9-24-2015

NEWS $4 million will grant residents opportunities for employment and education p. 2

CATALYST BU athletes and trainers react to concussion and head injury study p. 6

55°/72° PARTLY CLOUDY

SPORTS Jeroen Blugh has made the journey of a lifetime since coming to BU from San Juan, Trinidad p. 12

DAILYFREEPRESS.COM @DAILYFREEPRESS

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLIV. VOLUME LXXXIX. ISSUE IV.

After suspensions, Kappa Sig and DTD officially recognized by university council

BY ELLEN CRANLEY AND CHRISTY OSLER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DFP FILE PHOTO

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans announced Sep. 15 that the Boston Police Department will launch a body camera pilot.

Leaders, activists await BPD body camera pilot

BY MINA CORPUZ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Following nearly a year of conversation between activism groups and state leaders, the Boston Police Department is closer to implementing a pilot program to test the use of body-worn cameras for officers.

“I’ve never said no … I just want to get it right so we’re not wasting all kinds of money and we’re not invading peoples’ privacy,” Boston Police Department Commissioner William Evans said in a Sept.

15 interview with Jim Braude on WGBH’s news talk show Greater Boston.

Evans said he has been working with

BPD’s legal staff, unions and potential vendors to get the program started.

“I wish I could snap my fingers and it would happen tomorrow, but there’s so many issues regarding privacy,” Evans said.

“There’s so many issues on cost and hiring people. It’s not an easy overnight fix.”

Bonnie McGilpin, a spokesperson for Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, said the mayor shares Evans’ sentiments about the use of body cameras.

“Mayor Walsh and Commissioner Evans agree that body cameras for Boston police officers could be a valuable investment in our police force,” McGilpin said in a statement. “But they believe that body cameras are only one tool in police work,

$500

REPORTING BY J.D. CAPELOUTO

and do not address the fundamental problems of inequity in our communities.”

Beyond body cameras, Walsh wants to focus on addressing inequality, strengthening community relations and building trust between residents and officers, McGilpin said.

Walsh first endorsed a body camera program for BPD last year, which came out of a national conversation about the deaths of several unarmed black men at the hands of police, The Daily Free Press reported on Dec. 11, 2014.

Segun Idowu, co-founder of the Boston Police Camera Action Team, said the group supports the pilot and appreciates CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

million more

GRAPHIC BY KATELYN PILLEY

The history and future of the Campaign for BU

GOAL

Quiet period begins in 2010 Quiet period: the two year period when BU raised money behind the scenes.

$1 billion by 2017 Sept. 21, 2012

Campaign goes public with $420M raised

June 30, 2012 $380M

2011 Donors are the ultimate decision makers as to how we can spend their generosity and most donors have very specific ideas about what they want to support.”

Scott Nichols, Senior VP, Development and Alumni Relations

NEW GOAL

$1.5B

by 2017

announced Friday

Current $889M Feb. 2013 $460M HALFWAY TO ORIGINAL GOAL May 2013 $500M

$1B

Jan. 2014 $585M

Beginning this semester, Boston University reinstated the fraternities Kappa Sigma and Delta Tau Delta as official university organizations after a suspension last semester.

During the suspension, the university dissociated itself from the fraternities until they had addressed and solved the issues that lead to the suspensions, said Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.

“What we try to do is ask the group to address the specific issue and work with their national organization to do so,” he said.

“Once they’ve done that and they’ve demonstrated a plan for how they can address that and have shown us a plan on how they’ll conduct themselves over the course of a semester, that is when we give some consideration to bringing them back on campus.

Last winter, Delta Tau Delta was suspended on two separate instances after BU received reports that the fraternity sponsored off-campus events without the university’s approval where there were underage students drinking, The Daily Free Press reported Feb. 12.

Kappa Sigma was suspended due to the questionable promotion of a “blackout party,” the FreeP reported Feb. 26. The fraternity was planning to host the party, using BU’s name without approval and promoting excessive drinking and taking advantage of women.

“I am hopeful they will understand how objectionable this was,” Elmore said in February regarding Kappa Sigma’s suspension.

“I hope beyond any anger they may feel at us removing our connections from them that they do something to figure out [how] a group of them, we’re talking about a sizable number of them, could think something like this could be okay.”

The university has decided to recognize the fraternities once again, but they both have a set of educational programs that they’ll need to do internally for their own membership, as well as for the campus itself, Elmore said. “[Both fraternities’] national organizations have spent time doing a review of the members of their organizations to look at leadership but also to look at members and make sure their attitudes and approach will be different,” he said. “Basically, give us some assurances that we’re not going to have to run into these problems with these groups again.”

Now that both are again officially recognized as student groups through the Student Activities Office, the frats once again become part of the BU Interfraternity Council, said IFC President David Lugo.

Trip Jagolta, president of Kappa Sigma, said he is excited for the future of his fraternity.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

2

NEWS

Grants to help residents with jobs, education

CAMPUS CRIME LOGS

BY SAMANTHA GROSS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

More than $4 million of new funding from the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development will provide Boston residents with access to employment, education and financial empowerment opportunities.

The office, an affiliate of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, chose 60 local non-profit organizations on Sep. 15 to receive the funding through a request for proposals issued March 24, according to a release by the BRA. The grants could help over 3,000 residents.

Nicholas Martin, a spokesperson for the BRA, said the ultimate purpose of these grants is to put Boston residents on pathways to career success. “[The Mayor’s Office of Workplace Development] has sort of refined their approach under the current administration not only to do job training. They want to put people on a career path,” Martin said.

“A job is different than a career. A career opens up the potential for lifelong success, where as a job might be a little more fleeting.”

The city is appreciative to have quality organizations providing services to residents, Martin said.

“There are a lot of organizations that are doing great work and we’re fortunate to have the funding to help support that and to help put residents on the path to career stability and on the path to their earning potential,” Martin said.

East Boston Social Centers, one of the groups that received a grant, serves culturally diverse families and individuals of all ages through settlement houses, childcare, advocacy groups and free after-school programming. The Centers will receive $20,000 in funding through June 30, 2016, to fund programming and pay full-time staff, the release stated.

John Kelly, the executive director

BY CHRISTY OSLER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department from Sept. 18 to 22.

Female student approached by unknown male A female student reported an assault and battery incident at 595 Commonwealth Ave. on Friday. A male individual walked beside her, told her she was beautiful, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek PHOTO COURTESY TECH GOES HOME/FLICKR

The Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center is one of the local nonprofits that received part of the $4 million grant from Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s Office of Workforce Development.

of the organization, said the Centers are moving toward using the money to help children achieve in school.

“Just broadening people’s horizons so they define themselves as a person that’s going to go to college,” Kelly said. “We also have some kids who come to our program from the more violent neighborhoods of Roxbury and Dorchester who come to school at East Boston High School and stay here in the afternoon because it’s safe.”

Another organization that received funding is Action for Boston Community Development. ABCD serves over 95,000 low-income locals through its large span of programs, which all focus on upward mobility and higher quality of life.

Although ABCD received funding for its employment programs through the OWD grant, it lost funding for its after school programs, said Paul Creighton, the executive director of Allston Brighton Area Planning Action Council, a former

affiliate of ABCD. “We’ve had to cut staff and serve less children. We tried to get them to change their minds, but they want to do things differently,” Creighton said. “The priority should have been the after school program rather than employment.”

Creighton said that although funding in one place was cut, the group is gearing up for expansion in the program’s adult sector.

“We’re going to do employment and income stabilization. We help people get resources. For example, we sign them up for food stamp programs, Medicare, Medicaid, VA [Veteran Affairs], whatever types of resources someone might be eligible for,” Creighton said. “The idea is that we help individuals and families to increase household income. That’s the bottom line.”

Several residents expressed optimism CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Kappa Sigma, DTD working on resolving past issues SUSPENSIONS, FROM PAGE 1

“I’m incredibly proud of the progress the chapter has made over the last eight months,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to grow as a chapter over the coming year.”

DTD’s and Kappa Sigma’s national organizations declined to comment.

Several students said they believe fraternities should reform their actions if they would create harm to the BU campus and

community.

Cathy Zhang, a freshman in the Questrom School of Business, said that Greek Life’s small population at BU seems to contribute to the theme of togetherness, but they must be careful of their actions.

“If frats do dangerous or risky things, it doesn’t create a safe environment for all of us to go to school,” she said, “Everyone here should have a safe and welcoming environment. If my parents knew this kind of stuff goes on and frats might not get in

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH SILBIGER/DFP FILE PHOTO

Following their suspensions last semester, Delta Tau Delta and Kappa Sigma are back on campus.

trouble for it, they probably wouldn’t let me come here.”

Jake Crowley, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said that the community of fraternities at BU has its benefits, although being in a fraternity is not for him.

“I don’t care about the frats, but they can’t cause a problem for students and create a bad name for the school,” he said. “I don’t think it affects me personally, but BU shouldn’t get a bad name just because they are reckless. Administration should probably keep them on a short leash from now on to make sure these things don’t keep happening.”

Kelly Chhe, a freshman in CAS, said she thinks the way Greek Life is advertised can offend some people.

“Frats should definitely be held accountable for things they do even if not everyone hears about it, because if they don’t then they will keep doing more and more harmful things,” she said. “Maybe what’s needed is a reform to an approval process for the things frats can and can’t do, so these things can’t happen at all.”

Brad Ferber, a junior in CAS, said although there may be some incidents among frats, he thinks frats are a great way to meet people at BU, but not the only way.

“We are lucky to be in the city with plenty of other things to do so frats don’t have that much of a hold on campus,” he said. “So many people get caught up when they are in Greek Life, but if you’re not you have plenty else to do.”

