social justice interests and those with filmmaking experience, such as Hampsch and Jean-Louis.

“A student who is interested in the topic but doesn’t know how to film or edit and a student who is a filmmaker will collaborate with the other, and they go somewhere,” Michalczyk said.

In 2018, film studies major John Mohler, MCAS ’21, was approached by Michalczyk, who proposed that he make a film about Fr. Douglas Al-Bazi, an Iraqi-Christian priest who fled to New Zealand after being tortured by ISIS. Mohler had reached out to Michalczyk, his faculty advisor, earlier in the year looking to pursue more hands-on opportunities, which soon led to him working alongside Luke Layden, MCAS ’20, to contact Al-Bazi and see if he’d be interested.

“I was definitely interested by seeing someone continue their faith after such hardships because of it,” Mohler said. “We had the idea, we expanded upon the idea, we drafted a proposal, which we submitted and got revised, then got it approved, then got the flights, then went to New Zealand.”

Though Michalczyk works closely

alongside students from the primary proposal drafting process to the final stages of editing and preparing for the films’ screenings in April, a defining characteristic of the JSP is its focus on letting students take the lead.

“The fact is Dr. Michalczyk said ‘Here’s a camera, go make what you want to make happen,’” LaMattina said. “With time hasn’t come these crazy restrictions that are definitely in place in other institutions …

I think the best part of my BC experience was just being able to go and make all the mistakes myself.”

During Spring Break of his junior year, LaMattina traveled to Berea, a suburb of Johannesburg with a high concentration of mothers and children affected by AIDS. “[Michalczyk] had suggested that we hire a local fixture, so we had someone pick us up at the airport, but when we got to the location, it was all on me to be like ‘Okay, this is what we’re doing, this is how we make a film,’” he said.

Many of the women and children LaMattina interviewed had told their stories to news crews before, but bigger media sources kept a more rigid distance between the subjects, only extracting the information that they needed before leaving.

“That just didn’t feel right to us, so we wanted to sit down and get to know them.

They offered us a meal that the mothers had cooked,” LaMattina said.

Ditching their cameras during the meal, LaMattina and his team consciously took the time to build a relationship with the families. The bond they team forged stands today, and he still keeps in touch with multiple women and children he interviewed.

The Salmanowitz program’s encouragement of authentic, on-the-ground experiences, he says, pushed him toward these experiences he might’ve otherwise missed.

The program’s student-led focus forces students to navigate unexpected changes that arise during the actual filming process.

For Mohler, he and his partner arrived in Papatoetoe, New Zealand, expecting to predominantly film Al-Bazi, but Al-Bazi immediately began pointing them toward other inhabitants with related stories.

“What we thought would be just his story really turned out to be a community of stories, so it was originally focusing on him, but then we interviewed a lot of people in his town, who were mostly immigrants

from Iraq and were Christian, so it became more of a story about Iraqi Christian immigration in New Zealand with a focus on his life,” Mohler said.

Though initially unaware of the large Iraqi-Christian presence in New Zealand, Mohler quickly became immersed in the culture during his six-day filming period.

“We walked into the door on the first day being there, never having met him, and he immediately sat us down and welcomed us,” Mohler said. “The Iraqi style of life is super hospitable—he brought us in, sat us down, made sure we were happy, made sure we were comfortable, and got us food, got us coffee, kept offering us things.”

Though all six individuals Mohler interviewed in New Zealand embraced the friendly nature of Iraqi-Christian culture, their attitudes toward other aspects of the culture varied. To better understand their conflicting opinions, he conducted six lengthy interviews in settings chosen by the subject where they felt peaceful or spiritually enlightened. For Al-Bazi, this was a garden behind his home.

Throughout the interviews, Mohler noted the differing attitudes of the subjects.

While one woman wanted to drop a lot of the Iraqi lifestyle so her child could be free to pursue her own choices, others strived to retain their culture and live with it.

The opportunities to authentically engage with social justice issues provided by the Salmanowitz program were a major point of attraction for many applicants.

However, the student-led process of planning, filming, and editing a film also pushed filmmakers to develop very practical expertise.

“For me, the experience definitely forced me to learn the skill of project management, since I was basically planning the whole thing,” Jean-Louis said. “I was in charge of scheduling the interviews and coordinating everything we had to put together.”

Most students film for nine or 10 days over Winter Break. Spring Break is another option, but provides only a short six-week turnaround period before all JSP films are screened at the BC Arts Festival in April. The program is also available over the summer and gives students a week or more to film their projects depending on their proposal.

See JSP, A8

The Heights

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A5

Cory Booker Brings Campaign to Boston Bar A Need for Housing

By Colleen Martin Metro Editor

And Jack Miller News Editor

New Jersey Senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Cory Booker hosted a grassroots campaign event at Game On! where he talked about the things that can bring people together—not uncommon for the candidate who often speaks on winning with love.

In an interview with The Heights after his speech, Booker declined say whether he would vote to remove President Donald Trump from office, should the House of Representatives file articles of impeachment against him for allegedly blocking aid unless Ukraine investigated former Vice President Joseph Biden.

“I’m going to be a juror,” Booker said.

“I don’t even know what the article are of.

There could be one article, there could be 50 articles. I need to evaluate the evidence ...I think this needs to be handled in a way that builds national consensus, that pulls us together.”

In his speech, the New Jersey senator emphasized that the Democratic Party needs to draw a stark contrast with the sitting president without going too negative.

“We’re not going to win this election by defining ourselves by what we’re against, we need to talk more and more about what we’re for and who we’re for,” Booker said.

People mobilizing on a large scale is the only thing that creates change, the senator said. He said that the Democratic Party needs to avoid meeting Trump on his own turf and steer away from the president’s own tactics. Bigots, fearmongers, and demagogues weren’t beat that way, according the the presidential hopeful.

When Booker’s grandparents talked to him about living through World War II, they said everyone got involved. Everyone bought a war bond. The nation unified, which is what Booker said the Democratic Party needs to do now.

“We have big things to do,” Booker said.

Shantelle Gurley

COLLEEN MARTIN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The New Jersey senator spoke about the need for mobilization and activism in the age of President Donald Trump.

“We have to mobilize this whole planet to deal with the perils of climate change. And so I’m running in this election, not just to beat Donald Trump. I’m running in this election to mobilize bigger energies and bigger enthusiasms and bigger activism and engagement.”

Booker also urged the crowd to abandon the notion that the country doesn’t have to work together to get big things done and criticized devotion to “rugged individualism.”

“We did not get to where we are because of themes like rugged individualism or self-reliance,” Booker said. “Rugged individualism did not get us to the moon, it didn’t map the human genome. Rugged individualism didn’t build the Underground Railroad and it didn’t beat the Nazis.”

Instead, Booker suggested that the country needs leaders who can call on Americans’ “moral imagination” and unite the nation behind a common purpose.

“I’m telling you right now if you elect me as your president, I will ask for more from you than any president has ever asked,” he said.

The center of the mobilization has always been students, Booker said in an interview with The Heights after his speech.

Women’s suffrage, abolition, and worker’s rights movements have all been pushed by young people, he said. The voter turnout for people ages 18 to 30 is historically the lowest compared to other age groups, though.

“We need young people not to wait to understand that this nation doesn’t just need that we will not succeed without their active engagement,” he said in the interview.

“So I’m gonna do everything I can to be the kind of dynamic leader that excites, ignites young people, but I’m really leaning heavily on youth activists to begin to shape the agenda of America, and then to make that agenda real.”

We’ve become a nation of people who do nothing, Booker told the crowd.

People can’t protect their kids while they hide under desks in school shootings and people who need mental health treatment are jailed, he said.

We’re in a pit, Booker said, as Joseph was in the Bible when his brothers threw him in to die. Veterans come back to the

States and are homeless and poor people are jailed for a bag of weed while opiate executives make money, he said. This living generation has the responsibility to work toward the dream that this country’s ancestors did, Booker said. He promised as president to never let the dream fade, but only to make it stronger.

“The moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,” Booker said. “Well to tell you right now, we have to be arc benders.

We can’t wait for our salvation in hopes that one person will make that change.

“We’ve got to mobilize this new American majority where we demand for change, where we work for change. Where we remember what Frederick Douglass says, ‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress.’”

As Booker spoke, his microphone cut out, leaving the candidate speaking at the top of his voice to reach to the people standing in the back of the bar. When he reached his final words, the crowd formed a line to get a selfie with him.

It reached the door and kept refilling as Booker worked his way through the herd of supporters. n

Councilors Debate Ban of Face Masks at Protests

By Matthew Ma For The Heights

City councilors debated banning face masks at protests in Boston on Monday. The proposal was submitted in response to the Straight Pride Parade in August, where protesters were arrested and four police officers were injured.

The counter-protesters directed their rage at the police through acts of spitting, throwing cups of urine, and throwing bleach solution, according to Timothy McCarthy, councilor for District 5 and the sponsor of the proposal. Many of them were emboldened by anonymity provided by facial coverings, he said.

“I think the whole straight pride thing was silly and pointless myself, and I have no doubt there are some people that had an agenda there that I don’t agree or support,” McCarthy said. “But the First Amendment—if it is to apply at all—must be applied and respected by law.”

McCarthy identified the radical counter-protesters as a part of the

Closures of the Week Thurs., Oct. 24 through Sun., Oct. 27 Green Line, B Branch: Beginning at 8:45 p.m. Friday, shuttle buses will replace weekend service between Boston College and Babcock St. Green Line, D Branch: Beginning at 8:45 p.m. on Friday, shuttle buses will replace weekend service between Kenmore and Newton Highlands.

From 8:45 p.m. until close on weeknights, shuttle buses will replace service between Kenmore and Newton Highlands.

Antifa group and said their violence should not be protected by masks from legal accountability. He quoted the state of Virginia’s code 18.2422 that bans the wearing of facial coverings on any public property or private property without consent of the tenant.

The rule has exceptions, McCarthy said, including holiday costumes, professional equipments, medical equipments, religious wears, among other forms of headwear.

There is an escalating trend in organized violence against police during public demonstrations, said William Ridge, superintendent of the Bureau of Field Services at the Boston Police Department.

The protesters’ acts threatened the safety of both the police and the public, he said. Police were trained to specifically pinpoint and arrest agitators during demonstration, but with masks, such violent protesters could easily blend into the crowd to avoid legal consequences.

Preston Horton, deputy superintendent of the Massachusetts Bay

Transportation Authority, said that tracking down aggressive protesters is more difficult if they are wearing masks.

Several others city councilors voiced support for a ban or regulation, including Ed Flynn from District 2, Mark Ciommo from District 9, Kim Janey from District 7, Michael Flaherty of At-large, Lydia Edwards from District 1, and Frank Baker from District 3.

Janey said that although she supported the ban, she feared that the rule would be applied unjustly toward people of color. Edwards, though supportive of the proposal’s intent, furthered the concern with questions about where the line between preventing anonymous violence and protecting identities of peaceful protesters can be drawn. She pointed out the existing state laws that put extra criminal charge on those arrested with masks on. Edwards questioned Ridge about why a ban was needed, given the existence of similar laws on the state level.

“How quickly a slippery slope in

terms of civil liberty could happen,” Edwards said.

Ridge responded that the existing laws failed to impose any deterrence on aggressive acts. He asserted that a ban was necessary to deal with the rise in organized violence directed at the police.

During public testimony, many citizens spoke against Ridge’s description about the danger police faced. They said that the violence was exaggerated, that the police were wellarmed against any possible violence, and that the police were rough in their treatment of the protesters. Many condemned this ban as a significant step in the direction of demolishing First Amendment rights and civil liberties.

“The freedom enshrined in our Bill of Rights won’t be taken away in one fell swoop,” said Mary Landale, an activist from Watertown, during public comment.

“Rather, they will disappear quietly, in small incremental bits, in response to things that seem like common sense and good ideas at the time.” n

Newtonville Station Closed for Repairs

By Gretchen Haga For The Heights

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Newtonville Commuter Rail Station is closed at least through Wednesday, Oct. 23. The closure is a safety precaution while repairs are being made to the stairs.

“An engineering team evaluated today the condition of its stairs and determined additional preventive measures are necessary to ensure passenger safety,” the MBTA said in a press release.

The Newtonville Station only has one active platform, which is low-level and accessed by lengthy stairs. Repairs to these stairs make it so that the entire station is unavailable.

Trains will not stop in Newtonville.

All passengers going to Newtonville must “detrain and board at West Newton for a shuttle bus connection to Newtonville.”

The MBTA advises that passengers use the West Newton station for commercial rail service.

“We have personnel at Newtonville who will be directing passengers toward the boarding locations for the shuttle bus,” the MBTA said in a tweet.

The MBTA will provide an update as soon as the “project timeline is established.”

It hasn’t said when the station will reopen.

Newtonville Commuter Rail Station is located between the Massachusetts Turnpike and Washington Street at Newtonville Square in Newton, Mass. It is part of the Framingham/ Worcester line, which runs west from Boston to Worcester.

The latest update was released on Oct. 22 at 7:05 p.m. Updates will be posted on the MBTA Commuter Rail Alerts page and the official city website of Newton, Mass.

The Newtonville Station closure

may cause transit delays. A delay was reported on Oct. 22 at 7:57 p.m. on the Worcester train departing from South Station.

Funds were approved for accessibility upgrades for the Newtonville Commuter Rail Station at the Fiscal and Management Control Board meeting on Aug. 12.

The Auburndale and West Newton stations are also included in this project.

These stations currently aren’t accessible to people with disabilities.

“The plan includes constructing fully accessible, high-level platforms on Track 1 at each station and accessible pathways to each platform,” according to the MBTA. “We’ll also address the MBTA’s reliability and modernization needs at each station, including track and signal upgrades.”

The accessibility upgrades are expected to be completed in 2024. n

More than 18 million Americans devote half of their income to monthly rent. In Massachusetts alone, nearly 247,900 low-income renters spend more than half their income on housing. Boston is no exception, with 19,350 school children in unstable housing during the 2016-17 school year.

With limited affordable housing in Boston, an overcrowded city, and struggling education systems, people are coming to the outskirts of the city for asylum. This includes Newton.

Part of this lack of affordable housing in Boston is due to the backlash that developers face from current residents. Molly Carman, a student at Regis College and a volunteer at one of Allston’s local affordable housing units, said that residents expressing their concerns before the construction of an affordable housing unit is common.

In fact, she’s seen these experiences firsthand through her work at multiple affordable housing units near the Regis College neighborhood.

“Oftentimes when fighting for affordable housing, local residents express worries that their new neighbors will have different values than them or change the dynamic of their community,” she said.

In order to live in an affordable housing unit in Massachusetts, people must apply and provide information regarding their income and previous employment history, as well as participate in an extensive Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) background check. Once permission has been granted by the state and town, the future resident must be able to use 30 percent of their income toward rent.

