10-22-2013

The Daily Free Press

Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue XXVIII

SYNTH ROCKS ENG launches synthetic biology center, page 3.

[

Tuesday, October 22, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

EARDRUMMING

New cochlear implant communicates pitch, page 5.

]

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SOFTENING UP

Freshmen impressive for women’s hockey team, page 8.

WEATHER

Today: Mostly sunny, high 68.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, low 40.

Tomorrow: High 50, low 37.

Data Courtesy of weather.com

Elie Wiesel lecture series canceled due to health issues State senators pass legislation to help homeless families

By Trisha Thadani and Kaitlin Junod Daily Free Press Staff

Boston University faculty member Elie Wiesel’s annual three-part lecture series has been canceled for 2013 as a result of Wiesel’s health issues, said Michael Zank, director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies.

The first of the three lectures was originally scheduled for Monday evening.

Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and 1986 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has been giving lectures at Boston University since 1976, said BU events coordinator Christina Kotkowski. So far, there are no plans to reschedule Wiesel’s lectures, she said.

Zank said Wiesel, 85, has been sick over the course of the year and did not feel strong enough to conduct his lectures this year.

“He’s [Wiesel] healthy, but he’s weakened,” Zank said. “He was just not up for it. I talked to him, he sounded upbeat ... I hope he will give a lecture later this year or that they’ll pick up again next year.”

Wiesel typically lectures about human appeal interests, Zank said. In 2012, Wiesel tackled martyrdom, the prophet Ezekiel of Jewish culture and existentialism, among other themes. He said Wiesel’s lectures this year were slated to be about tragedy and suffering.

“He is a literary author and a literary scholar, and he takes these texts from Jewish tradition, or simply out of the history of literature, and is just able to connect to these texts,” Zank said. “You sit there with rapt attention and you

By Kate Vibbert Daily Free Press Staff

Cumati drove around neighboring towns for hours before dumping the victim’s body in Lincoln. Rakes’s body was found in the suburb on July 17, one day after he learned he would not testify against Bulger in court, according to the release.

In an investigation launched by the Lincoln Police Department and Massachusetts State Police Department, surveillance video was found that showed Rakes leaving the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse the afternoon of July 16, where he had been attending the trial of Whitey Bulger. The video showed him wearing the same clothing when his body was found.

During the investigation, Camuti was the last person to have seen or spoken to Rakes, the release stated.

David Rossman, professor of law at Boston University, said he was surprised to find out that the murder of Stephen Rakes

With aims to provide shelter for about 2,000 homeless families living in motels and hotels in Boston, the Massachusetts Senate approved a $94 million spending bill on Thursday to help offset the cost of putting families in hotels and to pay for their winter heating bills.

The Senate bill includes $20 million for heating assistance through means, such as the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, to address delays caused by the government shutdown.

Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, said more federal dollars should be spent on Section 8, a rental assistance voucher and government subsidy that allows eligible families to rent in the private market and only pay 30 percent of their income for rent.

“The reason we’re in the predicament we’re in is because we’ve walked away on the judicial side in supplying affordable housing to people,” she said. “On the federal side, we’re 30 years willfully underfunded in affordable housing so … the peaking point is that there’s not enough federal dollars going into Section 8. [We’ve ended up] with [many] people becoming homeless in the last five years of the recession.”

The House of Representatives approved a similar bill on Wednesday allocating $13 million to shelter programs for homeless people, $7 million less than was requested

by Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick to help the growing number of homeless families.

Members from both the House and the Senate will meet to resolve differences in a joint committee.

Rachael Neff, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office, said the administration is focusing on homelessness in Boston due to the increasing number of homeless families.

“The Patrick administration is committed to funding programs to help those most in need while also making targeted investments to help grow jobs and opportunity in the near-term and strengthen Massachusetts in the long-term,” she said. “We are reviewing the Legislature’s budget with those priorities and goals in mind.”

Aaron Stevens, an economics professor

Rakes, see page 4

Homelessness, see page 2

HEATHER GOLDIN/DAILY FREE PRESS

Elie Wiesel prepares to give his lecture “In Contemporary Writings: Open Heart” in the Metcalf Ballroom Nov. 19. 2012. Wiesel canceled his 2013 series due to health issues.

just soak it up. It is amazing what he can bring out of these texts.”

Zank said over the past three decades, Wiesel’s presence on campus has greatly impacted the BU community.

“They [Wiesel’s lectures] have been held for almost 40 years now,” Zank said. “I’m hoping that lots of people will write to us and reconnect, and just give him a sense of how important he is to BU … We’ve been relying on

him being here, but he is 85 years old. It may be time for us to give back.”

BU spokesman Colin Riley said Wiesel’s lectures have been the most anticipated and popular lectures at BU since they began in 1976. More than 1,000 people attend his lectures in the Metcalf Ballroom.

Riley said one of Wiesel’s lectures was

Wiesel, see page 2

Witness in Bulger trial’s death deemed murder, unrelated to case

By Alice Bazerghi Daily Free Press Staff

Medical examiners concluded Sunday that Stephen Rakes, a possible witness in the summer trial of James “Whitey” Bulger who was found dead during the case, was killed by poison in a murder unrelated to the trial.

MaryBeth Long, spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s office, said Rakes’s death was unrelated to the Bulger case, despite his hope to testify against the now-convicted former mob boss.

“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled that the cause of death for Stephen Rakes, 59, of Quincy, was acute cyanide toxicity and that the manner of death is homicide,” she said.

Rakes was on the prosecution’s list of witnesses for the trial against Bulger, who was facing over 30 charges including murder, extortion and racketeering, but was found dead at about 1:30 p.m. on July 17

near Mill Street in Lincoln.

Rake’s business associate, William Camuti, 69, of Sudbury, is accused of murdering Rakes and was indicted by a Middlesex Grand Jury on charges of attempted murder, misleading police and unlawful distribution of human remains, according to a press release from the Middlesex District Attorney’s office on Oct. 3.

He was reportedly going to testify that Kevin Weeks and Stephen Flemmi, two of Bulger’s closest associates, allegedly forced him to give up his liquor store at gunpoint. The two allegedly went into Rakes’ home to force it from him in 1984.

Prosecutors said Camuti owed Rakes money, which Rakes was attempting to collect when meeting Camuti in Waltham on July 16. The two went to a McDonald’s at about 1:45 p.m. on Main Street and Camuti purchased two iced coffees, one of which he allegedly mixed two teaspoons of potassium cyanide into, the release stated.

BU post-doc. researcher creates start-up, chosen as MassChallenge contest finalist

By Sara Herschander Daily Free Press Contributor

Local startup accelerator MassChallenge announced on Oct. 15 that Silverside Detectors, Inc., a company co-founded by a Boston University post-doctoral researcher, is one of 26 finalists eligible to compete for more than $1 million in cash prizes that could be awarded to their ventures.

Silverside Detectors, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Inglis, a College of Arts and Sciences graduate who earned a Ph.D. in physics in 2010, said participating in MassChallenge’s startup competition has been a valuable experience for his company, which aims to produce affordable nuclear detection technology.

“MassChallenge was [responsible for] the entire set of resources that we used to learn how to professionally move forward, starting with just a mission, and a vision, and a technology, and creating the foundations of a company,” Inglis said. “They have mentors that give amazing advice and point you in the direction of how to interact with investor and industry leaders.”