Underage students charged with possession of alcohol Two 18-year-old students were charged for underage possession of alcohol at Alcorn Street and Gardner Street on Friday. They have been summoned to Brighton District Court.

Bicycle stolen from George Sherman Union A female student reported her bike was stolen from a bike rack in front of 775 Commonwealth Ave. on Friday between 2 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

Underage student caught receiving alcohol from 21-yearold student At 9:50 p.m. Saturday, a 21-yearold student was sighted and charged for providing alcohol to an underage student, who was charged with minor possession. The incident occurred at Alcorn Street and Gardner Street. Both have been summoned to Brighton District Court.

Student’s wristlet stolen from library A female student reported that her wristlet containing her wallet was stolen at 771 Commonwealth Ave. from the second Wallet

stolen from Warren Towers dorm

A male student reported that his wallet was stolen from his room at 700 Commonwealth Ave. between Saturday at 11:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 a.m.

Non-affiliate in possession of marijuana on Bay State Road A male not affiliated with the university was charged with possession of less than one ounce of marijuana Sunday at 6 p.m. behind 175 Bay State Rd. Bicycle stolen from in front of Warren Towers A male student reported his bike was stolen Monday in front of 700 Commonwealth Ave. between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The bike was secured by the bike’s front tire to a bike rack in front of the building at the time of the theft. The tire remained and the thief took the rest of the bike.

NEWS

3

Boston Medical Center aims to be green, lead way in efforts

BY ELLEN CRANLEY DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston Medical Center plans to cut carbon dioxide gas emissions by 50 percent by the year 2020 in an effort to lead the way in sustainable operations.

Bob Biggio, BMC’s vice president of facilities and support services, said the move to greener facilities strengthens the positive impact the center has on people’s lives.

“We believe going green aligns with the goals of healthcare reform and our basic goals as a hospital,” Biggio said. “It’s beneficial from a healthcare perspective with keeping people well and reducing emissions and also reduces our cost, which is required of us under healthcare reform.”

Environmental sustainability groups in Boston support the center’s plans and work, Biggio said.

“We have been working actively with the Green Ribbon Commission to lead the city’s healthcare sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Biggio said. “In order to take a leadership position, you have to walk the walk and lead by example, which is what we have tried to do.”

BMC is currently undergoing a campus redesign, a $300 million project, which Biggio said will reduce the campus by 300,000 square feet and reduce energy consumption by 11 million kilowatts.

“We are consolidating [and] shifting from two campuses into a single campus footprint,” Biggio said. “We are simultaneously increasing capacity for outpatient, emergency room and many of our core departments.”

Biggio said physical changes to the campus coincide with mandated healthcare reform and will create a more positive patient experience.

“This whole project revolves around realigning the way we provide care, so to

PHOTO BY MARY SCHLICHTE/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston Medical Center is attempting to be more environmentally friendly by reducing emissions 50 percent by 2020

align with healthcare reform,” Biggio said.

“It keeps our inpatient capacity equivalent to what it is today but expands the outpatient areas we will need for healthcare reform.”

Paul Lipke, a senior advisor for Health Care Without Harm, said the BMC renovation is a large part of its move toward significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

“They’re in a process with a master plan that is enabling them to completely rethink its energy use patterns. Other institutions are not in that place of perfect timing, maybe for one reason or another,” Lipke said. “We are constantly reminding people that you can’t benchmark these

hospitals against each other.”

Although certain hospitals are in a better position to make large changes in their energy consumption, the entire sector is facing reform and hospitals still prioritize patients, Lipke said.

“The healthcare sector is on the front line of climate change. Hospitals are not only where people go for help in emergency situations, but they are also huge energy users, and they have sworn to do no harm,” Lipke said. “Through no fault of their own, they are part of a system that uses greenhouse gas energy to meet the needs of their patients and researchers.”

Lipke said hospitals are especially driven to become more energy efficient.

“More than any other sector, they have a mission-related reason to act,” he said. “Every penny they spend on energy is a penny they can’t spend on patients or prevention.”

Several residents and students said they appreciate BMC’s efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Varsha Muralidhar, a senior in Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences who plans to attend BU’s School of Medicine, said she would like to see a greener future for hospitals because they have the potential to make large and positive impact.

“A hospital going green would have such a bigger impact compared to a house going green,” she said. “Shadowing at hospitals, I’ve seen the crazy amount of waste that is created every day, so I would love to see, and one day work in, a hospital that is eco-friendly.”

Melissa Warstadt, a second-year student in BUSM, said changes hospitals make set a precedent for new generations of healthcare professionals to be ecologically responsible.

“If people who are first training get used to things being green, they are going to hold that standard for the rest of their careers,” she said. “So the sooner these changes are made official, the more people will see being green as the norm and the more change can spread.”

Shaun Amer, 24, of Back Bay, said any reduction of greenhouse gasses will have a positive effect on Boston as a whole.

“Any business or organization cutting emissions is a good thing,” he said.

“Lowering greenhouse gas emissions contributes to a healthy environment in general. The hospital could probably improve its reputation as a leader in being green, which would benefit them. But this could set a standard that everyone in Boston will notice and look to follow.”

Nonprofit grants will impact Boston community, residents say GRANTS, FROM PAGE 2

that the money would go a long way toward helping Boston’s neediest.

Ann Pantos, 33, of South Boston, said the grant money will simultaneously help people in need as well as the state’s finances.

“Generating more jobs will help with the economy,” she said. “I feel like there a lot of people struggling to find a job right

now, so maybe [the grants] will help them.”

Valerie Basnight, 31, of Quincy, has worked with nonprofits Hill House Boston and Youth Advocacy Foundation and said she approves of the grant money’s intention.

“It’s nice to see the city investing in its people,” she said. “Anything that can kind of helps that wheel keep going, help-

ing people afford the opportunity to work and put money back into the economy.”

Markian Borkowsky, a senior in Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, volunteered in a similar non-profit to those selected for funding, and said instead of giving grant money to these smaller programs, the government should be providing for its citi-

zens on its own.

“What I found is that it would be a lot better of a situation if the systems were a lot more streamlined,” he said. “The reason why we have an environment where you have to give to the private sector is because the public sector isn’t going to provide those resources for the public.”

Activism group policies recommend guidelines for body cameras CAMERAS, FROM PAGE 1

Walsh and Evan’s change of heart, but added that BPCAT members remain “cautiously optimistic.”

“We again wanted to meet with them so we could offer our opinions on the fact that it should be a very extensive program where it should be up to a hundred officers that are wearing this or more, and they’re not just in the black community,” Idowu said, “because even though this is an issue that is spurring out of what was happening in Ferguson, [Missouri,] every community has to live with this.”

Idowu said BPCAT worked on a general policy that can serve as a model for the rest of the nation, with ideas stemming from conversations with members of the community and law enforcement.

“The policy we produced is essentially something that responds to those concerns

and we also feel is fair to the officer. We didn’t want to create something just out of our emotional response to what we saw in Ferguson and Baltimore and Staten Island, [New York].”

Boston City Councilor Charles Yancey introduced the policy as an ordinance at an August City Council hearing, leaving it up for consideration and eventually a vote.

BPCAT also worked with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts to create a more specific body camera policy, which was released on Sept. 16.

Christopher Ott, a spokesman for the ACLUM, said working on policy and informing the community can play a role in whether a body camera pilot is finally put in place.

“In order for this program to work, it needs to have community support,” Ott said. “Body cameras help promote account-

ability on both sides of the badge. Unfortunately we have seen incidents caught on camera, but [cameras] have helped bring people to justice and spread awareness. It goes both ways.”

The Massachusetts State Police is also looking into body cameras, said spokesman Tom Ryan. A committee has been formed to consider their use, and the group will give their recommendation to MSP Superintendent Richard McKeon later in the fall, Ryan said.

Several residents said they look forward to a body camera pilot for BPD. Yandara Botelho, 22, of Brighton, said body cameras can support both the police and whomever they are interacting with.

“It should be something natural or just an auxiliary thing,” she said. “They should do their job the same way because for me the cameras are to help them do

their jobs.”

Carlen Lopez, 38, of the South End, said recorded interactions between the police and public can provide clarity.

“If you let it be known to the residents that police officers have body cameras, they will be aware that they’re being recorded,” she said. “It’s not that it was a hidden camera or whether it was on. As long as you have awareness I don’t see how it’s invasion of privacy.”

Lukas Posh, 20, of Brighton, drew parallels between the debates going on in Boston with those going on in his home country of Germany.

“I’m rather in favor of them,” he said.

“If the police behave correctly there’s no consequences of behavior. The police stay anonymous as long as they haven’t done anything wrong.”

4

NEWS

BUPD, campus administration put bicycle safety in spotlight

BY SEKAR KRISNAULI DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

With an urban campus, Boston University is integrated with vibrant city life, but is also faced with the challenge of preparing its thousands of students for the hustle of the city. Particularly, the Dean of Students’ office this year is shining a light on the “different cultural experience” of biking in Boston, Dean Kenneth Elmore said.

Boston, Elmore said, and specifically the strip of Commonwealth Avenue that BU occupies, is “reimagining what road space is supposed to be about” through the integration of automobiles, bicycles, trains and pedestrians.

“You may come from an existence where bikes are the king or the queen of the road. Here it’s not always the case,” Elmore said.

“Biking is a very different experience [in Boston], and I want people to be aware of that so that before they put a bike out on the road, they think hard about what’s different about biking here and where they biked before.”

As part of a greater effort to increase bike safety and awareness, the university has released several graphics on social media spreading the word.

