1-15-2014

The Daily Free Press

Year xliv. Volume lxxxvi. Issue I

LEGIS-LATER

Mass. Rep. Conroy joins race for state treasurer, page 3.

[

Wednesday, January 15, 2014 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

SHAPE UP

BU athletic clubs promote healthy living, page 5.

]

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SEE YA LATER

Forward Sam Kurker leaves BU men’s hockey team, page 8.

WEATHER

Today: Sunny, high 50.

Tonight: Cloudy, low 33.

Tomorrow: 43/32.

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Independent tech firm to review healthcare site Hackers use emails to gain passwords, access to accounts

By Kelsey Newell Daily Free Press Staff

Massachusetts officials are bringing MITRE, an independent technology firm, to review the new state health insurance website and fix its numerous problems before the Friday deadline.

Jason Lefferts, spokesman for Massachusetts Health Connector, said Massachusetts is a national leader in health care access and affordability, and the goal of the connector is to remain that way.

“We are building an entirely new system in Massachusetts from what we had before that only reflects the beneficial changes in the Affordable Care Act, but also makes it easier for consumers to apply for coverage, find the best program that suits their needs, and find the best plan for themselves and their families,” he said.

MITRE is a not-for-profit corporation that operates research and development centers, assisting the U.S. Government in research, analysis, development and system integration. One of these centers is the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare.

“CMS has asked us to do a systems development analysis of the Massachusetts Health Connector website and draft recommendations to address the issues by Jan. 17,” said Lauren Libitz, MITRE community relations manager.

This system analysis will be extensive in an effort to fix all the current problems

By Taryn Ottaunick Daily Free Press Staff

which are needed and many which are not needed,” she said. “So we’re aiming for a balance we are trying to strike between facilitating research and preventing human subjects harms.”

Fiske said she hopes lawmakers will take the report’s suggestions into consideration when making changes to the Common Rule.

“What we are hoping is that the thoughtfulness and carefulness and evidence we draw on will influence the government agencies that are revising the Common Rule to make it more responsive to the social and behavioral sciences and both facilitate research and protect people better,” Fiske said.

The online entity that accessed the payroll accounts of some Boston University employees earlier in January made another attempt to scam some members of the BU community, officials said.

The hackers sent out a “phishing” email to BU faculty members posing as Internet security officials in order to solicit the usernames and passwords of those employees, said BU Information & Technology Services Executive Director of Information Security Quinn Shamblin.

“The [phishing email] message is designed to take advantage of legitimate security efforts,” Shamblin said. “We saw some of those messages coming in over the weekend with the bad guys trying again.”

BU affiliates received an email from the IT Help Center Sunday notifying the university community about the suspicious emails.

Earlier in January, hackers changed bank account information for 10 university employees, preventing the employees from accessing their paychecks, said Boston University Police Department Detective Peter DiDomenica.

“It started out with one suspicious incident of someone’s payroll check going into another account,” DiDomenica said. “And then through an audit of all the payroll records here, it was determined that there was a series of these fraudulent diversions of payroll checks based on a theory of someone going into each individual’s payroll account and changing the designated account where the money should go.”

The method used by the hackers, known as “phishing,” involves a hacker posing as a legitimate entity in order to lure confidential information from a user, said BU professor of computer science Ran Canetti.

“Phishing is a way to fool somebody into interacting with some entity over the web that they trust, usually by way of making a screen that appears to be coming from a legitimate source or a source that is known

Research, see page 2

Phishing, see page 2

ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

An independent technology firm, MITRE, will review the state’s health insurance website, Massachusetts Health Connector, after technical issues prevented customers from filling out the online applications necessary in order to keep their coverage.

with the website. Massachusetts worked with CGI, a business and technology firm, to develop this new website. Many of the faults with the website are attributed to them, she said.

The website has caused trouble for subsidized applicants who need to select a plan, healthcare carriers who need to trans-

fer their enrollment information and anyone who is searching for dental or smallbusiness coverage. Thousands of people are in temporary MassHealth coverage due to the system problems.

Despite these setbacks, officials of Mas-

Healthcare, see page 2

Report suggests changes to rules for human subject research

By Olivia Deng Daily Free Press Staff

The National Research Council released a report on Thursday outlining a set of revisions to regulations in place regarding the use of human subjects for scientific research at institutions such as Boston University.

The report is a response to a 2011 Department of Health and Human Services proposal that sought to revise the Common Rule, or the regulations under which human subjects can be used for research, by excusing a research category that would lessen the Institutional Review Board Process for low-risk research.

Michael Lyons, professor of psychology at Boston University, said the revisions will increase efficiency by loosening regu-

lations while protecting human subjects.

“They [the revisions] streamline the process and remove a number of unreasonable requirements,” Lyons said. “They remove sources of ambiguity about the process, so I think this will facilitate researchers being able to do their research efficiently without reducing at all the protection of subjects.”

The report also suggests that some types of research should be excused or subject to less scrutiny in the review process.

Human subjects research excludes research that is dependent on publicly available and observable information and research that collects or relies on personally identifiable information, said Susan Fiske, chair of the NRC committee that drafted the report.

“There are a lot of regulations, many

COM student skates at national level

By Taryn Ottaunick Daily Free Press Staff

PHOTO COURTESY OF JIMMY MORGAN

Jimmy Morgan, a College of Communication senior, performed with his figure skating partner Alex Shaughnessy at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Saturday.

Boston University student Jimmy Morgan competed in the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships senior division at Boston’s TD Garden Saturday.

Morgan, a College of Communication senior, competed in the pairs division with his partner Alex Shaughnessy. The championship, known as Nationals to many competitors, is a preliminary competition where the top scorers advance to represent the United States in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“This is our fourth nationals, so we kind of knew what to expect with all the big lights and the judges, but this one was extra special because we were at home and people could come see us and all our families were there,” Morgan said. “I guess that kind of added to the pressure a little bit, but we just gave it the best we could. It was a lot of fun.”

Although the pair did not place, getting to the senior divisions of Nationals and making an impression was their main goal,

Shaughnessy, a 21-year-old student studying business management at Northeastern University, said.

“Our goal was to just show up and show them what we got,” Shaughnessy said.

“We wanted to make a big splash this year.

Obviously, our first year we were not expecting a medal. We knew that going into this. We wanted to just be noticed and ... tell the world that we’re ready to be a senior pair team.”

Morgan has been skating since he was four years old, beginning as a hockey player and eventually moving into figure skating. Although Morgan originally intended to be a singles skater, he entered into a partnership after his coach, Bobby Martin, noticed his height.

“He came to me as a student on his own, and I immediately saw that he was going to be a large, strapping young man and steered him into the direction of pairskating pretty early on,” Martin said.

In addition to being a supportive partner on the ice, Morgan is also a good

Figure Skating, see page 2

2

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Friday deadline BU IT officials to cooperate Regulation of human testing for MassHealth with int’l FBI investigation protects subjects from abuse site approaches Phishing: From Page 1

healthcare: From Page 1

sachusetts Health Connector and MassHealth are optimistic about the system’s future. “[We] brought in a rapid assessment team to perform an end-to-end review of our existing system and help determine next steps for technical fixes,” Lefferts said. “This review will enable us to assess the quality of existing portions of the system, delineate the best course of action for getting the project on a track to success, and align the project management structure to implement recommendations for successful completion.”

MITRE will provide the state with guidance to improve the system by Jan. 17, at which point Massachusetts Health Connector will decide how to move forward.

Until then, progress on the site has stalled, but both Connector and MassHealth staff are working hard to fix the issues and continue providing customers with health insurance.

Kevin Wythe, 53, of Dorchester, said he is dissatisfied with the healthcare system in Massachusetts and the lack of the progress with the website.

“I have a friend who is over the limit by a dollar and lost her neighborhood health plan,” he said. “It’s a mess. It’s slow moving, just like everything else in the state. I’m disappointed with politicians in general and the measure of healthcare in this country and in this state.”

