9-5-2019

SPEAK UP, 2

IT’S A STAND-UP, 6

BILLS, BILLS, BILLS, 9

GOOD LUCK, 10

BU Free Speech committees announce events for student input.

BU student comics are stealing the show at the Flat Waffle Comedy Hour.

How digital banking is changing the way we use cash.

NFL player Andrew Luck faces well wishes and criticism after retiring.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 5, 2019

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

BU begins, continues construction projects

BY NYAH JORDAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Commonwealth Avenue is not unfamiliar to the sounds of construction throughout the school year and this year is no different with Boston University further renovating buildings from Bay State Road to West Campus.

The College of Fine Arts is the latest BU building to receive a top-tobottom reconstruction. The building’s walls facing Comm. Ave. will be replaced with large windows, allowing those who pass by to see into the building.

Assistant Project Manager Chris Elia wrote in an email that BU plans to finish the interior renovation of CFA on Jan. 3 and the exterior on March 24.

The renovations in CFA have forced the sidewalk alongside the building to narrow for the time being, but the construction will allow the building to become more accessible for all of the students. Michael Donovan, the vice president for campus planning and operations, believes that the CFA’s construction will “return it to its original glory.”

“It is really going to come alive again in a way that we haven’t seen for decades,” Donovaid said. “That’s going to activate not only the College of Fine Arts, but it’s going to just kind of activate that area in general which includes 808 Commwealth Avenue with the Howard Thurman Center.”

The CFA building has concrete filling on its outer walls where the building originally had windows.

Donovan said the renovations for CFA will do away with the concrete filling

YEAR XLVII. VOLUME XCVII. ISSUE I

Top fundraisers in city council race

BY JOEL LAU DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

VIVIAN MYRON/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Construction on Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. Renovations on the external facade is set to be completed by March 2020.

and include instead floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the space more light and a view for the students passing by.

The Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground is also undergoing construction with its move to 808 Commonwealth Ave., and the 808 Gallery will now share the space with the HTC. In addition, in every nonresidential building BU will be updating the single-occupant bathrooms to include all-gender bathrooms on all three campuses.

“We converted all 30 of them on all three campuses,” Donovan said.

“They are open to everyone, and from a facilities point of view, that’s been a

very gratifying project for us.”

Tiara Burton, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she thinks BU is doing a great job with including all of their students with the all gender bathrooms and appreciates that they are updating the CFA building.

“I did spend a lot of my first semesters in CFA, a lot of the building is old and needs to be remodeled,” Burton said.

Donovan said he believes that including all gender bathrooms makes the campus feel a lot more welcoming and inclusive.

Bicyclists, motorists, and those using e-scooters are now going to have

improved safety when traveling with new bike lanes. Sidewalks will also be safer for pedestrians because they will be further removed from the road.

David Yang, a freshman in the Questrom School of Business, thinks that construction can be beneficial in improving BU’s campus.

“I think it would be helpful because it’s renewing stuff,” Yang said.

After the initial drilling began in April, the geothermal wells for the future Data Sciences Center will continue to be installed.

Donovan said that construction for the Data Sciences Center is soon to be underway towards the end of this year.

Every odd-numbered year, Boston holds a race that spans the entire city. But unlike April’s famous marathon, this race takes place over many months and ends during early November, when candidates in Boston’s biennial City Council elections compete for residents’ votes.

Of the council’s 13 positions, the race for councillor at-large is by far the most crowded, with 15 candidates fighting to claim one of the four at-large seats.

With Boston only three weeks away from the preliminary municipal election on Sept. 24, no one can know for sure which candidates will come out on top. But by looking at a candidates’ fundraising records, onc can measure the success of a campaign which may help predict the outcome of the election Candidates running for any city and state position are required to file monthly campaign finance disclosures with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The Daily Free Press compiled the fundraising data from all 15 councilor at-large candidates, available to the public through the OCPF’s online database.

All fundraising totals were calculated from Nov. 8, 2017 — the CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Optimism linked to long lifespans EEE spreads in Mass.

BY MIA CATHELL

BY NYAH JORDAN

DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Being optimistic ca n increase o n e ’s lifespan, a ccor d i n g to a st u d y l e d b y a resea rcher from Boston Un i v er s it y pu bl i s he d b y t he Nat ion a l Academy of S ciences on Au g. 2 6 .

L e w i n a L e e , a n a s s i st a nt pr of e s s or a t BU, a nd Av r on Spi ro III, a resea rch professor at BU, a lon g w it h Peter Ja mes, Emily Zevon, Eric K im, C l a u d i a Tr u d e l - F i t z g e r a l d , Fr a nc i ne G r o d stei n a nd L au r a Kubz a n sk y of H a r v a rd Un i v e r s it y f o u nd t h a t o pt i m i sm ca n ex pa nd you r l i fe to t he a g e of 85 or h i g her.

O n e of t h e g o a l s of t h e resea rchers f rom the BU S c ho ol of Me d ic i ne a nd t he H a r v a rd T. H . C h a n S cho ol of P ubl ic Hea lt h wa s to f i nd ne w w a y s to encou r a g e he a lt h ier l i v i n g. L ee, t he lead aut hor on t he st ud y, w r ote i n a n em a i l t h at t he tea m w a s lo ok i n g for

COURTESY OF LEWINA LEE Boston University researcher Lewina Lee found that optimism is linked to longer lifespans.

a cor r el a t ion b et w e e n one ’s l i f e s p a n a n d t h e i r l e v e l of opt i m i sm .

“Most resea rch h a s foc used on p o or hea lt h outcomes , but w e w a nte d to co n s i d e r t h e b enef its of psychologica l assets in promot i n g g o o d he a lt h ,” L e e w r ote . “A s p e o pl e a r e l i v i n g lon g er, t he y a l so tend to enjoy more yea r s of g ood hea lt h a nd l i v i n g w it ho ut d i s a bi l it y, s o

f a c tor s t h at promote lon g e v it y m a y a l s o b e i mp or t a nt for hea lt hy a g i n g.”

T he st udy consisted of t wo groups: women from t he Nu rses’ Hea lt h St ud y a nd m e n f r om t h e Vete r a n s A ffa i rs Nor mative A g i ng St ud y. P r e v iou s st ud ie s h a ve a l ready proved that hav ing mor e p o s it i v it y i n y o u r l i f e c a n d e c r e a s e t he r i s k of g et CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Eastern Equine Encephalitis has resurged in Massachusetts, with four human cases of the rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected mosquitoes, confirmed in Massachusetts this year so far.

In addition to the human cases, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced in a press release a total of seven horses had been infected this year.

Currently, 28 communities throughout central and southern Massachusetts are at critical risk for the EEE virus, with another 37 at high risk and 126 at moderate risk, according to the press release.

As for Boston, Caitlin McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Boston Public Health Commission, wrote in an email that no cases have been reported in the city.

“The Boston Public Health Commission is closely monitoring the risk for EEE in the City. However, at this time, no human or animal cases of EEE have been detected in Boston,” McLaughlin wrote.

Shibani Mukerji, the associate

director of the Massachusetts General Hospital’s neurology department, said all residents are at risk of infection regardless of age group but that children and the elderly suffer the most severe complications once infected.

As disease is mainly spread by mosquitoes, Mukerji said, many animals such as horses and birds are just as vulnerable to the disease as humans.

Residents feeling unwell should seek medical care and should immediately head to an emergency room if they have a fever and are feeling confused, Mukerji said.

Omar Cabrera, manager of Ethnic Media and Community Outreach at DPH, wrote in an email that the symptoms of EEE mimic the flu and that the disease is most deadly if it spreads to the brain.

“The first symptoms of EEE are fever (often 103º to 106ºF), stiff neck, headache, and lack of energy,” Cabrera wrote. “These symptoms show up three to ten days after a bite from an infected mosquito.

Inflammation and swelling of the brain, called encephalitis, is the most dangerous and common serious CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

2 NEWS

BU Free Speech Committees request student input CAMPUS Crime Logs

BY ALEX LASALVIA AND NYAH JORDAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston University Provost Jean Morrison announced Aug. 26 the university’s Free Speech Committees, which were formed in February, will be holding forums for students to provide input on free speech, guest speakers, inclusivity and students’ rights on campus.

The Daily Free Press reported on the original announcement in February when President Brown sent an email to the student body explaining the need for such committees.

“In times in which there are deep divisions in society, the commitment to free expression is tested,” the email stated. “As we observe events both on campuses and in the broader society, I believe it is reasonable to suggest we are in such a time.”

The t wo Free Speech Committees work closely with each other, but according to BU Spokesperson Colin Riley, they have slightly different missions.