Elmore said he hopes BU continues to initiate conversations on the importance of bike safety through varied campaigns and initiatives. His office works with the university’s Bike Safety Committee to spread knowledge about biking policies and maintenance in support of the community’s wellbeing.

Jarrod Clement, a records administrator in the Judicial Affairs office and member of the Bike Safety Committee, said through partnerships with different groups and organizations within and outside of BU, the committee is dedicated to bicycle and pedestrian safety education.

“I believe BU’s continuing bike safety initiatives comple-

PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Dean of Students office at Boston University is putting an emphasis on bike safety in the city of Boston.

ment the City’s efforts rather than conform to them,” Clement said in an email. “Our continued helmet giveaway and bike enforcement efforts, coordinated by the BUPD [Boston University Police Department] and in partnership with the Brookline [Police Department], BPD [Boston Police Department], [Massachusetts] State Police and [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority] Police [have been effective].”

Jarrod said the committee has distributed a total of 1,532 bicycle helmets since the campaign started in the spring of 2010.

Furthermore, the committee will be installing fixed commercial-grade bike pumps, providing tool kiosks in various locations on campus and working on an educational campaign focused on respect towards roadway users by

Spring 2016.

“We hope these initiatives offer our community the tools and knowledge to stay safe and improve bike skills,” he said.

“While bike thefts remain a point of concern on our campus, we have seen an appreciable rise in the use of good-quality U-locks. Nearly 2,500 of these U-lock shaped hangtags have been placed on bicycles around campus.”

BUPD Captain Robert Molloy said there have been “far fewer” bikes stolen that used U-Locks compared to those that use cable locks. Molloy also said having dialogues with cyclists and reviewing laws and regulations demonstrated success.

“Bike enforcements remind people on bicycles that they are also required to follow all motor-vehicle laws … following

those rules and maintain a safe speed and be aware of the pedestrians, it really reduces the risk of any kind of incidents or accidents,” Molloy said.

Often during mornings this year, Molloy said, BUPD officers go to the BU Bridge or stand at posts along Commonwealth Avenue, halting cyclists from Brighton heading to Kenmore Square via East Campus. Officers hand out helmets and remind cyclists to stay informed of the bike policies. Molloy said these efforts make a big impact and send a “more direct and targeted message.”

Navigating the city of Boston can be daring for some, Molloy said, but primarily, cyclists have to be aware of their surroundings at all times throughout their ride.

“People have to understand the way Boston is, with one way

streets, and the fact that it can be difficult with traffic congestion and the large volume of pedestrians in the area,” he said. “Sometimes, getting from one part of the city to another requires a little bit of experience. But it’s a great thing and it’s only going to get better.”

Several students said they have noticed a large increase of bikers in the city and on campus.

Stephanie Sturm, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said this calls for further educational action from the university.

“There needs to be a little bit more information about the regulations so that people are more safe on the streets, especially if you’re not used to the city,” she said. “Biking in cities, you need to be accustomed to the pressure or the agitation of the drivers around you.”

Julia Correia, a sophomore in CAS, said she’s been biking on campus and around the city for almost two years. She said that doing so increases the efficiency of her commute from her residence in West Campus to classes and places in the city. “[People] know how bad drivers are in Boston and pedestrians, they know that bikers are competing with cars so they think it’s just going to be on a worse level for bikes,” she said.

“It’s really convenient and it expands your reach a little farther in Boston.”

Liyue Wang, a senior in the Questrom School of Business, said that as cyclists become more aware of their surroundings, it’s also important to make themselves visible to others.

“There’s heavy traffic in Boston so it’s definitely important to focus on making sure that other drivers are aware of your presence so it’ll be safer for you,” Wang said. “BU Police tries pretty hard to spread word on bike safety, like I see posters and flyers about bike safety and they give out free helmets and provide storage for bikes.”

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FEATURES

5

SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

“Art in the Square” paints empowering portraits of women

BY SHANEE ABOUZAGLO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Empowering women by showcasing the artwork of local and international female artists, Chestnut Hill Square mall premiered “Art in the Square,” a free, self-guided art exhibition in Chestnut Hill on Sept. 17. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, proceeds from the exhibit will be donated to the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center and Surgical Pavilion in Needham.

Chestnut Hill Square partnered with AOTAart to curate the interactive community art installation, which runs through Oct. 17. AOTAart is a company that enables other companies to create engaging exhibitions that simultaneously promote their brand and distinguished artists, according to Alejandro Garcia-Amaya, the company’s CEO. “Our mission is to enable companies to create engaging, enchanting and empowering experiences for communities through the power of art,” Garcia-Amaya, a 2007 graduate of Boston University’s School of Management, said.

“Art is a powerful vehicle that visually highlights culture — traditions, customs, beliefs, thoughts, ideas.”

In order to celebrate women on a global scale and also raise cultural awareness, AOTAart select-

PHOTO COURTESY LESLIE MEDALIE/LEARY PUBLIC RELATIONS

“Art in the Square,” housed in Chestnut Hill Square, is a free exhibit celebrating women empowerment by featuring artwork from local and international artists.

ed six female artists from around the world whose works synergized with the concept of empowerment: Diana Stelin from the United States; Malini Mansukhani from India; Gladys Ortiz from Colombia; Marcela Carvhalo from Brazil; Guita Levy from Israel and Thidarat Chantuchua from Thailand.

Stelin, who holds a master’s

degree in arts administration from BU and owns an art school for kids and adults, was selected as the local representative for the exhibit.

“I went for opening night on Sept. 17,” Stelin said. “It’s a wonderful idea to have an outdoor exhibit that almost pushes people to take the time out of their day to stop and consider these works.

Art in the Square demonstrates that women of all ages can take the time to create stunning work and honor [their] inner [selves].”

As a mother of three and a professional artist, Stelin said she recognized the importance of a woman being an independent individual.

“I think women take on the

assumed roles they’ve been given over the centuries almost intuitively and don’t give a second thought to how much of their true selves they give up in return,” she said.

“Empowering women is telling them that you’re more than simply a mother, a homemaker, a sex symbol. Your thoughts, feelings and talents matter as much, if not more. If you give them up, then you’re a tormented, unrealized individual who can’t truly be a good, respected member of your family and society in general.”

Stelin works with acrylics layered with a texturized medium of melted wax and oils. Her paintings at the exhibition are recreations of onsite watercolor sketches of nature. For Stelin, the painting process is inspiring as well.

“It’s always tough to make yourself a priority, being a woman,” she said. “There [are] so many societal pressures and therefore guilt trips about going into what truly warms your soul. The painting process is the process of empowerment to me. It allows me to honor myself, balance out priorities and have an honest conversation with my inner self.”

Dalya Romaner, a freshman at Brandeis University, visited the exhibit and said she too believes that female empowerment is derived from inner truth.

“I think women’s empowerCONTINUED ON PAGE 7

INBUSINESS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

Walsh enacts advancement program for female entrepreneurs

BY FELICIA GANS AND ELLA TORRES DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Over the past several years, colleges and universities have increased their focus on supporting female entrepreneurship and providing resources for women in business. But with an initiative launched Monday by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s office, the female entrepreneurship network is growing stronger beyond just the academic circuit.

Women Entrepreneurs Boston, referred to shortly as WE BOS, is the city’s new program for female entrepreneurs looking for assistance in launching or growing their businesses, according to a Monday statement from Walsh’s office.

The initiative will be partnering with the mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement and the Office of Business Development to increase the prominence of Boston’s women in business.

“We know that women-led

businesses continue to face challenges including limited funding, challenges in scaling and finding mentors and networks to support them as they grow,” Walsh said in the statement. “I am proud to kick off WE BOS to better address these challenges and promote economic equity in Boston.”

And the economic equity Walsh wants to promote is certainly lagging in Boston compared proportionally to the city’s female population. While more than half of the city’s residents are women, less than 3 percent of venture capital funding is given to women-owned businesses, the release reported.

“Mayor Walsh understands that this is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also important to the vitality and economy of our city as a whole,” Megan Costello, executive director of the mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement, said in the statement.

Susan Fournier, a professor at Boston University’s Questrom

School of Business, said making the efforts of women in business a top priority will allow the city to create a healthy economy and address the problems female entrepreneurs face.

“Branding the effort facilitates dedicated funding at budget time, allows awareness and recognition to develop among stakeholders, provides a platform for the solicitation of sponsor support and grants an identity platform with which connections can form between the women and the organization,” Fournier said.

Kara Miller, South Boston resident and host of WGBH News’ “Innovation Hub,” has spent the past two years working with the city’s Women on Main program and will now be managing WE BOS. The initiative’s first largescale project will be Boston’s first-ever Women Entrepreneurs Week, scheduled for Oct. 12 to 16.

The largest event for Women Entrepreneurs Week will be Oct. 14 from 6 to 8:30 p.m., where

PHOTO COURTESY DAWN ARLOTTA/CDC

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Monday “Women Entrepreneurs Boston,” a City of Boston initiative that will advance Boston’s women in business.

attendees can meet leaders from Boston’s organizations that are most supportive of female entrepreneurs.

For students, WE BOS can

serve as an opportunity to learn about business opportunities in the city and form relationships with proCONTINUED ON PAGE 7

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FEATURES

CATALYST THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

BU athletes and staff approach concussions head on

BY SONIA RAO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

At the beginning of the month, the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program published data on sports-related concussions that occurred between the 2009-2010 and 20132014 academic years. The data stated that approximately 6.2 percent of all injuries reported to the program were concussions, and while this percentage seems relatively low at first glance, a more recent study indicated that this particular injury may need to be taken more seriously than it has been in the past.

