1-21-2016

NEWS CityScore provides a window into how the city is performing by using public data. p. 4

MUSE BU alumni make Forbes' 30 under 30 list. p. 5

SPORTS Streak Snapped – Colgate proved unfriendly to men's basketball, as the Raiders snapped BU's three-game winning streak. p. 12

19°/31° PARTLY CLOUDY

DAILYFREEPRESS.COM @DAILYFREEPRESS

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLV. VOLUME XC. ISSUE I.

MBTA, Samaritans Inc. launch "You Are Not Alone" campaign

BY PAIGE SMITH DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Samaritans Inc. of Boston launched the “You Are Not Alone” campaign Friday to spread awareness of suicide prevention through a statewide helpline in the public transportation systems.

The first stage of the program was the implementation of temporary signage in core MBTA stations around the greater Boston area, including North Station, Back Bay, South Station, Haymarket, Downtown Crossing, State and Park Street stations, according to MBTA spokesperson Jason Johnson.

“The Samaritans’ help line (1-877-870HOPE) will appear on the 80 digital screens in seven major subway stations in Boston and Cambridge,” Johnson wrote in an email.

“There will also be periodic scrolling messages on LED boards and public address announcements on subway platforms.”

Johnson wrote that the entire program is a five-phase process, with the final result being permanent signage.

“In the weeks and months to come, 400 signs will be posted inside both bus and subway trains,” Johnson wrote in the email.

“Signs will also go up inside commuter rail coaches and at commuter rail station platforms.”

Johnson pointed out that in the past three years, there were 28 deaths on MBTA tracks that were ruled intentional acts.

Steve Mongeau, executive director of Samaritans, said one of its primary priorities is spreading awareness of the fact that help is always available to users of public transportation.

“It’s really to provide access to people so they know we’re there,” he said. “They know the number’s there, so they can reach out for help through the service.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

PHOTO BY BRIAN SONG/DFP FILE PHOTO

Boston University Student Government plans to mend the issues that defined this semester and aims to increase their transparency during the Spring 2016 semester.

Unresolved sexual assault case increases awareness, efforts

BY KATIE DICLEMENTE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston University has been under the United States Department of Education’s investigation for two years and one month for possible violations of Title IX that include allegedly mishandling sexual violence and harassment complaints on campus, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Title IX investigation tracker. BU’s case, opened Dec. 16, 2013, is currently the 25th longest unresolved Title IX investigation, based on data provided by the tracker.

BU Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said the investigation ultimately has a positive influence on the BU community, as it has increased campus-wide awareness on sexual misconduct, and now the university openly welcomes conversations on the

issue.

“Throughout all aspects of the university, we are being proactive to improve on the topics such as how to treat women and how to respect each other,” Elmore said.

According to information provided by The Chronicle, the investigation was triggered by a complaint filed in October 2013.

Although university officials are not allowed to discuss details on any specific case due to federal privacy laws, the university is complying fully with the investigation, BU spokesman Colin Riley wrote in an email.

“The U.S. Department of Education’s assistant secretary for civil rights made it clear in 2014 that ‘being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law,’” Riley

said.

Further information on details of the 2013 investigation can only be provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Elmore said.

Following the opening of the 2013 investigation, BU was mentioned by the Department of Education on May 1, 2014 as one of the 55 initial colleges with open Title IX sexual violence investigations. BU updated their Title IX policy to better address sexual assault, The Daily Free Press reported on Feb. 16, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights held open office hours on Apr. 23, 2015 for BU to aid in the department’s Title IX investigation, The Daily Free Press reported.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Second ED deadline allows larger applicant pool, increase in applications

BY ELLEN CRANLEY DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston University Admissions added a second early decision application deadline this school year to provide more options for students who are committed to BU’s binding application program, Kelly Walter, associate vice president and executive director of admissions, said.

The second deadline is Jan. 4, with a Feb. 15 notification date, which is three months after the Nov. 1 early decision deadline, according to the office’s website.

This is the second time BU added an additional early decision deadline since 2009, Walter said.

Since 2010, the number of early decision applications BU received has increased by 89 percent, Walter said.

“We wanted to provide another pathway for students to apply to BU,” she said.

“We wanted a binding program for students who knew BU was their first choice,

but had truly missed that Nov. 1 deadline.”

In fall 2015, there were 1,700 early decision applications and 23 percent of the Class of 2020 had been accepted so far, BU spokesman Colin Riley said in an email. BU has also received 1,721 additional applications for the second early decision deadline.

One of the advantages of the new deadline is a chance for students to optimize their standardized testing scores for college admission, Walter said.

“Both the SAT and ACT are offered in November,” she said. “Some students would like to take one last opportunity to sit for those standardized exams prior to submitting an application. They’re just not ready for the first round of early decision.”

Walter said the early decision’s second deadline increases accessibility for a variety of students and gives students more time to prepare their applications. The additional deadline would also allow “first generation [students] or students from ru-

ral or urban school districts” more time to make informed decisions on their college choices, she added.

For the incoming Class of 2020, 12,877 of the total applicants are international students who represent 153 different countries, Walter said. This number shows how a second early decision deadline could increase international students’ ability to apply to BU before general admission, she added.

“International students are in completely different education systems and environments,” she said. “Often, the first round of ED is often too early for international students, and they are not able to get their applications together in time.”

The applicant pool of the incoming Class of 2020 was record-breaking in size and academic performance, boasting a total of 57,342 applications and a 4.7 percent increase from last year’s total.

“This is the largest number of freshman applications we have ever had in our

history,” she said. “We are proud to see more and more students who are interested in BU and applying early.”

Walter also said the average SAT score among applicants was 12 points higher than those in previous years. “[The increase in applicants’ average SAT score] is a reflection of the growing stature of the university,” she said. “What is equally important is that the academic profiles of students applying for admission is growing stronger.”

Several students said applicants should consider both benefits and disadvantages of early decision before submitting an application due to the high level of commitment expected.

Adam Deangelo, a freshman in the College of Communication, said early decision would be an appropriate option for students who are committed to a university because of the more generous acceptance CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

2

NEWS

BRA approves six new development projects C A M P U S CRIME LOGS

BY DAVE SEBASTIAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved six development projects in its first board meeting of the year on Jan. 14.

The projects contribute a combined investment of $732.5 million to Boston’s economy, according to a Friday press release.

Nicholas Martin, the BRA spokesperson, wrote in an email that construction plans range from residential to office buildings, and these projects are aimed to stimulate Boston’s economic development over the long term.

“It’s a positive sign that development interests continue to remain strong in Boston, and we hope the approval of six new projects in our first meeting of 2016 bodes well for the remainder of the year,” Martin wrote in the email. “These developments will have a positive impact on people who live, work and play in the City of Boston.”

Martin wrote that the most significant projects are the Government Center Garage and Emmanuel College’s New Julie Hall dormitory, due to their scale and cost of construction. The Government Center Garage project will replace the old garage over Congress Street with six residential and office towers, while New Julie Hall will be a 19-story building equipped with 691 beds, replacing the current 220-bed Julie Hall, according to the release.

The Government Center Garage redevelopment project, overseen by the HYM Investment Group, has been in planning since 2009 and will start its first phase of construction next year, said Thomas O’Brien, the managing director for the HYM Investment Group.

“By the time we got to that meeting, we had spent a lot of time with the community and [managed] the design of the project to satisfy the people’s initial concerns and expectations,” O’Brien said. “The process had produced a better project. People were pleased and the BRA voted. It was a unanimous vote.”

O’Brien said the development will set 15 percent of its 487 apartment units as affordable, in order to comply with Mayor Martin Walsh’s regulation of designating at least 13 percent of on-site units for affordable housing.

“Each time you’re able to add more units to the market, you’re helping to create

BY NICOLE NIS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department from Jan. 12 to 17.

Shattered entry at College of Fine Arts The glass entryway at 855 Commonwealth Ave. was broken Jan. 12 at 5:33 a.m. due to forced entry. Police have identified two suspects from security camera footage.

PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

In their first meeting of 2016 Thursday, The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved $732.5 million dollars to be allocated to new projects.

a bigger market, which over time will make Boston more affordable,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien said the project will transform the garage and eliminate the “dividing line” among the surrounding neighborhoods.

“As a city, our hope is that we’ll continue to [become] one of the few cities in America that can host a strong residential character in the downtown,” O’Brien said.

Other approved projects include two housing developments in West Roxbury, a five-story addition to the Holiday Inn Express in Dorchester and an addition of 56,000 square feet of new office space to the Stillings Street Garage, the release stated.

Brian Golden, the BRA’s director, explained in a press release that after a lengthy debate during last Thursday’s board meeting, a 44-story residential building project had to be postponed amid “significant objections” by West End residents.

