The Heights, Sept. 18, 2023

September 18, 2023

Boston College Not to Rename McElroy Commons

BY WILL MARTINO Asst. News

Editor

Boston College High School is renaming McElroy Hall, the school’s first building, citing Rev. John McElroy’s, S.J., historical ties to slavery, according to a story published by The Boston Globe.

Boston College has no plans to rename McElroy Commons—also dedicated to John McElroy—in light of BC High’s decision, according to Associate Vice President for University Communications Jack Dunn.

“John McElroy, S.J., is recognized at Boston College for the

Email Calls for ResLife Union

BY NATALIE ARNDT News Editor

Boston College Residential Life Workers called for the establishment of a ResLife student workers union in an email sent to resident assistants (RAs) and graduate student assistants on Sunday night.

The email encouraged all ResLife student workers to organize and demand better compensation and working conditions.

“We have heard time and time again from RAs how clear it is that we are undervalued and treated unfairly in the face of a wealthy institution,” the email reads. “Essentially, by ghting to establish a union for ResLife student workers, we are asking for a voice in our jobs on campus.”

An Instagram account for the proposed union was also created on Sunday night, and the rst post asked all ResLife student workers to ll out a Union Authorization card. To hold an election for a union, 30 percent of employees must complete a Union Authorization card.

“BC continues to disregard and undervalue the critical role that RAs ll around the clock at our university — it’s time for that to change,” the post reads. “We are ghting for fair compensation, workers protection, and a voice in our jobs on campus.”

See Union, A2

BC Wins 27 Straight Sets

BY LUKE EVANS

Asst. Sports Editor

While the culmination of Sunday’s two games against Stonehill and Merrimack resulted in 27 straight set wins, a Boston College volleyball program record, the Eagles did not seem to be fazed by the accomplishment or the streak when the nal point was scored.

Rather, the team immediately rushed toward the sideline to celebrate its win with Leah Tran, BC’s Team IMPACT Player.

“Leah has been a part of our program now for a few months, and I think we added her o cially in April, and she’s been a great addition,” BC head coach Jason Kennedy said. “Everybody’s rooting for her. She’s an inspiration to all of us.”

See Volleyball, A9

Opinions

work he did in founding BC in 1863,” Dunn said in a statement to The Heights. “Because of his indispensable contributions to BC’s history, we are not planning to remove his name from McElroy Commons.” While there are no plans to rename the building, Dunn said

BC is funding research to examine McElroy’s life through a biography that BC historian Seth Meehan is writing.

“The biography will fully examine Fr. McElroy’s Jesuit years, while also considering him within the context of the times in which he lived and the full scope of his

“This Is Special to Us”

BC celebrates community at annual Hispanic/ Latinx Heritage Month kicko ff

BY LUCY FREEMAN Asst. News Editor

Silence filled a crowded room in Gasson Hall on Friday night as colorful ags and golden balloons lined the front of the room.

Students and faculty bowed their heads as Yvonne McBarnett, director of the ea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center (BAIC), led a prayer to begin the Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month celebration.

“Dear God, you’re representing every one of

us, not only us but our families,” McBarnett said. “We thank you for the opportunity to be here at Boston College and what they’re allowing us to do this evening—this is so special to us that we can celebrate each other’s cultures.”

McBarnett’s prayer kicked o a lineup of speakers and performances to commemorate the rst day of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, which is celebrated each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

life experiences and accomplishments,” the statement read. Until Meehan’s research or future campus construction plans pose the need for change, McElroy Commons will retain its name, Dunn said.

See

McElroy, A2

Newton Dispensary Opens

BY ANNIE LADD REID Asst. Newton Editor

A new type of family business has set up shop in Newton.

With a recently redesigned, modern white facade, the Green Lady Dispensary celebrated its grand opening with a three-day block party to commemorate its status as the rst woman- and minority-owned dispensary in the city.

“People from all walks of life enjoy cannabis,” said Cleantha Campbell, the general manager of the Newton store. “It’s not speci c to one age group. So, that’s why we chose Newton. We felt like it was a diverse, welcoming neighborhood.”

e Campbell family is used to working together. Parents Rupert and Nicole started out in the fertilizer business, but they decided to make a leap with their daughters when Massachusetts legalized recreational marijuana in 2018, according to Nicole.

“Massachusetts was just coming out with the regulations and laws to do cannabis recreationally,” Nicole said. “So we decided to get involved in this brand new emerging industry that, you know, … young people, rightfully … think is very exciting.”

e family’s rst location—which was located on Nantucket—was the 23rd dispensary to open in Massachusetts.

But, it was the first woman- and minority-owned dispensary in the state, according to Cleantha.

“[It] feels good, you know, being not only a family-owned business, but a women-owned business and a minority-owned business,” Cleantha said.

See Dispensary, A4

Eagles Fall Short of Upset Against FSU

BY JACK BERGAMINI Assoc. Sports Editor

After last week’s narrow three-point win over Holy Cross, Boston College football head coach Jeff Hafley delivered an intense and emotional press conference, proclaiming BC would clean up its act on penalties, especially personal fouls.

“Two weeks in a row, we kept teams in the game,” Hafley said regarding the Eagles’ penalties in Week Two. “It’s not going to work like that. It’s not.”

While the Eagles didn’t have as many blatant personal fouls on Saturday against No. 3 Florida State, BC set a program record with 18 total penalties for 132 lost yards. Despite the self-inflicted wounds,

the Eagles (1–2, 0–1 Atlantic Coast) put up a fight for the ages against the Seminoles (3–0, 1–0 Atlantic Coast) in the 10th annual Red Bandanna Game, storming back from a 21-point deficit to have a chance to win the game with possession of the ball.

BC couldn’t finish the job in the late stages of the fourth quarter, falling to FSU 31–29.

“We didn’t come in this game to be close with them,” Hafley said. “We came to win the game.”

But on 3rd-and-7 with 1:08 left in regulation, needing a stop to get the ball back, John Pupel received a facemask penalty that handed the Seminoles a first down and the victory.

ALINA CHEN / HEIGHTS STAFF

BC High is relabeling its McElroy Hall, citing its namesake’s ties to slavery.

NEWS

This Week’s Top 3 Events

ResLife Workers Announce Plans for Student Union

Union, from A1

RAs have begun e orts to unionize at other schools in the Boston area. At Tufts University, RAs announced plans to unionize in November of 2022, creating the United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants.

swipes per semester. is January, non-academic undergraduate student employees at Harvard University formed the Harvard Undergraduate Workers Union to demand an increase in pay, better hours, and improved communication from employers.

On Oct. 7, Harvard’s undergraduate student employees will vote on whether the organization will seek o cial recognition from the National Labor Relations Board.

The RAs of Boston University also moved to unionize in February, arguing for better pay and more support when dealing with conflict between students.

On Aug. 29—Tufts’ move-in day—the university’s RAs went on strike to demand a stipend. Last Tuesday, Tufts administrators agreed to provide RAs with a $600 semesterly scholarship as well as 80 meal

According to the BC ResLife Union Instagram page, ResLife workers are hoping to take a similar path to Harvard and Tufts, with an election for a student union, followed by negotiation with the University.

BC High Renames McElroy Hall, Citing Slavery Ties

Grace Cotter Regan, president of BC High, sent an email to the school’s student body explaining the decision to rename McElroy Hall in early September. In it, she commended McElroy for his unquestionable contributions to generations of BC High School students.

“He was, however, also a man of his controversial times and it became critical to re-examine his life in light of recent findings,”

Regan said in the email sent earlier this month, which was obtained by e Boston Globe.

The decision to rename the building was made by the BC High Board of Trustees following recommendations by its Mission and Identity Committee, a group created to research the school’s founders, the email explained.

While BC High will rename its founding building to St. Ignatius Hall, Regan’s email also said a plaque will be installed in the school’s main entrance to “honor

and contextualize” McElroy’s legacy.

According to Meehan, associate director for academic programs and special projects at the BC Libraries, McElroy’s ties to slavery primarily trace back to his time as a bookkeeper at Georgetown College.

“At the behest of his religious superiors, he placed advertisements and recorded the transactions of enslaved people owned or hired by the college,” Meehan said in an email to e Heights.

Meehan added that because McElroy was not yet ordained as

a priest and given an o cial role in his Jesuit province, his power to intervene was limited.

“So, here he was, a lay brother who had no real authority to make decisions but also one with a lot of responsibility to ful ll the decisions of others,” Meehan said in his email.

labor, McElroy remained silent in the wake of the sale.

These events were prior to McElroy founding BC, Meehan said.

After his rst visit to Boston in 1842, McElroy wrote to the bishop of Boston and expressed the need for a new Jesuit-led day school in Boston. And by 1847, the bishop was urging the Jesuits to open a day school in Boston under the leadership of McElroy, Meehan explained.

Following a 16-year e ort led by McElroy, BC o cially opened its doors at its original location in Boston’s South End, Meehan said.

“He o cially became the rst president of Boston College in 1863, though he served for only a month or so for legal and administrative purposes before yielding the role to John Bapst,” Meehan said in the email.

In 1838, the Maryland Jesuits engaged in a sale of 272 enslaved people. While McElroy had been ordained by this point, he still did not have an o cial role in his province yet, according to Meehan.

The sale was controversial among Jesuits of the time, Meehan said. But while some advocated for liberation and some defended slave

According to Meehan, while McElroy was not the sole founder of BC, his e ort was vital to the University’s inception.

“It is one of those great alt-history questions: Do you get Boston College without John McElroy?” Meehan said. “Knowing his fellow Jesuits at the time ... I do not think any of them would have had the appetite, stamina, etc., to have taken on such a daunting project.”

BC Professor Founds New GEST Program

BY KARYL CLIFFORD Asst. News Editor

Boston College’s Program on Global Ethics and Social Trust (GEST) officially launched last week. The two-year international pilot initiative focuses on cultivating conversations about global issues among university faculty around the world.

James Keenan, the founder of the project and vice provost for global engagement at BC, added that he hopes that by the end of the pilot’s two-year run, BC will establish a global ethics and social trust center.

ere’s only a few centers like this in the country,” Keenan said. “And I want BC, since we are a school of men and women for others—and in a way I think it’s the most important Jesuit university in the world—I’d like to show that this is what a Jesuit university is capable of doing.”

GEST is based at BC through the O ce of the Provost and the Schiller Institute for Integrated Sciences and Society. e Porticus Foundation granted the project $500,000 over two years to help establish two working committees that will discuss various issues of social trust within society. e program will bring people from around the world

together to o er di erent perspectives on these issues.