Led by Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology at the VA Boston Healthcare System, researchers from Boston University and the Department of Veterans Affairs recently found that 87 out of 91 former NFL players tested positive for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease commonly known as CTE. The lab also discovered CTE in the brain tissue of 131 out of 165 subjects who had played football at any level, ranging from high school to professional.

This recent discovery expands on research conducted by the same team back in 2008, when CTE was first discovered. The disease, which is believed to develop after repetitive head trauma such as concussions,

PHOTO BY ANN SINGER/DFP FILE PHOTO

Following the Department of Veteran Affairs and Boston University’s study regarding NFL players testing positive for brain disease, Boston University athletics is taking precautions to protect student athletes.

leads to health issues such as memory loss, dementia and depression, among others.

Though these studies were mainly conducted on professional football players, concussions are relatively prevalent in collegiate-level sports with lower levels of contact as well. The aforementioned NCAA ISP

study found that a total of 1670 sports-related concussions were reported during the research period — 888 occurred during competition and 782 during practice.

These numbers refer to concussions of all degrees, which, according to Chad Clements, a professor in the Sargent College of

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, can occur from various kinds of direct blows.

“It doesn’t have to be, necessarily, to the head,” he said. “Any type of collision can cause it, any kind of motion where you have a jarring of the head. The brain is sitting in fluid, so the natural reaction is to bounce off the inside of the skull from the momentum that occurred from the collision.”

Clements added that concussions don’t always occur after high velocity collisions either. CTE has been found in linemen, who only collide after lining up a yard or so away from one another. Athletes of all sports, Clements said, should watch out for symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, coordination challenges, difficulty sleeping and more.

Field hockey senior back Rachel Coll, a student in the Questrom School of Business, once unknowingly sustained a concussion that resulted in her taking a two-week break from practice and sports. While the concussion wasn’t actually a result of a field hockey collision, Coll attended practice soon afterward and noticed that she felt a bit foggy and more aggressive than normal.

“At one point, we were warming up and I just got randomly very aggressive and angry at one of my teammates,” she said. “I CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

MUSE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

Boston Calling organizer on literally setting the stage

BY J.D. CAPELOUTO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Friday evening, thousands of city residents and college students will flood Boston City Hall Plaza as folk singer Gregory Alan Isakov kicks off the performances of this fall’s edition of Boston Calling, the city’s premier music festival. The festival’s organizers, however, won’t be as quick to celebrate.

“No high fives until the last piece of equipment leaves the plaza,” said Mike Snow, co-founder and producer of Boston Calling.

Construction started on the festival earlier this week, and the venue will be used for two and a half days — from Friday afternoon to Sunday night. After the performances are over, everything will come down in under 36 hours.

“It’s a killer,” Snow said. “It’s a lot of work, but everybody here is sort of really passionate about it, so it always pays off.”

Though the construction process only takes a few days, Snow said that the line-up selection and curating process started about seven or eight months ago and, with all the touring schedules to juggle, took approximately four to five months to complete.

“When you really think about it, a band is a whole moving city and a whole moving business, and to get it so that business locks into one of your six days of the year is kind of a feat in and of itself,” he said.

The festival announced its fall lineup in May, with The Avett Brothers, alt-J and Alabama Shakes headlining each of the three days, in that order. Other notable acts include Of Monsters and Men, Walk The

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DFP FILE PHOTO

Boston Calling will be held in City Hall Plaza from Sept. 25 through Sept. 27.

Moon, Chvrches and Father John Misty.

Snow said the festival has an in-house talent buyer and works with Aaron Dessner, of the Grammy Award-nominated band The National, who helps curate a varied, appropriate lineup that fits with Boston Calling’s brand.

“We like to be able to put a pretty diverse show out,” Snow said. “We like to put out the best show that our group feels like we want to present to the city and to New England. An awful lot goes into it, a lot of yeses, a lot of no’s and three times as many maybes as you’d ever like to see.”

The lineup this fall is as eclectic as ever, with genres ranging from the hard electronic rap aesthetic of Doomtree to the folksy blues-rock sound of Alabama Shakes. On Saturday alone, festivalgoers will get to hear the moody, indie Father John Misty show, followed by the groovy disco jams of Canadian duo Chromeo within an hour of each other.

On Sunday, fans can enjoy everything from the catchy dance-inducing hooks of MisterWives to the heavy riffs of Hozier (who, if fans are lucky, might bring his creative cover of Ariana Grande’s “Problem” to

the Plaza).

The festival also prioritizes bringing smaller local acts to the big stage during the weekend, Snow said. Grey Season and Dirty Bangs, two Boston-area bands, will open the show on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Two big changes to this festival include pushing the date back three weeks and the creation a mobile app for fans.

In previous years, Boston Calling has taken place the first weekend of September, or Labor Day weekend. The date was changed, Snow said, because that time of the year was simply too awkward to have a major festival.

“If you live around here, you know that transition from summer to fall is like getting the three year old to get dressed in the morning,” he said. “It’s like getting teeth pulled …

I think that the festival being too close to summer and not really fall, it made things a little confusing. There was a lot of people who were in transition in their [lives].”

The app, on the other hand, shares the performance times for each day of the festival, allows fans to create personalized schedules and provides them with the latest news about Boston Calling.

With this interactivity and the exciting musical performances in mind, Snow said he still gets excited for every festival he puts on.

“The planning and everything is fun,” he said. “But once that first piece of equipment shows up before the festival and you go out there and work for four days building it, and then to see that crowd of people that inevitably sort of runs in right when the doors open, that’s one feeling of accomplishment.”

FEATURES

7

BU works to prevent concussions CONCUSSIONS, FROM PAGE 6

passed one of my teammates the ball and kept running into her without any reason to do that. It was very random, and I kind of knew [about the concussion] afterward because I was getting a bad headache and there was this feeling of pressure in my head.”

In order to diagnose a concussion, it is vital for the athletic trainers who work with BU athletes to have a baseline estimate to compare the post-injury test results to. This initial testing falls under the responsibility of Athletic Training Services, a department of Student Health Services which operates separately from BU Athletics and oversees the care of varsity sports, club sports and the ROTC program on campus.

“What we do is collect baseline measures on any patient population that we believe is at risk,” said Senior Athletic Trainer Brian Vesci. “That includes contact as well as collision sports … So for anyone that we think might be at risk, we collect baseline cognitive data as well as balance data so that we have something to compare them to should they get injured.”

In addition to annual medical clearances, these baseline tests occur every two years for average athletes and annually for those who play high contact sports or have had a concussion in the past.

“When you have a concussion, two things — your balance and your memory — kind of get thrown for a loop,” said men’s hockey sophomore defenseman Brandon Hickey, a student in the College of General Studies. “Those are two baseline tests that we do. We’ll do baseline testing at the beginning of every year to make sure that everyone’s up to shape and still doing well.”

Women’s soccer junior forward Erica Kosienski, a student in Sargent College, said

that the baseline testing starts with a questionnaire asking athletes to name and describe all the concussions they’ve sustained in the past.

From there, the test identifies any remaining symptoms and goes through a sequence of tests that measure the athlete’s brain function.

“It goes through a series of tests, remembering different words, remembering shapes and counting backwards while also remembering a couple letters,” Kosienski said. “Your score is saved so if you ever do get hit in the head, you take that baseline test and based on how you do the second time, it helps determine if you have concussion symptoms.”

Representatives from BU Athletics and Athletic Training Services emphasized the role that this testing plays in clearing athletes after they sustain head injuries. But before the post-injury testing is conducted, athletic trainers monitor the players for the first few hours to rule out any other possible injury diagnoses.

Then, they check in with the athletes every 24 hours or so from that point forward.

Bethany Ellis, senior associate athletic director of BU Athletics, also said the separation between the athletics and athletic training departments ensures the athletes’ overall health and safety and eliminates any pressure for them to return.

“Our athletic training has full authority to clear a student to return,” she said. “A coach cannot decide to do that. Again, our coaches are very mindful and receive education every year on the importance of this as well. Either way, they aren’t the ones making the decision about whether a student can return after any sort of head injury, which I think is important.”

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Walsh encourages businesswomen FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS, FROM PAGE 5

fessionals who could become their mentors.

“You don’t realize how important it is to have a mentor,” said Emily Murphy, a senior in Questrom. “I don’t know if guys look so much for a mentor. I know for women, I was always looking for a mentor. If you want a family at some point but also have a full time job, it’s kind of cool for women to see that.”

Brian Hanafin, a senior in Questrom, said he has worked with many women through classes and internships, and most agree that breaking into the industry is more challenging as a woman.

“I’m in finance, so in my internships and classes, most of the people working are guys, so I could see that it would be more intimidating as a girl to go up to a guy,” he said. “I definitely think there’s a stigma behind that [the business industry] that makes it more male-dominated, so maybe breaking that

stigma would help.”

Imme Kobayashi, a freshman in Questrom, said when female students get the chance to talk to female mentors, a lot of the pressure that comes with the male-dominated field is taken off because “even if you don’t know her that well, it’s less panicky and more peaceful.”

Carly Weinstein, a senior in Questrom, said she’s never felt disadvantaged by her gender while in school, but she is glad to see city officials addressing the problems that face female entrepreneurs in a professional setting.

“In the real world, that’s just something that’s huge that needs to be addressed,” she said. “I haven’t had a full time job yet. I don’t know how it feels ... but women are still way underpaid compared to men in the same jobs. In the real world, this would definitely cater to that.”