“We appreciate that so many community members came out on a cold evening to express their opinion about this project, which clearly has passionate voices on both sides,” Golden said in the release. “It is our hope that substantive communication occurs in the near term between the developer and residents to address ongoing concerns.”

Several residents voiced support of the approved projects, and they agreed that af-

fordability should still be considered in projects’ construction and in the redevelopment of Boston.

Dan Flynn, 30, of Brighton, said the Government Center Garage development would be beneficial, as it provides more housing options. “[It will provide] more housing downtown and lower prices a little bit,” he said.

“Fifteen percent is better than none.”

Kimberly Russell, 28, of Fenway, said Emmanuel College’s New Julie Hall dormitory would benefit the student community as long as the dorm rates remain affordable.

“It sounds great,” she said. “I’ve lived in my dorm in my school for a couple of years, and I really liked the community that it fostered. College is pretty expensive as it is these days, so I would just be concerned that it’s not going to lower any cost for [the students].”

Nicole Fell, 21, of Fenway, said the West Roxbury projects would be beneficial in the face of Boston’s increasing population.

“It’s good,” she said. “We have a lot of housing, but we have even more people. But it needs to be affordable. Rent everywhere throughout the city is crazy expensive, especially for what people make.”

TITLE IX INVESTIGATION FROM PAGE 1

be taken to make victims of sexual assault feel more comfortable seeking support.

“It is really important to destigmatize the survivor,” she said. “The university should make it a safer environment for survivors to come forward and get help.”

Fiona Moran, a junior in the College of Engineering, said she agreed that BU should take further action to ensure that incoming students understand the magnitude of sexual assault.

“The university should publicize the issue,” Moran said. “For a lot of people, when they first come in, they don’t understand what is not okay, what should and shouldn’t be reported. So a lot of the pressures are put on girls in terms of what to do.”

Timothy Farrell, a second-year graduate student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering, said sexual assault is not an issue that is only affecting the BU community, because sexual assault is a prevalent problem throughout the United States.

“There is a national trend of sexual assault issues,” said Farrell. “The issues are deeper than what one university is doing. It is a society problem, a social problem. It is not a problem that only exists in academic environment. The military also face[s] the same issue. Whatever BU has done, whether its effort is reputable or not, sexual assault is a general issue.”

Officers observed a suspicious motor vehicle Jan. 15 at 1 a.m. at the corner of Storrow Drive and University Road. After identifying the license plate, officers determined that it had been stolen.

BUPD arrested one of the two non-affiliated parties in the car and charged them with receiving stolen property and receiving a stolen motor vehicle.

Man caught trespassing, sleeping in stairwell Police responded to a non-BU affiliated male sleeping in the sixth floor stairwell of the George Sherman Union at 775 Commonwealth Ave. on Jan 13 at 1:39 p.m. He was arrested for trespassing and was identified as having been previously arrested for the same reason.

Intoxicated student transported to hospital An intoxicated female student was transported from Agganis Arena at 925 Commonwealth Ave. to the Boston Medical Center on Jan. 16 at 7:58 p.m.

Student reports threats on Internet

Attempts tackling assualt struggle to produce results Out of 244 Title IX investigations, 197 cases are still open, which involves 161 institutions that are under investigation, the tracker showed. The average duration for cases to resolve is one year and two months, according to the Chronicle’s Title IX Investigation Tracker.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at all educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website. If any institution is found in violation, that entity could potentially lose federal funding for programs such as federal financial aid, the website stated.

Several students said the university has shown efforts in addressing sexual assault and combating stigma, but they would like to see promising results from these attempts.

MacKenzie Mitchell, a first-year graduate student in the School of Medicine, said she is glad the university is making an effort to spread awareness about the issue.

“The university is trying,” Mitchell said. “I just started BU two days ago, but they talked about sexual assault prevention in orientation. There are classes you can take, and we have [Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center] people coming in and [talking] about the issue.”

Mitchell added that steps still need to

Stolen car recovered at Storrow Drive and University Road

May 2014

BU was on The ED’s list of institutions with open Title IX sexual violence investigations

February 2015

President Brown announced university officials adopted a new school-wide Title IX policy

April 2015

The ED of Civil Rights held open office hours for the BU community to aid in Title IX investigation

October 2015

emale student reported to university police being sexual assaulted in her StuVi II dorm room.

December 2013

U.S. Department of Education (The ED)opened a Title IX investigation on BU

July 2014

President Brown appointed special task force to create Boston University Sexual Misconduct Climate survey.

March 2015

BU administration launched aforementioned survey

A female student reported Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. to have received threats over Instagram from someone she had met on a website. .

Employee’s money taken from wallet A female employee at Warren Towers City Convenience, 702 Commonwealth Ave., reported Jan. 16 at at 4:10 p.m. that money was stolen from her wallet.

The wallet was in the employee locker room at the time of the theft. Police have allegedly identified one suspect.

Employee’s computer taken from office A male employee reported Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. that a laptop computer was stolen on both Dec. 18 and Dec. 22 from his office at the Life Science and Engineering Building at 24 Cummington Mall.

Laptop stolen from School of Law

September 2015

The survey reported more than 25 percent of undergraduate female respondents have been victims of sexual assault at BU

A male student reported Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. that his laptop computer was stolen from a classroom in the School of Law, 765 Commonwealth Ave. The laptop was unattended at the time of the theft.

NEWS

3

BU partners with John Hancock offering youth summer jobs

BY MAISIE GUZI DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston University will closely collaborate with the John Hancock Martin Luther King Summer Scholars program to provide a total of more than $1 million in grants to 67 local non-profit organizations and offer summer jobs for Boston youth, according to a Jan. 14 release.

BU has been working with the Summer Scholars Program since its inception, BU spokesman Colin Riley said.

“This is just part of BU’s commitment to the city,” Riley said. “We’re happy to cooperate with the city and with other organizations that are working for the benefit of young people.”

Riley also said the program could provide invaluable volunteer opportunities for young BU students to better involve themselves in the larger Boston community.

“We provide a location for [the MLK Summer Scholars Program] to have some events,” Riley said. “If there are BU students around during the summer, they can go online and volunteer there.”

The program, founded in 2008, provides funding to nonprofit agencies to offer Boston youth summer job opportunities and career-development resources. Nonprofit organizations will receive a $1,750 grant for each MLK scholar position awarded, according to the program’s website.

“The goal of this program is to help Boston teens gain meaningful work experience and develop the skills they need to be college- and career-ready,” Thomas Crohan, John Hancock assistant vice president and counsel, said in the press release. “We also hope the scholars gain a deeper appreciation of Dr. King’s inspiring legacy and feel empowered to become active, engaged citizens in our communities.”

More than 600 Boston high school students participate in the program annually, which makes it the largest summer jobs program in the country, the program’s website stated.

“Year after year, John Hancock’s MLK Summer Scholars Program continues to answer the call to take the lead in providing our city youth with meaningful opportunities,” Mayor Martin Walsh said in the press release.

“Boston’s business and community leaders who understand the need for hands-on experiences

ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Financial service company, John Hancock, plans to donate a million dollars to 67 Boston organizations as part of their MLK Summer Scholars program in an effort to create more summer jobs for city youth.

make a difference in how these young scholars view the world.”

Besides BU, the program is also partnered with The Boston Globe, Partners HealthCare, The Ad Club and the City of Boston. It currently provides funds to nonprofits such as Boston Ballet, the Boston Police Department, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Museum of Fine Arts, according to the program’s website.

Several BU students said experience with a nonprofit organization has the potential to be life-changing for young people and might introduce them to unexplored areas of interest.

Michaela Morrison, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said early career

preparation is an important factor that can determine students’ life choices.

“If I were a high school student, I would be interested in going to a program like [the MLK Summer Scholars Program] because it would help prepare me for not only the future jobs, but also just the future,” Morrison said. “I believe it is important to learn how to interact with people, understand and listen to others.”

Madison Gullotti, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she believes experiences like these will inspire high school students to become more involved in their community.

“I definitely believe this kind of experience is a good one to have, especially before leaving

high school,” said Gullotti. “It encourages kids to become a part of their community and help those around them so that as they get older, they can continue work in this type of service.”

Dante Cilento, a freshman in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said he thinks experience with nonprofit agencies provides students with skills they would not have received through a standard high school education.

“The rigid structure of high school provides students with only so much of an education,” Cilento said. “Through [working with] a nonprofit, you get real-world experience in areas that aren’t taught in the classroom.”

Samaritans Inc. launch suicide prevention campaign in MBTA stations SAMARITANS, FROM PAGE 1

The two organizations have been in conversation for many years, Mongeau said, particularly in light of the statewide helpline’s October addition of texting capabilities.

“We have been, for many years, in dialogue with both the MBTA and MassDOT about supporting to raise awareness about access to the Samaritans statewide helpline,” he said.

