The Daily Free Press
Year xli. Volume lxxxii. Issue lxxxvii.
Campus & City
GOOD COP, BAD COP: Students go to BUPD open house page 3
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Thursday, March 29, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University Sports MUSE
HUNGRY FOR ‘GAMES’: Collins’s book-turned-movie ‘satisfying’
SEE ONLINE
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SOUR IN STORRS: Softball drops 3-0 decision to UConn
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www.dailyfreepress.com Weather Today: Showers, High 48 Tonight: Cloudy, Low 33 Tomorrow: 48/33 Data Courtesy of weather.com
MBTA fare hikes set to increase by 23 percent, minimal service cuts expected By Samantha Tatro Daily Free Press Staff
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will charge 23 percent more for fares, keep service reductions to minimal levels and use money from one-time revenue sources to close its budget gap under the plan the transit system will send to the MBTA board for final approval. The MBTA announced its proposal to close the $185 million deficit for the 20122013 fiscal year Wednesday, just a day after releasing a preliminary analysis of the public’s response to its earlier plans. The MBTA board will look at the proposal April 4. If approved, fare hikes will officially begin July 1. Under the plan, bus fares will climb from $1.25 to $1.50 and CharlieCard subway fares from $1.70 to $2.00, according to an MBTA press release. “We kept fare increase at a modest level compared to what was proposed in the first two scenarios,” said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo, referring to earlier MBTA plans for either 35 percent or 43 percent fare increases. The pricing will allow the T to “remain competitive” with other transit systems around the country, Pesaturo said, adding that even with the raised fares, “the T will
offer a lower rate.” In New York, a typical subway or bus ride costs $2.25, and in Minneapolis, subway and train rides range from $1.75 to $3.00 during rush hour. The fare increase will generate $72.9 million in the coming year, according to the release. The MBTA also outlined its plans to scale back on administration costs, which will involve eliminating 51 jobs, as well as some transportation services, which the MBTA predicts will save $15.4 million. “[The success in the proposal was] that we were able to avoid drastic service cuts – that’s what we heard from the most from in the public process,” Pesaturo said. “People were less opposed to fare hikes than service cuts.” The MBTA recommended eliminating four weekday bus routes – the only routes that will be entirely removed, it noted – and offered a revised schedule for 14 other bus routes. The transit system will also scale back on some weekend services, including commuter rail trains on the Greenbush, Needham and Kingston/Plymouth lines. The MBTA will also receive $61 million
MBTA, see page 4
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
MARISA BENJAMIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Bay State Road is closed down this week for the filming of the TV pilot “Gilded Lilies” for ABC.
Hostels offer cheap, secure alternatives for traveling students By Nicole Leonard Daily Free Press Staff
Boston University College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Rachel Franklin said when she studied abroad in fall 2011 in Grenoble, France, she stayed in many hostels while touring countries in Europe. But Franklin said she did not know people stayed in hostels in the U.S. as well. “Everywhere I went I stayed in hostels,” Franklin said, listing the six separate European cities she visited. “I haven’t ever stayed in a true hostel in the U.S. Do people do that? I’ve never heard of them here.” Boston alone hosts about 10 hostels, many of them clustered within a block of each other in the Back Bay area west of Berklee College of Music. They offer rates generally lower-than-average hotel prices and provide beds to patrons in large common rooms or in smaller, private
rooms. Hostels keep prices low – about $30 to $100 a night – by clustering groups of travelers together and by stripping rooms of televisions, cable service, phones and extraneous furniture hotels offer, said Bria Schecker, director of events and media at hostel 40Berkeley. While hostels often appeal to younger travelers, she said 40Berkeley, in the South End, has hosted a large demographic of visitors between the ages of 18 and 35. Schecker said she has seen every type of person imaginable walk through the door, including professionals, leisure travelers, families and retirees. “The U.S. hostel industry in general is very new,” she said. “A lot of Americans don’t even know what a hostel is.” The hostel on Berkeley Street includes a main sitting room next to a space filled with rocking chairs that face the windows overlook-
