The Daily Free Press
Year xli. Volume lxxxii. Issue xc.
BATTLE ROYALE $tarbucks, Dunkin’ cater to different people at BU, page 3
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Wednesday, April 25, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
BEANTOWN BREAKDOWN
Analysis of Boston’s strange weather, page 5
]
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WACKY WEDNESDAY:
WEATHER
Softball hosts PC for weekday rare doubleheader, page 8
Today: Cloudy, High 59 Tonight: Cloudy, Low 41 Tomorrow: 63/45
Data Courtesy of weather.com
Murray aims to decrease underage drug, alcohol abuse Democrats’ ratings
increase among young Americans
By Sydney L. Shea Daily Free Press Staff
Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said on Tuesday underage prescription drug and alcohol abuse is an “epidemic” that youth and officials must collaborate to fix on a grassroots level. The call to action came during one of a series of 50 town hall meetings. The meetings, Murray said, will aim to reach out to community members and share stories of substance abuse with the objective of prevention. About 70 people gathered at the Great Hall in the Massachusetts State House Tuesday afternoon to hear Murray, along with other officials, speak on solutions for youth alcohol and prescription drug abuse. Murray told the audience the goal of the meetings is to not just hear about statistics on drug and alcohol abuse, although they are powerful, but to see a face and hear a first-account story. “We want to help those who are battling prescription drug abuse,” he said. “When you hear these young people, they tell you, if it weren’t for these programs, they’d be dead – and that’s chilling to hear from a teenager.” It is challenging to always reach those who need treatment, he said. Murray said that in 2010 one in four people using prescription drugs for the first time began to abuse them after prescriptions were no longer in effect. He said 71 percent of these people continued to obtain the drugs from friends and
By Sonia Su Daily Free Press Staff
BELEN CUSI/Daily Free Press Staff
Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Tim Murray addresses underage drinking and prescription drug abuse during the kick-off of the Massachusetts Town Hall Initiative at the State House on Tuesday.
relatives. The law itself, he said, is not the only way to diminish illegal substance abuse. “We all need to be doing things – taking actions and teaching others,” he said. Murray said drug abuse is not solely a court or civil justice problem that requires punishment, but “first and foremost” a public health issue. Commissioner John Auerbach, of the Mas-
sachusetts Department of Public Health, told audience members that officials need to work with youth to solve substance abuse on a grassroots level. “There’s no health issue that’s more serious than dealing with the substance abuse issue,” he said. He said drugs are so dangerous for young people because the majority of homicides are
Drugs, see page 2
Students unsure about job prospects despite reassurance By Amy Gorel Daily Free Press Staff
Though the Associated Press reported Monday that only one in two recent college graduates are finding jobs, Boston University officials and graduates said they are not concerned and think the market is slowly recovering. “We at the CCD, as well as our career colleagues across campus, have seen this [recovering job market] in the numbers of employers coming to campus and posting opportunities for BU students,” said Eleanor Cartelli, associate director for marketing and communications at the Center for Career Development. The National Association of Colleges and Employers reported job prospects are up 10.2 percent from last year for those graduating in 2012, she said. Half of recent graduates are jobless or underemployed, the AP reported. There are uneven job opportunities depending on the type of bachelor’s degree. The job market demands those specializing in science, education and
health, but those who studied the arts or humanities in school are having difficulty. Nevertheless, across all fields, median wages for those holding a bachelor’s degree are down since 2000 as mid-level jobs are eliminated, the study said. This may not be the case with College of Communication graduates, however, especially those with in career-specific majors such as advertising or public relations, said Joyce Rogers, the Director of COM Recruitment Office. “It’s not so much that there are less jobs today as there are different jobs,” she said. “Where you’re going to work may be different. Journalists may work online instead of at a newspaper office.” A number of recent BU graduates said recent graduates can still find jobs, though many find the need for additional education after graduation. Nikhil Shah, a University of Massachusetts medical student and a 2011 BU alumnus, said, “A bunch [of his peers] went to graduate school
and the rest found work within three months of graduation.” Ray Curran said the job market was in a pretty good place when he was looking for a job in healthcare information technology after graduating from BU in 2011. He applied in early May, interviewed on-site two days after graduation and started working 10 days later. “Overall, it was a pretty surreal process that didn’t involve too much effort on my part,” he said. Curran said many of his friends had trouble finding jobs in the arts, but that might be because they were not willing to settle for “a job they know won’t make them happy.” Miriam Levine, who graduated from BU with a sociology degree in 2011 and works for AmeriCorps at the Blind Children’s Learning Center, said she sought a specific job in the nonprofit sector, which was hit hard by budget cuts. “I think science degrees tend to be more
Jobs, see page 2
President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress are sparking a reconnection with 18- to 29-year-old voters despite low approval ratings in the fall, according to a Harvard University poll released Tuesday. Although a Harvard University Institute of Politics poll showed the college-aged group gave low approval ratings for Obama about four months ago, the new IOP poll suggested increased approval ratings for Obama and other Democrats in Congress. This marks a 6 percent increase from the 11-point lead Obama held in the late November IOP polling, said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the IOP, in a phone conference at the State House on Tuesday. Obama leads projected general election opponent Mitt Romney by a 17-point margin, according to the poll’s executive summary. “A significant driver of the job-approval increase that President Obama has [received] has been driven by the Hispanic vote,” Della Volpe said, adding that there has been a statistically significant 14 percent increase among Latinos in the last four months. The IOP’s Survey of Young Americans’ Attitudes toward Politics and Public Service began in 2000 as a national survey of 18- to 24-year-old college undergraduates and now analyzes 18- to 29-year-olds on various current issues, according to the executive summary. In November, more than half of young Americans said the country was headed in the wrong direction, according to the executive summary. That number decreased from 52 percent to 43 percent, Della Volpe said. The poll’s release coincided with Obama’s visits to the University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill and the University of Colorado at Boulder Tuesday. Della Volpe said the most important issues facing America are jobs and the economy. But some of the intense pressure related to the economy since November is starting to decrease, with 58 percent of people citing jobs and the economy as their top national concern, a 16 percent decrease since the 2011 survey, according to the executive summary. Eva Guidarini, a Harvard College freshman on the Harvard Public Opinion Project, said
Politics, see page 4
Be Unleashed wins Union election despite less than 10 percent voter turnout By Jen Janiak Daily Free Press Staff
Fewer students voted in this year’s Student Union elections than last year as the winning slate Be Unleashed ran unopposed in an under-publicized election, students said. “Be Unleashed publicized well, but that’s it,” said Kandyce Graber, a School of Management freshman. “I didn’t hear anything else about [the election]. Maybe each group could [have done] some sort of campus event, like each group try to get more individual publicity.” Each Be Unleashed candidate earned about 1,300 votes, and about 200 students voted for “other” candidates in each position. Less than 10 percent of undergraduates voted. Last year’s winning slate, Build BU, received about 2,200 votes for each candidate compared to the competing slate, Rhettvolution, whose candidates received about 1,500 votes, according to an April 26, 2011 Daily Free Press article.