Mongeau also said the MBTA is a helpful method of spreading the Samaritans’ message.

“Again, [the project was a result of] the culmination of several conversations and meetings over the years with the T in the past,” he said. “We’ve found over the years that it’s one of the better venues or avenues to raise awareness of the helpline.”

Mongeau said in order to measure progress of awareness of the helpline through public transportation, Samaritans volunteers conducted a survey before the signage installation and will conduct a second survey in September or October of next year.

“One of the things we did to help launch this was do a baseline survey,” Mongeau said. “So we were out in the stations, asking people if they were aware that there is a statewide helpline available. And if they were, whether they were familiar of Samaritans, whether they’d seen the logo of the organization.”

Mongeau hoped for “the needle to move in the right direction” by the second survey, in reference to public opinion.

“MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola has said that if even one life is saved, the campaign is well worth it,” Johnson said.

Mongeau also expressed his excite-

ment for the progress and raised awareness of available help.

“We’re just thrilled that they’re not only doing the digital side, but also doing the stations now,” Mongeau said. “The plans are to expand and actually have car cards on the trains by March and have the billboards up by March throughout the T and commuter rail network. I think it’s a great public service to help raise awareness of the helpline and access [for those] who are struggling with depression or other issues who want to reach out for help.”

Several Boston residents agreed that the campaign was a good idea and hoped it would be helpful.

Caitlin Cain, 27, of Fenway, said public transportation is an ideal place for the advertisements.

“Plenty of people take public transportation,” she said. “That’s a great way to reach out and tell people that there are others around to help whenever they need it.”

Lindsay Mays, 31, of Back Bay, said the initiative will help in light of modern suicide rates.

“I think that’s a really good way to spread suicide prevention, especially since suicide rates are up these days,” she said. “I think it could really help out someone in need.”

Sarah Pilley, 24, of Fenway, said public places such as T stations are the best place to send the message across to the people of Boston.

“That’s a great idea,” she said. “It’s good for people to know that there’s help out there and that they can reach out.

What’s a better place for that than a public area?”

PHOTO COURTESY JASON B. JOHNSON

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Samaritans Inc., will launch the "You Are Not Alone" campaign Friday on public transit in an effort to provide greater awareness of the Samaritans’ help line to those feeling alone or depressed.

4

NEWS

Mayor Walsh launches CityScore initiative to gauge city performance

BY MOE ATKINSON DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Friday the launch of CityScore, an initiative that will allow city officials to quickly track and improve the City of Boston’s performance in everyday life.

CityScore, the first of its kind, is a data-based system that collects various metrics from city departments each day and scores them based upon Boston’s performance goal or the city’s historic performance in a certain area, according to a Friday press release.

The system will monitor the public safety, education, economic development, innovation and technology realms of the city, as well as “constituent satisfaction.”

Walsh said in the release that he was proud to begin an original data initiative that reasserts Boston’s commitment to delivering exceptional services to constituents through swift problem solving.

“The City of Boston is using data in a way that no city has ever done before,” Walsh said in the release. “I am proud to launch this data platform that recommits us to our pledge of transparency and delivery of excellent city services. This overview of city metrics allows us to take immediate action within our departments to improve city services to make our city safer and smarter.”

Through CityScore data, city officials will be able to compare and evaluate performance ranging from one day to multiple months, the release stated.

Boston’s Citywide Analytics Team unveiled the original development of CityScore through Boston Chief of Staff Daniel Koh during a TEDxCambridge talk in October, The Daily Free Press reported on Oct. 16.

Chief of Streets Chris Osgood, who helped develop CityScore, explained in the release how Boston is trying to give the best services possible to its residents.

“Our team’s goal is to provide the best basic city services in the nation,” Osgood said in the

ILLUSTRATION BY MAE DAVIS/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

CityScore, a website launched by Mayor Martin Walsh Friday, provides a window into how the city is performing by using public data to evaluate how well the city is meeting goals.

release. “CityScore helps us track our progress and has already been successful in helping us deliver better services to residents. This will be a great tool for us moving forward.”

Christopher Dwelley, Boston’s citywide performance manager, said CityScore has begun to successfully help government officials evaluate important services provided to residents.

“We’re already seeing how data can help folks here in the city understand their own operations [by] seeing and identifying areas where we can potentially ask questions or look at long term trends or immediate areas for intervention,” he said.

Dwelley said that Boston residents appreciate the new information that is readily available to them.

“People have had a positive reaction to it,” he said. “They appreciate its transparency. They appreciate being able to understand very quickly and easily how the city is performing. [They don’t have to] make a call to someone in particular or digest three data sets. It’s all right there on the page.”

Dwelley added that city officials encourage residents to go online to view CityScore for themselves and leave feedback.

“We want to make sure people are reaching out to us to get us that feedback so we can use [it] to make sure we’re incorporating [it] into future iterations of the CityScore,” Dwelley said.

Several residents voiced their support for CityScore, but some expressed concerns of the new data strategy’s potential weak-

nesses.

Kittle Evenson, 26, of Brighton, said she approves of the city using a data-driven initiative to improve daily performance. However, she is cautious of potential problems CityScore’s data usage from public apps could create.

“Sometimes when you have user-supplied information, people who supply that information tend to be either dissatisfied or exceptionally satisfied,” she said. “I still think that it’s a smart sample to grab, I just think it’s just a risk [to focus] on that information.”

Kelly Kate-Crossland, 23, of Brighton, said the risk of biased interpretation grows when the city is solely responsible for evaluating and tracking its performance.

“The only problem I have with a single entity interpreting

the data is that it’s a single way of interpreting numbers,” she said.

“I don’t really know if the city is already in control of those numbers, how it will interpret its own performance. I know when I’m given data about myself, I tend to interpret that data quite [positively].”

Sarah Ameri, 25, of Kenmore, said the simplicity of the CityScore system seems like a helpful approach for residents moving to Boston because the data would provide a glance at the services available in the city.

“It would be a really good idea to try out because a lot of people like an easy way to gauge what is the best place to start a family,” Ameri said. “[CityScore] would be a helpful baseline, at least at the beginning.”

Record-breaking number of applications received for Class of 2020 EARLY DECISION FROM PAGE 1

rates. “[Early decision] is an advantage for students,” he said. “I don’t think its an unfair advantage, [but] it’s just for students who are set on the school and are ready to commit sooner than normal students.”

Isabel Donohoe, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said early decision benefits applicants from waiting too long for a response but prohibits them from weighing other choices.

“I didn’t use early decision because I wasn’t ready to commit to a school so early,” she said. “I know ED means less worry, but you can’t change your mind [if you] don’t want to go to that school for some reason.”

Evan Armacost, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said students should weigh the commitment of early decision according to the potential advantages of applying early.

“Early decision is good for the student so they don’t have to worry after November,” he said, “But you want to make sure you’re not jumping into anything you’re not sure about, because [early decision] is a serious commitment.”

A look at the Class of 2020 This year’s applicant pool is record breaking.

All 50 states and 153 countries are represented

Early decision applications to BU have increased 89% since 2010

Fall of 2015: 1700 ED1, 1721 ED2 applications

57,342 applications were received.

This is a 4.7% increase from last year Applicant SAT average is 12 pts higher than last year

Fall of 2014: 1644 ED applications

Fall of 2013: 1718 ED applications

Fall of 2012: 1496 ED Apps

FEATURES

5

SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016

ArtLifting creatively uplifting to homeless, disabled artists

BY NATASHA MASCARENHAS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

“Buy Art, Change a Life,” is the slogan proudly declared by ArtLifting, a benefit corporation that works to sell art made by the homeless or disabled communities in order to provide members with a source of income and an outlet for creative expression.

Through Jan. 31, a pop-up store inside the CambridgeSide Galleria in Cambridge will showcase original art pieces of low-income individuals and selling it to local shoppers Thursdays through Sundays.

With stores in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey, ArtLifting has returned to the roots of its co-founders, siblings Liz and Spencer Powers.

“Liz has worked with the Boston homeless population for the past 10 years,” said Katie Manzi, the marketing and events director for ArtLifting. “When she would work at these shelters, she noticed that a lot of these people had amazing artistic talent, but the art would often end up in the trash or damaged.”

Taking her past experiences in stride, Liz recognized the potential for an organization with the ability to positively impact artistic, low-income individuals, Manzi said. She teamed up with her brother Spencer to make the dream a reality, and ArtLifting was born in December 2013.

“Art is beneficial therapy-wise as well, for all artists,” said Christine Cincotta, a

PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

ArtLifting, a program that benefits homeless and disabled artists, opened a pop-up store in CambridgeSide Galleria Jan. 9, which runs through Jan. 31.

freshman neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences. “So this is now becoming an outlet for struggling people to be productive and creative.”

