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