The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue XXX
DO NOT PASS GO Cab companies sue Uber Tech for monopolistic, unsafe practices, page 3.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
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SKIP THE SALT
A salty diet may be linked to autoimmune disease, page 5.
]
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POULIN HONORS
W. hockey team members receive awards, page 8.
Total cost of BU set at over $57K for 2013-14 academic year
GRAPHIC BY CHRIS LISINSKI/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Boston University officials released the tuition increases for the 2013-2014 school year Monday. The graph shows the change in the total tuition and housing costs since 1995. By Zoe Roos Daily Free Press Staff
The total cost of tuition and standard room and board at Boston University will increase 3.6 percent, reflecting a $2,000 cost addition, for the 2013-14 academic year, according to an email to students Monday. BU President Robert Brown announced in an email Monday afternoon that the Board of Trustees set the tuition rate at $43,970, a 3.7 percent increase, and the standard room and
board rate at $13,620, a 3.3 percent increase. These costs bring the standard total cost of attending BU next year to $57,590. “In setting a budget for the coming year, we have worked to protect and continue to improve the quality of a Boston University education and our support services, while recognizing the need to control the cost of attendance for our students and parents,” Brown said in his email. “The tuition increase is one component of a conservative
University budget.” For the 2011-12 academic year, the tuition rate was $42,400 and the standard room and board rate was $13,190, totaling $55,590. Brown said the average tuition increase over the past five years has been 3.8 percent, one of the lowest among similar U.S. universities. Between 2004 and 2009, the average yearly tuition increase was about 1 to 1.5 percent higher than between 2009 and 2013. “The university works very hard to keep tuition increases as low as possible,” said BU spokesman Colin Riley. “For the past decade or more, the tuition increases as a percentage have been below the national average for similar schools.” Despite the increases, BU officials will remain committed to providing financial aid for students, Brown said. “Next year we expect that approximately 8,500 of our undergraduate students — 53 percent — will receive financial aid from the University,” he said. Riley said eligible students will receive a small increase in BU financial aid. “The awarding is based on individual need,” he said. “As long as a student’s financial situation doesn’t change dramatically, then he or she should experience a small increase in aid, but not enough to cover the full increase in tuition.” Brown said BU will work to control costs
The Boston Public Health Commission was awarded $200,000 Thursday by the federal government to combat domestic violence homicides through research on how to best identify and respond to the threat of spousal violence. “We do have an awareness that we have residents of Boston who we know to be at greater and greater risk of domestic violence,” said Ann Marie Delaney, director of the Boston Public Health Commission’s Family Justice Center. “But there is a concern the numbers will be far greater if we don’t work with our community partners to provide safety.” The grant, one of 12 awarded to cities across the country by the Office on Violence Against Women, comes at a time of great need. Since 2003, 234 domestic violence homicides have been recorded by Jane Doe Inc., a Massachusetts-based coalition against domestic violence. In these cases, the vast majority of victims were
women. Although 2012 saw fewer instances of domestic violence homicides than previous years, three cases of domestic violence homicides were tried in the last month in Middlesex County, including the case of Lauren Astley, an 18-year old who was murdered by her 20-year old boyfriend, Nathaniel Fujita. “We are all aware of the three recent firstdegree domestic violence murder convictions in Middlesex County in the past month,” said Mary Lauby, executive director of Jane Doe Inc. “Anyone who saw coverage was moved by the devastating impact of those murders on all affected family members. These newly funded homicide prevention efforts will save lives, make communities safer and save money for the Commonwealth.” Mardi Chadwick, the passageway director at the Brigham and Women’s Hosptial, said many instances of murder related to domestic violence are difficult to label, and therefore
Data Courtesy of weather.com
After privacy breach, Google pays $7 million By Bram Peterson Daily Free Press Staff
numbers of domestic violence homicides might be larger than reported in Massachusetts. Chadwick said the grant money would ensure a smoother running network for identifying dangerous and potentially life-threatening domestic relationships. “We know we have a lot of high-risk cases and our coordination regarding the cases are not necessarily as tight or as coordinated as they could be,” she said. “This grant is really an opportunity to provide a coordinated response in particularly high-risk domestic violence cases.” Chadwick said a multi-pronged approach is concentrated on preventing domestic violence homicides. Certain factors, such as access to weapons, threats to kill and living situations all have been correlated to higher risk of homicide. In particular, cases of non-fatal strangulation in relationships are major warning signs, and research says make impending homicide seven times more likely, Chadwick said.
Mass. Attorney General Martha Coakley announced Tuesday that Google Inc. will pay more than $327,000 to Massachusetts after Google collected data and photographs from unsecured wireless networks for its Street View service. “This hard-fought settlement recognizes and protects the privacy rights of people whose information was collected without their permission,” Coakley said in a press release Tuesday. Google agreed to pay $7 million to 38 states and the District of Columbia after finalizing negotiations with a committee of attorney generals from Massachusetts and seven other states, according to the release. “It’s all part of the settlement, all of the different states get a different chunk of the $7 million,” said Jillian Fennimore, deputy press secretary of Coakley’s office. This payment is a result of accidental illegal data collection that Google took part in between 2008 and 2010, when the company obtained confidential information being transmitted from wireless networks, according to the release. “Google outfitted its Street View cars with commercially available antennae and freely available, open-source software called Kismet, between 2008 and May 2010, to drive down public streets and collect WiFi network identification information for use in offering ‘location aware’ or geolocation services,” according to an assurance of voluntary compliance Mar. 8. The company was collecting data via its Street View cars and was only trying to collect data for its geolocation services, but unknowingly collected private user information as well, according to the release. Google became aware of the issue in May 2010 and announced its actions to the public. Representatives terminated the collection of the wireless data and stopped the use of the equipment and software on the cars that was saving the unwanted information. Google has since destroyed all of the private data that it had collected, according to the release. Google declined to comment for, but released a statement March 12 apologizing for the privacy breach. “We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn’t, which is
Domestic violence, see page 2
Google, see page 4
Tuition, see page 2
Boston awarded $200,000 to combat domestic violence homicides By Jasper Craven Daily Free Press Staff
WEATHER
Today: Rain/snow/High 39 Tonight: Snow showers early/ Low 26 Tomorrow: 40/24
BU, city of Boston to post signs, mark road to develop bike safety on Comm. Ave. By Chris Lisinski Daily Free Press Staff
SARAH FISHER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The City of Boston and Boston University are working together to increase bikers’ safety along Commonwealth Avenue.