“One committee will look at the policy and articulate the university’s commitment to free speech,” Riley wrote. “The other committee will review the implementation and practice of the policy.”

The committees have looked closely at this issue in the months since their formation, according to the Morrison’s Aug. 26 email, and the next step is to student input.

The committees have not yet announced any of their findings.

“The committees have been hard at work over the last few months and are now looking to hear your thoughts,” Riley wrote.

“During September and October, we will host a series of community conversations to hear your perspective on a range of issues, from student and faculty rights and responsibilities to the relationship between free speech and an inclusive campus environment.”

The committees will host five sessions for students, each on a

BY ALEX LASALVIA DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department crime logs between August 30-Sept. 5.

Reported break-in at Bay State dorm Boston Police Department reported a break and entry on Bay State Road around 9 p.m. Sunday.

When police arrived on the scene they found the dorm with its front door ajar and the alarm sounding.

A search of the building came up negative.

Hit-and-run in South Campus

LEXI PLINE/ DFP FILE

A student speaks at a February 2018 rally at Boston University’s Marsh Plaza.

different subject. The forums will focus on “free speech, academic freedom, and an inclusive campus,” “students’ rights and responsibilities,” “invited speakers and third parties,” and “faculty rights and responsibilities.” The first forum will take place Thursday at 3:00 p.m. in Mugar Memorial Library.

Morrison wrote in her announcement that the committees hope to present a statement on free speech and policy recommendations to the University Council and Administrative Council in the early Spring semester. These councils will then review and ratify the statement.

Nancy Santarsiero, president of the BU College Democrats, said she thinks it is good the university is looking into campus free speech, because it is an important, yet complicated, subject.

“If you take away from one, you take it away from all and I think it’s really important that we do have freedom of speech,” Santarsiero said. “It’s important to protect rights, but it’s also import-

ant that at a private university students feel comfortable and safe.”

Santarsiero said the place to draw the line between what speech is appropriate or shouldn’t be allowed has the potential to be subjective, which is where it’s good to have input from students of the university.

“Public opinion is important and students deserve to have their voices to be heard,” Santarsiero said, “so that seems like a good way to deal with it.”

Christiana Danakou, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences from Greece, said that she never saw these actions being taken at her high school back home, and appreciates BU paying more attention to free speech.

“I think it’s an issue that should definitely be spoken of,” Danakou said. “People need to get more informed and listen to other people who may be experts talk about that issue.”

Joseph Lai, a junior in CAS, said he’s worried forums like this will just encourage people with strong opinions to speak up

and misrepresent the majority of students.

“I’m not involved in politics and that kind of stuff so I don’t really have a strong opinion about [speech] on campus,” Lai said.

“The people who are going to speak out are going to be the ones that have like, really, really strong opinions, and that’s not like with any negative or positive connotation, but I feel like you’re not really getting a gauge of the general student body.”

Tiana Catala, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, said she doesn’t see any problem with the state of free speech on campus, but she thinks the fact that BU is looking into it shows they care about making students feel welcome at BU. “The fact that our school cares about whether or not we feel comfortable having free speech shows that are welcomed in our community,” Catala said, “and can encourage other students who may not feel welcome to say what they want to say to speak their mind.”

complication. “ Cabrera wrote that once a human is infected, the disease generally worsens rapidly and patients may fall into a coma within a week.

McLaughlin wrote that the disease is so dangerous that 40 to 50 percent of those infected will die, while 80 percent of those who survive are left with severe neurological consequences of the disease, often with permanent disability.

Mukerji said there is no known cure and modern medicine can only treat symptoms of the disease. One such treatment is intravenous immunoglobulin, which involves taking antibodies from healthy donors and injecting them into those infected with EEE. “Essentially, these antibodies produce sort of a pooled antibody, from a lot of healthy donors given to a person who’s sick,” Mukerji said.

However, Cabrera wrote that Massachusetts residents can take precautionary measures to protect themselves and their loved ones from EEE. These include applying insect

repellent, avoiding outdoor activities during peak biting hours of dusk to dawn, wearing longer clothing to limit skin exposure, sealing off screens on doors and windows and draining standing water in rain gutters, drains, and other standing water where mosquitoes may lay their eggs, Cabrera wrote.

As for animal owners, residents should reduce potential mosquito breeding sites on their property by flushing out buckets, tires, wading pools and water troughs near paddock areas once a week during summer — especially after heavy rains — according to the DPH press release.

To combat the disease-carrying mosquitoes, Cabrera wrote that the state had deployed airplanes to spray the counties of Bristol, Plymouth, Middlesex and Worcester, while other areas have can either request ground spraying from the state or contract with a private company.

As for Boston, McLaughlin wrote that the BPHC sprayed the areas in the neighborhoods of Hyde Park, West Roxbury and East Boston.

Mclaughlin wrote that the BPHC posts information in advance about

Elevator entrapment at Kilachand Hall

Two people got trapped in an elevator in Kilachand Hall on Tuesday around 9:30 p.m. Otis Elevator Company was called and the two were rescued.

Drunken behavior outside Whitestones Multiple callers reported a female outside 722 Commonwealth Ave. angrily screaming and acting erratically on Aug. 29 around 11:45 p.m.

She was escorted to Boston Medical Center.

Basketball injury at FitRec

A man had his teeth knocked out while playing basketball at FitRec on Friday around 5 p.m. He was transported to Boston Children’s Hospital.

CITY

Crime Logs

BY JOEL LAU

Protection from virus EEE, FROM PAGE 1

BPD issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for a vehicle that fled after a car accident at the corner of Arundel St and Beacon St on Tuesday around 6:30 p.m. that resulted in injury.

BUPD searched the area but didn’t find the vehicle.

DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The following reports were taken from the Boston Police Department crime logs from August 28 to September 2.

Missing person on Gordon Street

COURTESY OF PXHERE

Cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, a virus spread through mosquito bites, have been identified in Massachusetts.

each spraying on their website and via social media.

Cabrera wrote that regular outbreaks of EEE occur in Massachusetts every couple years, with the most recent outbreaks happening between 2004 and 2006 and 2010 and 2012. Those two outbreaks resulted in a combined 22 residents being infected.

Karen Palumbo, 55 of Sudbury, said while she was not panicking over EEE, she will still remain wary of the disease.

“Yeah, I feel like it’s been around before,” Palumbo said. “I’m not obsessing over it, but being cautious.”

Anthony Byrn, 42, of Brookline,

said he was not worried and he believes the threat of the disease has been exaggerated in the media.

“I think that some of the news, they like exaggerating to the extent where it’s not something to be taken seriously,” Byrn said.

Robert Gualtieri, 43, who moved from Somerville to Boston, said he isn’t taking precautionary measures against the disease because there have been no cases of EEE in Boston yet.

“I know that they will announce when they find [EEE carrying mosquitoes] in town or in the city,” Gualterie said, “and I’m not aware of them have been found around here.”

Officers responded to a missing persons report at 107 Gordon St. in Allston on Aug. 28. The caller told police they had originally left the individual at home when they went to work at 8:30 a.m., but that the victim was missing when the caller returned at 8:15 p.m. The caller told police that the victim had a history of leaving home and was later located.

Weapons possession at Brighton High School An officer assigned to Brighton High School responded to a weapons possession report Monday after the assistant headmaster found a pink model taser with a police label in a student’s bag during a routine bag search. After an additional pat-frisk body search, no other weapons were found. The model taser is currently being held at the high school and the student will be charged with possession of a dangerous weapon.

NEWS 3

Study led by BU researcher links optimism to longer life

DFP FILE

OPTIMISM, FROM PAGE 1 t i n g a d i s ea s e.

Published in the P r o ce e d i n g s of t he Nat ion a l Academy of Sciences, the st udy was col lected from 6 9 ,74 4 f e m a l e a n d 1 , 4 2 9

m a le pa r t icipa nts . W h i le t he women were on l y st ud ied for ten yea r s , t he men were st ud ied for t h i r t y. T he re s u lts of t he st u d y st i l l pr o v e d to b e t r u e e v en a f ter f a c tor i n g i n hea lth cond itions, depres-

sion , smok i n g , s o ci a l en g a g e ment a nd a lcohol u s a g e.

“Most resea rch h a s foc used on d ef ic its t h at i nc r e a s e t he r i sk s for d i s ea s es or pr em at u r e d e at h , but ou r f i nd i n g s s u g g e st t h at it m a y

b e f r u it f u l f or i nter v ent ion s to t a r g et he a lt h a s s et s , s u c h as opti m ism, a nd not just def icits, to promote publ ic he a lt h ,” L e e w r ote . “ O u r f i nd i n g t h at opt i m ism is a sso c i ate d w it h e xce pt ion a l l on g e v it y, e v e n a f te r a d j u st i n g for de pre s sion , s upp or ts t h i s mess a g e.”