Inglis’s company, founded in November 2012, produces and markets flat-panel neutron detectors capable of detecting the plutonium and enriched uranium levels associated with nuclear weapons material, he said.

MassChallenge is a nonprofit organization that hosts a competitive four-month accelerator program in which 128 startups are chosen from a pool that included nearly 1,200 applicants in 2013, according to the release. From there, MassChallenge officials chose their 26 finalists.

These finalists will each deliver a 15-minute pitch on their concept before a judging panel at the Oct. 30 MassChallenge Awards Ceremony, according to the release. The panel will then award $1 million in grants to the most impressive 10 to 20 finalists. Other outside institutions will also be awarding investments in startups at the ceremony.

The technology Silverside creates could have important implications in the promotion of nuclear security, particularly in urban environments and other vulnerable areas, Inglis

MassChallenge, see page 2

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW INGLIS

Silverside Detector Co-Founder Andrew Inglis speaks to Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey about his company’s lithium thermal neutron detector.

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Wiesel lectures Resident: Affordable housing BU alumnus inspired to create draw students could cut reduce crime rates startup by post-doc. research from all areas Homelessness: From Page 1

Wiesel: From Page 1

postponed in the past because of bad weather. He said this year is the first time he can recall where one of Wiesel’s lectures has not been held.

“We just wish him well,” Riley said. “We send our best wishes, and it is just sad that this very popular series had to be canceled. We know that all the students and faculty members of the BU community send him our best wishes as well.”

Joel Udwin, Florence and Chafetz Hillel House at BU student board president, said Wiesel’s lectures are a great community building opportunity for BU, and he was upset to hear Monday’s lecture was canceled.

“It [Wiesel’s lectures] brings a lot of people together over a common topic, and it is exciting for that month to talk about this topic, which you’ve probably never talked about generally,” Udwin, a School of Management senior, said.

Sarah Close, vice president of BU Students for Israel, said Wiesel’s lectures have had a great impact on the BU community. She said it has been a privilege to hear Wiesel speak in the past.

“The fact that he works for BU is one of the reasons I came here in the first place,” Close, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. “He’s just a living historical figure — he’s an international treasure to have someone alive who can speak for his experiences of the Holocaust.”

Leora Kaufman, president of BUSI said Wiesel’s lectures have inspired students through his urgency for peace and humanistic values. She said she hopes Wiesel is able to continue his three-part lecture series in the future.

“One thing he [Wiesel] said [in a lecture] that really stuck with me, one of my favorite quotes today is, ‘Think higher, feel deeper,’” Kaufman said. “It is just amazing to have this heroic role model, who used to teach at BU, to come to this school just for the purpose of inspiring us and sharing a story he hopes will never be forgotten.”

at Boston University, said financial stability would be more easily reached for families if more capital were put into long-term opportunities as opposed to shortterm assistance such as motels and hotels.

“I think public housing or housing assistance would be a more permanent solution than placing people in temporary housing such as motels,” he said. “Permanent housing offers substantial benefits, [like] to a person looking for a job who needs to put an address on their job application. Permanent housing would provide more stability to people to help them get their financial footing back on track.”

Some residents of Boston said they supported the bill because of its emphasis on sheltering homeless people.

“I think [the spending bill] would help because it would stabilize people and with stability comes better things like being able to look for a job, because many jobs require you to have a home address,” said Junior Obionwu, 25, resident of Allston. “It will help clean the streets up too.

I know when you’re homeless, you’re moving around a lot and

it’s harder to be stable and go to school, so I think it will help children especially.”

Caitlin Hasson, 24, resident of Brighton, said affordable housing would benefit all people of Boston, not just people who are homeless. “[The spending bill] will probably help a lot of people,” she said.

“Someone was talking to me about how there are many more homeless students in school these days that don’t have a lot of food, so that would be good for them to have a stable environment. And affordable housing will probably cut down on a lot of things like crime.”

Katherine Lombardi-Gonzalez, 28, resident of Allston, said she has been homeless on-and-off since she was five and hopes the money will help fix the homelessness problem in Boston.

“I still have a majority of friends who are homeless, so I definitely support helping the homeless whether it be through soup kitchens, improving community centers or straight up making more affordable Massachusetts housing,” she said. “I know moms on the street and their kids are trying to find alternatives. It’s getting worse, but hopefully with that money, it will improve in some way.”

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said.

“We need many more detectors that can go into many more locations,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is provide the technological underpinning to the international communication trying to keep our world safe from nuclear terrorism and nuclear threats.”

Silverside would use prize money to start the manufacturing and distribution processes and test the detectors, Inglis said.

Inglis said he was inspired to found the startup while conducting post-doctorate research on nuclear detection and ways to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism.

“My research topic was making this new type of detector that would be a lot cheaper than the ones that are on the market today,” he said.

“That’s what we thought was the biggest problem: the ones that are on the market are fantastic, [and] they

work great, but they’re just really expensive because they come from academia.”

MassChallenge Brand Manager Veronica del Rosario said MassChallenge judges are impressed with the strength and diversity of startups this year.

“We have everything from biotech to general retail and high tech,” she said. “Every single team has their own kind of way of impacting an industry or a life or the world.”

Silverside Director of Design and Visual Lead Max Yellen, a 2011 CAS graduate, said he began researching the technology employed by Silverside as an undergraduate physics student at BU. “It [Silverside] is going to make for a safer world without nuclear terrorism in it,” Yellen said. “It’s really making up for a lack of these neutron detectors that’s out there now. There’s a pretty big need for them, and we’re there to fill it.”

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Campus & City Campus Crime Logs Oct. 15 to Oct. 20

By Alyssa Ciofani Daily Free Press Staff

The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department crime logs from Oct. 15 to Oct. 20.

Discharge of fire extinguisher At 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, a staff member saw a student maliciously attempt to use a fire extinguisher when there was no fire, consequently activating the fire alarm in the Student Village I building at 10 Buick St. Water stolen from Starbucks On Oct. 15 at 9 p.m., an unknown female was spotted shoplifting two water bottles from Starbucks at 775 Commonwealth Ave. She fled the scene before employees could prevent her from leaving the scene.

Suspicious male at 700 Comm. Ave. Around 12:40 a.m. on Wednesday morning, an older male was seen tampering with the bike rack outside of Warren Towers at 700 Comm. Ave. A witness approached and questioned him, and the suspicious man fled the area.

The witness took a photograph of the male.

Unwanted photos put online At 19 Chester St., a girl reported that her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend was putting photographs of her on the Internet without her permission around 2 p.m. on Thursday.

Graffiti found on Comm. Ave. On Friday at 8 a.m., officers found several stenciled graffiti messages outside 775 Comm. Ave. and down the street. There were about 30 messages, which advertised a travel website.

Motor vehicle accident At 8 a.m. on Friday, a motor vehicle accident occurred at 778 Comm. Ave. There were no injuries, but there was minor damage to the vehicle.

Water thief identified The woman seen stealing water at Starbucks at 775 Comm. Ave. on Tuesday was seen at the same Starbucks again on Friday at 9:12 p.m. The staff notified the police and gave them her information.

Marijuana citation On Saturday at 3:24 p.m., two students ran from police after being asked to stop smoking marijuana at 300 Babcock St. The students were caught and given citations.