Emily Townsend, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, said she did not really pay attention to any of the Student Elections Commission’s efforts to publicize the election. “I’ve seen posters and things up, but I’m afraid to say I didn’t pay attention to it really,” Townsend said. “I think emails would’ve gotten my attention. There were lots of posters for various things, ‘Vote this’ and ‘Vote that,’ but I would say emails [would have helped].” SMG sophomore Aditya Rudra, vice president-elect, said reaching students in all the campus communities was a concern for his group, though he said this is not an impossible task. “Campaigning was a great experience,” Rudra said. “You know, trying to get the message out there, first of all, we were chalking boards in CAS every morning and tabling at the [George Sherman Union] everyday.” Be Unleashed tried to have one representative from each BU community on its cam-
paign to reach out to all groups, Rudra said. Sarah Jasper, a School of Education freshman, said she did not vote in the election and, before she became a Student Union representative, was at a loss for what the group actually did. “I knew there was a general body and everything, but I didn’t really know what they did for us,” Jasper said. “They’re supposed to represent the school and get us interested as well, not just get the representatives interested.” Jasper said BU as a whole has trouble when trying to publicize events to the student body. “I feel like there just needs to be more advertisements about Student Union and everything [about] what it does,” Jasper said. Jasper said it was not clear why it was important to vote in the election. “I felt like, ‘Oh, why am I voting?’” she said. “I don’t know who these people are, I don’t know what they do, which is silly to say, but it’s the truth. I just didn’t feel attached to it at all.”
HILLARY LARSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
College of Arts and Sciences senior Amanda Peterson announces election result to the hopeful candidates.
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Wednesday, April 25, 2012
State rep. urges youth to fight drugs Drugs: From Page 1
committed under the influence of an illegal substance. Overdoses that occur with young adults result from inexpensive substances such as OxyContin and pure forms of heroin, he said. A decade ago, Auerbach said, the cost of heroin was cheaper than a six-pack of beer. He said this led to an increase in overdoses and was a gateway for abuse of prescription opiates, or painkillers. Policymakers, he said, did what they could to effect stricter law enforcement upon potential drug abusers, but officials could only do so much. “A lot of what needed to happen needed to happen in their neighborhoods,” Auerbach said. This includes writing letters to newspapers, doing more to interrupt illegal purchasing of alcohol by adults for minors and reaching out to pharmacies and clinics about awareness of drug abuse. He said officials conducted an annual survey on public high school students for more than 10 years. After a decade, illegal drug and alcohol consumption dropped from 75 to 68 percent among young adults. “That’s encouraging,” he said. “We want to see that actions make a
difference.” Auerbach said he is optimistic that officials and youth will continue to make progress against the war on drugs. Sen. John Keenan, of Quincy, said before the crowd that town hall meetings in each Bay State community will help highlight the issue of underage drinking even more. “This is not an inner-city problem anymore,” he said. “It’s on every street of every neighborhood in every community across the Commonwealth and our nation.” But fighting youth drug and alcohol abuse, Keenan said, does not work “from up here” at the governmental level. Rep. James O’Day, of West Boylston, said to the audience that the amount of youth attendance at initial community meetings was inspiring. “I don’t know what I was doing when I was 17,” he said, “but I wasn’t as aware as these young folks at the Worcester town hall meeting.” He said the youth needs to take control of this issue across the Commonwealth as much as State House officials do. “Until the number reaches zero with new drug usage or underage alcohol usage,” O’Day said, “we have a lot of work to do.”
Low post-grad prospects, students say Jobs: From Page 1
The Daily Free Press Crossword By Tribune Media Services Across 1 Try to obtain sensitive info using an Internet scam 6 Chase down, as a fly ball 10 Falls behind 14 “Tiny Bubbles” singer 15 Tip-top 16 Towards the sheltered side, at sea
41 Tendon 42 Court-ordered parental obligation
48 Philanthropic group chartered by auto execs
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59 Tiger Woods’s ex
19 Red sky, to a sailor
CLASSIFIEDS
44 Show hosts
17 Specialized jargon
Sudoku
61 Benevolent order 62 Cowgirl Evans 63 Cropped up
care brand
35 Eft, when mature
50 Carpentry fastener
24 Gut courses
Down 1 High-tech organizer, briefly
12 Davis who played Thelma
37 Like the victims in “Arsenic and Old Lace”
51 Certain Scandinavian
25 Edwards or Langley, e.g.
2 English or French instrument
31 Political corruption
23 __-Locka, Florida
13 Transmits 21 Bogey beater
38 Pencil for one’s kisser
3 “Picnic” dramatist
22 Impertinence
40 Kitchen VIP
32 Police busts
4 Braggarts
25 Taj Mahal city
41 Pancake flipper
33 Revolutionary statesman Franklin
5 Lively nightclub
26 Pakistan neighbor
42 Coniferous trees
6 Thompson of “Family”
27 Engrossed
43 Mex. neighbor
28 Move like a baby
44 Submit a tax return over the Internet
36 Knocks on the door 37 Response to a fencing lunge 38 Nothing, in tennis 39 Picnic invader 40 Intimidated
specific and therefore graduating with one makes you more qualified for the types of jobs you’re looking for,” Levine said. “While my degree is great, sociology itself is pretty broad and may not be as applicable or make me as qualified for a position based on the degree alone.” Nevertheless, current BU students said they are a little weary about how much they could earn and job prospects after college. College of Communication sophomore Allison Kenney, who studies film and television, said she does not expect to be paid
much after graduation. “I’m not going to go to Hollywood as soon as I get out of college,” Kenney said. “There are a lot of stepping stones and lower paying internships I will probably have to go through first.” Many students do not look for a job right after graduation, said Meghan West, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, who plans to go to graduate school. “With so many people going to college now,” she said, “you need more than just an undergraduate degree.”