The stretch of Commonwealth Avenue running through Boston University’s Charles River Campus will be updated with increased bicycle safety measures as part of a joint effort by BU and city of Boston officials, according to a Monday BU press release. By updating signage and developing markings on the road, officials hope to better protect cyclists and pedestrians and to increase awareness among drivers. “I am hopeful that these changes will help protect bicyclists and pedestrians traveling along this very busy stretch of Commonwealth Avenue,” said BU President Robert Brown in the release. “I also am extremely grateful for the city’s continued support of bike-safety initiatives that safeguard all people who use the city streets that pass through our campus.” City officials will implement changes recommended by BU members on a pilot stretch of Commonwealth Avenue between Kenmore Square and Packard’s Corner, where Boston
established its first bike lane, according to the release. To increase awareness, officials will post signs along the street advising drivers of cyclists, according to the release. The signs will designate the area as a “high bicycle and pedestrian activity zone,” establish a 25 mph speed limit and urge drivers to “share the road” and yield to cyclists when turning right. Workers will renovate and update Commonwealth Avenue’s bike lanes to increase visibility and markings. “Each bike lane intersection crossing [will] be painted using non-skid, high-visibility green paint and the width of bike-lane edge markings will increase from four to six inches,” the release stated. “White Bike Sharrow pavement markings within the green paint area will be added at busy intersections. In areas that have long crossings, multiple Sharrows will be installed.” To ensure motor vehicle operators are
Bikes, see page 2
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Riley: Tuition reflects ‘investment’ in student’s education Tuition: From Page 1
while continuing to improve the quality of education. “We are mindful of the sacrifices parents and students make and especially aware — in economically uncertain times — of the importance of providing an education and campus experience that translates into long-term
success in life and work,” he said. Riley said while there is a significant cost to attending BU, it is a worthwhile investment. “It is certainly a reflection of the investment you are making in your education and your parents are making in you and in your education,” he said.
Several BU students expressed disapproval of the tuition hike. Sarah Lowe, a College of Fine Arts and College of Arts and Sciences sophomore said she would like BU officials to detail clearly where the additional funding will go. “The school needs to be more transparent with where the funding is going,” she said. “I
Bike lanes to include reflectors, wider visibility, better markings Bikes: From Page 1
aware of bike lanes, highway reflectors will be installed on the road at the outer edge of bike lanes, with reflectors being more closely spaced near intersections. The changes come as part of a response to a number of accidents involving vehicles colliding with pedestrians or cyclists on Commonwealth Avenue, including several fatal accidents. In November, College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Chung-wei “Victor” Yang died after colliding with a bus while riding his bicycle on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston. College of Communication first-year graduate student Christopher Weigl died in December after being struck by a tractor-trailer truck while riding his bicycle at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and St. Paul Street. “Working in coordination with the city’s Transportation Commissioner, Thomas J. Tinlin, and Director of Bicycle Programs, Nicole Freedman, BU helped propose safety measures that the City will implement,” the release stated. Tinlin said cycling is an integral part of transportation in Boston, particularly for students.
“Cycling is a terrific transportation option for students in Boston,” he said in the release. “Like the MBTA [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority], it is inexpensive and convenient, can get you anywhere that you need to go in the City, and doesn’t require an on-street parking space.” Tinlin said Transportation Department officials frequently encourage college students to leave motor vehicles at home when returning to Boston and instead focus on sustainable forms of transportation, particularly cycling or walking. “This new bicycle safety initiative is yet another incentive for students to follow this advice,” he said. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said the changes are the latest efforts to ensure cycling is a safe and viable travel alternative for Boston residents. “As a result of these efforts, bicycle commuting ridership increased 82 percent in Boston from 2007 to 2011,” he said in the release. “For this reason, I am very pleased to be partnering with Boston University on this Commonwealth Avenue safety initiative. I expect that this program will result in keeping BU’s cycling community safe on this busy roadway.”
Grant recipients announced by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Domestic violence: From Page 1
In announcing the grant recipients Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden said these grant dollars will bring about intervention in relationships that are building toward extreme violence. “We know what risk factors put someone in greater danger of being killed by the person they love – and that also means we have the opportunity to step in and try to prevent these murders,” Biden said. “That’s why these grants are so important. They’ll help stop violence be-
fore it turns deadly.” Delaney said the next year of funded research would be compiled into a work plan on Boston’s efforts to fight domestic violence homicides. Three subsequent grants will also be available from the federal government in the next three years to implement the findings of the research, but it is not guaranteed Boston will receive these grants, Delaney said. “The work plan will be presented as our research findings, and it will be looked at as a re-application for the next rounds of funding,” Delaney said.
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The Daily Free Press Crossword By Mirroreyes Internet Services Corporation
ACROSS 1. Urgency 6. Creative works 10. Naked 14. Utilizers 15. Not long now 16. Arabian gulf 17. Deceive 18. Lifted and threw 19. Bumpkin 20. Bandana 22. Symbol 24. Type separation 25. Covered with short stiff hairs 26. Caution 29. Observed 30. Prince of Midian 31. Becomes firm in shape 37. Like an old woman 39. Canine 40. Marsh plant 41. Star-gazing tools 44. Brown, grizzly or polar 45. “Dear ____” starts a letter 46. Public procession 48. Variables having only magnitude 52. Native tribe 53. Mixtures of 2 or more metals
54. Certain minute multicellular aquatic organisms 58. Negative cheers 59. Wading bird 61. Papal court 62. Being 63. Exhort 64. Maturing 65. Towards the back 66. Dense aggregation 67. City in England DOWN 1. Tom Sawyer’s friend 2. Tennis legend Arthur ____ 3. Fortune teller 4. Traceable 5. Biblical queen 6. Pale or sicklylooking 7. Covers a house 8. “Mazel ___” = congratulations 9. Smiled derisively 10. Hurtful remarks 11. Grown up 12. One who resists 13. Hostile person or group 21. Angers 23. Short skirts 25. Pale sandy color 26. Ship 27. Sea eagle 28. German for “Be-
would still be mad to pay, but not as mad.” SMG sophomore Ronen Banerjee said he was discouraged to see tuition rise once again. “This the second tuition hike I have seen which is alarming enough,” he said, “but I guess you have to do what you have to do to attend a good university.”
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4 7 1 cause” or “Since” 29. Spills over 32. Smells 33. Medicine that reduces a fever 34. Concept or notion 35. Mild exclamation 36. Withered 38. Academic com-
position 42. Plume thistles 43. Stain or blemish 47. Belonging to an apex, tip or summit 48. Sword 49. Near 50. Shad fish 51. Vanquished 52. Tubes 54. Sets up a
swindle 55. Great Lake 56. Tough outer layer of a fruit 57. Droops 60. Undergarment Solution is on Page 4
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Sudoku-Puzzles.net
Difficulty: Medium
Solution is on Page 4
Campus & City
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Students irked Boston cab companies sue tech. company BU, City, IBM officials partner by dormitory to grow Boston break schedule By Sophia Goldberg Daily Free Press Staff
By Margaret Waterman and Zoe Roos Daily Free Press Staff
Boston University’s policies on dormitory opening and closing times for vacation periods often inconvenience those living on campus, especially when they are unable to get in and out of residences when they desire, a number of BU students said. Kevin Choi, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said he sat on the curb outside his dorm his freshman year until it reopened because his flight arrived too early. “I didn’t know about the opening hours so I got back to campus three hours early,” he said. “Even if I had known about the opening it’s not like I could have changed an expensive flight.” For BU’s 2013 spring recess, residences closed at 12 p.m. on March 9 and reopened Sunday at 10 a.m., according to the BU Housing website. Dining service was suspended after dinner March 8 and began operation again for dinner on Sunday. BU spokesman Colin Riley said he was not made aware of any student or parent complaints regarding the residential life vacation calendar. Students living in dormitory-style residences on campus are the only students prohibited from returning to BU early after vacations. “It’s not feasible to allow people to come and be in buildings where there is nobody else because of safety concerns and because of staffing needs,” he said. “You’d have to put security officers, you’d have to have dining — that would be required.” If BU allowed students to return from break earlier than the Sunday preceding classes after a vacation, resident assistants would be required to return to school early, Riley said. “It wouldn’t be fair to tell them they would have to take only a three or four day recess when all other students would have Saturday through Sunday off,” he said. Riley said students who do not return home during vacation can choose to pay a total of $40 per night, or a $320 weekly fee, to stay at a hotel situated near BU. Students living in apartment-style residences are permitted to stay during vacations, as well as students who opt to live off campus. Students cannot pay to live in dormitories during vacations because there is a law that states when university officials provide students with on-campus housing, dining options must also be available, Riley said. Zuly Triblio, a first year School of Social Work graduate student and resident assistant, said students are often irritated despite having alternative housing options. “I have never had any trouble, but I know a lot of students find it annoying that they can’t get into the buildings right away,” Triblio said. “But BU does offer alternative housing over the breaks so there are resources available to students.” Julianne Lee, a College of Communication sophomore, said she faced difficulties with timing her departure from campus as a participating member of this year’s Alternative Spring Break. “They [residence life officials] closed the dorms at 12 p.m. and my ASB group didn’t leave until 8 p.m. that night,” she said. “I was just put out for eight hours.”
