The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxxviv. Issue XVII
WARREN RISING Unusual spike in Warren elevator complaints, page 3.
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Tuesday, October 1, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
SLEEP SHOCKS
Research uses fear conditioning during sleep, page 5.
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www.dailyfreepress.com
ONE-FOR-TWO
Field hockey splits weekend series at home, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: Partly cloudy, high 76. Tonight: Clear, low 57. Tomorrow: 82/54. Data Courtesy of weather.com
Only East Boston residents to vote on casino proposal New alumni feel unwanted pressure to donate to BU By Sophia Wedeen Daily Free Press Contributor
In the midst of heated debate, the Boston City Council voted 12 to one on Wednesday denying a citywide vote for the Suffolk Downs casino proposal, leaving the decision only to East Boston residents. “East Boston is the only community that will be most impacted by the casino… through the traffic and noise and pollution and other of the negatives when you go through a development the size of a billiondollar casino,” said City Council President Stephen Murphy. Celeste Myers, a resident of East Boston and co-chair of the activist group No Eastie Casino, said the whole city should not vote on this deal if it only affects certain residents. “Personally, as an East Boston voter, I believe the vote should be ours,” she said. “If I were just thinking of my own, personal, individual preference, I wouldn’t necessarily think that someone across the city should get to vote on my neighborhood. As someone who has to look at this strategically, I don’t see that we gain anything by going citywide.” District Six Councilor Matthew O’Malley said he opposed the East Bostononly vote because the effects of the casino will surpass the confines of the neighborhood. “The direct impact will be much greater on East Boston, there’s no question about
By Rachel Riley Daily Free Press Staff
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAESARS PALACE AT SUFFOLK DOWNS
City Council voted that only citizens living East Boston can vote on a proposal for the Suffolk Downs casino plan.
that,” he said. “However, it’s a city that we live in. It’s not a confederation of neighborhoods. There are some real costs in terms of public safety, in terms of infrastructure, in terms of public health, addiction and the effects on small businesses. This will affect the entire city, not just one neighborhood.” Murphy said the city would receive a $32 million payment to mitigate the costs of the impact the casino will have on East Boston. “We’re getting improvements to Route
1A that they’re paying for privately, we’re getting $19 million towards improvements in East Boston,” he said. “They [East Boston] are getting parks, a senior center and a youth center all coming from casino sources.” Murphy said that the mitigation package also includes costs for excess police and ambulances, as well as programs for people with addiction.
Casino, see page 2
Obamacare to take effect in Mass. amid gov’t. shutdown By Emily Caccam Daily Free Press Contributor
The Affordable Care Act is scheduled to launch into effect Tuesday with the opening of the Health Insurance Marketplace, a state-administered online exchange where individuals and small business can purchase private insurance plans, despite the government shutdown going into effect on the same day. Alec Loftus, communications director at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said Massachusetts is uniquely positioned with 97 percent of adults and 99 percent of children already covered. “We were the first state to set up a health exchange [Massachusetts Health Connector],” he said. “With a lot of the states that are working to come into compliance with the Affordable Care Act, the main thing they’re doing is working on their exchanges and we’re already way ahead
of the pack when it comes to that because we do have the health connector where people can go and buy subsidized insurance.” Aimed at increasing coverage, decreasing costs and ending patient discrimination, the ACA plans to allow individuals with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level, who purchase insurance plans through the Health Insurance Exchange, to be eligible for federal subsidies to go towards premium costs. Those who opt out of this care can pay to stay with their private insurance. “Obamacare is an overwhelmingly positive thing for Massachusetts because it helps more people get coverage and it helps people get access to wellness and prevention programs that will save money in the long run for health care systems,” he said. On Sunday, the House of Representatives voted 231 to 192 in favor of delaying Obam-
