The Daily Free Press
Year xli. Volume lxxxii. Issue lxxxxv.
CULTURE SHOCK? Int’l students grapple with differences in culture, page 3
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Thursday, April 12, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
INSIDE LOOK MUSE interviews ‘The Cabin’ cast, page 5
]
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EAGLE HAS LANDED
WEATHER
BC defeats BU in women’s lax, page 8
Today: Showers, High 53 Tonight: Showers, Low 40 Tomorrow: 60/42
Data Courtesy of weather.com
Body found in reservoir likely missing BC student, officials say AEPi members in
alleged incident to appear in court
By Meg DeMouth Daily Free Press Staff
Authorities recovered a body believed to be that of missing Boston College student Franco Garcia from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir on Wednesday morning, officials said. “Based on clothing and certain items— as well as the general height, build, description—all of it is consistent with Mr. Garcia,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. He added that although “we believe the body we found this morning is very likely that of Mr. Garcia . . . a positive ID has not yet been made.” After a passerby Wednesday morning saw an object in the water and called 911 at about 8 a.m., representatives from the Massachusetts State Police, Boston Police Department, Boston Fire Department, Boston emergency medical services and other agencies arrived “to begin the work of documenting the discovery and recovering the body from the water,” Warc said. Medical examiners will conduct an autopsy of the remains as part of a death investigation into what had been a missing persons case, he said. Garcia, a 21-year-old Newton resident, went missing late February, after spending a night with friends at a bar in Cleveland Circle, according to a BC press release. Warc said Garcia was last spotted in that
By Amy Gorel Daily Free Press Staff
COURTESY OF SUZANNE KREITER/THE BOSTON GLOBE
Recovery personnel pulled a body from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir Wednesday morning. Authorities presume the body to be missing Boston College student Franco Garcia.
area alone in the “early morning hours” of Feb. 22. Police conducted several investigations immediately thereafter and intermittently in March. Those searches involved several dives into the reservoir, including a four-day reservoir search conducted by state police two weeks ago. “It’s possible that [the original divers] missed the remains, and it’s possible that
any other dive team under any other circumstances would have missed them as well,” Warc said. The area the body was found in “was very murky and very dense with . . . aquatic vegetation,” he said. Priests from BC traveled to the scene Wednesday morning to pray and meet with
Student, see page 3
BU students, faculty not surprised by Santorum’s campaign halt By Jasper Craven Daily Free Press Staff
Although Rick Santorum suspended his presidential campaign on Tuesday, Boston University students and faculty said he was never likely to defeat Mitt Romney and clinch the Republican presidential nomination. “We have carried the torch. High,” Santorum said in a statement from him and his wife on his website. “Together we have fought for the principles that this country was founded on. That made this country great. Without fighting for them, this country cannot continue to be great.” As of Wednesday night, Santorum held 285 delegates, with Romney trumping this number more than two-fold, with 664 delegates, according to a New York Times tally using Associated Press numbers. Romney also won primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia on April 3.
“It was only a matter of time [until] he dropped out,” said Douglas Kriner, a professor of political science at BU. “It was pretty clear that the delegate math was stacked against him, and his campaign doesn’t have enough money to compete with Romney and the big states that are coming up ahead.” A number of BU students said Romney appeared to be in the lead. “I always thought that Mitt Romney was the leading republican candidate,” said College of Arts and Sciences junior Alexa Beychok. “I never thought Santorum had a chance.” While Romney has held the lead for most of the primary season, Santorum’s exit may solidify Romney’s chances of receiving the presidential bid, according to polls. “Santorum dropping out of the race makes Romney the presumptive nominee,” said CAS sophomore James Blackmon. “Gingrich has been an even less viable candidate than Santorum for a long time.”
No new taxes under proposed House budget By Amelia Pak-Harvey Daily Free Press Staff
The Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means revealed its $32.29 billion budget proposal for the next fiscal year at the State House on Wednesday. Committee Chairman Brian Dempsey said the budget proposal will not include the $160 million in new taxes in Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposition in January. Instead, the Commonwealth will rely on the $522 million in one-time revenue solutions to partially fill the structural budget gap, according to the budget briefing distributed at the press conference. “By not adopting these proposals, we have reaffirmed our commitment to responsible budgeting by keeping the operating budget within our current means,” Dempsey said, “and do not shift the burden of balancing the budget onto the shoulder of Massachusetts taxpayers.” The committee’s proposed budget is $14
million less than Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal, according to the budget briefing. The proposal requires no new taxes, fee increases and elimination of tax exemptions, but leaves a $790 million structural budget gap. The committee proposed drawing $400 million from the stabilization fund to close part of this gap, a move Dempsey said will still leave more than $1 billion in the stabilization account. “We will still be one of four states in the country that have stabilization in excess of $1 billion,” Dempsey said. The proposal also called for a $164 million increase in local aid for elementary and secondary education, bringing a total of $4.15 billion in funds. About $1 million was set aside for more “line items for [Advanced Placement] courses.” The committee struck down Patrick’s
Budget, see page 3
Santorum showed strwong primary numbers in conservative states including Tennessee, Alabama and Kansas, according to the tally. “I think it’s clear Santorum had good solid base of support on conservative wing,” Kriner said. “But [he] simply did not have enough money to compete with Romney.” Greg DeSocio, a School of Management senior, said Republicans as a whole breathed a sigh of relief with the suspension of Santorum’s campaign. “Santorum gave the party and gave the campaign a bad name,” he said. However, although Blackmon said he was happy to see Santorum bow out, he said he would miss certain aspects that Santorum brought to the political arena. “As a fan of sane people in political office, I’m glad that Santorum’s out of the race,”
Santorum, see page 4
Fourteen members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, which is unaffiliated with Boston University, are scheduled to appear in Brighton District Court for a hearing following an alleged hazing incident on Monday, officials said. A court hearing was scheduled for May 7, said Boston Police Department spokeswoman Nicole Grant. Complaints were filed against 14 suspects for hazing, failure to report hazing and assault & battery. When officers responded to a call for a loud party early Monday morning, they entered to find five BU students in their underwear, doused in condiments and beer, duct-taped together in the basement, according to the police report. The 14 suspects will have to proceed with the hearing in Brighton District Court as well as judicial affairs at Boston University, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. Riley could not confirm that the 14 suspects were all BU students, but said most, if not all, attend the university. If there is a violation of the Code of Student Responsibilities, the school will then decide on the sanctions. “We are going to ask each one of the students to come to Judicial Affairs to determine if they are culpable and we will sanction them accordingly,” said Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore. “We will treat them as individuals.” Each student will be dealt with on a case-bycase basis, Riley said. “The courts have no relevance on what will happen to the students at school,” Riley said. “The two do not have anything to do with each other. We will decide what action, if any, to take once the students have had the opportunity to be heard by Judicial Affairs.” Three of the 14 suspects will face complaints of Keeper of a Disorderly House, according to the BPD blog. The owners had already reported problems with the tenants vandalizing the building and are now seeking to have the tenants evicted after this incident, according to the blog. The five victims, confirmed as BU students, have been uncooperative with the police, Riley said. The victims declined medical attention and rides back to campus after the incident, according to the police report.
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WORK OF ART
AUDREY FAIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
School of Management freshman Aleksandra Ibrahimi and College of Arts and Sciences freshman Emma Kalff work together on a piece of art at “Sidewalk Sam Presents Collaborative Art” at the Howard Thurman Center on Wednesday.