Between the required background check, recommendations, and investigations, it can take months for future residents to even hear back from developers for possible housing opportunities. It is clear through this extensive investigative styled selection process that the fears of drawing in criminals and devaluing the neighborhood can be put to ease.

The demographics of Newton in the future is uncertain and shows limited promise for growth, considering most of the residents are older with no children. An affordable home would not only provide the shelter needed for families searching for homes outside of Boston, but also ensure the growth and trajectory of Newton as a flourishing town.

Opening more affordable units within the outskirts of Boston is lawfully the responsibility of both Boston and Newton. Providing affordable housing is the least expensive way to ensure housing for people in America, in comparison to the consequences that can occur if families are left without shelter.

People who cannot afford to pay the average monthly rent in Boston resort to living in shelters or overcrowded apartments that can have unhealthy conditions. People within the community should be able to focus less on where they’re going to sleep for the night and more on living a healthy life. This includes receiving proper amounts of sleep, working full 40-hour work weeks without the distraction of worrying about shelter, and effectively providing consistent homes for children to grow. It’s not just adults that this concept applies to, but children as well.

According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the typical child who has no permanent residency changes schools three or more times per year.

This means that, every year, the child must constantly adjust to new curriculums, teachers, and school cultures while trying to foster new connections with friends.

It’s time to change the narrative surrounding housing, provide people with the shelter that the government guarantees, and get to know the hard facts about affordable living.

Shantelle Gurley is a metro columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

The Heights

A6

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Editorial

Harvard Student Organizations Wrongly Accused ‘The Crimson’ of Endangering Students After the Harvard Crimson reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a comment on an article about an “Abolish ICE” rally, Act on a Dream, a Harvard student organization for immigration rights, started a petition denouncing the newspaper. Other organizations, including Harvard College Democrats and Harvard Democrats for Warren, have signed the petition and publicly pledged to boycott the organization in various ways. They argue that because The Crimson reached out to ICE, it was both calling attention to and endangering undocumented students who may have been at the protest.

The Crimson’s move did not endanger any students. Asking any party named in an article for comment is standard and ethical journalistic practice. The Crimson’s request for comment included only publicly known information, a “broad summary of the [protests’] criticism” and did not name any students or immigration statuses. The request was also made after the rally ended. Any news organization has a responsibility to reach out to individuals or organizations being criticized for comment in the name of fairness—doing so is in accordance with the Society of Professional Journalists’ standards of ethics. Despite The Crimson’s efforts to maintain student safety, the Harvard College Democrats alleged that the newspaper “call[ed] ICE on their fellow students,” and the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee

criticized the newspaper for “silencing” undocumented students. These inflammatory statements dramatized the events, and unnecessarily stoke the fears of students.

It is dangerous, anti-democratic, and inappropriate for political organizations on campus to refuse to communicate with reputable news organizations. In addition to requesting comment from ICE, The Crimson included commentary from students who led the protest in its report. Such a summary is consistent with how the vast majority of news organizations, including The Heights, reach out to groups and people named in articles for comment. The Crimson also stated that it followed its own institutional policy of waiting until the end of the protest to ask the protested party for comment.

Harvard College Democrats pledged that their board members would not agree to interviews with The Crimson until the paper stopped “calling ICE.” Harvard Democrats for Warren has pledged to “from now on, not collaborate with or give comments to The Crimson until they stop calling ICE for comment for good.”

Act on a Dream, the organization that started the petition demanded that The Crimson apologize, “change their policies that require calling ICE for comment, and declare their commitment to protecting undocumented students on campus.”

News media must have an unwavering commitment to unbiased reporting. Not giving these individuals a

chance to respond inherently presents the matter being explained unfairly.

Further, it is entirely inappropriate for organizations associated with mainstream American political parties and candidates to denounce a newspaper. It is particularly upsetting that these anti-press sentiments come from groups whose political parties have stood in direct opposition to President Donald Trump’s continual beratement of reputable news outlets.

Responses authored by student organizations are concerning as well. Some organizations, including Harvard College Democrats, Divest Harvard, Phillips Brooks House Association, Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee, and Radcliffe Raza, released statements urging their members to sign onto the petition, in addition to signing the petition as an organization. Individuals, as at any American university, should be encouraged to speak for themselves in times of contention on campus, and not rely on the decision-making of a few students in leadership positions.

It is unlikely that every member of the Harvard College Democrats, for example, agrees that boycotting a newspaper is right, but their organization spoke for them anyway.

The role of a free press is to deliver fair and unbiased reporting, which requires asking people named in an article for comment. These organizations have set a concerning precedent with their reaction to what was, in reality, an article covering

QUOTE OF THE week “You know what my husband said about the news?

He called it the first rough draft of history.”

- The Post, 2017

Jacob’s Caipirinha’s Recipe Jacob Schick / A1 Editor

Ingredients: - 2 oz. cachaça (Brazilian Rum) - 1 Lime - 2 tsp. white granulated sugar (to taste) - Ice Preparation: 1. Add sugar to cocktail shaker.

2. Quarter whole lime.

3. Add lime pieces, muddle thoroughly and with great vigor (read: make it squishy).

4. Pour in cachaça.

5. Add a large handful of crushed ice, 6. Shake. Hard.

7. Pour unstrained into large rocks glass.

8. Drink

IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

customer service Clarifications / Corrections

Advertising

Delivery

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

The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact Steven Everett, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com.

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

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

Editorial

The

Established 1919

Heights

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

Steven Everett, President, Editor-in-Chief Kristen Bahr, General Manager Anders Backstrom, Managing Editor

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

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

Jacob Schick, A1 Editor Emerson DeBasio, Creative Director Jack Miller, News Editor Bradley Smart, Sports Editor Kaylie Ramirez, Arts Editor Brooke Kaiserman, Magazine Editor Colleen Martin, Metro Editor Maddie Haddix, Opinions Editor Celine Lim, Photo Editor Danny Flynn, Copy Chief Emily Rosato, Layout Editor Ikram Ali, Graphics Editor

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

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

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

Business and Operations Allyson Mozeliak, Graphics Editor Amy Vanderschans, Social Media Director Meegan Minahan, Multimedia Editor Chris Chilton, Outreach Coordinator Abby Hunt, Assoc. News Editor Owen Fahy, Asst. News Editor Peter Kim, Assoc. Sports Editor Emily Himes, Assoc. Arts Editor Jillian Ran, Asst. Arts Editor Timmy Facciola, Assoc. Magazine Editor Maeve Reilly, Asst. Magazine Editor Isabel Fenoglio, Assoc. Metro Editor

Mary Wilkie, Asst. Metro Editor Maggie DiPatri, Assoc. Photo Editor Éamon Laughlin, Asst. Multimedia Editor Scott Baker, Copy Editor Izzy Cavazzoni, Copy Editor Stephanie Liu, Copy Editor Celia Carbone, Assoc. Investigative Editor Madeleine Romance, Asst. Investigative Editor

Will Powers, Operations Manager Barrette Janney, Centennial Director David Goodfellow, Collections Manager Sophie Lu, Local Accounts Manager Michelle Yang, Local Accounts Manager Ashley Yoon, On-Campus Accounts Manager

THE HEIGHTS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019

A7

Being a Workaholic Is Not a Good Thing can only do so much. Counseling services are helpful to those who are willing to reach out, full of people willing to help students suffering from compulsive working. So this is not a criticism of BC, but rather a request to students: If you believe you are predisposed to workaholic tendencies, ensure you have the proper help to deal with them.

Workaholic tendencies aren’t assets. I am the first to say that I do not put my health above my grades. I can lose the weight that I gain, readjust my broken circadian rhythm, and destress at any point. Those don’t have deadlines—exams do.

I understand disregarding health enough to have these workaholic tendencies. If I did prioritize this, then I wouldn’t be a frequent consumer of the synthetic brew that is Five Hour Energy. I always prioritize grades—which is why I find workaholism so dangerous.

Anyone who pushes themselves too far may experience Workaholic Breakdown Syndrome. While not a strictly medical diagnosis, Breakdown Syndrome is when somebody has worked too hard and they undergo severe burnout. Someone experiencing it will feel tired, with fatigue that doesn’t fade. It persists. They may feel tired for months on end.

Fatigue is only the first symptom of this burnout. Severe cases can lead to a loss of connection to others. People experiencing Breakdown Syndrome may begin to enjoy things less. What they were once excited for may become dull and uninteresting. They may begin to grow distant from friends or lose their sense of humor alltogether, which is a breeding ground for mental illness to form.

69

LOUIS GLEASON Sleepless nights are fueled by excessive amounts of caffeine. Coffee, supplements, or Five Hour Energies can be found scattered across high schools and colleges in the United States. Students believe that sacrificing sleep and consuming caffeine will lead to an uptick in productivity.

If this sounds extreme, it should. If this is surprising, it shouldn’t be. Workaholism is an increasingly common phenomenon among high school and college students. It is a growing trend in the U.S., and it’s something students should recognize.

The idea of being a workaholic is something we have glamorized in society, guising what is a genuine problem with terms that leave a softer impression such as “grinding.” We tend to see workaholics as hard workers, go-getters, and assets in the job market. This isn’t just a prioritization of work above health, but a heightening of our expectations of people that is beyond reasonable.

The worst thing about workaholism is not simply the lack of sleep—it’s the entire unhealthy relationship with work and accomplishment. Workaholics have an emotional dependence on (often excessive) productivity.

The resources at BC are plentiful to those who are willing to look for them, but the school

All of this culminates in workaholics, ironically, being unable to work. They are too tired to complete anything meaningful, and all the passion they once had to give to their work has been sapped out of them. Completing an assignment up to previous standards will become extremely difficult, and performance will dip.

The small fire that warms is better than the big fire that burns, and an excessively voracious approach to work and productivity will quickly lead to a point of diminishing returns. So, to BC students, know the signs, and recognize that success means a healthy relationship with work. Not recognizing your limits will only backfire.

It’s easy to forget this at highly competitive schools. In my short time at BC, I have seen people buy coffee as a badge of honor and proudly state that six hours of sleep at night is a luxury reserved for only a few times a month. People work until the early morning on homework, only to have to class before noon later that day.

Ultimately, we see the extent to which we work as an indicator of commitment and work ethic.

At schools full of ambitious, driven people, a vicious cycle can easily emerge where students, feeling insecure, increase their workload and, in turn, the extent to which they push themselves.

Louis Gleason is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Excess Drinking Isn’t a “Norm” BIANCA TJOENG Friday afternoons at Boston College can mean many different things. For one, it could mean locking yourself in your dorm room to frantically finish an international studies project that you have to turn in to your professor that evening. It could entail going to the pho restaurant in Allston that you and your roommate have been meaning to try for ages but for some reason never did. It could also mean taking the T to

your service placement for PULSE. Whatever the case may be and whatever you may be doing beforehand, Friday nights at Boston College usually converge to mean one thing: finding yourself at a party with loud music blaring in the background.

This is where drinking culture in BC starts to rear its ugly head. This is an issue that is not endemic to merely BC. It is the same in many colleges—and it is even worse on other campuses.

I am not here to tell you to stop drinking or to judge you for it. I am, after all, a college student in an American university, just like you. I do intend, however, to make you more cognizant of drinking culture here at this school and the consequences that it brings. Even though this culture may not seem dangerous right now, it could be exacerbated to even greater extents—and I suggest that we curtail it before it arrives to said point.

It is at parties that you situate yourself amid a whole host of individuals who, in their drunken stupor, are attempting to start conversations with other people. On the tables, you register the presence of half-empty red Solo cups, all of them filled with some type of alcoholic concoction. In your hands, you are holding one yourself. Perhaps it is completely differ-

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Zodiac Signs

ent from the one you had the week before—instead of mixing Jose Cuervo with lemonade, you choose to have an amalgamation of Bacardi and Diet Coke. Or maybe in lieu of a cup, your fingers are securely clasped around your third White Claw in your favorite flavor: black cherry.

You are having tons of fun, talking to people whom you could never muster up the courage to converse with sober, and you are breaking out dance moves that you would usually be too shy to showcase. The next thing you know, you wake up on your couch in your eight-man the morning after with only half-baked memories to tell you of how you ended up there after last night’s festivities.

You tell yourself that you will never drink again, regardless of how left out you will feel as a result of it. No matter how much you repeat this mantra to yourself, and in spite of the effort you dedicate into attempting to follow it, you will find yourself in the same position yet again the following Friday

Fire Signs Hey Upper East Siders, it’s Scorpio season. They’re so intense, so bold, like, they just need to chill. Their fire can keep you warm on a cold October night, or burn everything in their path.

Earth Signs They’re like so grounded, unlike fire signs. Wholesome, with solid foundations. Supportive and loving like Gaia herself.

Don’t we all love the Earth? So be nice and recycle, yah?

Stop killing the planet.

Water Signs Literally exists to put out fire. Mysterious like the ocean itself. Flowing, shining, and cleansing.

All around beautiful, inside and out. They feel intensely, but not like hurricanes. More like nice little waves.

night.

Air Signs Donald Trump is an air sign. So is Borris Johnson. So is Kanye West. As is Mike Pence.

And Jeanine Pirro. Also Tommy Wiseau.

You get the point.

At least they’re not fire signs.

ALICIA KANG

normal, and that it is expected of you. We believe that people utilize these four years of their lives to not only find themselves, but to fill their bodies with as much alcohol as they are capable of consuming. The worst thing you can do as a college student is to be the odd one out, and you know beyond an iota of doubt that abstinence will give you this label. Your last desire is to be an outlier, but this is impossible to avoid when you refuse to drink alcohol and partake in activities that involve it.

The fear of missing out is often the motive students need to go out on the weekends. Almost every single event hosted by clubs at BC, whether it be formals or socials, will involve some type of pregame before the actual event. It is at

The Truth in Journalism Does Matter concern. Becca believes that, if we need to get people to care about climate change, then it’s permissible to publish a headline that states the sea level is rising two inches every day. In other words, she thinks that journalism is about what you can persuade the public to believe in order to achieve an end goal.

We go to college with the understanding that drinking is

journalists don’t get into the industry solely to uncover the truth, and that even if they do, they’ll often find out right away that no one wants to read what they publish. Readers are more interested in entertainment-based stories than informative articles in general.

It’s difficult to bring justice to light in a world where not enough people care. Few people care about the truth these days, and even fewer read the news at all. For instance, the public knows about the harmful effects of consuming meat. We know the truth. And yet, do I still eat animals that have likely been kept in cages on inhumane farms their whole lives?

Yes, I do, and unless you’re a trendy vegan, you probably do too. Some facts are taken seriously, like mass shootings and natural disasters, but the overall public probably doesn’t care about a 0.13 rise in sea levels.

