The Daily Free Press
Year xli. Volume lxxxii. Issue lxxvii.
Campus & City
VERY VEGAN: J.P. Licks to cater to customers with special page 3 diets
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Monday, February 27, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University Sports In Business/MUSE Monday
FOUR LEAF: Clover food truck offers organic food on-the-go
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AL-EXX-TRA GOOD: Privitera nets OT gamewinner
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Weather
Today: Cloudy, High 51 Tonight: Cloudy, Low 32 Tomorrow: 47/29 Data Courtesy of weather.com
Students point out flaws in BU resources for sexual assault Proposed election term SHS phone number Wednesday at 11:36 p.m. legedly forced his way into a female student’s and selected “emergency operator” from an room and groped her against her will. changes could improve automated menu. She asked the operator for Francis’ note was shared on at least 156 This is the first part of a series examining resources available for rape or sexual assault Facebook profiles with more than 67 likes and how Boston University handles cases of sexual victim, to which the operator said “What? We 40 comments by early Friday afternoon.. Union, members say assault, in response to the two separate arrests By Emily Overholt Daily Free Press Staff
of men’s hockey players for sexual assault in the last two months. Students raised concerns about how Boston University has handled sexual assault incidents after a second men’s hockey player in two months was arrested for sexual assault on Sunday, Feb. 19. Dozens of students expressed concerns over Facebook after College of Communication alumna Allison Francis, known as “Allison McCorgi” on Facebook, posted a note about the poor service she received when calling the Student Health Services hotline for sexual assault victims. In the note, Francis stated she called the
don’t have anything like that here.” The operator eventually connected her to medical health, which then directed her back to behavioral health. “It is a useless loop of automated menus that provide no real resources or response to sexual assault,” the note stated. “Boston University has neither an emergency support system for victims of sexual assault nor staff members trained in responding to rape crisis situations.” Francis said in the note her motivations stemmed from BU’s responses to the Sunday arrest of then-men’s hockey player Max Nicastro, who faces two counts of rape. The first arrest involved former men’s hockey player Corey Trivino on Dec. 11. Trivino al-
School of Management senior Becca Farmer commented on the note, calling it “disgusting.” BU President Robert Brown sent a letter to the students, faculty and staff Thursday, announcing an investigation into the culture of the men’s hockey program in response to recent allegations. “After hearing Boston University’s attempts to distance itself and its hockey team from the two separate incidences of rape and sexual assault that have come up in the past two months, I wanted to see what resources were available for victims and survivors,” the letter stated.
doing so violates criminal law. The attorney who represented the Juliano family in the civil case, Richard Campbell, said in defending Juliano he argued the host of the party had broken the law by providing underage drinkers with a so-called “safe” place to drink. “The criminal law as of 2000 made it illegal for any person . . . to allow the use of his or her
With Student Union set to vote on altering its election schedule on Monday, members said starting a new term in January could improve cooperative efforts, but could cause challenges for rising seniors and students outside of Union. Union vice president Alex Staikos, a School of Management sophomore, said the proposal, which suggested the Union term begin in January instead of May, is meant to provide continuity among executive board administrators and give power back to senators. “It is impractical to have a new executive board have to work with administrators in the summer who they have never been introduced to,” he said in an email interview. “Filling a cabinet can be difficult when it needs to be done in the summer months, since very few people are on campus.” Only the executive board, directors and the chief of staff would have a different election cycle, Staikos said. Senators are elected based on an election cycle determined by their constituency. “There are a lot of secondary effects, which include a stronger willingness of administration to work with the Student Union, year-to-year continuity on major issues, stronger presence in the summer months and more input from senators at the beginning of the year,” Staikos said. The new timeline would allow for a preparation period before intercession, which could potentially extend into a training period during the break, Union Chief of Staff Sophia Woyda, a CAS junior, said. The previous executive board would still be at BU to aid in further mentorship and provide insight during the first four months of the calendar-year term. The proposed election cycle will remedy the lack of continuity that exists in Union, said Student Union Director of City Affairs Prutha Patel, via email. “By switching to an election term that runs from January-January versus the current MayMay cycle, the Student Union will be able to better serve the student body with effective leadership,” Patel, a SMG junior, said. The change, however, would prevent seniors for running for positions in the executive board, as the term would end after they graduate. Union Senator Patrick O’Sullivan said the