Adrian Rose, 51, of Allston, said glitches are expected, but they will become a bigger issue if they continue.

“It’s relatively recent, so it’s normal that there are glitches, but there are just so many,” she said.

“It’s so confusing. There is a lot of disorganization, and it’s going to trickle down and affect everyone.”

Tim Sullivan, 45, of Back Bay, said he is concerned the problems with the website will leave people uninformed and unable to sign up for the healthcare they need.

“People aren’t going to be able to get the information that they need,” he said. “They won’t be able to apply for insurance and they’re not going to know where to go. They’re going to be confused. Everyone is going to be confused.”

Emily Hartwell contributed to the reporting of this story.

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to the victim, but actually, they come from somewhere else,” Canetti said. “The main reason that this works is that people are not careful enough to look at the important parts of what they see on the browser to see whether things are legitimate or not.”

Overall, 78 employees received an email from hackers, DiDomenica said.

“People responded to one of these phishing emails and thought they were updating their BU employee accounts,” DiDomenica said. “They were basically giving away their passwords, and once they were obtained, their accounts were changed and their paychecks went off into other banks.”

Because the paychecks were transferred to various banks across the United States as well as some in Africa, the incident qualifies as an international investigation under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DiDomenica said.

“The funds were diverted to banks all across the country,” DiDomenica said. “The IP addresses that were used to make the changes in the employees accounts are from all over the country and other countries. There’s some from Africa. It’s international in scope. This is a federal investigation, so our job is to assist the FBI with their investigation.”

BU IT officials are currently attempting to trace the source of the phishing as well as find ways to block any future infiltration, Shamblin said.

The best way of avoiding phishing is to check for specific labels of legitimacy when engaging in an online solicitation, Canetti said.

“There are generally rules of thumb that you should follow in order to avoid phishing attacks,” Canetti said. “Be wary of any online solicitations, even if they look legitimate ... Look for the green lock at the top of your browser.

This is how your browser tells you that you’re really talking to the right entity.”

research: From Page 1

The report also recommends reorienting the review process, which previously favored biomedical research, to a process better suited to research in the social and behavioral sciences where low-risk human subject research is more common, Fiske said.

“The protection of human subjects tends to focus on the biomedical side and not so much on the social and behavioral side,” Fiske said. “... The biggest risk to people participating in our kind of [social and behavioral sciences] research is likely to be information risk ... and information risk is your data gets publicized.”

Lyons said the revisions suggested by the NRC would be particularly helpful in streamlining research projects where many different institutions are involved.

“Our projects are a least half a dozen institutions, different universities participating in this research project, and for each

university and each institution, the research has to go through IRB review and that can take an awful lot of time,” Lyons said.

“Now, the proposed regulations state that a multi-site study will be reviewed by one primary IRB. It won’t be necessary to get half a dozen IRB approvals. For a study like ours, that could really be a huge benefit.”

Leonard Glantz, a professor of health law, bioethics, and human rights at BU’s School of Public Health, said research regulation is necessary to prevent researchers from abusing their subjects.

“Research is regulated to keep good people [researchers] from misusing subjects as a result of overzealousness for the research,” Glantz said. “... The history of research abuse is the history of good people doing things that are not so good. Every research abuser, even the Nazi doctors, believed they were doing something of social importance and utility.”

Morgan aims to incorporate PR major into love of figure skating Figure skating: From Page 1

friend to his partner during their downtime, Shaughnessy said.

“He’s the best partner ever,” she said. “So many partners get along and everything, but Jimmy and I are truly best friends. We’ll text each other. Sometimes we’ll go out together with our boyfriends. We tell each other everything — more things than I think we tell our significant others.”

Martin said the connection Morgan and Shaughnessy share is evident in their performances on the ice.

“They have a great relationship, and they demonstrate that in the way they skate,” Martin said.

“They connect with each other really well. They’re also very, very musical, which is an important thing.”

Morgan, a public relations

student, said he has had the opportunity to do media relations work for his rink as well as for Nationals.

“I originally did an internship with my rink and I got the chance to do some PR work for the national championships,” Morgan said, “... That was a great experience, trying to get media hits, working on social media for them and doing all that stuff.”

Morgan said he hopes to combine his major with his passion for figure skating in his future career endeavors. However, he does not intend to stop skating.

“My plan for right now is to keep competing after we graduate, because I graduate in May,” he said. “I’d like to combine what I do in PR with what I do in skating. That would be the best of both worlds.”

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Campus & City City Crime Logs

Jan. 7 to Jan. 12 The following crime reports were taken from the Allston-Brighton D-14 crime logs from Jan. 7 to Jan. 12

Bank robbery at Birmingham Parkway On Jan. 7 at around 3:24 p.m., officers received a radio call to 30 Leo Birmingham Parkway for an armed robbery at the Santander Bank.

The bank teller stated the suspect approached her counter and said, PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF “Give me all your money, I am not With the recent legalization of cannabis in Washington and Colorado, advoplaying games.” Then the suspect cates of its legalization in Massachusetts are pushing for a spot on the ballot displayed a firearm from underneath for 2016. his jacket and fled out the side door

By Sarah Capungan is a 76-year failed prohibition?” he Daily Free Press Staff onto Waverly Street. said. “Prohibitions in free market Advocates for the legalization of democracies generally don’t work.

Suspect breaks air conditioner cannabis have accelerated efforts to They create more harm than to cure to rob apartment bring the controversial question to a supposed problem.”

At about 2:25 p.m. on Thurs- the ballot in the 2016.

Carla Lowe, founder of the Citiday, officers received a radio call to Polling and focus group data in- zens Against Legalized Marijuana, 10 Clevemont Ave. for a breaking dicates 63 percent of Massachusetts’s said effects of cannabis should not and entering. The victim stated she citizens would vote to legalize canna- be compared to the effects of alcowent to an appointment and returned bis and treat it like alcohol, said Al- hol. The main difference between the home to find that unknown persons len St. Pierre, the executive director two products is that the tetrahydrohad pushed in her air conditioner to for the National Organization for the cannabinol, or THC, in cannabis is gain entry to her apartment. The air Reform of Marijuana Laws. He said fat-soluble, whereas alcohol is waterconditioner fell into the apartment the ongoing cannabis prohibition is soluble and is easily flushed from the and caused the window to shatter. similar to alcohol prohibition in the body. Lowe said legalized cannabis The victim’s nephew was home at 1920s and cannot last. would cost the economy instead of the time and heard the air condi“If alcohol prohibition is consid- helping it. tioner hit the floor and the window ered the great failed social experi“All of the crimerelated costs, all break. The suspect fled with no ac- ment that lasted about 10 years, what of the traffic accident related costs, cess gained.

Suspect found in home stealing car and house keys On Sunday at 1:35 p.m. a victim reported to D-14 that at 2:30 a.m. he heard someone walking around in his residence at 12 Sorrento Street.

The victim said he initially thought it was one of his children going to the bathroom but the noise when on for a while so he exited his home office to check things out. The victim stated he saw an unknown male walking down his front stairs from his second floor. He called out to the suspect “hey” but he suspect continued through the kitchen and exited through the back door. At first, the victim did not notice anything missing at first but has since discovered both house and car keys missing as well as a cell phone.

Intoxicated male threatens victim for money At around 10:02 p.m. on Sunday, officers received a radio call to M&M Food Mart located at 85 Glenville Ave. for a threat report. The victim stated the suspect entered the store and appeared intoxicated. The suspect wanted the victim to swipe his E.B.T. card and give him cash, but the victim explained he was not allowed to do that. The suspect became angry and said, “If I come back with a gun and put it on your head and say give me the money, you will say take the money,” while making a gesture with his hand in the shape of a gun.

3

Cannabis advocates seek legalization in Mass. SG strives to boost student involvement

By Alice Bazerghi Daily Free Press Staff

XBOX and camera stolen from apartment On Friday at around 5:37 p.m., officers received a radio call from 11 St. Lukes Road for breaking and entering. A man told officers an unknown person entered his apartment through his roommate’s bedroom window. A black Sony camera, black and white ski goggles, an XBOX and other electronic devices were stolen.