7 Hula __
29 Like some seals 30 Feathered friends
45 Hobbyist’s plane, e.g.
10 Taoism founder
33 Sonny of Sonny and Cher
46 Old floorboard sound
11 Hypoallergenic skin
34 Happily __ after
49 Golden State sch.
8 Green Gables girl 9 Prepare
52 Filmdom’s Preminger 53 Penpoints 57 Sight organ
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Campus & C ity Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts offer more than coffee Modern Greek Philosophy On Graduation MARIA GELLEPES
It’s very hard to not be so reflective during this time leading up to graduation. But all I seem to be able to think about these days is how I am so close to the end. I know things will be different next year. I will no longer get to do the things I have grown accustomed to doing on a regular basis. It’s hard enough to spend time with my roommate now, but next year when I move off campus I will have an even more difficult time trying to see her. I will no longer get freestyle ice time at Walter Brown Arena. I will no longer get to have a dining hall at the bottom of my dorm. Maybe I’m worrying too much, and maybe I shouldn’t think about all these things, but the truth is, these changes are on my horizon whether I am ready for them or not. When I see my friends, or random strangers I see on a daily basis around campus, I wonder if I will ever see them again. You see, I accept these changes, and I am not sad about them, but I can’t help but have these thoughts on my mind. All this graduation talk is forced upon us. “Donate to the Class Gift!” and “Order your cap and gown!” or “Buy your Senior Week tickets now!” “You’re invited to this fancy posh ceremony with cheese and champagne for graduation (Partially funded by your Undergraduate Student Fee)!” I appreciate the energy, but I wish these people would just leave me alone. I just want to be able to live my life and not be pestered about something, even if it is something as special as graduation. Maybe that’s why we get so sentimental at graduation time. Not because it is sad, but because we can’t remember a time before they started reminding us about graduation. As a result, we have completely forgotten what it’s like to not have to think about leaving Boston University. When you arrive at BU you are geared towards graduation. You work towards getting that oversized piece of paper with your name on it. At matriculation they tell you, “Now and during your graduation are the only times that all of you will be together in one room.” You schedule your classes so that you can actually graduate on time. And now, even though it’s drawing near, I barely care. I know that it will be exciting to graduate, and maybe I am holding back my excitement because I don’t want to face reality. But I wouldn’t give myself that much credit. I think my nonchalant attitude towards graduation can best be summed up in a Beatles lyric: “Obla-di, ob-la-da, life goes on.” Yes, graduating is great, but I guess I’m the rare senior who doesn’t want to make a big deal out of all of this. Graduating from Boston University is a true honor, but I’m too worn out from this year of work to be fazed by any of it. Maria Gellepes is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at mg887@bu.edu.
By Eddie Donga Daily Free Press Staff
Many java drinkers do not realize that when they are choosing where to get their cup of coffee, they may be making a demographically influenced decision, professors and students said. Although Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks offer the same products, some say there are differences between the Massachusetts company and the Seattle franchise. “Brands are statements about what we believe in and the types of persons we are or were or wish to become,” said Susan Fournier, a marketing professor in Boston University’s School of Management, in an email interview. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are on or near BU’s campus, although Starbucks has five close locations and Dunkin’ Donuts has three. This disparity demonstrates the advance Starbucks has made in a state that has been a Dunkin’ Donuts stronghold since the first store opened in Quincy in 1950. “With [more than] 30 stores in the city of Boston, we’re proud to be a part of the community and of the connections our partners [and employees] have made with our customers,” said a Starbucks spokesperson in an email. “Starbucks is always looking for great
Despite recent incidents surrounding Boston University Greek Life, members said they remain positive. “We are reaching out now to the community more than ever because of these unfair stereotypes we’ve received,” said Patrick Moriarty, recently elected Inter-Fraternity Council president. “A commitment to the community here at BU is the real image we’re moving forward to.” Moriarty, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said he recognizes the negative press BU fraternities and sororities have received this semester from media outlets, especially those outside of Boston. BU sorority Sigma Delta Tau was suspended and remains under investigation for an alleged hazing incident involving alcohol, according to a March 20 article by The Daily Free Press. Non-affiliated fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi is being
JACKIE ROBERTSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts appeal to two different clientele.
locations to better meet the needs of our customers, and we look forward to continuing to serve the Boston community.” The companies, however, target and attract two distinct clienteles. “Brands are bundles of meanings, and students will gravitate to the brand that captures meanings that the student wants or needs,” Fournier said. “Some students will drool over the chic and implied class and excess luxury of Starbucks, while others will want the drink of the Everyman, [or] Dunkin’.” A number of BU students said
investigated for hazing after an April 9 incident. Since then, the AEPi national organization closed the unaffiliated BU chapter in response to the investigation. “Media outside of Boston don’t distinguish that [AEPi] is not a recognized fraternity,” Moriarty said. “That’s what brings us press, that kind of misunderstanding.” However, Moriarity said recognized fraternities at BU are very different from AEPi – a fraternity the IFC has not recognized since 1995 – and they aim to uphold a positive image at BU. “We had a great showing at the ‘Take Back the Night’ event,” Moriarty said. “Sexual assault is not okay, and we are willing to stand up and show that. This unfair image associated with us is not true.” Moriarty said the IFC received a thank you letter from the Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism for their participation in the event. Sigma Alpha Mu President Ja-
Two BUSM professors honored By Gina Curreri Daily Free Press Staff
Boston University School of Medicine’s Richard Wainford was selected to receive the 2012 Dean Franklin Young Investigator Award, according to a Tuesday press release. This comes a day after BUSM’s Richard Saitz received the 2012 R. Brinkley Smithers Distinguished Scientist Award. Wainford, an assistant professor of pharmacology, was recognized by the American Physiological Society at the annual Experimental Biology meeting, which extends through Wednesday, in San Diego. As a part of the honor, BUSM received a $20,000 institutional grant in the form of a Data Sciences International instrumentation starter kit. Wainford received a $1,500 travel award to attend the meeting and present his work. “My research would not be
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Brown, Warren plan to release tax records soon By Meg DeMouth Daily Free Press Staff
there are differences between the two coffee companies and what they appear to offer. “It seems like Dunkin’ is more the layman’s coffee while Starbucks is more expensive, and it’s more comfortable to sit down,” said College of Communication senior Alexa Moraif. Starbucks provides a more comfortable atmosphere, so they appeal to more wealthy consumers, Moraif said. “I’d say that Dunkies is more for the working man where it’s just get
Coffee, see page 4
Greek Life moves beyond neg. press, alleged hazing By Chris Lisinski Daily Free Press Staff
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
possible without the pioneering work of Dr. Franklin, [the award’s namesake,]” Wainford said in the release. In honor of Franklin, the annual award is given to a junior faculty member or post-doctoral scientist pursuing physiological research. The faculty member also must be in the process of establishing an independent laboratory. “Concepts originally formulated by Dean Franklin continue to serve as the inspiration behind many of DSI’s most technologically advanced physiological monitoring systems developed for today’s nonclinical research,” according to the APS website. “It’s a great honor to receive this award in recognition of the in-vivo research being conducted in my laboratory investigating the mecha-
BUSM, see page 4
cob Magid, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said he does not feel that the recent AEPi hazing allegations have reflected badly on his fraternity. “There haven’t been any reports of any instances of sexual assault or hazing or any inappropriate actions by the fraternities this year that are recognized on campus,” he said. Magid said his fraternity has been involved in a number of events involving the entire BU community, including a dodgeball tournament last fall and Rhett’s Challenge for charity. “[Rhett’s] was our large philanthropy event for the spring semester,” he said. “We had 20 different people from 20 different groups [there].” Magid said SAM’s carnival attracted a variety of members of the community beyond those in Greek Life. “We are making sure that issues
Greek, see page 4
Elizabeth Warren and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown will release their tax returns either this week or next, spokespeople from their campaigns said. The senatorial candidates have been engaged in debates as to when they should release the information and how many years’ worth they should make available to the public. Brown plans to release six years’ worth of taxes on Friday, according to a campaign press release, while Warren plans to release her taxes – four years’ worth – Wednesday, said campaign spokeswoman Alethea Harney. In a letter to Warren written Tuesday, Jim Barnett, Brown’s campaign manager, called Warren’s plans “political gamesmanship” and challenged her professed dedication to “openness and transparency in government.” Instead of satisfying The Boston Globe’s request for the candidate’s tax returns from the past six years, he wrote, “you have offered to release far more limited information and even have made that contingent on a demand that Sen. Brown go first.” But Warren’s campaign contends that the Harvard Law School professor is as dedicated to transparency as Brown is. “Elizabeth Warren has been clear from the beginning that she would voluntarily release her tax returns,” Harney said in an email interview. Harney said Warren wants to be open with voters when it comes to her income. “Elizabeth is not a career politician like Sen. Brown, but she will release her tax returns for her entire time in public service, and by releasing four years of returns, she is providing the people of Massachusetts with a transparent and full accounting of her financial situation,” she said. Releasing the tax returns on Friday, as Brown plans to do, is exemplary of “a typical Washington game of releasing bad news when there is traditionally little news coverage,” Harney said, noting that Warren would rather “be more straightforward and make both re-
Taxes, see page 4
STRINGING ALONG
JACKIE ROBERTSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Violin performance juniors Kendra Lenz and Katie Love practice a piece by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich together in the College of Fine Arts practice rooms.
