The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue VI
ICONIC Allston location proposed for ‘green’ complex, page 3.
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Monday, January 28, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
PEACEFUL PROTEST Ra Ra Riot transcends ‘string section’ label, page 5.
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BU takes third place in Hockey East after weekend, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: PM snow showers/High 33 Tonight: Wintry mix/Low 30 Tomorrow: 41/36 Data Courtesy of weather.com
Giga’s Pizza closes due to unforseen rent hike Robbery suspect arrested, police seek other perp. By Margaret Waterman Daily Free Press Staff
After Giga’s Pizza, located at 27 Buswell St. on Boston University’s South Campus, was forced to shut down Sunday, students said they both rued the loss and praised Giga’s for its service and convenience. Owner Theodoros Rexho said his landlord informed him Giga’s monthly rent, previously $4,000 per month, would now be $9,000 per month, a 225 percent markup. The unforeseen hike forced Giga’s to close down after Sunday’s business. Well-known around campus for its pizza and frozen yogurt, the restaurant was often filled to capacity with students after hours, said Julia Buerkle, a College of Fine Arts sophomore. “It [Giga’s closing] is really upsetting,” she said. “They’re the only place anywhere in the neighborhood who actually stays open late enough to actually cater to people who go here.” Rexho said he is in negotiations with other landlords about the relocation of Giga’s to Brookline, Allston or Cambridge. However, no paperwork has been signed yet. Buerkle, a South Campus resident, said she frequently visited Giga’s because it was located within steps of her room. As a CFA student, she often works late hours and often would visit Giga’s afterwards to
By Brian Latimer Daily Free Press Staff
SARAH FISHER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Domenic Bucci, 23, of Allston, answers the phone at Giga’s Pizza on Buswell Street Tuesday.
grab a late-night meal. “They have a really wide range of food — you can get breakfast pretty much any time you want,” she said. “And they have really good [frozen yogurt] ... You can have Kit Kats smashed into it.” The staff at Giga’s was always accommodating and tolerant of students during busy, late-night hours, Buerkle said.
“They’re really nice,” she said. “They’re very understanding of the situation where everyone is up really late and they are very tolerant of people who are occasionally not super polite in there as well.” College of Arts and Sciences junior Sean Slattery said he was sad to see South Campus lose such a popular spot.
Giga’s, see page 2
Water bottle ban proposed for Mass. government offices By Katherine Lynn Daily Free Press Staff
Amid calls to shrink government spending and increase focus on sustainability, a bill was filed Friday that would prevent Massachusetts state funds from being used for bottled water. State Rep. Tom Sannicandro, from the seventh Middlesex District, who filed the bill, said the Commonwealth needs to recommit to public water supplies. “There is no reason we should spend taxpayer’s money on a product that is unnecessary, expensive, and harmful to the environment when there are clean and cheap alternatives,” he said in a statement. According to the Massachusetts Executive office of Administration and Finance, the state has spent about $300,000 on bottled water in the past seven months. It is projected that about $500,000 will be spent annually to this same end. The Mass. Department of Environmental
Protection reported that all public water supply systems in the Commonwealth are regularly tested to ensure the water is safe for consumption. Sannicandro said the Operational Services Committee calculated about $1.4 million is spent annually by the state on bottled water contracts. “It is important that we lead by example and do our best to reduce bottle waste and save the Commonwealth money,” he said in a statement. Corporate Accountability International, an organization that advocates for community water rights, also works to promote the idea of lessening disposable water bottle consumption. Grace Morris, spokeswoman for CAI said in an email statement the organization is very invested in greatly reducing the amount of bottled water consumed. “The movement is really to educate the public about the problems associated with bottled water, to protect community water rights,
reduce taxpayer spending on bottled water and reinvest in the tap,” she said. Erin McNally-Diaz, also with CAI, worked with Sannicandro on the bill, the first of its kind in Massachusetts. “This really is a common-sense bill,” she said in a statement. “Massachusetts should be spending money on vital public services, and not on bottled water that assists just a handful of corporations, especially when we’re facing a $22.3 billion investment gap.” According to the CAI, since 2006 many state residents, as well as mayors, senators and small businesses have asked Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick to make the Commonwealth the seventh state to stop public spending on bottled water. Concord became the first municipality in the U.S. to take the first step by banning the purchase of single-serve disposable water bottles Jan. 1, town officials said.