Wednesday, January 15 2014

all of the welfare related costs, all of the costs of kids dropping out of school, all of the impact on the family … there’s not one aspect of society that is not touched by the use of marijuana,” she said.

Anti-cannabis advocates are also concerned legalized cannabis will give young people easier access to the drug, causing a lack of productivity.

“A third of the kids across America do not graduate from high school,” she said. “The use of marijuana among that population of kids is very, very high. Those kids are not going out and getting jobs. They are going to be on our public dole. I’m thinking we’re going to see all sorts of increased social problems.”

However, both St. Pierre and Matt Simon, the New England director for the Marijuana Policy Project, said the availability of cannabis to children could be controlled through requiring an ID for cannabis sales and education.

St. Pierre said part of the money from cannabis sales should be put towards substance education and law enforcement, in the hope that society can benefit from legalization of the drug, partly because it could reduce the amount of cannabis trafficked and sold on the Black Market.

“It’s better for society to get taxes from those commercial endeavors, and, in some cases, earmark some of those taxes to help deal with the social consequences of that industry,” he said.

Marijuana, see page 4

Mayor Walsh petitions Mass. Gaming Commission

By Felicia Gans Daily Free Press Staff

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh petitioned the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Monday to grant Boston host community status for the proposed Mohegan Sun and Wynn resort destination casinos.

The petition also asked the Gaming Commission to reconsider the city’s request for an extension to look through the 43,000 pages of documents that were sent to the city. The commission previously denied the request on Friday “I am disappointed in the Gaming Commission’s failure to grant

Boston the extension requested,” Walsh said in a press release on Friday. “Given the volume of the pages to be reviewed, and the extremely short time frame we have had available to review them, it is clear that the extension was not an unreasonable request.”

Walsh sent the petition in response to the extension denial, in addition to a variety of other requests.

“We believe this unrestricted route is the best path forward to protect the residents of East Boston and Charlestown, and the City of Boston as a whole,” he said in a Monday release. “These applicants must have a more open dialogue with the people of Boston,

particularly those neighborhoods that will be most impacted.”

Walsh also said in the release that if there is any indication that Boston may be a host city for a casino, he reserves the right to withdraw from surrounding community negitiations. The city also petitioned the Gaming Commission to compel the Mohegan Sun and Wynn to cooperate with the City of Boston and provide any requested information, the press release said.

The Mohegan Sun and Wynn projects are currently competing for the sole Greater Boston resort casino license.

To read the rest of this story, please visit dailyfreepress.com.

By Emily Hartwell Daily Free Press Staff

Boston University Student Government officials hope to reinvent their relationship with the student body by prioritizing student demands and increasing their campus presence in the Spring 2014 semester.

Student Body President Dexter McCoy said one of SG’s primary goals for the spring will be a more active senate.

“It seems to me that right now senators’ main responsibilities are cut up to their college governments, but they don’t really engage with the community,” McCoy said. “... I will be pushing the Senate Chair and other senators to do more of that. We will be more engaged in the GSU [George Sherman Union] in the Student Link, in terms of outreach.”

After a student survey released last semester revealed students felt disconnected from SG, McCoy said SG will focus on becoming more accessible and able to communicate with students directly to address their needs.

“We have survey results that were released last semester…and they were upsetting,” McCoy, a College of Communication senior, said. “Students saying that they don’t really see SG as all that important, saying that they don’t really know all that SG can do for them. Well we can do quite a lot for students. So we are going to take efforts to be more visible.”

One way SG plans to improve student life is by making teacher evaluations available on the Student Link so that students have access to this feedback when choosing courses, said SG Director of Advocacy Caitlin Seele.

“We’re trying to make teacher evaluations available to students,” Seele, a School of Management senior, said. “Not necessarily the feedback part but just the general numeric ratings like ‘willingness to help students’ to help students make better informed decisions for the class and also help hold teachers to a higher standard.”

SG, see page 4

Candidacies announced for Mass. Treasurer to replace Steven Grossman

By Emily Hartwell Daily Free Press Staff

Since Mass. Treasurer Steven Grossman’s announcement to run for governor, the pool of candidates to fill his seat in November has been rapidly shaping up.

Ending a four-term run in the legislature, Mass. Rep. Thomas Conroy announced his candidacy for the treasurer position on Thursday, adding to the pool of Democratic candidates that includes Brookline Selectman Deborah Goldberg and Mass. Sen. Barry Finegold.

The Massachusetts Republican Party plans to announce its candidate in the next few days.

“Our candidate for the treasurer office has not been announced yet, but we do have a candidate and we are happy and excited about our candidate and the public will be hearing from him hopefully in a few days,” said Emmalee Kalmbach, spokeswoman for MassGOP. Travis Schofner, a spokesperson

for the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said he is excited about three Democratic candidates running for treasurer.

“They all bring a lot of different experience, and we’re looking forward to the debate to be honest,” he said. “It’s going to be a very robust and healthy primary, and it’s definitely going to show the voters what the candidates are bringing to the table.”

David Guarino, a spokesperson for Conroy, said Conroy is not worried about the competition and is instead focusing on following through with a successful campaign.

“He’s confident he will have the resources, and he has certainly got the right experience to build a winning campaign and be the best candidate for treasurer,” he said.

Kalmbach said she believes MassGOP has a good chance with its candidate.

“We’re definitely revamping our ground game,” Kalmbach said. “We were taking a coordinated campaign

approach and really applying that for this election cycle and we’ve already seen great success with it. We have strong candidates, and I believe they have a great chance.”

Prior to his election to the state legislature, Conroy worked for 16 years in both the public and private sectors of finance for various companies. He has experience in the field of economic management and strategy that will give him an advantage in the election, Guarino said. “[Conroy] has a wealth of experience in the legislature, in issues that directly impact the taxpayers and are part of the role and responsibilities of the treasurer’s office and this unique experience will help ensure the state’s long-term financial health and allow Massachusetts to expand education and job opportunities for everyone, particularly those still struggling on the margins,” he said.

Guarino said he believes Conroy is up to the task because of his past experiences and his goals as treasur-

PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Tom Conroy, a state representative for Lincoln, Sudbury and Wayland, announced Thursday his plans to run for state treasurer.

er. He has a vision of integrating economic justice and income inequality, as he sees those as the two biggest issues.

“The treasurer is really the finan-

Conroy, see page 4

4

Wednesday, january 15, 2014

Conroy among SG organizing week to honor BU alum Martin Luther King Jr. student life, SG is orga- Wednesdays you get a discount at new developments, along with group of Dems. SG is also working on improv- everyday the continued efforts of SG, will nizing campus-wide campaigns so-and-so location.”

Another major campaign is leave a legacy of a strong student to promote school spirit, said SG the Boston University Shuttle Executive Vice President Richa Dream Week, which honors BU union for future generations at with experience ing and making it easier for students Kaul. alumnus Martin Luther King Jr. BU. SG: From Page 3

Conroy: From Page 3

cial steward for the Commonwealth,” he said. “[Conroy] wants to ensure that the state’s finances continue to be solid for the next generation and really allow us to invest in all these other programs that we know can work.”

Schofner said he is hopeful for all the Democratic candidates and sees experience as one of their strongest elements.

“Voters will have the opportunity to discuss the qualifications of all the candidates,” he said. “They’re going to make those decisions on their own and we’re looking forward to seeing that decision take place.”

Koczela: Too soon to gauge support of legal cannabis

to understand the schedules and stops, Seele said.

“We’re going to be installing signs at every bus stop that indicates whether it’s a daytime [or] nighttime route and the time the bus stops at that spot because sometimes there’s confusion, especially when it comes to the South campus stop or night time routes,” Seele said.

In addition to improvements in

One campaign, called “On Wednesdays We Wear Scarlet,” asks students to wear red in an effort to promote school unity, Kaul said.