T he res ea rcher s compa red t hei r st u d ie s f r om t he l e a st o pt i m i s t i c g r o u p s , a n d t h e res u lts were 50 to 70 p ercent g reater a f ter reach i n g t he a g e of 85 . “ O pt i m i s m i s a p otent i a l f a c tor t h at cou ld p otent i a l l y m it i g a t e o r a m e l i o r a t e t h e ef f e c t s or bu f f er t he ef f e c t s of st re s s on p o or he a lt h out comes ,” L ee s a id .

A lt hou g h res ea rcher s t y p ic a l l y ba s e “e xce pt ion a l long e v it y ” on biolog ica l f a c tor s , L ee a nd her tea m demonst r ated how p osit i ve ps y c ho l o g i c a l f a c to r s a r e a m a j o r component of ra isi ng the l i kel i ho od of a lon g l i fespa n . “ C or r el at ion d o e sn’t ne c ess a r i l y mea n cau s at ion ,” L ee s a id . “ S o I wou ld s a y t h at a s we’re i nter pret i n g t hese f i nd i n g s , it d o e s n’t n e c e s s a r i l y mea n t h at i f I m a ke you more opt i m i st ic, t hen you w i l l l i ve lon g er. It do es k i nd of l a y t he fou nd at ion .”

No w, L e e i s m o v i n g o n to her ne x t st ud y a nd s he i s r e c r u it i n g s u r f a c e r e s e a r c h a s si st a nt s i n her l a b to hel p res ea rch how opt i m i sm i n f lu ences dea l i ng w ith da i ly st ress or s .

H a r mel a A nteneh , a f reshm a n i n t h e C ol l e g e of A r t s a nd S ciences , s a id she t h i n k s t he st ud y on opt i m ism is help f u l b e cau s e she b el ie ve s t h at p o s it i v it y c a n h el p i s e v e r y a sp ec t of you r l i fe, esp eci a l l y w hen concer n i n g i l l ness es .

“I t h i n k t he oldest p eople t h at I k no w a r e pr et t y p o si t i ve about l i fe,” A nteneh sa id .

Ya n e K i m , a f r e s h m a n i n t h e C o l l e g e of A r t s a nd Sciences, sa id she bel ieves opt i m i sm i n one’s l i fe i s ver y i mp or t a nt.

“I t h i n k t h at menta l hea lt h a f f e c t s y o u r ph y s ic a l he a lt h a l s o,” K i m s a id . “M a y b e it ’s g oi n g to help you l i ve lon g er.”

D a v id Tof u , a f i r s t y e a r g raduate st udent, sa id he t h i n k s BU h e l pi n g pr o d u ce t h i s st ud y i s a p osit i ve w a y to promote g o od ment a l hea lt h . “ I t h i n k t h e m i n d s e t of p e o p l e i s v e r y i m p o r t a nt ,” Tof u s a id . “ [W h a t i s] m or e i m p o r t a nt i s w h a t ’s o n t h e i n side, not necess a r i l y on t he outside.”

Fundraising data gives insight into campaign momentum CAMPAIGN, FROM PAGE 1 day after that year’s City Council election — to Sept. 3, 2019, and are rounded down to the nearest dollar.

In total, at-large candidates raised a combined total of $1,515,102 since 2017’s city council elections.

This year, funds were concentrated around the top few fundraisers, with the top two candidates together raising over $800,000, more than the other 13 candidates combined.

Incumbent Councilor At-Large Michael Flaherty was the top fundraiser with a total of $431,484 raised, of which $413,348 came from individual donors. Flaherty, who was first elected to the city council in 1999 before beginning his current term in 2014, also raised $16,100 dollars from union and business associated PACs this year.

Councilor At-Large Michelle Wu had the second most contributions, raising $413,227, followed by Councilor At-Large Anissa Essaibi George who raised $210,421.

Adam Webster, campaign director for Essaibi George, said while the counselor had raised significantly less money than her incumbent colleagues, it was important to note that the vast majority, just over 80 percent, of her donors came from within the City of Boston and that almost 40 percent of her donations were under $100.

“I think it really speaks to the fact that she has a really strong amount of grassroots support that reaches into every neighborhood in Boston,” Webster said. “That’s something that’s really exciting.”

JOEL LAU VIA DATAWRAPPER.DE/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Webster said Essaibi George’s fundraising strategy focused on meeting individual voters within the city of Boston through neighborhood fundraisers and community events and that grassroots support is what ultimately wins elections.

The fourth councilor at-large incumbent, Althea Garrison, is running for reelection this year.

However, she registered a total of $261 in contributions since last year’s election.

Non-incumbent challenger Alejandra St. Guillen, who previously served as director of Boston

Mayor Martin Walsh’s Office of Immigrant Advancement, raised the fourth most money, coming in with a fundraising total of $110,493.

Jessica Bahena, campaign manager for St. Guillen, said while St. Guillen did not have the same advantage as the other well-connected veteran politicians, her campaign has had success building a grassroots level network throughout the city. “[St. Guillen] doesn’t have an amplified network of donors, as other candidates, but what has been helping us is that she has a lot of loyal grassroots donors,” Bahena

said, “and those donors have been able to reach out to their network to host meet and greets, grassroots dollar events.”

The next few challengers in terms of total contributions include Jeffrey Ross with $90,151 raised, Julia Mejia with $88,190 and David Halbert with $65,542.

However, the majority Jeffrey Ross’s contributions — $75,000 — was loaned to the campaign from Ross himself, with only $12,031 coming from individual donors.

The publicly available fundraising data may also give insight on the neighborhoods and professions that

form a candidate’s voter base.

Of Flaherty’s fundraising totals, the largest amount of money, $134,423, came from donors who listed themselves as residents of Boston as a whole, while another $24,225 came specifically from South Boston residents. As for his supporters’ occupations, donors in real estate and business owners formed the top two groups bringing in $41,325 and $36,150 respectively.

Wu received the most money from donors registered as residents of Boston, $184,718, with her second highest group of donors coming from Cambridge, who brought in

4 NEWS

Donor data provides window into candidates’ voter base CAMPAIGN, FROM PAGE 3 $17,989. She also received significant support from attorneys — $40,105 — and those who listed themselves as “not employed” who donated $34,759.

The largest amount of contributions to Essaibi George’s campaign—$45,941, came from donors from Dorchester, while business owners were the profession that donated the most money, bringing in $19,455.

Webster f rom Essa ibi George’s campaign said the counselor had such strong support from Dorchester because Essaibi George had grown up, served as a civic association leader and is currently raising her family in the neighborhood. “[Essaibi George] is deeply, you know, deeply connected to the community,” Webster said.

“And I think folks appreciate the work that she’s been able to do, both on the city council and in, in her prior role.”

Webster said Essaibi George also enjoyed large support from business owners because the donors recognized that the councilor understood their experiences. “[The counselor] understands the challenges of running a small business and has really worked hard to ensure that Boston has thriving local business districts,” Webster said. “And that’s something that makes her unique.”

St. Guillen received the most donations from residents registered to Boston, $38,999, followed by residents in Cambridge who brought in $11,030.

Bahena, St. Guillen’s campaign manager, said the candidate’s support in Cambridge came from relationships she built with other communities through her time as director of the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement.

“Because of the work that she’s been doing,” Bahena said, “people who decided to donate to her campaign, whether they live on in Boston or not, feel that she is one of the strongest candidates running for Boston city councilor at large.”

Editor’s Note: This article is part one of a story that will analyze the fundraising statistics of candidates in the upcoming Boston City Council preliminary elections—part two will focus on the district councilor elections—and is the first entry in a larger series set to explore multiple different angles of the 2019 City Council race.

Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty joins a parade in 2009. Ahead of the September primary elections, Flaherty leads the crop of candidates in fundraising contributions.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

JOEL LAU VIA DATAWRAPPER.DE/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

CAMPUS CALENDAR THURSDAY, SEPT. 5

FRIDAY, SEPT. 6

SATURDAY, SEPT. 7

SUNDAY, SEPT. 8

MONDAY, SEPT. 9

BU Farmers Market

COM Ice Cream Social

SPLASH

Marsh Chapel Coffee Hour

Book Club

GSU Plaza 11 a.m.

Hosted by Boston University

COM Lawn 2 p.m.

Hosted by COM Undergraduate Affairs

Nickerson Field 12 p.m.

Hosted by BU Student Activities

Marsh Chapel 12 p.m.