But I can’t fully commit to the idea that the truth does not matter. Even if journalism is meant to convince, ultimately its efforts at persuasion should aim to show the public what the truth is. Of course, journalists may bend and present their stories through certain lenses, but, just as a good lie is close to the truth, journalism should still strive to reveal objective facts. And so, to me journalism itself is built on the foundation of the truth. And the only way that we can ever reassess our trust in the government—a task that seems ever more critical in today’s administration—is to know and see the truth for ourselves.

In the first week of this semester, I had a perplexing conversation with one of my suitemates, in which she shared her belief that “the truth does not matter.” This seemed like a rather shocking claim to me, especially given the prolific amount of fake news in the United States right now, so I decided to sit down and delve into this opinion, which led to a conversation that helped me reassess journalism as it is today. While I came to lose some idealistic convictions I had about journalism, my faith in genuine reporting has only grown stronger.

In order to clarify what my friend’s very hot take actually means, I need to first set forth some disclaimers. My friend—who I’ll henceforth be calling “Becca”—does not believe that the truth is the same thing as a lie —she knows, as everyone does, that the truth and falsehood are objectively different.

Where Becca and I differ, however, lies in what she believes to be a journalist’s goal. To Becca, journalism is about what you can convince people to believe. It’s about an end goal.

In our conversation, she gave the example of climate change: In truth, the sea level is IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EDITOR currently rising about 0.13 inches a year. Yet a headline like this might not mean much to those reading the news. For some people, Talking to Becca changed the way I view Alicia Kang is an op-ed columnist for The 0.13 inches may be comparable to nothing, journalism both as an aspect of news and as a po- Heights. She can be reached at opinions@ and thus they consider this little cause for tential career path. I agree with her opinion that bcheights.com.

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

these pregames that individuals do most of their drinking. If a student misses the pregame, they miss out on the experience. They miss out on bonding with other students who they would probably never talk to in a classroom setting, they miss out on inside jokes that will be talked about for weeks thereafter, and they miss out on the sense of belonging that they, as a college student, so desperately desire.

If you come to the actual event sober, untouched by any form of alcohol, unlike the rest of your friends, you may feel left out and can fall under the belief that you will have less of a good time, despite the fact that you will not be the one nursing a piercing headache and a wicked hangover the day after.

The truth is, it is so hard to have a social life or to feel like you fit in when you choose not to drink. When other people are cognizant of the fact that you drink, you get invited to parties, you are considered cool, and, most importantly, you become part of the world in which others who don’t want anything to do with alcohol aren’t privy. When it comes to this trade-off, some students will most definitely make the decision that will guarantee a better chance at having friends in college, even if it is to their detriment.

As a result of the mindset that we have cultivated as a student body, we see myriads of alarming outcomes. Individuals feel as though they need to overcompensate and make it a point to prove to others that they can, indeed, drink (because God forbid anyone thinks you do not, in fact, enjoy drinking).

Due to this, they tend to choose to drink more than they are capable of, and they suffer the consequences of doing so in different forms: they either black out, encounter a horrible hangover the next day, or, in the worst case, are transported.

In other cases, no one is brought to the emergency room.

Rather, individuals act like they are more intoxicated than they truly are, choosing to be boisterous just to show others that they are having a good time.

The most deleterious part of the mindset that we have developed, therefore, is not even the fact that there exists an abundance of alcoholic substances around campus.

Instead, it is the fact that we have promulgated the notion that all of this—the drinking, the need to drink in front of others to feel like you belong, the over-consumption of alcohol, and the emergency rooms, among other things—is normal. We normalize drinking culture and all the things that come with it, and we fool ourselves into believing that it is an outlook that we can keep on sustaining without hurting ourselves.

Bianca Tjoeng is an op-ed columnist for The Heights.

She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

The Heights

A8

Thursday, October 24, 2019

JSP Funds Opportunities Abroad for Beginner Film Students JSP, from A4 The editing process is often the biggest learning curve, as most students had not produced any documentary films prior to their Salmanowitz project. Michalczyk said a universal struggle for students was finding out how to sort through hours of footage to produce a cohesive and focused film, which he provided guidance with while keeping students as the leaders.

“We went back and found all the quotes we wanted to include, and color-coded everything,” Mohler said. “There turned out to be so much good stuff that the biggest challenge was figuring out what we really wanted and narrowing it down.”

Since the program’s installation, access to editing technology has vastly improved.

Michalczyk has also upgraded the assistance available to students, from other film professors and himself, to help them learn to work more artistically. He is also hoping to hire a student who has already produced a film through the program as an

assistant next semester. For many students in the Salmanowitz program, their film is the first they have produced—but not the last.

LaMattina now directs Copper Pot Pictures, a production company under which he has directed films, as well as TV projects such as The Zoo, an investigation into the Brooklyn Zoo which aired on Animal Planet.

“I go back and see it [my first film], and obviously there’s things I’d like to change, but I say to my directing partner now, every film you make you go and look back on and realize things you wish you did differently, but you have to realize that this is the best film you could’ve made at this point in your career and life.”

After graduating from BC, LaMattina went to film school at the University of Southern California, which he says had standout resources and opportunities, but he credits the Salmanowitz and BC film program for much of his personal growth.

“I think BC is developing a nice reputation for those working in the entertainment industry,” LaMattina said. “It may not have

the name recognition of a top film school, but I think what they do is to be very free with opportunity, which is what I think people pursuing a career in filmmaking need.”

While others don’t continue filmmaking, their career interests are shaped by the grant opportunity. Completing her WWII war memorial film during her sophomore year helped solidify Jean-Louis’ interest in memory as a concept and German history, which her thesis drew upon. She now resides in Saxony, Germany, teaching English under a Fulbright grant for her second year.

“As a sophomore, you don’t fully trust your own abilities,” Jean-Louis said. “Working through the JSP and producing a film made me realize I’m capable of more than I think.”

Through the Salmanowitz Grant and LaMattina family grant, started by the family of David LaMattina in 2005, BC continues to expand opportunities for student filmmakers. The LaMattina family grant often works concurrently with the Salmanowitz Grant to fund more expensive undertakings, such

Photo Courtesy of John Mohler

John Mohler and his team interviewed six subjects with varying cultural views. as Mohler’s trip to New Zealand. Despite being a serious program led by faculty as distinguished as Michalczyk, the department remains committed to welcoming interested students with no prior experience.

“The Salmanowitz program gives an

incredible head start to students,” LaMattina said. “You could have all the fancy internships you want, but what Dr. Michalczyk and the Salmanowitz program did was to say, ‘Oh great, go do it.’ It was teaching in the purest form.” n

Superior Court Judge Upholds Four-Month Mass. Vape Ban Vape Ban, from A1 and ill-informed decisions, despite the best of intentions,” Wilkins wrote in his decision.

The order violates the threemonth limit on emergency regulations, the judge wrote.

The judge decided, however, that the benefit for the public outweighed the harm caused by the ban. The decision cited the 1,479 lung injuries

related to vaping and the 33 deaths in the United States as a determining factor in upholding the ban.

Governor Charlie Baker issued the ban in September, declaring a “public health emergency.”

All stores across the state were required to remove all vape products from their shelves the day after the ban was instituted.

Business owners across the state were shocked as they learned about

the ban. Some, like the owners of Vape Daddy’s in Newton, decided that they needed to close some of their stores as they wouldn’t be able to afford staying open without making sales for four months.

“It is me and my business partner’s livelihood,” said Stacy Poritzky, one of the owners of Vape Daddy’s, in an interview with The Heights shortly after the ban was announced.

“So it’s really so wrong on so many

levels.”

Vapor Technology Association, Devine Enterprise, Sun Vapors, and the Steam Co. filed the lawsuit against the governor on Oct. 1.

Newton and Boston had proposed regulations for curbing youth vaping shortly before the governor announced the ban.

The City of Newton proposed in August to limit e-cigarette sales to the two adult-only retailers in

Newton starting in December. The proposal was largely in response to the Newton Fall 2018 Youth Risk Survey, which found that 15 percent of high schoolers in Newton use ecigarettes.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh, BC ’09, had announced a plan to limit mint and menthol nicotine and tobacco products to adult-only retailers in Boston the week before the ban was announced. n

New Writing Center Seeks to Differentiate Itself From CFLC The English department project will coach students in developing their writing skills, rather than general tutoring.

By Matthew Ma For The Heights The Boston College English department opened a ne w writing center for undergraduate students on Oct. 1. The center, which is located on the fourth floor of Stokes Hall South, houses 10 peer mentors, who offer appointments for students hoping to improve the strength and quality of their general writing skills.

The main coordinators of the

writing center are Lynne Anderson, director of English Language Learning at BC, Paula Mathieu, an associate professor in the English department, and Marla De Rosa, director of the Writing Fellows Program.

Anderson said that members of the English department thought of creating a writing center separate from the existing Connors Family Learning Center (CFLC) when the faculty members noticed a lack of writing support for undergraduate students.

jonathan ye / heights editor

The Stokes South room will give writing consultants a place to meet with the students.

The new writing center differentiates itself from CFLC in that all 10 of its writing consultants are current undergraduate students majoring in English. In comparison, some CFLC writing tutors are graduate students, and not all of them are English majors, limiting how much writing assistance is available.

Besides the writing tutors at CFLC, BC’s Writing Fellows Program, created in 2004, has been the only other organized effort to help students improve writings outside classrooms.

This program pairs trained graduate students to certain classes across the four undergraduate schools, but only students in those specific classes receive support from this program.

The English department sought a way to further expand access to trained mentors for all undergraduate students.

“Most universities have a tutoring center as well as a writing center … some even have multiple writing centers,” Mathieu said.

By limiting consultants to just undergraduate students, the writing center hopes to provide help from those who can better relate to a fel-

low student’s own class experience.

Students are also encouraged to go to the center no matter what area of discipline they are coming from.

All writing consultants are currently enrolled in a one-credit, once-aweek course centered around writing tutoring, which Anderson teaches.

Emma Llosa, a Writing Center tutor and MCAS ’20, explained that the class has focused on dissecting the role of writing centers located on other college campuses.

The class participants also did individual presentations based on tutor training videos found on YouTube.

Llosa, one of the three tutors who have already had appointments with students, thought the course helped her tackle the more subtle aspects of giving suggestions to a fellow student’s writing.

“I’m learning more about the art of tutoring, in addition to actually doing the tutoring. I kind of see myself as a facilitator, helping students connect with their ideas better and feeling stronger about their own skills,” Llosa said.

In addition to the course, some writing consultants went through

bilingual tutoring training under Anderson. While CFLC does provide support in the form of grammar checks for non-native English writers, the writing center seeks to help international students better understand the English language rather than getting help with a specific assignment, Anderson said.

Instead of simply correcting the awkward use of an expression or tweaking style problems, Anderson believes foreign language speakers can more effectively understand the mistakes they made if their tutors are able to relate to their home languages.

Anderson herself is trained in applied linguistics and had extensive experience teaching the English language in immigrant communities prior to her work at BC. “[Being a bilingual tutor] is about being able to really understand how languages work and to give [students] strategies about how to navigate between two languages,” Anderson said.

In the near future, the writing center hopes to create a web portal for appointments and offer group workshops. n

‘Marie and Rosetta’ Gives Credit to Godmother of Rock ‘N’ Roll The show, presented by Front Porch Arts Collective and Greater Boston Stage Company, tells the tale of Rosetta Tharpe.

By Gretchen Haga For The Heights There are two women who are often ignored in the discussion about rock ‘n’ roll, but had an influence on the pop culture phenomenon—one that revolutionized the American music scene.

They don’t come up in a Google search for famous rock artists, but one was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, 45 years after she died. The women, Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, are the subjects of Marie and Rosetta, a show put on by the Greater Boston Stage Company and the Front Porch Arts Collective from Oct. 17 to Nov. 10. The Front Porch Arts Collective is an organization dedicated to combating racism through theatre in the Greater Boston area. It aims to “examine interactions between race, culture, economics, ability, gender, and sexuality from the black and brown perspective.”

Director Pascale Florestal brought this production to the Front Porch to tell the relatively unknown stories of two women who revolutionized rock ‘n’ roll and inspired so many artists.

“For me, this production is not only to honor Rosetta and Marie, but to honor all

of the other forgotten people of color who innovated and redefined our world,” Florestal said in a press release. “I am doing this project for Sister Rosetta Tharpe and all the other forgotten women of color who have paved the way for successful white men.”

The play tells the true story of musician Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who is considered the godmother of rock ‘n’ roll, and her protégée, Marie Knight. Tharpe became legendary through her unique voice and unconventional approach of blending gospel music and guitar picking. She was open and provocative with her lyrics and influenced artists such as Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, and Elvis Presley. Tharpe was one of the first rock ‘n’ roll artists to incorporate an electric guitar into the style. Tharpe and Knight embarked on a successful tour in the 1940s, and the play primarily focuses on their relationship while featuring some of Tharpe’s greatest hits. It includes challenging conversations about racism, sexuality, religion, and gender. Knight is initially depicted as timid and is intimidated by Tharpe’s vibrant personality, but the two share personal stories and grow closer. Knight’s traditional views are challenged by Tharpe’s innovative ideas and she comes out of her shell both on and off stage. Tharpe is played by award-winning

performer, educator, songwriter, and singer, Lovely Hoffman. Hoffman’s viral single, “My Black is Beautiful,” topped at No. 45 on the Adult Contemporary Radio Charts. She has also been featured on TeenVogue and CNN. Pier Lamia Porter plays Knight in her first performance with the Greater Boston Stage Company. Some of her other credits include Little Shop of Horrors and To Kill a Mockingbird. She has a bachelor’s of music in opera performance from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

As the only two actors in the show, Hoffman and Porter needed to turn in compelling performances, and they certainly did. Hoffman, in particular, shines as she encompasses a diva and legend of the musical world. Despite her musical success, Tharpe faced many challenges on the road because of her skin color. Restaurants and hotels frequently refused to let her in, and she rarely had a place to spend the night.

The play is set in a funeral home, where Tharpe and Knight have to sleep in empty caskets. They also have to rely on whatever their bus driver could find for food.

Rosetta and Marie is a triumphant and heartfelt production that sheds light on racism, religion, sexuality, and gender—as the Front Porch Arts Collective aims to

Photo Courtesy of nile scott studios

Lovely Hoffman and Pier Lamia Porter bring past musical experience to the stage. do. Hoffman radiates joy and engages the audience throughout. The soundtrack, especially, is a success, and Hoffman and Porter’s incredible voices blend together beautifully. The final song, “Peace in the Valley,” brought members of the audience to tears, contrasting with many of the other numbers that were rhythmic and lively. The music adds an entirely new element to the show that characterizes Marie and Rosetta, as well as their experiences, cultures, and

outlooks.

“Too often when I read a story about an incredible person of color and their amazing contributions to our world, I am shocked that I don’t know them,” Florestal said in the release.