“What we’re going to try to do is build partnerships with local thrift shops to increase school pride,” Kaul, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said. “So if you wear scarlet on

by engaging students in the history of the university, Kaul said.

“We are working on a large project called Dream Week, working off of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, because he is a proud alumni of this school and we want to make sure we honor him more often,” she said.

McCoy said he hopes these

“I want to leave a lasting impression on the campus of strong student leadership as well as creating a student government that is built to last and not one that in a few years, the administrators will question if it is important to the campus,” McCoy said. “We have been able to dramatically alter that, but we have a long way to go.”

When opportunity knocks, it could knock here…

Marijuana: From Page 3

When NORML was founded in 1970, only 9 percent of the American public supported legalizing cannabis.

Today, 58 percent of U.S. citizens support legalizing cannabis, according to a Gallup poll published Oct. 22.

“When about 60 percent of people want it to change, the laws change,” St. Pierre said.

Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, said although Massachusetts is following the rest of the nation in favoring legalized cannabis, it is too early to say whether or not its citizens will vote in its favor.

“2016 is a long way away,” he said. “If things keep going the way they are nationally, there’s at least a decent chance that when we do polling in Massachusetts, we’ll see some more dynamic, but it’s really too early to say.”

Residents are split over the issue of legalizing recreational cannabis, seeing both the benefits and downfalls of complete legalization.

Ricardo Albacete, 18, of Boston, said he understands the motivation for legalization but does not support it.

“It’s difficult,” he said. “It’s something everyone disagrees on. If it’s illegal, people will buy it anyway. It’s an addiction and I don’t support it.”

Jennefry Bolanco, 23, of Dorchester, is afraid that legalizing cannabis could make it as commonplace as a cigarette.

“If they legalize it and they put it into the market, they’re going to start selling more,” she said. “It could become like a cigarette. It’s legal, so they sell more. Also, people will start using marijuana as an excuse for being high and doing certain things.”

Tom McDonald, 27, of Back Bay, sees legalized cannabis as the solution to many different problems.

“There would be an increased revenue stream, plus all that money spent for keeping people locked up for nonviolent defenses that have to do with marijuana, and public defenders … we pay for that with tax dollars,” he said. “Plus, crime-wise, as far as violence, by making it legal, the drug cartels won’t be the ones making all the money off it anymore.”

Felicia Gans contributed to the reporting of this article.

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10/2/2013 5:57:46 PM

Get fit in 2014

BU programs help students meet exercise goals for the new year Stacy Schoonover Spotlight Editor Tewarie also supports the ideas of New Year resolutions to “get fit.”

“What could be better than people taking initiative to making positive change in their lives?” Tewarie said. “Fitness is very important.

Once I started seeing the power I had in changing my body, I realized that I had more control over my fate that I ever thought possible. I felt powerful in all areas of my life.”

The club usually meets on Thursday afternoons, and any additional meetings or changes to the schedule are posted on the “BU Bodybuilding” Facebook page. Tewarie also added that prospective members should not feel scared to join.

“Many people feel intimidated when they see the word “Bodybuilding” in our club name, and this could not be further from the truth,” Tewarie said. “Bodybuilding is an activity of self-discovery where individuals use it as a tool to empower not only themselves, but also each other.”

BU FitRec

W

BU Curling Club, one of the university’s many athletic organizations, practices for an upcoming tournament.

ith the start of the New Year, resolutions to “become a better person” and make mental and physical selfimprovements are in the air. However, maintaining these resolutions prove to be more difficult than creating them.

According to the University of Scranton’s study of resolution statistics, only 46 percent of resolutions were maintained after the six-month mark in 2013.

In the same study, the top resolution for the 2014 year is to “lose weight,” with “staying fit and healthy” sitting not too far behind at number five.

While the winter weather can be a challenging obstacle in maintaining goals for achieving better fitness in 2014, a few BU athletic clubs and the BU Fitness and Recreation Center provide opportunities to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

BU Curling Club According to the BU Curling Club’s website, the mission of BUCC is “to spread awareness of the sport of curling to the Boston University community and to give all interested full-time students the opportunity to learn how to curl.”

“We would really like BUCC to grow in terms of the number of members we currently have,” said Matt Huse, BUCC secretary. “We would like to see beginners who do come on their first trip to come back on subsequent trips and become devoted members.”

According to the World Curling Federation, curling is one of the oldest sports in the world. Beginning in Scotland, curling gradually becoming more popular, and eventually became an Olympic Sport in 1924.

In the game, players slide flat stones across ice with brooms towards

a mark. Players must control the speed and direction in order to get the more stones on or closer to the mark than the other teams.

“Curling may not be the most physically demanding sport, but after playing for an hour or two you do get tired,” Huse, a School of Management sophomore, said. “If you’re the captain of the team, the game involves a lot of strategy, and after a tournament where you play three to four games, you’re mentally exhausted as well.”

The club meets almost every Friday from mid-October until the end of March. During this period, there are also several tournaments. BUCC plays at Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland and for more experienced curlers, there are two to three weekend tournaments per semester.

“We have two main intentions that we try to accomplish every year,” Huse said. “One is that we try to have as much fun as possible at our weekly curling trips, and secondly we try to accumulate enough merit points through tournaments and head-to-head matchups to qualify for the Nationals event, where the top 16 college curling teams compete for the National Championship.”

Outside of having fun and preparing for tournaments, BUCC also believes in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Huse suggests that rather than watching TV and eating snacks, biking or running is a better alternative.

“Joining any sports clubs, especially ones that interest you, is a great way to become more fit and help you meet any New Year’s resolutions related to fitness,” Huse said.

BU Running Club The Boston University Running Club (BURC) is the only Student

Activities Office-approved student running group on campus. BURC is open to runners of all abilities and aims to promote a healthy lifestyle and passion for running.

“Although we do occasionally run races as a club, we are not a competitive team but rather a group of like-minded students that tries to involve as many runners as possible, irrespective of their ability, for the maximum enjoyment of the group and of every individual member,” said Urs Weber, treasurer of BURC. The club currently leaves for runs from Marsh Plaza every weekday afternoon at 4 p.m. Despite the cold winter months, Weber said it is easier to maintain enthusiasm when around others who are equally passionate about running.

“The BURC is a tight-knit community that was brought together by a passion for running,” Weber, and College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. “Friendships quickly develop in the club and we keep each other motivated throughout the year, especially during the cold and snowy winter months.”

Weber also said maintaining fitness is the best way to ward off many diseases.

“We live at a time where disease is related to unhealthy lifestyle choices,” Weber said. “Not everyone has to be able to run a sixminute mile, but everyone should be able to get up the stairs without having to catch their breath.”

She found that maintaining fitness helps keep personal balance of studies and exercise.

“Resolving to improve ones fitness is always an important first step towards a healthier lifestyle, no matter when the resolution is made,” Weber said. “New Year’s resolutions related to fitness are a great first step towards improving fitness and health, but they have to

PHOTO COURTESY OF BU CURLING CLUB

be implemented throughout the year to produce lasting benefits.”

Weber said he would like to invite anyone who is already a runner or who would like to get started to join BURC for a run. Those interested can find more information on BURC’s Facebook page.

BU Bodybuilding and Fitness Club The official goal of the Bodybuilding and Fitness Club (BUBFC) is to “help members of the BU community reach and surpass their training goals,” and to “tap into the vast resources already available at BU and strive to be a force of change on campus while promoting a healthy lifestyle.”

BUBFC uses BU resources such as Nutrition Services through Sargent College and the Athletic Center Department. While the club focuses on fitness, it also concentrates on mental values as well.

“BUBFC is not a club that is just about working out,” said Prady Tewarie, CAS graduate and one of the founders of the club. “We are bodybuilders, and that means that we lead our lives through the values it instills: discipline, mental fortitude, constant self-improvement and a never-give-up attitude.”

Tewarie said the biggest victory is seeing the members who had no prior bodybuilding experience fall in love with the sport, especially after the big difference that bodybuilding made in Tewarie’s own life.