Global artwork inspires women

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ART IN THE SQUARE, FROM PAGE 5

ment is all about being honest, really being able to be yourself and express yourself without holding back for fear of judgment, which these artists really embrace in their pieces,” Romaner said. “I love Diana Stelin’s artwork because she’s very honest in [for example] the way she portrays the tree’s flaws and unique looks.”

As she strolled through the exhibition, Romaner said she was moved by its strength and the powerful message the artwork was able to convey.

“This art exhibit shows the unity of so many female artists from around the world,” Romaner said. “While they use different techniques and subjects, they carry the same message of originality and raw characters,

really showing the beauty in honesty. And that’s very empowering.”

Interacting and learning from the installations, as well as gaining a broader perspective and sense of inspiration, were major aspects of Art in the Square’s vision. And to Romaner and Garcia-Amaya, these goals were met.

“We believe that when people interact with artwork and walk out having learned about the artist, who they are, where they’re from, why that art inspires them,” Garcia-Amaya said, “the more perspectives you understand [and] the more culturally competent you are, the better you get at establishing meaningful connections with them.”

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OPINION

8

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

Mike DeSocio, Editor-in-Chief Joe Incollingo, Managing Editor

t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r a t b o s t o n u n i v e r s i t y

45th year | Volume 89 | Issue IV The Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Thursdays 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 © 2015 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Samantha Gross, Multimedia Editor

Justin Pallenik, Sports Editor

Olivia Nadel, Photo Editor

J.D. Capelouto, Campus Editor

Katie Aramento, Editorial Page Editor

Katelyn Pilley, Layout Editor

Mina Corpuz, City Editor

Sonia Rao, Features Editor

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager

With suicide, there can be no innocent bystanders Every single one of us knows someone who lives with anxiety, depression or another form of mental illness. Your best friend, your coworker, your professor.

Any one of them could be experiencing thoughts of suicide. Conrad Roy was, too.

Eighteen-year-old Michelle Carter’s defense attorney claimed in a Bristol County Juvenile Court on Wednesday that text messages between her and Roy, her boyfriend, allegedly urging him to commit suicide are protected speech under the First Amendment, The Boston Globe reported. Judge Bettina Borders “refused to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge” against Carter, after the messages allegedly drove her boyfriend to filling the cabin of his truck with engine fumes.

“Like, why am I so hesitant lately.

Like two weeks ago I was willing to try everything and now I’m worse, really bad and I’m LOL not following through. It’s eating me inside,” one message from Roy read, according to MassLive.

“There is a point that comes where there isn’t anything anyone can do to save you, not even yourself,” a message from Carter read, according to the Globe.

The morning of Roy’s suicide, he drove his car to a Kmart parking lot and waited for the carbon monoxide to take hold. At one point, the Globe reported, he exited the vehicle “because (the carbon monoxide poisoning) was working and he got scared.” He then spoke with Carter on the phone for about 40 minutes, then got back into the car. His body was found the

next day.

What’s so horrific about this is that it would seem Carter knew exactly what she was doing. She told him she loved him. She toyed with his emotions. “I would never leave you. You’re the love of my life, my boyfriend. You are my heart. I’d never leave you,” she said, according to MassLive.

And she coerced him into killing himself even when he expressed doubt. She is, to put it frankly, culpable in his death. But of course, that’s for a judge to decide.

Roy’s case is an extreme one — the one person he thought he could turn to for help was the one who hurt him in the end.

It’s difficult to think that Roy could’ve been saved, had someone who had truly cared about him realized his pain. If that’s a possibility we all face, then it’s one we should all be prepared for.

Where do our responsibilities lie in helping our friends who experience thoughts of suicide? It seems imperative that the second someone comes to you, you’re entrusted with that information. In the case of suicide, there’s no such thing as an innocent bystander — the minute you suspect, you are a participant.

Failing to act, then, is a crime in its own right, a moral offense if not a legal one. Feigning ignorance gets you nowhere in other extreme cases of danger — if one were to hear word of a potential bomb threat and not immediately tell authorities, he or she would be subject to investigation and prosecution if the bomb went off.

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that life’s assets and debits do not square.

And surely not because death seems suddenly appealing. The person in whom Its invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill herself the same way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise. Make no mistake about people who leap from burning windows. Their terror of falling from a great height is still just as great as it would be for you or me standing speculatively at the same window just checking out the view … when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors. It’s not desiring the fall; it’s terror of the flames.

And yet nobody down on the sidewalk, looking up and yelling ‘Don’t!’ and ‘Hang on!’, can understand the jump. Not really.”

Twelve years after publishing that, author David Foster Wallace, too, committed suicide.

In other words, those who consider killing themselves believe that they are taking a path to the lesser of two horrid, taunting evils. It is a sickness that festers into deciding that ending everything is your best option.

Understanding that, we can’t simply stand by and hope that someone else will take care of the situation. We can’t walk by a fire and hope that someone else will report it — chances are, they won’t. The same goes for protecting our friends.

Reach out. Try to understand. Break down the walls that surround mental illness. And, if need be instead, ask for help.

This week’s crossword puzzle is brought to you by Charles Kishpaugh

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But how much can we insert ourselves into someone else’s life? We would like to imagine that those close to us would be comfortable enough to have a conversation about their mental state. And part of us wants them to reach out first. But this isn’t reality. Many people won’t talk about their thoughts. The stigma surrounding mental health in the United States prevents us from starting these conversations with our friends because it’s awkward, and we don’t want the comfort within our friendships to be lost. But at what point is it time to say something? And what do we say? It may be best to just offer our hands. To ask our friends if everything is alright. To make sure we validate what they are feeling. Idle threats are calls for help — maybe we can even see the signs ourselves without being directly told that something is wrong.

After all, those of us who haven’t experienced thoughts of suicide can’t claim in any way, shape or form to understand those thoughts. Many of us can’t understand the rationality. But what’s important to realize is that these thoughts don’t actually come from a rational place. Whether it is due to a lack of education or the way we regard mental illness in our country, we often grossly misunderstand what people are going through.

This passage from the novel “Infinite Jest” gives us a clue: “The so-called ‘psychotically depressed’ person who tries to kill herself doesn’t do so out of quote ‘hopelessness’ or any abstract conviction

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ACROSS 1. Craves 6. Fraud 10. Abound 14. Lit to a higher degree 15. Desire 16. Start over 17. France’s longest river 18. Jacket 19. Desiccated 20. Underline 22. Anagram of “Tine” 23. Midday 24. Preoccupy 26. Ammunition 30. Regret 31. Tear 32. Rude person 33. Makes a mistake 35. Andean animal 39. Oval 41. Marine 43. Shelf

DOWN 44. Beloved 46. Schnozzola 47. Frozen water 49. Operative 50. Makes lace 51. Smells 54. Rewards for waiting 56. Magma 57. Estate 63. Angle of a leafstalk 64. Learning method 65. Big 66. Ship part 67. Frosts 68. Hardy wheat 69. Countercurrent 70. Throw 71. Donkeys

1. Humdinger 2. Atop 3. Skidded 4. Rubber wheel 5. Strict 6. Helped (British spelling) 7. Balladeer 8. Food thickener 9. Shooting star 10. Transfer 11. Creepy 12. Makes changes to 13. Ways 21. Open skin infections 25. Digestive juice 26. Cain’s brother 27. Infiltrator 28. Mildew 29. To begin with 34. Covered with soap

36. Dwarf buffalo 37. Fog 38. Cards with 1 symbol 40. Kiss lightly 42. Burial chamber 45. Demesnes 48. Verve 51. Quench 52. Burdened 53. Overgrown with ivy 55. Chip dip 58. Mentally irregular (slang) 59. Faucets 60. Angers 61. Leer at 62. Catches

OPINION

9

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

It’s good to discuss films you hate

BY ERIC MOOTS COLUMNIST

I invited an independent filmmaker to come speak on my radio show on WTBU this week, where I interviewed him about the process of filmmaking. We eventually got to this question: “what are your favorite films?” It’s a rather boring and generic question because people tend to simply list out what their favorite films are and then move on. There is usually very little discussion past that — but not this time. The filmmaker said he could think of a few of his favorite films, but he had thought of a lot more films he had hated. This was intriguing because nobody ever really talks about the films they hate. But they should.

For one thing, discussing your least favorite films is a good way to discover what you like and dislike about certain

T

which overall is a very easy thing to do — then you can extrapolate that and determine the reasons you disliked a book, for example.

This also just leads to fun conversation. Listing off your least favorite films and having nice little debates with your friends is great, especially if one of the movies you listed is one of their favorites. A few of my friends disagree with me on my choice of movie, arguing that “The Bourne Supremacy” is an okay film — not really great, but not really bad, and definitely not worthy of being my least favorite. Having these little differences is a nice aspect of these talks. And much like how one can figure out what they dislike in certain films, this back and forth with friends gives you better insight into how your friends feel about films and their purpose (while also getting to talk about yourself, which is a plus for most people). This is beneficial in that you can better communicate with them about the films you are watching, and it helps you to know which films to recommend to your friends.

Most importantly, talking about movies you hate helps everyone come to a sort of consensus about which films are bad

his was intriguing because nobody ever rea lly ta lks about the f ilms they hate. But they should.

movies. For instance, I hate “The Bourne Supremacy.” I don’t think the film is poorly made — I just dislike the camerawork and the overall story. I’m a sound person, so I was a little surprised that I picked up on the poor cinematography. I don’t usually notice it, but seeing this film made me really think about camerawork.

The story felt very clichéd, and I try not to include clichéd plots in my films.