Assault of two students at 627 Comm. Ave. On Sunday at around 1:30 a.m., three unknown males assaulted two students at 627 Comm. Ave. after asking the students who won the Boston Red Sox baseball game. The students suffered facial injuries and took a cab to the hospital. They notified BUPD at 2 p.m. the next day. The identities of the three males are still unknown.

3T

uesday,

October 22, 2013

ENG launches new synthetic biology center Committee to

push for 2024 Hub Olympics

By Olivia Deng Daily Free Press Staff

After receiving approval from Boston University officials in the summer, BU’s College of Engineering launched the Center of Synthetic Biology this fall, said Ahmad Khalil, the new center’s associate director.

ENG launched this new center, located at 36 Cummington Mall, to focus on the emerging discipline of synthetic biology, Khalil said.

He said the Center of Synthetic Biology, also known as CoSBi, was created to expand the educational outreach initiatives for those studying synthetic biology.

“The College of Engineering has decided to launch this center because of the promise the field of synthetic biology has and for educating the next generation of researchers in this area,” Khalil said. “The College of Engineering recognizes strengths of synthetic biology among faculty.”

According to a Wednesday press release, the newly-launched CoSBi will collaborate, develop and support large-scale synthetic biology projects. The center will also organize annual symposiums, which will feature prominent synthetic biology researchers from

By Emily Caccam Daily Free Press Staff

Kaul said. “But there are so many opportunities going on around this country … We want to make that opportunity available, not on the burden of the student but rather through Student Government.”

SG officials also announced Monday that SG will be sponsoring a school-wide talent show on Nov. 9 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Sargent Activity Center Gym, said SG Senior Associate Director of Outreach Brianna West.

The talent show, called “Red, White and BU,” will take place on the weekend before the mayoral election and will provide students with an opportunity to showcase their talents, while inspiring a sense of school spirit in the BU community, she said.

“We have so many talented Terriers on campus, and it would really just be a great opportunity for them to share what they do with everyone else,” West, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior, said. “It’s really important to share your culture and skills with

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday to create an 11-member committee to push forward an initiative to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston after passing a bill during the summer to examine the feasibility of doing such.

Mass. Rep. Theodore Speliotis said the commission is looking at how the universities and colleges in and surrounding Boston, including Boston University, would benefit from hosting the Olympics.

“A university like BU can offer so much to an Olympics program in the ways of the new Agganis Arena and the stadium [Nickerson Field and New Balance Field],” he said. “There’s not even any certainty that that particular Olympic Games will be in the United States. But if it is in the United States, I think that we are in the top tier of communities to be considered.”

The commission, which is privately funded, will investigate all aspects of hosting the Olympics, including costs, infrastructure, transportation and security.

Mass. Sen. Eileen Donoghue, who sponsored the resolution through the Senate’s approval on July 30, said despite the significant expenses of the Olympics, the benefits outweigh the costs.

“When you look at the tourism aspects of the Olympics, not just during the weeks of the games but before and well after the games, it certainly would bring a huge benefit,” she said.

Donoghue said the U.S. Olympic Committee will narrow the list of potential cities sometime in 2014 of and then further by the end of 2014. Then, the cities will enter in the International Olympic Committee competition for the bid in 2015.

Maureen Keefe, race director of the 2013 Head of the Charles Regatta, one of the world’s largest rowing events, said because Boston is used to hosting large sporting events, holding the Olympics would be feasible and would help build Boston’s infrastructure.

SG, see page 4

Olympics, see page 4

AASSTHA CHHABRA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Postdoctorate scholar Albert Keung works at the Tissue Centre of the renovated biology lab in the Life Science and Engineering Building.

around the world.

The center received initial funding through a connection with ENG Dean Kenneth Lutchen, Khalil said. He also said center officials plan to obtain more funding through external grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and various other synthetic biology companies.

“I am looking forward to the center being impactful on the global scale,” Khalil said. “We have great vision and great faculty.”

In addition to Khalil, the three other core faculty members working in the lab space are James Collins, director of the Center of Synthetic Biology and ENG professors Douglas Densmore and Wilson Wong, Khalil said.

Densmore said competition with other leading universities propelled BU to launch a synthetic biology center. He said center officials will develop a synthetic biology curriculum for students, and will teach students the com-

Synthetic Bio, see page 4

SG plans homestay program for Thanksgiving break

By Taryn Ottaunick Daily Free Press Staff

Boston University Student Government and the Overarching Executive Council of the Residence Hall Association passed an initiative Monday that will help international students find a place to stay over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

OEC President Janina Sawyer said the Thanksgiving Homestay Program would arrange for students, both domestic and international, to experience the American tradition of Thanksgiving with local families from New England and the surrounding areas.

“We understand that it [housing] is a really big concern for international students and domestic students who live far away and aren’t able to go home for these relatively short holiday breaks,” Sawyer, a School of Management senior, said.

The SG Department of Social Affairs has offered their support for the program, and will work with RHA to make sure international students have better options for housing during the holiday season, said Director of Social Affairs Rebekah Leopold.

“It will benefit not only the international students, but also the host families, just in the way that crosscultural connection can benefit anyone,” Leopold, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said. “It is not just so international students can learn about American culture — it’s that cultural exchange in general that I think is so wonderful and can benefit everyone.”

SG will also be holding a contest for students to enter to win one of six plane tickets to a U.S. location of the their choosing. Applications will be available on the SG website Wednesday morning for students interested in entering the contest, said Student Body President Dexter McCoy, a College of Communication senior.

In order to be considered, students must include in their application where they want to go, why they want to go there and what they will be doing there, said SG Executive Vice President Richa Kaul, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore.

“We are all college students, and that does mean being on a budget,”

Harvard-Allston Institutional Plan approved for construction

By Steven Dufour Daily Free Press Staff

After years of deliberation and several task force meetings, Harvard University’s expansion into Allston over the next 10 years was unanimously approved Thursday when the Boston Redevelopment Authority voted in favor of the project’s Institutional Master Plan.

Each proposed project in the plan — which encompasses 1.9 million square feet of construction and renovations in total — must still go through its own approval process including public commentary periods once more specific plans are developed.

“Together through meetings and realistic conversations, we were able to craft an Institutional Master Plan that envisions the future of Harvard’s campus and

its relationship with the [Allston] neighborhood,” said Melina Schuler, spokeswoman for the BRA. “As the projects come through, there is always room for the voice of the community and the [project’s] stakeholders.”

Harvard’s Business School and athletic complex already occupy Lower Allston and its campus there spans most of the property between Western Avenue and the Charles River. The master plan would renovate and expand the athletic complex, add apartment buildings for Harvard students with retail space on its lower floors on North Harvard Street and construct a hotel for the public on Western Avenue among other changes over the next decade.

Harvard-Allston, see page 4

MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Harvard University’s Institutional Master Plan in Allston includes a transformative project at 224 Western Ave. to renovate a current building into a new community hub centered around the growing Ed Portal and ceramics studio.

4

tuesday, OCtOber 22, 2013

Olympics could be fiscally LAW prof.: Timing of witness’s Allston resident: damaging, econ. prof. says murder ‘unprecedented’ in MA. Harvard growth olympiCs: From Page 3

“I know the impact of largescale athletic events on a city and I think that it would bring a lot of people to Boston,” she said. “We are strong in that we can create an infrastructure not only to support a worldwide event like that and to show off Boston to the rest of the world, but also hopefully whatever infrastructure we would build would sustain the city beyond the Olympics itself in different ways as far as venues, facilities and jobs.”