“Mostly I am left with shame—ashamed that we have continued to let these people be forgotten, letting their stories and contributions be swept under the rug as if they were not important.” n

Thursday, October 24, 2019

SPORTS

CHECK YOUR SIX FIELD HOCKEY

A9

@HeightsSports

Finally Contending Peter Kim

By Bradley Smart

By Taylor Covington

Sports Editor

Heights Staff

At this point, you might as well give Boston College field hockey forward Margo Carlin the ACC Rookie of the Year award 1 On Friday night, Syracuse with the No. 13 Boston College 2 Eagles tied with No. 15 Syracuse in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Carlin—who had the team’s lone goal of the night—found herself in the perfect spot to score after teammate Brigid Wood delivered her a pass in front of net.

Carlin made no mistake, making a slick move before tucking home the eventual game-winner with 3:55 on the clock as BC escaped with a 2-1 win, its fifth in a row.

Carlin’s two-goal effort was enough to hand the Orange (8-5, 1-3) its third straight loss. The Eagles (9-5, 3-1), meanwhile, continue to soar since starting the year just 4-5.

During its five-game winning streak, BC has outscored its opponents, 13-1, and beaten three ranked foes. Carlin has played a big

Earlier this month, Boston College field hockey began its upward ascent with a resume-building win over No. 8 Virginia, and it has been 2 Boston College unstoppable New Hampshire 0 since. Sunday’s road game against New Hampshire—the Eagles’ last non-conference matchup of the year—was just the latest strong performance in a string of victories. Behind goals from Nell Webber and Sky Caron, No. 13 BC won its sixth straight, sinking the Wildcats, 2-0.

Boasting a hot hand in goal, Sarah Dwyer has played a large role in BC’s (10-5, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) recent success, conceding her first goal in four games against Syracuse this weekend. Her defensive efforts, coupled with Margo Carlin’s uncanny ability to find the back of the cage, have helped the Eagles on their recent roll, and things didn’t change in their final tune-up before Friday’s stiff road test against No. 1 North Carolina.

On Sunday afternoon, Boston College field hockey beat New Hampshire, 2-0, to win its sixth consecutive game. It’s a stretch that has been impressive for several reasons. Firstly, it’s not like the Eagles have played a weak schedule. In fact, the six-game streak has featured three wins against ranked opponents, including No. 8 Virginia and No. 15 Syracuse—two teams that BC has, historically, posted a combined 18-38 against.

What’s more, BC arguably hasn’t had to stretch its legs too much in any of the six games. Sure, there have been tense moments—the winning goal in the Eagles’ 2-1 win against the Orange came with just under four minutes to play—but BC has yet to trail during its run of victories.

Perhaps most impressively, though, the Eagles have conceded just one (yes, one) total goal in its last six games. The entire defense, and goaltender Sarah Dwyer in particular, has upped its game, while Margo Carlin has provided BC’s offense with a deadly scoring threat. After years of struggling once ACC play rolls around, Kelly Doton and the Eagles are on track to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. This is a stark turnaround from midway through the season, when it looked like the Eagles were on track for another disappointing season. A thirdconsecutive underwhelming season would have likely raised questions about Doton’s viability as head coach moving forwards.

Instead, on the heels of its six-game win streak, BC heads into its matchup with No. 1 North Carolina as a legitimate ACC contender.

Take a look at the Eagles’ history of defending in conference under Doton.

In 2018, BC earned six shutouts, but just one came in the ACC. In six conference contests, the Eagles conceded two goals per game, a figure that would currently rank 44th out of 77 Division I teams if extrapolated to a whole season.

In 2017, it was worse. In its ACC opener, BC lost, 6-0, to Syracuse and never recovered. The Eagles never conceded less than two goals in conference play, and finished the year allowing 3.33 goals per game in the ACC, which would currently put them in the bottom 10 nationwide this season in goals per contest allowed.

Both of those years, the Eagles missed the NCAA Tournament after making it in

See FH vs. UNH, A10

See Momentum, A10

COURTESY OF JOHN QUACKENBOS / BC ATHLETICS

After a perfect weekend, the Eagles ran their win streak to six games, putting the team in position to challenge No. 1 North Carolina for the ACC regular season title.

See FH vs. Syracuse, A10

LEO WANG / FOR THE HEIGHTS

Margo Carlin is two goals shy of the fourth-most goals in a single season for BC.

Eagles Set Program Record for Conference Wins Against Miami

By Andrew D’Ambrosio For The Heights After losing back-to-back matches against conference opponents Pittsburgh and Florida State—which 3 spoiled a perBoston College Miami 2 fe ct star t to conference play—Boston College volleyball got back on track with a dramatic 3-2 win at Miami on Sunday. It was far from

comfortable, as the Eagles had to battle through five closely-contested sets and erase a 2-1 deficit, but the result was their first victory over the Hurricanes since 2007—snapping an 18-match losing streak against them—and the most conference wins (6) recorded in program history.

Offensively, the Eagles (15-6, 6-2 Atlantic Coast) outplayed Miami (8-8, 4-4), hitting at a .253 clip compared to the Hurricanes’ .183 mark. Miami

also committed six more errors than BC in the loss, and that proved to be enough of a difference in a match that had slim margins. BC was paced

by Jewel Strawberry, who boasted 18 kills and 12 digs on the day, while Clare Naughton similarly flourished with 14 kills. Of late, Strawberry and Naughton have emerged as a powerful offensive duo.

On the defensive side, Strawberry was dynamic as well, tallying a total

of 12 digs. Jane DeJarld helped support Strawberry with 12 digs of her own. With 16 blocks in total, the Eagles’ defense provided a necessary boost in the contest—which proved to be the fifth such five-set win that BC has managed to come away with this season.

After a back-and-forth first set, the Eagles were able to secure a 25-16 victory. Strawberry shifted momentum to the BC bench early

with two consecutive aces. After a mid-set rally from the Hurricanes, though, the score was close at 17-14.

The Eagles were still able to hold onto the lead and pulled away in the final plays of the set.

The second frame provided a much different storyline, as Miami began to control the momentum. After a scorching start, the Hurricanes

See VB at Miami, A12

FOOTBALL

BC Heads to Death Valley to Face Daunting Foe in No. 4 Clemson

By Bradley Smart Sports Editor Two years ago, Boston College football headed down to Death Valley to face No. 2 Clemson, with the Eagles fresh off of a 29-point loss to Notre Dame. And, for three quarters, despite being five-touchdown underdogs and playing in front of 80,525 fans, BC hung with the Tigers.

The game went into the fourth quarter all tied up at seven apiece, and while Clemson pulled away quickly with 27 unanswered points to win, 347, it was still a resilient effort for three

INSIDE SPORTS

quarters. Now, the Eagles once again face a daunting test, and a similar performance would be nothing short of impressive. BC is 34.5-point underdogs in Saturday’s primetime matchup with the No. 4 Tigers—it’ll be on the ACC Network at 7:30 p.m.—and head coach Steve Addazio sees this year’s matchup with Dabo Swinney’s side as a chance to grow.

“The challenges will be high, but we’re looking forward to it,” Addazio said in his weekly press conference.

“The team has a lot of energy, a lot of juice, excited, excited about the game … We’ve been down there a few times

and here and had some wars, and our guys are well aware.”

If this game was after the Eagles’ tough road loss to Louisville, the atmosphere aroundn the matchup might’ve been much more subdued.

Instead, af ter a bye we ek and a dominant victory over North Carolina State, in which BC ran over the conference’s No. 1 rushing defense at will and impressed defensively, Addazio’s team has a much better chance of at least keeping it close in the early going.

See Clemson Presser, A11

CELINE LIM / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Last season, quarterback EJ Perry was thrust into the starting role, and BC lost by a 27-7 score.

FB: BC Has Unforgiving Schedule Left WHOK: Eagles Perfect Through Six Games

SCORES AND STANDINGS................... ....

A10 The Eagles are pursuing a sixth bowl game under Steve BC is off to its best start since 2015-16 and has already FOOTBALL.................................................

A11 Addazio, but the path will be tough............................... A11 won five of its first six games away from home.................A12 MEN’S HOCKEY........................................

A12

The Heights

A10

Thursday, October 24, 2019 FIELD HOCKEY

Eagles Shut Out Wildcats, Extend Season-Long Win Streak to Six FH vs. UNH, from A9 Things got off to a slow start in Durham, as both teams struggled to get a shot off through much of the first frame. While the Eagles were opportunistic from the outset, drawing a penalty corner inside the first five minutes of regulation, they failed to capitalize for the early lead. It wasn’t until Webber subbed in at the seven-minute mark that things started heating up. Webber gained possession within 30 seconds of taking the field and made the most of it, scoring off a pass from Elizabeth Warner deep down the right side. BC’s defense tightened up from there, taking the pressure off Dwyer, as it kept UNH (7-8, 1-2 America East) out of the circle for the remainder of the quarter.

The Wildcats refused to let the Eagles get comfortable, though, as they played reckless offense in the second frame. UNH’s Isabelle Danahy managed to navigate the BC defense and get a shot off two minutes into the quarter, but it was to no avail.

In true form, Dwyer managed to get her body in front to maintain the lead, but the

Wildcats weren’t done fighting. Winning a corner just three minutes later, UNH seemed poised to notch the equalizer. Once again, Dwyer wasn’t having it. Despite a shot from Finn Caron, Dwyer made sure to keep the score stagnant, as the BC offense struggled to regain its footing. Two equally unsuccessful penalty corners for the Eagles kept UNH within striking distance, while scoring difficulties plagued both teams for the remainder of the half.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that BC managed to pull away, despite an aggressive effort from the Wildcats. Winning its second corner of the game within two minutes of the break, UNH still couldn’t quite find the back of the cage, even with two consecutive shot attempts. The Eagles capitalized on an opportunity to put the game away, shaking off their scoring woes, as Carlin drew a penalty stroke and Caron buried the ensuing a shot to double the lead. From there, it was all about protecting the circle.

The Eagles proceeded to shut out the Wildcats for the remainder of the period, heading into the final quarter ready to tally

another win.

Things went just as planned. BC held the Wildcats to three unsuccessful shots to end the game. While UNH goaltender Jemma Woods made it difficult for the Eagles to pad the score, the Wildcat offense proved hardly problematic for the Eagles, who managed to keep UNH out of the circle and maintain possession throughout much of the quarter. With their final non-conference victory of the season under their belt, the Eagles headed back over the state line to prepare for their final stretch of the season with six straight wins behind them.

As BC continues to gain momentum, it seems as if there is no stopping this team from continuing to make its name known in its conference. It already has its longest win streak since 2014, and, with two pivotal matchups against the top-ranked Tar Heels and No. 4 Duke in the coming week, the Eagles have a chance to go into the ACC Tournament with impressive momentum.

If it somehow manages two wins—however difficult that may be—BC would enter postseason play as the conference’s top seed. n

Carlin, BC Squeak Past No. 15 ‘Cuse FH vs. Syracuse, from A9 role in that, as she’s now tallied nine goals during that span to raise her season total to 17—a mark that’s only three behind the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year in North Carolina’s Erin Matson and eighth in BC single-season program history.

Syracuse had taken the last five meetings with BC and held a decisive 24-10 edge in the all-time series, but it was clear from the beginning that this was going to be a back-and-forth affair.

The first half was defined by strong defense and minimal chances, with the Eagles managing the lone shot on goal.

BC also suffered some bad luck, though, as both Jaime Natale and Sky Caron had shots hit the post in the span of 30 seconds.

Six minutes into the third quarter, Carlin—who saw a shot that she hit out of midair go wide in the first half—broke through for the Eagles.

Natale set her up beautifully, dribbling in on goal and withstanding a challenge from Syracuse’s Claire Webb to send the pass ahead to Carlin. Orange goaltender Sarah Sinck had come out

to cut off the shot, but Natale’s pass got through and Carlin one-timed it for an easy finish.

The Eagles were unable to close out the third quarter smoothly, however, as Syracuse’s Claire Cooke scored with just 16 seconds on the clock. The late goal drew an immediate comparison to BC’s last loss back on Sept. 26 against No. 11 Saint Joseph’s. In that matchup, a 5-4 loss, the Eagles gave up goals in the final minute of three separate quarters.

B u t t h at k i n d o f b r e a k d o w n wouldn’t haunt BC this time around.

In a fourth quarter that seemed like it could’ve gone either way, Syracuse had a costly green card called on Caroline Hoffman with just under five-and-ahalf minutes left in the game.

The Eagles didn’t waste the man advantage, as a little over a minute later, they broke through. Wood, who dribbled the ball out of the defense, sent a pass ahead to Carlin, who found herself in front of Sinck. Carlin settled it, beat Sinck with a move to the goalie’s left, and buried it in the back of the cage.

It was a clutch finish and another green card on Syracuse’s SJ Quigley in the final minutes killed any chance at

an equalizer for the visitors. While its scoreless streak of 297-plus minutes came to an end, BC played almost impeccable defense and was able to lock down the Orange’s biggest scoring threat in freshman Charlotte de Vries, who entered with 13 goals.

Devries managed two shots the whole game but neither found their way on frame in the loss.

At this point, the Eagles have completely rewritten the story of their season as head coach Kelly Doton is now poised for her first season with an above-.500 mark in conference play. The start of the year was defined by ups and downs, as they strung together a three-game winning streak but also lost two and three in a row.

Now, winners of five straight— against a group of quality opponents nonetheless—BC enters a non-conference game against New Hampshire with an abundance of confidence.

Should it win that, the Eagles will take 10 wins into huge matchups with No. 1 North Carolina and No. 4 Duke.

Those games will have both big ACC standings and NCAA tournament implications, which says wonders about how quick the team has turned things around. n

In Fifth Year at Helm, Doton Looks to Finally Have Eagles in ACC Contention Momentum, from A9

Perfect Start Women’s hockey moved to 6-0-0 on the season after holding off Vermont on Saturday.

Penalty Kill Men’s hockey allowed four total power-play goals in two losses to No. 1 Denver.

Ground and Pound Football rushed for a season-high 429 yards in a blowout win over N.C. State

Streaks Ending After conceding a goal to Syracuse, field hockey watched a run of four straight shutouts end.

Setting Records Volleyball set its program record for ACC wins with 10 games still to play.

Five-Game Skid With a 3-0 loss to North Carolina, women’s soccer is now winless in its last five games.

back-to-back seasons to start Doton’s tenure at the program’s helm. But even when BC did make postseason appearances, it had issues defensively. In 2015, the Eagles conceded 20 goals in six conference games, and in 2016 they allowed 15, which averages out to 2.5 goals per game allowed. For one more point of comparison, in 2019 just Wake Forest—which is also the only program in the conference outside the top 15—is the only ACC squad conceding more goals per game than those 2015 and 2016 Eagles teams.

