The Daily Free Press
Year xli. Volume lxxxii. Issue lxxxxviii.
NO ALC FOR YOU! Int’l exchange students frustrated by denial, page 3
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
DETENTION IN SESSION!
Hutcherson reflects on new film, page 5
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WEATHER
Parker looking into team’s behavior, page 8
Today: Sunny, High 70 Tonight: Clear, Low 48 Tomorrow: 75/52
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CITGO sign distinguishing Hub through ups, downs Recent poll shows tie between presidential candidates for 2012 By Mary Yatrousis Daily Free Press Staff
The 72-year-old CITGO Sign, which rests on the Boston University Barnes & Noble with its 3,600 square feet towering over Kenmore Square, is one of Boston’s most distinct features, BU students said. “It’s really cool that the sign is on our campus,” said College of Arts and Sciences freshman Alyssa Russell. “It’s a very iconic symbol of Boston, and it’s ours.” The landmark’s significance extends beyond the BU campus, however, said CITGO General Manager of Lights, Oils and Marketing Alan Flagg. “Our big sign in Kenmore Square has iconic status with Bostonians and the many visitors to that great city,” Flagg said in an email interview with The Daily Free Press. Boston sports fans hold the sign in particularly high regard, Flagg said. “Red Sox sluggers are enticed by the so called ‘C-IT-GO’ sign as they blast home runs over the left field wall, and runners in the grueling Boston Marathon welcome its sight as the 20th mile mark,” he said, referring to the spot in Newton – just before “Heartbreak Hill” – when the sign becomes visible. Some fans are so dedicated that they get tattoos of the red, white and blue sign and often send pictures of their tattoos to the company, Flagg said. All of those tattoos depict the new CITGO sign though, with the familiar red triangle on a square white field. Originally the sign was circular, had Cities Service written on it, and no triangle. The company did not switch its name from the Cities Service Company until 1965 when it decided to
By Jasper Craven Daily Free Press Staff
said. McGwier said one goal the LGBTQ community is working toward is raising awareness about not using insensitive language. “There’s been a big push not to use the word ‘gay,’” she said. “People don’t realize that it really affects people.” Offensive language often comes in the form of jokes, Weiser said. “If there’s a gay person walking by and they hear you joking about faggots or saying that they’re gay, that’s really harmful,” Weiser said. “[We want to] create a campus awareness to stop using those words lightly.” Activists welcome allies of the LGBTQ community to participate in solidarity and help further the discussion.
Mitt Romney, the expected Republican presidential nominee, has closed the gap with President Barack Obama by pulling into a tie with registered voters, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll released Wednesday. Obama and Romney each garnered support from 46 percent of registered voters polled. These numbers show a 3 percent increase by Romney since March. The poll also reported a 41 percent approval rating of Obama, the lowest of his presidency. Fifty-five percent of registered voters said Obama understood their needs and problems. Asked the same question for Romney, only 31 percent said he understood their issues. When breaking down the numbers between sexes, Obama led among women with 50 percent, while Romney led in support from men with 50 percent. Boston University students with a variety of political opinions differed in their views on why Romney leapt up in the polls. “Romney will now definitely be the nominee,” said Greg DeSocio, a School of Management senior and former president of the BU College Republicans. “You get that bump [in the polls] once you are declared the nominee. “ Although Romney is not the declared nominee, many voters tend to consider him the GOP candidate. Sophie Miller, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore and registered Democrat, said Romney’s rise is due to the frustration of Obama’s failures. “The economy is really a hinge issue,” she said. “Since there haven’t been any drastic improvements, people are starting to lean toward Romney.” Miller said Obama will be hard-pressed to generate the amount of support he received in the 2008 presidential election when he beat U.S. Sen. John McCain. “He needs to find something as fresh as the ‘change’ and ‘hope’ that he ran on for his first term,” she said. “He promised a lot of change and we’ve seen some, but there are still a lot of areas where there have been disappointment within the Obama administration.” DeSocio, a registered Republican, and Miller said they are not planning on voting for
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AUDREY FAIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The CITGO sign is a Boston landmark. Originally built in 1940, this sign overlooks Fenway part in its Kenmore Square home.