Hosted by Marsh Chapel

Howard Thurman Center 5:30 p.m.

Hosted by Howard Thurman Center

FEATURES 5

BUSINESS

Terriers in Biz: New app will change how study groups are formed

BY MICHELLE BRANDABUR DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Walking into a large lecture hall with hundreds of students on the first day of classes can be overwhelming and can fill anyone with uncertainty. While some students develop quick academic friendships in the first week, others struggle in finding a reliable study group can feel like an impossible task.

This year, three Boston University students are looking to change that with their new app CoStudy.

The app, which is currently in development, is designed to help college students connect with their classmates and review course material outside of class.

CoStudy is being spearheaded

by College of Engineering sophomore Brock Nelson, ENG senior Saumya Chugh and Henry Kaufman, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.

In April, the trio competed at Adobe Creative Jam at BU, an event series hosted by Adobe Creative Cloud. Creative Jam connects local leaders in the technology field with engineering and computer science students to share an inside view of their processes and projects — meanwhile, teams compete in a tournament that puts their creative skills to the test using Adobe Creative Cloud, according

to the event website.

The objective of the tech event was for students to create and design an app that would benefit the BU community. For Nelson, Kaufman and Chugh, that meant focusing on improving the accessibility and social nature of study groups.

“We were given the challenge to create a design for an app that would allow for diversity and inclusion,” Chugh said. “When I heard this, my first thought was an app that allowed anyone to find other students to collaborate and study with.”

The group was awarded second place for their design in the competition, which encouraged the trio to begin working on development.

When asked, Gabriella Rose, a CAS sophomore studying quantitative economics, said she has experienced difficulty finding suitable study groups in the past and thinks CoStudy would be beneficial.

“I definitely think it would be useful, especially if you have a big class,” Rose said. “Last year I was in a lecture of 300 people. I had my friends, but if I would have known other people that would have wanted to study with us and add helpful information to our study sessions that would have been nice too.”

Rose said she tried to find a study group during the spring

ALI AUDET/ DFP FILE

Students studying for spring finals in Boston University’s Mugar Memorial Library. Three BU students are developing an app, CoStudy, to help students find reliable study groups.

last yea r i n one of her cl a ss es , but s he s a id it d id not s e em l i ke a nyone w a s i nterested i n joi n i n g. “ It i s a l i t t l e a w k w a r d g oi n g up to someone you don’t k now a nd a sk i n g i f t he y w a nt to b e i n a st ud y g roup,” Ros e s a id . “ Wit h t h i s a p p, i f y ou a l ready k now that they a re i nter e ste d i n t he f i r st pl a ce it wou ld h a ve m ade it ea sier.”

Fo r N e l s o n , e v e r y t h i n g a b out app bu i ld i n g a nd de velopment i s ne w for h i m .

“I have been hav i ng to

tea ch my s el f lots of leg a l a nd b u s i n e s s to p i c s , e v e r y t h i n g f rom i ntel lec t u a l prop er t y to t r a d e m a r k s to p a te nt , m a ki n g t he compa ny, st r uc t u r i n g t he compa ny, com mu n icat i n g w it h p e o p l e ,” Ne l s o n s a i d . “ Ev e r y t h i n g h a s b e e n s e l f t au g ht s o f a r.”

C hu g h , howe ver, h a s ex p e r ie n ce i n a p p d e s i g n i n g . I n add it ion to helpi n g desi g n a nd bu i ld C o St ud y, she h a s pre v iou sl y prog r a med web desi g n s a nd j u st completed a s u m mer i nter n s h ip at I BM a s a f r ont

of 100’s ces i o h C New

COMING MONDAY

Where: Agganis Arena-Main Lobby When: Monday September 9 thru Friday September 13 Time: 10 A.M. - 7 P.M. Sponsor: Barnes and Noble at Boston University

end sof t w a re de veloper. Wit h these sk i l ls, Chug h ga ined i n si g ht i nto t he i n ner w orki n g s of creat i n g a n a pp.

A lt hou g h t here i s no of f ic i a l r e l e a s e d a te a s of y e t , CoSt udy w i l l launch in the fa l l of 2020. T he g roup is hop i n g to pi lot t he a pp i n a f e w depa r t ments i n t he C ol leg e of A r ts a nd S ciences t h i s spr i n g t o g a i n f e e d b a c k f r o m BU st udents b efore ex pa nd i n g to ot her col leg e ca mpu s es i n t he B oston a rea .

6 FEATURES

COMMUNITY

BU student comedians hone their craft at the Flat Waffle

BY HANNAH SHEARER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Welcome to Flat Waffle Comedy Hour at Boston University Central, the Stand-up Club’s comedy showcase where student comics come to perform, bomb and craft material in pursuit of their never-ending quest to make people laugh. Every other Tuesday night, students wait to go out on stage for what could be the most vulnerable moments of their college lives.

Danya Trommer, a senior in the College of Communication, is the co-president of the Standup Club on campus alongside her Flat Waffle cohost Alex Kimura, a junior in the Questrom School of Business. Trommer started performing in high school, doing a few shows for her school and a few shows at dive bars in Philadelphia — all of which were filled with “pity laughs,” she said. Then, she came to Boston. “[High School] shows were for 200 people,” Trommer said, “so it was super supportive and then in college they were for like 15 people, so it was nerve-wracking.”

Despite her initial nerves, Trommer stuck with it and became the co-president of the Standup Club and co-host of the show the following year.

As she continued working on material, Trommer started doing shows off campus where she faced her initial jitters again performing around Boston’s bar scene.

“Going to bar shows in Boston is terrifying,” Trommer said, “because you go from this very warm and supportive environment of Flat Waffle to that. But they’re important and everyone should

go to them. Flat Waffle shows are a way to build confidence, real shows are a way to get better.”

Trommer and Kimura want Flat Waffle to be an accepting environment to encourage people to come and try their hand at stand-up — and to return even if they fail.

“It’s a bunch of people who just have ideas, who want to formulate them into a routine,” said comic Connie Chung, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “And this is a really good place to start out.”

Chung, who made it into BU’s Funniest, an annual competition which seeks to crown BU’s funniest student, and landed her first gig in April, said she found her time at Flat Waffle valuable.

“It was an adjustment period for figuring out what worked at Flat Waffle,” Chung said. “It is mainly just your friends who will just laugh at what you’re saying, versus performing in Boston, where no one knows who you are.”

However, while some swear by Flat Waffle as the best place to start out

as an ameteur comedian, Jeremiah Broderick, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the 2019 winner of BU’s Funniest, said his experience was the opposite.

“Doing a bunch of shows in the city has made me confident enough to do well at shows on campus,” Broderick said. “Just because of the amount of opportunities for stage time there are outside of BU and how many different types of audiences I’m able to perform in front of.”

Since the scene is so varied, Broderick said doing stand-up at shows off-campus in Boston helps keep him busy.

“In Boston I can get up two to three times a night at some bar in front of 10 people who didn’t want to see a comedy show,” Broderick said. “People I meet seem to either think that being young and doing stand-up means that you’re going to be famous or they really don’t like you.”

Broderick is often running around the city performing, including hosting a monthly show at Improv Boston called

SOFIA KOYAMA/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Danya Trommer (COM ‘21) is the co-president of the BU Stand-up Club, an organization open to lovers of comedy and practicing comedians alike.

the “Clean Comedy Showcase.”

As for the future of Flat Waffle and the Stand-up Club, Trommer said she wants to have more workshopping and writing material classes in addition to the games and practices it hosts now.

“Flat Waffle shows are a way to build confidence,” Trommer said. “Real shows are a way to get better.”

Stand-up Club is held Wednesday’s at 7 p.m. and Flat Waffle is held every other Tuesday at 9 p.m.. Both are held at BU Central.

SOFIA KOYAMA/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Connie Chung (CAS ‘20), left, Alex Kimura (QST ‘20), center and Trommer are all comics on the Stand-up Club executive board. Kimura, co-president, also hosts Flat Waffle Comedy Hour alongside Trommer.

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FEATURES 7

ARTS

Boston Arts Festival to bring culture to the waterfront

BY JENNIFER SURYADAJA DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

As the air gets colder and the wind blows stronger in the city, soon you’ll be able to take some time to walk a few steps from Faneuil Hall towards the waterfront and immerse yourself in intriguing conversations about art while listening to live music.

This upcoming weekend the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park will once again serve as the center of Boston’s art scene as local artists and musicians bring all of their talents to one place for the annual Boston Arts Festival.

Business partners and spouses Jen Matson and Peter Taibi have been privately managing and running the festival since 2016.