Now, to be fair, the ACC is certainly the toughest field hockey conference in the country. Currently, five of the top-10 teams in the nation, by RPI, reside in the conference, headlined by No. 1 UNC. Moreover, teams currently in the ACC have a total of 11 national championships, and before leaving for the Big Ten, Maryland won eight more. Add that all up, and the extent of the conference’s dominance on a national level becomes clear—ACC teams have won 19 of 38 possible championships. Granted, the Terrapins no longer play in the conference, so there’s not quite as much hardware present, but in the latest NFHCA Coaches Poll, six of the seven ACC teams were ranked within the top 15.

This season, though, it appears that Doton has finally figured out a solid defensive formula. BC opened the ACC slate with a 2-0 win over the Demon Deacons, and although it did concede three goals in its lone conference loss of

the season to Louisville, has rebounded excellently since then. First, the Eagles went on the road to UVA and held the No. 8 Cavaliers scoreless, nabbing a 1-0 win. Then, at home on Friday, BC gave up its first goal in five games, but still rebounded to sneak past No. 15 Syracuse, 2-1. In total, the Eagles have allowed just four goals in four ACC games. Only the No. 1 Tar Heels, who are a perfect 12-0, have conceded less.

For that, Dwyer in particular deserves praise. The senior started a total of 31 games in 2017 and 2018, but found herself behind Jonna Kennedy on the depth chart to start the season. Nevertheless, she got the starting nod against the Cavaliers after Kennedy let in eight goals in the span of two games, and has fit in seamlessly. After the 2-0 win against the Wildcats, she is allowing just 0.66 goals per contest. And, of course, the rest of the defense, from Sky Caron— who has recorded 11 points—to freshman Darcy Clement, who is second on the team in minutes played, to upperclassmen Emily Buttinger and Kate Pianko, have also played an integral part in a suddenly rock-solid backline.

And it would certainly be an error of omission not to mention Carlin, the freshman forward who is already writing her name in the record books. In 2018, BC’s leading scorer was Frederique Haverhals. The then-senior totaled nine goals in 19 games. Next up on the scoring charts? Brooke Matherson, who finished the season with six scores. In 2019, with two games still to play, Carlin already has more goals than the two of

them combined, with 17.

The Drexel Hill, Pa., native has failed to score in just four of 15 contests this season and has already recorded more goals in a single season than any other player Kelly Doton has coached. If Carlin keeps up this pace throughout her four years in Chestnut Hill, she’ll break the program record for goals scored, which is currently held by Bob Dirks.

Between recruiting Carlin, and pushing all the right buttons defensively, it seems Doton is finally ready to take the Eagles back to the postseason. What’s more, this looks like a team capable of competing with the best the ACC has to offer. Barring catastrophic performances against both UNC and Duke to end the year, BC is easily on pace for its best defensive season (at least in conference) in the past five years. And, with two games to play, the Eagles have already matched their best conference performance of three wins under Doton.

An upcoming Friday night contest against the No. 1 Tar Heels—who hold an all-time record of 16-2 against BC—is certainly the biggest test yet of whether the Eagles are truly ready to compete with conference powerhouses, but for now Doton and the entire BC team deserve a lot of credit for its six-game win streak. After two down years that featured a total of just two ACC wins, the Eagles finally look ready to make a climb towards the top of the conference.

Peter Kim is the assoc. sports editor for The Heights. He can be reached on Twitter @PeterKim_4

The Heights

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A11

FOOTBALL

Eagles Face Difficult Path to Bowl Eligibility in Final Five Games

By Bradley Smart

Through two weeks, Boston College football seemed well on its way to another bowl. The Eagles took care of business against a Virginia Tech team that was favored in the season opener, then rolled past Richmond.

With Kansas and Rutgers on tap next, BC had a not-so-slim chance of starting the year 4-0, which would place head coach Steve Addazio’s team two-thirds of the way to bowl eligibility.

Then the Kansas disaster happened, and the Eagles saw their projected win total, per ESPN’s FPI, slip to just four wins (4.4). Now, six weeks later, we find Addazio’s team at 4-3 after a bounce-back victory over North Carolina State, in which BC used a dominant rushing attack and a stifling defensive effort to come away with a 45-24 win. The Eagles now have five games left to find two wins, and unfortunately for Addazio, the schedule isn’t particularly forgiving.

that there are at least two—if not three—potential wins left on the schedule. Here’s a look at who BC has left to play, and what it’ll take for the Eagles to go bowling for the sixth time in seven years under Addazio.

Oct. 26 at Clemson (FPI Chance to Win: 2 percent) For all the hubbub around the Tigers (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) dropping to No. 4 in the national polls despite starting the year 7-0, Clemson is still a force to be reckoned with and it’ll be awfully hard for BC to stay in this game. The Tigers have won 40 of their last 41 games at home, and bring in both the conference’s topranked offense and defense into this matchup.

Dabo Swinney is 10-1 as a head coach against the Eagles, and his team has won the last eight matchups, with the lone loss coming back in 2010. Last year’s meeting was highly anticipated, as BC was No. 17 at the time, but once Anthony Brown went down, all hope was basically lost en route to a 27-7 loss, where the Eagles

Per ESPN, the Eagles have the sixth-hardest remaining strength of schedule in Division I football, and it’s 24 spots higher than any other ACC team (Duke is 30th). Not only does BC play a pair of College Football Playoff participants from last year, four of its final five games are also on the road.

The Eagles’ inability to beat the Jayhawks and back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and Louisville by a combined five points are haunting Addazio and Co., but while FPI projects them to finish 5-7, it seems

managed just 113 yards of offense. As 34.5-point underdogs, BC will hope to keep it close for at least a few quarters, but it’ll likely drop back to .500 and hope to avoid any injuries.

Nov. 2 at Syracuse (41.1 percent) Per FPI, this matchup in the Carrier Dome is the one that the Eagles have the best chance of winning out of the remaining games on their schedule. Syracuse (3-4, 0-3), which was pegged as the second-best team in the ACC at the start of the year, has yet to register a Power Five victory—making

Sports Editor

the Orange one of just five teams in the country without one.

The biggest issue has been on the offensive line, as Syracuse has allowed 35 sacks—the most in the country—and also ranks 117th in rushing yardage. Quarterback Tommy DeVito left last week’s game against Pittsburgh with an injury after constantly being chased from the pocket, and while backup Clayton Welch was serviceable in attempting to engineer a comeback, the team as a whole has plenty of questions. There hasn’t been much sign of improvement from Dino Babers’ side, and BC will attempt to run over a Syracuse defense that is allowing 4.14 yards per carry. This will be a must-win for Addazio, and right now, the Eagles look like the better team despite being underdogs in terms of FPI. Nov. 9 vs. Florida State (39.8 percent) With a win over the Orange, BC would need just one more victory to punch its ticket to the postseason, and it’ll have a good chance to get it against an up-and-down Seminoles (3-4, 2-3) team. In their final home game of the year—and also the Red Bandana Game—the Eagles will likely come out firing against FSU, which hung with Wake Forest last week in a two-point loss.

Time is ticking on head coach Willie Taggart’s tenure, as he finds himself at third on the weekly college football hot seat rankings. The Seminoles have been marred by late-game execution issues, which popped up in a major way against the Demon Deacons. Taggart hasn’t been able to get the best out of his team, as FSU has one of the more talented defenses in the ACC in terms of recruiting rankings, but is 13th in the conference in scoring defense (30.7 points per game). Throw in the fact that FSU has the ACC’s worst passing defense and ranks 10th in rushing defense, and BC is poised to win a potential shootout.

Nov. 23 at Notre Dame (5.4 percent) The realistic best-case scenario heading into South Bend is clear: If the Eagles beat both Syracuse and FSU, they’ll be 6-4 and coming off a bye week to give top-10 Notre Dame (5-1) their best shot—a hypothetical which is filled with potential for

Addazio’s side. BC came out of its last bye week brimming with confidence, and its breakdown-plagued defense was flying all over the field early en route to a 21-point blowout of N.C. State. Still, even if the Eagles are .500 or below, this should be a physical and entertaining matchup at the least.

ing the winning streak alive for a bit—they play Miami, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech before hosting the Eagles.

BC has a chance to win this one, as it seems more of a tossup than the 70 percent win probability that FPI has the Panthers at right now. The big

While the Irish have taken the last six meetings, the 2015 matchup is one to point to—BC had lost six straight but only lost to then-No. 5 Notre Dame by a field goal at Fenway.

Keeping it close this season could be hard, though, as the Irish currently boast the 13th-best offense, per Bill Connelly’s SP+ ratings, and the No. 35 defense. Quarterback Ian Book poses a serious problem for BC’s defense, as he’s completing 63 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns to two interceptions, while running back Tony Jones Jr. has impressed for an offense that is scoring 39.2 points per game.

Nov. 30 at Pittsburgh (30.8 percent) A conference matchup closes out the regular season, and it could either be a must-win (should the Eagles drop one of Syracuse and FSU) or one with the potential to land Addazio yet another seven-win season. The Panthers (5-2, 2-1) have played their way to second place in the Coastal Division with four straight wins, but they’ve come by a combined 14 points. The margin for error has been slim for Pittsburgh, which almost blew leads in three of those games. The inability to play a full game is concerning for head coach Pat Narduzzi’s squad, but they have a decent chance of keep-

story will, once again, be the opposing team’s rushing defense. Pittsburgh, through seven games, is holding opponents to an ACC-best 90.4 rushing yards per game and just 2.7 yards per carry. The other storyline is the Panthers’ streaky quarterback Kenny Pickett, as he’s fifth in the ACC in passing yards but just 13th in efficiency.

Bottom Line Overall, the best case scenario for Addazio and the Eagles is wins over Syracuse, FSU, and Pittsburgh, once again securing a 7-5 regular season for the much-maligned head coach.

The worst case scenario?

It seems unlikely considering the issues that the Orange and Seminoles have faced, but BC could drop both of those games in disappointing fashion and limp to the finish line on a fivegame losing streak, ending the year 4-8. The betting lines in those games should be slim, and while the Eagles looked much improved against the Wolfpack, you have to avoid leaping to conclusions.

A 6-6 season seems most likely, and that’ll be enough to get BC to a bowl game. It’s just a matter of executing on the road and making the most of a cold-weather home game against a team from Florida. n

CELINE LIM / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Eagles are coming off a week in which David Bailey (left) and AJ Dillon (right) ran all over visiting North Carolina State, combining for 404 yards on 50 caries while racking up five touchdowns on the ground.

Clemson Boasts 22-Game Win Streak Entering Saturday Clemson Presser, from A9 Even that might be a tall task against Clemson, though. Despite dropping three spots in the AP Poll since Week 1 and losing the confidence of some pundits, the Tigers are still the defending national champions and have won 22 straight games. Swinney’s team is fresh off a 45-10 rout of the Cardinals, a game where Trevor Lawrence threw his seventh and eighth interception of the year—but then completed all nine of his pass attempts in the second quarter for 156 yards and a pair of scores.

The 35-point win still saw Clemson (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) take another step backward in the national polls, as the Tigers were jumped by the Buckeyes, coached by former BC offensive

coordinator Ryan Day. Clemson is a part of a strange bit of history, as the last time a preseason No. 1 team fell three spots without a loss this far into the season was Notre Dame in 1971.

The reason voters have been hesitant is clear: The Tigers beat No. 12 Texas A&M for their only real quality win, but the Aggies have since dropped out of the AP Poll, and Clemson also narrowly escaped a four-loss North Carolina side by a single point, while showing signs of regression from last year’s championship team throughout the first month and a half of the season.

Good luck telling Addazio that, as he had nothing but respect for how Swinney’s team has handled the noise around the team this season.

“They ’ve won championships,

national championships, conference championships. This program knows how to ride through the emotional ups and downs of everything,” he said.

“You’re everybody’s big game. You’re taking everybody’s best shot. That speaks volumes to what Dabo Swinney and his staff have done down there to me. That’s very, very difficult to do.”

Swinney’s staff has been remarkably consistent, with the group including talented defensive coordinator Brent Venables. The last two seasons, Venables and his defense has held the Eagles to a total of seven points (last year’s touchdown came on a Michael Walker kick return) and just 351 combined yards. That’s a dominant effort, and it raises concerns with the fact that once Anthony Brown went down last year, BC was absolutely shut

down offensively with backup EJ Perry in the game.

This year, the Eagles are throwing Dennis Grosel into the fray. There’s nothing like making your second career start in a stadium that is completely filled, entirely orange, and incredibly loud. Still, Addazio has faith in his quarterback’s ability to manage a game, mentioning his alert third-down scramble that jump started a 98-yard touchdown drive against the Wolfpack as one such example.

“He’s a pretty sharp guy,” Addazio said. “I think he handles all that really well. I think with Dennis it’s just game experience, just being in those games and all the unique things that come up in a game, and managing all of that.”

BC will likely once again attempt to lean on its rushing offense. Grosel

attempted just 15 passes against N.C. State, and all but three of them came in the first quarter. It won’t be anywhere as easy to run the ball against Clemson, however, as the Tigers have allowed the fewest touchdowns on the ground (four) in the ACC and additionally are holding opponents to just 2.9 yards per carry.

If the rushing game can’t get going, the Eagles could be in for a long day at the office. Addazio knows this, and he heaped plenty of praise on Swinney’s side before a game that’s much less eagerly anticipated than last year’s College GameDay matchup.

“There’s no doubt in any mind that they’re the No. 1 team in the country— skilled, talented everywhere, proven it on the field,” he said. “So when I watch their tape, I see no weaknesses.” n

The Heights

A12

Thursday, October 24, 2019

VOLLEYBALL

BC Sneaks Past Miami, Remains Unbeaten in Five-Set Matches VB at Miami, from A9 led the second set with a comfortable 8-1 advantage. The Eagles struggled throughout the rest of the set, committing several mistakes, and even a late surge wasn’t enough, as Miami won the set by a score of 25-19.

In the third frame, which was backand-forth like the first, Miami and BC traded points early. After a slight Miami surge and immediate recovery from Strawberry and the Eagles, the score was tied at 21.

Regardless, Miami logged the victory after claiming four of the final six points. With a kill from freshman Kennedy Prince, Miami won the set by a score of 25-23. At that point, the Hurricanes had itself a 2-1 match

lead over the Eagles going into the fourth set.

Yet BC would not fold, and with its backs against the wall, it battled through a tight fourth set. After a six-point tie to start, each team contributed back-and-forth rallies through the middle of the set, leading to a 17-17 tie. From there, Miami rallied, tallying four straight points for a 21-17 lead. The Eagles rallied back, however, and forced the set into extra points. BC ultimately pulled away with a gutsy 28-26 set victory to even the match.

In the decisive fifth set, the Eagles did not look back, jumping out to an impressive 6-2 lead. BC continued with its early set success, ultimately winning the frame, 15-8, as well as

the match.