The mental health perspective of ArtLifting is yet another facet of its success.

ArtLifting puts great focus on maintaining the artist’s integrity, which gives them confidence and has an expanding effect on other aspects of their lives that previously may have seemed unattainable.

“I have an older brother who is disabled,” said Kelly McKenna, the chief operating officer who has been with the Powers siblings since ArtLifting’s inception.

“He was told for a long time that he would never graduate grade school, but he ended up graduating college with honors because my family treated him normally and just focused on what he was good at.

“Our mission is to empower people by celebrating their strengths,” McKenna

continued. “These people have, for most of their lives, maybe never been told that they’re good at something and often have negative stereotypes, but we’re trying to change that.”

In addition to validation and confidence, ArtLifting gives 55 percent of the profit made off of the paintings directly to the artist. So far, five artists have gained solid housing because of their new income source and “renewed energy to fill out housing applications and job applications,” McKenna said.

According ArtLifting’s website, the New England Patriots recently purchased a few art pieces, giving the artists exposure and a recurring income.

“I think ArtLifting coming to Boston is a really smart choice, because the city has an appreciation for culture across the board,” Cincotta said.

Cincotta also noted the array of indirect impacts ArtLifting has on the surrounding population. The art that is presented creates common ground among people of different backgrounds. The medium creates a bridge between the classes, breaking stereotypes and supporting true talent.

ArtLifting also created a line of art made for workplaces, so companies have the chance to incorporate and support art with a great cause behind it.

“We like looking at [the art], we like talking about it,” Timothy Sullivan, a CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

INBUSINESS THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016

TERRIERS INBIZ: BU alumni decorate Forbes' 30 under 30 list

BY SAMANTHA J. GROSS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Terriers InBiz is a series that highlights Boston University alumni who have been innovative leaders in their field and have played a significant role in businesses, locally or globally.

From her early college days working under the former ambassador of Tanzania, Alexandria Lafci showed interest in international affairs, land reform and making a global impact through leadership and education. Matt Barba, a whiz kid of sorts, had an interest in finance and was working as a real estate agent by the end of his freshman year. Both graduated from Boston University’s School of Management, both followed their entrepreneurial visions and both made the most recent Forbes’ 30 under 30 list, which featured “young game changers” in 20 different fields such as social entrepreneurship and enterprise technology.

Of the 600 young people featured, six were BU alum.

Lafci earned a spot on the list for her crowd-funding platform, New Story, which allows donors to build homes and secure land for families in countries like Haiti and El Salvador. A unique aspect of the nonprofit is that with just one click, donors can watch families around the world tell their stories and move into their new homes. All of the donations go toward families in need, said Lafci.

“We value personal connections,” Lafci said. “In that sense, we’re trying to create a ‘new story’ and a new standard of excellence in the nonprofit sector as well.”

Lafci, who graduated from SMG in 2011 with a concentration in international rela-

tions, said her time at BU allowed her the space to explore her interest in development.

On her first tour of the campus, she was excited to learn that SMG offered classes about diplomacy from ambassadors and examined intelligence from former members of the CIA. Lafci, while interning at the African Presidential Center on campus, traveled to Berlin to sit at the African presidential roundtable and discussed democracy and reform with former African presidents.

“That’s where I really learned about land reform, which is a huge component of my work today — trying to secure land so families not only own their homes, but own the land that it sits on,” Lafci said. “I had so many international experiences at BU. It’s really shaped my cultural sensitivity and my world perspective.”

New Story came to be a little more than a year ago after Lafci, a then-recent Teach for America alum, met one of her co-founders, Brett Hagler, at a monthly social entrepreneurship gathering in Atlanta. He mentioned that on his last trip to Haiti, he saw people living in the same tents they were given after the 2010 earthquake. Lafci, who had dealt with homelessness from her often-underprivileged students, was excited by the idea of tackling the issue.

“I knew that giving a home was really more than what it seems like. It’s more than putting a roof over someone’s head,” Lafci said.

“A home does have far-reaching implications into education, into income, into health.”

After just one year of New Story, the PHOTO BY OLIVIA NADEL/DFP FILE PHOTO

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Daniele Bocchieri and Nikolai Romanov, Northeastern University students, started “Sapori Pinocchios,” a business that allows them to ride around their campus and downtown Boston on bikes delivering and selling Italian pastries from the North End.

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MUSE THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016

PHOTO COURTESY DAN COX/FLICKR

Panic! At The Disco’s released their new album “Death of a Bachelor” on Friday.

REVIEW: Panic! At The Disco commemorates "Death of a Bachelor"

BY NAVRAJ NARULA DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie chimed in 2016 last Friday with the band’s fifth studio album, “Death of a Bachelor,” featuring 11 tracks including singles “Hallelujah,” “Victorious” and “Emperor’s New Clothes.” The fact that Urie managed to both craft and release his own set list is admirable, as Urie is currently the only member of his band, although he is accompanied by touring musicians Dallon Weekes, Kenneth Harris and Dan Pawlovich.

One must read between the lines to decipher the meaning behind Urie’s lyrics. The case is so for many other Panic!

At The Disco songs, including well-known hits such as “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” and “Hallelujah,” the first single off the new album.

The video for “Hallelujah,” which

premiered July 7, involved a red-suited Urie expertly contemplating in dark room while simultaneously dancing to the tune of his own rhythm. Despite the obvious picture of a woman on screen, as well as in most of his songs in general, whatever Urie is pondering is a mystery.

The video for “This is Gospel,” a track appearing on 2013’s “Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die,” left Urie confined to a hospital bed. Some effort to piece the aftermath of this puzzle together is evident in the video for “Emperor’s New Clothes,” another single off “Death of a Bachelor,” which may contain Urie’s most stunning transformation yet.

In all scenarios, Urie presents himself as inviting and different. If considering simply the music instead of the videos the group spawns, Panic! At The Disco’s tune remains stagnant.

The melody is not bland, and the drums, bass and guitar combo never fails to make a song “catchy.” However, no dar-

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ing actions have been made on the band’s part to really expand its sound.

Any song on “Death of a Bachelor” is likely to be one that is recognizable with a classic Panic! At The Disco song.

The theme behind “Death of a Bachelor” remains consistent throughout. In the titular song “Death of a Bachelor,” Urie — as any bachelor might — looks back on his life and questions it mournfully, as if aware that some sort of closing time is both near and inevitable: “The death of a bachelor / Oh / Letting the water fall / The death of a bachelor / Oh / Seems so fitting for / Happily ever after / Ooh / How could I ask for more? / A lifetime of laughter / At the expense of the death of a bachelor.”

The death of said bachelor is exposed further in all songs in the album, as each song in itself either presents a near-death experience or one that has already entered the afterlife.

In “Victorious,” the momentum — driven by vengeance towards an ex-lover

as portrayed in a music video — is strong.

Urie seeks to demonstrate himself only as a champion among performances of various tasks, most notably reigning as a wrestler. He is frivolous, but satisfied at the expense of living so close to dying.

As in his sound, Urie remains faithful to this theme well beyond his single hits for this album. “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time” hints at a life of aimless travel — “I roam the city in a shopping cart / Pack of Camels and a smoke alarm” — while “Crazy=Genius” seeks to mention thoughts of the culmination of the walk as it may pertain to the very life of a bachelor.

Though Panic! At The Disco delivers with the same sound it had in the early to mid-2000s, the story behind each song still stands somehow as fresh and new.

Urie excels in this particular department.

Writing lyrics is what keeps Panic! At The Disco original in the first place.

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FEATURES

7

CATALYST THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016

New study finds gut hormones diminish people's cravings

BY REBECCA ZENG DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

For all those wishing to finally succeed at a cleanse and cut out calories, tobacco and alcohol, new research could lessen the pain and difficulty of the journey.

"Gut hormones" are the hormones that cause a feeling of fullness after a meal and could be the key to dampening cravings for not only food, but also tobacco and alcohol. Investigators at the Imperial College London, led by researcher Tony Goldstone, are looking into whether an infusion of these hormones could reduce people's desires for these substances, thus making it easier for people to lose weight and quit smoking and drinking. Called the "Gut Hormone in Addiction" study, this investigation could result in a new treatment for obesity and alcohol or tobacco dependence.

The start of this study stemmed from Goldstone's previous research, which focused on obesity.

"Dr. Goldstone has been involved in a lot of work concerning obesity and he's been working with hormones in his research in a long time," said Justine Nienke Pannecoek, study coordinator of the research group. "Being in the Centre for Neuropsychopharmocology, where we do a lot of addiction research, I believe that Dr. Goldstone found some [connection] between obesity and addiction, causing him to form this study."

The two gut hormones under investigation — glucagon-like peptide-1 and ghrelin, produced in the stomach — could potentially play a dual role in pushing an individual to crave something. "[These hormones] have an influence on appetite," Nienke Pannecoek added. "Not just appetite, but studies have shown that the same brain circuits involved in appetite or reward are also involved in addiction."