Boston Cab Dispatch Inc. and EJT Management, two of Boston’s largest cab companies, sued Uber Technologies Inc. March 11 for not following regulations with their mobile app designed to allow customers to summon a cab and eliminate the need for monetary transactions between the customer and driver. “Uber has created an illegal transportation service that violates state laws and Boston ordinances and deceives consumers about the fares they must pay, the safety of the cars and drivers transporting them, the insurance coverage available, and the legality of Uber’s service,” stated the complaint filed by the cab companies Monday in Suffolk Superior Court. The cab companies’ public relations firm, DBMediaStrategies Inc., said in a press release Tuesday that Uber does not follow correct inspections of the cars or the drivers. “[Uber] does not have a regular program of inspecting, licensing and insuring vehicles as required
By Sarah Oppenheimer Daily Free Press Contributor
XIAOMENG YANG/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Boston Cab Dispatch is suing Uber Technologies, Inc. for “unfair competition and consumer fraud.”
by regulations, enlists drivers who have not met proper license requirements, [and] forces consumers to waive their rights to hold Uber accountable for dangerous, offensive, harmful, or unsafe behavior by its drivers,” according to the release. Sam Perkins, the lawyer representing the two cab companies, said Uber does not follow the same
screening processes for its employees or inspect its cars. “The primary problem with Uber is that we have a system of regulations of taxis that make sure the taxi drivers pass at least a 13-point test of safety, criminal record, driving record, sex offender registry, immigration status and so on, and Uber doesn’t require any of
Cabs, see page 4
Moody’s finds gap between college savings and cost By Sophia Goldberg Daily Free Press Staff
College students have less money saved and are taking out more private student loans as a result, according to a study released Tuesday by Moody’s Investor Service. David Jacobson, a spokesman for Moody’s, said students across the country are statistically saving less before school. “There’s a gap between family’s savings and the cost of a four-year degree,” Jacobson said. “Colleges are under a lot of pressure to slow down their tuition increases, while at the same time, they are under a lot of pressure to grow their financial aid, the result of which is a weaker net tuition revenue growth.” Jacobson said there has been a major decrease in what has been saved for college in families recently, which can lead to colleges having to slow down their tuition inflation. “Bottom line, universities of all types are under a negative outlook,” Jacobson said. “That means there’s mounting pressure on all universities revenue sources, including tuition. Another is a lot of universities, including [Boston University], receive research grants and that could be sub-
ject to sequestration.” This loss of funding from the government and other forms of income means that many schools may find that they are having trouble earning enough money to keep them afloat, Jacobson said. However, BU seems to be moving in the other direction, as Moody’s raised BU’s credit rating from A2 to A1 in February. BU Spokesman Colin Riley said he believes that the recent upgrade in ratings is positive for BU’s future. “By having an upgrade in your rating, it’s telling investors that their analysis is that BU, for a variety of reasons, is a good and safe investment,” he said. As for individual student debt, Riley said there have been recent increases in the number of private loans students take out. “People who borrow are individual students and their families,” Riley said. “The student loan indebtedness last year, as an average, declined and the big increase is in private loans.” A number of BU students said that both money and paying for school are definitely on their minds. Jamie Bloom, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sci-
ences sophomore, said even with academic scholarships, and with the six-year physical therapy program, she is still worried about paying off her additional loans. “Everyone wants to be focused on money that they are making when they are older, but you have to be worried about staying afloat with loans,” she said. Zach Herbert, a College of Engineering junior, said his loans are not too worrisome because he hopes BU will give him a good start in the occupational world. “I’m majoring in engineering and I haven’t taken out that many loans, so I’m not that worried that I wouldn’t be able to pay them off because I know that I’d be able to get a good starting salary,” Herbert said. Nosakhare Obaseki, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said his family has taken out more student loans this year because BU is more expensive than his last school. “I’m a transfer student, so compared to where I was before, [Pennsylvania State University], it’s a big increase in cost,” Obaseki said. “It hasn’t been easy because it’s a very expensive school, so my parents have taken out $30,000 in loans.”
Boston University officials are partnering with executives from IBM and the city of Boston to promote better technologies for urban energy efficiency. Officials hosted a series of panels on Wednesday titled “Smarter Cities: A Roadmap for the Future” at the BU Photonics Center, focusing on how technology is helping cities run more efficiently. “The purpose of this partnership was to explore opportunities, to develop new technologies and develop new ways that these technologies can be used within the city of Boston,” said professor Christos Cassandras, head of the Division of Systems Engineering. IBM Vice President of Smarter Physical Infrastructure Dave Bartlett said there is talk of establishing a center at BU for Smart Cities that would be funded jointly by the city of Boston, IBM and potentially other companies. The creation of a new center or institute would promote the ideas of Smarter Cities in a series of courses. “Student participation with BU’s Sustainable Neighborhood Lab, a real-world laboratory that provides a platform for research, experiential education and commercialization of urban sustainability tools, is a goal for the university,” he said. More than 150 government officials, academic leaders, industry influencers, venture capitalists, press and analysts attended the conference said Bartlett. “The crux of the event was to promote the idea that we could build an urban area that mines information to deliver city or regional services more effectively and efficiently,” he said. The partnership began in June when officials from IBM, BU and the city of Boston announced the Smarter Planet project designed to create solutions to long-standing urban challenges, according to a March 11 IBM press release. “We actually had a one-month period where IBM sent a team of some of their experts in areas such as traffic control, environmental monitoring
IBM, see page 4
Students flock to intramural sports for competition, recreation By Calvin Zhao Daily Free Press Contributor
ELVIN WONG/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The Shabboms, center, play ZBT in an intramural basketball game Monday night.