The festival was originally part of an initiative to kick-start an open studios event throughout the fall after the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park renovation in 2003 under Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s care. Matson and Taibi, who are festival organizers by trade, took over the festival in order to keep it running.

“We didn’t want the city to lose [the festival],” Matson said. “It’s a lot of work and we put a lot of effort into having it run and having it be successful.”

Matson and Taibi have continued to hold the event at the same park overlooking the waterfront for the past three years.

The festival’s website currently has 37 artists and 13 musicians slated to

The Boston Arts Festival, an event that highlights the city’s community of visual and performing artists, will take place at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park this weekend.

attend this year, but Matson said this does not reflect final lineup, which will welcome over 50 artists.

Melrose cross-culture folk artist Caroline Sainis, a returning artist at the festival, said she joined last year because being a part of the festival was on her bucket list.

“As I was looking to branch out a little bit,” Sainis said, “I thought, what better thing to do than standing in the middle of Boston and showing my art to thousands of people from so many different walks of life and different

places in the nation?”

Sainis said she plans to bring some of her larger paintings to the festival, one of them inspired by the neighborhood Beacon Hill and the other a rendition of the sun and water, with the plan to “get big.” She takes inspiration from North and South America, as well as her travels while avoiding politics.

“I’m not just developing something out of a marketing technique,” said Sainis. “It’s definitely emerging from my family and my heart, and good to know it makes people happy.”

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Abstract artist Connor Wright wrote in an email that he will not select any particular artworks to bring to the festival, but attendees can anticipate his latest drawings as well as his older works. Debuting his work at the festival, Wright uses pen and parchment paper as his main medium, often drawing surreal, colorful animals.

“I love it when people come through the tent and take time to look at artwork that they wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to,” Wright wrote in an email. “I love to see all of the reac-

tions, good and bad.”

The festival will feature mostly hand-made and original fine arts from local talent, Matson said.

“It’s one of the only shows of the year that focuses on original fine arts, so these are going to be things that are made by the artists,” Matson said.

“Everything is one-of-a-kind.”

This year marks contemporary jeweler Nancy Marland’s first time showcasing her work at the Boston Arts Festival, although she has been making “evocative” elemental-inspired jewelry for the past four years. Having been in other juried art shows in the past, Marland said she felt the process of applying to be a part of the festival was smooth after having pieces of art at hand to impress other judges.

“It’s almost like plug and play at that point,” said Marland.

Matson said she and Taibi have been hard at work on preparing and organizing the festival throughout the year. Applications for artists and musicians started in January. Each year, Matson, Taibi and another professional musician Michael Alan Scrima make up three out of five members of the application panel. The other two members rotate annually. “[Festival goers] can expect [to see] talented local artists and talented musicians, and [to have]...a fun weekend of looking at great art and listen to great music and hang out, rain or shine,” Maston said.

SCIENCE

Innovate@BU offers students a chance to venture into team startups

BY SARAH READDEAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Walk into the BUild Lab, located in the heart of Boston University’s East Campus, and you will enter a space where conversations and creative ideas fill the room behind the glass walls.

The BUild Lab IDG Capital Student Innovation Center, which opened in February 2018, houses the Innovate@BU initiative which prepares BU students to be “drivers of innovation” in their communities, according to the mission statement.

Sydney Gullet, a College of Arts and Sciences senior and member of the Innovate@BU Student Leadership Council described it as, “a space for everyone … There’s a great sense of community, especially within the BUild Lab itself.”

Gullet, who is studying technology and data policy, spent the past summer working on a venture during the Innovate@BU Summer Accelerator. The Accelerator is a 10-week intensive program in which at least one team member actively works on the idea full time.

The venture Gullet worked on is called Juriscape, a compliance platform that assesses financial and operational risk for political campaigns, she said.

Jenna Crawford, a Social Innovation Program Intern and School of Theology Postgraduate, said that there are a variety of other programs and skill-building workshops offered by the Innovate@BU initiative.

These programs aim, “to equip students with innovation and entrepreneurship skills and training,” she said.

Teams can develop and self-direct ventures at their own pace through the Innovation Pathway program with guidance from faculty from various backgrounds. According to Crawford the four different stages of Innovation Pathway —get inspired, walk, run and fly— allow for opportunities to unlock funding to further develop a venture.

This year, Crawford said, the Innovation Pathway Project is providing additional opportunities for projects that previously would not qualify for funding to be able to receive funding.

A project is an action-oriented idea that will create a positive impact such as a campaign or event, whereas a venture is a scalable business model, such as a nonprofit or tech idea.

Gullet said some students utilize skills directly from their major toward their venture while others, “use this space and initiative to work on something [else] they’re passionate about.”

If a student is interested in becoming a part of the BUild Lab community, but has yet to conjure up an idea, Idea Open-mic Nights are hosted in the space to allow for ideas to flow between peers. Students can also join teams that have already formed.

Orientation Ambassador and

A speaker at Innovate@BU’s Idea Nights takes the stage in the BUild Lab. These monthly open-mic events aim to generate constructive feedback for a range of students’ ideas.

First-Year Innovation Fellowship Coordinator Hailey HartThompson, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences was originally involved in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program before seeking out involvement in Innovate@BU. “[Idea Night] is a great place for new people to find what they are passionate about and learn from other innovators in the community,” said This year, Hart-Thompson will run the First Year Innovation Fellowship, a new program that Crawford said will help maximize a

student’s potential for four years in the space. Hart-Thompson hopes to be able to support others’ learning and growth.

First year transfer students and freshmen should join the fellowship, Gullet said, as a way to become involved on campus and explore a passion.

T he In novation & Entrepreneurship Minor was launched this fall through Innovate@ BU and it provides the opportunity for ideas to be developed into social or economic impact.

Melissa Sun, a sophomore in the

COURTESY OF AHLEA ISABELLA

Questrom School of Business, is a new member of the Innovate@BU Student Leadership Council.

By participating in the Innovate@ BU initiative, students “can meet intelligent, creative people” and “can learn about issues on campus and in the world and see firsthand how people are trying to solve them,” Sun said.

“The staff truly believe in the success of students,” Hart-Thompson said, and so “the students start to believe in themselves.”

8 OPINION

EDITORIAL

Rank-choice voting is essential to promoting democracy The Attorney General’s office approved a petition on Wednesday to introduce a new law implementing rank-choice voting in Massachusetts state elections.

Rank-choice gives voters the option to not only choose their favorite candidate in a race, but also rank the remaining candidates in order of preference on the ballot.

If no candidate reaches a 50 percent majority, the candidate with the least amount of first-place votes is removed and those votes are distributed based on their voters’ second choices, until someone reaches a 50 percent majority.

Seven states currently allow rank-choice voting systems in municipal elections, and in 2018, Maine was the first state to hold elections for their U.S. Senators and Representatives under the policy.

After the initial results in Maine’s 2nd district, the incumbent Bruce Poliquin had a greater plurality than Jared Golden, his challenger, by .02 percent. Once third party votes were redistributed, Golden defeated Poliquin by more than 1 percent of votes.

The system relieves voters of the pressure they often feel to vote for who they think will win or who they think will beat a candidate they don’t like, as opposed to the candidate whose platforms they most agree with. If their first choice loses, their vote does not get lost in the wind.

When citizens walk into polling stations, many know nothing about the candidates they’re choosing from other than party, and — following bipartisanship’s most dangerous habit — vote for every candidate depending on if there’s a ‘D’ or ‘R’ attached to their name.

If voters find two candidates to be similar and like both of them, instead of being forced to choose one and leave the other behind, they can prioritize both on the ballot.

If applied to presidential races — especially primaries — people would be able to, for example, choose both Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who are seen as ideologically

voting provides to voters, candidates experience additional advantages in the system as well. Not only are they looking to be voters’ first choice, but also their second or third.

Rather than promote the classic platforms of the party affiliation they are running with, they may find it more accessible

PHOTO COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

similar and thus likely to split votes in May. The sense that your vote has power beyond a black-and-white choice between one candidate or another is likely to encourage voter participation in a system that makes many citizens feel unheard and therefore view voting as a waste of time and effort.

In addition to the benefits rank-choice

CROSSWORD

(and electable) to promote more intricate policies and ideas. This leaves more room to explain how they, as an individual, would act in office and not how closely they align with a party.

In states where one party is almost guaranteed election, not unlike the left-leaning Massachusetts, rank-choice promotes

thought diversity in a rigid partisan system.

Giving politicians an incentive to attract moderate votes is a step in the right direction.

Politics has become more about undoing an opponent than developing new policy that, when allowed to run its course, can be revised and built upon. The hope is if a city, state or country can elect a succession of politicians with this goal, society will in turn improve as a whole.