BC Law School professors Katharine Young and M. Cathleen Kaveny also recently joined the initiative.

Kaveny, BC’s Darald and Juliet Libby Professor, is a member of the rst working group committee, which analyzes the role of education in addressing threats to democracy and the rule of law. Kaveny said the committee also discusses social trust issues within democracy and law, such as in the Supreme Court.

According to Kaveny, many people are losing trust in government due to dark money—money raised by people who do not have to disclose their identities—going toward political causes, such as appointing justices to the Supreme Court.

“You’ve got people saying hey, you know, becoming a justice is just becoming a politician in a robe,” Kaveny said.

Kaveny said there will be a lack of trust in society if Supreme Court justices only promote the interests of the people that nancially support them, rather than making a “good faith e ort” at representing the American people.

“So I see social trust in the rule of law as tremendously connected and that’s the aspect of the question in the

U.S. situation I’m interested in,” Kaveny said.

Young, BC Law’s associate dean of faculty and global programs, is the chair of the second working group committee. According to Young, this committee focuses on the connection between climate change and migration from an interdisciplinary perspective.

“We bring together natural scientists and social scientists and lawyers to look at the issue of, and really to look

at the profound challenge, that comes from climate change pushing a forced migration of peoples,” Young said. “Because the places in which they live have become inhabitable.”

According to Keenan, each of the committees are set to meet monthly to talk through these various global issues.

“I have all sorts of di erent people talking together, and I’m trying to model what type of discourse we need, if we want to answer these urgent problems,”

Keenan said.

Keenan said the goal of the project is to show the University that in order to solve present day challenges, BC needs to partake in interdisciplinary conversations and work with other universities.

“ ey need to have a way of highlighting how interdisciplinarity works, and how individually universities have to work with other universities and can’t work alone if it really wants to address global issues,” Keenan said.

“Because of his indispensable contributions to BC’s history, we are not planning to remove his name from McElroy Commons.”

“BC continues to disregard and undervalue the critical role that RAs ll.”

McElroy,

from

A1

A portrait of Rev. John McElroy, S.J., who founded Boston College in 1863, hangs on the wall in Gasson 100.

BC Celebrates Annual Hispanic Heritage Month

Heritage Month, from A1

The co-recipients of the 2023 Saint Oscar A. Romero Scholarship—an award given to a BC junior for their involvement in the Hispanic/Latino community both on and off campus— also spoke at the celebration.

Kevin Lopez, a recipient of the scholarship and MCAS ’24, discussed his work at the BAIC and how he aims to support his peers during their time at BC.

“Going to BC, I knew I wanted to build a strong sense of community, and the way I worked towards that is by working at the [BAIC] since freshman year,” Lopez said. “And from my three years working there, I have been helping other students, making sure none of them felt that pressure to step out of BC or feel like they aren’t capable of finishing their courses or graduating.”

Jonathan Mora, the other Romero scholarship recipient and LSEHD ’24, detailed his application process for the scholarship. Mora said he did not think he was capable of impacting the Latinx community until he met other Hispanic students at BC.

“As somebody who didn’t know about the scholarship un -

til coming to BC, I didn’t think that I had a chance to [win it],” Mora said. “It wasn’t until I was involved on campus and had an opportunity to meet other people who look like me, and you know, also didn’t think that they had a chance and by then I thought, ‘Okay, this is equal game.’”

Mora ended his speech by telling audience members there is always someone praying and rooting for them.

“I want you guys to understand that there’s people out there rooting for you, and you may not even know who they are,” Mora said. “There’s people out there that may not be right next to you, but they’re praying that one day you’ll be a better version of yourself the next day—and if not the next day, then the next hour.”

Along with the speeches from Lopez and Mora, the celebration featured a flag ceremony where students from each Hispanic/Latinx country paraded into the room with a colorful flag and fun facts about their country. Latin dance groups Fuego del Corazón and Vida de Intensa Pasión (VIP) entertained the crowd to the tune of upbeat music. There was also a vocal

performance from Nina Giancola, LSEHD ’25.

To wrap up the speeches, Joana Maynard, assistant director of the BAIC and one of the organizers of the event, encouraged students to utilize resources at the BAIC and to share their talents with their community.

Members of BC Community Reflect on U.S. Constitution

BY ANGELINA LI For The Heights

The meaning of the U.S. Constitution and the performance of American democracy is constantly contested, according to Jonathan Laurence.

“The Open Society Foundation did a global survey of respondents from 30 countries this summer, and they found that … people believe in [the Constitution’s] potential to deliver results, but they are less convinced by its current performance,” said Laurence, director of the Boston College Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy.

Co-sponsored by the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, the Clough Center hosted its second annual forum, “What the Constitution Means to Us,” in celebration of Constitution and Citizenship Day on Thursday evening.

Members of the BC community, including alumni and faculty, shared what the words of the U.S. Constitution mean to them.

“If I were to evaluate the Constitution … I’d say it’s a serious attempt to construct the conditions for self-governance in the context of white supremacist patriarchy, whose amendments reveal at least a partial recognition of its foundational prominence, but also a fear … to undertake a substantial revisioning and fulfill the province of its preamble,” Lunnie said.

Shaun Slusarski, a graduate student in the theology department, reflected on the prevalence of medical neglect in prison facilities throughout the country. Slusarski said the words of the Constitution are at times ambiguous and enable prison officials to not provide proper care to inmates.

“The lack of clarity around the meaning of the words ‘deliberate’ and ‘serious’ still gives a wide latitude to prison officials in deciding what and how much to provide,” Slusarki said. “For one thing, it is very difficult to prove that the failure to provide adequate care in a particular case is in fact deliberate.”

Arguing that the Constitution is a living and breathing document, Slusarski encouraged the audience to reflect on its meaning in the context of the present day.

“What is considered cool and unusual has shifted since the 18th century,” Slusarski said. “We as a society therefore must reflect on what is, in fact, cruel and unusual today.”

Kay Schlozman, a political science professor, addressed the ambiguity of the Constitution through her experience teaching a course titled “Rights in Conflict.”

know anything, but rather the importance of the constitution as a symbol and the extent to which it has absorbed or been viewed with the values that are built in American democracy,” Schlozman said.

“When I look around I see all kinds of diversity . . . somebody next to you, behind you, around you, where you live, where you eat, where you study, needs to know you because you have a lot to offer, okay, so please never minimize who you are or what you have,” Maynard said.

Maynard thanked the audience for attending the celebration.

“We have a whole 30 more days to go, so on the 15th of October, then this particular month will come to an end,” Maynard said. “It doesn’t mean that we go anywhere—we’re still here.”

VIKRUM SINGH / HEIGHTS EDITOR

UGBC Senate Talks Value of Community Engagement at BC

Y W ILL M A RT INO

Asst. News Editor

According to Scholzman, the phrases students frequently thought originated in the U.S. Constitution came from the Declaration of Independence, which she said exemplifies the significance of the Constitution as a symbol of American culture.

“What I’ve learned is the extent to which the Constitution is a fundamental part of the American political culture, even if we don’t always know what’s actually in it,” Scholzman said.

Law professor Daniel Kanstroom, founder of the BC Immigration and Asylum Clinic, said as an immigration and human rights lawyer, he struggles with questions surrounding the inclusion of non-citizens in the phrase, “We the People.”

“[The Constitution] does not offer a simple text, from which one can derive answers to complex political, legal questions,” Kanstroom said. “It is and always has been an interpretive work in progress.”

UGBC’s Senate discussed new approaches to communicating with the Boston College community at its meeting on Tuesday night.

“ is is a huge goal for UGBC this year—constituent engagement,” said Jonah Kotzen, UGBC president and MCAS ’24.

One potential mode of connecting with students is an interview video series, similar to the one featured on the BC Instagram account, said Max Winkler, chair of the community relations committee and MCAS ’24.

“We can come up with ideas we want to do, what kind of videos we want to make to engage with people on the quad,” Winkler said.

According to Winkler, UGBC’s Community Relations Committee is aiming to lm its rst video this week to ask students what Welles Crowther’s story means to them in the lead up to the Red Bandanna football game.

“We’re gonna be shooting for that as a way to get started out on a social media presence and put some faces to the organization that previously we had kind of lacked,” Winkler said.

[largely attended by] people of color, so being a rst-gen student and also a person of color, it didn’t look too good,” she said.

Zalabantu said if UGBC is going to make an e ort to increase its presence on campus, its members need to support every aspect of UGBC by attending the various events the organization holds.

“We put so much time into this, and I don’t wanna be the only person to show up to the things we’re working on,” she said.

Meghan Heckelman, UGBC vice president and LSEHD ’25, added that Zalabantu’s point was an important reminder for the Senate to consider everyone it represents on campus.

“It’s important to step back and think about, ‘Wait, who are we not thinking about right now? Who’s not represented at this table today?’” Heckelman said.

Sarah Lunnie, senior dramaturg at The Public Theater and BC ’08, said the framers of the Constitution were like artists, tasked with grappling with the chaos of beginning a new project while balancing tradition with radical ideas.

In a quiz she administers at the beginning of each semester, she asks students to identify the phrases that were included in the U.S. Constitution, yet no one typically answers completely accurately.

“The lesson that I take home is not necessarily that sophomores in political science don’t

Kanstroom ended his talk by adding that while the Constitution is far from perfect, there is opportunity for it to evolve.

“For me the Constitution is problematic, inadequate, anachronistic, frustrating, and easy and often misinterpreted, but it’s also potentially a rich and evolving source of rights for the most marginalized among us,” Kanstroom said.

Senator Benedita Zalabantu, MCAS ’25, added that UGBC members could better engage with the community by participating in UGBC-planned events more consistently.

Zalabantu recalled events that UGBC helped organize for rst-generation students at which only she and one other colleague from UGBC were present.

“A lot of those events were

The Senate also unanimously con rmed three more members to its legislative positions, including Angana Saha, MCAS ’24, as AHANA+ Leadership Council policy coordinator, H Edwards, MCAS ’26, as GLBTIQIA+ Leadership Council policy coordinator, and Lydia Nkrumah, MCAS ’25, as Council for Students with Disabilities policy coordinator.

Heckelman also appointed Cami Kulbieda, LSEHD ’26, to serve as a second secretary to UGBC, alongside Cristina Gregory, MCAS ’26.

As the meeting adjourned, Kotzen commended the senators for the ideas and discussions they raised at the second session of the year. at’s exactly how these meetings should go,” he said.