Despite the lack of a large advertising campaign, Boston University Intramural Sports manages to attract thousands of students to participate in sports from basketball to broomball, officials said. “Our goal is basically just to give everyone an opportunity to play if they want to play,” said Graduate Assistant for Intramural and Club Sports Greg Huntoon. “Whether they want to do it competitively or recreationally, we give that option for everyone.” Manager of Intramural and Club Sports Scott Nalette said in an email that BU Intramural Sports has over 7,000 non-unique BU student, faculty and staff participants a year. Non-unique participants are counted multiple times if they play multiple intramural sports.
“Intramural sports are very popular at BU,” Nalette said. “Most sports feature a short round-robin type regular season followed by a playoff bracket for the top teams … everyone from first-year students to staff members who have been playing for 30 years enjoy the program.” While people participate in intramural sports for many reasons, Nalette said the biggest incentive is competition. Participants also look for camaraderie and exercise in intramurals. “They generally leave having found all three [reasons] as well as a better sense of belonging on campus by participating in such a staple program,” Nalette said. “… They love having a fun and affordable option to stay competitive, but in a friendly [environment] right on their campus.” Huntoon said the intramurals participation levels have re-
Intramurals, see page 4
4
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
CAB PR firm: Cab companies seek portion of all Uber fares Cabs: From Page 3
that,” Perkins said. Perkins said Uber is simply refusing to comply with decade-old laws already in place for cab companies, and regulators do not know how to deal with it yet. Although Uber cars do not follow regulations and charge significantly more than regular cabs, they compete with other taxis because of their convenience, he said. “Uber operates through black cars and SUVs. They dispatch
just as quickly as cabs, they travel around the city like cabs do, and can be hailed essentially with the click of a button, so they are competing with cabs, without following the regulations that every other cab company follows,” he said. Uber Technologies, Inc. representatives declined to comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit challenges Uber’s new app called UberX, and Perkins said this service is an even less regulated, cheaper version that Uber hopes to use to monopolize the
transportation business. “Uber’s brand new UberX system is designed to have anybody with a car less than six years old and a driver’s license become a taxi driver in their spare time, and that plan is designed to eliminate the entire taxi system and replace small convenient rides for hire,” he said. DBMediaStrategies Inc. said in the release that the cab companies plan to ask for a portion of profits from every Uber fare, as well as other forms of compensation. “The suit asks the court to award
the plaintiffs profits from all fares collected by Uber as well as monetary and punitive damages which could total in the tens of millions of dollars under consumer protection laws,” according to the release. Oleg Uritsky, an owner of a fleet of cabs in Boston, said Uber disregarded years of laws with the use of its app. “You can’t simply go into business as a cab company and ignore decades of rules and regulations,” Uritsky said in the release. “The regulations exist for a reason and
Uber is exploiting loopholes for its own benefit.” Amar Daw, 47, a cab driver for Metro Cab, said he prefers to get called for a job over getting flagged down in the street, but knows other drivers have been negatively affected by Uber’s operations. “I haven’t noticed anything at my company,” he said. “Nothing has changed for me, but I have heard other drivers sometimes complain about it [Uber]. They feel like they are taking jobs away from them, as well as their income.”
Google to ‘update’ employee Soccer among most competitive intramural sports enjoys both playing and ref- Sargent College of Health and awareness of privacy policy mained consistent in recent years, heereeing intramural sports with Rehabilitation Sciences graduate Intramurals: From Page 3
Google: From Page 1
why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue. The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn’t use it or even look at it,’’ stated the Google release. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia have been following the breach of privacy by Google for a few years, and have cosponsered a bill in the Senate, called the “Do Not Track Online Act,” which if passed would forbid private companies from extracting consumer information for benefit. “This settlement vindicates the investigation begun by my office more than three years ago when we first learned of these serious, shocking, systematic violations of consumer privacy,” Blumenthal said in a statement on Tuesday. Google officials have promised to strengthen the company’s privacy
controls in the wake of the scandal. Google will now have a greater focus on privacy when training its employees and will educate current employees on proper privacy techniques, according to the assurance of voluntary compliance. Google developers will create more effective maintenance policies to assure that similar issues do not occur again in the future, and will establish an annual “Privacy Week,” which will feature seminars and presentations about information privacy in all Google offices, according to the assurance. The company will develop a Public Service Campaign, in which they reach out to the community and educate via YouTube, blog posts, newspaper ads and online ads. These announcements and advertisements will teach users how to properly protect their wireless information, the assurance stated.
Prof.: City ‘problems’ need ‘solutions’ IBM: From Page 3
and software related to those energysmarter buildings,” Cassandras said. “That created the foundation for a broader type of partnership, and this type of event was, in a sense, to celebrate the continuation of the partnership.” Cassandras said in addition to representatives from IBM and the City of Boston, a number of companies and developers had members attend Wednesday’s conference to help contribute to developing the city. “We also had people from various companies, including small companies, startups that are looking for opportunities to do high-tech stuff in a smarter city, venture capitalists who were looking for opportunities and real estate developers who were obviously interested in developing a smarter city,” he said. The conference was an opportunity to bring the various key players and stakeholders together to determine if they can institutionalize and solidify efforts, Cassandras said. “The success of these events is
usually measured by the level of the audience participation and the excitement generated by the discussion that follows the panelists’ statements, and I was quite impressed,” he said. Lucy Hutyra, professor of earth and environment, said Wednesday’s conference was a step toward creating a more unified effort between the three involved parties, Hutrya said. “We’ve been doing these various Smarter Cities-related projects kind of one at a time,” she said. “This event was about how to take this from being about single projects to being something larger, more sustained and coordinated.” Hutrya said the Smarter Cities team is using technology for advancements such as smarter parking, better traffic control and for monitoring the quality of air and other environmental improvements. “The city has problems that need solutions,” Hutyra said. “Some of those, through partnering with IBM directly, could result in tailored solutions that could actually solve the right problems.”
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though renovations have slowed growth. “The only times we ever see a major shift is sometimes when our spaces are cut into,” he said. “A couple years ago, they were doing renovations at Walter Brown [Arena] so that cut into our broomball league … as a result, we’re just now starting to get more the number of teams we expect — usually we get around 100 teams in the broomball league.” Huntoon said of the various sports offered, the soccer league is one of the most competitive. “Our soccer league usually within a day of registration opening is full, so that’s really competitive,” Huntoon said. “…We get teams who don’t register in time and they have to wait and hope a spot opens up in the league.” Daniel Phillips, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, said
friends. “I’m a pretty competitive person so I take it seriously when I’m playing, but you have to remember that everyone is out there having fun and it’s pretty casual,” Philips said. “I’ve played a lot of organized sports, so it’s nice to have something that’s a little more low-key and where the focus is more on just having fun with your friends.” He said the hardest part about refereeing is removing oneself from the game. “Even as a spectator, you get too invested into the game and you’re going to get tunnel vision on what’s going on,” Phillips said. “You have to see everything and you have to be unbiased and it takes a little bit to get used to, and sometimes you have to deal with people who aren’t happy with you.” Andrea Son, a second-year
student, said she had been playing volleyball since high school and joined intramural volleyball to meet people. “I played intramural sports all through undergrad and coming here I wanted to get involved,” Son said. “It was great to meet my classmates better through joining the team and forming the team with them.” Numan Aksoy, a CAS freshman who played both club and intramural soccer, said he loves playing soccer everywhere and with anyone he can find. “You don’t really need to try out for anything, so if you have any friends that want to play with you or if you just want to get together with some friends and play together a sport that you guys all have in common, it’s a fun way” Aksoy said. “And it’s only once a week and it’s a great activity.”