Thomas Downes, an economics professor at Tufts University, said hosting the Olympic games would be fiscally irresponsible for the city of Boston.

“Most of the evidence seems to be that the benefits are less than the cost,” he said. “Most economists would argue that it doesn’t make sense for cities to put in these bids for a mega-event like the Olympics.”

Some residents said they would enjoy seeing the 2024 Olympic games come to Boston.

David Wilson, 56, resident of Roslindale, said although there

would be drawbacks to hosting the Olympics, it would be well worth the cost.

“I think the Summer Olympics coming to Boston would be fantastic,” he said. “I’m sure it would create quite a logistical nightmare in some respects, but this is a town that can overcome these sorts of things.”

Susan Reed, 37, resident of Hyde Park, said she is excited to see more specific plans for the possible games.

“If the Olympics were in Boston, it would be interesting to see what the city would do with it … in terms of money and infrastructure,” she said. “I want to hear what the commission comes up with.”

Richard Dobson, 51, resident of South Boston, said if the Olympics were in Boston, the games would bring benefits to residents in and out of the city.

“I would love to see the Olympics in Boston,” he said. “It would bring a lot of business and would be an exciting thing for the city, for the people living in it and around it.”

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Rakes: From Page 1

was not connected to the Bulger trial.

“It is an extraordinary coincidence that someone connected to the Bulger case was murdered during the trial,” he said. “The news reports at the time, however, revealed that the prosecution had announced the day prior to the discovery of the body that

Mr. Rakes would not be called to testify.”

Rossman said the murder is unprecedented and he has never seen anything like this in the past.

“At least in Massachusetts, it is almost unheard of for a witness to be murdered during the course of the trial where he or she would potentially appear for the prosecution,” he said.

ENG synthetic bio center opens greater funding opportunities syntHetiC Bio: From Page 3

putational and experimental pieces of synthetic biology.

CoSBi has been operating in part since January 2013, Densmore said. He said the new center has enabled ENG to apply for funding that they were not eligible for in the past.

“Some of these grants you couldn’t apply for without evidence of institutional support, which is necessary for funding mechanisms,” Densmore said. “… The other things are just helping momentum. It has given us staff — there are people to organize.”

Wong said the center’s application of synthetic biology sets it apart from research centers at other schools.

“We are in synthetic biology, but we don’t do the exact same thing [as other schools],” he said. “Khalil works on transcription factors, and we can apply technologies to engineer T cells.

Densmore is developing computational tools to engineer cells more effectively. We definitely have a chance to make a worldwide impact.”

Saki Shimada, an ENG senior, said although this new center will not be of use for the entire student community at BU, it will greatly help the BU engineering commu-

nity.

“Any opportunity that can allow us to research or just pursue what we are interested in … that’s the benefit for not only engineering students, but also other students in other schools who are interested in research,” Shimada said.

Tao Tu, an ENG freshman, said synthetic biology is the greatest strength of BU’s entire engineering program. He said this new center is slated to help improve synthetic biology research further at BU. “BU is really strong in this area, and this presents opportunities for students to participate in research, and most of students in my year are coming to BU for synthetic biology,” Tu said.

Winnie Wong, a second-year ENG graduate student, said CoSBi will allow people from different disciplines to collaborate on synthetic biology research.

“The awesome thing about this synthetic biology lab is that you are not a part of one lab, you are a part of three or four labs, so you get to sit in on lab meetings and hear about ideas you normally wouldn’t be exposed to,” she said. “Research-wise, it’s [synthetic biology] a new field, so you get to create your own research direction.”

SG hopes for school pride with ‘Red, White & BU’ talent show sg: From Page 3

your friends, and to [share it with] people who haven’t been exposed to things like that before.”

SG’s Department of Outreach contacted talented vocal performance, comedy and dance groups to perform at the talent show, West said. Performers will include The Edge Dance Company and a cappella group Chordially Yours.

“We look to have this every year, so there will definitely be future possibilities for other students to perform,” West said.

Aside from showcasing student talent groups, the talent show will also provide an opportunity for SG officials to engage students, she said.

Senate Chair Avi Levy, a CAS junior, said he hopes the talent show will encourage school spirit among students.

“Coming from the South, college pride is a huge thing,” he said. “… You really feel like everyone is a cohesive, strong student body. So, I think that events like Red, White, and BU are a great way for us to experience that type of environment.”

will benefit few HaRvaRd-allston: From Page 3

“Harvard’s Allston development represents a shared opportunity for growth that will be transformative for the University, the Allston community and the city of Boston,” said Harvard Executive Vice President Katie Lapp in a Friday statement. “As Harvard builds for the future in Allston, we will continue to enhance the local community with new, vibrant, walkable places and spaces.”

Brent Whelan, a member of the Harvard-Allston Task Force, said the university did make some concessions in the discussion process, but the university’s contribution to the Allston area is far from what they hoped for.

“The community’s acceptance of the plan was a kind of act of faith,” he said. “A big part for this was that it really was a statement of Harvard’s vision, which was really restrictive. Their vision for Allston is, ‘It will contain what we [Harvard] want it to contain and not much else.’

Harvard showed a near complete lack of interest in the community to make it better, and that was something we’ve been hoping for going back almost 10 years now.”

Several residents said they saw how Harvard could create problems for Allston, but the projects could potentially improve the area.

“I’m really excited about this,” said Myer Nore, 31, an employee in Harvard Business School living in Allston. “It will probably help with job creation, which can really help Allston in general, and it can really help the gentrification of the community, which is something I have been concerned about for quite some time.”

Joe Saliba, 31, resident of Allston, said he was more skeptical of Harvard’s possible intentions for the community.

“So long as they [Harvard] are developing in the right areas, it’s not a terrible thing,” he said. “If they’re only putting their own businesses there to make money for themselves, that sucks. It doesn’t help anyone else.”

Chris James, 33, resident of Allston, said the project would be beneficial for only certain residents.

“A lot of the old-timers, they’ve been here forever, so it’s understandable that they feel they’re being intruded on, like they’ll have to move out,” he said. “I’m fairly optimistic about it though. It seems like it could really fit a lot of peoples’ lifestyles.”

Researchers develop an improved cochlear implant that conveys pitch Zachary Lasiuk Features Staff

T

hose of us that can hear often take our fantastically complex and precise ears for granted.

Current cochlear implants help people with severe and profound hearing loss to communicate more efficiently with the world, but they do so with limited quality.

However, a team of researchers at the University of Washington, headed by electrical engineering professor Les Atlas, has made promising initial advances in improving the quality of cochlear implants, especially with regard to communicating pitch.

What do cochlear implants do?

Cochlear implants are small, impressively intricate devices that allow someone with a damaged inner ear to perceive sound and speech better. They transfer sound to electrical signals to directly stimulate the human auditory nerve, thus bypassing the damaged inner ear and sending “sound” signals to the brain. The auditory nerve is stimulated by an array of electrodes, which transfer electrical signals from the implant to specific reigns of the nerve.

A fundamental problem with hearing through electrical stimulation, however, is the lack of precision in terms of isolating frequency. The notes in songs and the inflection in everyday language are understood because of our ear’s ability to adequately isolate frequency.