This can obviously be applied to people who are not filmmakers as well. If you see a film you don’t like, try to break it down. From there, you can make sure to avoid movies that include those elements you disliked. Aside from that, if you can learn to analyze why you dislike films —

and why they don’t work, which in turn helps filmmakers create projects that go above and beyond these faults the audience sees. After all, making films is the art of storytelling, and by discussing the films you hate you become a better storyteller.

Within your social group, you can greatly improve the stories you tell within whatever art form you choose by discussing the pieces of art you dislike.

For these reasons, I strongly urge everyone to talk about the things you hate, despite how ridiculous it sounds. There are great benefits and almost no drawbacks to this. Go out and talk about it right now if you want. I have found that it is rather therapeutic.

Capitalism, Church, and the Pope

BY ANDREW KUELER COLUMNIST

Pope Francis set foot in the United States for the first time in his life Tuesday as he began a six day papal visit to Washington, New York and Philadelphia. He brings with him pointed critiques of capitalism, as well as the inequality and environmental devastation he sees as stemming from a system of unfettered capitalism.

While some have welcomed what they see as a shift in tone from the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI — a renowned theologian, whose staunchest supporters must even admit projected an overly intellectual tone at times — others have looked at Pope Francis’ teachings as misguided or even as an overtly political advancement of a certain liberal agenda.

Francis’ preaching, then, presents a conundrum for someone like me — a Catholic trying my best to follow Church teachings and an economics student who understands that “free market” isn’t a dirty word. Like all great spiritual leaders, however, Pope Francis poses hard questions that force us to consider where we stand in relation to the rest of the world. So what exactly is Francis telling us when he speaks out against the supposed excesses of capitalism? A recent example underscores the deeper meaning of his statements and the potential conundrum they pose.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Turing Pharmaceuticals, a startup run

by Martin Shkreli, recently acquired the rights to Daraprim, a decades-old drug used mainly to treat toxoplasmosis, an infection that can have life-threating consequences for people with compromised immune systems. The firm promptly raised the price of the drug from $13.50 to $750 a tablet, NBC reported. From both the left and the right, the first (and natural) reaction to such price gouging was disgust. Even presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted her disdain for this decision.

In response to scathing criticism of this decision, Shkreli has claimed that the price increase is necessary to fund research and development that will help Turing develop better treatments for toxoplasmosis

with fewer side effects. It seems hard to believe that an over 5,000 percent increase in price is necessary to fund these research costs, so many are not buying Shkreli’s defense. And this is aside from the fact that a different company produced and sold Daraprim for $1 per tablet only a few years ago.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Shkreli plans to lower the price in response to the outrage. Although a reasonable profit is necessary to fund research and to provide incentives to companies to develop new drugs, this huge profit seems excessive.

So this is one of those times where capitalism failed, right? Where we need new regulation? Actually, no, because in this case, capitalism also provides the solution to the problem of price gouging on drugs.

Other companies are also free to produce the drug, presumably at a lower price than Turing, undercutting their price and bringing it to a more reasonable level. For the most part, this system has provided Americans of all types with an increasing living standard, in contrast to more regulated countries like Cuba, which Francis also just visited.

While there is no doubt that Turing’s actions were legal, they hardly seem ethical.

They seem to be exactly what Pope Francis and previous popes have vehemently decried — the exploitation of the most vulnerable in society. So if increasing regulation is not the solution, then what is? According to Pope Francis, conversion of heart.

What seems to get lost in our left-right polarized political and media environment is that the Church is about principles, not policy. Pope Francis invites us to dialogue, but he does not nor should he advocate for specific policy objectives. It is not Church doctrine that a country must have a single-payer healthcare system or adopt a certain immigration policy. Instead, he urges us to consider the impact that we as individuals acting in a capitalist society have on those around us and on the environment.

He calls us to ask ourselves what motivates us: money or something more?

Ultimately, Francis calls us to consider, when exercising the liberty we rightfully possess in our capitalist society, whether our actions tend to treat others as means to an end, as cogs in a capitalist machine.

Do we assess other people for the benefit — financial or otherwise — that they can bring us, as it seems Shkreli and his company have done with their Daraprim price hike? Or do we truly see them as ends in themselves? Because we move and live and breathe in a capitalist society, it can be difficult to even realize that this is a behavior that affects us. Religious or not, then, it’s worth reflecting upon. And that, I think, is what Pope Francis means.

Interrobang Separate.us is a new online startup that will simplify your divorce for a fee of only $99. We here at the ol’ Free Press want to know, what would BU people pay $99 to simplify?

CGS: How to spell “simplify”

BU Dining: The omelet bar

Questrom: Tax loopholes

Student Health Services: Treating students

COM: The math requirement

BU Athletics: The menu at T. Anthony’s

Freshmen: How to survive without a lanyard

FreeP: The Internet

10

SPORTS

Women’s soccer looks to end road woes against American

BY SHELBY REARDON AND NICK FRAZIER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University women’s soccer team has won its past three games. However, all three matches have been on home turf.

On the road, they have yet to win once. As they travel to Washington on Saturday for a Patriot League matchup against American University, the Terriers will hope to snag their first road victory of the season.

“We’re certainly in a better spot than we were a couple of weeks ago,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “We’re only dependent on our performance in the next game. We feel good right now, but if we don’t pay attention to the details and what is working for us, we’re not going to be successful.”

Unlike the Terriers (3-4-2, 1-0 Patriot League), the Eagles (3-6, 0-1 Patriot League) have a losing home record. They have only claimed one victory out of the three games they have played on Reeves Field this season.

While BU seems to have found its groove, American has remained inconsistent. In their last two games, the Eagles have averaged 4.5 shots. In the previous two, they tallied 16 apiece.

This inconsistency has caused

American to alternate wins and losses over its past five games. The Eagles had a similar start in 2014 and lost their last 11 games, ending the season with a 3-15 record and a 0-9 mark in the Patriot League.

BU shut out American 3-0 last year, one of 10 blanks suffered by the Eagles.

The Terriers have been improving their overall game play the entire season, but it has been most obvious in the past three games. Feldman commented on the encouraging signs she has seen from her squad as of late.

“We’ve started to show our postseason attack in how we’re moving the ball,” Feldman said.

“Our mobility has been good, and we’ve been maintaining tempo in attack, which has been missing.

But you could see it growing from the Hofstra [University] game to the Bucknell [University] game, there has definitely been improvement in that.”

On the back line, Feldman believes her team has adjusted to a more aggressive style of play.

“Defensively, we’ve made a little more of a commitment to defending all of the midfield,” Feldman said, “and some of that is organizationally they have a better understanding of when they can high press and can feel confident about it. In general, the

confidence has been growing, it certainly started with the Hofstra [(6-3)] game. A big part of having success is being confident in what you’re doing individually.”

Recent matches aside, the Eagles and the Terriers are statistically similar. Eight players in scarlet and white have scored this year, showing that their offense has broken out of the slump it suffered earlier this season. Although the Terriers only scored three goals in the first six games of the season, they have scored eight in their last three matches. They now average 1.22 goals per game.

Freshman striker McKenna Doyle has impressed this year with her strong on-field presence. She has scored two goals this season. Junior forward Erica Kosienski also has two goals, both of which she scored in BU’s 4-0 clobbering of Bucknell (4-5-1, 0-1 Patriot League) on Sunday.

Seven Eagles have cracked the scoreboard this season, but only senior Kelly Donovan has found twine twice. American has struggled to produce offensively the past few seasons, and average 0.9 goals per game this year.

The Eagles have two senior goalkeepers, both of whom have started games this season. Courtney Bembenek has a goals against average of 1.94 and a save percent-

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DFP FILE PHOTO

Sophomore defender Erin Neville notched her first collegiate goal Sunday in the Terriers’ Patriot League opener vs. Bucknell.

age of .625. American’s other option, Charlene Belanger, not only has a .757 save percentage, she has also already recorded two shutouts this season.

BU’s goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi has an equally impressive resume, though. The senior owns a 1.14 goals against average and has saved 77.8 percent of the 95 shots she has faced.

As similar as both teams are,

Feldman does not think there is a set advantage for her team as it prepares for American.

“I don’t think we have an advantage,” Feldman said. “We have to go down there and put on a lot of pressure defensively. We have to connect passes and attack and make them defend our offense.

You’re never going to beat any of these teams with an advantage.

You just have to play the game.”

Men’s soccer seeks bounce-back victory against Harvard

PHOTO BY ANN SINGER/DFP FILE PHOTO

Junior forward Felix De Bona has cooled off of late, but is still tied for the team-lead in goals with three.

BY JON SIGAL DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

For the second straight game, the Boston University men’s soccer team will battle an Ivy League opponent when they welcome Harvard University to Nickerson

Field on Thursday evening.

BU (3-2) is coming off a narrow 2-1 defeat to Princeton University, all while Harvard (1-3-2) is reeling from a West Coast swing in which they dropped a 2-0 decision to Seattle University and drew with No. 10 University of Washington, 0-0.

From BU’s perspective, Princeton’s (2-2) disciplined and dynamic approach is often mirrored by Harvard, so BU coach Neil Roberts will have already seen the Crimson’s strategy.

Meanwhile, Harvard’s record does not tell the entire tale, as they have encountered top-level opponents such as the University of Connecticut and Loyola Marymount University in the first month of their campaign. The Crimson may be scoring just 0.80 goals per game, but Roberts said he feels statistics do not reflect their strength from front to back.

“Harvard is pretty much just like Princeton,” Roberts said. “They’re well-organized, a difficult team to break down and just came off a 0-0 tie with Washington [(4-0-2)] out on the West Coast, [which] is a real good team.”