Researchers deem salt as risk factor for autoimmune disease
W
Jessica Carichner Features Staff
hen tired, hungry and cramming for a big exam, it is easy to reach for a cheap and quick snack, such as some greasy and sodium-loaded junk food. However, the next time you go to grab a bag of potato chips for a late night study session, you may want to think again. A new study examines the effects of salt consumption, hinting that those late night snacks may be even more harmful than once thought. The study — which was released March 6 and a combined effort of the Broad Institute’s Klarman Cell Observatory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University, Massachussets Institute of Technology and Yale University — focused on an immune cell called “T helper 17” and its role in the immune system. In looking at these Th17 cells and a regulatory gene called SGK1, researchers hypothesized that salt is a risk factor for the development of autoimmune diseases. The immune system The immune system works to protect the body by fighting foreign invaders, such as disease and infection, according to MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. In this system a balancing act exists, whereas either too much or too little activity can be harmful to the body. An imbalance can lead to the development of autoimmune disease, which occurs when the immune system attacks its healthy cells instead of protecting the body. Researchers of the study examined the Th17 cell in particular, an immune cell that is vital for clearing foreign pathogens and that plays a role in autoimmune disease, especially in multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. While there are some “good” Th17 cells, there are also “bad” ones, according to a Research Gate publication. The study investigated the causes of the “bad” Th17 cell, also known as the “proinflammatory” cell. Hans Dooms, a professor of medicine at Boston University, said these cells often lead to autoimmune disease. The study Researchers found two networks that regulate Th17 cells, one that causes the cells to increase in number and one that causes them to decrease in number. During the investigation, the SGK1 gene, which is important in Th17 development, stood out to researchers. This gene is also found in cells in the gut and kidney where it aids in salt absorption, according to the study. Researchers then studied the possible link between salt and autoimmune disease. Using a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, the researchers discovered that the disease worsened in genetically predisposed mice when exposed to salt. Ian Rifkin, a BU professor of medicine, explained this link between salt and the Th17 cell. “What the researchers showed is that if you have an increased salt concentration, it can lead to an increased production of the Th17 cell,” Rifkin said. Because researchers focused on the proinflammatory Th17 cell, the increased production of this cell became a direct path to autoimmune disease. Some mice in the study were also injected with self-antigen an antigen of their own cells — for their immune system to respond
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KIERA BLESSING/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
In a recent study, researchers at MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard, Broad Institute’s Klarman Cell Observatory and Yale found salt as a risk factor for people predisposed to autoimmune disease.
to a high-salt diet. An antigen, according to the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, is any substance that causes your immune system to create antibodies against it. With this injection, the T cells were activated and began destroying parts of the nervous system. This, according to the study, meant the autoimmune disease had been induced at a high rate. This step of the research determined that high salt intake is dangerous to people genetically predisposed to autoimmune disease. However, researchers in the study said their hypothesis must be tested with epidemiological studies on humans in the future. Other causes of disease Both Dooms and Rifkin said other factors could also contribute to the development of autoimmune disease. “Autoimmune diseases are complex,” Dooms said, “We do not know if what we see here will hold up when the other cell types are in the picture.” He said this is why he and some researchers are wary of the study’s results. Like Dooms, Rifkin said the disease’s development is complex. “Most autoimmune diseases are the result of complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors,” he said. Dooms said science has gravitated towards this idea — that disease is caused by the right combination of both genetic and environmental factors. He said the study examined this process because salt alone did not cause the autoimmune disease in mice. College of Arts and Sciences junior Karissa Parker said she’s also wary of the results. “I feel like you can’t just trust one study,” Parker said. “There has to be more than one, and it has to be proved consecutively before you can agree with it.”
An interesting connection Autoimmune disease is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States. The National Institutes of Health estimated that as many as 23.5 million Americans currently suffer from autoimmune disease, and this number is climbing. The severity is not only in the number of cases. Autoimmune disease is becoming economically dangerous in terms of the country’s healthcare. The annual cost to treat patients with type 1 diabetes was estimated to be between $4.6 billion and $9.2 billion, and multiple sclerosis was estimated at $2.5 billion. Autoimmune disease is most common in westernized, highly developed regions of the world, Dooms explained, so it may be related to lifestyle. He added that the number of cases of autoimmune disease is much lower in developing countries. “In less developed countries you see more occurrences of infection. The immune system may be too busy fighting parasites to find a chance to develop these kinds of cells that fight the body,” Dooms said. Other reactions A number of BU students said they were not surprised by the connection between salt and autoimmune disease, but differed in their prescribed responses to the results. Parker, although circumspect of the results, said the study will make her more aware of the risks of excessive salt consumption. However, she said she doesn’t plan to cut salt out of her diet. “I think it’s about proportion,” she said. “A little bit of salt is not going to kill you. It’s all portions.” Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior Sofia Pevzner said she considers herself a healthy eater, generally avoiding snacking on salty foods. However, she said this behavior is the not likely the norm for a college student, whose stress often causes food cravings.
“When people are under stress, they just eat comfort food,” Pevzner said. “Generally, comfort food is not healthy food.” CAS sophomore Yi Man Cheung also said she is a healthy eater and agrees with Pevzner in terms of the average student’s diet. “College students find the most convenient and tastiest food,” Cheung said. She said this is because students have tight cash budgets and a lack time. The future It is important to think about what the implication of this study is for human disease and the role of diet in human disease, although it may be too early to reach a significant determination, Rifkin said. “I do not think it is enough to make certain dietary regulations for autoimmune disease,” Rifkin said. “It is a study that suggests we should be doing studies in patients with disease.” Dooms said researchers could use this study for therapy in the future. Using study patients in a clinical setting, researchers could look at possible therapeutic effects of a low-salt diet. He also said low-salt diets could lower the number of bad Th17 cells and help avoid autoimmune disease. This, however, can become difficult because our body still needs some Th17 cells. “We need to be cautious since a low-salt diet may also lower the number of ‘good’ Th17 cells and make patients more vulnerable to disease,” Dooms said. However, Dooms said everything turns back to the idea of balance in the immune system, which needs to stimulate the T cells that protect the body while avoiding the pathogenic ones. “It may be possible to find a diet with just the right amount of salt to accomplish this,” he said. “It is also likely that this ‘ideal’ amount will differ from person to person.”