Atlas said that electrical stimulation has a “spread of current” in our ears that is much greater than that found in normal functioning ears. In other words, electrodes are too large to stimulate individual pitches on the cochlear nerve.

They instead excite multiple receptor areas at once.

Atlas used the analogy of a piano to demonstrate how the human ear understands electrical stimulation.

“It’s like playing a piano, but instead of using your fingers, you’re playing with your forearm,” he said. “So when you are playing different tunes and you’ve got this broad patch you’re pushing down, hitting a bunch of keys with your forearm, it doesn’t sound very tonal anymore. You can get the rhythm fine, but you can’t get the tonality very well.”

What is changing?

Atlas said the new research into cochlear implants still uses the method of electrical stimulation via electrode. However, current research also applies that concept in a novel and unique manner.

Atlas and other members of his team, including research collaborator Jay Rubinstein, a bioengineering and otolaryngology professor at UW, are aiming to vastly improve implant quality with a fundamental change in approach.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Researchers from the University of Washington have been developing new and improved cochlear implants.

These new devices allow the deaf and hard of hearing to more accurately identify tones and pitch.

Instead of communicating pitch as the highness and lowness of tones, this new cochlear implant represents pitch as the repetition rate of the stimulation signal. If someone sings a pitch that vibrates 440 times per second, the cochlear implant signal would oscillate from loud to soft at the same rate. Since our brain understands pitch by both the stimulation place (on the cochlear nerve) and stimulation rate, the pitch is therefore conveyed accurately.

“Imagine you can now take the piano keys and push them up or down really fast, at the rate of pitch, which could be 80 times per second, 300 times per second,” Atlas said. “The rate at which you are pushing the keys up and down is changing along with the pitch.”

This rapid change in signal input simulates the pitch’s natural frequency. Through this research, cochlear implants can now represent a sound’s attributes more faithfully. The information about pitch, however, takes more time to process. Atlas’s team is working to reduce the time required to process this new information.

“The progress we are making is how to encode the pitch efficiently when done at the same time as phonetic and note rate,” Atlas said.

Remaining obstacles Such a new method of approach is bound to have initial complications inhibiting development, and this one is no different.

The complexity of the coding in the cochlear implant is something that Atlas and his team still need to work on.

“It focuses on the accurate representation of harmonics,” Rubinstein said. “We specifically code to the harmonics in the sound.”

The harmonics of any specific sound are the amount of higher tones embedded within that base tone. The coding for this constantly occurring phenomenon is complex, but certainly not impossible.

Note rate and natural speech patterns can play a challenge, considering that each has its own rate of repetition. A natural consequence of translating pitch to the frequency of vibrations is the potential for interference with natural speaking frequency and note repetition. While they do not vibrate normally near the same rate that pitch does (which regularly achieve rates of 5,000 times per second), Atlas and his team are already thinking ahead to eliminate potential interference between the two.

“What we’ve been working on is what percentage of the time domain signal conveys the pitch versus how much conveys the slower information, which is the notes or phonemes in speech,” Atlas said.

The time domain signal can be understood as the signal’s time component, which conveys both pitch and speech patterns in this new implant.

Impacts of new implants Anything that involves music or speech has the potential to be enjoyed and understood more by people who are deaf or cannot hear well. Fields such as education and communication are just a few areas that have been positively affected by the upcoming cochlear implant study.

Hearing and education The ability to communicate with children is essential for instruction in schools. While other methods of interaction can be used, verbal collaboration is one of the main ways to communicate with students.

“I like to approach education by trying to find out how many forms of communication you can open up with your students,” said School of Education sophomore Erin Strickland. “I’m a special education major, so trying to work with students with pictures and songs is really huge. When people talk about working with cochlear implants, I find that very exciting because that’s reopening a form of communication that you can use with students.”

Along with music, simply conversing with students is also essential for their learning processes. Conventional cochlear implants are still difficult to hear with and generally make identifying words difficult. Such impairments can severally hinder children in school who cannot un-

derstand their teachers.

Amrita Kotak, a senior in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, has listened to conventional cochlear implants in class.

“It was difficult to understand,” she said. “We had an entire passage we had to interpret and it was really frustrating. I think it would be really helpful — for daily life especially — for cochlear implants to be improved.”

Atlas’s cochlear implant, although still in its early stages of development, improves the understandability of traditional implants. With more pitch of the words present, language is easier to understand. Intrinsic speech patterns, such as inflections, can be conveyed more effectively to those who require cochlear implants.

People that speak tone-based languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, are at even more of a disadvantage than non-tonal language speakers. For example, the Mandarin word “ma” has different meanings with different tones.

Spoken with one inflection and “ma” means “mother.” Said with a slightly different tone, and it becomes “horse.”

With the ability to distinguish more between tones will come improved understanding and communication in highly tonallanguages.

Music and pitch Perhaps most obviously, improvements in pitch distinction result in improvements in listening to music. As a universal language, music has the power to impact the lives of whomever it touches.

“Music can help others a lot, even if you’re not a music major, said Rui Liu, a second-year graduate student in the College of Fine Arts. “When I’m busy, I listen to music. When I’m free, I listen to music. When I’m exhausted, I listen to music — it’s always there for me and has a strong role in my life.”

Indeed, both Atlas and Rubinstein have strong roots in music.

Atlas worked with rock bands’ guitar amplifiers and Rubinstein plays a number of different instruments in various styles. This background led them to focus on refining cochlear implants by focusing on music.

The improved cochlear implant is still in development, but it is on its way to becoming publicly available. Atlas said that the final product is still more than a year away and perhaps even five years away.

But though the enhanced implant is still a few years off, significant progress is being made toward providing everyone with a way to understand language more effectively and enjoy music like never before.

6

Opinion

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

GIRL, 21

The Daily Free Press

Miratur Molem

The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University 43rd year F Volume 85 F Issue 28

Chris Lisinski, Editor-in-Chief Sofiya Mahdi, Managing Editor

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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 right fight at the wrong time

Brian Zulberti, Esquire wants to fight the good fight for sexually open people. Like many recent law school graduates, Zulberti began his job search in an unforgiving job market. Instead of assimilating to a professional culture, he has taken a radically different approach to applying for work in Delaware. Instead of attaching a resume and a headshot, he sent a mass email to hundreds of prospective employers and coworkers explaining how he recently passed the bar exam and included a photo of his toned arms.

It doesn’t end there. His website has gotten quite a lot of press attention because he included a portfolio with photos of all of his naked body. He even poses in various positions, just in case people needed a different angle. He writes periodically about his experience putting nude photos online and advertising them directly to employers.

“One of the reasons I put the naked pictures online, was because it was the only way I knew to draw eyes to my website in the hopes that the viewers would also stumble upon my message and see that I am not some attention-seeking jerk,” he wrote Oct. 13. “Rather, I am trying to champion a cause I believe deeply in.”

Zulberti allegedly wants to start a conversation about breaking down taboos, such as having nude photos in your past for the world to see. He wants employers to ignore what people do in their personal lives and focus on how qualified applicants are based on their education and past experience. From this perspective, his fight is noble. He is right to believe that an affinity for posting nude photos does not impede on his ability to

practice law, but he’s going about this in an immature and sensationalist way.