“Over the past five years, I have become more in-tune with my spiritual self and have been able to accomplish things I never thought possible precisely because I realized that I was the master of my own fate,” Tewarie said. “This is something I would never have realized if it weren’t for bodybuilding.”

Seven courts of gym space, an indoor jogging track, two pools and a rock-climbing wall are only part of what makes up BU’s Fitness and Recreation Center (FitRec). From individual workouts to hiring a personal trainer or enrolling into group fitness classes, there are many opportunities to follow a resolution to get in shape.

According to FitRec’s website, the Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance is committed to “providing unparalleled educational and recreational programs, services, and facilities in order to promote health, wellness and activities that strengthen the University and local communities.”

Located in West Campus, FitRec provides opportunities for an easier transition into New Year resolution habits through free member classes, long operating hours and the encouraging environment to maintain a healthy lifestyle. At FitRec, BU affiliates can exercise, socialize and be healthy all at the same time.

Keep up the good work With one month of the New Year complete, the popularity of resolutions is starting to fade.

Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo revealed tips towards keeping up with a resolution in an article for Beliefnet. She suggests writing out a commitment statement in order to prioritize the goal on a daily basis, getting help from friends to remind and ask about the resolution and keeping the commitment realistic.

Lombardo also said to address the setbacks and give rewards for progress. New Year resolutions should be a positive process, and overcoming stress and certain environments is a part of the process.

“Scientists who study change consider relapse to be a normal part of change,” Lombardo said. “This does not mean ‘feel free to give in every once in a while.’ It does mean that, if it happens, you need not beat yourself up.”

6

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

THE DAILY FREE PRESS

opinion

A SEMESTER IN SHANGHAI

The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

Expectations

44th year ✦ Volume 86 ✦ Issue 1

Sarah Kirkpatrick, Editor-in-Chief Brian Latimer, Managing Editor

Rachel Riley, Campus Editor

Alice Bazerghi, City Editor

Andrew Battifarano, Sports Editor

Trisha Thadani, Opinion Editor

Heather Goldin, Multimedia Editor

Maya Devereaux, Photo Editor

Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Features Editor

Emily Hartwell, Layout Editor

TATE GIESELMANN

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager The Daily Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Monday through Thursday during the academic year except during vacation and exam periods by Back Bay Publishing Co.,Inc., a nonprofit corporation operated by Boston University students. No content can be reproduced without the permission of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2013 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

The Blackfish effect

A CNN documentary entitled “Blackfish” revealed the dangers of keeping killer whales in captivity at SeaWorld. Animal rights activists have always been sensitive to the captivated whales, and this film extended the concern to the broader public.

According to National Geographic, this mass response and passionate conversation around this controversy has been informally dubbed “The Blackfish Effect.” Since the film’s debut in October, viewers of the film have been inspired to speak up about SeaWorld’s controversial practices in regards to keeping, training and exploiting their killer whales while in captivity.

The sudden spike and nature of the conversation around this issue resembles of “The Kony Effect” from two years ago. And, well, we all know how long that one lasted.

Despite the hashtags, Facebook pages, Change.org petitions and protests, these whales are still kept captive in tanks usually no bigger than 50-feet wide in SeaWorld parks around the United States. Despite the passionate uproar against the corporation after the Blackfish hit the big screen, SeaWorld announced Monday that it expects recordbreaking revenue of $1.46 billion dollars for the 2013 fiscal year.

Much like any animal, killer whales are not made for captivity. The standard 48-feet tanks aren’t conducive to the whale’s 12,000-pound bodies that can grow as large as a school bus – especially for those who were torn away from their native habitat in the endless waters of the world’s oceans.

Activists can and will continue their conversations, protests and social media posts, but as long as the eager audiences keep coming to SeaWorld, killer whales will continue to awe their audiences with tricks.

SeaWorld claims they benefit their whales by giving them adequate care and a safe and healthy environment to live in. But, after more than 40 documented incidents including several deaths and injuries to humans by these natural predators, something is not right.

Yet if SeaWorld’s famous killer whale parks continue to generate billions of dollars in revenue and endless entertainment, can’t we just push the occasional fatalities and injuries under the rug? When copious amounts of money are involved, the space under the rug

of our society just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Our society is driven by revenue and profits, and this is just the systematic way of the capitalist world we live in.

The market dictates the flow of the society, and we as consumers are in control of it.

So, if we know the dark secrets of lucrative corporations, such as Sea World, why do we continue to invest our money and attention in them? If all of the hashtags and Facebook posts in response to Blackfish were turned into actual activism, SeaWorld would have run out of business as soon as Blackfish went viral.

Consumers are in control of righting the wrongs of such big corporations and industries. If we want tobacco companies to stop tempting us with cigarettes, then everyone simply should stop smoking. If we want the garment industry to stop subjecting employees in third world countries to inhumane working conditions, then we must stop buying cheap clothing produced in Bangladesh.

And the same goes for SeaWorld. If we want these killer whales to go back into the wild where they belong then, well, we need to stop buying tickets pouring billions of dollars into SeaWorld Entertainment’s account each year.

Although “Blackfish” is widely available on the Internet, not everyone is going to pay attention to it or even know the film exists.

There are more than 300 million Americans, and unless the news is about an election or a tax hike, all of us aren’t going to hear or care about the news.

As social media continues to boom, “Blackfish effects” will continue to happen, only to be replaced when another groundbreaking controversy is revealed. Over the course of this summer, the conversations shifted from Edward Snowden and the National Security Agency, to the overturn of the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop. 8, to the impending war on Syria. We live in a generation where our opinions are transient and passions are fleeting. Something much bigger than a killer whale with a collapsed dorsal fin at SeaWorld has got to happen to hold our attention.

We may be talking about “Blackfish” and SeaWorld now, but what happens when Chris Christie allegedly exalts political revenge on another New Jersey mayor? We’ll talk about Chris Christie, of course.

This February, I will begin the single like. After taking this class I now underscariest experience of my life: a semester stand a bit more of the cultural differences between American and Chinese culture. studying abroad in Shanghai.

But, I also now know more than ever I choose the word “scary” to describe my feelings toward this experience because that I will undergo an experience oppoof the intense culture shock I expect to go site of my current life in Boston. I’m not through during the first couple of weeks. I expecting to see larger-than-life statues of feel as if I’ve been preparing for this next Mao Zedong everywhere I go, but the more semester for the past six years, starting I learn about the Chinese Communist Parwith my first Chinese language classes at ty the more I understand that some of the my high school in San Francisco. I chose perception of propaganda and politics in to study Chinese and study abroad in China China is very real. Regardless of my growbecause of my love for the language and ing knowledge of the Chinese language, I culture. I am forcefully removing myself understand that no amount of proficiency from my friends and family in order to fa- gained in a classroom will sufficiently premiliarize myself with a culture I have stud- pare me for life in Shanghai.

It feels like everyone I know is studyied from a distance for some time.

I came to appreciate China and the Chi- ing abroad in London next semester; I envy nese language because of my dislike of them because of the beauty of the city and Spanish class. Same as almost every mid- the relative ease it is to transition to life in dle-school student in America, I was placed the United Kingdom.

Though I try to remain cautious enterinto Spanish classes in seventh grade and I, well, hated it. It wasn’t an issue of disdain ing my semester abroad, I am far too exfor the language or culture, but my own cited to let my trepidations get in the way failure to grasp the vocabulary and gram- of my time in Shanghai. I plan on taking mar. Especially the grammar. I would often an eight-credit Chinese language course to try and say a sentence believing myself to try and fully immerse myself. Along with be completely correct only to be corrected my language class I’m participating in an internship program to integrate myself in because of some grammatical slip-up.

When I finally arrived in high school, the Shanghai professional community and I chose to take Chinese classes in order to hopefully taking a class on Chinese film. avoid Spanish in the most drastic fashion China’s extensive culture has gone through imaginable. I had neither any preconceived a number of changes throughout its 3,000notions of Chinese nor any knowledge of year history, and I hope to experience as the Chinese culture except what I garnered much of it as possible.