6T
uesday,
March 19, 2013
Opinion
The Daily Free Press
The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University 43rd year F Volume 84 F Issue 30
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The resurrection of the extinct
According to The Boston Globe and National Geographic, scientists are debating bringing extinct species back to life. Their first test, if this happens, will be the passenger pigeon, which was driven to extinction by hunters in 1914. In February, scientists gathered at Harvard to decide whether such a feat of conservation — which they’re calling “De-extinction” — can and should be done. The process of resurrecting a dead and instinct species would involve the very precise changing of individual spots in a genome so as to take one species and tweak its DNA in the appropriate ways to create a closely related one that is otherwise extinct, according to the Globe. There are advantages to pursuing this experiment, but it seems a frightening science-fiction-like endeavor — and a potentially futile one at that. Species become extinct for a reason, and bringing them back will disturb current ecosystems perhaps more than we can predict. According to the Globe, some are concerned that if species revival technology became available, it would detract scientific attention and re-
sources from the critical job of protecting habitats and saving existing species. Moreover, if we choose to bring back a species from 1914, we must also make sure that we have ways of sustaining them with suitable habitats and diets, and it might be the case that these things went extinct along with the species. Resurrecting long-gone animals might be a lost cause in that it instigates an unsustainable cycle of ecosystem imbalances. On the other hand, understanding how to tweak genes so as to conserve certain species would be a good thing, so long as we can support the animals we choose to bring back or keep around. Perhaps reaching into the past to alter and fortify the genes of a dead pigeon will enable us to do the same to the genes of animals we have at present and prevent further cases of extinction. The experiment should be carried out either way, though, in the name of scientific discovery and possibility. If it succeeds (or even if it doesn’t) it will help us better understand our world and its delicate and changing ecosystems.
Transgender disputes in elementary schools
A mere 1.7 percent of the population defines itself as intersex. Even so, society is increasingly accepting of gender neutrality, albeit slowly. In the meantime, it still remains for these individuals to determine how to ingratiate themselves with a community that has a hard time accepting them. Such a community might be an elementary school. In Colorado, a six-year-old named Coy defines herself as a girl, but she was born male and retains her male organs. Her school prohibits her from using the girls bathroom, requiring instead, according to The New York Times, that she use a gender-neutral restroom in the nurse’s office. Her parents are enraged, and the Times has reported that Coy’s case is at the heart of legal dispute likely to test Colorado’s anti-discrimination law which purportedly expands protections for transgender people. The school’s concern is that as much as Coy maintains a female identity, preferring a wardrobe of dresses and sparkly boots, her male body parts will confuse and upset biologically female girls both now and later. They want to protect their young students’ uninformed sensibilities and avoid too much conflict with parents and the law.
But the school’s stance is hardly valid for a number of reasons. Its administration does not have the right to tell Coy her gender. What it should do is work to educate its students to be knowledgeable, if not accepting, of Coy’s gender identification despite her biological makeup. Undoubtedly it will be difficult for Coy to achieve social normalcy, and the school should work has hard as possible to increase its students’ vocabulary regarding the issue and make her feel welcome and respected. According to the Times, some have called on Coy’s school and others to provide more gender-neutral restrooms. These will be a challenge to implement, no doubt, given the small population of intersex individuals and the ever-shrinking budget of public schools. Moreover, the concept of gender is not likely to be abolished anytime soon, so making more gender-neutral restrooms won’t be a top priority. Restructuring society for 1.7 percent is unfeasible, but helping this 1.7 percent feel accepted is completely possible. School districts should be attuned to the needs of transgender children, and Coy needs to identify with the female gender.
THE AMERICAN IDEA
North Korea: Virus or Vaccine? COLIN SMITH The world of international diplomacy is seldom clear cut. There are two-faced intentions, back-room deals and many, many complex, nuanced relationships. And then, sometimes, there aren’t. North Korea’s role as the world’s go-to source of ire is hardly new. Ever since it broke the bonds of Japanese imperialism following WWII, the nation has overcompensated for its small size by taking hyper-aggressive stances on virtually all international diplomatic issues. First came the invasion of its southern neighbor in the 1950s. Following this, and its near-conquest by a U.S.-led United Nations force, it’s been North Korea’s close relationship with its fellow communist neighbor China that has kept the country safe and relevant in the international community. China stuck by North Korea through its development of Nuclear weapons during the 1990s, a regime change from founder Kim Il-Sung to his less-than-imposing son Kim Jong-il and the subsequent regime change last year to Jong-il’s 28-year-old son Kim Jongun. Recently, though, China has abandoned its unabashed support of the North in a rather sudden way. It joined the rest of the UN Security Council earlier this month in condemning North Korea’s most recent nuclear test, offering its support for UN sanctions in order to further financially cripple its neighboring country. It appears North Korea has all at once lost its closest, most powerful and only ally. To precipitate such a dramatic turn of events, one would expect the instigating actions on the part of North Korea to have been severe, even dire. At the end of the day, though, the flurry of North Korean activity over the last couple of weeks amounts to nothing more than mere posturing to gain attention from an international community that’s turned its back. It’s easy to forget that no lives were lost in the recent nuclear test or the long-range missile test a few months prior. The same cannot be said of the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean naval ship, carried out under the orders of the late Jong-il. Forty-six lives were lost in that incident. What, then, makes the North’s recent, nonlethal actions under Kim Jong-un so reprehensible in China’s eyes? A part of it might be the rapidly fleeting notion that a power shift to a young, western-educated 20-something would result in liberalization and openness for the North, something China has likely been hoping for for a decade, as it rapidly marches toward its own blend of political and economic liberalization. If the North were to take the path of China, and embrace the West to a degree, China would no longer have to embarrass itself by posturing for an unpopular North. The North’s recent conservative backslide suggests to me that it’s really the all-powerful military calling the shots in North Korea, utiliz-
ing young Kim Jong-un as a figurehead to present a unified front and capitalize on his popular family legacy in the country. To some, this represents a disaster scenario — an all-powerful military oligarchy not held accountable to the people of its nation, with a chip on its shoulder and ready access to a nuclear arsenal. I, uncharacteristically enough, say bring it on. Like I said, the world of IR is unpredictable. Those who you think are your friends may turn around and stab you in the back, those who you think you are your exclusive customers may very well be dealing on the side. In this day and age of uncertainty, North Korea provides a shiningly clear, little-black-curly-mustachetwisting example of an old fashioned villain. And that, believe it or not, can sometimes be worth its weight in gold. If we’re being entirely honest, things have gone a bit south for us both militarily and diplomatically since the end of the Cold War. The ‘90s were a decade of boy bands and false security, of flaccid military stagnation. 9/11 was a wakeup call that would not have been as severely felt — might not have happened at all — had we still been geared up in Cold War survival mode. For the last 12 years we’ve worked painfully back into practice fighting an enemy, in the form of terrorism, that’s loosely defined, globally dispersed and easily blended with the local population. Certainly today’s War on Terror is necessary, is just and may even turn out to be worth it. For now, though, the United States military, and the United States people, whether they like it or not, are looking for a definite enemy. U.S. President Barack Obama announced yesterday that he is stepping up production of missile defense systems — that is, weapons designed to knock missiles out of the sky should the U.S. ever come under nuclear attack. He’s taking them out of Eastern Europe, where they were planned to block a distant and unlikely Russian threat, and moving them to the West Coast and to Alaska, in order to counter North Korea, our sudden real and present danger. It’s unlikely the North’s clunky and underpowered nukes are small enough to be mounted on missiles, or that they will be for another decade. But Obama isn’t taking any chances, and the American people are relieved a little, just as they are a little fearful of this strange little country across the ocean. I’m not saying we are in a new Cold War. I’m not saying I want to be. What I’m saying is that sometimes a little finite hatred can go a long way. Colin Smith is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, and a weekly columnist for the Daily Free Press. He can be reached at colin1@bu.edu.
