The Daily Free Press
Year xli. Volume lxxxii. Issue lxxxxvi.
BEAT THE HEAT
‘Team BMC’ runs marathon despite hot weather, page 3
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Tuesday, April 17, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
HANGOVERS, HUNG The science behind that Marathon Monday mess, page 5
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HOME SWEET HOME Lacrosse continues conference run, page 8
WEATHER
Today: Sunny, High 79 Tonight: Cloudy, Low 44 Tomorrow: 61/43 Data Courtesy of weather.com
Heat warnings deter 427 runners from Boston Marathon LGBTQ groups at Boston Common protest Tea Party By Jen Janiak Daily Free Press Staff
JUNHEE CHUNG AND MICHAEL CUMMO/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
LEFT: Todd Lubas, of Pennsylavia, needs an extra hand while finishing the 2012 Boston Marathon. TOP RIGHT: An onlooker supports a member of the military as he walks the marathon in full gear. BOTTOM RIGHT: Kasey Manwaring, of Pennsylvania, embraces a loved one after completing the marathon. By Amelia Pak-Harvey Daily Free Press Staff
Boston Marathon participants ran through temperatures above 80 degrees on Monday, a factor that deterred many runners from even entering the race. Of the participants who picked up their bid this weekend, 427 did not show up to the starting line, said Marc Davis, the communications director for the Boston Athletic Association. “The majority of that, we can assume, is based on a weather-related reason,” he said. The temperature rose from 71 degrees at
9 a.m. in Hopkinton, where the marathon starts, to 84 degrees in Boston by 3 p.m. A few days before the race, the BAA warned runners of heat “higher than normal temperatures on the course,” according to one BAA email. On Saturday, the BAA issued a warm weather advisory, which recommended that those not “highly fit” or those with medical conditions should not run the race. The advisory said inexperienced runners and those who have only trained in cool environments should not run. The “very fit athletes who decide to run” should run slowly and take walking breaks, according
to the advisory. “This will not be a day to run a personal best,” according to the advisory. “If you choose to run, run safely above all else. Speed can kill.” One day before the race, Davis said the BAA was encouraging runners to take extra precautions, hydrate properly, listen to their bodies and not run if they are not comfortable with the expected projections of weather. “We’ve extended that message a little bit more aggressively to our waivered and
Marathon, see page 4
Uncontested Union election sparks legitimacy, turnout concerns By Chris Lisinski Daily Free Press Staff
With the Student Union election featuring one official slate on the ballot, many Boston University students and Union leaders said the lack of choice raised questions about student involvement. Be Unleashed remains the sole slate registered. Union leaders said voter turnout remains a concern, as does the degree to which students’ interests are truly represented in the election. “I always think that it’s better when an election is contested because it ensures that the will of the student body is accurately reflected,” said Union President Howard Male, a School of Hospitality Administration and School of Management senior. Union Vice President Alex Staikos, a SMG sophomore, said winning an unopposed elec-
tion might undermine the legitimacy of the slate due to fewer votes. “If you’re a student leader that claims to get their power from people voting for you and you don’t get a high voter turnout, then it’s very difficult to go to the administration and say you represent those people,” he said. Though the one-week voting period was scheduled to start Monday at noon, technical difficulties have delayed ballot casting for a second year in a row, according to a tweet from the Student Elections Commission. Amanda Peterson, head of SEC, said the website went live Monday morning but featured the candidates from the previous year. “We’ve been prepping it for a while,” Peterson, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. “We crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s, but in our final check, it didn’t work.”
The Dean of Students Office worked with IT to fix the website, Peterson added. In the meantime, SEC decided it would update students via Facebook and Twitter. “It’s one more day for people to consider their options and learn about their candidates,” she said. Staikos said members worry an unopposed election would yield lower voter turnouts. “If people don’t feel like their vote matters because there’s only one slate running, they’re not going to go and take the effort to go on the Student Link and vote,” Staikos said. “I think they should, but, if that urgency isn’t there, I don’t think people will do it.” Students said contested elections are more beneficial to the BU community.
Union, see page 4
Three protesters were arrested at a Tea Party rally Sunday after the demonstration drew supporters and protesters alike, police officials said. The activists at the Massachusetts Tea Party Coalition’s annual Patriots’ Day rally at Boston Common who were arrested were from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer groups, as well as feminist groups. Protesters focused their efforts on Mass Tea Party Coalition speakers Reverend Scott Lively, known for his anti-gay rhetoric, and Director of MassResistance Brian Camenker, said LGBTQ group Impact Massachusetts clerk Don Gorton. “We’re not necessarily opposing everything that’s being advocated here. We’re calling attention to the extreme homophobia of a couple of the speakers,” Gorton said. “It’s a very focused response to people who, even many in the Tea Party, don’t consider respectable. [The Mass Tea Party] is an extremist fringe.” A statement from the Greater Boston Tea Party indicated as such. “The Mass Tea Party Coalition has a radically different view on tea party activism,” the statement posted on the organizations website Wednesday said. “Their unprofessional behavior and unwillingness to communicate with other established tea party organizations are distressing but to be expected as part of political activism.” Protesters arrived at the bandstand in Boston Common about an hour after the rally started, playing music and carrying signs with such messages as “Jesus has two dads, why can’t I?” Within minutes, they drowned out the Tea Party speakers with shouts. Police arrested two protesters for disturbing a public assembly and displaying disorderly conduct, officials said. As protesters claimed ground behind the Tea Party members, they began chanting. When Lively took the stage, police officers arrested another protester. As different Massachusetts Tea Party Coalition speakers took the stage, Tea Party members and protesters broke into individual discussions about their deviating standpoints. “My idea is that two people can have two opposing rallies and they don’t have to go to each other and try to mess each other up,” said Tea Party supporter Josh, who asked to keep his last name anonymous. “They can talk to each other nicely – speak what’s on their minds.”
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Brookline Board of Selectmen approves five food trucks expected to launch in May By Alexis Gordon Daily Free Press Staff
Five food trucks will open up for service in Brookline in the coming weeks, following a recent vote by Brookline’s Board of Selectmen. Selectmen chose food trucks Baja Taco Truck, Compliments, Paris Creperie, Pennypackers and Renula’s Greek Kitchen to be a part of a six-month pilot program that will run from May to October. Selectwoman and Chairwoman of the Brookline Town Hall Betsy DeWitt said a group comprising the chief development officer, the public health director, representatives from the Public Works Department and other community leaders created the criteria for the type of food trucks that they wanted to operate. “The vendors applied and they were asked a number of questions including things like what sort of healthy food products they would be providing because we wanted healthy menus,” DeWitt said. After the food trucks were approved, they went through a series of health and fire in-
spections any traditional restaurant would go through. DeWitt said she cannot predict how the food trucks will impact Brookline, but she hopes to see them increase the number of dining options for residents. “They will certainly provide some lowercost meals, and because of the review process, they should be quite healthy and they will add some variety to people’s options,” she said. The food trucks will be located in four sites around Brookline and will include a spot on Boston University’s campus at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Saint Mary’s Street. Renula’s Greek Kitchen and Pennypackers will appear on the BU campus, she said. Renula’s Greek Kitchen Raised on traditional Greek food, Philip Emmanuel, founder of Renula’s Greek Kitchen, said he wanted to share his love, passion and
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BELEN CUSI/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Bon Me is a food truck that can often be found around Boston University. Five new food trucks will be opened in Brookline starting this May, and two of them - Renula’s Greek Kitchen and Pennypackers - will find homes on BU’s campus.