I want to use my time in the East to travfrom the occasional trip to the local takeel: I hope to see Beijing and Hong Kong, as out restaurant.

I originally didn’t know what I was get- well as possibly visit a friend from BU who ting myself into, but I ended up loving the lives in Bombay. These educational and classes I took. By the time I graduated high travel experiences promise to make this school I was committed to becoming fluent next semester one of my best. I am looking forward to making friends from China as in Mandarin Chinese.

In my three years at Boston University well as with fellow international students, I’ve continued my education in the Chi- playing basketball as much as possible on nese language. Though I haven’t always the local courts and sampling the variety been the best student — 8 a.m. Chinese of foods.

Though I fear I am giving up a lot to classes would be rough for anyone — I’ve study abroad, the amount that I will gain continued my path to proficiency.

I’ve had a few lucky occurrences while will likely surpass whatever concessions I at BU as well. My freshman year room- make. I hope to keep the BU community mate was from Shanghai and a few of my updated via this weekly column on my life coworkers at the Warren Towers Starbucks in China. are from Chongqing, and they have each – Bye, friends! helped me practice my Chinese (and somehow managed to refrain from laughing at my accent too much).

Tate Gieselmann is a College of Arts and This past semester I took classes on Sciences junior in Spain. He can be reached at Chinese Politics and Culture, learning tateag@bu.edu about what life in China will probably be The opinions and ideas expressed by columnists and cartoonists are their own and are not necessarily representative of the opinions of The Daily Free Press.

Terrier Talk Reflections

A recent CNN documentary entitled “Blackfish” went behind the scenes to reveal the truths behind the killer whales at SeaWorld. When the morality of a corporation comes into question concerning ways of generating revenue, the FreeP wanted to know who students thought were to blame: consumers or the corporations themselves?

Here’s what some of them said.

INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS

BY EMILY ZABOSKI, ALEXANDRA WIMLEY AND OLIVIA HAAS

LAUREN O’SHAUGHNESSY

“The corporations ... either they started out with corrupt practices and then based their whole foundation on those principles, or they started out doing things that were morally correct and in the process of trying to get more money then switched over then switched over to doing things that were not ethical.”

-COM sophomore

JORDAN SMITH

“There’s no real reason the consumer would be at fault. I personally wouldn’t care if say, Walmart was using child labor because that’s something that they should have to take care of themselves.”

-COM freshman

ZACH THORPE

“The consumer is partially at fault if they’re encouraging that, but if that’s the product I can afford, I’m not going to go buy a more expensive one just because they don’t do bad things. At the end of the day it’s the business that’s using immoral practices.”

- COM freshman

KONSTANTINOS PAPADOPULO

“When theres is a demand, there is a supply.

As long as the businesses are being straight forward about the risks involved, it’s the consumers fault for still wanting it.”

-CAS sophomore

Wednesday, january 15, 2014

7

BU has ‘breakthough’ at UMD McKay: ‘Good riddance’ to BCS system Men’s Basketball: From Page 8

take on Atlantic Coast Conference member in the University of Maryland. BU was fresh off of a home loss against Norfolk State University, but bounced back in spectacular fashion with an 83-77 victory over the Terrapins (10-7). The victory marked the Terriers’ second win over a member of the ACC in three years.

Despite being in foul trouble, senior point guard D.J. Irving put on a show, scoring 25 points in only 22 minutes of play, going 4-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. Even though Maryland hit 51.5 percent of its chances from the field in the second half, the BU offense led by Irving put up enough to come out on top.

“It was more down the stretch, in the second half of games, the last 10 minutes of the game, the last eight minutes of the game, we had a hard time finishing those games off against quality opponents on their floor,” Jones said. “That was the first time we were able to do that and I thought it was a breakthrough for us, so I hope our guys are able to feel good about what they accomplished that day, but we’re not satisfied.

“Once we won the game, we talked about how we didn’t want it to be the highlight of our season, we don’t want that to be the only thing people say.”

The following weekend, BU hit the road again, this time facing another Atlantic-10 opponent in Saint Joseph’s University. The game served as a Philadelphia homecoming for a handful of Terriers such as Irving, sophomore guard Maurice Watson Jr., senior forward Dom Morris and senior forward Travis Robinson, who all grew up in the area.

BU started out the game strong, heading into halftime with a 35-28 lead, hitting 45.5 percent of its shots.

With eight minutes remaining in the contest and the Terriers holding onto a slim four-point lead, St. Joseph’s (10-5) woke up from their first half struggles and went on a 20-4 run over the course of seven minutes to take a commanding 67-58 lead on their way to winning the game by a score 73-67 over the Terriers.

In the Terriers’ Patriot League

opener against the College of the Holy Cross at Agganis Arena, the team showcased its mental toughness.

BU took the lead seven minutes into the first half and appeared to have the game in hand. With 12:33 left in the game, however, the Crusaders (7-9, 1-3 Patriot League) were able to pull within two points, but the Terriers amped up their defensive pressure, forced turnovers and moved the ball around efficiently to produce open shots.

Role players like sophomore forward Justin Alston and freshman guard Cedric Hankerson drained their looks, distancing the Terriers from the Crusaders, giving BU a 70-60 victory.

Just three days later, BU took on another conference foe in Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., getting into a situation similar to its previous game. BU held an eight-point lead with 2:31 remaining in the game, but allowed Lehigh (8-9, 1-3) to claw back and take a one-point lead with eight seconds left in the game.

Although down by one, Irving drew a foul and went to the line with two seconds left. The co-captain stepped up, hitting both shots and giving BU its second victory in the conference.

After hitting the road, the Terriers came back to Commonwealth Avenue to host the U.S. Naval Academy.

An early 13-3 run in the opening minutes of the first half helped jumpstart the Terriers’ offense. Despite shooting less than 40 percent from the field, Hankerson, Watson and Morris each posted double-digit point totals, leading to BU’s third-straight win.

Looking to win their fourth Patriot League game of the season, the Terriers had one of their best shooting outputs on the road against Lafayette College. BU scored 89 points, shot 55.6 percent from the field and hit a season-high 15 3-pointers. Sophomore guard John Papale led the way with 16 points and was one of five Terriers to score at least 10 points for the game.

“We’ve just been taking this one game at a time,” Jones said. “We’re really trying to understand what things we have to get better at, things that we’re doing well. That’s our mindset right now.”

McKay: From Page 8

mishandling the end of the college football season occurred in 2003. The Louisiana State University Tigers won the game designated as the BCS National Title Game, beating the University of Oklahoma by a score of 21-14. The then-No.3 University of Southern California Trojans defeated the University of Michigan in the Rose Bowl, 28-14. However, three coaches voted for USC instead of LSU to be named national champions. The Associated Press awarded their National Championship title and No. 1 ranking to USC while the coaches’ poll gave the nod to LSU. The specific thing the BCS was built to prevent occurred: a split championship. Why should coaches get to vote on who they think is the National Champion? If this happened in the NFL, the New York Jets would get a split title every year because head coach Rex Ryan would vote for his own team.

Another embarrassing BCS calamity was the case of the 2006 Boise

State University Broncos. The Broncos were an undefeated team, 12-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Because they didn’t come from an AQ conference, they weren’t chosen to play in the title game (between then-unbeaten Ohio State University and the University of Florida), which Florida won decisively, 4114. Boise State topped Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, 43-42, in one of the most dramatic football games ever played. Any fan with a set of eyes in 2006 could’ve seen that Boise State belonged in the National Championship Game, and could’ve had a fighting chance to win it.

Supporters of the BCS do have some valid points, however. Losing a game, under the BCS standards, makes winning a national title very difficult, unless there are no other undefeated teams. This puts a premium on winning, which is obviously a good thing. BCS supporters point to the 2002 Championship Game between the only two unbeaten teams in the nation, the University of Miami and Ohio State, as their shining

example. However, an article taken from BCSfootball.org (the official website of the BCS) states in part, “Trust the process and we will get it right 80 percent of the time.” 80 percent? Are you kidding me? What kind of organization are these people running? Ask someone in the NFL if they think the Super Bowl participants are “chosen” correctly 80 percent of the time. Ask an MLB official if they think the two teams in the World Series are “chosen” correctly 80 percent of the time. They’ll look at you as if you have two heads.