Because of their role in influencing cravings, these two hormones have the potential to prevent people from relapsing into their addictions. The team at the Imperial College London is capitalizing on this idea, testing the effect of GLP-1 and ghrelin on stress levels of volunteers who are trying to quit their addiction.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANNALYN KUMAR

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans released Jan. 7 has sparked questions about the validity of memory-based dietary assessment methods (M-BMs).

Nienke Pannecoek said the group is giving "ex-smokers, ex-drinkers and overweight people an infusion of those two hormones" to test the efficacy by means of neuropsychological tasks and brain scans.

"Based on these findings, we hope to see [the hormones] are reducing cravings for a long time," she said.

According to Nienke Pannecoek, this research could expand the use of a drug already on the market. Exenatide, a medication that uses GLP-1, is prescribed to treat diabetes.

"If we could find that this drug [could work] in different ways as well, not just for diabetes, that it can actually help people fight their addiction, it could be very promising for the

future and could be a very helpful took to help people stay quit after having quit," she said.

This study is unique in that it uses another target to combat addiction. Most addiction treatments focus on dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that controls the brain's reward and pleasure centers.

"Most efforts to develop treatments for addiction have also specifically focused on targeting dopamine," senior research fellow Liam Nestor wrote in an email. "It is through this gut hormonal modulation that addictive behaviors may be treated with greater efficacy, particularly factors surrounding relapse."

While this research could be hitting on something important, the path to an all-cure

for addiction is still far away, Richard Saitz, a professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and researcher for its Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, wrote in an email.

"It is well known that overwhelming craving is common in addiction, and it is very likely that hormones involved in appetite-like ghrelin can affect craving for alcohol," he wrote. "Medications that block craving can be useful in the treatment of addiction, though addiction is a complex disease and one thing we have learned many times over is that there is very unlikely to be a magic bullet that can cure all cases of the disease.”

Low-income artists find validation through ArtLifting ARTLIFT, FROM PAGE 5 partner at AJU IB Investment, wrote on the ArtLifting website, “It shows our employees and visitors that this is a group of people who care about good causes.”

The inclusion of the art into more public spaces will open up a conversation about low-income individuals and begin to change the skewed public perception.

“Allowing people the chance to see

what amazing art they have the ability to create is a great way to ‘rehumanize’ the homeless population,” said Joanna Munson-Palomba, the founder of Cards4aCause, a nonprofit organization that aims to keep low-income individuals’ integrity while providing monetary assistance.

As a result of ArtLifting’s efforts, there has been a double benefit, leaving consumers with more awareness and

artists with more confidence. Together, these two aspects can change the futures of low-income individuals in a grander scheme. Starting small, the corporation’s growth across the nation in only three years promises that there will be more widespread benefits.

After starting with only four artists, ArtLifting now supports 47 artists. As the organization grows, consumer apprecia-

tion can expand beyond the canvas to address the stories behind the paintings.

“I’m proud to go to work every day,” McKenna said. “[I see ArtLifting] becoming a national company that does really well and helps change countless lives. [I think it will] change stereotypes about this constituency of people … and it will inspire people to do good things and to dream big.”

Forbes recognizes BU alumni's professional accomplishments FORBES, FROM PAGE 5 team of four founders accomplished many Forbes-worthy achievements. According to the nonprofit’s blog, it raised $1,080,000 for 180 homes, opened the NASDAQ on live television and depleted an entire tent slum in Leveque, Haiti.

“The reason we want to build these communities is to create new stories,” Lafci said.

“New stories for individuals and new stories for entire communities that have all but lost hope until this point.”

Barba, a 2009 SMG graduate, and his co-founder Fred Townes, also a BU alum, joined the list of celebrated millennials with their startup, Placester, which helps improve

a different community — the intersection of real estate and technology.

Placester helps real estate professionals grow an online presence for their businesses.

The business provides “all the tools they need, all in once place,” Barba said. Although the Boston-based company has venture partners from the West Coast, this young duo decided to stay in the Bay State to build their company.

“We were a small team and we can move quickly and take chances and ultimately make big bets that would pay off,” Barba said. “From a broad perspective, that’s the beautiful thing about startups. They’re easy to start, they give you a lot of flexibility and you can ultimately make a huge impact on whatever you want,

whether that’s the world or your local community.”

Barba said the company started out with just the two of them coding in their apartments, where they could take risks and test out their programs without putting any employees in peril.

The two met in 2010 when Barba, who was working in real estate, was on the hunt for someone to help him with a new software tool. Townes, who graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2001 and was making waves as a prominent figure in the Boston technology and startup communities, caught Barba’s attention.

“We met at the Starbucks right at the

corner of Mass. Ave. and Newbury and kind of kicked it off,” Barba said. “It was really through that [BU] alumni relationship network. I think that was one of the big driving reasons to reach out.”

According to Placester’s website, the team has since raised nearly $8 million in funding and is backed by leading investors like Romulus Capital and Techstars. But before it was a Forbes-recognized company, Placester’s founders, like Lafci, were just BU students with an idea to change a community.

“You just need a person, an idea and a computer,” Barba said. “There’s no reason why you need to wait. You can always start over again.”

OPINION

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016

Samantha J. Gross, Editor-in-Chief Sonia Rao, 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 a t b o s t o n u n i v e r s i t y

45th year | Volume 90 | Issue I The Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published 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 © 2015 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Rhonda Mak, Multimedia Editor

Lucas Williams, Editorial Page Editor

Chloe Bruning, Blog Editor

Sekar Krisnauli T., Campus Editor

Christy Osler, Features Editor

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager

Olivia Quintana, City Editor

Sarah Silbiger, Photo Editor

Jonathan Sigal, Sports Editor

Rachel Chmielinski, Layout Editor

Contaminated water one of many problems in Flint The New York Times reported that Flint, Michigan Mayor Karen Weaver said, “It’s a minority community, it’s a poor community and voices were not being heard. And that’s a part of this problem.”

Weaver said Flint residents had been complaining about the city’s water ever since Flint switched from Detroit’s pricey water system to the Flint River in April 2014. Michigan’s state government was contacted about this issue and has now released more than 200 pages of emails discussing the Flint water crisis, dating all the way back to the month of the switch. And only now, after the state government has failed to guarantee clean water to its residents, has the contaminated water of Flint become a national issue.

It’s easy for elected officials to ignore those who have the least amount of influence and power. It most likely wasn’t in the Michigan government’s best financial interests to help Flint. If the state government was looking for money, there was none to be found there.

It’s all party politics and chasing money.

Flint’s poverty rate is 41.6 percent, and its median income is $24,679, according to the United States Census Bureau. That’s almost three times the national poverty rate and nearly half the national median income. There’s obviously no money for

campaigns to be found in Flint, Michigan.

This likely wouldn’t have occurred in a wealthier community. First of all, the corroding pipes that leaked lead into the water supply would have been fixed.

When California suffered a drought in 2015, the state government was quick to impose regulations and sanctions on water.

Yet when a town in Michigan has had to deal with contaminated water, it takes almost two years to garner national and even state attention.

Though politicians and celebrities alike are donating water and money to Michigan — shout-out to Cher — the most meaningful help can only come from the Michigan state government. No amount of water or purifiers will suffice. To prevent anything like this from happening again, the city and state governments must change the foundation on which they are being run.

Flint residents couldn’t afford to move when their complaints weren’t being addressed. They couldn’t afford to buy bottled or purified water. They couldn’t afford to do anything except sit and watch their government do nothing.

There’s a basic level of trust between people and their governments. If the people of Flint can’t trust their government to provide them with potable water, then how can they trust that their government has

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severe as the media makes it out to be, the Detroit Free Press reported.

If this same incident had happened in the City of Boston for example, the problem would likely last no longer than a week. Not only does Boston hold more residents, but many people who live in the city hold influence. It matters to the government that some Bostonians will get upset with them. That didn’t seem to be the case in Flint.

This week’s crossword puzzle is brought to you by Courtney Megliola

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their best interests at heart? Having clean drinking water is a human right. And the residents of Flint were denied that by their own government. Their local and state governments, quite frankly, have failed them.

Michigan officials are going so far as to deny that Flint’s water is undrinkable.