B

The BAIC hosted the annual kickoff celebration for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month on Friday. KAETLYNN KING-VELEZ / FOR THE HEIGHTS

“What is considered cool and unusual has shifted since the 18th century.”

“[The Constitution] does not offer a simple text, from which one can derive answers to complex political, legal questions.”

Newton Dispensary Redefines Family Business

Dispensary, from A1 eir inspiration to start the business comes from Rupert’s Jamaican roots, according to Cleantha. Her father’s culture inuenced their outlook on cannabis, she said.

“My father’s from Jamaica originally,” said Cleantha. “So you know, his culture has a background in cannabis with Bob Marley and all the greats who worked hard to legalize cannabis. So we, as a family, have a close relationship with cannabis.”

One of the largest challenges the family faces is the stigma surrounding the cannabis industry, Nicole said. She said that the historical bias against di erent groups and communities associated with cannabis has led people to feel negatively about the industry.

“You know, some people who are the most against cannabis have never actually even stepped into a

dispensary,” Nicole said. “And I’ve had dispensaries compared to porn shops, and things like that and I’m like, ‘Have you actually ever walked into a dispensary?’”

e discrimination has a ected the business in multiple ways, according to Cleantha.

“My ance was trying [to work] with local farms to buy wholesale apples and pumpkins and stuff because we like to do events in this industry,” Cleantha said. “So farms wouldn’t sell to us because we’re cannabis, for example.”

Despite the issues Cleantha raised about entering the cannabis industry, Vincent Dedomenico, an employee at e Green Lady, said he sees the positive impact the dispensary has on customers every day.

“One thing I love about working in this industry is people come in here [and] their day is just alright or so-so,” Dedomenico said. “But then when they walk out, [and] they have

a big smile on their face.”

While the Campbells hope more people become educated about the cannabis industry, they are turning their focus to deepening connections with the Newton community through fall events and collabora-

tions with other local businesses.

“We’re trying to build this location out in the sense of being part of the community,” Nicole said.

“We have a lot of fun events that we have scheduled. For example, in October, we’re going to be doing an

apple cider donut and an apple day to kind of celebrate the fall.”

Since the grand opening, Nicole said e Green Lady has experienced strong support from other small businesses in the Newton community.

Teachers, Parents Protest Outside Committee Meeting

BY ELLA SONG Assoc. Newton Editor

e Newton Teachers Association (NTA) and the Newton Parent/Educator Collaborative (PEC) organized a demonstration outside of the Newton School Committee’s meeting on Monday night, rallying in front of the Newton Education Center and speaking during the meeting’s public comment period to demand fairer treatment for Newton educators.

“We chanted [and] we made some noise as the school committee members were coming in to really show that we mean business and that we’re really serious about getting a fair contract,” said Mike Schlegelmilch, a Newton North High School English teacher and co-chair of NTA’s Contract Action Team.

e NTA and Newton Public Schools (NPS) are currently negotiating a new contract after the previous contract’s expiration on Aug. 31. According to Schlegelmilch, NPS teachers desire higher cost of living adjustments (COLA) in addition to putting more funding into school programming.

“In ation has been extremely high over the last few years, and so what that means is that our salaries obviously are not keeping up with the cost of living,” he said. “Many, many of our educators cannot a ord to live in Newton, many of them are commuting from far away.”

e current proposed annual COLA increases would increase a teacher’s salary by 5.1 percent, 6.7 percent, and 5.5 percent each year, according to the most recent negotiations update to the school committee. e calculation of this

increase does not, however, account for the salary increase that comes with more years of experience, according to the NTA. With this factor accounted for, the COLA increase is only 1.5 percent, 1.6 percent, and 1.6 percent, respectively.

“That’s less than 5 percent over three years, just for context,” Schlegelmilch said. “In other districts, educators are getting between 9 and 15 percent over three years—so, really not competitive with other districts.”

Educators during public comment spoke out against the school committee’s treatment of teachers, alleging inadequate salaries, unjust treatment during contract negotiations, and sta cuts that undermine NPS’ commitment to inclusivity.

“If we’re so easily replaced with our current rates of pay, our positions would be fully staffed, which they never are … in truth not one school in the city could open its doors for an hour without us,” Loring Masters, social and emotional learning interventionist at Bowen Elementary School, said during the meeting. “We’re the backbone of fair access to public education.”

After public comment, Newton School Committee Chair Tamika Olszewski provided contract negotiation updates, pointing out that the Newton’s scal year 2023

salaries are some of the highest of Massachusetts’ schools districts.

“Newton remains within the top 10 among comparable districts for our salaries … we are trying very hard to reach a fair but also sustainable contract with our NTA members,” she said.

Olszewski made note of NPS’ recent ling of a strike investigation following the NTA’s silent meeting action and boycott of the NPS sta convocation, an allegation the NTA denies.

“It’s our position that we, as required by law, have to ag something that gave us a reasonable inference that there may have been a work stoppage—a strike—as de-

ned by law,” she said.

After the conclusion of public comment, NTA members marched out of the meeting, chanting for a fair contract. Schlegelmilch said he was feeling optimistic about the energy and intentionality behind NTA’s campaign e orts.

“We’re really good at running campaigns, we hit the ground running this time, we, you know, we were doing actions in the spring,” he said. “[But] we’ve been trying really hard to keep our actions from impacting kids—and so our goal is to put pressure on the school committee and on the mayor, and, as much as possible, not impact students.”

Newton Organization Promotes Family Conversations

BY BRENDAN O’FRIEL Heights Staff

A Newton-based organization called Story Starters focuses on cultivating family conversations about various works of literature to address wide-reaching issues like racial and socioeconomic inequality.

“I’m involved and interested in this work because I’m a parent who knows how much it’s needed,” Ellie Axe, director of Story Starters, said. “I needed the information that Story Starters provides families to raise kids who are apt and willing and ready to create the world that we need for all of us.”

Joslyne Decker founded Story Starters in 2018. At the time, Decker was the parent of an elementary school student. Her daughter’s school’s anti-racism curriculum for early elementary students ignited the idea of providing parents with a foundation for how to approach discussing race and racism with their children at

home, she said.

Kari Denitzio, BC ’04, who serves as a program coordinator for Story Starters, said that interest in the group has increased over the last few years.

e program began prior to the national reckoning with racism that was spurred by the murder of George Floyd in 2020,” Denitzio said. “And obviously interest has grown since then as people, white people in particular, become more aware of the work they need to do to come to grips with the history of racism in our country and how it continues to manifest.”

Denitzio shared how her career working in public schools as both a teacher and school counselor motivated her to become involved with Story Starters.

“I worked in under-resourced schools, which have mostly Black and brown students,” she said. “I’ve worked in better-resourced schools where there were some real inequities in how students were treated according to race.”

Noticing major flaws in the education system, Denitzio said she dedicated herself to racial equality and anti-racist education.

“As a practitioner in those settings, educational equity was a real focus of mine, and anti-racist education was a real focus of mine,” she said. “I’ve since transitioned into making that more of a centerpiece of my working life.”

e intended age range of children for Story Starters’ programs is three to eight years old, according to the group’s website.

“We base our program a lot on the developmental psychology and the research around racial identity development,” Axe said.

e program, which is a hybrid of in-person and virtual events, highlights talks it holds with authors.

“The eight-week program is bookended by in-person family events, kicko and closing, that feature authors, typically local authors of color, who come and do read-alouds,” she

said.

In July, Boston author Candelaria Norma Silva participated in a read aloud for Story Starters and read her book titled What’s the Baby’s Name, Stacey?, the third in her series.

“Stacy is a Black girl in an extended Black family that has her friends in it—they’re friends of di erent races,” Silva said.

She said her reading of the book primarily sparked discussion of the meanings behind names with the children.

“We talked about their names based on their family history and where they come from,” Silva said.

Denitzio said most program activities occur in families’ homes. At different points over the eight weeks, families open packages full of books and guidelines for how parents should go over the readings with their children, she said.

Parents can attend virtual workshops during the program to further their knowledge, ask questions, and

bring up any concerns they may have as they are reading with their children, according to Denitzio.

She pointed out that for the newer generation of parents, conversations about race were not yet common during their childhood.

“People weren’t having these conversations with us as kids,” she said. “We had to do a lot of our learning about race and racism and institutional racism and inequity on our own.”

Denitzio emphasized that the program is just as much for parents as it is for kids.

“We’re helping the people who never got that education, who don’t feel expert in talking to their kids about it because they haven’t experienced it to gain that comfort and that skill and push past their own anxiety, hesitation, and fear in having conversations about these topics,” Denitzio said.

Read the rest of this story at www.bcheights.com

ANNIE LADD REID / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The dispensary has several locations, including one in Nantucket and Newton’s new shop, which opened on Sept. 7.

ELLA SONG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Protestors gather outside the Newton School Committee’s meeting place.

ELLA SONG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The teachers’ union and NPS are currently engaged in contract negotiations.

Surviving Celiac Disease at BC

BY LILY BOYD Heights Staff

This summer, I found the answer to a question I’ve been asking myself since I began my freshman year at Boston College: Why is my ability to eat so messed up?

The issues that I brushed off as symptoms of adjusting to a new setting and food options turned out to be a larger problem—I have celiac disease. And my diagnosis turned my life upside down. How was I supposed to cut out pasta, bread, pizza, baked goods, and so many of my other favorite gluten-based dishes?

After pondering solutions at home over the summer, one main question loomed: How in the world was I going to navigate this new reality when I returned?

In my time at BC before my diagnosis, I discovered my tried and true staples in the dining halls—a deli sandwich from Eagles Nest, a slice of pizza from Mac, and pasta dishes with breaded chicken. This year, none of these are an option for me. While I was upset to miss out on my favorite BC meals, my main concern was nutritional value. As someone who also experiences low iron, receiving the proper amount of protein is incredibly important to me.

So, as I’m experimenting to find the best strategy, here are my suggestions for navigating campus with a dietary restriction.

Add Protein Into Dishes

Oftentimes, I add protein sources to meals lacking in sustenance. At Lower, the Rat, or Mac, I always make sure to put chicken, eggs, chickpeas, or beans into my salads or other dishes.

It’s important to receive protein in each and every meal. While the salad bar is often the easiest option for those with dietary restrictions, having salads for multiple meals a day is not sufficient for the nutrition our bodies need to stay happy and healthy. Don’t get me wrong—I love my salads as much as the next person. But for those with dietary restrictions, it’s important to consider how we’re eating and if we are keeping our bodies satisfied.