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Morris: Filling out brackets makes for ultimate fan experience Morris: From Page 8
takes. You begin to agonize: Why oh why did I have to do this whole bracket in pen? Always use a pencil. Pencil can be erased. Okay, well at least I think I’ve fixed everything. Now my bracket is perfect. But wait. What if my original picks were right? What if I created the perfect bracket, and I ruined it? How could I possibly live with myself knowing that I was given the ability to see into the future, only to soil it with my second-guessing? Ah, which bracket
should I go with, my first one or my new one? I don’t know! Okay, maybe you don’t have quite as hard of a time filling out a bracket as I do. This is the agony I put myself through every year. But I can never stop. I will always keep the faith that one year I will pick the perfect bracket. Some day, I will foresee an 11-seed making the final four when no one else saw it coming. I will be the guy that gets to call into SportsCenter because I’m the only person who submitted a per-
fect bracket on ESPN.com. Until that day, I have to keep trying. Every year it’s a new system. Last year, I tried to incorporate my Statistics major into my bracket-filling experience. I ran a logistic regression (stats jargon) predicting wins from team statistics, such as points per game, strength of schedule, etc. Safe to say, that didn’t go so well. It turns out March Madness games are way too unpredictable for statistical modeling. This year, I think I’m going with coaches’ past tournament
wins as my picking system. Go Duke! The agony of filling out a bracket is what makes March Madness the greatest few weeks of the entire sports calendar. It makes us nervously watch games between two schools that we’ve never even heard of. We suddenly become fans of teams with names that we can’t even pronounce. It is the ultimate fan experience. Every year we play the unwinnable game of filling out brackets, and it makes us all better sports fans.
BU to make adjustments vs. Loyola Men’s basketball: From Page 8
nal seven games. As a result of the second-half surge, the Terriers will be in Reitz Arena in Baltimore to take on Loyola University-Maryland in the first round of the CIT Tuesday evening. While BU features several dynamic players, Loyola (21–11), which finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, is led by its own big three. “They are a very good team,” Jones said. “They’ve got great size, good depth up front. An experienced team, they defend and rebound well and execute their offense very well and play to their strengths.” In the backcourt, BU freshman guard Maurice Watson Jr. will be matched up against Loyola junior Dylon Cormier, the team’s top scorer, who tallies 16.5 points per game. Watson will have to do his best to contain Cormier, especially on the drive, as the 6-foot-2 Cormier has a height advantage over the 5-foot-10 Watson. Meanwhile, freshman guard John Papale will be matched up against senior Robert Olson, the team’s best 3-point shooter, averaging 2.1 threes per game.
Graduate student Erik Etherly, Loyola’s second-best scorer (15.9 points per game) will be matched up against the lanky sophomore forward Malik Thomas and sharp-shooting junior forward Travis Robinson. For the sophomores and upperclassmen on BU’s roster, Etherly will be a familiar face, as he played across town at Northeastern before transferring to Loyola. Jones said the Terriers will have to make adjustments in several facets of their game in order to overcome the Greyhounds. “We’re going to try and mix up our defenses against them,” Jones said. “We have to use our quickness as an advantage and score in transition. “Taking care of the basketball and rebounding are the most important. Turnovers lead to easy points for them, and holding them to one shot per possession is key as well.” Even after a loss against Stony Brook University Feb. 28, Jones said BU would be playing in the postseason. Jones was dead on, and with a strong tournament performance, this mid-major team could make some noise as it gears up to move to the Patriot League next year.
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Terrier freshman guard Maurice Watson Jr. may be set to defend Loyola’s top scorer, Dylon Cormier, in BU’s first round matchup in the CollegeInsider.com Basketball Tournament.
Sperry, Lefort receive accolades for NCAA Tournament play Women’s hockey: From Page 8
end, she had a goal and an assist en route to BU’s victory. She has earned 14 points in the past seven games. Poulin has already represented Team Canada two times this season, placing second at the Four Nations Cup in November before joining with Kohanchuk and Lefort to earn a gold medal at the Meco Cup in January. Former Terriers Jenn Wakefield and Catherine Ward were also named to the Team Canada roster. Wakefield, who served as captain for BU during the 2011-12 season, tallied 120 career goals. She was also named Most Valuable Player in the 2012
Hockey East Tournament. Ward, a Montreal native, was named the Best Defensemen in the Hockey East Conference during the 2010-11 season. Lefort, Sperry earn Hockey East weekly awards Junior goaltender Kerrin Sperry was named the Defensive Player of the Week in the Hockey East Conference, her second time receiving the honor in as many weeks. This weekend, Sperry made 34 saves against Clarkson, with at least 10 in each period. Sperry has a 3-2 career record in the NCAA tournament, including a 2-0 record in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
This season, she has started 29 games, letting in an average of 2.14 goals per game, with a record of 23-4-3. Sperry was not the only Terrier to receive conference honors this week. Lefort earned her second straight Hockey East Rookie of the Week award and her sixth of the season after a pair of goals in Saturday’s game. Lefort is currently on a six-game point streak, with eight goals and four assists during that span. In addition to sharing the team lead in goals this season, her 43 points is second among all Hockey East freshmen. BU coach Brian Durocher could not be reached for comment.
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Etrasco has recordsetting career game in victory over OSU Lacrosse: From Page 8
anyone that sees the box score is going to see it,” Robertshaw said. “But what I don’t think people saw was the 13 draw controls or the three caused turnovers. That was what changed the game, that she was consistently getting the ball in her stick … and encouraging us to take chances.” Also contributing to the scoring for the Terriers was Mogavero, who added six goals on eight shots. Despite suffering a three-game losing streak, the Terriers were able to pull together and defeat the Buckeyes in a game that might prove to be critical when the time comes to select teams for the NCAA Tournament. “We really stressed taking chances and believing in your teammates,” Robertshaw said. “If someone wants to go out and try to make a play and be aggressive, everyone has to back them up.”
“
Quotable
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They are a very good team. They’ve got great size, good depth up front.
-BU coach Joe Jones on Loyola University-Maryland
Page 8
Driving The Lane
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The Boston University women’s hockey team was down 4-1 in the second period, but came roaring back to win by two. P.8.