Finally, after 17 seasons (counting the 2013-14 season) the BCS is exiting stage left. Good riddance. A playoff system will pit the top four teams in the nation in a Final Four standoff, one that will be sure to incite more interest in the bowl season. Personally, I never care about any bowl game except for the National Championship under the current system.

Is more meaningful football a bad thing? Heck no. Bring on the playoff, and bring it on quickly. I, and most of America, can’t wait.

Green named Patriot League Rookie of Week Women’s Hoops: From Page 8

16 minutes of play, numbers good enough to earn her the title of Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Dec. 30.

“Meghan stepped in nicely,” Leflar said. “She had been practicing really well prior to that, and [she is] just a strong post player who can score inside and out. She is definitely playing with some confidence.”

The Terriers performed well on the glass, and won the defensive rebound battle 27-22, part of the reason BU held the lead wire-to-wire and won 80-62.

After beating back-to-back America East teams, the Terriers ventured into the conference portion of their schedule. In its first-ever Patriot League game, BU faced off against the College of the Holy Cross on Jan. 2. Although Agboola put up doubledigit points and Green had a doubledouble, the Terriers fell to the Crusaders (11-4, 3-1 Patriot League) by a score of 69-59.

The Holy Cross offense proved to be too much, especially forward Raquel Scott. The sophomore was a thorn in the side of the Terriers all night long, as she scored 24 points, shooting over 50 percent from the field.

With a little over three minutes to go in the game, the Terriers cut the

deficit to 61-58, but a late run by the Crusaders pushed them ahead for good.

Coming back from the loss, BU hosted Lehigh University at Case Gymnasium on Jan. 5 for the Terriers’ first home Patriot League game.

BU came out looking like it was on a mission, starting the game with an impressive 9-0 run. The Terriers never trailed at any point during the game, in part because of consistent play on both ends of the court. Green boasted another great performance, scoring 15 points, while senior guard Melissa Gallo chipped in 13 points.

A solid Terrier defense held Lehigh (8-7, 1-3 Patriot League) to shoot just 33.8 percent from the field. Although the Mountain Hawks grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, the Terriers won their first game in the Patriot League by a 71-64 margin.

Going into the final two games of the stretch, the Terriers looked to boast a league record above .500. BU first went down to Annapolis, Md., to play Navy (12-3, 4-0) on Jan. 8.

In the first half of the contest, BU shot well at 46.4 percent from the field, but found itself down by seven points entering the break.

Although Agboola and Callahan finished in double figures for the game, Navy’s offense powered by 24 points from senior Kara Pollinger, coupled with BU’s sub-30 percent

shooting led to a 10-point victory for the Midshipmen.

In the final contest of the break on Saturday, the Terriers faced off against Lafayette (7-8, 1-3 Patriot League). The first half started with promise, and BU took an eight-point lead into halftime against the Leopards.

However, during the final five minutes of the second frame, the Leopards grabbed ahold of the lead for the first time. Forward Emily Homan scored 20 points, helping Lafayette overtake the Terriers.

“In some games like the Lafayette game we just didn’t make enough plays down the stretch,” Leflar said.

“They just made more plays than we did.”

Although they had both ups and downs during the break, Leflar said he is pleased about the team’s progress on a game-to-game basis.

“I thought was saw some nice progress in the New Hampshire game and the Vermont game right around Christmas,” Leflar said. “We lost some in the Holy Cross game, but we came back and played well against Lehigh.

“Our goal this entire season has been to get better every day in practice and put the lessons we taught in and get better game after game, and I think we saw some nice progress over the break.”

Lefort registers 6th game-winning goal of season Women’s Hockey: From Page 8

MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sophomore forward Sarah Lefort scored her NCAA-leading 17th goal of the season against the University of Maine.

ond period on what could have happened, what should have happened, might have happened.

“We needed to be a little more determined for a higher percentage of the game than small segments here and there. We kept fighting and we were still in the game until that power play goal put it away, but we just needed to be a little more determined and not get behind by a couple of goals early.”

Although they did fight back, the constant pressure from the Eagles led to turnovers, which ended up being detrimental to BU’s performance. Durocher said he believes that turnovers committed by the Terriers had a major effect during the game.

“Turnovers affected the game significantly,” Durocher said.

“That’s a good team. They’re going to create opportunities. They’re going to get opportunities. We know

that but we just need to be a little more determined around our net, not letting them get the loose pucks so easily and I think we missed some assignments there that should be within our ability.”

A goal from senior Melissa Bizzari on the power play at the 6:55 mark in the third period sealed the victory for the Eagles, snapping the Terriers’ 20-game home winning streak.

Despite falling to their crosstown rival, the Terriers answered back with a 5-3 win at Maine (2-145, 0-8-3 Hockey East).

BU fell behind 2-0 after the Black Bears notched a goal in the first and another one just over a minute into the second period. Elia answered right back and scored BU’s first goal eight seconds after Maine had doubled its lead. Warren and senior forward Taylor Holze followed suit and gave the Terriers a brief 3-2 lead. Maine would go on to tie the score right after the Holze

goal, setting up an exciting third period.

At 2:07 in final frame, Lefort came through again and gave BU the lead for good. The goal was her NCAA-leading sixth game-winning goal of the season and her 17th goal overall, tied for the top spot in the nation. The goal and her two assists also helped her extend her point streak to seven games.

Warren gave the Terriers insurance in the final minutes of the contest, putting a shot past Maine goaltender Meghann Treacy, extending BU’s lead to 5-3.

Despite allowing three goals in the first two periods, Sperry finished with 31 saves, her eighth 30-plus save performance of the season.

The Terriers will next travel to Rhode Island to take on Hockey East foe Providence College this Friday and then come back home to Walter Brown Arena for a Sunday matinee with Northeastern University.

“

“

Quotable

“Once we won the game, we talked about how we didn’t want it to be the highlight of our season.”

-BU coach Joe Jones on the men’s basketball team’s win over the University of Maryland

page 8

Driving The Lane

Bye-Bye, BCS

Patrick McKay

It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for a championship to be decided without a playoff system.

The rest of the world may disagree, as soccer leagues such as England’s Premier League and Spain’s La Liga don’t have a playoff system in place.

The team in first place in the league at the end of the season is crowned the champion. But every major sport in America has a playoff system, culminating in a final game or series. Up until now, the lone holdout had been Division I college football. But no more.

Until 1998, the two participants in college football’s national championship game were determined solely by voting in polls. This led to no shortage of non-recognized champions, and disputes over who really was the best team in college football from year to year. In 1998, the Bowl Championship Series was created, in part, to put a stop to the idea of “split championships” and to resolve these disputes.

The BCS combined several polls with computer programs to spit out a set of rankings, which were listed as a decimal out of a perfect one. For example, the top rated team might have a BCS rating of 0.987. However, certain colleges got precedence over others in these rankings, and therein lies the problem. Champions of so-called “AQ (automatic-qualifying) Conferences” got automatic bids to BCS games, sometimes rendering undefeated teams from lesser conferences to the relative oblivion of a lower bowl game.

The strangest rule of all was the University of Notre Dame rule. Because the Notre Dame has stubbornly refused to join an athletic conference in football and plays independently, the Fighting Irish are automatically granted a BCS berth if they are in the top-eight ranked teams. After these “automatic” bids were granted, the remaining bids (known as at-large bids) were filled by individual selection committees.

Is it just me, or does this system sound a tad antiquated? It reminds me of those back-room dealings in the 1800s, when fat men with mustaches, monocles and smoking jackets decided who would be the next sheriff in their town without input from the rest of the populace. Sound stupid to you? It sure does to me.