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Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Millennials up still up for grabs for November election, report suggests Politics: From Page 1
there is significantly more enthusiasm from the youth to volunteer and campaign for Obama than for Romney. Guidarini said a polling group asked how likely they were to volunteer for Obama and Romney. Seventeen percent said they were very likely to volunteer for Obama, while only five percent said so for Romney, she said.
The poll asked how often Millennials trusted the government and Wall Street to do the right thing. Two percent said they trusted Wall Street all the time, while more than a third said they never trusted it. Twenty-seven percent said they trusted the federal government all or most of the time. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen some continued deterioration in the way in which young people think about the government,” Della Volpe said.
He said the role of the economy and the role of Washington, on every measure on health of Washington and health of government, are among the reasons that overall voter participation and enthusiasm is down. “If you don’t trust government institutions [for which] you’re voting leaders, you’re probably not going to have a great deal of interest in going out and voting,” IOP Director Trey Grayson said. Della Volpe said it is clear the
Millenial generation is not necessarily as supportive of Obama and Democrats as they were in 2008, but it does not imply they are more supportive of Republicans. “They clearly feel that they care very deeply about the issues in their community, but they also feel that the current political system is not representing their views,” Della Volpe said, adding that too many people are sitting on the sidelines waiting to be engaged by both parties.
Millennials display knowledge and concern of the nation’s issues, according to the executive summary. “They are asking President Obama and Gov. Romney to provide leadership and a clear vision that makes America and its citizens more safe, prosperous and secure,” according to the executive summary. “Millennials are willing to invest their time and their resources to do the same locally.”
Sororities give BU women ‘place to Saitz takes home award for research on alcoholism Saitz, a professor of medicine thropy and dedication helped create call home,’ new council pres. says and epidemiology, was awarded a better understanding of alcoholBUSM: From Page 3
Greek: From Page 3
we feel are pertinent to students on campus are being heard,” he said. “We have brothers that are involved all over BU as a part of Residence Hall Associations, as resident assistants [and] working at [the] Student Activities Office.” One tie members of Greek Life have recently recognized is with the military. BU’s fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha honored Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kyle Deady, according to an April 17 press release. “A close friend to the Lambda Nu Chapter, the brothers decided to honor his courage and commitment to our country by initiating Deady on Patriots’ day,” the release stated. Moriarty said BU fraternity Sigma Chi managed to raise $25,000 last week for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Thatcher Hoyt, public relations chairman for the fraternity Chi Phi and newly elected IFC vice-president of campus affairs, said the
fraternity and other IFC members aim to distinguish the difference between recognized fraternities and the one in question. “It’s important to remember the purpose of fraternities is two-fold, both to bring like-minded young men together as brothers to form life-long relationships and to mold these young men into being better leaders and better people,” Hoyt, a School of Management sophomore, said in an email interview. Recently elected Panhellenic Council President Linda Swift said sororities promote scholarship, service and a tight-knit community. “Our organizations work extremely hard all year to plan events for the entire BU community that raise money for important causes,” the SMG junior said in an email interview. “I believe sororities provide the women of Boston University a chance to be involved and find a place to call home on our large campus.”
Prof: Tax records likely to not affect race Taxes: From Page 3
turns available [Wednesday].” In his letter to Warren, however, Barnett said Warren has been anything but transparent. “The tax years you are attempting to conceal contain important and potentially revealing information, including income you received for outside legal work,” he wrote. He mentioned the consulting work Warren did for Travelers Insurance in “a case against victims of asbestos poisoning” as an example of that outside work, for which she earned “at least $212,000, according to your personal financial disclosures,” he said. Over a two-year period between 2010 and 2011, Warren made more than $700,000 in teaching and consulting fees and earned a total of about $358,022 combined from two federal government appointments, on top of an annual salary of about $350,000 from Harvard, according to financial reports she released in January. Brown’s campaign has focused
on the discrepancy between Warren’s actual earnings and her middle class-centric campaign. But Warren “came up the hard way . . . out of a hard-working middle-class family,” she said on her website, which notes that she “has made her life’s work fighting for middle-class families.” However, Warren’s earnings should not be politically compromising, said Boston University political science professor Christine Rossell in a phone interview. “There’s nothing wrong with outside consulting,” she said, adding that many university professors work as consultants in their fields. While the political candidates should release their taxes to the public, Rossell said, the information probably will not have a huge impact on the race for the Senate seat. But the act of releasing the taxes is important, she noted. “It’s just a custom we have in this country to release your taxes,” she said. “Otherwise, people think you have something to hide.”
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nisms underlying the physiology of salt-sensitive hypertension,” Wainford said in the release. Researchers will continue to study the role of G-alpha subunit proteins in long-term blood pressure neural regulation during elevated salt-intake, according to the release. Wainford and his team aims to enhance current understanding of the brain’s neural mechanisms involved in salt-resistant and saltsensitive hypertension.
by the American Society of Addition Medicine, according to a Monday press release. He accepted the award at the national Annual Medical-Scientific Conference in Atlanta. The R. Brinkley Smithers Distinguished Scientist Award is given to an individual who has made efforts to advance the scientific understanding of alcoholism, according to the release. The award is a tribute to Smithers, whose philan-
ism. Saitz has led research on screening and brief counseling interventions to address unhealthy alcohol use related to problems as severe as addiction and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. He is a former president of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse and was elected by his peers from 2003 to 2012 for Best Doctors in America.