But he wants to be a lawyer. He wants to enter a profession dominated by Generation X and their parents.

People are now turning to less conventional methods to distinguish themselves from other candidates, especially for those graduating law school. People such as Zulberti are doing what they can to stand out from the crowd, even if it means going beyond accepted professional boundaries.

In the end, individuals have the right to portray themselves as they wish online. The problem here is that his timing is wrong.

If these photos surfaced while he was employed, and then he subsequently lost his job,, then he would have a solid platform to start a national conversation. But he can’t just circulate these images to potential bosses, and hope to start working next Monday.

It goes too far in disregarding professionalism.

How does he think this will play out?

Will Anthony Weiner’s attorney hire him as a paralegal? Zulberti is trying to make a statement that he still qualified even though he has nude pictures on his website, but in the legal field, professionalism is as important a skill as regurgitating facts about cases. While asking employers to look at your Facebook is the best way to get clicks and attention, it is not the way to actually land a job.

Perhaps he just wants to start a conversation instead of actually land a job. Regardless, good luck, Mr. Zulberti. You are definitely going to need it.

@dailyfreepress @dailyfreepress @dailyfreepress

SYDNEY L. SHEA If you’ve read any of my columns in the past, you probably know that I was a cheerleader in high school — I guess I’m one of those pathetic people who can’t let it go. I just can’t stop living the glory days, and come to think of it, it’s probably time to stop wearing my Varsity uniform to bed.

But once again, something that happened to me freshman year of high school is relevant to my recent life as a college senior.

Fall semester freshman year, way back in 2006, our team wasn’t very good compared with the larger schools we competed with. The other girls were much more coordinated and talented than we were. In addition, however, our main rivals were arrogant, rich and slaggy, and they rejected us whenever we’d try to engage them at football and basketball games.

So when our school hosted the Tri-Valley League competition, we were humiliated in our own gym and came in third place.

It was such a bitter experience to see our athletic director hand our rivals the firstplace trophy.

But we continued to work even harder throughout the winter, and by the next season, our routine was much sharper. As our skill level grew, so did our confidence, and when it was time to compete against the same teams, we were well-prepared to reclaim our dignity.

Ironically, the winter Tri-Valley League competition was to be held at the high school of the team who won first place on our home turf. I was so anxious that I could barely sleep the night before, and that chocolate-chip muffin I ate the next morning wasn’t a very good idea.

Enter the cheerleaders: while not a typical sport, competitions are events that are judged subjectively, making the atmosphere cut-throat and catty. In the locker room, we’d put on our best fake smiles and wish the other teams good luck as they applied their eighth coat of hairspray, and then whisper to one another how we actually hoped they’d all break an ankle. But that is obviously terrible sportsmanship.

When it was our time to go on the mat, we just knew that our routine had been impeccable and the fear in our opponents’ eyes was equally satisfying. We went from being irrelevant underdogs to serious threats.

Finally, the placement began. All the teams sat in circles in the middle of the gym holding hands as the judges read out the results. I felt like my stomach was going to implode on itself.

That BS interim where the speaker says “how everyone did such a great job” and “everyone give it up for our 10 wonderful teams” felt like a century, but when he began to announce third place, we bowed our heads and squinted our eyes, holding each other’s hands a bit tighter.

Third place: not us. Oh my god, we have a chance at this.

Another rule of sportsmanship is to act like you don’t know you’re about to get first place even if the only other serious team just placed second.

So when the speaker announced that our rivals got second, it was difficult to cover the tears. But then possibly the greatest moment in my entire life happened: our team, the Ashland Clockers, won first. I can’t remember any other instance where I’ve uncontrollably cried so hard.

The next part of the story seems kind of callous, but it was almost as good as getting a trophy: when the speaker said we came in first, the captain of our rivals hadn’t fully walked back to the rest of her team yet. So when one of my teammates literally tackled me to the ground out of joy, said captain tripped over us – a pile of two girls crying of happiness in her own gym – and then hastily ran away. Of course I felt terrible!

Just kidding, it was awesome.

Sometimes it’s just nice, even euphoric, to bask in victory along with 17 other happy teammates.

I recently won an award I never thought I’d receive for some research I’ve been conducting on ancient Greek manuscripts.

It was a humbling experience for which I am extremely grateful, and still partially in denial that I won it over about 250 other researchers. It was such an honor that I might have cried for five-ish minutes alone in a bathroom afterwards.

But I was waiting for a feeling that never happened, then I realized: winning just isn’t the same when you do it by yourself.

I just wanted to share that special moment with someone, but there was no one to share it with. I would have shared the work with 17 other people and received a fraction of recognition than won it all on my own.

So if you see me on the sidewalk, feel free to tackle me to the ground and start weeping uncontrollably.

Sydney L. Shea is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at slshea@bu.edu.

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.

Parents weekend

Taylor Brooks is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Communication. He can be reached at tjbrooks@bu.edu.

L E T T E R S @ D A I L Y F R E E P R E S S . C O M

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

7

McKay: Mid-major schools can beat teams in major conferences McKay: From Page 8

the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke and the University of Kentucky earn the NCAA copious amounts of money in television and advertising revenue. But the idea that some schools are better “earners” (and, suggestively, subject to favoritism and beneficial media coverage) is not one that the image-obsessed NCAA wants to support.

Is Boston University a “mid-major?”

Technically, since it doesn’t come from any of the six major conferences, it is classified as such. BU’s new league, the Patriot League, isn’t known as a hotbed for basketball. But it’s no pushover, either. And it seems as though our men’s basketball team also isn’t a pushover this year. NBCSports.com recently ranked its top 25 mid-major men’s basketball teams for the 2013-14 season. Boston University clocked in at no. 11.

Here’s exactly what NBCSports.com had to say: “In their first year in the Patriot League, the Terriers will be the prohibitive favorite to win the league. The combination of D.J. Irving and Maurice Watson in the backcourt is one of the best among mid-majors.”

The top-ranked mid-major squad is Wichita State University, fresh off a trip to the 2013 Final Four.

Does Boston University’s designation as a mid-major help or hurt the program’s credibility? As opposed as I am to the term “midmajor,” it is a step up for BU. Playing in the America East Conference made it difficult for

BU to gain national exposure. The most famous America East basketball team is probably the University of Vermont, who upset Syracuse in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. That was a dark day in the life of nine-year-old Patrick, to be sure. Anyway, BU’s move to the Patriot League does boost its exposure just a bit.

Boston University’s designation as a “mid-major” is ultimately good for the school and the program. But for schools like Butler, Wichita State and Virginia Commonwealth University (all of which have advanced to the Final Four once in the last three seasons) it’s a slap in the face. I’m sure that some school officials like being the underdog. When they knock off “major” programs, it just looks that much better. But realistically, it’s not fair to call certain programs “major” and others mid-major. The vast majority of mid-major college programs are quality ones. They can compete with the “major” teams. They might not be able to beat them, but they can compete.

Thankfully, unlike college football, college basketball has the great equalizer in the NCAA Tournament. During March Madness, it doesn’t matter if you’re from the ACC or from the Missouri Valley Conference; each team is seeded from number one to number 16. It’s no coincidence that, when playing against the “majors,” the mid-major teams end up performing well. The term “mid-major” doesn’t really apply to most teams anymore. Let’s get rid of it.

MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Senior forward Nell Burdis notched a goal in games against Bucknell and Northeastern.

Burdis has scored in three straight games, the longest streak by a Terrier this season.

Terriers move to 2nd in league standings Field Hockey: From Page 8

Want to stay up-to-date on BU sports news?

Follow: @DFPsports @BOShockeyblog @BUbballblog

right place at the right time, she’s calm and she has great composure in front of the net.

Her coming on as a goal-scorer is really good and we’re looking forward to that continuing.”

After a torrid offensive start to the second half by Northeastern, the Terriers rebounded and made the most of an early opportunity.

BU earned an attack penalty corner after a touch from the foot of a Northeastern player inside the circle. Schieb received the ball, following the insert from van der Laan, and set up a strike for Coll, who drove the ball just past the pad of Gardner and into the cage.

With the assist, Schieb’s season total climbs to seven, while Coll netted her first goal of the year.

“It wasn’t a pretty hockey game, but it was a game that was a really good quality win for

Sperry continues to shine in net for BU Women’s Hockey: From Page 8

Terriers cannot stop aggressive Lafayette squad Men’s Soccer: From Page 8

Gilbert from 20 feet out, although the Terriers were seen asking the referees for an offside on McLaughlin, who appeared to be pushing the line on the goal.

The Terriers’ first opportunities were a corner kick in the 32nd minute and an Asbjornsson shot in the 39th, but the corner led to nothing and Asbjornsson’s chance was stopped by goalie Nathan McDonald.

Tempers began to flare for both teams after a display of strong effort and hustle from Lafayette forward Chandler FraserPauls against junior midfielder Cameron Souri, as Pauls was able draw a corner kick. Fraser-Pauls appeared to jaw at some of the BU players following the play, angering some of the Terriers. The drama distracted the Terriers from the game on the field, as it led to a foul that set up a free kick for Leopard midfielder Bryan White.

The foul proved costly as White set up forward Tom McCutcheon, who redirected the ball inside the far post past Gilbert for the second goal of the game. Gilbert had no chance to save the ball, which was past him before he could react to the shot.

The Terriers got once last chance at the end of the half, as Sozeri took a shot for the Terriers in the 45th minute but it went high of goal.

An aggressive Leopards team ended the first half having outshot the Terriers by a 9-3 margin.

Although the Terriers came out of the second half slowly, Badji got off a header shot from 50th minute of the game, but McDonald made a save to preserve the shutout. McDonald made another fantastic stop on a shot from Asbjornsson eight minutes after the Badji opportunity. The goalie’s fantastic match was capped off by a save on a shot from McBride just at the end of regulation, closing out a 2-0 Leopard win.

Overall, BU trailed Lafayette in shots 14-11, but was even with the Leopards in corner kicks with five.

The Terriers’ next challenge comes in the form of Loyola University-Maryland, who come into the Oct. 26 contest having lost three straight games while sporting a 5-6-2 overall record and a 0-4-1 mark in Patriot League play.

us,” Starr said. “We fought hard, we were definitely tired from the day before, it was a very emotional and physical victory we had against Bucknell.”

The win against Bucknell Saturday moves BU into the number-two spot in the Patriot League standings with one conference game left to play. The Bison will face American University Saturday to determine the regular season champion and the number one seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.

“It’s our last back-to-back [series] before the conference tournament,” Starr said. “To win the Patriot League Championship, we have to win a game on Friday then win a game on Saturday. It’s one of our last opportunities to be in a dress rehearsal for the conference tournament. Northeastern wasn’t easy ... and we needed to find a way to create some quality hockey, and I think they responded really well in the second half.”

fact that the Terriers surrendered a powerplay goal, as Robert Morris forward Maeve Garvey capitalized on the man-advantage at 16:34 in the second period.

Taking advantage of a power-play opportunity has been a challenge for teams facing the Terriers, as BU is currently first amongst Hockey East teams this season in terms of warding off penalties, as the Terriers have an 88.9 penalty-kill percentage.

Opposing teams have only scored two power-play goals in 18 opportunities against BU. The Terriers have boasted an impressive penalty-kill unit the last few seasons, as they ranked in the top three amongst Hockey East teams in penalty-kill percentage over the past three years.

For Durocher, the reasoning for the Terriers’ stellar play on the penalty kill lies in their strong goaltending and aggressive play.

“Obviously, you’ve got to have good goaltending to do a good job killing penalties,” Durocher said. “I think the other thing is that we tend to play pretty assertively on the penalty kill and we put a lot of pressure on people, even though we’re down a player ... I think early in the year, if we’re all on the same page, I think teams aren’t quite as ready for it as they will be later in the year.

“But again, I think these kids have

worked hard, we’re getting some new people involved and for the most part, they play with a little bit of the reckless abandon, but good structure that you need killing penalties.”

Sperry Once Again Great In Net One constant for the Terriers so far this season has been the solid play of senior goaltender Kerrin Sperry.

The 2013 Hockey East Tournament MVP has once again been excellent between the pipes, as she is second in the conference in goals-against average (1.92) and save percentage (.941). In more than 187 minutes of play this season, Sperry has only allowed six goals.

Durocher said Sperry, the program’s alltime leader in wins (64) and shutouts (11), must be the best player out on the ice for the Terriers to once again make some noise in the highly competitive Hockey East.

“I think that she’s played very consistently,” Durocher said. “She’s got to be one of our leaders, she’s a kid that’s got as much if not more experience than anyone else. She plays the most important position in this game. I think for her, it’s going to be that, always keep her composure, be competitive, be assertive, but make sure that, whether a goal goes by her or doesn’t, that she’s still on her A-game.”

“

Quotable

“

The young strikers are really not young anymore.

- BU coach Sally Starr on the freshmen on the field hockey team

page 8

Foul Shots

Sports

Tuesday, Oct. 22

MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Freshman forward Samantha Sutherland scored her first collegiate goal against Robert Morris Friday night.

By Conor Ryan Daily Free Press Staff

The Boston University women’s hockey team’s 5-2 victory over Robert Morris University Friday night at first seemed like a game straight out of the 201213 season, as established players such as sophomore forward Sarah Lefort (two goals) and senior captain Louise Warren (one goal, one assist) helped lead the Terriers to a convincing win in Moon Township, Pa. However, upon further examination of the box score, the argu-

ment can made that it was the Terriers’ (2-1-1) freshman class that was the biggest key to victory over the Colonials (4-2).

Freshman forward Samantha Sutherland scored the first goal of her collegiate career at 16:00 in the second period after sliding a rebound past goaltender Courtney Vinet. Freshman defenseman Sarah Steele and freshman forward Maddie Elia also contributed to the Terriers’ strong offensive showing, as both players combined for three assists in the game.

The BU freshmen have made

their presence felt during the early weeks of the 2013-14 season, as they have combined for six points over the first four games of the year.

BU coach Brian Durocher said that the Terriers’ young forwards and defensemen, as well as freshman goaltender Victoria Hanson, will likely play a big part in the team’s success this season.

“I think that without a doubt, those three [Elia, Steele and Sutherland], Victoria Hanson the following night, getting her first start in goal, they’ve all certainly gotten a chance to play a pretty regular role and even in some cases play some special teams,” Durocher said. “I’m excited that they’re getting their feet wet, but as I’ve mentioned before, they’re probably going to have to play a little more of a extended role than maybe in years past.