Substitute, Substitute, Substitute!

Many meals at BC come with

The Lavender Haze

B Y MC C LAVERIE Newsletter Editor

Last semester while I was studying abroad in the Netherlands, I worked at an on-campus bar.

the perfect drink to casually sip or to fuel a night of dancing with your friends.

bread, tortilla, or another starch on the side, which is definitely not an option for me. Instead of just skipping the carbs altogether, I’ve been substituting rice for starch whenever possible to best recreate the original dish. For example, Lower had some delicious tortas for dinner the other night. Unfortunately for my celiac self, this was served on bread.

So, I opted to have all of the original ingredients besides the torta, and I paired them with rice. While this wasn’t exactly accurate to the original dish, I could still incorporate carbs into my meal.

Reliable Microwaveable Meals

I recently discovered that the gluten-free fridges in Lower and the Rat have many microwaveable options. While these aren’t always the most practical or time-efficient, they’re a reliable option always available on campus.

These fridges often contain mac and cheese, burritos, bowls, or other Amy’s Kitchen products. Thanks, Amy.

While these dishes may take more time out of your day, they add some variety to your diet and serve as a dependable meal choice on campus.

Navigating a drastic and immediate change to my everyday diet and life is difficult, just as being a student with dietary restrictions continues to be. But I’ve come to learn that there are options, options that might work for you too!

The bar was the center of the social scene at University College Utrecht and a place where students would gather—formally and informally—for club events, casual drinks, and parties.

This bar quickly became one of my favorite places on campus. Its chaotic decorations, lively spirit, and somewhat cult-ish staff of bartenders reminded me of the Heights office in Mac 113.

And whether I was dancing with my closest friends on a Thursday night, sipping a cold beer with my roommates, or bonding with fulltime students during my weekly shift, the bar was a place where I always felt at home.

Each night, the bar would offer a special discounted cocktail, and for my last shift, my friend Rene and I wanted to create a Taylor Swift–themed drink.

After much deliberation, debate, and workshopping, we finally came up with the perfect drink—the Lavender Haze.

Inspired by Swift’s song “Lavender Haze” from her 2022 album Midnights , the Lavender Haze is

It’s also a twist on one of my favorite cocktails—the Cosmopolitan. Instead of using triple sec, an orange-flavored liqueur that is a typical Cosmopolitan ingredient, I used blue curaçao to craft a purple drink. Like triple sec, blue curaçao is an orange-flavored liqueur so the flavor profile of the drink remains relatively similar.

Whether you are a Swiftie looking for a fun Taylor-themed cocktail or like me, you’re missing your friends who are scattered across the globe, this cocktail is sure to be a hit and remind you of the best of times.

DRINK: The Lavender Haze

INGREDIENTS:

For one serving

1 ½ oz vodka (I used Tito’s)

1 oz blue curaçao

2 oz cranberry juice

½ oz lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add the vodka, blue curaçao, cranberry juice, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until the outside of the shaker is cold to the touch—about 5 to 10 seconds. Strain into a martini glass and enjoy.

One-Pan Chicken With Beans and Spinach

B Y S TEPHEN B RADLEY

Heights Senior Sta ff

Though sunny days filled the first two weeks of classes, clouds and rain are beginning to filter into the weather forecasts. This can mean only one thing: Fall is coming to Boston.

And as the summer weather begins to say its farewell to the Heights, the campus ambiance will completely shift.

The days become shorter, temperatures colder, and meals heartier.

So, here is a perfect dish to

welcome this forthcoming fall atmosphere.

Though it’s a simple recipe that’s adaptable to most college living spaces, this dish combines protein, vegetables, and legumes.

These food groups blend into a silky and briny sauce that—atop pieces of tender chicken—produces a comforting flavor profile.

Give this one a shot, and I’m sure you’ll be making it again soon.

DISH:

One-Pan Chicken With White

Beans and Spinach

INGREDIENTS:

2–3 chicken breasts

2 cups of chicken broth

One bag of spinach

One can of cannellini beans

Herbes de Provence Salt

Pepper

Optional:

Freshly chopped rosemary

RECIPE:

Pat your chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper each side, lightly massaging the spices into the breasts. Pour a thin layer of oil into a pan on medium-high heat.

Place the chicken in the pan and let one side cook for 4 minutes. Flip and let the other side cook for 4 minutes. You do not want to fully cook the chicken at this step. You should be looking for a light-brown cook on each side. Once done, set aside. Glaze the pan with about one-quarter cup of chicken broth.

Pour a bag of spinach into the pan and add salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence. Let the spinach cook down.

Add in the can of beans and stir the beans and spinach until mixed together.

Pour about a cup of chicken broth into the pan. The amount of broth you add is dependent on how much chicken you are cooking.

You can always add more chicken broth as it cooks down.

Add your chicken back in and sprinkle in some fresh rosemary if you have any. Taste the broth with a few pieces of beans and spinach and add more Herbes de Provence to your liking.

Cover the pan with a lid or tinfoil and let it cook for 20 minutes.

Flip the chicken halfway through. It is important to keep an eye on the level of the chicken broth.

If you notice it is close to completely evaporating, add more broth, or else the beans and spinach will burn. You want to end with a somewhat soupy texture— not completely liquidy but not totally dry.

After 20 minutes on the heat and under a lid, your chicken should be cooked. But if you want to double check, take the chicken out of the pan and cut into halves. If it is cooked, you can turn off the heat.

Serve and enjoy!

NICOLE VAGRA / HEIGHTS EDITOR

At Lower, there is a Gluten Free fridge with meal options for students.

The Lavender Haze is an invention from MC’s time studying abroad in Utrecht.

In this dish, the beans, spinach, and broth combine to form a smooth sauce.

the authors of those particular pieces and not necessarily the views of The Heights

Not All RAs Are Created Equal

want students to examine the compensation package of RAs at BC and decide if change beyond the “industry standard” is needed. I aim to point out problems involving BC’s Residential Life so the University can understand the frustrations

Try to visualize your move-in day for your rst year at Boston College. You pull up to an old building with no AC and disgusting bathrooms, yet you are lled with excitement. A band of upperclassmen donning yellow shirts greet you and tell you these will be the best four years of your life. You then see a sweaty short girl with a speaker blasting Olivia Rodrigo in one hand and parking permits in the other. She’s telling parents to move their cars to avoid being towed, and she’s trying her best to keep the peace. at’s me! My name is Mary, and I’m one of many RAs across BC.

Now, imagine that we yellow-shirted RAs aren’t there. Order is disturbed. No one can move their car, no one can nd Fenwick in the jungle of Upper Campus, and no one is playing 2010s pop hits. Instead, RAs are chanting on the Quad, demanding a modest stipend for the hundreds of hours of work they put into making resident halls functional. A very similar event just happened not too far from BC at Tufts University, and now the wave of unionization e orts has spread to BC.

After postponed negotiations and stalemates, the United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants voted to strike after the university denied its main request: a stipend. Tufts countered this by o ering a “specialized” meal plan, and the school suggested that it already meets the “industry standard” for what RAs receive at other universities—including BC. e phrase “industry standard” twists knots in my stomach. e Jesuit tradition encourages us to constantly re ect, so I

RAs on campus face. First things rst, I am an RA in a rstyear environment. I receive free room and board on the condition that I create a community with my residents. at consists of hosting monthly programs, making bulletin boards, supporting other rst-year activities, and creating intimate, one-on-one connections with my residents. RAs on Lower Campus have fewer community-building responsibilities because their older residents are more settled into BC. ey also have private bathrooms and sometimes even kitchens. Due to these di erences, there is a pay gap between the rst-year area and upperclassmen-area RAs. With the addition of a kitchen/kitchenette, upperclassmen RAs receive a lump sum stipend at the beginning of the semester, an amount comparable to the price of BC’s standard meal plan. Here’s the point of contention: is money can be put directly into their personal bank accounts, while rst-year RAs (like me) are limited to using their meal allotment for BC Dining. We get no reimbursement of the meal plan money that we do not use, unlike other RAs.

I understand the pricing di erence. I need a meal plan to eat, and I cannot make anything of substance in my 60-watt microwave. Nonetheless, I have earned the right to that meal plan, even after the end of the year. I am not paying for a service—being an RA is a job, and I need food to sustain myself because I am living in a double room as a junior. Additionally, living in upperclassmen RA housing is not reserved for veteran RAs. e unspoken system in BC ResLife is that the better you do your job, the more likely it is you will be put back into rst-year housing— unable to get the stipend. After all, rstyear students are expected to need more events and personal attention from their

RAs than other students—so there’s a lot to lose if an unenthusiastic RA supervises a rst-year dorm. is system takes away the incentive to innovate as an RA, and a good RA helps make a good year. Instead, BC should instate a veteran preference principle that allows RAs who perform their responsibilities well to give preferences for the following year’s placement. at way, RAs work for the chance to pick their own housing and don’t feel the need to constrain their work.

But the problem with compensation goes deeper than reimbursement of meal plans—it begins as early as training. For those unaware, RAs come to campus about two weeks before school starts to prepare for the school year. Most days, we work from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and are given a mere BC Dining gift card that barely covers our meals. Personally, leaving my summer job early puts me at a nancial disadvantage: I lose out on wages that I need to sustain myself during the school year.

Being an RA is rewarding. I become a mentor for others and work to make sure my residents have the best freshman year possible. It is a job, however, and it necessitates compensation. In order for RAs to succeed, we need to be compensated appropriately. If an RA feels undervalued or that their hard work will keep them in a quaint double, they will not perform to their potential. RAs set the tone of the hall, and the experience in the hall sets the tone for the year.

e title of RA comes attached with many connotations, whether they be positive or negative. ey are BC’s crucial rst responders to some, or the people who write students up for fun to others. What we all can agree on is that being an RA is a job—and anyone in a job deserves fair conditions based on the amount of work that is done. I do not speak for all RAs, but I believe the system needs to change.

Red Bandanna Pride

No matter how you feel about Boston College football, one thing cannot be denied: Students show up for the Red Bandanna Game. From coordinated jumpsuits and jerseys to the red bandanna tied around everyone’s wrist, BC pride at the game this weekend was infectious. Although tailgating and scream-singing “Mr. Brightside” in the stands will always fill our hearts, the real message of the Red Bandanna Game is not lost. We will never fail to celebrate the heroism of Welles Crowther and honor his family and memory.