Social media potential factor in Starbucks’ popularity Coffee: From Page 3
in, get your cup of coffee and you go compared to Starbucks where you have all the time in the world to sit there and customize it and get flavor shots and all this different crap,” said COM senior Kaitlin Urban. In March, the research firm PhaseOne ranked Starbucks the
@ D A I L Y F R E E P R E S S
number one most socially engaged company. “If they’re that good at social media and they cater to college students who are at the forefront of social media, I think that goes hand in hand,” said COM sophomore Morley Quatroche. “It’s a perfect correlation.” But College of Arts and Sciences
senior Aaron Jeffrey Landau said the same person might choose to go to Dunkin’ Donuts if they are in a rush or pick Starbucks if they are in the mood to relax. “I think we’re making these statements saying that it’s a certain demographic,” he said, “but I think they just serve a different purpose for the same demographic.”
VERMONTERS STUDYING OUT OF STATE
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SPOTLIGHT
5
O d d We a t h e r i n B o s t o n Mother nature is at it again. By Ben Brondsky
O
Features Staff
n Saturday it was 75 degrees out. Twenty-four hours later the temperature dropped to around 45 degrees. This weekend was a perfect snapshot of this year in Boston - hot to cold, and dry to wet. While Halloween brought in the worst snowstorm of the winter in Boston, the spring had a handful of unexpected weather extremes with the hottest, record-breaking day happening in March. ‘TIS THE SEASON Each season has had its own oddities. In September, and the beginning of October, students walked up and down Comm. Ave. barely wearing more than speedos. The parks were full of college students and Bostonians enjoying the outdoors. Then came Halloween, which seemed to be foreshadowing the upcoming winter. Students were hit with a snowstorm while venturing around in their less-than warm costumes. The next day, Nickerson Field was dotted with the annual “BC Sucks” sign marked out in snow, and it seemed like winter had come early to Boston. Rain and wind dominated the colder months. Those days in Boston where it is not cold enough to snow brought about a sleet-type of rain where the wind was blowing all over. Many umbrellas filled the streets and littered the trashcans. Boston reached March, usually the month of rain and misery, and instead it had a number of sunny and pleasant days. The case has been the same for April so far as well. Although spring is in its early stage, it has been the most tranquil time in Boston. GET ME OUT OF HERE College of Arts and Sciences senior Maria Hadley said she thinks it is just a typical year for New England. “Having lived in Massachusetts my whole life, I’m use to this,” said Hadley. “You just have to be prepared. Sometimes the weather channel will say its sunny out and you go outside and it is, but then half an hour later it starts downpouring.” Hadley said she suggests an umbrella or raincoat. However, some students are not as accepting of the weather and the preparation it needs. Sheena Banergee, a freshman in the School of Management, is a California native who is not used to such extreme temperatures. “Yeah, it’s pretty cold here,” she said. “I’m not use to it being in the 50’s in February. Even sometimes at Christmas it’ll be in the 70s or 80s [at home]. It’s always sunny in California.” College of Communication freshman Melissa Vartanian, another California native, said she dislikes the weather. “I’m not a big fan of New England weather,” Vartanian said. “I had to buy my first real winter coat.”
Other students, such as COM sophomore Danielle Hibbard, said the aforementioned Californians complained too much. “I think everyone who’s complaining about the weather is being a baby,” she said. “The rain is bad, but it’s nothing compared to last year’s winter. There was so much snow it just piled up on the sidewalks, the city didn’t have anywhere else to put it.” RECORD BREAKER A Daily Free Press article published on Jan. 19 titled “Sorry, skiers: Fewer than 3 inches of snowfall this year,” said that in mid-January Boston had accumulated only about three inches of snow. The snow accumulation for January during the 2010-11 school year alone was 38 inches, and the whole winter season accumulated an enormous 80 inches. Maybe it is not the extreme snow or cold that has made this weather so peculiar. March 2012 showed record-breaking 80-degree days, including on Patriot’s Day. The weather deterred several from competing in the Boston Marathon. The Boston Athletic Association found 427 of whose who picked up their bids for the Boston Marathon did not appear at the starting line, according to an April 16 Free Press article. College of General Studies Freshman Severiano Michelotti said he was amazed by the runners’ endurance in such extreme heat. “I can’t even imagine running in that kind of weather,” he said. “I was just standing there watching the runners, and I was sweating like crazy. If I tried running I’m sure I would have passed out.” Walk up and down Newbury St. on a hot weekend, and you will see the streets packed with tourists and Bostonians alike. Everyone is getting an early start on their summer clothes list and the ice cream shops have lines out the doors and down the street. Some clothing stores are noticing a change in buying trends. Bri Jump, the manager for the store Free People located at 800 Boylston St., said she has noticed a change in what costumers are purchasing, and that most costumers were hoping this warm weather would just “plateau” and stay hot. “There is definitely noticed a surge in girls wanting dresses and shorts,” she said. However, Jump said that customers’ purchasing pattern depends on the weather the day they are shopping as well. On hotter days, customers buy more dresses, while on colder days they are purchasing sweaters. As a result, she said Free People is still offering both winter and summer apparel. WHY THE HEAT? There are severals reasons for the odd weather that has
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY/RACHEL PEARSON
Students brave the unexpectedly cold temperatures on an April day.
occurred. One simple answer is that it is not odd weather at all. Like many Bostonians have mentioned, Boston in notorious for random and less than ideal weather. It could simply be that people forget each year what the weather’s like until it occurs again each following year. For those that do believe the weather has been peculiar, it could be chalked up to the evolving climate and global warming. A study published on Feb. 14 in Nature Climate Change, showed that for low-lying cities like New York and Boston increased rain production and storm surges were likely to increase. Because of green-house gases and CO2 emissions, the earth’s temperature has been rising steadily and making storms occur more frequently and more powerful. Whether or not this year’s weather has been one of the oddest or hottest in recent years, some things never change: Newbury Street will always have visitors, students will use any snow day to demonstrate their hatred for Boston College and the incoming class will always think they are experiencing the worst weather here in Boston.
Record-breaking weather in Boston for April 25:
Can’t get enough of Mother Nature?