Municipal and state elections are a good place to start, as they let many that may be wary about rank-choice see its effects on a smaller scale. The results made more voices heard in Maine, where an incumbent would have won a seat he did potentially did not deserve before the system took place.

For now, the petition to allow rank-choice voting in Massachusetts is just that — a petition. Supporters of the policy are now tasked with collecting 80,000 voter signatures, the benchmark for legislative action.

If lawmakers decide not to address the question — and by doing so, ignore their responsibility to democracy — more signatures could force a 2020 ballot question.

Massachusetts, as a blue state that would likely lose some ground to Republican candidates should this rank-choice voting be implemented in the state, will be setting an example of inclusivity if it chooses to move ahead with rank-choice voting.

Promoting democracy means allowing the voices of those from the left, the right and especially those in-between the chance to be heard through protest and outcry, but also through the most fundamental vocalization every citizen is granted — their vote.

This week’s crossword puzzle is brought to you by Courtney Megliola COURTESY OF MIRROREYES.COM / CROSSWORD ANSWERS AVAILABLE ON https://dfpress.co/2kiWzc9

DOWN

ACROSS 1. Happy 5. Greek letter 10. Tablet 14. Gray wolf 15. Coach 16. Largest continent 17. Finally 19. Male turkeys 20. Wager 21. In base 8 22. Explosive devices 23. Gist 25. Creepy 27. In the past 28. Kin 31. Smelter waste 34. Numbskull 35. Regret 36. Awestruck 37. An unidentified aircraft 38. Arizona river 39. Eastern

Haley Lerner, Editor-in-Chief

Standard Time 40. Chocolateflavored coffee 41. Harness racer 42. Lose visibility in heavy snow 44. Louisville Slugger 45. Abyss 46. Throw away 50. Scottish for “Child” 52. Our planet 54. Spy agency 55. Wings 56. It’s made from antiparticles 58. Focusing glass 59. Leaf opening 60. Diminish 61. Netting 62. Type of poplar tree 63. Probabilities

1. Parish land 2. Adores 3. Assists 4. Put clothing on 5. Plaster 6. Angry 7. Big party 8. Periods of 1000 years 9. One or more 10. Jargon 11.

Three-dimensional 12. Arm or leg 13. Young girl 18. Forceps 22. Broth (Scottish) 24. Where the sun rises 26. Behold, in old Rome 28. A quantity of no importance (archaic) 29. Govern

30. 365 days 31. Sketched 32. Impetuous 33. They make eyeglasses 34. Records 37. Razzes 38. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 40. Average 41. Ottoman title 43. Flail 44. Caped Crusader 46. Illegal activity 47. Group of eight 48. Villain 49. Fees for buses 50. Emollient 51. Away from the wind 53. At the peak of 56. An Old Testament king 57. Pair

Audrey Martin, Managing Editor

t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r at b o s t o n u n i v e r s i t y

47th year | Volume 96 | Issue 1

Alex LaSalvia, Campus Editor

Shubhankar Arun, Sports Editor

Maya Mabern, Layout Editor

The Daily Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is printed Thursdays during the academic year except during vacation and exam periods by Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc., a nonprofit corporation operated by Boston University students. No content can be reproduced without the permission of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2018 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights

Joel Lau, City Editor

Victoria Bond, Editorial Page Editor

Olivia Ritter, Blog Editor

Nathan Lederman, Features Editor

Sofia Koyama, Photo Editor

Kami Rieck, Multimedia Editor

OPINION 9

COLUMNS AMERICAN PROTEST:

PEOPLE WATCHING:

Methane curbs will fuel storms The future of cold, hard cash

BY MEREDITH VARNER

T

COLUMNIST

he Trump administration has made its stance on the environment and the effects of climate change clear — they plan to ignore it completely. In his less than three years in the White House, President Donald Trump has rolled back nearly 50 regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, with even more on the way.

In the most recent set of rollback proposals announced last Thursday, the Trump administration is attempting to cut back on methane emission regulations currently in place for oil and gas companies. The proposal would eliminate the federal requirement, first implemented in 2016, that companies install technology to seek out and fix methane leaks when they occur, according to The New York Times.

Furthermore, it calls into question the EPA’s authority to regulate methane as a pollutant contributing to climate change.

Methane’s high global warming potential, a measure of how much energy a gas’ emissions absorb, is 21 times that of carbon dioxide, ranking it amongst the most dangerous of the greenhouse gases, according to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Without regulation, the use of natural gas and unregulated methane leaks as a by-product will only cause detrimental damage to an already endangered and fragile ecosystem.

The point of this regulation is to improve economic growth in American businesses while relying less on energy imports by allowing American companies more leeway in their decisions to keep

methane emissions at bay. But the negatives of further polluting the planet far outweigh the benefits of letting businesses have more freedom from government regulation.

These regulations are important for keeping our air and water clean and these resources ultimately matter more for human survival than a thriving industrial economy. If climate change continues to worsen, the economy will suffer greater consequences such as environmental refugees from our own sinking coastlines.

Hurricane Dorian laid wreckage to the Bahamas last week and while hurricanes are a normal occurrence, the strength and movement of the storm demonstrate how increasingly warming waters can have fatal impacts.

Research on past hurricanes similar in destruction to Dorian, such as Harvey in Texas, shows that warming waters cause hurricanes to stall over certain areas, thus causing more destruction than if they had passed by. This is exactly what happened in the Bahamas and it will likely happen again.

Jennifer Francis, a scientist with the Woods Hole Research Center, said, “This is yet another example of the kind of slow-moving tropical systems that we expect to see more often as a response to climate change.”

It is urgent that America catches up with the many other countries and make climate change a top priority in politics.

The question can no longer be, “Does climate change exists?” but instead “How do we stop it before it is too late?”

The first step is to elect a president who is fighting for the future sustainability of our Earth rather than short-term economic boosts. The U.S. must also completely divest from non-renewable energy sources and start investing in wind, sunlight and water as our most valuable resources.

As storms continue intensif y and oceans continue to rise, it is not long before we begin to see entire cities being displaced. If we continue to let energy industries leak pollutants into the air and water, mass species extinctions might not be too far in the future.

We have very little time left to make the right choice. Priority should be human life and the continued thriving of our ecosystem instead of our economy, which is irrelevant without a habitable planet.

BY CAROLINE FLOAM

I

COLUMNIST

spent a large portion of my summer in the Apple Store trying to repair several of my devices that took hard hits during the school year. Last week, on one of my seemingly weekly visits, I saw a sign introducing the Apple Card.

The poster in the store boasted that the card “rethinks everything about the credit card” and “lives on your iPhone.” It was only a matter of time that, along with an ever-increasing number of everyday items, credit cards would be taken out of our hands and transformed into pixels and code.

This isn’t all bad. Digital credit cards keep all of your information in one place, are more secure (or so Apple claims) and allow for consumer questions to be answered immediately over text.

But there is nothing quite like cold, hard cash. In my experience, having American legal tender in your palm — especially money you worked hard to earn — is a feeling a digital deposit in a mobile banking app cannot not compare to.

These apps, whether we like it or not, are the future of banking and have begun running cash out of our hands and wallets.

When the options are making a stop at an ATM, which is often out of the way, and slipping a credit card out of your wallet, time has proven the masses choose the latter.

This raises an important question: will generations to come truly know the value of a dollar?

My answer is no. I’m not talking about its value in the market or as it compares to other currencies, but its power as something you earn, hold and see.

Humans have difficulty believing without seeing and the recent trend of monetary transmutation will have the same effect on future generations. These people won’t be able to appreciate the value of a dollar they can’t see or hold.

Past generations have built pride and a sense of purpose upon the notion of working hard to earn your own money. Direct deposit is good for a quick payday, but something about cash — even paychecks — adds to that triumph.

Digital money, often indicated merely by little green plus signs, up arrows or simply a number in a box, doesn’t have the same perceived importance as cash — i.e., it’s much easier to spend. Physical tender, even when put to good use, is more difficult to part with because you are losing something with a definite stored value.

This phenomena is already consuming my peers and the entirety of Generation Z, which includes all those born after 1997.

Take my younger sister, for example, who was born in 2005. We were at the mall and she dropped $34 dollars on a basic shirt.

When I asked her why, she replied, “I needed to buy something today.” Ouch.

“I feel like Venmo money is fake,” one friend told me after paying me back for dinner a couple months ago. Her sentiment didn’t surprise me, as I’ve often felt the same way. Venmo looks likes a Twitter feed, and transactions can be labeled with emojis, inside jokes or the app’s custom icons, making them feel frivolous and unimportant.