rebrand, 55 years after the fuel company started in 1910, according to the CITGO website. The new sign came with the new name, but its continued presence in the Boston skyline was not guaranteed. During the 1980s, the company almost took the sign down, Flagg said. Former Massachusetts Gov. Edward King called for the sign to be turned off in 1979 as the country dealt with the energy crisis that followed the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. As electricians estimated the amount of energy needed to keep the sign glowing nightly, characterizing the power usage as wasteful,
some Boston-area residents called for the company to conserve energy and pull the sign’s plug, according to Boston Globe archives. The neon sign went dark in 1979 and stayed off for about four years. During that time, controversy broke out over whether the sign should be demolished or designated as an historical landmark. Editors at the Globe stuck up for the sign in 1983, contending that despite some Bostonians’ “dismay over attempts to save the sign,” the sign “has been an important reference point, emotionally and geographically, for many Bos
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Activists at BU aim to raise awareness with Day of Silence By Chris Lisinski Daily Free Press Staff
Throughout her four years at Boston University, College of Communication senior Marie McGwier said she has seen an influx of queer support groups on campus. “BU has come a really long way,” McGwier said. “It still has a really long way to come. The fact that anyone feels like they need to hide or [that] anyone does face discrimination is terrible, and it’s something that definitely needs to change.” McGwier said she will likely participate in Friday’s National Day of Silence to continue to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students. The Queer Activist Collective, Spectrum, OUTlook and the Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism are among groups demonstrating against LGBTQ harassment.
“[The Day of Silence is] a way for people to realize we all need to be actively working to be making schools safer for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender expression and identity,” said COM senior and Q President Michelle Weiser. Activists will be standing silently in Marsh Plaza from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., surrounded by colorful balloons, handing out flyers advocating the message of the Day of Silence, Weiser said. “[We’re] putting ourselves out there as a resource and saying, ‘We’re here, we support you,’” she said. Nationwide, the Day of Silence is intended to raise awareness about the discomfort and bullying LGBTQ students face in school. “Nine out of 10 LGBTQ students feel that they experience harassment in school, especially in middle school and high school,” Weiser
BUMC bans smoking on campus, Union intends to look into different approaches By Amy Gorel Daily Free Press Staff
While Boston University Medical Campus officially went smoke-free Monday, Student Union members said they are brainstorming alternatives to a smoke-free campus on the Charles River Campus. “Dean Elmore came to us earlier saying the medical campus was going smoke-free, and he wanted to come up with alternative solutions,” said Union Vice President Alex Staikos. “He wanted the Charles River Campus to be more courteous, but did not want to take such a radical initiative as going smoke-free.” As part of a Boston Public Health Commission initiative, announced Nov. 17, BUMC and nine other hospitals now prohibit smoking in all campus buildings and outside on campus grounds, said BUMC Provost Karen Antman. “As an academic medical center, we are committed to finding ways to treat and prevent cancer and related diseases,” Antman said in an email. “It makes sense for the medical campus to set an example of wellness and pre-
vention for our faculty, staff, students and the community.” BU spokesman Colin Riley said the Charles River Campus will remain open to smokers. “There is a concentration of medical facilities [at BUMC], and there needs to be treatment,” Riley said. “That isn’t the case at this campus.” Union plans to create posters and use other media across campus as a smoking courtesy campaign, Staikos, a School of Management sophomore, said. Details of the campaign will be available after Monday’s Senate meeting. “We want students to be more aware of where they’re smoking to be courteous of nonsmokers when they’re blowing their smoke,” he said. BUSM student Alyson Kaplan said this initiative will probably affect the employees and patients at the hospital more than the students or faculty. “There’s always lines of people outside the hospital doors smoking,” she said. Students, faculty, staff, patients and visi-
tors will be asked to refrain from smoking, and faculty and staff will help inform smokers the campus is now smoke-free, she said. New employees will be informed upon hiring. “I don’t know if it will be enforced,” Kaplan said. “You’re dealing with a bunch of people who feel entitled to do what they want.” Kaplan said she works in the emergency room once a week where many patients, even those hospitalized for lung-related issues, request to smoke. Students already understand the risks and dangers of smoking, Riley said. “We expect people to be courteous and respectful of those who don’t smoke,” he said. “Ideally at some point in the future, you’ll see a reduction in the number of people who smoke.” Gozde Cavdar, a Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student, said it should remain a person’s right to smoke outdoors. “There are so many more harmful things [such as] fumes from cars [and] junk food,” Cavdar said. “People became obsessed with
ILLUSTRATION AUDREY FRAIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Smoking has been banned on Boston University’s Medical Campus.
talking about how harmful smoking is.” SMG junior Brian Anderson said it would be “ridiculous” if he were told he could not smoke outside on campus. “I can see it happening at BUMC because of the hospitals, but not here,” he said. However, College of Arts and Sciences senior Allison Fahey said smokers around cam-
BUMC, see page 4