L. Brooks Patterson, executive of the neighboring Oakland County, has hinted that Flint’s water problem may not be as

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1. Unit of pressure 5. Tossed 10. Largest continent 14. Wreckage 15. French for “Queen” 16. Central points 17. Enamored 19. Regretted 20. Play a role 21. Stream 22. Musical groups 23. Scorn 25. Unexpired 27. A high alpine meadow 28. A standard or typical example 31. A type of plastic 34. Quilt part 35. Prefix meaning “Modern” 36. Mining finds 37. Segments of DNA

38. Anagram of “Sage” 39. Not high 40. Tweaked 41. Flat circular plates 42. Entraps 44. Detachable container 45. Refute 46. Asserted 50. S-shaped moldings 52. Audio communications 54. In song, the loneliest number 55. Marsh plant 56. An irresistible impulse to travel 58. Phone 59. Aquatic mammal 60. Chills and fever 61. Backside 62. Dams 63. Ale

1. Threesome 2. 1/16th of a pound 3. Fissures 4. Ribonucleic acid 5. Cliché 6. Throw with effort 7. Liturgy 8. Discomfited 9. Married 10. Frightened 11. Measurements of water depth 12. Chilled 13. Helps 18. Quaver 22. Ho-hum 24. Remits 26. Circle fragments 28. Windows 29. Eccentric person 30. Nonvascular plant 31. Mouselike animal 32.Weightlifters pump this

33. Current event short films 34. Pass into or through 37. Mentor 38. Assistant 40. Checks 41. Painful grief 43. Sewing tool 44. A gripping hand tool 46. Venomous snake 47. Edge tool 48. Follow as a result 49. Discourage 50. Killer whale 51. Equipment 53. Against 56. Expression of surprised admiration 57. Chemist’s workplace

OPINION

9

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016

Closure is difficult, yet necessary Biden’s plan to cure cancer lofty

BY MEREDITH WILSHERE COLUMNIST

Over sandwiches and “Law & Order: SVU” this winter break, I had a very long, open conversation with a boy I fell for in high school but never pursued because of my own personal fear of opening up to anyone who wasn’t one of my three best friends.

“I was scared,” I had told him. And admittedly, so was he, so we spent the minutes and hours we had together thinking of the pitfalls of the past and resolving to be better in the future.

In between the lines of columns I had written mentioning him that he had read and the sun slowly going down as we talked, we gave the high school versions of ourselves the closure they needed. We reassured the present versions of ourselves that we forgave each other. He had changed his outlook on relationships, so I resolved to change my outlook on golf. He said goodbye, leaving a kiss on my lips and a promise to not be a stranger.

Full closure is a nice concept. It’s a nice thing to believe that those who have wronged us have to give us an explanation for all the pain they caused us, provide us a reason as to why they walked away or answer any of our lingering questions. It’s a nice thing to believe that every confrontation will play out like they do in our heads, dramatic exits and all, abstained from regret or lingering feelings. Closure, in those scenarios, means that we get to move on. This, however, is rarely the reality as we go through the world hiding how we feel behind one-word text messages and unreciprocated Snapchats.

In reality, people who have hurt us walk away without a word. In this reality, we are sometimes never able to get another word in with those who we’ve wronged.

I can only imagine the conversations I’d have with all those who have wronged me. It

would start with a harsh word and end with a dramatic hair flip or a fierce pivot and exit with Beyoncé playing in the background. It would depend on the type of day I was having.

I have unresolved questions lingering for those people, things left unsaid, words lingering on my tongue that I’ve resorted to writing in dramatic poems and poorly written diary entries.

As helpful as these tools were, they were not the best options for me to release how I had been feeling. I kept tormenting myself with all the things I wish I had said, all the questions I would have asked and all the answers I was never granted.

Closure is a hard thing to obtain, because it relies on two people baring their souls and confessing to wronging each other. For it to work, for both parties to be abstained from guilt at the end of it, there needs to be honesty, openness and a want to put the past behind both of them or resolve for a better future. Few people are willing to put themselves into a place of vulnerability to achieve this — to rehash feelings of the past and resolve to move forward to the greatest extent that they can. I was able to do this with him because we both were confident, open and vulnerable at the same time. We were able to put the past versions of ourselves behind us, awkward teenage years and all.

Sometimes we open ourselves up and grant ourselves closure. Other times, we have to watch with tears in our eyes and hearts in our hands when the ones we love walk out of our lives. Closure is never granted. Closure is not always achieved. Closure never comes easy, nor does it come in the words we want to hear.

Sometimes we just have to resolve with ourselves that we may never get it. In cases such as these, we have to grant ourselves the closure we never got.

We have to believe, in our recently ended relationships and the ones before it, that we did the best we could, that we fought as hard as we let ourselves. And although we may never get answers to the questions that remain, we can finally resolve to stop asking them. We have to be kinder to ourselves and grant ourselves the closure we never got. We have to stop torturing ourselves by thinking of all the questions we’ve never asked, words we’ve never said and give ourselves closure. Sometimes, we never get to resolve things left unresolved, so we close that door with or without that person. Other times, we can take what we get with a smile, a sandwich, a sunset, a little bit of “SVU” and open the door that’s right in front of us.

BY ELISE RENNER COLUMNIST

And the war against cancer rages on.

In President Barack Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address, he endorsed Vice President Joe Biden’s “moonshot” plan to cure cancer. Biden first announced his plan in October 2015, telling Americans he was “pushing as hard as [he could] to accomplish [it].” Coming at a tender time after Biden had recently lost his son Beau to brain cancer, this plan was fueled by high emotions and expectations.

Although it has gained a lot of momentum in the last few decades, this socalled war is nothing new. In his 1971 State of the Union Address, President Richard Nixon declared that “the time [had] come in America when the same kind of concentrated effort that split the atom and took man to the moon should be turned toward conquering this dread disease.”

But 45 years later, we’re still struggling to do this. Lenny Bernstein, a Washington Post writer, predicts that this war will “be more like a swarm of fighter jets scrambling to take on numerous adversaries in an ever-changing battle.”

Biden’s strategy for eradicating cancer focuses on collaboration among all necessary moving parts — government, industry, researchers, patient groups and philanthropies — to create well-oiled, cancer-combat fighter jets. He also wants to do this fast, and “make a decade worth of advances in five years.”

Although this sounds like a great idea, people are questioning if it’s actually possible. Political leaders have talked about

“ending cancer” ever since Nixon was president. But as more research is being done on the disease, this seems increasingly impossible. Jose Baselga, president of the American Association for Cancer Research and chief medical officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said it best when he told The Washington Post, “A single approach to cancer … ain’t going to happen.”

Scientists now use cancer as a general term to describe more than 100 different diseases. This means that Biden’s plan is less of a moonshot and more of a moon journey, the two main focuses of which are the aggregation of a large database of diagnostic information and a surge in research funding. This funding would primarily come in the form of a $260.5 million increase in the National Cancer Institute’s budget.

The first bit of progress made since this plan’s reveal could be seen at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference last week.

Nine thousand of the biotech industry’s brightest investors gathered in San Francisco for their largest event of the year.

On the business side of the conference, CEOs vehemently defended pricing policies in the drug industry. On the science side, however, there was a lot to be excited about.

This conference unveiled huge advances in technology side of this war. One of the most talked-about points involved the genetic technology manufacturing company Illumina and its brand new company, Grail. Grail will work to refine current technology used to detect cancer in the bloodstream. This could be a revolutionary new tool used to detect cancer.

The main basis of Biden’s plan, however, involves immunotherapy — a type of treatment that enlists the body’s own immune system to this war. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News reported that the National Immunotherapy Coalition plans to “design, initiate and complete randomized clinical trials in patients with cancer at all stages of disease in up to 20 tumor types in as many as 20,000 patients by 2020.” Pretty amazing.

Interrobang Twelve Russian Orthodox priests recently hugged 12 cuddly cats for a 2016 Priest + Cat photo calendar.

We here at the ol’ Free Press want to know, what would BU people hug for a photo calendar?

Sorority Girls: Their new littles

Warren Freshmen: BASHO Sushirritos

Science Majors: Their fleeting textbook funds

Coach Quinn: BU’s new ice hockey commits

CFA Upperclassmen: The Huntington Theatre

Professors: The hopes that students actually do required readings

BU Facilities: Their last bag of sidewalk salt

FreeP: Our ticket to Hollywood

10

SPORTS

No.4 Quinnipiac overpowers women’s hockey in matinee

BY NICK NEVILLE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University women’s hockey team suffered a setback Wednesday at the hands of No. 4 Quinnipiac University, falling to the Bobcats by a score of 6-1 in Hamden, Connecticut.

For the Terriers (14-9-2, 11-42 Hockey East), this was the third road game in a span of five days. After collecting three of four points in a weekend set against Hockey East foe The University of Vermont, BU simply did not do enough to stifle the Bobcats’ (20-1-4) explosive offensive attack.

The Terriers came out of the gate playing well, and they kept the Bobcats at bay through the first 10 minutes of action, but a goal by forward Meghan Turner at the 13:01 mark in the first period opened the floodgates.

It was all Quinnipiac after that, save for a lone Terrier power-play goal in the second period, but BU head coach Brian Durocher noted that there were some important takeaways from this loss.