A classic example of the BCS

Mckay, see page 7

Sports

M. Basketball vs. Colgate, 7 p.m.

W. Basketball @ Colgate, 7 p.m.

BU men’s basketball wins its first four games in Patriot League play, P.8.

[ www.dailyfreepress.com ]

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Sam Kurker leaves Terriers for USHL BU opens PL play with 4 straight wins

By Tim Healey Daily Free Press Staff

Sophomore forward Sam Kurker has left the Boston University men’s hockey team, a source confirmed with The Daily Free Press.

The move comes about a month after the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League added Kurker to their roster. He is believed to be headed there to continue his hockey career.

When BU (7-11-2, 2-5-1 Hockey East) returned from its winter break earlier this month, coach David Quinn laughed off the idea that Kurker was going to leave the Terriers in favor of juniors, saying that both Kurker and freshman wing Brendan Collier, who was also added to a USHL roster in December, were “pissed.”

“There was nothing to it from [the players’] end of it, there was nothing to it from our end of it,” Quinn said on Jan. 2. “I know people raise an eyebrow when they see it, but you will see them both in the lineup for BU at Harvard against Harvard.

“It didn’t really matter to me and it didn’t really matter to them.

It is just something that happens in the hockey world and you just move on from it. People probably look at rosters and think, ‘Hey, he’s not playing a lot. Maybe he will jump.’ There was nothing to it.”

Kurker, who has struggled to stay in the lineup this season, played in the Terriers’ most recent game, Saturday against the University of Maine at Frozen Fenway, a 7-3 loss. He was the fourthline center, registering zero shots

By Christopher Dela Rosa Daily Free Press Staff

MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sophomore forward Sam Kurker has decided to leave the Boston University men’s hockey team.

while taking his seventh penalty of the season.

He had one goal and no assists in 12 games this season.

The midseason departure comes at a bad time for the Terriers, who are 0-5-1 in their last six games.

They have not won since a Nov. 30 matchup with Cornell University at Madison Square Garden, and have been outscored by a combined 18-9 in three games in 2014.

BU is also without senior forward Jake Moscatel, junior forward Evan Rodrigues and sophomore defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, all of whom are out injured and

have no public timetable to return.

That leaves Quinn with 17 healthy skaters. A college hockey team usually plays 18.

A Reading resident and St. John’s Prep product, Kurker was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the second round (56th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He collected five points (three goals, two assists) in 35 games during his freshman campaign.

The Boston College Hockey Blog was the first to report the news.

The Kurker family declined to comment.

Exiting winter break and entering the heart of the season, the Boston University men’s basketball team remains undefeated in conference play and sits atop the Patriot League standings.

“Now, I think we’re shooting the ball the way we’re capable of shooting it,” said BU coach Joe Jones.

“The biggest thing for our team is we have to get better defensively. If we can do that, at the end of the day, I feel good about our chances of having a really special year.”

Despite the positivity surrounding the Terriers (11-6, 4-0 Patriot League), their play over winter break left some unanswered questions about the team’s ability to play through 40 minutes and compete consistently in tough situations.

BU showed some of this inconsistency against George Washington University on Dec. 11, as the Terriers were on the verge of their first victory against an Atlantic-10 Conference opponent since 2011, but fell just short.

The Terriers led the game at halftime and boasted an eight-point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the second frame. The zone defense to which the Colonials (13-3) switched troubled the Terrier offense, which watched its lead vanish and transform into a 70-60 Colonial victory.

Ten days later, the Terriers traveled down to College Park, Md., to

Men’s BasketBall, see page 7

W. Hockey wins 2 over break Terriers go .500 over 6 games

By Joon Lee Daily Free Press Staff

Following a nearly one-month hiatus, the No. 9 Boston University women’s hockey team started off its spring semester on the right foot, going 2-1 in its first three games.

The Terriers defeated both Dartmouth College and the University of Maine, but fell to rival No. 7 Boston College.

During the Terriers’ (16-4-1, 9-1 Hockey East) 3-2 victory over Dartmouth (3-12-0), sophomore forward Sarah Lefort notched her NCAA-leading 16th goal of the season. Freshman forward Maddie Elia continued her strong freshman campaign with her fifth goal of the season and also notched an assist on Lefort’s goal. Sophomore wing Rebecca Russo also added her eighth goal of the season.

Senior goaltender Kerrin Sperry was strong in net and stopped 28 shots en route to her 13th victory of the season.

Following the win over the Big Green, BU faced off against the Eagles (14-4-3, 9-1-1 Hockey East) .

BU struggled on the offensive end in the first period, resulting in the Eagles leading on the scoreboard 2-0. The Eagles’ forecheck applied constant pressure and

helped force multiple turnovers.

Two penalties on Elia and one penalty on Russo capped off a sloppy first period for the Terriers.

“We didn’t compete at the level that we really needed to compete at,” said BU coach Brian Durocher.

“We gave them a two-goal lead. We can’t give a good team like that type of opportunity to get out of the gate with themselves in a lead like that.”

The Eagles continued their domination over the Terriers when they scored their third straight goal, a shot from forward Kate Leary that zipped past Sperry. Freshman Andie Anastos and senior Jackie Young recorded the assists on the play. Great passing by the Eagles left Sperry out of position and unable to stop the puck.

The Terriers struck for the first time on the night 15:02 into the second period on a goal from freshman wing Samantha Sutherland, on assists from senior captain Louise Warren and Lefort.

“We fought back in the second period,” Durocher said. “We hit the post a couple of times, but as I said to the kids, we can’t hang our hat on six to 10 minutes late in the sec-

WoMen’s hockey, see page 7

The Bottom Line

Wednesday, Jan. 15

STARTING HOT

THE DAILY FREE PRESS

Thursday, Jan. 16

No Events Scheduled To give thanks to Peyton Manning for repeatedly shouting “Omaha” in Sunday’s game, the city gave him 600 Omaha steaks.

Friday, Jan. 17 M. Hockey @ Boston College, 7 p.m.

W. Hockey @ Providence, 7 p.m.

By Michael Joscelyn Daily Free Press Staff

The Boston University women’s basketball team played six games over BU’s winter break, finishing with a 3-3 record and moving in a positive direction, despite some inconsistencies.

“We did some good things, we made strides in some areas,” said BU associate head coach Michael Leflar. “We really connected with each other in some games and got positive results.”

The trip looked promising at first, as the Terriers’ record was 3-1 through four games. BU (6-11, 1-3 Patriot League) dropped the last two games, however, to the U.S. Naval Academy and Lafayette College, both Patriot League opponents.

“We thought the league would be good and challenging and it has been,” Leflar said. “It’s just a matter of us beating those challenges.”

In the first game of the six-game stretch, the Terriers took on the University of New Hampshire on Dec. 22. Although BU shot only 36.5 percent from the field in the contest, the Terriers came out on top 69-58.

Senior guard Danielle Callahan led the way for BU, collecting 17 points, including going 3-for-5 from

Saturday, Jan. 18 M. Hockey @ UMass-Lowell, 7 p.m

beyond the 3-point line. Senior forward Rashidat Agboola played a key role as well, chipping in 14 points and grabbing nine boards.

Agboola’s play was strong not just in that one game, but throughout the entire break, and she was one of the most consistent players for the Terriers in the six games.

“Rashidat has definitely been playing her best basketball of the season these last few games,” Leflar said. “She’s more assertive when she gets the ball and it’s great to see, just her being more confident with the ball. She’s done a nice job of being a number-one option for us on the low block.”

After beating UNH (7-7) by double digits, BU finished its nonconference schedule on Dec. 29, beating another America East Conference opponent in the University of Vermont for its second straight win.

Agboola excelled again, this time putting up 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Not only did the senior step up for BU, but freshman forward Meghan Green also came through in a pinch, filling in for injured junior guard Mollie McKendrick. In the game, Green put up 14 points in

WoMen’s hooPs, see page 7

Sunday, Jan. 19 W. Hockey vs. Northeastern, 3 p.m.

W. Basketball @ Loyola Maryland, 1 p.m.