Mobile banking seems like a much more convenient and efficient system to have in place than an exchange of physical currency — that is, until the spending gets out of hand. When we view money as fluid, instead of something tangible and concrete, our spending power increases by way of sheer convenience.

Not only is fiscal irresponsibility a problem at the individual level, but it has adverse effects on the economy as a whole.

The credit industry can run dry, debt can climb, principles may never get paid and market bubbles could form.

Let’s do future generations a favor and slap a couple bucks in their hands. Let’s not ourselves perceive money as fake or fungible. We are already witnessing the steep decline of physical tender and the future generation must know its value.

CARTOON BY RACHEL CALLAHAN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

INTERROBANG

“It: Chapter Two” premieres Friday and follows the Losers’ Club return home 27 years after their first encounter with Pennywise the clown. What will still be haunting BU groups 27 years from now?

COM: MA 113

BU Beach: Rhett Bench

Booth Theatre: Macbeth

Comm. Ave: Construction

Warren: Jamba Juice

Nickerson Field: BU Football

Fenway Campus: Lucy Wheelock

Copley Marriot: Sorority Girls

FreeP: Buggy’s ghost

10 SPORTS

7th Inning Stretch: What to learn from Andrew Luck’s retirement

BY JACOB GURVIS DAILY FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

Andrew Luck was dealt a difficult hand from the very beginning. Drafted first overall in 2012, Luck entered the National Football League as a highly touted prospect who took the reins from all-time-great Peyton Manning as quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.

Seven years later, his job never seemed to get easier.

Luck sustained a critical shoulder injury in 2016 that forced him to miss the entire 2017 season and ultimately led to his shocking retirement announcement last week, just days before the kickoff of the 2019 NFL season. At 29-years-old, Luck is among the best athletes ever to retire during their prime.

The story of an injury-plagued star who overcame adversity to become an elite player and fan favorite should sound awfully familiar to Boston sports fans. I’m talking, of course, about veteran Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Pedroia was not quite a first overall pick – the Sox selected him 65th overall in 2004 – but he faced steep expectations nonetheless, though largely self-inflicted. By winning the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in his first two full seasons, Pedroia set a high standard for himself early on.

As his career continued, Pedroia proved himself to be a tough, reliable leader whose dedication was second to none. Like Luck, he was a fan favorite, an All-Star, and unfortunately, a fre-

quent flyer on the Disabled/Injured make and by no means should it be List. Since the beginning of the 2018 seen as giving up. season, Pedroia has played in only nine For one, Luck, who’s now only 29, games, with his appearances restricted has a family. Why should he continue by his recurring knee injuries. to put himself through hell when the Both players have been candid joy has been sucked out of the game about the toll their respective injuries from him? Luck’s decision to retire have taken on their careers, and more was brave, smart and admirable. importantly, on their lives. During Now, Pedroia’s situation is not his impromptu press conference on exactly the same. As he pointed out Aug. 24, Luck reflected on the toll his in a recent interview, “Shoot, [Luck] multiple injuries have taken on him. has been hit a lot more than I have.

“For the last four years or so,” Luck I’ve been hit once. He has been hit said, “I’ve been in this cycle of injury, 400 times or something.” pain, rehab. It’s been unceasing and Pedroia said he sympathizes with unrelenting, both in season and in the struggles of rehabbing, but he does the offseason. I felt stuck in it, and not pretend to fully understand what the only way I see out is to no longer Luck has gone through physically. play football. It’s taken my joy of this With that being said, Pedroia’s game away.” tone has echoed Luck’s. Pedroia said Unsurprisingly, the fans’ reactions he’s not considering another surgery to Luck’s announcement were mixed because “it would affect the quality and often frustrating. When the news of [his] life.” broke on social media during the Colts’ Regarding his family, he shared, preseason game that afternoon, fans “There was a couple times I threw booed Luck as he sat on the sidelines. batting practice to my kids and the It also led to some pretty shameful next three days, I was not moving. takes, including a negative tweet from When you can’t do things like that, Fox Sports 1 analyst Doug Gottlieb. it stinks. We had to do something.”

“Retiring cause rehabbing is ‘too Despite the differences in their hard’ is the most millennial thing stories, there are some key lessons ever,” Gottlieb’s Tweet read. both Pedroia and the Boston fan Gottlieb received immediate crit- base should take away from Luck’s icism for his words — and rightfully retirement announcement, and more so — from large sections of fans and importantly, its aftermath. press alike, including media personalFirst and foremost, walking away ities Britt McHenry, Mike Golic and from the game you love is never easy.

Troy Aikman.

Especially not right before a new season Walking away from stardom, mil- or when you have $25 million at stake. lions of dollars and likely entry to However, putting yourself and your the Hall of Fame because of injuries family before your work is hardly ever is certainly not an easy decision to the wrong move.

Secondly, I truly hope Boston fans have learned how not to react when their beloved star does inevitably hang up his cleats. What Dustin Pedroia has given to the Red Sox organization and the City of Boston is immeasurable.

Pedroia won two World Series rings and has served as the heart and soul of the team for more than a decade and no injury or dirty Manny Machado slide should ever detract from that. When Pedroia finally decides to retire, even if it’s midseason, he should be met with nothing but support and gratitude.

Of all of the baseball and sports wisdom one can learn from the film (and book) “Moneyball,” there is one

line that stands out, especially respecting the challenges of professional sports.

As a scout tells the parents of a young Billy Beane, “We’re all told at some point in time that we can no longer play the children’s game, we just don’t … know when that’s gonna be. Some of us are told at eighteen, some of us are told at 40, but we’re all told.”

Andrew Luck was told at 29.

Dustin Pedroia? Well, he just may make it to 40 after all. But regardless of when his time on the field finally ends, we sports fans owe it to our stars to consider their happiness and quality of life far more than their next snap or pitch.

Women’s soccer team ready for first win of the season

BY SHUBHANKAR ARUN AND NICK TELESMANIC DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The reigning Patriot League champion Boston University women’s soccer team is hoping to secure its first win of the season against current Ivy League winner Princeton University (1-1) in their game Thursday night.

The Terriers (0-3-1) had a sluggish start to the season, with three consecutive losses following their season opener draw against the University of Denver (3-0-1).

Last season, the team lost their opening five games as well.

Coach Nancy Feldman is hoping the team turns a corner on Thursday and gets their season up and running.

“We are playing some pretty good soccer,” Feldman said, “and I try and judge ourselves against ourselves a little bit. We are certainly motivated to get victories and score goals. We’re trying to control what we can control, competing and getting better everyday and putting ourselves into positions to win games like we did the other night against Michigan State.”

Goals have been hard to come by this season for the Terriers.

Sophomore attacker Taylor Kofton scored BU’s only goal of the season in their game against Michigan State (4-0-0). But with junior forward Anna Heilferty, the 2019 preseason pick for Patriot League Offensive Player

of the Year in their ranks, it is likely more goals will start coming in soon.

It is the goal flow at the other end of the pitch that remains a cause for concern. The loss of the defensive duo of Chelsea Churchill and Libby Closson has left a gaping hole in the backline.

The seven goals conceded in four games make for a bleak reading when compared to last season when the team conceded only 19 goals the entire year.

BU’s number of shots conceded per game is alarmingly 15, with a shots on goal percentage of 0.45. Junior defender McKenna Kennedy is the only upperclassmen defender on the team, and her experience will be crucial to the Terrier’s campaign this season.

“McKenna is someone who has had a lot of experience,” Feldman said. “She was a core contributor last year and even in her freshman year. She had played some important minutes for us. She is definitely a leader and someone the team looks to as a voice of calm.”

Last year Princeton tied for first place with the University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League, each having a 5-1-1 record in conference play. The Tigers also qualified for the NCAA tournament,where they were shut out by Texas Tech 0-3 in the first round.

Princeton is a team that is expected to be very stingy when it comes to allowing goals. Last year they were second in the Ivy

League in goals allowed with an average of .71 per game. The Terriers have seen this stinginess first-hand in a matchup last season where they lost 1-0 to the Tigers

Feldman said BU has a solid core of goalkeepers and has been playing very well despite the rough start to the season.

“We’re getting great goalkeeper play,” Feldman said. “That’s cer-

tainly not been an issue.”

The Terriers-Tigers matchup will take place Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.

MAISIE MANSFIELD-GREENWALD/ DFP FILE Sophomore attacker Taylor Kofton in an Oct. 17 game against the United States Military Academy.

SPORTS 11

Terriers kick off new season with tough stretch of fixtures

BY NICK TELESMANIC DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Following a scoreless streak in their first three games and a loss in their home-opener against Michigan State University, Boston University women’s soccer will go back on the road to New Jersey Thursday to face off against Princeton University.