Underage, see page 2
Union, see page 2
Sex, see page 4
Hosts of parties serving alcohol to minors not liable on all accounts By Chris Lisinski Daily Free Press Staff
Hosts of underage drinking parties who do not supply alcohol to minors are not liable for injuries their guests may sustain, according to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling. The owners of the property are also not liable in civil lawsuits, according to the decision. The decision follows a 2007 case in which the family of Rachel Juliano, 16 years old at the time, sued the host of an underage drinking party when Juliano suffered brain damage after leaving the party. She and her boyfriend Christopher Dunbar, who had been driving drunk, got in a car accident after leaving the party. But Juliano and Dunbar, who was 19 at the time, brought their own alcohol to the party. The host, also 19, “neither consumed [her father’s alcoholic] beverages nor offered them to her guests,” the case records said. Based on precedents set by similar cases, the court decided unanimously that hosts cannot be held liable for injuries since the hosts do not necessarily have control over people’s consumption of alcohol. “[I]n the absence of a right to exercise effective control [over the supply of alcohol], the defendant [is] not subject to a duty,” the court’s official decision stated. Robert Powers, the attorney for Jessica and Peter Simpson, the defendants in the 2007 case, said the decision was driven by fact.
JACKIE ROBERTSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Under a ruling by the State’s Supreme Judicial Court, minors who host underage drinking parties are no longer liable for injuries of their partygoers.
“Massachusetts courts have consistently ruled that social host liability may only be imposed where the host either serves the alcohol or effectively controls the supply of alcohol,” he said in an email to The Daily Free Press, “this was not a case for a dramatic expansion of social host liability.” Under the decision, the host of a party can still face punishment if he or she provides alcohol to minors or a place to consume alcohol, as
Public hearing for BU biolab set for April, Risk Assessment released By Emily Overholt Daily Free Press Staff
The National Institutes of Health announced it will hold a public meeting on April 19 to discuss the National Emerging Infectious Diseases laboratories at Boston University’s Medical Center. The NIH released a Draft Supplementary Risk Assessment of more than 1,700 pages, according to the website. The NIH also released a 23-page Reader’s Guide to help the public digest the heavy scientific information contained in the full document. “We are pleased that this stage of the Draft Supplementary Risk Assessment is completed,” said Ellen Berlin, a BU spokeswoman, in an email interview. “The National Institutes of Health and the Blue Ribbon Panel have worked diligently to develop a thorough and comprehensive analysis.” The NIH placed copies of the assessment and the reader’s guide in the Boston Public Library, the South End Library and
the Dudley Library. Officials are soliciting comments from the public, encouraging people to mail and email questions and concerns until May 1. According to the Reader’s Guide, the Risk Assessment poses questions such as: What could go wrong and how likely is that to happen? What are the risks to workers and to the public? Would the risks be different if the lab were located at a suburban or rural site? The Assessment focuses on 13 pathogens that are expected to be studied at the biolab, which have caused public concern and are a representative sample of those handled in BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs, according to the Reader’s Guide. These pathogens studied include anthrax, the 1918 influenza, SARS, the plague, Ebola and two different forms of encephalitis. The Risk Assessment catalogues the various outcomes of the biolab’s practices. It studied a variety of different situations, including those that “posed the maximum
By Rachel Eides Daily Free Press Staff
realistically expected threat” to both workers and the general public. The conclusion was that the lab poses little danger. “While there is no such thing as ‘no risk,’” the Reader’s Guide reported, “the results of this analysis show that the risk of infections or deaths resulting from accidents or malevolent acts at the NEIDL are generally very low to only remotely possible.” The Reader’s Guide stated the risk to the general public is “extremely low” and beyond “reasonably foreseeable” with the exception of secondary infection from the 1918 influenza and SARS. Infections from a release of 1918 H1N1 influenza or SARS could occur after 500 to 5,000 years of operation, well beyond the facility lifetime of 50 years, the Reader’s Guide reported. “It is also reassuring that the National Research Council reviewed the methodology and deemed it to be sound and credible,” Berlin said.
DIPPIN’ DIVE
ABIGAIL LIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The 2012 America East Swimming and Diving was held this weekend at Boston University’s Fitness and Recreation Center.