The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue XII
EASY SNOWIN’ Boston snow removal costs lessened since 2011-12, page 3.
[
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
SOUL FOOD
Nourish hosts concert to raise money for charity, page 5.
]
www.dailyfreepress.com
BEAN-NOT
Women fall in opening round of Beanpot, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: AM snow showers/High 38 Tonight: Clear/Low 16 Tomorrow: 27/23 Data Courtesy of weather.com
Menino plans to protect Hub from hurricanes, flood BU officials see no benefits to guns on university campus By Kyle Plantz Daily Free Press Staff
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced plans and policy proposals to prepare the city for future hurricanes and other natural disasters in a press release Tuesday “In the wake of Sandy’s devastation on the East Coast, Menino is raising the profile of the City of Boston’s ongoing efforts and taking further actions to better prepare the city for future storms and other natural hazards associated with climate change,” the release from Menino’s office stated. Menino plans to have the Boston Redevelopment Authority survey the preparedness of buildings and other structures, such as Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority stations, that are likely to face climate-change problems within six months, according to the release. BRA spokeswoman Melina Schule said steps have already been taken toward surveying buildings in Boston to ensure they are prepared for climate changes. “We already have a survey that we give out to developers who are working on large projects and institutional master plans in the city,” she said. “I think we have the framework in place and more detailed steps are something we will unfold over the next few months.” Menino’s proposal came as a result of the Boston Harbor Association’s report on the vulnerabilities of Boston’s coastline, according to the release.
By Chris Lisinski Daily Free Press Staff
MICHAEL CUMMO/DAILY FREE PRESS
After Hurricane Sandy caused widespread destruction in New York, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino plans to work with various city departments toward better plans for disasters.
Emily Dahl, communications director of the BHA, said the report brings the effects of climate change and rising sea levels down to a local level, specifically for Boston. “This report brings it to a neighborhood level,” she said. “It’s the first report that looks at the neighborhoods that would be affected [by effects of climate change] and gives suggestions on how property owners can be prepared to deal with the issue of rising seas.”
For coastal communities like Boston, the acceleration of warming temperatures has led to an increase in sea levels and coastal flooding due to melting glaciers and thermal expansion of the ocean, according to the BHA report released Tuesday. Boston already has a Climate Action Plan in place from 2011 that establishes a frame-
Disasters, see page 2
Ravens player to donate brain to BU for CTE research By Devon Delfino Daily Free Press Contributor
With the announcement that Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk will donate his brain to the medical research program at Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, BU has demonstrated its credentials as a leader in brain damage research, officials said. “BU has a reputation of being the important center doing this work, and also a reputable center that has earned the trust of many of the players out there,” said Robert Stern, co-founder of CTSE. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is a form of brain damage caused by repetitive brain trauma, which can be caused by contact sports, such as football and hockey, BU researchers found in a December study. Researchers are working to determine CTE’s connection with depression and sui-
cide in athletes, such as that of former National Football League player Junior Seau. “The more important issue is that the whole awareness of brain trauma in football has becomes so prominent,” Stern said. “Both active and former players are now really accepting that this is an important problem and they are willing to do what it takes to help move this science forward.” BU has not confirmed whether researchers received Seau’s brain for research, but BU officials said they welcome family members of deceased athletes to donate brains for study. Stern said many active and former NFL athletes have agreed to donate their brains post-mortem, and to participate in longitudinal and clinical studies. Seau’s apparent suicide in May sparked interest in the media about CTE and its effects on football players, in addition to the suicides of other athletes who were
found to have the disease in post-mortem research. “We were the first research center to focus our research on the long-term effects of brain trauma in athletes,” Stern said. “Neuropathological changes of CTE in former players has been so well done and so striking that it helped to increase public awareness of the disease and center.” Colin Mooney, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior and long-time contact-sport athlete, said in an email researchers must get a sense of how to detect CTE early on to stand a chance of halting the progression of the disease or potentially preventing it. “It is encouraging to know that an institution like BU is conducting [this type of] research,” Mooney said “I do not think much was known or being done about CTE 20 years ago, but the reality of it is ground-
Brains, see page 2
Amidst national debate and dialogue on the role of guns in society, particularly in schools and on college campuses, several Boston University officials said guns do not belong on campus and are a barrier to education. “I don’t think it is appropriate to mix the academic environment on campus and arm the students,” said BU Police Department Chief Thomas Robbins. “I strongly oppose that view. It’s a good sound byte when people say if we could just give students and faculty and staff guns, we’d be better off. There’s a huge fallacy in that and there’s a huge flaw in that.” On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made public comments claiming guns have no place in schools or colleges except for those possessed by law enforcement officials, such as BUPD officers. Georgia lawmakers proposed a bill in January that would repeal the state’s ban on carrying weapons on campus. The proposed legislation and national dialogue come in the wake of December’s Newtown, Conn. tragedy, where a man shot and killed 20 Sandy Hook Elementary School students, six staff members and himself. One week after the shooting, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said at a press conference armed security should be placed in schools to offer added protection. More than 300 college presidents signed an open letter in December advocating the banning of guns on college campuses and in schools. Robbins, who served as the head of Massachusetts State Police from 2004 to 2006 before coming to BU, said students at BU would not be permitted to carry guns on campus unless changes were made to Massachusetts’s legislation, which bans the possession of weapons on college campuses across the state. “There’s a statutory prohibition for guns on campus, unless you’re a police officer,” he said. “That goes throughout the Commonwealth.” On the streets of Boston, Robbins said individuals are permitted to carry firearms with
Guns, see page 2
Working in groups yields greater understanding for students, study suggests By Margaret Waterman Daily Free Press Staff
While a new study found group settings are highly conducive to learning, group functionality and organization are dependent on the instructor’s extensive planning, said Boston University’s Educational Media and Technology director David Whittier. The study, published in the Nature Scientific Reports journal Wednesday, analyzed the interactions between 290 students in a collaborative learning environment and found a student was more likely to score higher in the course if he or she had more online interactions with others. “There are a lot of things that go into setting up effective group work, and so if teachers and professors are able to do that, then yes, collaborative work groups can be very productive,” Whittier said. “But that’s not always the case — just by setting up a group and putting them online does not mean they’re going to be effective.” Researchers examined approximately
800,000 student interactions in total, finding a 72-percent correlation between social interaction and the exchange of information, according to the study. Whittier said professors and teachers must organize learning groups to include students of high ability, middle ability and low ability, thereby providing equal opportunities to learners at all levels. He also said content must be tailored to group settings. “To ensure that those groups have some motivation to work together is to arrange the content so that each one has his or her own area of content, so a high-ability learner cannot dominate a group,” he said. While cooperative learning has existed since the 1930s, online learning plays a significant role in modern group collaboration, Whittier said. “Now it’s just finding expression on the web, on the Internet, through our phones and tablets and everything, and it’s a trend that has
Groups, see page 2
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH FISHER/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE
Students who communicate and share ideas in a group setting retain information better, a new study suggests.