ing the street. The hostel also has a movie room, game room and full cafeteria. While the 40Berkeley hostel provides many different types of rooms ranging from singles, triples, quads, family rooms and suites, other hostels such as the YMCA Hostel on Huntington Avenue have limited rooms specific to certain people. YMCA hostel personnel Sandra Overshown said during the winter months of the year, the hostel opens for men only and currently has beds in six rooms. During the spring and summer, rooms are available to both men and women with shared bathrooms. “We’re the only YMCA in the greater Boston area with rooms open,” Overshown said. Rooms at the YMCA range from $50 for a single per night to $100 for a quad per night. The maximum stay at the YMCA is 10 days –
Hostels, see page 3
Vomiting birth control proven to decrease effectiveness of pill
ILLUSTRATION BY AUDREY FAIN
Studies show that birth control can be less effective due to alcohol-induced vomiting. By Amanda Dowd Daily Free Press Staff
Binge drinking may decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills, a fine-print caution in birth control packets that some Boston University students did not realize. Birth control brands such as Ortho TriCyclen Lo Tablets and Yasmin warn users that if they vomit, birth control may not work as well. “Take another pill if you vomit within 3 to 4 hours after taking your pill, or use another birth control method, like con-
doms and a spermicide, until you check with your healthcare provider,” according to Yasmin’s prescription information. In other words, binge drinking that leads to vomiting could cancel out the effects of the pill. A College of Arts and Sciences junior, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was surprised her doctor never cautioned her about behavior that could render the pill ineffective. “Usually that’s the caveat that doctors tell young girls or all teenagers,” she said. “I think that everyone’s doctor should tell them because even though [the concept of binge drinking reducing the effectiveness of the pill] makes sense, I didn’t hear about it until just now.” Forty-four percent of students in fouryear colleges consume alcohol at the bingedrinking level - at least four to five drinks in a row - according to the 14-year College Alcohol Study from Harvard School of Public Health. “If you vomit within 30 minutes after taking the pill, the medication has likely not had a chance to be absorbed into your
system, so it could alter the effectiveness of that pack,” said Student Health Services Director Dr. David McBride in an email. CAS junior K.C. Mackey, who is planning to go on the pill soon and stop using condoms because she is monogamous, said although the concept of the pill being canceled out by vomiting makes sense, she was also not acutely aware of it.” “Thank God I don’t binge drink,” she said. “I didn’t know that. That’s really scary. I’m sure a lot of girls don’t [know] either.” Mackey said the situation is especially critical because when alcohol is involved, it could be “leading to having sex.” McBride said he has never seen students coming into SHS who are not aware of this issue and have become pregnant because of it. Despite these concerns, McBride said the most common reason the pill fails is that people do not take it each day. Binge drinking’s effects on birth control is “not much of a problem,” McBride said. “Binge drinking is by far the greatest problem in and of itself.”
Students frustrated about rising debt By Mary Yatrousis Daily Free Press Staff
Average college indebtedness at Boston University has increased by the thousands, officials said. BU spokesman Colin Riley said students who graduated in 2011 had an average of $36,488 in debt, which marks an increase from the $31,809 of average indebtedness for 2010 graduates. The median undergraduate student loan indebtedness was $28,025. Riley said 57 percent of graduating seniors borrowed through various loan programs. David Janey, associate director of financial assistance, said it is important for students to avoid borrowing more money than they need to meet their expenses. “A quality college education is still just about the best investment a person, particularly a young person, can make,” Janey said in an email interview. “So borrowing, at responsible levels, to help pay for college is in no way a negative thing to do. Over time, the benefits will far outweigh the burden.” Despite the potential benefits, the financial burden many BU students face when taking out loans may cause them more stress. With college debt increasing, students may face even more economic concerns. Although she will have a little more than $40,000 in debt, College of Communication sophomore Ariana Hoyos, who is from Geor-
Debt, see page 3