Hello, Heights! Beat the “Lookaway”

familiar faces I love makes me genuinely smile. For me, though, it’s meeting new people that becomes exhausting. The new classmates. The new recruits sitting next to you at the latest club meeting. The friends of friends you didn’t know existed until they showed up at your door last Tuesday at 11:00 p.m. The list goes on.

great “hello” debate with my friends from the Midwest and the South. My stance: A simple hello isn’t going to make my day.

BC Benches

Now that the weather report is looking more cheerful, students are once again ocking to the Quad. In addition to grassy picnics and study sessions in Stokes Amphitheater, BC benches provide the perfect rest stop. Integrated into our beautifully landscaped surroundings, these spots allow us a moment of respite—a place to sit with friends, catch up with family on the phone, do class readings, or even take a quick midday nap in the sun. If you have not already found your favorite bench, take time to discover it! We promise you will nd your own little paradise.

Co ee Confusion

And just like that, we’re back. Our ears have heard the ringing of Gasson’s bells, our noses have smelled the tailgate food, and our phones have started buzzing with GroupMe notifications yet again. We’re so back!

I’ve always thought the first few weeks back at Boston College are harder than midterms or even finals weeks. We are returning from time separated from friends, transitioning to a new semester where we must accept our lack of down time. On top of that, we are surrounded by new faces and are not in a “semester groove” yet. And my social battery seems to drain after three days, not three weeks. Frankly, there’s only so many things to say before the conversation about our summer activities becomes redundant.

But, I still enjoy saying hi to everyone I know, both on and off campus. Seeing the

So, how do we manage interacting with these types of friendly faces—the people we know, but don’t really know? They deserve some form of acknowledgement, don’t they? We could become closer friends in a few months. But that’s if—and only if— we somehow say hello every time we see them. The simple answer is: just say hi. However, Occam’s razor doesn’t always feel right because what if they come up to me and start chatting? And what if I don’t have that energy in me? But wait, what if they don’t even say hi back? What if they do this? What if they don’t do that? While all valid, at the end of the day, do these questions really matter? Are you tossing and turning at 3 a.m. because the kid two seats next to you in Rivers and the Environment didn’t say hi to you? No. So let go, and please, just say hi.

As a New Englander, I often have the

I don’t ask the clerk at the grocery store how she is. I just swipe my debit card. I don’t wave at the construction workers making me cross the street because the sidewalk is closed. It feels unnatural in a world where everything seems transactional. But this is where I lose the debate every time and adjust my mindset.

College itself is a very transactional concept. We are here for four years to get a degree that will get us a job. But, that doesn’t mean that the people we meet, the clubs we join, or the classes we enroll in can’t be interesting. It doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean we can’t be cheerful in our interactions with others.

There is no harm in just simply saying hi. You actually never know if it just might make somebody’s day. So, start greeting people this semester.

Everyone always complains about the “BC Lookaway” being so toxic, so end it. Make BC your home, and just start saying hi to others.

ree weeks into the semester, and our collective sleep deprivation is well underway. e obvious solution? Co ee. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy. In the morning, getting your co ee x means either braving the long CoRo Cafe and Market lines, or opting for the dining hall’s all-too-often watered-down variety. You could make the trek to Dunkin’, but that is a dangerous habit for your bank account. And then there’s the Rat co ee, which everyone loves … just kidding. We at thumbs up, thumbs down suggest you try each option, and if you cannot nd one you like, consider switching to tea.

Midterms … Already??

For BC students, the word “midterm” feels almost comical. Midterm season seems to stretch a full 10 weeks here, with many students facing their first big exam in week four. Although this may space out our big stressors, it also means there is no escape from the grind. We are stuck on a hamster wheel, at least until Dec. 20. So, organize your calendar and fit in times for rest—we have done this before and we can do it again.

MARY PEREZ

The opinions and commentaries of the op-ed columnists appearing on this page represent the views of

GRAPHICS BY PAIGE STEIN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Mary Perez is a columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at mary.perez@bc.edu.

PAT CONNELL

Pat Connell is a columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at patrick.connell.3@bc.edu.

Greta Van Fleet Brings the Heat to TD Garden

BY JULIAN ROCH-HERNANDEZ For The Heights

With only about 5,000 residents, Frankenmuth, Mich., the hometown of Greta Van Fleet, has a population of just one fourth of the TD Garden’s capacity of 19,580. e group—composed of three brothers, Josh, Jake, and Sam Kiszka, and friend Danny Wagner—came a long way from its hometown roots in Frankenmuth for its Boston tour stop at the TD Garden on Friday.

At the concert, though, Greta Van Fleet proved that numbers don’t matter. e band played with a raw and passionate energy—as if it was in the Kiszka family garage back in Michigan. Only this time the band had a near-full arena of fans to hear its intimate-feeling show.

Opening with “ e Indigo Streak,” was the only right answer. As Josh howled the lyrics “Ready for the garden,” ames erupted from backstage. is group isn’t just cool. In fact, it isn’t cool at all. The bandmates played with red-hot intensity and the pyro-ridden performances and painfully sweet guitar plucks prove it.

Wagner closed out the rst half of the set with a fierce and tempo-dancing drum solo lasting over ve minutes. e ability of the band to swoon its crowd was as clear as Wagner’s physical drum set, which was completely transparent and had a dagger printed on the left side of the kick drum. Perhaps it was a statement, answering to those criticisms that bashfully describe them as Zeppelin copycats or derivative and unoriginal. While Josh Kiszka’s

vocals certainly resemble those of Robert Plant’s, it would be ignorant to belittle the group’s devout mission of reviving that classic, bluesy hard rock rhythm.

After “Highway Tune,” Wagner’s drum solo served not just as a oneman spectacle of harmonious smashes and crashes, but as a transition for the rest of the band to get over to the acoustic stage across the venue. Josh re-appeared this time in a dark blue satin outfit, swapping from his all white shimmering satin piece from the start of the show. Guitarist Jake and bassist Sam remained in their satin blazers though obviously shirtless, while Wagner stuck with his silvery and white rope mesh tank top.

After performing “Waited All Your Life” during the acoustic set, vocalist Josh took a fan’s cap and signed it. He

had every band member sign the cap before returning it to the awestruck fan in the front row. As if he hadn’t given the fans enough, Josh handed out white roses to extended hands while atop his brother Jake’s shoulder.

e beginning of the end of the show was marked by “Fate Of e Faithful.” About 15 seconds into the introduction, a smooth and contained drumline and rhythm guitar joined the melodic keyboard. All of this doubled as a distraction from Josh changing for the third time back into more white satin garments with glittering ornaments. is time his out t was lighter and more revealing—perhaps the band brought a little too much heat.

Jake’s guitar solo, which came right after “Fate Of e Faithful,” was the highlight of the night. Plucking his guitar as he paced up and down

stage, Jake ensured both catwalks were graced with the soles of his black combat boots. His ngers gliding up and down and across his fret boards was as tantalizing as the moody red lights that painted the arena from the main stage.

Through two main sets and an acoustic interlude, Greta Van Fleet demonstrated it can strike all the notes. More importantly, the band excelled at what many other contemporary rock artists can only half-accomplish while performing live: performing consistently and energetically while still giving attention and love to their fans.

In the lyrics of its closing set “Farewell For Now,” the Grammy-winning artists reminded TD Garden: “Gathered here tonight / Did it up just right / It’s all for you.”

‘Daryl Dixon’ Provides Reset as Spin-Off Series

BY JACK WEYNAND Asst. Arts Editor

The Walking Dead has long overstayed its welcome as a pop culture staple, but like a zombie, it’s back from the dead with Daryl Dixon . The new spinoff show serves as a needed franchise reset.

Daryl Dixon is both innovative and character-driven, which is a breath of fresh air for the Walking Dead franchise.

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) has been a fan-favorite character since The Walking Dead premiered in 2010. After

staying around for 11 seasons, his character has seen all that a zombie apocalypse has to offer … in America.

The new series drops Daryl in France. The details of how and why he’s there are unclear, but they aren’t important. A change in scenery allows the show to explore a crucial but underutilized part of Daryl’s character: Daryl normally works best when he’s on his own. After all, Daryl’s character arc in the main series always dealt with his difficulty to make friends. But once he bonded with the other protagonists of The Walking

Dead , he grew into a lovable and loyal team player.

Now, in France, where he doesn’t have the relationships he built anymore, Daryl has to relearn how to be the gritty, lone survivor that he started out as.

The question is, can he?

In the premiere episode of Daryl Dixon , Daryl’s fatal flaw is his willingness to connect with individuals. In a zombie apocalypse, it’s every man for himself. When we find Daryl, he’s too easy to trust strangers and goes out of his way to help people who stab him in the back.

Admittedly, some things that always make Daryl stand out are his gritty nature and the way that he ruthlessly defeats his enemies. He’s a badass, and he never fails to act like one. There are glimpses of that in the premiere episode, but viewers haven’t seen this side of Daryl since the early seasons of the flagship series.

Daryl’s lone survivor instinct will inevitably return the longer he’s away from his friends back in Virginia, but TWD: Daryl Dixon is hinting that Daryl will be dealing with physical threats and a spiritual struggle.

About midway through the first episode, Daryl wakes up in a convent. He learns that he was saved by a nun and that he’s allegedly involved in a much larger prophecy that’s meant to save mankind. The Walking Dead franchise has pulled off crazier stunts than a prophecy to save humanity (see the nuclear bomb that went off in Fear The Walking Dead season six), but Daryl’s forced connection to God is the key point.

In The Walking Dead , Daryl has never expressed himself to be a religious person. Really, his character seems to stand for the opposite: Daryl is self-made and for much of the apocalypse, he’s

had to rely on no one but himself. He’s the type of person to shrug off God—he’s literally quoted saying “Faith ain’t done s—for us” in the main Walking Dead series.

As Daryl wrestles with his own faith, his character can continue to grow while keeping up the gritty solo act. By taking up the prophecy mission to save mankind, Daryl embarks on a solo quest but still puts his belief in relationships and humanity.

It’s doubtful that Daryl will commit to a religious lifestyle going forward, but the presence of religion in the show will test Daryl’s faith in himself and in other people at the very least.

As Daryl Dixon breaks away from familiar characters and locations in the Walking Dead universe, Daryl acts as a familiar constant. Whether he’s riding solo or with other protagonists, he’s still the badass survivor viewers have come to love

‘The Nun II’ Brings Justice to Religious Horror

BY ALEX BURTON

For The Heights

With vacuously dark halls, ominously clothed figures, haunting chants, and a rich history mired with controversy, the church provides arguably one of the best settings for horror.