The record-setting day in terms of conference success is even more impressive when you consider the fact that the Eagles have 10 games left—and they’ve already matched last year’s 15-win total. It’s already a successful season for head coach Jason Kennedy and BC, as the team has clearly taken the next step. Now all that’s left is to see how far they can go.

The E agle s have a two-game swing through North Carolina with matchups against the Tar Heels and North Carolina State up next, and with both teams holding sub-.500 record on the year, BC has a good chance to keep rewriting the school’s record books. n

Keara Hanlon / For The Heights

Jewel Strawberry led the Eagles with 18 kills, and BC beat Miami in a five-set thriller.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Bilka’s Two Goals Help Eagles Stave Off Catamounts’ Rally

By Nicole Pla Heights Senior Staff

Boston College women’s hockey last went 6-0 to start a season in its 2015-16 campaign, which resulted in a National Championship Boston College 3 appearance.

Vermont 2 The Eagles also haven’t lost to Vermont since 2009. On Sunday afternoon, No. 7 BC matched that prolific start and continued its historical stretch of success against the Catamounts with a 3-2 win.

The first period started quietly, with neither team able to pull ahead early.

Following a hooking call on the Eagles’ (6-0-0, 5-0-0 Hockey East) Alexie Guay five minutes in, the Catamounts (2-0-3, 01-1) were given the first power play of the afternoon. The Eagles entered having gone 27 power plays without allowing a goal this season, and they continued their successful trend by easily killing off the penalty.

BC had a chance of its own shortly after when UVM’s Hailey Burns sat for body checking, but the Eagles couldn’t capitalize

after the two-minute advantage.

Just a few minutes after the game returned to full strength, the Eagles were given a second chance once Maude Poulin-Labelle was sent to the box for slashing.

Seconds into the power play, Caroline DiFiore was called for hooking, resulting in 4-on-4 play. Cayla Barnes was given BC’s best chance of the period when she picked up a pass right in front of Blanka Skodova, but the goaltender reached across the cage to catch her shot and rob the Olympian of BC’s first goal of the afternoon. Erin Connolly was called for tripping with 54 seconds left, and after a competitive first period, the teams were deadlocked in a scoreless tie.

The Eagles killed off Connolly’s penalty to open the second. BC’s offense settled into UVM’s zone, launching shot after shot in Skodova’s direction. Despite putting heavy pressure on the Catamounts, Skodova and her team was ready for the challenge and denied every chance. UVM struggled mightily to make it out of its own defensive zone.

After finally making it down to BC

territory, the Catamounts were given an advantage when Lindsay Agnew was whistled for cross-checking. Even though they were a man down, the Eagles still controlled the puck and closed in around Skodova. UVM wasn’t able to settle into the power play, and BC successfully killed off its fourth penalty of the afternoon.

Although the Eagles controlled the puck for the majority of the period, the Catamounts scored the first goal of the game at the 12-minute mark when Alyssa Holmes took advantage of the traffic around Kelly Pickreign—who made her second straight start in lieu of an injured Maddy McArthur and made a career-high 33 saves—and snuck the puck past her.

Right off the face off, Hannah Bilka wasted no time and responded to Holmes’ goal, giving Skodova no chance to block her shot. BC’s pressure on UVM paid off, and the freshman tied the game up a little over two minutes after Holmes’ goal.

Coming off their first goal, the Eagles were given another opportunity when Burns sat for checking. BC couldn’t connect, however, and the penalty expired,

scoreless. The Eagles never let their offense rest, though. With 13 seconds left in the period, BC was right where it had been the entire period—right in front of Skodova.

Norcross picked up a pass right next to the net and snuck in a shot from the right of the cage, putting the Eagles ahead of UVM to finish the second period.

BC may have controlled the puck in the second period, but the Catamounts dominated possession at the start of the final frame.

The Eagles were given an opportunity to create some distance between them and UVM when Theresa Schafzahl was called for checking—and Bilka was up to the challenge. After being denied a wraparound attempt early in the power play, she picked up a pass from Kelly Browne and whipped it past Skodova, handing the Eagles a two-goal lead.

Trading penalties, Connolly was called for interference following Bilka’s goal. BC killed off its fifth attempt, but it gave UVM a sixth try at a power-play goal when Agnew was called for checking. For the Catamounts, the sixth time was the

charm, after Schafzahl took a shot from the right of the cage and was finally able to cash in.

With five minutes left in the frame, Connolly was penalized for checking—her third trip to the box. The Eagles killed off their seventh penalty unscathed, as UVM added more pressure to try to tie up the game. In the final minute of regulation, Skodova left the ice in exchange for an extra player, but BC was able to clear out the Catamount attempts and clinch its sixth straight win.

While the win was closer than one might’ve expected, the Eagles still managed to get it done on the road. BC has played five of its first six games away from home but still boasts a perfect record—something the likes of rivals Boston University and Providence can’t say. Plus, Pickreign has been up to par the last two games, stepping up admirably and stopping 51 of 53 shots. Should McArthur’s apparent injury—sustained in practice—be more serious than expected, head coach Katie Crowley knows she has a capable backup to help fill the void. n

Bradley Smart/ Heights Editor

Kelly Pickreign (left) filled in for an injured Maddy McArthur admirably and made 33 saves, while freshman Hannah Bilka scored a pair of goals, helping the No. 7 Eagles beat Vermont, 3-2, and remain unbeaten in 2019.

MEN’S HOCKEY

No. 1 DU Dominates Special Teams, Defeats BC in Series Finale

By Emma Healy For The Heights

Boston College men’s hockey’s weekend doubleheader against No. 1 Denver proved to be too much for the visiting sixthBoston College 4 ranked Eagles, Denver 6 dropping two straight games on the road. A tough 3-0 loss—more narrow than the final scoreline after a pair of empty netters—on Friday left the Eagles hungry for a win on Saturday, but after a hard fought game, BC came up just short in a thrilling 6-4 affair.

It looked good for the Eagles (22) early in the game, with goaltender Spencer Knight making four key saves in just as many minutes. Knight ended the day with an impressive 31 saves, but even that wasn’t enough to seal the deal for the Eagles.

BC came out of the gates aggressive, notching as many shots on goal as the opposing Pioneers (6-0) through the first 10 minutes. Their persistence paid off as BC’s Alex Newhook found the back of the net while shorthanded off a Julius Mattila penalty. Denver was quick to rebound, though, scoring the equalizer just four minutes later on a power play with the Eagles’ Matt Boldy in the box.

Tyson McLellan capitalized with the man advantage, one-timing a pass

from teammate Hank Crone after the puck cycled.

BC was caught on its heels, allowing the Pioneers to take the lead off a goal by Jake Durflinger just under a minute after they evened up the score. Denver’s attack-heavy squad stayed consistent throughout the entire game, testing the Eagles’ defense minute after minute.

But a resilient BC side wasn’t ready to give up yet. It notched five back-toback shots in just 30 seconds while on a power play—all of which were saved by Denver’s goaltender Magnus Chrona. Chrona eventually let up, leading to a score by junior Aapeli Räsänen—he tucked away a rebound after Mattila’s effort.

B oth te ams trade d of fensive chances over the course of the last seven minutes of the period but went into the first break tied up at two goals apiece.

The game looked to be much more in the Eagles’ favor after the first period than the night before, as they nearly matched the Pioneers shot-forshot and maintained an even score.

The second frame, on the other hand, was a very different story. Just one minute in, Denver regained the lead on a score by McLellan, his second of the night, as he buried a wrister following another Crone assist.

BC was then penalized for having

too many players on the ice, giving Denver a power play and a great opportunity to expand its lead. The Pioneers did just that after testing Knight with three consecutive shots on goal, but the BC netminder couldn’t hold their attack forever.

Denver’s Ian Mitchell put one behind Knight, increasing the Pioneers’ lead to two goals.

A little over 30 seconds later, Denver scored again— this time Liam Finlay beat Knight from the slot—forcing BC to take a timeout and reevaluate. The Pioneers’ strategy seemed to work, as the Eagles temporarily stopped the bleeding. Though Denver maintained a strong offensive push, BC went the rest of the period without allowing a single score.

Going into the final frame, the Eagles trailed by three goals, but they didn’t let up. Just two minutes in, freshman Mike Hardman scored when the puck kicked off his skate and into the cage, cutting the Eagles’ deficit to two. The Pioneers, looking to hang onto their lead, unleashed a barrage of shots on Knight, but to no avail.

With just over five minutes left in the game, BC cut its deficit to one on a goal by Drew Helleson, who scored with a wrister off a feed from Hardman. The game looked encouraging for the Eagles, as the score was the

Ikram Ali / Heights Editor

Spencer Knight stopped 31 shots, but couldn’t carry the Eagles to a win against Denver.

closest it had been since the first period, but a Denver power-play goal from Bobby Brink with just two minutes left sealed the deal for the Pioneers.

Though going 0-2 on the weekend was not the way the Eagles wanted to build off their 2-0 start to the season, a strong offensive improvement from Friday to Saturday shows lots of promise for the rest of the year.

BC was able to hang with the

top-ranked team in the countr y, and Knight has looked the part of a goaltender who can keep his team in games.

The Eagles have depth in their offense, with players like David Cotton, Logan Hutsko, Räsänen, and Newhook, among others—and a four-goal effort against a strong Pioneers team is reflective of what is yet to come for head coach Jerry York and BC. n

CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, January 17, 2014 Thursday, April 7, 2016

The Heights TheTH heeights Heights

B5 B5 A13

Thursday, October 24, 2019

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Interested in placing an ad or a classified?

9 1 19

201 9

Interested in emailan ad placing ads@bcheights.com or a classified?

to Donate to our centennial capital campaign Visit bcheights.com/centennial

email ads@bcheights.com

The Heights

A14

Thursday, October 24, 2019

‘Maleficent’ Sequel Relies on Dazzling Visuals, Cast

By Stephanie Liu Copy Editor Bringing viewers back to the fantasy world of Maleficent, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil tries to outdo the success of its predecessor. It features the reimagination of the evil witch from the classic Sleeping Beauty tale but falls flat with its lackluster plot.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was released on Oct. 18, stars Angelina Jolie in a reprisal of her role as Maleficent, and is a direct sequel to the 2014 dark fantasy hit of the same name as the character.

Mistress of Evil follows where Maleficent leaves off—Aurora (Elle Fanning), Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent’s goddaughter, lives with Maleficent in the Moors, the homeland

of the fairies. But their idyllic peace comes to an abrupt end when her boyfriend, Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson) from the human kingdom, proposes marriage.

Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), Philip’s mother, invites Aurora and Maleficent to dinner with malicious intent: The dinner is a trap to instigate war against the Moors and murder Maleficent.

Despite its stunning visuals and costuming, Mistress of Evil falls into the sequel trap that many good franchises encounter, scrambling to create a storyline out of an already expended idea. While the first Maleficent has moments of creativity with its spin on the classic Sleeping Beauty tale, the second just feels unnecessary. The plotline that follows Maleficent finding a

film

Maleficent: mistress of evil Joachim Rønning distributed by walt disney studios Release october 18, 2019 Our rating

walt disney studios motion pictures

secret hideaway of her brethren, and just seething to go to war with the humans, is very cliché, especially for a sequel. It seems like when writers are forced to sit down to create a sequel for a box office hit to make even more money, the only idea they can come up with is to make a family backstory to milk the value of the titular character. You like this character? “Great! We’ll just make an entire community of them!”

Filmmakers somehow expect the audience to suddenly start caring about this entire community that had little connection to the main character’s backstory, aside from the fact that they are the same species as the main character and become intensely committed to their cause with barely any introduction. One final gripe with the movie is how quickly everyone gets over a war that resulted in heavy casualties and property damage on both sides. Aurora’s wedding was, in fact, a trap that culminated in the aforementioned obligatory castle siege scene that has become almost indistinguishable from movie to movie. Everyone seems to just instantly stop hating each other, despite what seems like centuries of mutual distrust because Maleficent resurrects from ashes.

The prince and Aurora simply decide to have the wedding then-and-there, completely ignoring the fact that many of their friends have literally just perished in horrible ways and half the castle is destroyed.

The best part of the series, Jolie’s per-

formance as Maleficent, was depressingly sparse in Mistress of Evil. Most of the movie centers around Aurora’s palace life (which she unsurprisingly finds dull and contrary to her free spirit ways because she is so special) and Ingrith’s evil shenanigans, which basically just involve her storming around the palace in various corseted outfits and overseeing people pounding metal. The novelty and excitement of Maleficent as a character was completely wrung out of the sequel, and it just became a string of mediocre tropes that could barely piece together a plot.

In typical big-budget film manner, Mistress of Evil relies heavily on CGI and does not skimp on costuming, which is one saving grace of the movie.

For a child, perhaps, the dazzling visual display can distract from the subpar plot.

The subject matter, however, seems just a little too dark for that demographic, calling into question who this movie was really made for.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil just feels unnecessary. The cash grab intention is glaringly obvious in a cliché storyline, and the reliance on big name actresses and a successful first entry is the only thing that will bring audiences to the theater. Rather than wasting good talent and audience’s brain cells, studios should focus on creating more original films like the first Maleficent, or at least try harder in actually making a worthwhile sequel. n

Foals Bend Traditional Sound on Latest Release

By Emily Kaderabek For The Heights What’s a band to do after receiving rave album reviews and being nominated for a third Mercury Music Award? Release part 2.

Originally recorded as one unit, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost needed to be divided into two parts.

Independently produced, Everything Not Saved is also Foals’ first release without notable bassist Walter Gervers. Understandably, doubt danced around Part 1’s March 8 release date. Even after an overwhelmingly positive response from both fans and critics, that same uncertainty began to resurface after the announcement of Part 2 in July, which promised heavier, darker content than was featured in Part 1. Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis went on to dispel tensions as he justified to DIY Magazine earlier this year that Part 2 could be considered a response to the cliffhanger listeners were left with upon Part 1’s conclusion.

And respond it did. Ultimately presenting the narrative of coming to terms with a dying world, Part 2 directly addresses the burning hedges and dead foxes listeners are left with in the melancholic ending of Part 1, which is titled “I’m Done with the World (& it’s Done With Me).” Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1 centers itself in disaster. Invoking anxiety and paranoia-ridden lyrics alongside irresistibly dancey tracks, Foals blatantly communicates the world’s

desire to escape its fears and trepidations with simple pleasures. With a focus on political uncertainty and a planet in peril, Part 1 questions whether or not we truly pay attention to the world around us. “In Degrees” is full of double entendres and showcases the loss of a relationship “bit by bit and day by day” while subtly nodding to a more catastrophic picture, as the Earth is lost to global warming in an all too similar fashion. Through lack of communication and general disinterest, the UK alternative band seeks to demonstrate the damage that’s indirectly caused by neglect.