Water Bottles, see page 2
Brookline Police Department officers are still searching for the second suspect in Jan. 19’s armed robbery near Boston University after the first suspect was arraigned in Brookline District Court Thursday, Brookline Police officials said. Brookline Police arrested Evan Holmes, a 29-year-old Quincy resident, on Thursday, said Brookline Police Lt. Philip Harrington. He was arraigned the same day at 2 p.m. and pleaded not guilty to three counts of armed robbery, one victim of which was a BU student. Holmes is being held on $25,000 bail, Harrington said. Harrington said an arrest warrant has been issued for Holmes’s alleged accomplice Tyler Mauritson, 27 and also from Quincy, who remains at large. He is described as 6-foot-2, weighing about 195 pounds and having brown eyes and hair. Holmes and Mauritson allegedly robbed three people at 12:15 a.m. on Jan. 19. All three victims were college students, one of whom attends BU. Holmes showed the students a black pellet gun and stole bags, wallets and cellphones, Harrington said. Harrington said Brookline Police and Boston University Police Department are still investigating the other two robberies from Jan. 18 and Jan. 19. There have been no arrests made in either case. “BU has its own very well respected police department and they work very well with us here in Brookline,” Harrington said. “Unfortunately, for lack of a better word, it’s a target-rich environment with a lot of young people out there walking around, displaying their iPhones.” The first robbery occurred at 1065 Commonwealth Ave., next to the Shaw’s Supermarket at about 11 p.m. on Jan. 18. Two males allegedly robbed a BU student. The first suspect was described as a thin, white male standing 5-foot-6 to 5-foot8 wearing a North Face jacket and with a possible right-eyebrow piercing. The second suspect was described as an Asian male of muscular build. The other robbery occurred at about 1 a.m. Jan. 19, just 45 minutes later, on Babcock Street. A female BU student was pushed to the ground by what she described as a black male. The male suspect, accom-
Arrest, see page 2
Tenure track employment important at BU despite study’s findings, officials say By Paola Salazar Daily Free Press Contributor
Despite a recent study by Inside Higher Education finding a majority of university provosts support an employment system off the tenure track, Boston University Provost Jean Morrison said the use of tenure track faculty will most likely continue at BU and other major colleges. “If you look at the best universities in the nation, tenured track faculty are at the heart of those institutions,” she said. The study, released Wednesday, surveyed 1,081 college and university chief academic officers about a number of issues including tenure, contract systems and massive open online courses, or MOOCs. “While 7 in 10 CAOs [chief academic officers] strongly agree or agree that tenure remains important and viable at their institution, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of CAOs at all institutions say they favor a system of long-term contracts over the existing tenure system,” the study stated.
Morrison said tenured faculty members play an important role at BU. “The role of tenure track faculty is and will continue to be critical here,” she said. “It has in fact increased and we do not foresee any change in that approach.” BU’s status as a leading institution led to its induction into the Association of American Universities in November, a group of 62 leading research institutions in the U.S. and Canada, Morrison said. Morrison said tenured faculty at BU either begin their position with a tenure track contract or acquire tenure after seven years of demonstrating excellence in scholarship, research, teaching and service. “Tenure isn’t job-for-life without accountability,” said Eileen Sullivan, School of Education clinical assistant professor. “Just because one is tenured doesn’t mean they can drop the ball.” Sullivan said it is very difficult to
Tenure, see page 2
GRAPHIC BY MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE
A majority of chief academic officers believe tenure is important to their school. Many also said long-term contracts would be a viable option.