Religious horror lms have ourished within the industry for years with movies such as e Exorcist becoming wildly popular among cinematic fanatics. While popular, the genre of religious horror can be controversial in nature as these lms inherently dive into a topic which has deep-rooted connections in many aspects of culture and society. But every so often, a movie comes along that transcends societal restrictions and appeals to even the most religious of horror lovers.

Michael Chaves’ e Nun II, a sequel to e Nun which was released in 2018, is the ninth installment within the Conjuring Universe fran-

chise. e sequel confronts the fears of many children who grew up in a church setting. Filled with images of dark cupboards below churches and locked chapels with disturbing iconography prominent on the stained glass windows, e Nun II forces its audience to confront its childhood fears.

Following the events of the rst movie, a demon named Valak continues to wreak havoc on members of the Catholic Church, punishing servants of God. e demon manifests itself in the face of a paleskinned nun with chilling bright green eyes and a long black habit that allows the nightmarish gure to glide across the screen e ortlessly. e movie takes place in various locations throughout Europe, opening in France with a young altar boy named Jacques who is the rst victim of the horrific entity which plagues the characters of the lm. e main plot of the story, however, follows a nun named Sister Irene, who nearly died

ghting o Valak in the rst lm.

Believing the demon had been sent back to hell, Sister Irene lived peacefully in a cloistered convent until she unwillingly got pulled back into the realm of demon hunting. A string of suicides in churches trailing across Europe led the Vatican to believe that a demonic presence was sweeping the continent and aiding religious figures in committing a cardinal sin. Sister Irene reluctantly accepts her call to face the demon and put an end to the evil force ravaging churches and convents across Europe.

e set design for the lm engrosses viewers in a terrifying religious world, making places of worship akin to that of nightmares. From start to nish the various dark and brooding settings set the tone for this movie, fully immersing the viewer in the realm of terror the characters nd themselves in.

e tense interactions between characters keep the viewer capti-

vated in between the suspenseful moments of terror. Two plot lines emerge throughout the course of the movie, and they both leave the viewer guessing how these separate plots would converge up until the climax of the lm.

Chaves masterfully ties things together in an extremely satisfying way. e plot avoids leaving viewers with questions, as many horror lms do. Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene and Katelyn Rose Downey as Sophie deliver some of the best performances within the Conjuring Universe.

When it comes to the actual

horror aspect of the lm—the spike of cortisol horror fanatics love— e Nun II rises above the competition. Some of the scares and moments of suspense in e Nun II are wrought with so much intensity and undisrupted pressure that even viewers who do not fall easily to simple jump scares or loud noises and screams will be on the edge of their seat.

e Nun II is on par with that of e Conjuring I and II and, by the looks of it, future installations within this feverishly horri c franchise will continue to bring the fright factor for years to come.

JULIAN ROCH-HERNANDEZ / FOR THE HEIGHTS

SPORTS

“THIS ISN’T ON ONE PLAYER.”

“Today was a little di erent, it wasn’t the post-snap personal fouls that got me really hot,” Ha ey said.

“But it’s too many. We gotta clean that up.”

e Eagles also failed to con vert two points after touchdown (PATs) in the loss. Ha ey said he won’t pin the loss on any one in stance, player, or coach, however. He thought his plan—utilizing time of possession to hand around with the Seminoles—was su cient and well-executed.

is isn’t on one player,” Ha said. “ is isn’t on a missed extra point. We’re not going to go down that road.”

Two quick FSU touchdowns in the third quarter, one coming o omas Castellanos interception, put BC down 31–10. As some Eagles fans trickled out of Alumni Stadium, BC refused to give in, eventually climbing back to within two points.

It started with a 14-play, 80yard drive, highlighted by Dino Tomlin’s 52-yard catch and run. Kye Robichaux nished o the job with a 1-yard jog into the endzone, but Liam Connor missed the extra point to make it 31–16 less than two minutes into the nal quarter.

A bold squib kick decision gave BC the ball right back on FSU’s 26-yard line. Robichaux, however, was stuffed on fourth down on the 5-yard line for a turnover on

downs. e Seminoles couldn’t do themselves any favors, either, as Elijah Jones ripped the football out of Lawrance Toa li’s hands in the back eld. Khari Johnson scooped the ball and scored, sending Chestnut Hill into a frenzy.

Down by nine points, BC elected

down to bring BC within two points at 31–29.

“I knew those guys were going to be coming,” Castellanos said of FSU’s front line. “Just sitting there, being patient and waiting for holes to open the passing game. I just use that to my advantage.”

downs, one instance in which he chose to be conservative was when BC held a 10–3 lead and possessed the ball on FSU’s 3-yard line. Ha ey elected to kick a eld goal on fourth down instead of taking the chance to go up by two touchdowns. e decision ipped into a 16-play, 72yard drive—where BC had already gone for it on fourth down twice and converted each time—that ended with a mere three points.

“There’s being aggressive and then there’s being reckless,” Ha ey said. “I think it was calculated early in the game. … I go with my gut on those.”

e Seminoles responded with a swift six-play, 75-yard drive that quarterback Jordan Travis capped o with a 19-yard pass to a cutting Toali. Neto Okpala and George Rooks each committed a disconcerting act penalty, meaning they mimicked the opposing team’s quarterback’s cadence, causing confusion on o ense.

From that point on, Florida State didn’t miss a beat, scoring 21 more points to go up 31–10. But that would be all the points BC’s defense allowed.

“Our defense stepped up at the end,” Ha ey said. “When we could have buckled, and they could have run away with this game.”

Ultimately, though, the Eagles ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

side and found the endzone for a 7-yard rushing touch-

Although Ha ey played aggressively, converting four of ve fourth

“I’m hurt and I’m upset for the guys, but I’m really proud of this,” Ha ey said. “I’m proud of this group right now.”

GRAPHIC BY PAIGE STEIN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Notebook: Despite Penalties, BC Efficient on Conversions

BY GRAHAM DIETZ

Sports Editor

Florida State, the No. 3 team in the country heading into Saturday’s matchup in Chestnut Hill, Mass. and 24.5-point favorites, is no stranger to running away with games in the second half. Boston College football head coach Je Ha ey was well aware of that fact before the game even started, and it all came down to time of possession (TOP), he said.

“I believe it was, if you had the ball for like 34 minutes, they were like 3–10,” Ha ey said in his post-game press conference. “If you don’t, they haven’t lost.”

In Week One, the Seminoles controlled the football for 35:23, pulling away in the nal two quarters to topple then-No. 5 Louisiana State 45–24. In the second half, FSU dominated with 31 points. Week Two fared slightly better for the Seminoles’ opponent in terms of TOP, but FSU still managed to thrash Southern Missouri 66–13 with 32:33 minutes of time with the football.

On Saturday, the Eagles reversed that spell—which Ha ey said was the plan all along.

“So we had 33 minutes and 50 seconds,” Ha ey said. “I wanted to take as much clock as we could to hold them o the eld. In a variety of ways, we did it.”

This underlooked, yet pivotal, component of the game played to BC’s advantage by all measures. It sparked life into a squad that had almost been defeated by an FCS opponent a week prior. But “self-inflicted wounds,” according to quarterback Thomas Castellanos, put the nail in BC’s co n. e Eagles accumulated a whopping 18 penalties in the 31–29 loss, which some might consider to be the best loss in program history by the numbers.

Here are three observations from the loss.

Cementing Castellanos

He said it himself. With every game Castellanos starts, he’s going to learn more about his competitiveness, more about calculating the defense, more about spotting his reads, and more about knowing how to execute.

“ is is like my second start since high school,” Castellanos said after the game. “Every game and every play, I’m just getting more comfortable. It’s just starting to ow, starting to click.”

Flow it did. BC’s sophomore signal caller, who transferred to the Heights from University of Central Florida, accounted for 400 yards of total o ense on Saturday, including one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.

If it weren’t for his mobility and

Castellanos picked up 95 rushing yards on 16 carries against an FSU defense that features a highly developed front, one that Ha ey mentioned possesses multiple NFL defensemen lineman in the making. Castellanos’ stability when the pocket collapses is just something you cannot teach. On multiple long third downs throughout the contest, Castellanos steadied himself and pushed right up the center of the eld, gaining 10-plus yards to keep BC alive on several drives.

With 2:07 remaining in the rst quarter, Castellanos faced 3rd-and-8 and sprinted up the eld amid folding protection, garnering 29 yards. Another 14-yard run on 3rd-and-15 during the same drive paved the way to a BC eld goal. And with 5:19 left in the final quarter, Castellanos used his legs to grab a rushing touchdown and cut

while holding the No. 3 team in the nation to an 11.1 percent conversion rate on third down is no small feat. Any attendee of the game could tell that this improbable e ciency against such a stacked roster—which includes Heisman candidate Jordan Travis, projected first-round wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, and future likely defensive draft picks Jared Verse and Patrick Payton—is what kept BC within ghting distance.

Going back to every single one of the Eagles’ scoring drives, except the fumble recovery, BC had to convert at least one third or fourth down, most being from five or more yards out. On short fourth downs, the shotgun formation along with Kye Robichaux to Castellanos’ side proved to be a stealthy option that worked e ectively.

Robichaux recorded 64 rushing yards

Tomlin for 52 yards through the air.

On 3rd-and-10 with 7:09 left to play in regulation, Castellanos added another 13-yarder on the ground. is sort of e ciency is a testament to BC’s quarterback and running back athleticism, including the revamped o ensive line which has been durable across all three games.

Losing the Mind Games e Eagles tied Florida State in total rst downs with 20, led in thirdand fourth-down e ciency, led in total yards with 457 to FSU’s 340, led in total passing yards with 305 to FSU’s 212, led in total rushing yards with 152 to FSU’s 128, and led in yards per passing attempt. What else did it lead in?

Penalties—more penalties than BC had accumulated in any single game in program history.

False starts, ineligible receivers down eld, holding, and a nal facemask penalty essentially handed BC its loss on Saturday. In total, the Eagles registered 18 penalties for 131 yards. In its rst three games combined, BC has lost 333 yards due to penalties.

awareness to be able to escape the pocket, BC’s pass catchers would likely not be able to carry the o ensive workload.

After losing Zay Flowers to the NFL in the o season, there is still not one identi able source of pure receiving dominance on the Eagles’ roster. BC has to be a ground-dominant o ense with a playmaker under center—which could not have occurred with an O-line that rotated its combination eight times in 2022—and Castellanos is just that.

the Seminoles’ lead to 31–29. On the play, Castellanos jabbed into the line of scrimmage and scurried outside fast enough to evade FSU’s defenders.