Foals continues its exploration of societal decay with “On the Luna,” which tackles the ever-growing political tensions and the frustration that’s at the root of public apathy.

With surging crescendos and undeniable urgency, Philippakis compellingly addresses generational divides and his feelings of helplessness.Peppered with uncertainty, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1 morbidly introduces goliath issues with little guidance, leaving listeners to dwell in the aftermath.

So how to answer the end of the world?

Part 2 defiantly tells listeners to just keep on living. Transitioning seamlessly from melodic and ethereal opener “Red Desert,” “The Runner” offers up dogged determination and perseverance amid confusion.

Foals doesn’t just delve into surmounting worldly difficulties, however. “Black Bull” showcases a bravado that can only

accompany independent survival. Written with an aftertaste of spite, the strength that was originally considered becoming in “The Runner” has quickly devolved into straight up arrogance. Philippakis embodies this menacing side through his unforgiving, brash vocals—the most intense track of the entire project.

Coupling perspective with genre defying (and defining) songs, Foals serves up the end of the world unapologetically, demanding a response.

In the previously mentioned interview with DIY, drummer Jack Bevan recounts the band’s motivation to stray a bit from its typical, mathy rhythm and instead extends into a more experimental sound. With the

release of the group’s fifth and sixth studio albums within the same year, Bevan feared that Everything Not Saved would be considered just “another Foals record.”

While not originally intended as two distinct albums, the split of Everything Not Saved emphasizes the complementary nature of the tracks, a duality that a single release simply would not encapsulate. With the paranoia of MUSE, the defiance of Green Day, and the contemplation of The Smiths, Foals establishes a solid narrative within a concept album that is similarly radio worthy and tour ready. Pushing boundaries and embodying emotion, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 2 ties off Foals’ most influential pair of releases to date. n

music

foals Everything Not Saved – Part 2 distributed by warner records Release october 18, 2019 Our rating

warner records

Promising Cast Gives Sloppy ‘Watchmen’ Hope

By Michael Troy Heights Staff The pilot episode of the new HBO series Watchmen is an enigma. There are moments of absolute filmmaking brilliance, with gorgeous set pieces and Emmy-worthy screenwriting. But just as often, if not more so, there are moments of pure incompetence, with amateur mistakes and cringe-inducing lines of dialogue. It’s a roller coaster ride with staggering highs, painful lows, and just enough intrigue to keep the audience interested for at least one more episode.

This “sequel” of sorts to the 2009 film of the same name is set in Tulsa, Okla.

It takes place in an alternate timeline where Vietnam is the 51st state in the Union, Robert Redford is the long-tenured President of the United States, and police officers wear masks so they can’t

be identified and subsequently targeted by criminals.

The show tries to reveal these things in a natural fashion, but instead does so in ways so confusing that the first half of the episode is almost unwatchable.

Significant events happen in response to things that are entirely unestablished, but rather than being mysterious and interesting, the sequence is infuriating.

Anyone who hasn’t read the graphic novel or seen the movie before viewing the episode will undoubtedly be lost within mere minutes of pressing play, and even if they have, it might still be a chore to figure out what’s going on.

The world-building in Watchmen is just lazy. This alternate timeline suggests that cell phones and the internet never came to fruition after the giant immortal naked blue guy single-handedly won the Vietnam War (don’t ask), but for

television

watchmen damon lindelof distributed by hbo Release october 20, 2019 Our rating

hbo

some reason a character is listening to “Crushed Up” by Future while driving in his car at one point. Future’s career likely never would have started without the internet, so why does his music exist in this timeline?

To somehow make things weirder, about halfway through the episode, squids just start raining from the sky, and it’s never explained or even addressed by any of the characters.

Clearly the director wanted to create some air of mystery, but that isn’t mysterious, it’s just confusing. Pretty much everything in this alternate timeline is the same as the real world, except for Vietnam, cell phones, Robert Redford, and squid rain.

Despite the problems with the worldbuilding, there are glimmers of genius spread throughout the episode. The opening scene, which depicts a white supremacist raid in 1921 Tulsa, is gripping and brutal.

Later in the episode, there’s a character development scene with some of the protagonists which is genuinely sweet and touching. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t any other significant scenes that help invest the audience in these characters, because up to that point, it’s difficult to care about them or root for them to survive.

The potential shown in these scattered scenes may be enough to convince viewers to stick with the show for next week’s episode, but the show’s struggle to establish anything concrete in the pilot is

cause for concern.

Jeremy Irons’ character, who is slated to be a significant part of this season, appears for one brief scene that tells the audience very little about his character and has nothing to do with the events of the episode.

There’s a misplaced nod to the graphic novel in which an aircraft used by the original Watchmen appears halfway through the episode with no explanation whatsoever and then is never mentioned again. Everything feels rushed and sloppy.

The individual acting performances are promising, though, as Regina King, Don Johnson, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are all fantastic.

Johnson really steals the show, with a charismatic and believable portrayal of the Tulsa police chief.

King and Abdul-Mateen are perfect for their roles, although the latter has been given just about nothing to do as of yet.

There are quite a few red flags flaring up in this pilot episode, and for the show’s sake, one can only hope they’re one-off problems. Pilot episodes tend to be made well before the rest of the show, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the season could improve dramatically, starting with the second episode.

For now, it gets by on its enchanting premise and the pedigree of the graphic novel and film before it, but if it doesn’t find its footing soon, Watchmen won’t be watched for much longer. n

Single review Emily Himes

‘lay here with me’ maddie & tae ft. dierks bentley

Ever since the duo’s comical 2015 hit “Girl In a Country Song,” Maddie & Tae have released a string of more reflective love and break-up ballads.

In “Lay Here With Me,” they team up with country powerhouse Dierks Bentley to bolster what is another typical love song. The single doesn’t incorporate anything special—coming in at just under three minutes, the incredibly average song incorporates overused clichés and lackluster lyrics.

While the song itself is nothing to write home about, it does give the duo a chance to highlight their skillful harmonies and sheer vocal talent. Ever since their upbeat debut a few years ago, Maddie & Tae have switched their format to slower, more introspective songs such as “Die From a Broken Heart.”

Including Bentley on the single was a great strategic move on their part. Bentley has always been a solid artist, but he has seen a recent spike in success after his previous album, The Mountain. His presence in the song definitely balances it out and allows the single to reach listeners that wouldn’t have given it a chance otherwise. n

music video grace mayer

‘make it right’ bts

Boy band BTS released its music video for remixed song “Make it Right,” blending playful animation and tour footage into a tribute to their adoring fanbase.

Embraced by a screaming audience, the BTS members are seen preparing to take the stage for one of their concerts on their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself stadium tour. The video opens in black and white, building in sound and color as the electronic beat picks up.

Instead of the original South Korean lyrics from “Make It Right” off BTS’s EP Map of the Soul: Persona, the video introduces new English lyrics from artist Lauv to accompany BTS vocals.

The fans are the heart of this video.

Clips zero in on cheering, smiling audience members, holding signs and waving lights. The camera even stalls on a poster that reads “ARMY TIME”—Army being the name for the loyal BTS fanbase.

Not only are its fans the focus of the video, but BTS mirrors its appreciation by depicting their relationship in animation.

Clashing with the stadium footage, cartoon segments illustrate the bond between the band members and their fans.

These clips depict the relationship between a boy and a girl, one not remiss of the classic fairytale tropes like a perilous journey and a leering dragon.

The seven-member South Korean band has received paramount success and media attention. Over the years, its popularity has grown, granting it larger audiences, and leading to new collaborations with English artists.

The group has collaborated with the Chainsmokers for “Best of Me,” Nicki Minaj for “Idol,” Halsey for “Boy With Luv,” and now BTS has worked with Ed Sheeran and Lauv for their updated sound in “Make It Right.”

Though BTS persists in its climb to global music domination, its music video for “Make It Right” pauses its pursuit, giving the band a chance to say thank you to its fans. n

The Heights

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A15

Homecoming Sees Refreshing Return of Juice It Hurts, but

By Siobhan Pender

For The Heights

It really was time for Juice, known as @itstimeforjuice on Instagram, on Thursday night at the Undergraduate Government of Boston College’s

Homecoming Block Party.

The performance was also in a way truly their own homecoming, as the seven-piece band of BC alumni was created on campus during their freshman year.

All having graduated before the

BRIDGET CLARK / FOR THE HEIGHTS

HEIGHTS ARCHIVES

Juice performed at homecoming (top), but now performs outside of BC now (bottom).

advent of what students refer to as “the new Plex,” the members of Juice came back to their “old haunts,” as lead singer Ben Stevens, BC ’17, put it, for a performance in the new Margot Connell Recreation Center—an expansive workout facility they never got to enjoy themselves, something the band made sure to remind the audience of frequently throughout the show.

With many of their friends who are currently seniors at BC lined up in the front row, the guys of Juice looked right at home onstage, joking with each other and the crowd all throughout the performance.

The band consists of Stevens on lead vocals, Christian Rose, BC ’17, on backing vocals and violin; Michael Riccuiardulli, BC ’17, and Daniel Moss, BC ’17, on guitars; Rami El-Abidin, BC ’15, on bass; Kamau Burton, BC ’17, on acoustic guitar and backing vocals; and finally Miles Clyatt, BC ’17, on drums.

These seven bandmates collaborate together to produce a sound as unique as Juice itself: a mix of rock, R&B, and hip-hop with jazz undertones, emphasized by a powerful electric violin, rolling guitars, and deep, honest lyrics.

The lyrically authentic and compelling songs are brought to life through the talented vocals of Stevens, Burton, and Rose, with gospel-choir-esque choruses that make for easy crowd sing-alongs. As the multicolored lights shined over the faces of the band members and across

their instruments, the crowd was captivated by the chemistry of the band and how smoothly the seven produced an authentic and entertaining performance.

Having experienced commercial success off campus when they performed on the Today Show as Elvis Duran’s “Artist of the Month” in August 2018, the band returned to campus with a refreshing energy and charisma.

The setlist consisted of a mix of the band’s newer releases from you are simply magnificent—an EP released on Aug. 23 of 2019 that’s commonly referred to by the band as YASM, a phrase proudly displayed on the band’s matching t-shirts—as well as some of their older hits.

From the first few EPs, Juice played highlights, such as the crowd favorite “Gold,” as well as the lively, passionate “Sugar.” The talent of these seven guys is greatly conveyed through their stage presence, as the guitarists command the audience during solos, and Rose, with his obvious violin expertise, never fails to leave the crowd awestruck at how such a delicate instrument can bring so much life to a rock-based band.

Juice’s performance at Homecoming exemplified all that they are: a group of extremely talented performers with incredibly authentic stories to tell through their unique musical discography.

All signs point toward a promising future for this young band. n

Asian Caucus Fashion Show Champions Tradition

By Shane Querubin For The Heights

Gasson 100 served as the setting for a multicultural expedition on Oct. 21: In celebration of Immigration Week, Asian Caucus, Fashion Club, Korean Students Association (KSA), Organization of Latin American Affairs, the Taiwanese Cultural Organization, and various AHANA+ cultural clubs collaborated to present the Cultural Fashion Show. The event afforded student organizations the opportunity to showcase their traditional dress and share their culture with the community.

The first down the runway were models from the South Asian Students Association (SASA). Their speaker introduced three traditional styles: the shalwar kameez, the lehnga, and the kurta. The shalwar kameez is a traditional dress worn in many South Asian countries by women and, in some regions, men.

Shalwars are trousers, and the kameez is a long shirt or tunic. The lehnga is of traditional Indian fashion. It is a long skirt that hangs from the waist and is usually paired with a blouse called a choli and a drape called a duppatta. For the show, the models were wearing all three pieces and each were embellished and printed with colorful elaborate designs. The kurta is a traditional shirt, usually falling above the knees. It was once only worn by men, but has become a unisex piece that can be worn casually and formally.

The Taiwanese Cultural Organization came next with attire associated with Han Chinese and Taiwanese aborigines. Specific colors highlighted were blood red and azur blue. The club also wanted to share the androgenous culture of Taiwan and

their celebration of the LGBTQ+ community with legalizing same-sex marriage by having a female model wear traditionally male clothing.

The Philippine Society of Boston College then presented their looks: the barong and the costume for singkil, a traditional dance. Barongs, the national dress for men, are typically worn on special occasions and are traditionally white and lightweight with intricate lace details.

The singkil, a Muslim dance originating from Mindanao, the southern region of the Philippines, is danced for potential suitors. For this purpose, elaborate dress is common and, during the show, the model was adorned with a gold headpiece and wore a bright pink dress decorated with gold embroidery.

Next were outfits from KSA, which consisted of the hanbok and a taekwondo uniform. Hanboks are the traditional attire in Korea characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines. They were once casual dress only a hundred years ago, but these days they are only worn for special occasions. KSA also introduced the talchum, a traditional masked dance that uses the hanbok for costume, but also have face masks as a staple part of the art. The club presented taekwondo uniforms as the traditional dress of the Korean form of martial arts.

Students from the Chinese Student Association had modeled the cheongsam, also known as the qipao, and the changshan. The cheongsam is a feminine, form-fitting dress with distinctive designs from the 17th century Manchu reign. The changshan is the male counterpart to the cheongsam and can be a dress, robe, long jacket or tunic. Both are now worn exclu-

sively for special occasions.

Closing out the show, the Japanese Club of BC modeled yukatas and hakamas.

The yukatas are summer robes, a casual form of kimonos, fastened with a sash called the obi and worn by both men and women. Hakamas are traditional trousers worn about the waist and typically over

kimonos that fall to the ankles.

After all of the models had made their debut, they reappeared for one final walk down the pseudo-catwalk to enthusiastic rounds of applause. The fashion show wrapped up, but student conversations about culture and fashion were held by the leaders of the organizations afterward. n

iEdit Arts

The Playlist “If You See Her, Say Hello” Bob Dylan

Queuing Up Chaos - Kaylie Ramirez

“Doin’ the Cockroach” Modest Mouse

By Jacob Schick A1 Editor

“...Baby One More Time” Britney Spears “Can’t Take My Eyes off You” Frankie Valli “Tempo (feat. Missy Elliott)” Lizzo “Love My Way” The Psychedelic Furs “M79” Vampire Weekend “This Charming Man” The Smiths “Happiness is a butterfly” Lana Del Rey “Sex” The 1975

ALEXA SPITZ / FOR THE HEIGHTS

Clubs assembled elaborate wardrobes that gave onlookers a sense of cultural fashion.

GRAPHICS BY ALLYSON MOZELIAK AND IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EDITORS

In an act of musical self-flagellation, Kaylie Ramirez, arts editor and CSOM ’20, has tried to weave together the disparate threads of some of the most radically different songs I have ever seen. “I have been listening to them recently,” she says, as if this could explain a playlist that mixes Bob Dylan, Modest Mouse, and Britney Spears (and that’s only the first three songs). Known for her hastily-uttered proclamations of West Coast superiority (“No one over here knows if Los Angeles is north of San Francisco,” even though she cannot name all the states in New England), Ramirez’s current listening habits promise an interesting experience at least. But let’s get into it.

