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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLIV. VOLUME LXXXVII. ISSUE V.
Hundreds support global push for free elections in Hong Kong
TOP LEFT & TOP RIGHT: PHOTO BY DANIEL GUAN/DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR, BOTTOM LEFT: ALEX MASSET/DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR, BOTTOM RIGHT: PHOTO BY EVAN JONES/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Left: Boston University students joined members of the community Wednesday at the Boston Common to show solidarity with Hong Kong protesters. Top right: Katherine Roznik (CGS ‘18), Hilary Chung (CAS ‘17) and Daniel Yang (SMG ’17) encourage students to sign their banner at a Democracy for Hong Kong table in the George Sherman Union. Bottom right: Supporters of Hong Kong protesters walked to the Massachusetts State House to tie yellow ribbons around the entrance gate. BY PAIGE SMITH & J.D. CAPELOUTO DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTORS
More than 400 students and residents rallied in the Boston Common Wednesday night to support a global protest for democratic elections in Hong Kong. With candles and umbrellas in hand, hundreds of supporters cheered on the movement at the Parkman Bandstand as more than a dozen residents and organizers delivered words of hope and encouragement to the crowd. After Chinese officials promised to hold the first free elections for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive since the region gained in-
dependence from Britain in 1997, they retracted the offer, insisting on filling the slot through a Beijing-based committee. Hong Kong students and residents have since protested the Chinese government’s pro-Beijing candidates for the upcoming election, sparking a resistance movement across the globe. The Boston movement’s lead organizer Angela Kawai Chan said the demonstration, Candles in the Common, was an important display of solidarity with those pushing for free elections in Hong Kong, and the movement has spread quickly throughout the Boston area and the United States. “We’re here to support what’s going on in Hong Kong and to raise awareness in America, because I feel like a lot of people
think they know something, but not the real thing of what’s going on,” Chan said. “There are so many international students, Hong Kong students, here in Boston and the New England area, so we can just cry together, and be there for each other.” Barton Liang, rally organizer and student at Tufts University, said mass protests like the one held on the Common signify that China is dishonoring their agreement, in turn disappointing the people of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the world. “I hope that a lot more of our brothers in the United States get to know our cause, and what we’re fighting in Hong Kong, and understand how politics in Hong Kong works,” he said.
The “Wear Yellow for Hong Kong on October 1st” campaign was started by students at Harvard University to spread the word at other universities where students value common ideals of democracy and political autonomy to support the democratic movement in Hong Kong. The movement has spread to over 40 universities, including Boston University. BU students sat in the George Sherman Union Link on Wednesday to hand out yellow ribbons, collect signatures for their banner to bring to the Common and spread awareness about the issue. After tabling at the GSU, the students traveled together to
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Massachusetts slow to enact medical marijuana legislation BY MINA CORPUZ & KEELA SWEENY DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Students and residents are criticizing Massachusetts legislators for failing to open medical marijuana dispensaries in the Commonwealth in a timely manner, which they claim is crucial to combatting symptoms the drug may be able to treat. Though Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana in 2009, approved medical use of the drug in 2012 and approved 20 applicants’ provisional dispensary licenses in January, the Commonwealth has not given dispensaries a date of when they can start operations. Matthew Allen, executive director of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, said he is disappointed with the lack of progress Massachusetts has made since the 2012 law was passed. “There are supporters of our group who are patients that have conditions like Multiple Sclerosis, ALS [Lou Gehrig’s Disease] or debilitating pain, who have no safe access
to their medicine,” he said. “Many continue to go without or seek their medicine on the black market. What we’ve been hearing from the Department of Public Health for two years now is, ‘Be patient. You have to wait.’”
The Commonwealth needs time to evaluate dispensary applicants before they can begin operating, said Department of Public Health’s Medical Use of Marijuana Program spokesman Scott Zoback.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY ZABOSKI/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
“What we’re really looking for is that applicants have a thorough understanding of the issues involved in operating a dispensary, that they have a comprehensive and reasonable plan and that they’re ready to serve in a manner that ensures both patient access and public safety,” he said. “Those two pieces are what this entire program is built on and operates on.” Zoback said some dispensaries could open in Massachusetts as early as winter 2014-15. Patients eligible to receive medical marijuana treatment, Allen said, are growing impatient with Massachusetts policy and are suffering without access to marijuana. “From the administration, it’s just politics before patients,” Allen said. “I think [Massachusetts Gov.] Deval Patrick is trying to skip out of office without trying to address this issue. What he’s created with that approach is a serious public health crisis. It’s not only an issue about public health and quality of life for patients, but also an issue of effective government.”
Supporters of medical marijuana believe it can help patients with long-term conditions.
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