Castellanos’s style and demeanor provide a con dence in the quarterback ring that has not been seen since the early Phil Jurkovec days.

ird- and Fourth-Down E ciency Converting four of ve total fourth downs and eight of 19 third downs

on 21 carries and converted seven third or fourth downs on his own.

Going back through the tape and play-by-play, there are other moments of glory—largely Castellanos-driven—that pop up through the numbers game which highlighted BC’s ridiculous conversion percentage. On 3rd-and-14 with 7:41 left in the second quarter, Castellanos notched a 45-yard rush.

On 3rd-and-17 with 3:26 to go in the third quarter, Castellanos found Dino

In addition, the special teams department was nothing short of horrendous when it mattered most. A shanked Liam Connor extra point forced Ha ey to attempt a two-point conversion on the next touchdown the Eagles scored, which they did not convert. If BC had made those two extra points, it would have tied Florida State 31–31. Ha ey knows that his players are killing themselves from within—it’s not an opponent problem.

“Today was a little di erent in that it wasn’t post-snap personal fouls that got me really hot,” Ha ey said. “We didn’t have the dumb fouls … but it’s too many.”

Boston College football was just inches away from toppling the No. 3 team in the country, Florida State, on Saturday but fell 31–29 despite accumulating more total offense.

The Eagles converted four of five fourth downs and eight of 19 third downs in Saturday’s contest.

KELLEN DAVIS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Eagles Extend Win Streak to Nine Straight Games

e Eagles (11–3) closed out the BC-Harvard Cohost on Sunday, and they easily swept Stonehill (0–14) and Merrimack (1–9). With Sunday’s wins, the Eagles have won their last nine games, eight of which have been sweeps for a total of 27 straight set wins.

“I think it’s an impressive streak,” Kennedy said. “I don’t think we come out here with the intent to win 27 sets straight, but we certainly come out here with the intent to win 3–0 every night, and the fact that it’s accumulated now to 27 in a row is pretty fun.”

On Sunday afternoon, the Eagles put on a show in their matchup with Merrimack. BC was led by Katrina Jensen, who tallied 10 kills on a .300 hit percentage, and Audrey Ross, who racked up nine kills and a .280 hit percentage.

e set scores were 25–15, 25–17, and 25–21.

“I thought Audrey Ross came in and played a huge role this weekend for us, where we didn’t use her quite as much the weekend prior,” Kennedy said. “But she’s come in and she’s added a new wrinkle to our o ense

that has helped quite a bit.”

e Warriors were able to stay close to BC through the first few rallies of the opening set, but Grace Penn’s back-to-back service aces, along with Ross and Julia Haggerty’s strong kills, allowed the Eagles to establish an early 11–6 lead and force a Merrimack timeout.

But Merrimack could never fully close the gap, and a Brooklyn Yelland ace gave BC the rst set win.

e Eagles wasted no time jumping out to an early lead in the second set. A soaring Halle Schroder sent a missile into the canvas, which made it a 7–3 lead, but Merrimack didn’t drop the set easily. The Warriors brought the set to 19–17, but three straight BC blocks, and then two kills from Alayna Crabtree, solidi ed the Eagles’ second set win.

e Warriors, however, refused to let the game get too far away from them, and they closed the gap to 21–20 in the third and nal set. But BC kept the pressure on, and Ross executed on a kill to give BC its ninth straight win.

Earlier in the day, it took no time for BC to establish it was the better-equipped squad in its matchup against Stonehill. Led by two quick service aces from Crabtree in the rst set, BC quickly established a 4–0

lead over the Skyhawks and never looked back.

“I think our serving really set the tone for both matches, you know,” Kennedy said. “For us, it starts from the serving line. That’s our first attack. And then we kind of deal from there.”

e set scores were 25–14, 25–14, and 25–16.

e closest Stonehill pulled within the Eagles’ early lead would be two points, but back-to-back kills from Crabtree took the Skyhawks out of striking range.

Assisted by three straight errors on Stonehill’s side of the net, BC extended its lead to 20–12. e Skyhawks could only muster two more points before Penn’s service ace put the nail in the co n of the rst set.

It took the Eagles a little longer to break away from Stonehill in the second set. A Hanna Ho man service error made the set score 8–6, but ve straight points for the Eagles—which featured Schroder and Samantha Hoppes each registering a kill— pushed BC back into a comfortable 13–6 lead.

Schroder and Jenna Pollock continued to dominate the second set. Schroder finished with three kills while Pollock delivered ve, including the nal kill to give BC a 2–0 advan-

tage in the contest.

Stonehill stayed in contention early in the third set and remained within two points of the Eagles, but once again, BC was able to break the back and forth and seize con

trol. An Audrey Ross kill started the Eagles’ run, and it was quickly followed by five more points to make it 15–7. The Skyhawks never rebounded, and BC coasted into its eighth straight win.

BC No Match for No. 15 Duke in 2–0 Loss

BY BRASSIL MORAN Heights Staff

In honor of Welles Crowther, BC ’99, Boston College women’s soccer’s goalkeeper Wiebke Willebrandt was selected to wear the honorary No. 19 jersey against in the Red Bandanna Game against No. 15 Duke. According to BC head coach Jason Lowe, no one deserved it more.

“If you’ve met [Willebrandt] she embodies everything about Red Bandanna and just sel ess service,”

Lowe said. “She’s a positive light to everybody that she meets on campus and it’s just incredible to see the mark she’s made here at BC.”

Willebrandt registered a season-high seven saves and limited Duke to two goals. e junior is now the program’s fth all-time leader in saves with 190.

But under the glaring sun in Newton, Mass., BC (3–4–2, 0–1 Atlantic Coast) struggled to keep up against the physical play of the Blue Devils (5–2–0, 1–0), netting just three shots, a season low, to Duke’s 19, and falling 2–0.

e game marked both squads rst ACC game of the season.

Duke wasted no time, opening the scoring in the third minute of the game when Carina Lageyre slid between BC defenders and blasted

the ball over Willebrandt and into the top of the net to go ahead 1–0.

But the Eagles responded less than 30 seconds later, taking their rst shot of the game. It was an Emily Sapienza low hit, but Duke’s Leah Freeman got in front of the ball.

In the 15th minute, the Eagles enjoyed a rare spell of possession, but could not nd space to generate a shot—a common theme throughout the game. Duke almost went up by two about 12 minutes later, but the Blue Devils were called for o sides.

e match started to slip away in the 31st minute when Duke doubled its lead. Devin Lynch slid the ball o a scramble into the left side of the goal past the outstretched Willebrandt for the score.

Willebrandt notched an excellent save in the 40th minute to prevent any more damage. She slid to deny the oncoming run of Julia Saunicheva, keeping Duke’s lead at two. But BC couldn’t muster anything offensively, continually struggling to clear the ball. The Blue Devils dominated contested balls all game and were aggressive in sending in crosses.

“There was certainly a lot of space to be able to play and some more things we could’ve shown today,” Lowe said. “I think it’s a learning moment for us. We have to have more patience in transi -

tion when we win the ball back— rushed things too much, didn’t have enough composure around the box. We just got to be better in those moments.”

BC’s best chance to cut into the lead came o a counterattack in the 71st minute. Aislin Streicek fought o several Duke defenders in the box, turned, and hit a powerful low shot to the left corner that Freeman saved on a dive.

Duke never let up, registering 11 shots in the second half. But

Willebrandt stood strong, especially when she prevented Duke’s Kat Rader’s rocket from 20 yards out with nine minutes left in the game.

“Overall, I think we responded pretty well,” Lowe said. “We stuck to our game plan defensively. I think we didn’t give them too many chances. Second half we had a little bit better performance, but you know, I think the two early goals—certainly can’t give those up in ACC play—put us on the back foot a bit.”

Heck and Carlin Combine for Five Goals in Win

BY EMILY ROBERGE

For The Heights

Following a commanding win over No. 6 Virginia on Friday, Boston College eld hockey nished o its weekend with yet another victory in the state of Virginia. On a day in which Margo Carlin and Kara Heck combined for five goals, the Eagles extended their winning streak to ve as well with the win over James Madison.

No. 14 BC (5–2, 1–0 Atlantic Coast) took down JMU with a dominant o ensive performance—largely due to a second-half eruption of goals—shutting out the Dukes (2–5) with a 7–0 victory. e win marked BC’s largest road shutout since 2018, when it topped Quinnipiac 7–0 in its season opener, and the fourth consecutive loss for the Dukes. Until Sunday, JMU hadn’t lost four games

in a row since 2010.

Just 2:38 into the first quarter, Carlin, the Eagles’ captain and a graduate student, scored her rst goal of the game o an o ensive rebound, ini-

tiating the beginning of back-to-back BC scoring drives. Carlin would go on to score a hat trick in the a air—including her 43rd goal for BC—which solidi ed her as the third-highest eld

hockey scorer in program history.

Carlin has been a key part of the Eagles’ recent success, having notched six goals, three assists, and 15 points so far in the rst seven games of the 2023 season.

Unable to keep the Eagles’ offense outside of their half, the Dukes failed to make any o ensive impact, garnering only one shot on goal and three penalty corners in the a air. BC, however, capitalized o its successful rebounds with 15 shots on goal and three penalty corners.

Within the rst 1:04 of the third quarter, the Eagles scored two goals, bringing the score of the game to 4–0. Peyton Hale and Heck tallied the goals. is momentum proved to be a di erence maker as BC went on to score another three goals in the nal two frames.

Heck contributed to two of the nal three BC goals in the matchup, which proved to be a signi cant part of the Eagles’ win in Harrisonburg, Va.

Before Friday’s win over the Cavaliers, Heck hadn’t recorded a single point. Heck’s connection to the JMU-BC matchup extended beyond the eld as well. Heck’s mother, Kerry Heck, played eld hockey and lacrosse for the Dukes and was in attendance to watch her daughter take on her alma mater.

With constant o ensive pressure in JMU’s half of the eld, BC solidi ed its shutout. e Dukes’ goalkeeper Brandelynn Heinbaugh did have some success in the net, making ve saves. e Dukes were unable to achieve possession of the ball, however, and switched goalies with 19:38 left to play. Katie Fricke substituted in for Heinbaugh but only stopped four shots while surrendering three goals. e Eagles held JMU to just one shot through the rst three quarters. BC’s goaltenders, Caroline Kelly and Emily Gillespie, combined for the shutout in net, stopping just one shot along the way.