The Terriers (0-3-1) will then continue with their non-conference games when they face the University of Connecticut (2-1-1) on Sunday.

The team has had a rough stretch of games opening the season with all of them being on the road and against out-of-conference opponents.

On Aug. 22, the Terriers officially kicked off their season with a game against the University of Denver (3-0-1). After regulation and two overtimes, neither team could score and the game ended in a 0-0 tie with Boston outshooting the Pioneers 8-7.

BU continued their road trip in Colorado and faced off against the University of Colorado Boulder on Aug. 25. The Buffs (4-0-1) scored one goal in each half on open-look opportunities en route to a 2-0 win over the Terriers. Colorado’s defense proved tough against BU, who only managed one shot on goal all game.

The Terriers then came back to Boston and continued their road trip down Commonwealth Avenue in Chestnut Hill where they faced Boston College (4-0-0). The Eagles began striking early, scoring two goals within the first 15 minutes of the first half to jump to a 2-0 lead. BU would be shut out for a second straight game en route to a

three shots get past junior goalkeeper Amanda Fay. Head coach Nancy Feldman acknowledged after the game BU has had a tough stretch of non-conference opponents in the first four games of the season. “ We’re getting better ever y game, we’ve been making progress,” Feldman said. “For most of the game we played the way we wanted to play … the game we needed to play to be successful got away from us.”

The Terriers will be up against another stern test against the reigning Ivy League champions, Princeton University on September 5th in New Jersey, before hitting the road again for their game against The University of Connecticut in Hartford.

The University of Connecticut (2-1-1) picked up two wins against Colgate University and Fairfield University. The Huskies shut out the Stags by a score of 3-0 and only surrendered one goal to the Raiders in a 2-1 win. In their four overall games this season, UConn’s goalkeeping has only allowed more than one goal in a game once, which was in their loss against Providence College.

Last yea r UConn went 4-14 overall and only won two games in conference play. BU had an easy MADDIE MAHOLTRA/ DFP FILE time dealing with UConn last year, Junior McKenna Kennedy in a Nov. 4 game against Lehigh University. Kennedy enters this season as the last upperclassmen defender. defeating them 3-0 and only allowing 3-0 victory for BC. season, sophomore midfielder Taylor State equalized the score. The score UConn one opportunity to land a After the three-game road trip, Kofton scored the Terriers’ first goal would remain tied going into overtime. shot on goal in the second half.

BU returned home to play their of the season against the Spartans It took two overtimes for a winThe Terriers-Huskies matchup home-opener against Michigan ner to be decided, with each team will take place 1pm Sunday afternoon in the second half.

State (4-0-0). After not scoring With just over five minutes attempting three shots in the 30 min- at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, CT. any goals in the first game of the remaining in regulation, Michigan ute overtime duration. The Spartans would ultimately have one of those

Women’s field hockey ready for first home game of the season

BY MATT MEUSEL

DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University field hockey team kicks off their home schedule on Friday night against The University of New Hampshire at New Balance Field at 7:00 p.m.

The Terriers enter the early season contest with a 1-1 record.

They defeated the Ohio University Bobcats (1-1) 4-1 on Saturday before falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0) 3-2 on Monday.

Head coach Sally Starr spoke of the weekend in Ohio as being a good trip for team bonding.

“It was good to get the team off campus,” Starr said.

Junior forward Ailsa Connolly was named the Patriot Leag ue Offensive Player of the Week for her four-goal weekend in Ohio which included a hat trick on Saturday against the Bobcats.

The first of Connolly’s three goals on Saturday was the first goal of the season for the team, coming just over two minutes into the game. The Terriers built on the early momentum of the goal and added a second before the six minute mark and raced to 3-1 lead by halftime. It was complete offensive domination by the Terriers, as they ended up outshooting them 19-4.

Ohio State brought much sterner competition for the Terriers and the team struggled to get a foothold in the game. They managed just three shots on goal and faced a relentless Buckeye offensive attack all day.

“I can’t overstate what playing a team like that means,” Starr said, alluding to the importance of playing a team like Ohio State so early in the season.

The Wildcats enter with a 0-2 record after losses to American University (1-1) and No. 2 University of Maryland. Sophomore forward Finn Caron has the only two UNH goals of the season, which both came during their 3-2 defeat at the hands of American. Powerhouse University of Maryland (2-0) shut out the Wildcats 5-0 on Sunday.

The Terriers have beaten New Hampshire in each of their last four matchups, scoring 13 goals across the four games.

“New Hampshire is always a great opponent for us,” Starr said.

MATTHEW WOOLVERTON/ DFP FILE

Junior forward Ailsa Connolly in an October 2017 game against Boston College. Connolly scored the first goal of the season on Saturday, defeating Ohio University.

Follow along with BU Sports on Twitter: @DFPsports

“She is definitely a leader, and someone the team looks to as a voice of calm”

– Women’s soccer coach Nancy Feldman on junior defender McKenna Kennedy

Sports

“I see a lot of fight and definitely a lot of commitment … I think they just have to respect the ball more and make sure we try and keep the ball so we don’t have to defend as much”

– Men’s soccer coach Neil Roberts on his team’s seeking their first win the season

Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019

Men’s soccer seeks first victory against UMass Amherst

Junior goalkeeper Michael Stone in a March 24 game against the University of Vermont. Since transferring from Amherst College at the start of the year, Stone saved all but two goals out of 33 shots.

RACHEL SHARPLES/ DFP FILE

BY CHRIS LARABEE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University men’s soccer team will travel to Amherst on Saturday looking to earn its first victory of the young season against in-state opponent University of Massachusetts A m herst wh i le continuing the opening stretch of out-of-conference play.

The Terriers (0-2) will enter Saturday’s match coming off two consecutive 1-0 losses against Boston College and the University of New Hampshire, while the Minutemen (2-0) are coming off a dominant 4-0 victory against Sacred Heart University on Sept. 2.

BU head coach Neil Roberts said the team is battling out on the field, but needs to work on possession to get to the next level.

“I see a lot of fight and definitely a lot of commitment,” Roberts said.

“I think they just have to respect the ball more and make sure we try and keep the ball so we don’t have to defend as much.”

In the opening matches thus far, BU has been outshot by opponents 33-14 and opponents have doubled up on the number of corners earned 12-5.

The Terriers have also earned a large number of fouls over the first two games with 30 fouls and four yellow cards.

Despite two consecutive losses, there a re br ig ht spots for the Terriers, such as junior goalkeeper Michael Stone, who has allowed only two goals on 33 shots faced while making 15 saves in his first two starts as a Terrier since transferring

THURSDAY, SEPT. 5

Minnesota Twins take on the Red Sox at Fenway Park at 7:15

from Amherst college in the Spring.

Roberts said the team knew what Stone was capable of, but that it’s only possible to make so many saves.

“We saw Mike in the spring, we knew that he could make big saves, but unfortunately for Mike, he’s had to make more than we’d like in the early part of the season,” Roberts said. “If a goalkeeper could come up with two big saves that should be enough for a day.”

For Roberts, non-conference play is an opportunity to see what each member of the team is able to do and what roles they can assume.

“We’re going to really try and find out what we have and what’s going to work,” Roberts said, “and what combinations are going to work.”

For UMass, the players to watch will be sophomore forward James McPherson and junior midfielder Chandler O’Dwyer. O’Dwyer has been a focal point of the offense as he leads the team with three assists in two games while McPherson has contributed a goal of his own while racking up two points early in the season.

Roberts said the Minutemen are going to be a challenge to crack if the Terriers don’t emphasize possession of the ball.

“They’re very organized, they don’t give up a lot, they’re a very difficult team to play against,” he said. “You’ve got to be patient and you can’t give the ball away in bad areas, so that’s going to be the key for us.”

BU and UMass met at Nickerson Field last season, in which the Terriers scored two goals in the final seven minutes of the game from the feet of senior for ward Matt McDonnell and sophomore midfielder Kari Petursson to shock the Minutemen.

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The Terriers will continue their tune-up games against non-Patriot League opponents for the first half of September before opening conference play against the Lafayette Leopards in Easton, Pennsylvania on Sept. 21.

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BOTTOM LINE

FRIDAY, SEPT. 6

SATURDAY, SEPT. 7

The BU Women’s Field Hockey team take on New Hampshire at 7PM on New Balance Field

Harry Lang Invitational Cross Country in Hamilton, NY

SUNDAY, SEPT. 8

The Pittsburgh Steelers matchup against the Patriots at Foxborough at 8:20PM

MONDAY, SEPT. 9