“My lesson, and it has pretty much been the recurring theme that I’m trying to preach, is we really have to become more diligent, more thorough and more competitive in the defensive part of our game,” Durocher said. “That team, despite scoring six goals today, the first and second things they were thinking about were keeping us at bay and keeping us away from the net. They did what they needed to do defensively, and we were erratic at best.”

The Bobcat offense has been on a tear this year, averaging 3.3 goals per contest, and their success on the offensive end was therefore not surprising. It was their strong play defensively, though, that limited the Terriers’ opportunities and left BU with little chance of a comeback.

The Bobcats more than doubled BU’s shot output on the afternoon, securing a 34-15 advantage.

Despite sophomore goaltender Erin O'Neil stopping 28 shots, the Terriers could not generate enough offense to climb back into the game.

“They got four to five goals on their first … 15 shots, so I’m sure Erin would like to get a couple of those back because we needed them at that point in the game,” Durocher said. “We were playing pretty well for 10 minutes and then all of a sudden they get a couple goals, get some momentum.”

Durocher shied away from blaming O’Neil, but did point out the sophomore’s high standard.

“I don’t think she was directly responsible for them by any means, but as a goalie and as a competitor, you obviously want to stop everything,” Durocher said. “I’m not sure if she had the chance to make the big save today that maybe could have hung us in there longer.”

After both teams struggled to get going in the first period, the Bobcats killed a Terrier power play and responded by scoring twice in a span of 46 seconds to take a 2-0 lead.

Defenseman Kristen Tamberg netted her second goal of the year off a power play to help Quinnipiac take a commanding 3-0 lead into the second stanza. The Bobcats then extended their lead to four just minutes into the second period off a strike by sophomore Taylar Cianfarano.

“It was not one of our better games of the year is a nice way to put it,” Durocher said. “They got some momentum and then in the second period we had a couple of physical errors. A couple times a puck took a funny bounce off the glove of a defensemen and then we had a person lose their balance. Those are physical errors I can live with, but Quinnipiac had a couple of good players that capitalized and all of a sudden

PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DFP FILE PHOTO

Senior Jordan Juron now has four goals on the year, and is one away from tying her career high.

it’s 4-0.”

Senior forward Jordan Juron cut the lead to three with a power-play goal of her own at the 4:32 mark in the second period for her fourth goal of the year. Sophomore forward Rebecca Leslie extended her point streak to five with her team-leading 25th assist on the play.

It was all Quinnipiac the rest of the way, though. Cianfarano added another goal seven minutes into the second period, and forward Melis-

sa Samoskevich, who is second on the team in points, rounded out the scoring for the Bobcats.

The Terriers will look to get back on track this weekend when they take on conference rival Providence College. The encounter will serve as BU’s only 2016 game at Agganis Arena, but Durocher noted that although this is a plus, his team’s focus will be on the Friars (815-1, 4-9-1 Hockey East).

“It’s always exciting to go over

to Agganis Arena,” Durocher said.

“The atmosphere is certainly different with the lights and the Jumbotron. It creates its own fun atmosphere to play in. We want to make sure we put up a good showing and go into the building not worrying if we’re going to score goals or how many goals we’re going to score, but [about how we] can … make life miserable for Providence and keep them at zero for most of the game.”

Depicted as a "meathead", John Scott shows flaw in fan voting BENEDYKCIUK , FROM PAGE 12

outwardly that the trade was made just to keep Scott from participating.

Through all this controversy, though, Scott will remain the captain of the Pacific Division at this year’s All-Star Game.

The NHL clearly needs to remove the fan vote system. At the very least, it must lessen the power of the fan vote. If it were up to me, fans would not vote for All-Stars in any sport.

While it was Derek Jeter’s last season playing baseball, he started and hit leadoff in the MLB All-Star Game despite having subpar statistics. In the NBA, Kobe Bryant currently leads the All-Star fan vote although he has poor numbers too.

Now, obviously, these two cases are entirely different. I wouldn’t dare compare a bush league player like John Scott to living legends like Kobe and Jeter. Bryant has been an AllStar 17 times — the most among active players. In fact, if the

lockout did not cancel the 1999 NBA All-Star Game, he would hold the NBA record with 18 consecutive appearances. Derek Jeter played in 14 All-Star Games. Due to their illustrious careers, those two earned one last All-Star appearance.

My point is that All-Stars should be selected based on performance, either honoring a player’s performance that season or that player’s career. All-Stars should not be chosen for popularity, and especially not for trends on Twitter.

Consider Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers, who finished among the top of the league in All-Star votes. Hypothetically speaking, if Jagr, 43, had done something similar to Jeter and Bryant and announced his retirement earlier this season, I wouldn’t care what his stats were. He has earned the right to play in one last All-Star Game.

The same goes for Peyton Manning in the NFL. Manning missed much of this season due to injury. As a result, he seems

like a shell of his normal self on the football field. But, there would be no problem for him to play in one last Pro Bowl, especially if he had declared his retirement from football earlier in the season.

I commend John Scott for the way he has handled this situation. He didn’t ask for all this attention, and he knows he doesn’t belong in the All-Star Game. He’s not pretending to be anything he’s not. Rather, he’s trying to make the best of this peculiar situation which has displaced himself and his family from their home in Arizona more than 4,000 miles away in another country.

In the end, the NHL made the right decision. Under the current All-Star selection system, fan votes declare All-Stars.

And frankly, the league cannot take away Scott’s votes. Hopefully, we see some sort of voting panel next year, so that something like this doesn’t happen again.

PHOTO COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

John Scott has nearly twice as many penalty minutes as he does games played.

SPORTS

11

Poor shooting defines women's basketball loss to Colgate

BY JOE CALABRESE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Though the Boston University women’s basketball team was able to best Colgate University in many offensive categories in its Wednesday night matchup, the Terriers fell to the Raiders 72-63.

The Terriers (1-17, 1-6 Patriot League) had the edge in shots, shots from behind the 3-point line, steals and rebounds. When it came to points and shooting percentage, however, they were unsuccessful.

Colgate’s (4-13, 2-5 Patriot League) leading scorer, senior Josie Stockill got off to a good start with a clear layup just over a minute in, but that would end up being just one of two field goals she would convert on in the game.

BU, however, had its own problems with respect to putting the ball in the net. Despite having good looks, they were unable to convert on open, high-percentage shots. The first quarter alone featured missed layups from five different Terriers.

While sophomore guard Meghan Doogan was one of those five, she had an impressive showing. After being subbed in very early in the first quarter, she immediately got the Terriers their first points with a smooth 3-pointer.

She ended up finishing just 1-for-8 from behind the arc, but she was one of four Terriers who finished with double digits in points, and she was consistently able to get open and find good looks.

“Doogan is an unsung hero for our team,” said BU head coach Katy Steding. “I was glad she came in and responded right away and did what she’s capable of doing. She gets really good looks … Meg’s got a good head for the game. She’s a really smart player and she knows

what to do out there.”

While many of the Terriers’ shortcomings on offense can be attributed to their own errors, the Raiders’ offense was stifled

by BU’s stingy defense. While they had some good looks, no Raider was left without heavy pressure for long, and when Colgate got shots off, BU did an excellent job of boxing out and scooping up anything that popped out — which just so happened to be a lot.

Sophomore forward Kara Sheftic collected rebounds on both sides of the ball. She had eight offensive rebounds — just two fewer than the entire Colgate team. Sheftic also finished with a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.

While Steding said the offensive boards were a focal point at practice leading into Wednesday, she was disappointed with the lack of conversion once they were able to get those rebounds.

“We need to make more layups than we’re making,” Steding said. “Twenty-two offensive boards is an amazing accomplishment for this team, and it shows that when we put our mind to something, we really attack. We made it a real strong emphasis in yesterday’s practice and in today’s game that we were going to crash the offensive glass, but we need to convert those to make it helpful.”

While the Raiders were having trouble sinking good looks too, the misses on uncontested shots ended up being the difference for the Terriers. After going down 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, BU was unable to retake the lead for the rest of the game, tying just twice.

The second half started out with the Terriers looking good. Sophomore guard Corrine Williams sunk a mid-range jumper to tie it at

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DFP FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Corrine Williams drains 70.4 percent of her free throw attempts, which is sixth best on BU.

26 within the first minute of the half. Colgate responded with a 3-pointer from junior Katie Curtis — one of her four — and a conversion on a falling layup from Stockill.

Colgate’s 11-2 run to open the fourth

quarter cemented the Raider victory. While BU was unable to come away with the victory despite four double-digit scorers and nearly two double-doubles, Wednesday’s was one of the Terriers’ most hard-fought games to date.

Women's basketball shows toughness in defeat to Colgate

BY TYLER ORINGER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Despite a 72-63 loss to the Colgate University, the Boston University women’s basketball team was physical and showed constant hustle throughout the game.