“With the volume of players, or the smaller number of players, we’re going to need those kids to not only take regular shifts, but play some special teams, and it’s good to see them get points and get on the scoreboard because that certainly helps their confidence and makes them feel good about contributing to the team and playing at this level.”

Over the years, the Terriers have become accustomed a large level of production from their first-year players. Last season, BU’s freshmen recorded 64 points in 37 games.

again, fall to Lafayette, 2-0

By Joon Lee Daily Free Press Staff

There were some negatives to take away from BU’s 3-0 loss to the Colonials Saturday afternoon, as the Terriers were shut out for the first time since Feb. 12, 2013.

Perhaps the most shocking component of the game was the

The season-long slump for the Boston University men’s soccer team continued Saturday afternoon against Lafayette College, as the Terriers sustained their sixth loss in eight matches, losing by a score of 2-0.

Junior forward Dominique Badji, who has emerged as a standout during the Terriers’ (4-8-1, 1-4-0 Patriot League) struggles, led the team with a game-high five shots, including two on goal. Other standouts against the Leopards (4-3-6, 2-3-0 Patriot League) included freshman midfielder David Asbjornsson, senior forward Ali Sozeri and sophomore forward Lucas McBride, who each had one shot on goal respectively.

In both Saturday’s game against Lafayette and an Oct. 12 win over Lehigh University, Badji was dynamic on both ends of the field, despite strong defense from the opposition. “[Badji] needs to score goals for us,” said BU coach Neil Roberts following the victory over Lehigh. “Dom does a lot for us, but what we need from him is his goal production, whether he’s setting up goals or scoring goals. He’s playing well, he’s healthy.”

The Leopards came out of the gates prepared, generating the first three shots of the game in the opening 19 minutes. After a flurry of shots from Lafayette, Leopard freshman Ryan Egan scurried the ball past the Terrier defenders to forward Jeff McLaughlin, who tapped the ball past a diving redshirt freshman goalkeeper Matt

Women’s HoCkey, see page 7

men’s soCCeR, see page 7

Terriers Stout On The Penalty Kill

Field hockey takes down Bucknell, Northeastern in critical games

By Justin Pallenik Daily Free Press Staff

The Boston University field hockey team picked up two victories this past weekend as it moves closer to postseason play.

The Terriers (10-5, 4-1 Patriot League) began the weekend at New Balance Field against Bucknell University Saturday, which started the game ranked second in the Patriot League. The Bison (7-8, 4-1 Patriot League) came in having a plus-8 goal differential in their previous five games.

Looking to control the tempo from the first whistle, BU began the game with deft passing that generated quality opportunities for its scorers. The Terriers attacked the net aggressively in the first opening minutes of play, resulting in a thirdminute goal.

After stealing the ball in the Bison end, senior midfielder Mad-

The Bottom Line

No Events Scheduled Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced on Monday that he is stepping down.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Freshmen excel early in hockey season Terriers struggle

Patrick McKay

mCkay, see page 7

Men’s soccer falls to Lafayette for sixth loss in eight games, P.8.

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Mid-Majors

Colleges and universities that do not belong to the six “major” NCAA conferences (AAC — formerly the Big East — ACC, Big 10, Big 12, PAC-12 and SEC) are known as “mid-majors.” It’s colloquial in nature, and not recognized by the NCAA to mean anything in particular.

The term is used most heavily in college basketball, especially during the NCAA basketball tournament held annually in March and April. The term “mid-major” just has a negative connotation, doesn’t it? If I’m sitting on my couch on Selection Sunday, and I hear that a mid-major got an at-large bid instead of my favorite college basketball team (Syracuse University, in case you were wondering) I would be pretty angry about it.

But the term is out-of-date. In three out of the last four NCAA tournaments, a so-called “mid-major” has advanced to the Final Four.

In 2010 and 2011, the national runner-up was a mid-major. That team, the Butler University Bulldogs, were mere inches away from upsetting Duke University in the 2010 final. The last couple minutes of that game (Butler vs. Duke) were some of the most exciting that I’ve ever seen in basketball.

So the issue with the term here is that not only are mid-majors playing up with the “major” teams, they’re often better than those teams. Over the last seven years, the Horizon League, which is generally designated as a mid-major conference, has a better winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament (just more than 65 percent) than most “major” conferences.

It’s become increasingly clear that the term “mid-major” is obsolete. Why not just put everyone on a level playing field? I’m not saying we should reshuffle the conferences again, because it has been a hectic couple of years in that respect.

The conferences (for the most part) make sense in terms of school size and geographic location. But what I am suggesting is that the college basketball world abandon the term “mid-major.” It’s not exactly demeaning, but it does suggest that some teams and schools are more important than others, which is probably the truth. Teams such as

STILL SLUMPING

The Daily Free Press

Wednesday, Oct. 23 W. Soccer @ Colgate, 7 p.m.

eleine Hackett fired a liner into the circle where freshman forwards Taylor Blood and Amanda Cassera were in position in front of the cage.

Blood received the pass off the stick of a Bucknell defender and set up an easy shot for Cassera, who pushed the ball past goalkeeper Erica Perrinie. The score marked Blood’s second assist of the season and Cassera’s eighth goal.

“The young strikers are really not young anymore,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “They’ve had a lot of game experience now and they’re really showing that they have that game experience ... They want the season to go as deep as it can for the seniors, and they know they play a big role in this team for that to happen so they’re really working hard to improve.”

BU’s second goal came quickly to start the second half after earning a penalty corner. Freshman mid-

fielder Hester van der Laan inserted a smooth ball to sophomore backer Rachel Coll, who set up a shot for senior backer Ysi Schieb. Schieb took a shot that resulted in a deflection off of the stick of senior forward Nell Burdis and goal near the far post, giving the Terriers all they would need in a 2-0 victory.

“I think [junior goalkeeper Valentina Cerda Eimbcke] came up big in the first half for us to keep them off the scoreboard,” Starr said.

“But in the second half, I think we really took control of the game, we pressed better, we outleted better.

We were just really moving the ball well and making good circle penetration.”

The Terriers looked to keep the momentum going Sunday on the road against cross-town rival Northeastern University. The Huskies (5-9) came into the contest having lost seven of their last nine,

giving up 23 goals in that span.

Noticeably weary to start the game, BU generated only one shot attempt in the first 13 minutes of the contest. As the game progressed, however, the Terriers rediscovered their form from the previous day.

BU pounded the cage with shots late in the first half, and finally converted off the red-hot stick of Burdis again. Following a shot from Coll saved by Husky goalkeeper Becky Gardner, the ball bounced directly in front of the cage, giving Burdis a tap-in for the rebound goal. This score marked Burdis’ third straight game with a goal and the longest Terrier goal streak of the season. “[Burdis] starting to become a goal-scorer is absolutely huge for us,” Starr said. “And they’ve all been quality goals. She’s in the

Thursday, Oct. 24

Friday, Oct. 25

Saturday, Oct. 26

No Events Scheduled With that news, Comerica Park is finally a smoke-free facility.

M. Hockey @ Michigan, 7 p.m.

Field Hockey vs. California, 5 p.m.

Field HoCkey, see page 7

M. Hockey @ Michigan State, 7 p.m.

W. Hockey vs. Yale, 3 p.m.

M. Soccer vs. Loyola, 7 p.m.