Record high: 87 degrees, in 2009 Record low: 27 degrees, in 1892 Average April rainfall: 3.6 inches
Check out our blog for some of Boston’s craziest weather moments freepblog.wordpress.com
Sources: www.ncdc.noaa.gov, weather.com
6W
ednesday, April
Opinion
25, 2012
The Daily Free Press
Mind the Gap
The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University 42nd year F Volume 82 F Issue 103
Letting the pieces fall into place
Steph Solis, Editor-in-Chief Tim Healey, Managing Editor Emily Overholt, Campus Editor
Sydney L. Shea, City Editor
Meredith Perri, Sports Editor
Sofiya Mahdi, Opinion Page Editor
Kira Cole, Features Editor
Audrey Fain, Ricky Wilson, Photo Editors
Praise Hong, Advertising Manager Kaylee Hill, Layout Editor Valerie Morgan, Office Manager The Daily Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Monday through Thursday during the academic year except during vacation and exam periods by Back Bay Publishing Co.,Inc., a nonprofit corporation operated by Boston University students. No content can be reproduced without the permission of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2010 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
Fashion shoots The fashion world often prides itself on being progressive as a form of art and a source of emerging trends. Many of us watch aghast as more and more bizarre designs are becoming acceptable to wear in public. However, another aspect of fashion is its function. In the case of Woolrich, their newest chino pants are lauded for their function, which is being designed to conceal a handgun. The 182-year-old company has designed a pair of pants that has another pocket specially created to conceal a weapon, along with back pockets that can hold flashlights and knives. According to an article published in The New York Times on Monday, the clothing brand is not the only one to tap into this lucrative market. There has been a consistent increase in permits allowing individuals to carry concealed weapons. Other brands are designing similar clothing items, giving consumers options on how best to covertly carry weapons. Shirts and jackets are also adding to the clothing range, giving consumers more of a variety. If an individual is legally permitted to
carry a weapon, then this step in making carrying a gun more aesthetically pleasing is not harmful. The idea was not conceived out of thin air; the demand in an existing market presented itself, and consequently it is rational that these clothing brands rose to fill the gap in the market. For many who go through the process to obtain a concealed weapon permit, they do so out of wanting to feel safe and in control. These new clothing options will allow them to do so without unnecessarily intimidating those around them. To obtain a permit of this nature, one cannot be a felon, as well as meet other legal requirements. While a wider discussion of how America approaches gun control rages on, this particular facet of the issue does not directly feed into who should have guns, but rather provides additional options to those who are legally permitted to do so. Aesthetically, the products have a few more re-design attempts to go before they can be considered the height of fashion, but functionally they provide an interesting alternative for the market they target.
Securing society There seems to be a collective sigh of resignation whenever the economy and its future are discussed, whether it is through news outlets or amongst peers. Unfortunately, this grim outlook shows no signs of changing, especially concerning American governmental programs. Social Security has long been viewed as a right by many American citizens; the population has grown to be accustomed to the fact that Social Security will be a given when retirement beckons. It is common knowledge that the funds behind the program are dwindling, but now it appears that they are being depleted at a faster rate than initially expected. According to an article published in The Washington Post on Monday, Social Security will run out in 2033, three years earlier than previously anticipated. The renewed projections come at a time when the cost of living is increasing, more “baby boomers” are heading to retirement, the economy is in a precarious position and political actors are reluctant to overhaul the whole system and begin anew. Furthermore, Medicare’s hospital insurance fund is set to finish in 2024.
Both these projections are alarmingly close, making the issue especially pertinent to our generation. Nevertheless, despite administrative hesitation to “rock the boat” regarding Medicare and Social Security, reform is needed urgently. When the funds eventually finish, taxation will only be able to fund partial benefits. More than 56 million Americans benefit from Social Security; an alternative needs to be sought out soon for the United States to find a lasting solution to the issue at hand. With the campaigns for the presidency intensifying over the next few months, how to tackle such heavy government spending will be a top priority for voters and policymakers alike. A clear-cut solution seems elusive at present, but the sooner decisive action is taken to alleviate the enormous federal debt and avoid impending disaster, the better. The state of government spending is dismal; in order to combat spiralling down into more debt, Congress will have to take an aggressive approach toward battling out a resolution to the current economic situation.
letters@dailyfreepress.com letters@dailyfreepress.com letters@dailyfreepress.com
D
SOFIYA MAHDI
espite the torrential downpour and bracing winds that batter us as we go to class, we accept it is, in fact, spring. Meteorologically speaking, this was a year of contradictions; freak snow at Halloween followed by a mild winter. Looking at the bigger picture, this year has also been witness to milestones, drama, firsts and lasts. Being a sophomore, it seems apt that at a time that presents so many crossroads, as I am faced with one of my very own. Here lies the halfway point. Just as a glass of water sitting precariously on a kitchen counter threatens to either remain stationary or tumble, you feel as if you can either lose your balance and collapse, or walk the tightrope and prevail. Last week, a couple of friends and I realized that our time of freedom this semester was coming to an end. In light of this alarming realization, I panicked. I panicked because, like many of us facing an end, we worry that we may look back in disappointment that we didn’t seize spontaneity. We worry that we neglected the infamous “carpe diem” concept. Or in more contemporary terms, we hope we can reflect and say we embraced the “YOLO” mentality. As we grow into the college environment that used to be so alien to us, we inevitably become burdened with more responsibility and understanding of what is at stake around us. All of a sudden, we have more interest than ever in political leadership elections both here and overseas. Technological acquisitions that used to be nothing more than blips on our computer screens become evermore significant. No longer are we solely passive witnesses to our fate; now more than ever, we have reached a point in life where we are expected to be instigators. As if we were guests at a lavish medieval feast, we heap our plates full with extracurricular activities, internships applications, academic course loads and everything that fills the remaining gaps in our schedules. Moments of retrospection seem impossible to come by as we are bombarded with obstacles to prove our dependability. It’s an out-of-body experience, taking the time to freeze life as we know it and look around. This moment when you feel you’re stationary and perpetually moving all at the same time may come when you finally decide to declare your major at the registrar’s office. The moment may come when you realize summer is near, and you have no idea how time disappeared. For me, that moment came as I stood on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus steps in the early hours of the morning. As the night wore on before that point, we found ourselves crossing over the bridge
to the MIT campus, following the dazzling lights of a Tetris game being played on the tall Green Building. I’m sure I am not the first to find a parallel between the simple game and life as we know it. Just like those colorful blocks falling down the screen, life is about letting the pieces fall into place. We would soon learn that this was the finished product of an elaborate hack that simultaneously baffled and transfixed onlookers. As we meandered through campus, a young, timid girl who looked slightly lost approached us. She was an accepted student who had been invited to MIT for an accepted students weekend. She was also just entering the Rogers Building. . . at 4 a.m. Perplexed, we asked her why she was up. “They tell us we aren’t supposed to sleep during pre-frosh weekend. If you do, you’re doing it wrong.” This unsuspecting high school senior from California uttered those words nonchalantly, but they reverberated through my mind like the shockwaves of an earthquake. The wisdom I leave this year with isn’t that sleep-deprivation entails a more fulfilled life. It’s when we fall asleep with regard to compassion, determination and valuing what actually matters, that’s when we are doing it all wrong. It’s when we neglect the people, places and little things that make us happy that we fall into a destructive slumber. As we go our separate ways for those long summer months - and for many of you, potentially the rest of your lives - it should be a time where you can indulge in the clichés of hope, change and invincibility. We all set out on this hiatus with high hopes; this year we shall keep them. We leave this year with our triumphs and our mistakes in equal measure, and as in Tetris, how we choose to combine those experiences when we see them side by side is what matters. And when we return, we will once more pick up our college lives and resume our balancing act. When I returned to the campus that I have grown to love over the past two years, I hurriedly turned on a laptop to track my brother running the London Marathon, about 3,000 miles away and 5 hours ahead. An indescribable feeling came over me as my 17-yearold “baby” brother’s tracking information showed he had done it. My body ached in compassionate pain for the athletic odyssey he had just endured; despite an ocean between my home and me, that same adrenalin coursed through human veins. For tonight, I wasn’t supposed to sleep. For tonight, I knew if I had, I would have been doing it all wrong. Sofiya Mahdi is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Opinion Page Editor at The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at letters@dailyfreepress.com.