“They’ve played some good teams so far in Connecticut [(31-3)], Washington, Loyola-Marymount [(5-3)] and Seattle [(5-2)],” Roberts added. “All that’s really different about them and Princeton is the personnel.”

In terms of specific players, Harvard has been led on the offensive front by seniors Jake Freeman and Oliver White. Both have two goals to their name, most of which can be attributed to the creative presence of midfielder Sam Brown. The reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year has two assists this season, as does senior Michael Klain.

“They’re a good team so it will be a difficult match,” Roberts said. “It’s always a good game, and the last time we played we drew at their place, so it will be a competitive game for sure.”

BU views the Harvard game as another opportunity to prepare for Bucknell University and other Patriot League opponents. In the meantime, the Terriers will strive to discover their best style of play, balance youth with experience and fine tune certain areas of their game.

“We need to get our game together for Bucknell [(3-3-1)] on Sunday,” Roberts said. “We have these non-conference games and are trying to get answers from a very young team. We’re getting answers and not always the answers we’d like, but we’re learning a lot about ourselves and in the process of putting things together. That’s what the game means

for us, meaning we can answer more questions ahead of playing Bucknell.”

Finding answers to those questions will be no easy task, but some of them have already surfaced. Sophomore midfielder Anthony Viteri and junior forward Felix De Bona are vital offensive cogs, and junior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert has been a steady presence in goal from the season’s get-go.

Lastly, Roberts was also quick to point out that his team is in no way overlooking a strong Crimson team. After all, whichever side of the result the Terriers fall on will set the tone for their quest to defend their Patriot League regular season title.

“We’re not looking past Harvard, but we know that we need to get our game together for Sunday,” Roberts said. “We’ll need our system in place and how we want it to be, so that’s the key.”

Patriots accused once again with “Headsetgate” in follow-up to Deflategate B SHULMAN, FROM PAGE 12

of cheating doesn’t work in this case, as 28 points don’t just score themselves. The Colts’ defense in the second half had more holes in it than the Wells Report.

The main reason behind Brady’s suspension, besides allegedly deflating balls on purpose, was his failure to give investigators his cellphone, which Commissioner Roger Goodell said Brady asked his assistant to destroy. Now wait a second here, if investigators never asked Brady to hand in his cell phone, then how was he failing to cooperate with an invisible request?

This whole accusation and Deflategate malarkey is simply a

farce and an embarrassment to the NFL. If Ray Rice was only suspended two games, a punishment later rescinded, for assaulting his fiancé in an elevator, how can Brady be suspended four games for deflating footballs?

In the NFL rule book, under-inflating balls is punishable by a $25,000 fine and potentially more discipline. So why weren’t the Patriots treated fairly?

The ridiculousness of Deflategate has got to stop. As of now the case is over, so why are we still talking about it? Since the case ended, ESPN, among other news sources, has begun to discuss Spygate again, a violation by the Patriots from 2007.

Really?

You’re grave-digging that far just to fill air time? It’s sad that the so-called and self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports is just trying to buy time before they can go back to worshipping LeBron James again. It’s disappointing, that’s all I can say.

Also, I don’t get America’s fascination with calling every scandal something ending with the suffix “-gate.” It really is getting old. Take, for example, the new weekly edition of “What Can the NFL and ESPN Accuse the Patriots of Doing This Week” in “Headsetgate.”

To remind you, the Patriots and Steelers’ opening game was

marred by the issue of radio interference on the Steelers’ headsets.

They heard the Patriots’ radio broadcast in their headsets instead of their own coaches. First of all, the headsets are provided, operated and maintained by the NFL. Any problem with the headsets is on the league and fall under the category of “technical difficulties.”

It is important to note that the Steelers’ bench is directly below the broadcast booth. Also the Patriots shut down their headsets during this time so there should be no complaints of the situation being unfair, considering the NFL is at fault.

But as for discussing Deflategate — yes, it wasted months of

our lives. These unfounded accusations have gotten to the point of head-hunting, and the NFL is trying to destroy one of the world’s best franchises by taking down the one of the league’s poster boys. But it’s over, so let’s make like Elsa and “let it go.” Everyone from ESPN to Miss America is trying to keep this topic on the surface so that teams will hate the Patriots.

And as a Patriots fan, I say, “Let everyone hate us,” because it only gives New England more bulletin board material and a deeper motivation to win. So cool it about Deflategate and just enjoy the NFL season. As for hating the Patriots, go ahead, it’s fine. I hate the other 31 NFL teams anyways.

SPORTS

11

Poulin-less women’s hockey sets out for sixth Hockey East title

BY RANYA MUFTI DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University women’s hockey team begins its season this weekend with an exhibition game against the University of Guelph on Saturday afternoon.

Expectations are high for the Terriers this year, as they were picked to finish second in the Hockey East Preseason Poll and eighth in the U.S. College Hockey Online Poll for the NCAA on Monday.

The Terriers are coming off a prosperous 2014-15 season, as they won their fourth straight Hockey East championship behind the leadership of seniors Marie-Philip Poulin on offense and Shannon Doyle on defense.

As such, BU will have big shoes to fill this season, but under new captain and senior forward Kayla Tutino and assistant captains and senior forwards Sarah Lefort and Dakota Woodworth, BU head coach Brian Durocher said he is confident that the team will step up to the plate.

“There’s experience, there’s some high-end talent in the Leforts, Tutinos, [sophomore forward Victoria] Bachs and [sophomore forward Rebecca] Leslies,” Durocher said in a media teleconference.

“And then I like the fact that our

second and third lines are still going to be made up of predominantly juniors and seniors, [junior forward] Sam Sutherland, [junior forward] Maddie Elia, [senior forward] Rebecca Russo, [senior forward] Jordan Juron and Dakota Woodworth.

It’s an experienced group and it’s a talented group.”

Generating as many goals as the Terriers did last year will be difficult without the offensive production coming from Poulin, as she was the team leader in both points (54) and goals (27) by the end of the season.

However, Lefort and Tutino followed closely behind Poulin in terms of production, as did Bach and Leslie. Durocher said he hopes the upperclassmen can take the offensive reins, similarly to how they stepped up last year.

“Two years ago, when [Poulin] was gone with the Olympics, our team had a pretty similar flavor,” Durocher said. “All these kids were younger kids and Louise Warren had a fantastic year. … To know that [we have] Elia, Sutherland, Russo, Juron, Woodworth, Lefort, Tutino, Bach [and] Leslie, there’s a real good core of kids who have played a lot of college hockey and have had successful years.”

BU faced the challenge this past season of choosing between two talented goaltenders in current

sophomore Erin O’Neil and junior Victoria Hanson. Establishing a No. 1 goalie will also pose a difficult situation this year, as both O’Neil and Hanson are returning in net.

“As we turn our attention to this year … everyone here would like [the goaltenders] to take that step,” Durocher said. “As a college player, Victoria Hanson’s been here two years, but last year was really her first year playing. She did a great job in the stretch, the last five games. Erin O’Neil got her feet wet in grand fashion in that she played 15 or thereabouts games.”

“They came here with good resumes, they’re both talented kids,” Durocher added. “I don’t think they played quite to where they could play on the back end.”

This season, the Terriers have added three freshmen to their roster, along with sophomore goaltender Ashlyn Aiello and junior defenseman Alexis Crossley, who will play her first season with BU after sitting out last year due to Hockey East transfer rules.

According to Durocher, Crossley, formerly of the University of New Hampshire, will bring additional talent to the Terriers’ power play.

“It’s something you don’t have happen all that often,” Durocher said. “To get someone who’s tal-

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DFP FILE PHOTO

Junior forward Maddie Elia is primed for a breakout season after recording 19 points in 36 games for the scarlet and white as a sophomore.

ented, that does happen once in a while, but to get someone who’s played two years of college hockey and is talented [is rare]. It’s nice to know you’ve got an anchor there who’s probably going to be your point on the power play. … It’s relieving for a coach and very positive for a team.”

Though losing Poulin and Doyle will prove trying for the Terriers, their depth and talent remain at an elite level. BU will retain the target on its back as it begins its quest for a fifth consecutive conference title.

Justin Pallenik contributed to the reporting of this story.

Blugh to attend medical school, give back to home community B NEVILLE, FROM PAGE 12

I always had a leadership role, so I was more dominant in terms of that. It’s way more tactical here, you have different strategies for different teams. Back home we usually just go out and play.”

Injuries have marred Blugh’s time as a Terrier, as he has missed time every season of his career thus far. When he’s been healthy, though, Blugh has helped solidify one of the most formidable backfields in the Patriot League and America East.

“Jeroen always has meant well and it’s just that he’s had some tough breaks,” Roberts said.

“He’s come to us and we joke a lot together. You know he has a good heart and tries real hard, and we’re all hoping he’ll be a big key to our success. He’s talented, he’s athletic, he’s a good soccer player and cares a ton.”

MEDICAL SCHOOL AND BEYOND If you were around Commonwealth Avenue the past few summers, you have probably run into Blugh at one time or another.

The senior takes his studies quite seriously, and has taken classes during the summer months in order to graduate early. Why the rush?

Blugh is set to graduate in December, after which he will begin studying for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

Majoring in biology on a pre-medical track, he wants to graduate early so he can focus wholeheartedly on the exam with no other distractions. He sees himself enrolled at a medical school next year, maybe even at BU. That wasn’t always the plan,

PHOTO BY ANN SINGER/DFP FILE PHOTO

Senior defender Jeroen Blugh has tallied three career goals and has helped the Terriers to seven shutouts over the past two seasons.

though.