acare for one year in their version of a spending bill. The Senate rejected their offer and it was sent back to the House for deliberations. The government had until 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday to pass a spending bill. As this did not occur, government agencies have shut down indefinitely. Keith Ericson, professor in the School of Management at Boston University, said despite the government shutdown, it is unlikely Obamacare will be delayed. “It is extremely unlikely that there will be an actual delay in the ACA’s implementation,” he said. “In the very unlikely events that there was a delay in the mandates … the health insurance exchanges would still go live on Oct. 1 and people could buy insurance through them.” Generation Opportunity, a nonprofit youth advocacy organization focused on the effects
Healthcare, see page 4
Despite graduating as recently as 2012 and still struggling to pay off student loan debt, several new alumni report repeatedly being contacted by Boston University officials to donate to the school. BU graduate Kara McGuire said she has received calls from BU employees every night around 7 p.m. for almost two weeks. McGuire, who graduated from the College of Communication in 2012, said she does not answer the calls because she believes BU is soliciting her for donations. “The way I see it, I’m still paying off my student loans,” she said. “It’s only been a year. Any spare money that I have is not going to be donated to the university at this point. Maybe somewhere farther along the line, I’ll try to do that, but right now I’m still making payments to the loan collection department at BU.” Almost every month since she graduated, McGuire said she has received mail items from BU, reminding her what she donated last and how she can make donations to different programs and areas of the school. “At this point, I don’t even open all of them [the mailings],” she said. “If I see something from the Alumni Association, I just choose to ignore it. I’m not going to be sending them a check any time soon.” The university could benefit from scaling back its efforts to obtain donations from younger graduates, McGuire said. “Even those of us [recent graduates] who are fortunate to get work — we’ve got bills to pay, and we’re pretty much all in debt,” she said. “They [BU officials] should know, with how much they charge for tuition.” Vice President for Alumni Relations Steve Hall said student callers contact graduates annually for donations. “Alumni are contacted in a variety of ways, dependent upon what may be the most effective way to discuss their philanthropic support,” Hall said in an email. “At the general level, most alumni receive letters, phone calls or emails asking for their support.” BU contacts all graduates for gifts, Hall said. Alumni donations can be made to almost
Alumni, see page 4
2 BU graduates in recovery process after Somerville home burned down
THANASI KASTRITIS/DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR
JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR
OLIVIA HAAS/DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR
Houses on Summer Street, Bromfield Road and Laurel Terrace were a part of a string of 18 resident fires in Somerville. By Drew Schwartz Daily Free Press Contributor
On the morning of July 25, Brendan Ryan, a 2011 College of Arts and Sciences graduate, woke up to the jarring sound of smoke alarms. In one of 18 fires that have occurred in Somerville since early July, Ryan’s apartment was completely destroyed. “When I stood up, I could smell the smoke,” Ryan said. “I looked out to the back porch and it was engulfed in flames. All my
roommates were up because everyone was screaming. I ran out, and watched my house burn down. It was a huge fire, it was really terrifying.” Somerville Fire Department Chief Kevin Kelleher said the fire that occurred on July 25 at 19 Calvin St., home of two CAS graduates, Ryan and Daria Whalen, is currently still under investigation. Of the 18 fires that have caused millions of dollars in damage for Somerville residents, four have been declared incendiary, four have been ruled ac-
cidental and 10 are still under investigation. On Thursday, a blaze came through 10 Laurel Terrace. Other affected locations include 313 Summer St. and 85 Bromfield Road. “We’ve pinpointed the point of origin of all of the fires, we just haven’t found the cause of them all,” Kelleher said. “Sometimes it takes a lot of investigation and repeat interviews.” Kelleher said the Somerville Fire Department and the Somerville Police Department
are working in conjunction with state police troopers assigned to the fire marshal’s office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace the cause of these fires. At the time of the fire, Ryan said he quickly collected a backpack to fill, and he picked up an umbrella because he he did not want to get wet standing out on the curb waiting for the fire to subside and for information on the state of his home. Aside from his few clothes and electronics that he grabbed before he evacuated his apartment, Ryan said his other belongings were unsalvageable. “I lost pretty much everything — everything I had,” Ryan said. “I was very jumpy for a week after it [the fire] … I tried not to focus on the stuff I lost. No one got hurt, so I just tried to think about it that way.” Ryan that the experience of fleeing his burning home was surreal. “It’s weird,” Ryan said. “... It was like reflex almost. Instinct takes over in situations
Fires, see page 2