Give us your take. Read The Daily Free Press online, and make your voice heard. Submit a comment if you want to share your thoughts. www.dailyfreepress.com
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
7
McCARTHY: Petrino’s affair directly impacted future of Arkansas football McCarthy: From page 8
year, it went 13-1 en route to the national championship. In 2006, LSU finished the season ranked 3rd in the country with an impressive 11-2 record. It won the title the next year. In 2007, Florida went 9-4, which was good for 13th in the country. It won its second title in three years the following season. In 2008, Alabama finished the season ranked 6th in the polls with a 12-2 record. It sailed to an undefeated season and national championship one year later. In 2010, ‘Bama came down to earth a little bit, but still went 103, which was good for 10th in the final polls. Alabama, of course, went on to win this year’s national title. In the case of each of these five national championship seasons, the year that preceded the team’s title run was unfailingly similar. None of the schools finished lower than 13th in the country, and each team was just barely left
out of the national championship conversation. Then, one year removed from being on the cusp, it would go on to take the title. The lone aberration to this recent historical pattern is Auburn’s 2010 championship season. The previous year, in 2009, it had gone 8-5, ultimately finishing the season unranked. Prior to the 2010 season, however, it was also blessed by the transfer of quarterback Cam Newton. A oncein-a-generation talent, he went on to win the Heisman trophy, in addition to leading the Tigers to the promised land. So, in the case of Auburn in 2010, this was the epitome of something being the exception to the rule. This being the case, it should not be too hard to predict which SEC school has the greatest shot of hoisting that crystal football come next January. In any discussion regarding next year’s college football season, one must obviously look first towards LSU. After emerging from the SEC Champion-
ship game as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, it went on to lose in the title game to conference foe Alabama. In the end, it finished 13-1 with a No. 2 final ranking. Certainly, the Tigers will be in the title hunt for next year. However, they do not fit the previously discussed formula nearly as well as another school in the vaunted SEC-West. After finishing the season at 11-2, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks were ranked 5th in the country in the final polls. But given the fact that two SEC teams were playing in the BCS title game, the Razorbacks were left out of the BCS discussion entirely. Like the national champions before them, they were left barely on the cusp of the national championship picture. With star quarterback and Heisman candidate Tyler Wilson returning, and stud running back Knile Davis coming back after a year removed due to injury, it looked as if the Razorback offense would be even more potent
than it was last year. As long as offensive guru Bobby Petrino was pulling the strings, the Arkansas faithful had realistic dreams of one offensive explosion after another en route to a BCS title. This, of course, all changed on April 1 when Petrino was involved in a late-night motorcycle crash. When it was discovered that the woman involved in the crash was his mistress, it became a public relations nightmare and personal catastrophe for Petrino. However, when it was determined that his mistress, Jessica Dorrell, had recently been given a job in the Arkansas football department, it became another matter entirely. In the end, this twisted nepotism would cost Petrino his job. The impact of Petrino’s affair on his friends and family unfortunately cannot be understated, but its implications regarding the future of Arkansas football are almost equally profound. While he had never been described as anything more than a barely tolerable human being, Bobby Petrino was
always recognized as a football genius. He was not only a great recruiter, he was also a great football mind and coach. And, after many years teetering on the edge of national prominence and greatness, many viewed 2012 as his best shot of breaking through. In the days following Petrino’s motorcycle crash, the University of Arkansas was slowly and painfully stripped of its status as national championship favorites. While it will be competitive next year based on its talent alone, it will certainly not be the powerhouse that it would have been with Petrino at the helm. Given the tried and true formula of past SEC success, it is likely that Petrino’s heartless irresponsibility cost the Razorbacks a national title. The SEC may very well win its seventh consecutive national championship, but it is obvious that Arkansas had previously represented its best shot of doing so. Bobby Petrino sure knows how to blow a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Ruikka eligible after redshirting sophomore year Three sophomore starters Ruikka: From page 8
JUNHEE CHUNG/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE PHOTO
Senior defenseman Ryan Ruikka will return to BU for a fifth year.
NCAA. During the 2011-12 season, Ruikka played 29 games and recorded five assists for the Terriers while blocking 23 shots. As a result of depleted depth on defense, Ruikka received additional playing time as the season came to an end. His best game was at the University of Vermont on Feb. 24, when the Chelsea, Mich., native tallied a career-high two assists in the Terriers’ 5-0 win. While Ruikka was not playing any games his freshman or sophomore season, the defenseman totaled 12 points in 63 games over the past two years. His presence in the defensive corps next year means that barring any unexpected departures, BU will return a group of six defensemen. Ruikka is known for his ability in the classroom, but by using his extra year of eligibility he can keep playing a sport he has enjoyed his whole life. “I was always looking forward to getting to play another year if I could,” Ruikka said. “It really worked out that I could come back.”
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lead Terriers at the plate Softball: From page 8
tal innings. Providence’s overall ERA is 4.00. In spite of PC’s pitching woes, Rychcik said he does not wish to become overconfident about his team’s offensive chances. “You never know. Some of the time it’s a specific [pitching] matchup,” Rychcik said. “For some pitcher . . . that shuts another team down, you have no problem with. . . . Sometimes it’s strictly matchups, sometimes somebody gets hot and has a great day, and their pitches are really working.” However, the Terriers have likely been feeling good about themselves lately. The team has won seven of its last eight games
and has held its opponents to two runs or fewer in each of the wins. Three starters – sophomores Jayme Mask, Megan Volpano and Chelsea O’Connor – are batting above.300, and classmate Brittany Clendenny is hot on their heels at .298. “I would like to think that we’re playing pretty well,” Rychcik said in regards to his team’s current status. “It should take a pretty good performance to shut us down. And the fact that we’re playing good ‘D,’ and we’ve got good pitching, I’d like to think that, looking at things on paper, we stand a pretty good chance to play well against [Providence].”
