4-30-2013

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The Daily Free Press

Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue LIII

MEALS ON WHEELS Brookline to expand food truck presence around town, page 3.

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Tuesday, April 30, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

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ET PHONE HOME NASA attempts to explore alien life on 3 planets, page 5.

www.dailyfreepress.com

COMEBACK

WEATHER

Kohanchuck leads Terriers after injury, page 8.

Today: Partly cloudy, High 67 Tonight: Clear, Low 42 Tomorrow: 64/43 Data Courtesy of weather.com

Victim of Allston fire remembered as personable SG finalizes House

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAINA BAY

College of Arts and Science senior Binland Lee was killed Sunday morning in the fire at 87 Linden St. in Allston. By Chris Lisinski Daily Free Press Staff

College of Arts and Sciences senior Binland Lee was dedicated to enacting change and imbuing love in the world despite its flaws, said her boyfriend Elbert Kim. “Her passion was the greater good,” Kim, a CAS senior, said. “She was in marine science and everyone in that field knows they’re not going to make any money. They’re in it to benefit the world. She wanted to save the ocean, she wanted to fix what humanity had broken. That was her greatest trait, how she could give back to the world.”

Lee, originally from Brooklyn, NY, died Sunday morning in an apartment fire in Allston. She was pursuing a degree in marine science, with a minor in journalism. Despite a lack of confidence in her own humor, Kim said she was always able to make her friends and family laugh. “She was very funny,” he said. “She never thought she was funny … She had a great sense of humor. That’s one of the reasons I started dating her, because she had a great sense of humor and a great personality. She knew how to take a joke and she also knew when to be serious. She stood by what she

believed in and she stood by what was right.” Photojournalism professor Joseph Lippincott, who worked with Lee in both the fall 2012 semester and the spring 2013 semester, said she was happy to take on new challenges. “She was just a great person, easy to work with — extremely so — and she seemed to take an interest in everything that was presented to her,” he said. Lippincott said he was struck by one project in which Lee photographed students inside an igloo they had constructed in the aftermath of Winter Storm Nemo in February, a project where Lee came alive with passion and originality. “It was very well done and a really interesting, different take on the whole storm thing,” he said. In addition to her success in the classroom, Lippincott said Lee was accomplished as an undergraduate researcher at the Center for Nanoscale Systems at Harvard University and as an SAT tutor at home in Brooklyn. This passion translated into a desire to be creative and productive for the good of society, Kim said. “She became so fascinated and always wanted to learn as much as she could about everything,” he said. “… she wanted to make the world that she thought was so great a better place for everyone.” Lee also had an interest in underwater activities such as scuba diving, particularly as she was so connected to the marine sciences

Lee, see page 2

After bombings, hints of more surveillance in Boston By Paola Salazar Daily Free Press Staff

After the Boston Marathon bombings, government officials called for a city-run system of eye-level street surveillance cameras and domestic reconnaissance drones to protect civilians from future terrorist attacks. City Council President Stephen Murphy said he supports the installment of street surveillance technology because they are necessary to prevent further attacks on Boston. “I believe street surveillance cameras have a place in our public safety toolbox,” he said. “As former chair of public safety for the Boston City Council, I am keenly aware of the difficult tasks executed by our city’s law enforcement officials and support measures that help these officials protect the public.” Murphy said street surveillance cameras are one measure that help protect the pub-

lic, and their value was demonstrated when footage from a commercial surveillance camera aided in the identification of the bombing suspects. “The city of Boston currently has about 700 street cameras already in use,” he said. “The mayor’s administration is responsible for deciding whether or not to install additional street surveillance cameras. In the past, Homeland Security has provided the funds for installation of the cameras. I’m not sure if those funds are still available.” The cameras in use are mostly on government buildings, but should be expanded elsewhere in the city, Murphy said. “We need to harden our target here,” Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told the Boston Herald on Wednesday. “We need to make sure terrorists understand that if they’re thinking about coming here, we have certain things in place that would make that not a good idea. Because they could hit any place. They’re going to go for the softest, easiest thing to hit.”