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Tuesday, March 9, 2013
Durocher finalist for coach of the year
Bracket Hysteria
Men’s basketball late-season run leads it to CIT By Christopher Dela Rosa Daily Free Press Staff
Poulin, former Terriers named to Canadian National Team Junior co-captain Marie-Philip Poulin was recently named to the Canadian National Women’s Team for the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship. Poulin, a Beauceville, Quebec, native, leads BU this season with career highs in points (51) and assists (34). She only trails her linemates — senior Jenelle Kohanchuk and freshman Sarah Lefort — for the team lead in goals this season. Kohanchuk and Lefort each have 23 goals this season, while Poulin has 17. This week-
If someone looked at the record of this year’s Boston University men’s basketball team after its first five games, odds are he or she would have said, “Better luck next year.” Despite starting the season 0-5, the Terriers (17-12, 11-5 America East) were able to go on a tear, especially during conference play when they won six of their last seven games to earn an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Basketball Tournament. “I definitely saw this in the team’s future,” said BU head coach Joe Jones about the opportunity to play in the postseason. “If you look, we could’ve been 4-1 or 5-0; we played tough teams on the road and just could not finish down the stretch.” To start off the 2012-13 campaign, the Terriers fell in a tight game against Northeastern University at Matthews Arena. With a two-point lead and 10.7 seconds left on the clock, the Terriers simply needed to play stout pressure defense in order to preserve the victory. Unfortunately for the Terriers, guard Demetrius Pollard and the Huskies (20-12) had other plans in mind as a screen set Pollard free with two seconds on the clock, more than enough time to get the winning shot off. The loss foreshadowed the next month of BU basketball. It took 19 more days for the Terriers to earn their first win, a 74-44 rout against Coastal Carolina University. It took another two months for the team to eclipse the .500 mark. Despite their early troubles, the Terriers were able to rally together and run through America East opponents during the second half of the season, especially during the final stretch when they won six of their fi-
Women’s hockey, see page 7
Men’s basketball, see page 7
John Morris
It’s that time of year. That glorious time of year when you get to flex your sports knowledge muscles and pick all sixty seven games of the NCAA college basketball tournament. You lay down that fresh bracket — still warm from the printer — and you begin making your picks. The college names flow from your pen with such feverish fluidity as if you’re Ralphie from A Christmas Story writing his “What I Want for Christmas” essay. Every pick is made with absolute certainty. In your mind, you’re commenting on the great three-point shooting of team A and how team B struggled in non-conference road games. This is going to be the year. Finally, you will prove your superiority over all your friends in your bracket group. Never mind what happened last year. This year you will pick the perfect bracket. Every 12-seed over a 5-seed, every 6-seed that makes it to the Sweet Sixteen, and that one 10-seed that makes it to the Elite Eight: It’s all there. You’re bracket is perfection. Until you begin second-guessing: Why did I pick that 13-seed over that 4-seed? That’s not going to happen. That 4-seed is obviously going to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. That’s what everyone is saying. I’ll lose out on two picks if I make that mistake. Okay, I’ll just make this one change and that will be it. Thus begins the snowball effect, hair-tearing decision-making and uneasy change: Well if I make this one change, then I should probably check the rest of the bracket for other mistakes. Uh oh, I really shouldn’t have two 1-seeds losing in the Sweet Sixteen. What are the odds of that happening? But which one shouldn’t lose? I’m not sure. And why do I have a 2-seed losing in the first round? I know it happened twice last year, but that was definitely just an anomaly. It won’t happen again. Why was I so naïve when I first filled this out? This process continues until your bracket looks like a bowling score card, filled with X’s that mark all of your previous mis-
Morris, see page 7
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
With a 51-point season, Terrier junior co-captain Marie-Philip Poulin was named to the Canadian National Team. By Sarah Kirkpatrick Daily Free Press Staff
Boston University women’s hockey coach Brian Durocher was announced as a finalist Monday for the American Hockey Coaches Association Women’s Division One Coach of the Year. Other nominees include Katie King Crowley of Boston College, Doug Derraugh of Cornell University, Paul Flanagan of Syracuse University, Brad Frost of the undefeated University of Minnesota and Mike Sisti of Mercyhurst University, which BU faces in an NCAA semifinal matchup Friday evening. Derraugh received the award in 2010, when Cornell was national runner-up. Sisti is also a previous winner, winning for the 2004-05 season after his team reached the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Last season, the award went to St. Lawrence University’s Chris Wells. This season, Durocher led the Terriers (27-5-3, 18-2-1 Hockey East) to their second consecutive Hockey East Championship and their third in four seasons. After an NCAA quarterfinal victory against Clarkson University by a score of 5-3 Saturday afternoon, BU will head to its second Frozen Four appearance in three years. Durocher has served as BU’s head coach since the varsity program was established in 2005. He earned his 150th win as a varsity coach earlier this season with a victory over the University of Vermont on Feb. 16. In his eight seasons at the helm, he has compiled a record of 158-92-37. Should Durocher be named
Lacrosse loses 2 games on the road, wins 1 at Nickerson Field By Matt Fils-Aime Daily Free Press Staff
Over spring break, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team suffered two consecutive losses at the No. 8 University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver before returning to Nickerson Field to come away with a victory against No. 15 Ohio State University. In their first road game of the season, the Terriers (2-3) were put through an early test facing Notre Dame (6-0) in South Bend, Ind. BU began the game strong, finishing out the first half on a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead into the locker room. But the Fighting Irish came out in the second half firing on all cylinders, going on a fourgoal run of their own to knot up the score at eight. After exchanging goals, Notre Dame went on a
three-goal run to extend its lead and put pressure on the Terriers, who trailed 14-10 with five minutes remaining. Although a goal from junior attack Nell Burdis brought the Terriers within three goals, the Fighting Irish closed out the game with two goals for a final score of 16-11. Senior attack Danielle Etrasco and senior midfielder Kristen Mogavero led the Terriers in scoring with three goals apiece, while Etrasco added an assist to lead the Terriers. Four days later, the Terriers traveled to Colorado where they faced the University of Denver (7-1) in a tough contest. The Pioneers jumped out to a 3-0 lead that they did not relinquish for the remainder of the game. The Terriers came out of the locker room in the second half
strong, stringing together three straight goals to come within 8-7. Seven different Terriers scored, but they were not able to stop the Pioneer attack and earn the victory. After experiencing a threegame losing streak, the Terriers sought a much-needed victory, returning home to Nickerson Field and hosting Ohio State University (3-3). Until the midway point in the first half, the Terriers exchanged goals with the Buckeyes on several occasions. The game was tied five times in the first half before BU went on a run. Sparked by Etrasco’s fourth goal of the game, on her way to a record-breaking performance, the Terriers took a 6-5 lead and went on to add three more goals to take a 9-5 lead into halftime. After scoring the first two
goals of the second half, the Terriers finished the frame strong, leading the rest of the game on their way to a 16-11 victory. “We wanted to get back to focusing on us and playing the full 60 minutes the way we felt we could by being aggressive on defense and taking some chances on attack,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw. In the win, the Terriers came out aggressively on the attack, led by the play of Etrasco. She finished the game with 12 points on eight goals and four assists, a BU record. The previous mark was nine points, a feat which has been accomplished nine times in school history, with Etrasco achieving the mark most recently last season against Binghamton University. “Danielle had a great game,
Thursday, Mar. 21
Friday, Mar. 22
Saturday, Mar. 23
The Bottom Line
Tuesday, Mar. 19
M. Basketball @ Loyola-Maryland (College Insider Tournament), 7:30 p.m.
AHCA Coach of the Year, he will become the first Hockey East coach to receive the honor.
Wednesday, Mar. 20 W. Lacrosse @ Boston College, 4 p.m.
No Events Scheduled “I’m so sad the United States lost in the World Baseball Classic!” - absolutely nobody, ever.
M. Hockey v. Boston College (Hockey East Semifinal), 8 p.m. W. Hockey v. Mercyhurst (NCAA Semifinal), 9 p.m.
Lacrosse, see page 7
Softball vs. Albany, 1 p.m./3 p.m. W. Lacrosse vs. UMBC, 1 p.m.