The first half was well played by the Terriers (1-16, 1-6 Patriot League), who seemed very honed in on forcing tough shots and not allowing many boards, limiting the Raiders (4-13, 2-5 Patriot League) to 10-of-33 shooting. Sophomore guard Corrine Williams finished the first half with seven rebounds and the team totaled 17 boards to Colgate’s 11. At the end of two periods, the Terriers were only down 2624.

Although the game slipped away in the second half, the Terriers were still playing a physical brand of basketball, and sophomore forward Kara Sheftic did all she could to keep BU in the game. Despite finishing with only two rebounds in the first half, Sheftic was able to pull down a total of 13 boards for the game, with eight of them coming on the offensive end.

Sheftic, who averages 13.1 points per game in conference play, finished with 12 points, notching an impressive double-double against Colgate forward Josie Stockhill, who leads the nation in blocked shots per game with 4.25.

“Since the day she got here, she’s been someone you tell … ‘Do this,’ and she does it almost immediately,” BU head coach Katy Steding said of Sheftic. “If it's something in her wheelhouse, she does it.”

Steding called Sheftic’s eagerness to learn and ability to pick up things in practice “refreshing.”

“We said, 'Kara, use fakes,’ and she did,” Steding said. “[Stockhill] likes to try to block shots, [Sheftic] listens, she pays attention. Kara’s focus is something I have

really enjoyed working with.”

Led by Sheftic, the Terriers finished with 49 total rebounds, 22 of which were offensive boards.

Steding used tonight’s performance as an example of Sheftic’s impressive ability to do what Steding and her staff ask of her.

“More specifically, tonight, we said our goal was to crash the offensive glass and get rebounds, and she went out and accomplished our team goal practically herself,” Steding said.

Along with the physicality on the offensive glass, the Terriers were running in transition on the offensive side of the ball and pressing on defense. Steding was very vocal throughout the whole game on the bench, telling the Terriers to push the tempo and get up on who they were guarding.

Though the game was played with a physical edge, Steding said that wasn’t the intention entering the game. “[The officials] usually don’t let that much go, and at the outset, I’m just trying to make sure it’s even on both ends,” Steding said. “I know our girls play pretty physical, because we don’t call fouls during practice. We encourage that type of play, but it seemed they were letting a lot go.”

Toward the end of the game, the Terriers pressed hard in the backcourt and forced six turnovers in the final period.

But their physicality was not enough due to the fact that Colgate had pulled so far away in the middle of the fourth quarter.

BU outrebounded and turned the ball over fewer times than Colgate, but the physical play and double-double from Sheftic wasn’t enough to take down the Raiders.

“Though 22 offensive boards is an amazing accomplishment, I should have told them they need to dunk,” Steding said, “because despite the physicality inside, we still need to convert our layups.”

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DFP FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Kara Sheftic is second in rebounds per game to only junior Meghan Green.

Quotable “It was not one of our better games of the year is a nice way to put it." - BU women's hockey coach Brian Durocher p. 10

Sports

Three Point Poison Women's basketball was no match for Colgate's 3-point shooters p. 11

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Shorthanded men's basketball loses to Colgate

The Blue Line John Scott's All-Star bid ruins NHL fan vote

BY MICHAEL JOSCELYN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

BY MIKE BENEDYKCIUK DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Just two years ago, forward John Scott was condemned by NHL Network’s Mike Milbury as “a meathead” who did not belong in the NHL. This season, despite playing in only 11 games and being waived to the minor leagues, he received the highest number of All-Star votes in the NHL. At 33 years old, the veteran Scott has played for six teams in his eight years in the league. Over that span, he has played in 285 games, while accumulating a whopping 542 penalty minutes and only 11 points — five goals and six assists. For context, Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov — who has scored 48 points this season — will not be participating in this year’s All-Star Game.

During the 2013-14 season, while playing for the Buffalo Sabres, Scott was suspended for a vicious illegal check to the head of Boston Bruins forward Loui Eriksson. Since then, he has been suspended on two other occasions for a total of six games. While the hit on Eriksson was Scott’s first suspension, his reputation as a bruiser was and continues to be obvious throughout the league.

With all this said, one simple question remains: How was John Scott even considered for the All-Star Game?

Last November on the “Marek vs.

Wyshynski” podcast, John Marek of Sportsnet expressed his interest in seeing Scott participate in the new 3-on-3 format of the All-Star Game. Soon after, #JohnScottASG was soon trending on Twitter and Reddit, among others.

Both the NHL and the Arizona Coyotes (his team at the time of the final vote) urged him to step down and decline his All-Star spot, but Scott rightfully refused.

Days later, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens and sent down to their minor league affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps.

There was speculation that the trade was made in order to prevent the enforcer from playing in the All-Star Game. However, considering the fact that Scott has played for 20 percent of the teams in the NHL in just eight seasons, it’s hard to say CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

A back-and-forth game early on turned sour for the Boston University men’s basketball team as Colgate University defeated them 85-78.

The Terriers (10-10, 3-4 Patriot League) were only down two at halftime but shot a measly 38.5 percent from the field compared to Colgate (9-9, 5-2 PL) 52 percent in the half, an indication of the troubles ahead.

The game shifted at the 12:59 mark of the second half with BU down 53-50.

The Raiders offense absolutely exploded as they went on a 17-4 run that made the score 70-54, which the Terriers could never come back from.

In the second half alone Colgate shot a staggering 66.7 percent from outside the

arc and 65.2 percent from the field. This included three players that had double-digit points.

“We had a hard time containing them off the dribble and through the shot clock,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “We did a decent job early in the shot clock, but around 12 seconds or so we broke down, couldn’t contain and they were able to make plays.”

Sophomore Jordan Swhopshire hit five 3-point field goals throughout the game for the Raiders including hitting one while being fouled by senior forward Nathan Dieudonne to convert a four point play.

Dieudonne was one of the lone highlights for the Terriers on offense as he finished with a double-double consisting of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely also got involved for BU as he finished the game

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DFP FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Cheddi Mosely averages 12.9 points per game and has the second most points on BU.

with 17 points ans 13 rebounds.

“He’s not fully healthy, he’s just playing with great toughness with that stress fracture,” Jones said. “It’s just something we have to monitor and keep his minutes down the best we can.”

The Terriers were actually winning by six points early on the second half as a free throw preceded by a layup from junior guard Eric Fanning built the lead up. The team just did not have an answer for senior Austin Tillotson who finished with 22 points and four assists.

A Terrier that most embodied his teams performance is junior forward Blaise Mbargorba. In the first half he registered a strong showing of eight points and two rebounds in just seven minutes, yet he finished the game with the same eight points and four rebounds in 13 minutes of action.

An area of success throughout the game for the Terriers was their ability to force turnovers as the Raiders gave the ball away 17 times. Unfortunately BU could only convert 15 points off of those opportunities “They did a good job of getting back and not letting us score in transisition,” Jones said. “They weren’t really going for the offensive glass as much as they were not trying to let us score in transition.

They just did a good job in their transition defense.”

With this loss snapping their three game winning streak the Terriers now fall into a tie for fourth place in the Patriot League standings as five teams currently sit at 3-4.

Things do not get any easier for the squad either as their next four games are all either with teams that they are tied with or are currently above them in the standings.

It looks like the Terriers will also have to make due with their current rotation of players as sophomore guards Will Goff and Eric Johnson are not expected back just yet.

“Eric Johnson will be out for at least three more weeks and Will Goff is more day-to-day, but I have no idea when he would return,” Jones said. “He’s not that close to returning now.”

As BU looks for more answers, coach Jones believes that the teams quick turnaround from Monday’s victory over Loyola University Maryland had an impact on the loss to Colgate.

“Without making any excuses, we gotta shoot the ball better, but if you just look at it logically,” Jones said. “We played Monday night and had to travel here so that’s a tough turnaround. They play Saturday so they can take off Sunday and then practice Monday.

We’ve been a pretty good 3-point shooting team and I thought we had some good looks, but we weren’t able to knock them down. But we’re capable of knocking those down we just have to do it.”

BOTTOM LI NE THURSDAY, JANUARY 21

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24

MONDAY, JANUARY 25

Men's Basketball vs. Bucknell, 1 p.m.

The San Francisco 49ers announced Chip Kelly as their new head coach at a press conference Wednesday.

Men's Hockey @ Maine, 7:30 p.m.

Women's Hockey vs. Providence, 3 p.m.

Women's Basketball @ Bucknell, 4 p.m.

Men's Hockey vs. Maine, 7 p.m.

49ers CEO Jed York said at the Women's Hockey @ Providence,

press conference, "We are pretty

2 p.m.

used to losing, so hiring Chip was a no-brainer."