It’s not as if she has bad taste. Each song on this 10-track Frankenstein’s monster— “There is something at work in my soul,

which I do not understand,” anyone?—of a playlist is a good-to-great song in its own right. Frankie Vallie’s “Can’t Take My Eyes off You” is an icon of ’60s pop for a reason.

But to be whiplashed with Lizzo’s “Tempo” immediately afterward is discordant to say the least.

And it is this effect that I think truly speaks to the playlist creator herself. As the arts editor, especially with music as her specialty, she needs an honest claim to understanding contemporary music (Del Rey’s “Happiness is a butterfly” and “Sex” by inaptly-named The 1975).

But this is not enough. Ramirez requires a working knowledge of the “classics” (aka Dylan and Valli) and everything in between (read: Spears, Vampire Weekend’s “M79,” and The Smiths’ “This Charming Man”).

Somehow, she manages to pull this off, but perhaps her actual taste gets lost in the shuffle. n

It Plays Kaylie Ramirez

Despite its title, Succession is perhaps HBO’s most unlikely success. It inundates viewers with boardroom jargon and indulges the lavish hobbies of the 0.1 percent during the rise of Bernie Sanders. The show also dives into what I imagine are the same dark family politics of one of the most polarizing families: that of Rupert Murdoch and his media mogul offspring.

Succession simply succeeds—in wardrobe, in writing, and everything in between. It’s essentially the Game of Thrones of Midtown Manhattan. I wouldn’t be surprised if Slack saw an uptick in Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) mentions following his cutthroat press conference in the Season Two finale of the show, which aired on Oct. 18. As a seasoned corporate communications analyst (intern), I can confidently say that a coup d’etat of that magnitude would be punishable by death.

And yet there’s one element of Succession that is objectively a cut above the rest: the opening credits. The foreboding trap bass intro of the title song signifies the intensity to come: the formation of off-putting alliances, the bloodline betrayals, and the sheer insanity of having that much money and influence. Composed

by Nicholas Britell, the one-minute and 40-second track packs the punch of a modern hip-hop song—and it recently became one.

On Oct. 11, Pusha T released “Puppets,” his own version of the track. The rapper lists the driving forces behind the show’s most unbelievable drama: “Family, fortune, envy, jealousy / Privilege, passed on legacy,” and so on. Clearly, Pusha T is well versed in the luxurious world of Waystar Royco, the Roy family’s media conglomerate that, like a fictional Disney-meets-News Corp, has its hands in everything from amusement parks to cruise lines to right-wing TV news. But even without the added Pusha T verses, the track’s slick electronic beat is as magnetic as an office key card in the back of a company-branded phone wallet.

Enter sweeping piano notes and violin chords. You’re no longer among the masses on crowded street corners—these classical music elements are an invitation into the corridors of the elites. The piano chords, which Britell designed to be slightly out of tune, exalt the show’s opening credits to intoxicating can’t-skip status.

Together, the trap beat and classical layers transport the show’s viewers to the high-ceiling Fifth Avenue home of Logan Roy (Brian Cox), a timeless abode that injects old money taste with small doses of modern white elements. Put simply, it’s a song that Pusha T can rap over and The Wall Street Journal’s Gear and Gadgets Editor can respectfully set as his ringtone.

But the utter success of the opening credits doesn’t stop at the title music. Like the song, the scenes of the credits explore duality. Vignetted film of family home videos is cut between scenes from the bustle of New York City. The accompanying visuals also serve as exposition to the narrative. The Roy children—Kendall, Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Connor (Alan Ruck)—are portrayed in the days of their silver spoon youth.

Kendall, who is made out to be Logan’s likely successor in Season One, is featured heavily in that season’s opening credits.

A young Kendall is depicted in a pristine white ensemble while playing tennis, each hair on his head combed perfectly into place. Following the events of the second season, Shiv is more prominent in that season’s opening credits. As a teenager, she peers anxiously into the camera as her dad places his hand on her shoulder.

The close attention to detail, from the manicured bushes to the shiny marble floors, illustrates the standard of perfection expected of the children. In a show where the patriarch evaluates his children not on the content of their character, but on their ability to create shareholder value, nothing can be good enough.

During the Season Two finale, Logan decides which child will be his “blood sacrifice”—i.e. take the fall for the company’s latest scandal—and he utters, “It hurts, but it plays.” The same could be said of the subtle sting of the opening credits. It hurts, but it plays every single time.

Kaylie Ramirez is the arts editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@ bcheights.com.

ARTS

Monan Professor Melinda Lopez Brings Social

A16

Thursday, October 24, 2019

By Stephanie Liu

Copy Editor

Issues to the Stage and the Classroom

Sitting with her students around a big table in a theatre classroom in Rubinstein Hall, Melinda Lopez effortlessly guides the discussion. Students eagerly joined in the conversation, elaborating and reflecting on themes that Lopez expertly selects.

Despite her easy-going disposition, Lopez’s accolades are far from trivial.

An acclaimed playwright and actress, Lopez has won multiple awards, including the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Award in Dramatic Writing and the Boston Theater Critics Association’s Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence in 2019. Additionally, the day of Oct. 29, 2016 was named after her as “Melinda Lopez Day” by Mayor Marty Walsh, BC ’09.

Lopez is currently serving as the Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., Professor in Theatre Arts at Boston College for the 2019-20 academic year. The Monan Professorship was established in 2007 in honor of Monan—the late University Chancellor and president—and allows the BC theatre department to bring in celebrated artists in the field to teach as a visiting professor for an academic year.

Lopez got her big break as Kate in Taming of the Shrew in her early 20s, an outdoor production in Greater Boston put on Shakespeare and Company, which is based in Lennox, Mass. Lopez had apprenticed with Shakespeare and Company for multiple years, but her role as Kate was the first major role she had performed professionally for such a large audience.

“When you’re a young actor, you do a lot of minor roles and minor characters,” Lopez said. “But carrying a major role like that really told me what kind of endurance and stamina you need and how seriously you need to take your job.”

Lopez has been the playwright-in-residence for the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston for the last six years, a position that she feels immensely privileged to hold, citing the amount of faith and value an institution places in an artist’s work to offer a residency position.

Her re sp onsibilitie s a s pl ay wright-in-residence include planning the season’s show list to represent the artistic vision of the theatre, as well creating her own work. During her residency, Lopez wrote six new plays: some solo shows, some huge historical dramas, and others intensely political.

Growing up with parents who immigrated to Massachusetts from Cuba, Lopez often felt like she was part of two different worlds. At home, her parents maintained a traditional, Spanish-speaking Cuban home, while she also had a typical Massachusetts, English-speaking public school education—a bilingual upbringing that she believes helped her understand that there’s a bigger would outside her suburban setting.

Lopez credits her family for her strong values and a curiosity for the world. Her father, a mathematician and scientist, encouraged her to learn as much as she could about the world, all while teaching her the importance of work ethic.

“I still feel like when I write plays, I’m solving problems the way he would solve complicated mathematical problems,” Lopez said. “Even though we were doing different things, we were using similar processes, which was imagining and thinking, and then sometimes also sitting at a desk and working hard.”

Lopez’s first introduction to theatre was in first grade, when she landed a special role in a Halloween play as the only jack-o’-lantern onstage when

INSIDE ARTS

@BCHeightsArts

‘Juice’

everyone else was just a pumpkin. Her interest in theatre became more serious, however, after she fell in love with a production of Hamlet that her high school English teacher took her to see.

Lopez earned an undergraduate degree in English and drama at Dartmouth and later a masters at Boston University in playwriting. She took an eight-year hiatus from formal schooling in between her two degrees, a decision she recommends to all students because she believes real-world experience has a significant influence on an individual’s worldview.

Lopez highlighted how she gained valuable experience by apprenticing with established companies like Shakespeare and Company after her bachelor’s degree. In the process, Lopez worked on developing her abilities as an actress and playwright, often taking part-time and temporary jobs that allowed her flexibility in the interim.

Her one-woman show, Mala, is still

the Monan Professors in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and had raved to Lopez about their experiences at BC. Admiring BC’s institutional merit and receiving positive encouragement from her friends, the decision to take on the role was a no-brainer when the BC theatre department reached out about the position.

Crystal Tiala, chair of the theatre department at BC, explained that the Monan Professor must have a level of distinction, as well as serve a needed role in the theatre department that year.

The department receives nominations from anyone on the theatre department faculty and reaches out to potential candidates—the final decision has to be approved by University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. Lopez stood out to BC because of her distinction as a playwright: Her numerous awards and the wide-ranging success of her plays with productions all over the U.S. easily set the stage for

bring more representation to the American stage. She especially tries to create complex, multidimensional characters to break out of the stereotype of Latin Americans often found in American media: one that portrays them as the either the rough, gang-member West Side Story type or the domestic worker, uneducated type. Having grown up with ambitious Latina women, Lopez wants to bring the people from her childhood to the greater American audience.

As both an actress and a playwright, Lopez describes the role of the actor as an interpreter, while the playwright gets more flexibility to create a world and ask questions for the audience to explore.

“As an actor, you’re picking up clues from the text—you’re getting ideas of the psychology of the character,” Lopez said. “You’re making choices that are truthful to you and how you interpret this character who does things in the play. A playwright has much more of

COURTESY OF BOSTON COLLEGE

on tour, set to head to California next year. The show is a personal account of her own experience at the end of her mother’s life and seeks to address mortality and familial relationships, asking questions about what it means to be a

her candidacy.

“We love the fact that she brings diversity,” Tiala said. “She teaches classes that feature women both as playwrights and as protagonists, and so kind of getting more gender equality in theatre, which has been a big issue in our field for a long time.”

Especially attractive to BC was the play Back the Night, a show that Lopez wrote before the 2016 Presidential Election and staged at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre at Boston University in 2016. It tells a story about sexual assault on a college campus. She is currently reworking the play to include updated themes and concepts. The theatre department is working with the Women’s Center and aims to host talkbacks,

a blank slate.”

While Lopez’s plays deal with heavy subject matter, like sexual assault and mortality, she finds it important to always add humor to the mix. She finds that plays not only have to explore important questions, but also must have the entertainment factor to really be successful. She recognizes that people are funny, and especially in crises, human beings bond through comedy.

“We have to bring levity to the darkest moments of our lives,” she said.

“Otherwise, we couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. I think humor is a defense mechanism, but it is also a way to welcome an audience in and say, ‘See, these people are just like you.’ You want to invite people on a journey that they

“You have to surround yourself with people who believe in you and in your voice, and you have to listen to them.”

good child and how the relationship dynamic between parent and child changes when the former provider now needs to be provided for.

A prolific writer, Lopez is always most proud of the piece she is currently working on. Her current work in progress is about the Mariel boatlift in the ’80s, during which around 125,000 Cuban refugees came to the United States over the course of one summer and changed the conversation around immigration. Given the urgency of the subject matter, Lopez hopes her play can add to the dialogue surrounding immigration and encourage people to view the issue in a different light.

Two of Lopez’s friends, Sheri Wilner and Maurice Emmanuel Parent, were

hoping the play will stir up important conversations in the student body.

Lopez doesn’t think, however, that her pieces always need revision. Although she always wants her work to speak to the community that produces it, Lopez recognizes the importance of letting go and trusting different directors and actors to interpret the text.

“I’m not the first person to talk about plays like they’re children, where you make them the best way you know how and hopefully you have created something that can stand on its own without your voice in that room,” she said. “And then you have to trust that they’re going to be okay.”

Lopez’s subjects are often Latina women, echoing her commitment to

GRAPHICS BY IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

might not otherwise go on.”

Lopez finds her inspiration from her everyday life. Always listening, Lopez begins to create a character when she begins to hear them start talking in her head. Because plays are different from

‘Cultural Fashion Show’

Juice, a band of BC alumni, returned to campus to perform at Various culture clubs showcased traditional fashion at a UGBC’s Homecoming Block Party............................................. A15 collaborative event in Gasson 100........................................ A15

novels in that a character’s thoughts are less accessible, a character’s speech and actions are the only ways to express their motivations and beliefs.

Lopez takes note of people’s conversations and accents to use for her own characters. Sometimes drawing on her own experiences and stories she’s heard from her family, and other times creating characters when they come alive in her imagination, Lopez enjoys the process of being both a detective and a psychiatrist as she envisions the motivations and context behind her characters.

Lopez’s attention for others translates to the classroom—a warm and encouraging professor, Lopez brings her expertise and passion to BC through her Contemporary American Theatre class in the fall semester and Playwriting I in the spring.

Her classes are intimate and conversational in a collaborative seminar style where the students do most of the talking and share ideas among each other. Her syllabus often focuses on bringing different voices to the classroom and exposing students to minority experiences through the plays that she chooses to teach, which feature experiences of people of different races, sexual orientations, and abilities.

For example, Ironbound by Pulitzer-winning playwright Martyna Majok explores the experience of poor Polish immigrants trying to live out the American Dream, an ethnicity that Lopez notes is often forgotten in modern literature, with people of color usually at the forefront of the current immigration discussion.

Lopez’s passion and commitment to her art is infectious, and her students are inspired by the energy she exudes in the classroom.

“She was really considerate and passionate, and you can tell with her writing,” Raymond Norville, MCAS ’20 said. “That’s her field. That’s what she loves.”

Although Lopez enjoys her time in the classroom, she believes teaching and her creative process are completely different. For her, the creator and the critic are separate entities, and the strict analyses that classes focus on actually hinders her creative process.

“Art is created from the whole individual,” she said. “Sometimes in an early draft, you have to channel your physical memories, your emotional memories.

It doesn’t help you to put it in a logical sense. Sometimes the point of a work of art is that it doesn’t hold intellectual sense. It holds an emotional core.”

Lopez encourages anyone who feels drawn to theatre to fully pursue their passion—experience from participation is the most important factor for success.

She believes that every individual has a unique voice that deserves to be heard in the world, and if writing is the best medium for expression, practice and resilience are keys to fulfillment.

“Writing is a constant exercise in looking outward at the world and also looking inward,” Lopez said. “I always tell my students, ‘Your piece doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be yours.’”

Beyond engaging creatively in theatre, Lopez reminds students interested in theatre of other ways to get involved.

Designing, fundraising, and marketing are other ways to become professionally engaged in theatre, and even just going to performances can help support the arts.

Most importantly, Lopez stresses the necessity of a support system around young artists and the ability to separate constructive criticism from simply malicious negativity.

“You have to surround yourself with people who believe in you and in your voice, and you have to listen to them,” Lopez said. n

‘Maleficent’..................................................A14 ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’...........A14 ‘Watchmen’................................................A14