“Back home after graduating high school, I actually got accepted to go to med school in Trinidad, and in Jamaica, actually,” Blugh said. “But I decided to come to the States because I always wanted to come to school in America, and also because my older brother has friends who

came to school in America … I would always hear stories of it, and that really influenced my decision. I wanted to play soccer in college over here, too, because I knew it was a higher level than back home.”

In fact, Jeroen’s decision started a trend within his family.

After he came to the U.S., one of

his younger cousins followed suit, and now there is a second Blugh attending BU. “I feel like me being able to come over, just show that it is possible, is important because not a lot of people get that opportunity to come out here,” Blugh said.

“You have so much more opportunity here, just things you can

do, and it was eye-opening for a lot of people seeing that and just a lot of my family members.”

Family is of the utmost importance to Blugh, and when asked about his plans for the future, helping his family and those close to him had a lot to do with the answer.

He plans to get his master’s degree and go to med school in America, after which he eventually wants to return home to give back to his family and the community in which he grew up.

Blugh’s dream job is becoming the sports physician for the Trinidad and Tobago national football team.

“I really do want to go back at some point to give back, to donate something, because I lived most of my life there so far,” Blugh said. “I would want to give back to Trinidad because that’s home.”

Home is where the heart is, and for someone with as big of a heart as Blugh, that carries a lot of weight.

“I know a lot of people who’ve given time and put effort into me just doing well and becoming the person I am today,” Blugh said. “I feel like I can’t take that for granted and I need to do something to give back, even if it’s not directly, something indirectly toward Trinidad, Tobago and the community of my high school.”

Two of those people whom Blugh was referring to are his parents. You can bet they’ll be plenty happy to see him healthy and on the field this Sunday against Bucknell University, a happy reunion for a trio that hasn’t been together since last Christmas.

Quotable

“No matter how mad you get with Jeroen he always makes you laugh. He’ll be one of those kids who, when you see him ten years from now, he’ll always put a smile on your face.”

- BU men’s soccer coach Neil Roberts on Jeroen Blugh. p. 12

Sports Thursday, September 24, 2015

Five-Peat?

Women’s ice hockey sets out for fifth consecutive Hockey East title after a disappointing end to its 2014-15 campaign. p. 11

Trinidadian Jeroen Blugh overcomes adversity, makes family proud during four-year BU career

The Blue Line Just Cool It With Deflategate

BY NICK NEVILLE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

BY DAN SHULMAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

On Jan. 18, 2015, following a 45-7 onslaught against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game, the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady were accused of under-inflating 11 of the 12 game balls used in the first half. Brady was suspended four games by the NFL and the team was fined $1 million and stripped of two draft picks.

Despite Brady’s exoneration on Sept.

3, people still just want to take shots at the Patriots. And it doesn’t make sense. Yes, the Patriots are one of the top teams in the NFL, always seemingly championship contenders, but there are other teams in the same boat.

Let’s look at the Green Bay Packers, for example. Since the dawn of the Super Bowl era, the Packers have constantly been on the hunt for a championship. They usually win their division, and have made plenty of appearances in the NFC Championship Game.

Back to the NFL rules for a second here.

The NFL mandates that game balls be inflated to anywhere between 12.5 and 13.5 psi.

Digressing back to the Packers: quarterback Aaron Rodgers has said on the record that he over-inflates footballs purposely because he finds them easier to grip. He admitted to that he believes there should be no maximum air-pressure requirement, only a minimum. So where’s his four game suspension?

I respect Aaron Rodgers. I think he’s a classy player and his State Farm commercials are quite entertaining. But rules are rules.

Looking more in-depth at the accusations of Deflategate, the Wells report said the balls were only under-inflated during the first half. The score at halftime in the AFC Championship was 17-7, Patriots. One of New England’s touchdowns was scored in part because Colts return man Josh Cribbs botched a fair catch, leading to a red-zone chance for the Patriots.

During the second half, when the balls were found to be inflated properly, the Patriots scored 28 unanswered points to silence the Colts for good. Clearly, the accusation CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Do you know what the most popular sport in Trinidad is?

Jeroen Blugh certainly does — it’s soccer. The San Juan, Trinidad, native spent the first 18 years of his life growing up on the island off Venezuela’s coast in the southern Caribbean, playing that very game.

Fifteen miles outside of Trinidad’s capital, Port of Spain, picture a young Blugh perfecting his skills on the pitch on a daily basis with his buddies.

It’s a normal day in San Juan, a warm 70 degrees with little humidity, and the recess bell has rung. Students fly out of the school building like a stampede, just itching to be out in the hot Trinidadian sun.

Some are doing sprints, racing each other in hopes of becoming the next Usain Bolt.

Blugh, a senior defender on the Boston University men’s soccer team, is playing the game he loves, the game he’s passionate about, the game he grew up with. He’s at his normal position, center back, playing lockdown defense while keeping the ball away from the goalkeeper and the net.

“Soccer is like a culture back home,” Blugh said. “It’s like a religion.”

Whether it’s filling a high school stadium for a random game, or supporting the national team, the people of Blugh’s country find solace in soccer. In fact, Trinidad and Tobago holds the distinction of being the smallest nation, both in size and population, to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. In a country with just over one million residents, people use soccer as an escape.

For Blugh, though, it was not always solely about soccer.

“When I was five years old, I grew up with a bunch of little kids in my neighborhood and we all used to run races,” he said. “I actually used to run track at first, even growing up into high school. I started a soccer club when I was six and from then on I just continued. I had to choose between track and soccer in my last year of high school, so I chose soccer because I just enjoyed it a little more.”

It was his senior year of high school, too, when Blugh made another decision that would change the rest of life.

He had always wanted to come to the United States to attend school, but it seemed more like a dream than a reality.

Some of his aunts and uncles live in New York, and Blugh’s parents, along with his older brother, would visit America almost every summer for two to three weeks at a time. He also made a few trips to the states with his club team, playing in showcases like the Dallas Cup. That being said, none of Blugh’s immediate family had attended college in the

JEROEN[ BLUGH

]

BU men’s soccer senior defender

#3

Origin

San Juan, Trinidad

Fast Facts Two-year captain of his high school team Tore his ACL in his first career home game

Major Biology, on Pre-Med track

Led Terriers to six shutouts last season as a junior Anchored a defense that helped BU to its first-ever Patriot League title in 2014

GRAPHIC BY SHIVANI PATEL/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

States. Imagine his excitement, then, when his principal called him to make a very important announcement.

“That was pretty funny,” Blugh said, laughing when asked about the recruitment process. “I was actually talking to [the University of Connecticut] for a little bit, and then I randomly got a call from my principal. He said, ‘There’s a coach that wants to talk to you.’ It was [BU assistant coach] Scott [Black]. [Black said,] ‘I’m from BU and we saw a tape of you,’ but I hadn’t even sent them video, so apparently it was another kid from Trinidad who had sent them film of his team playing against my team, and one of the coaches told Scott.

He came down to Trinidad, saw me play three games, and after that they offered me a scholarship.”

THE BU YEARS It’s game night at Nickerson Field, the second home game of the 2012 season against a nationally ranked Brown University team.

The Terriers entered the game, and the season, with high expectations, having claimed three regular season conference championships in four years.

But in the 11th minute, then-freshman Blugh, playing in his first-ever game in front of the Terrier faithful, went down.

He had torn his ACL, ending his season and making his first year in the United States that much more difficult.

“That kind of put me down a little bit,” Blugh said. “Coming from Trinidad, I was expecting to make a name for myself for the first season. I wanted everyone to know who this guy from Trinidad is. It was a struggle that first part of the year.”

Would he do it all over again, though?

“Definitely man,” Blugh said, smiling.

“I had a couple injuries throughout my time here, so soccer-wise, that was kind of a downfall … I had never been away from my parents for more than a month, and to come to college like a million miles away

from my parents and I’m on my own, that was hard. I think just having these brothers around me helped me to be more comfortable and settle in quickly.”

And brothers they are. Blugh has adjusted admirably to living in the United States, notably comfortable in his new home. Several of his teammates walked into the locker room during this interview, each one sharing jokes and embracing Blugh’s effervescent character. He has become a true member of the BU family.

“He’ll be one of those kids who, when you see him ten years from now, he’ll always put a smile on your face,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “His teammates will say the same thing, whether it’s in an airport or at a reunion.”

He attributes his success at BU, on and off the field, to many people, from his family in New York, to Roberts, to some of his outstanding professors. Certainly, his vibrant personality has also played huge role in his adjustment to America.

“I feel like I know a lot of people and I’m pretty social, just because of my culture and me being from Trinidad,” Blugh said. “I’m warm-hearted and friendly to people, which has allowed me to make a lot of friends and connections here that I probably wouldn’t have made if I didn’t come to America or BU.” That doesn’t mean that Blugh’s threeplus years here have been without adversity, though. He noted that the transition from Trinidad to BU was definitely somewhat of a culture shock. Differences in food, business and work culture were stark contrasts to the way he had spent the first 18 years of his life. But the move was one that was well worth it.

Blugh has found himself, however, on the pitch, where his natural talent speaks for itself.

“I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it wasn’t too difficult in terms of me being technical enough to be able to play over here,” he said. “Back home, me being a captain, CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

BOTTOM LI NE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

Women’s soccer @ American, 1 p.m.

Men’s soccer vs. Harvard, 7 p.m.

The Red Sox moved up to fourth

Field hockey @ Colgate, 1 p.m.

place in the AL East on Monday.

Women’s hockey vs. University of Guelph, 3 p.m.

Men’s soccer vs. Bucknell, 2 p.m.

In a return to mediocrity, they have already slid back down to fifth place

Field hockey @ Syracuse, 2 p.m.

in the division.