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“
Quotable
It should take a pretty good performance to shut us down. -BU softball coach Shawn Rychcik
Page 8
The Gospel Bobby Petrino’s missed opportunity
Andrew McCarthy In 2006, do-it-all University of Texas quarterback Vince Young propelled his Longhorns to a National Championship victory with one of the most dominant single game performances in the history of the sport. In the six years since Texas’s triumph over the University of Southern California, two things have happened – Young’s once promising professional career has spiraled out of control, and the SEC has exerted its substantial will over the world of college football on a level that is rarely seen in modern athletics. More specifically, with an SEC team now remaining atop the BCS standings at the end of the season for six years straight, there is arguably no conference in college athletics that is more dominant than the SEC is in football. What makes the current run of SEC success particularly impressive, however, is the consistent reshuffling of the teams at the top of the competitive heap. That the BCS Championship trophy has found itself in a SEC trophy case each of the last six seasons is striking enough, but adding to the impressiveness of the feat is the fact that none of the four champions – Florida, Louisiana State, Alabama and Auburn – have repeated as champs. So, while Florida and Alabama have both won twice during the recent string of SEC dominance, both were knocked from the mountaintop before winning again. As all four of the major professional sports leagues have struggled for years to strike a balance between dominance and parity, the SEC has somehow concocted the winning formula. It is important to note, however, that the existence of parity in Southeastern Conference football does not mean that predicting the next year’s inevitable SEC representative in the BCS title game is an entirely fruitless endeavor. In 2005, Florida finished the season ranked 12th in the country with a 9-3 record. The following
McCarthy, see page 7
Sports
Reading, Writing, Ruikka
The Daily Free Press
Senior defenseman Ryan Ruikka of the men’s hockey team announced he would return to the team for the 201213 season, his fifth as a Terrier, p. 8.
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Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Softball to face Friars in first bout since 2009 By Tyler Lay Daily Free Press Staff
In a month that has largely been dictated by rainy weather and typical conference or interleague matchups, the Boston University softball team will be thrown a bit of a changeup. Providence College travels to the BU Softball Field on Wednesday for a doubleheader with the Terriers. The Friars have not been on BU’s schedule since the 2009 season, and because only three Terriers are presently in their senior year, a vast majority of the team will be unfamiliar with the Big East opponent. “It’s nice getting some different teams. . . . I think we try to do that in our preseason too – early in the year – to have some different teams,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “It’s just different looks, different experiences, different types of players. They all kind of make us a little better for the bigger games at the end of the year.” When the Terriers (27-13, 8-3 America East) and Friars (15-29) squared off three years ago, BU fell in the first game by a score of 6-4 before the second game was canceled due to rain. Of current Terriers, junior Emily Roesch and senior Erica Casacci each started in that game; Casacci had two hits. Since then, Casacci has been
moved from right field to left, and has excelled at the position. She maintains a perfect fielding percentage on 36 opportunities, and bats .291 from the two-spot in the batting order. Roesch has been solid for BU all year from her spot at second base. She has 18 RBIs and three home runs in 38 games. While the Terriers appear to have an advantage based on their results this season, Rychcik said the Friars’ record is not likely to be entirely indicative of their skill. “They won’t be what their record shows because they have played a better competition,” Rychcik said. “They’re struggling a little bit this year, and they’ve had some ups and downs, but for us we just have to make sure we do what we’re supposed to do – come out and get good pitching, good defense and score a few runs.” Providence’s inability to keep up with its competition is evident in its pitching statistics. Only one pitcher, freshman Shanelle Harrell, maintains a winning record (1-0). But she has pitched just 11 innings. Senior Alicia Grosso and junior Corinne Clauss have accrued records of 7-16 and 7-11, respectively, and have made up for 255 of the staff’s 285.1 to-
Softball, see page 7
AUDREY FAIN/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE PHOTO
Senior left fielder Erica Casacci has maintained a perfect fielding percentage thus far this season.
Ruikka to return to BU for academics, play another year of hockey By Kevin Dillon Daily Free Press Staff
It is not uncommon for college hockey players to leave school early nowadays, bypassing their senior seasons to pursue a pro career. Boston University men’s hockey senior defenseman Ryan Ruikka, however, will be doing just
the opposite, as he will remain with the team for a fifth season next year. Ruikka, who is known for his near-4.0 GPA and is working on a master’s degree in economics after having already completed a dual bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics, has applied to become a graduate stu-
dent and pursue a master’s degree in economic finance. “I think it will be good,” Ruikka said. “I haven’t learned any finance so I think it will be helpful for me.” A three-time Regina Eilberg Scholarship recipient as the top scholar-athlete on the men’s hockey team, Ruikka redshirted
his sophomore season after tearing his ACL and meniscus during a preseason workout, injuries that required season-ending knee surgery. Thanks to Ruikka’s redshirt season, he will be granted another season of eligibility by the
Ruikka, see page 7
Track and field find success in two separate invitationals By Meredith Perri Daily Free Press Staff
The Boston University men’s and women’s track and field teams experienced success in two different meets last weekend. On April 20-21, the Terriers participated in the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton, N.J. Junior R.J. Page led BU with a first-place finish in the 200-meter dash on Saturday. Page’s classmate Stephen Vitale also fared well with a fourth place finish in the 400-meter hurdles. Vitale finished with a time of 52.37 seconds. Seniors Tewado Latty and Joe Greenspun also had successful weekends. Latty finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 46.98 seconds, and Greenspun placed third in the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:52.51.
Senior Shelby Walton led the women’s team, finishing third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.25 seconds and fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.89 seconds. Junior Julia Mirochnick finished 12th in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles. During the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Invitational on Saturday, senior Jeff Pelage and senior Michael Murowchick took second-place finishes for the men’s team. Pelage finished second in the discus and the shot put with throws of 48.59 meters and 14.54 meters, respectively. Meanwhile, Murowchick placed second in the javelin with a throw of 52.25 meters. Freshmen Nikolaos Farmaki-
dis and Michael Maloof finished fifth in their respective events, as Farmakidis took the five spot in the pole vault, and Maloof took fifth in the hammer throw. The Terriers also had two top10 finishes on the track when junior Brian Greenfield and freshman Matt Solomon finished sixth and ninth, respectively, in the 1500-meter run. The women’s team had even more success during the MIT Invitational thanks to the four members of the squad that took home first-place finishes. Juniors Allison Barwise and Susan Ottey and sophomores Chelsea Curry and Sarah Dillard took first place in field events. Barwise took the first-place spot in the high jump with a leap of 1.83 meters, and Ottey won the hammer throw with a heave of
42.58 meters. Dillard threw 43.41 meters to win the discus, while Curry took home the top spot in shot put with a throw of 13.25 meters. Curry and Barwise also had other top-five finishes, with Curry taking second in the hammer throw and Barwise taking fifth in the 200-meter dash. The Terriers had three other top-10 finishes, including sophomore Chelsey Hanson, who took second in the triple jump. Additionally, freshman Victoria Perez took fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and eighth in the 100-meter hurdles, and junior Danielle Bowen finished ninth with a time of 5:57.87 in the 1500-meter run. Next weekend, BU will compete in the Penn Relays and the Brown Springtime Open.
Saturday, April 28
Sunday, April 29
The Bottom Line Wednesday, April 25 Softball vs. Providence, 3,5 p.m.
Thursday, April 26 Softball @ Boston College, 4 p.m. Track @ Penn Relays, All Day
Friday, April 27 Tennis @ America East Championships, All Day Track @ Penn Relays, All Day
W. Lacrosse @ Binghamton, 12 p.m. Softball vs. Hartford, 1,3 p.m. Track @ Penn Relays, All Day M. Crew @ Wisconsin, All Day
Softball vs. Hartford, 12 p.m. Tennis @ America East Championships, TBA