U.S. senatorial candidates Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch went head to head on the issue of security in Massachusetts in the final debate on April 23 before the Democratic primary. Lynch said he would continue to stress the importance of the Join Terrorism Task Force. Markey said he would only vote against security legislation that was not strong enough for the Commonwealth. Hugh Baxter, a law professor at Boston University, said any issues people have about surveillance cameras will deal with privacy rights of individuals. “The objections to programs focus less on defendants’ rights and more on invasions of the privacy of the public at large,” he said. Rick Manning, vice president of public policy and communications at Americans for Limited Government, said individuals right to privacy are often infringed upon

Surveillance, see page 2

of Representatives in final gathering By Rachel Riley Daily Free Press Staff

At their last meeting of the year, members of Boston University Student Government approved a revision of the SG Constitution that adds a House of Representatives consisting of members of on-campus student groups in response to proposals passed by the Senate April 22. “By the creation of this House of Representatives, we’re hoping we can better connect with student groups across campus,” said Aditya Rudra, SG president and School of Management junior. “We wanted to work out some of the logistical governance details, and so we passed those [Constitutional amendments].” The revised edition of the Constitution also makes the Senate Chair, the Speaker of the House, the President of the Overarching Executive Council for Residence Hall Associations and the Chair of the College Government Presidents’ Council a part of the executive board, in addition to existing members. SG elected current Assistant Director of Advocacy Avi Levy to serve as next year’s Senate Chair, Rudra said. “Basically, I want to create more of an experience for senators and students involved with Student Government and who want to present their initiatives to Student Government,” Levy, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said. Levy said he aims to hold orientation for new senators during the 2013–14 academic year and to hold one-on-one meetings with senators to evaluate their performances and ask for feedback. He also said he hopes to meet with outside groups presenting to Senate before they do so. “I want to make Senate more transparent for outside groups and help people to enjoy Senate as much as possible,” he said. “There’s a lot of potential for Senate, and I want us to be able to reach that potential.” SG Executive Vice President Lauren LaVelle said she approves of Levy as next year’s Senate chair. “It will be interesting to see how the position [Senate chair] develops,” LaVelle, an SMG junior, said. “Avi Levy is a great candidate for the position and will work smoothly with the incoming e-board.” SG also approved a letter of support for students of Boston College in light of a recent conflict between BC Students for Sexual Health

SG, see page 2

Mass. House passes $34-billion budget for fiscal year 2014, Senate to vote next By Nora Philbon Daily Free Press Staff

The Mass. House passed the annual budget Wednesday.

GRAPHIC BY MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a $34-billion budget for the 2014 fiscal year Wednesday after three days of extended deliberation. Every House Republican voted against the fiscal budget, but the final vote stood at 127 to 29. The Senate is likely to pass a version of this budget in May of this year, before it goes to Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick’s desk. Brian Dempsey, chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, wrote a letter attached to the budget, outlining the financial details. “This budget is a fiscally responsible proposal that includes a 3.88-percent increase in spending, slightly below the projected consensus revenue number,” he wrote in the letter on Wednesday. While the Republican Party failed to halt passage of the budget, House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, a Republican from North Reading, said the budget was fiscally irresponsible.

“Unfortunately, as adopted, the budget demonstrates the House Democrats’ continued willingness to rely on revenue found in the recently passed transportation finance bill,” he said. “While the taxpayers of Massachusetts have avoided the enormity of Gov. Patrick’s $1.9-billion dollar tax hike, our state’s residents should find no comfort in the $500-million dollar tax increase approved by my colleagues across the aisle.” Rep. John Keenan, of Salem, said this year’s budget is very different from the budget proposed by Patrick in January. “It’s quite different if you look at them together. We had to talk about transportation and the governor proposed a tax in his budget, but we did the transportation stuff separately a couple of weeks ago and then we did this budget,” Keenan, a Democrat, said. “He had raised the income tax and lowered the sales tax, we didn’t do that. We did the gas tax and a few other

Budget, see page 2


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