BRODY HANNON / FOR THE HEIGHTS

PAUL CRIADO / FOR THE HEIGHTS

BC recorded three shots while Duke had 19 on Sunday.

With Saturday’s wins, the Eagles have now won 27 straight sets.

Eagles Tie Pitt in ACC Home Opener

BY MATTHEW CAPALDI Heights Staff

Leading up to Boston College men’s soccer’s ACC home opener Friday night, there was a lot of energy and excitement.

“‘Buzzing’ was the word the players used,” Boston College men’s soccer head coach Bob ompson said of the pre-match emotions. “ ey were jacked up.”

The Eagles maintained that intensity and energy that had built up over the course of the week and earned an encouraging result against one of the most talented teams in the country at Newton Campus Soccer Field.

BC (2–2–2, 0–1–1 Atlantic Coast) and No. 17 Pittsburgh (2–2–2, 1–0–1 Atlantic Coast) played to a 0–0 draw in a high-energy defensive battle. Both squads finished the match with two shots on goal.

“I just think the mentality of the group was really strong,” ompson said. “We knew going into the game that we were going to be under it at times.”

e Eagles had a prime scoring opportunity just seconds into the match. Diego Ochoa controlled the ball off the opening kickoff and floated a ball down the left ank where Xavier O’Neil chased it down. O’Neil received the pass and ri ed a shot just wide right of the net.

Both teams settled into the match soon after, and there were limited scoring chances for both sides. BC had its most success, however, with O’Neil on countless occasions. He totaled three shots all game.

“[O’Neil] was clean on the ball, and he created two or three really good chances for us,” Thompson said. “[He] got a couple of shots o himself—was unlucky not to have a goal.”

In the 28th minute, O’Neil took a pass from Al e Hughes and blasted a shot from the top of the box. Pitt goalkeeper Cabral Carter needed every inch of his 6-foot-2 frame to tip the ball just over the net.

“I thought this was actually [O’Neil’s] best game,” Thompson said. “He looked really lively. He was con dent going one versus one.”

The Panthers had a pair of chances late in the first half. In the 34th minute, Luis Sahmkow jammed a shot just wide of the left post from in tight. Four minutes later, Michael Sullivan collected the ball at the top of the box and oated a shot on net that BC goalkeeper Brennan Klein handled.

Pitt maintained its high level of play in the opening minutes of the second half. e Panthers controlled possession and had a number of scoring chances that Klein— who has not allowed a goal at home all season—was tested. BC’s back line of CJ Williams and Ochoa was alert and cleared a few dangerous balls from the 18-yard box.

e Eagles’ opportunities in the second half were limited to four corner kicks, but BC’s execution on the set pieces was poor. In many instances, the Eagles tried playing a low ball to the front post, but the Panthers’ defense thwarted those threats.

“We don’t have a lot of big threats on set pieces, so we play to overload near the corner to get a better service and our hope is to draw them out and get a service back post,” ompson said.

Pitt gave Klein his biggest test in the 79th minute. Sahmkow possessed the ball in the middle of the eld before threading a pass to leading-scorer Luka Kozomara, who whipped a left-footed strike toward the far post that Klein got in front of.

In the 81st minute, things got a little scary for the Eagles when Kozomara pursued a loose ball and rammed into Klein. Both players remained down on the eld, and Kozomara was booked with a yellow card. BC was forced to pull the injured Klein, subbing in Leon Musial.

“He’s doing well,” Thompson said of Klein. “I think he just took a couple knocks. He got kicked twice, I think, so he was trying to ght through it, but I think he’ll be okay.”

e Eagles had a urry of chances to break the scoreless tie in the closing minutes. In the 88th minute, Marco Dos Santos slotted a ball on the ground into the middle of the box, but nobody got a foot on it. A minute later, Ted Cargill had a look from the top of the box but couldn’t get a shot o , solidifying the draw.

BC Sweeps Harvard to Keep Winning Streak Alive

BY SARAH VERGURA For The Heights

Coming off of its sixth straight win after a victory earlier in the afternoon over Providence, Boston College volleyball went into Friday night’s game against Harvard looking to add a seventh game to its winning streak.

Just a year ago, BC was in a similar position, vying for its 10th straight win during the URI invitational. The early-season dominance, which has persisted throughout the last two seasons, continued as BC closed out the game against Harvard in just three swift sets.

With the win over the Crimson (6–2), the Eagles (9–3) won their 19th, 20th, and 21st straight sets, having not dropped a set in nearly two weeks.

The set scores were 25–14, 27–25, and 25–18.

In the first set, BC quickly gained control. The Eagles forced numerous hitting errors on the Crimson and kept a clean playing style. BC started the game strong with an ace from Grace Penn on the second point, and the Eagles quickly forced Harvard to call a timeout at 9–4 after a kill from Katrina Jensen.

The Eagles did not let the timeout halt their momentum, though, and they picked up right where they left off. An ace from Sophia Lambros and a subsequent block gave BC an

11-point lead. After consecutive kills from Alayna Crabtree, Halle Schroder, and Jensen, the score rested securely at 14–5.

BC and Harvard went back and forth in a few more rallies before decisive kills from Jensen and Schroder gave the Eagles set one.

Harvard rebounded in the second set, scoring four points before BC could get on the scoreboard. Both teams fought tooth and nail over the next few points, but Harvard stayed slightly ahead of the Eagles. An attack error from BC and a kill from Harvard’s Ava Rauser forced BC to call a timeout as it trailed 15–10.

“I think [Harvard] got in some spurts where they felt like they could do no wrong and they were certainly the aggressor in some situations,” BC head coach Jason Kennedy said. “We just needed to call a timeout, regroup, and get back to being the aggressor.”

After the timeout, Harvard missed its serve, which allowed the Eagles to bring themselves back as the aggressors in the game. A kill from freshman Audrey Ross did just that, reigniting the team and earning her the title of “difference maker” in the second set from Kennedy. The back-and-forth nature of the match continued, but a newfound energy was evident on BC’s side of the court.

Harvard won a few key points and took a 23–20 lead over the Eagles, but a kill from Jensen and an ace from Penn brought BC back into the game. After a Harvard timeout, BC tied the game at 24–24 and a ball-handling error

from Harvard pushed the Eagles into the lead.

After service errors from both teams, the score read 26–25. A decisive kill from Crabtree ended the set.

Kennedy said that the timeouts in the second set were paramount because they allowed the Eagles to play more comfortably.

Harvard once again led early in the third set and used its strong blocking to quickly secure a 4–1 lead. The Eagles kept pushing, however, and after a hitting error from Harvard, they tied the score at 7–7. A kill from Crabtree allowed BC to pull ahead.

F rustration began to seep into Harvard’s play style, which created unforced errors. The Crimson called a timeout while trailing 10–8 and tried to reset, but their first serve after the timeout was lost to a foot fault. In the following play, a double touch from Harvard pushed the score to 13–10 for BC.

The Eagles continued to apply pressure with an ace from Brooklyn Yelland and a few more kills, which brought the score to 18–12.

Ross was an instrumental player in the final moments of the game and racked up two kills and a block in a five-point span.

“I thought Audrey Ross came in there and made two really good blocks on that side,” Kennedy said. “For a freshman, she did a phenomenal job all day on the blocking and on the attacking.”

A serving ace from Crabtree sealed the game for BC and gave the Eagles yet another sweep.

Eagles Surge Past No. 6 Virginia With Late Goal

BY ROBERT BRENNAN Heights Staff

In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge two weeks ago, Boston College eld hockey had two chances to kickstart its season with a win against a ranked opponent, taking No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 Maryland to overtime, but nishing each game in a 1–0 loss.

But on Friday in Charlottesville against No. 6 Virginia, the No. 14

Eagles didn’t leave the game up to sudden death. BC (4–2, 1–0 Atlantic Coast) knocked o No. 6 Virginia (5–2, 0–1) 2–1 thanks to an advantage on late-game penalty corners and yet another phenomenal performance from Margo Carlin, who notched the Eagles rst score of the game. BC sealed its win o a Kara Heck snipe with less than three minutes left.

“Virginia is a very good team and the clock was winding down, tied score, and I know in the back

of our players minds, it’s like, are we going to do this again?” BC head coach Kelly Doton said. e rst half had a lot of action at both ends of the eld, but each team only managed one goal, going into the break knotted up at one apiece. BC’s goal was aided by a player-up advantage when o cials gave Virginia’s Noa Boterman a green card, which suspends a player for two minutes.

BC managed the ball in front of the net, and with the Cavaliers’ defenders scrambling, Madelieve

Drion made a short pass to Carlin, who red a sure shot straight into the back of the net with 8.3 seconds left in the rst period.

“[Carlin] shows up on the score sheet, but, you know, what she does pressing wise and defensively goes unnoticed to a lot of people,” Doton said. “She’s used to being in the headlines for some incredible goals, but her presence when she’s on the eld, our press is de nitely better when she’s there.”

e Cavaliers would equalize in the second period on a cross that BC netminder Caroline Kelly sprawled out for, which allowed the ball to get right to Taryn Tkachuk, who found the back of the open net with ease.

e Eagles were, overall, much more accurate with their shots in the rst half, getting seven of eight shots on frame, whereas the Cavaliers only managed to get two of their six shots on net.

Kelly made a big stop on Daniela Mendez-Trendler when the Virginia mid elder got the ball o of a turnover and got the ball rolling toward the net at the 40-minute mark, but Kelly kicked the ball out decisively to keep the tie.

Virginia drew two penalty corners in quick succession in the

waning seconds of the third quarter, but BC blocked the rst one and the second one was mishandled.

Despite the lack of success on penalty corners, it would be a penalty corner that indirectly allowed BC to score the game winner. Virginia goaltender Tyler Kennedy made a kick save, giving BC the ball up top. e Eagles got the ball deep to Carlin, who made a pass at a tough angle to the front of the net, which Heck red home to put BC up 2–1.

“We focus on attacking the corners and more importantly, defensive penalty corners, and, you know, each time we go up against a di erent team the defensive penalty corner unit are faced with di erent things,” Doton said. “ e defensive penalty quarter unit held strong and sort of won that game for us in the end.”

The Cavaliers got one more penalty corner at the end of regulation, but their struggles continued and yet another miscue caused the ball to go harmlessly out of bounds, allowing BC to walk o the eld with a win.

“This kinda just gives you positivity,” Doton said. “It gives you some strength, it gives you some motivation, it gives, you know, kind of a rebound.”

ALINA CHEN / HEIGHTS STAFF