The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue XXX
DIVERSE DEBATE Mayoral candidates discuss diversity in forum, page 3.
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Thursday, October 24, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
WIKIFLICK
“The Fifth Estate” chronicles gray area of WikiLeaks, page 5.
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BACK IN BROWN Women’s hockey to play first home game of season, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: Mostly sunny, high 56. Tonight: Mostly clear, low 33. Tomorrow: 53/31. Data Courtesy of weather.com
50th anniv. of mental illness act brings officials to Hub Residents rally for better minimum wage, sick day pay
ALICE BAZERGHI/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden speaks at the Uniting the Community of Mental Health forum Wednesday evening at the John F. Kennedy library in Dorchester. By Alice Bazerghi Daily Free Press Staff
Distinguished guests, including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, gathered to speak at a mental health forum on the 50th anniversary of a landmark mental health act. Biden said to a crowd of about 400 people at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum t.0hat humanity is on the cusp of remarkable changes in the treatment and understanding of mental illness. “Imagine how fundamentally we can
change society and communities for the better if we make significant strides in dealing with mental illness, [imagine] the impact on our global and national economies if we keep kids from dropping out of high school, if we keep employees from losing work … more classrooms where kids focus on school work instead of being overcome by anxiety,” he said. The two-day forum marks the 50th anniversary of U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s signing of the Community Mental Health Act that was signed before his assassination and trans-
formed the way people with mental illness are treated in the country. Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Chris Matthews of MSNBC also spoke at the forum about the steps they are taking to help those suffering of mental illnesses. “This is the civil rights movement of our time,” Kennedy said. “Together we’re going to ensure not only quality treatment, but equality of treatment.” Matthews, a longtime John Kennedy historian, said Patrick Kennedy continues his uncle’s work in improving mental health policy. “President Kennedy’s approach to mental health was far-sighted and bold,” he said. “It called on researchers to look at the very interiors of our minds and American’s to look deep into their hearts. What President Kennedy began half a century ago lives on in the patients, practitioners and policy makers right here in this room.” Biden said improving mental health treatment will benefit not only families and their finances, but also the economic status of the nation. “As President Kennedy put it, mental illness affects more people, requires more prolonged treatment causing more suffrage by the families of the afflicted, wastes more of our resources and constitutes more of a financial drain on the public treasury and personal finances of indi-
Mental Health, see page 4
BU students from other states come together to enjoy Red Sox By Rachel Riley Daily Free Press Staff
Although not all Boston University students are from Massachusetts, many begin to follow the Boston Red Sox baseball team when they arrive in Boston, and this has only increased as the team plays in the 2013 World Series. On the evening of the first game of the World Series, many BU students said they would be cheering on the Red Sox when they in Wednesday’s match-up against the St. Louis Cardinals. Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Danielle Eble said she became a Sox fan after moving to Boston for school from upstate New York. “I never really got into baseball until I came to Boston,” she said. “Then I adopted all of Boston sports.” Eble, who works at a sports bar near Fenway Park, said being a Red Sox fan is essential for Boston residents. “It’s such a big part of the Boston culture,” she said. “People will come here and they won’t
even be hockey fans, but they’re BU hockey fans — same things with the [Boston] Bruins. Boston is also just a huge sports town. We have good sports teams, so it’s hard not to get on the bandwagon and fall in love with it once you get here.” College of Communication sophomore Kerriann Kelleher said adopting the sports culture is part of moving to Boston. “That’s the beauty of BU,” she said. “Everyone comes and adopts the culture in New England.” Kelleher said she is excited to be living on a campus that is in such close proximity to a historic game. Bostonians would be extremely excited to win the World Series, she said. “Boston needs a win so badly after the whole thing that went on in the spring with the Boston bombings,” Kelleher said. “It would mean so much to the city.” The Boston Red Sox are entering the World Series first in American League East after an amazing 2013 season with 97 wins and 65
losses. This season’s success contrasts with their 2012 performance, when they faced their toughest season since 1965 with 69 wins and 93 losses. The Sox also beat the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series, winning four games in a dramatic sweep after not having won the World Series since 1918. Kelleher, a Massachusetts native, said she was raised by Red Sox fans and thus her status as a fan was inevitable. “You can’t live in Massachusetts without being a Red Sox fan,” she said. “You have no choice.” School of Management junior Kandyce Graber, a Wisconsin native, said she enjoys following the Red Sox more than any sports teams in her home state. “In Wisconsin, we have the [Milwaulkee] Brewers,” she said. “Some people are Brewers fans, but they’re not any good, so it’s not very
Red Sox, see page 2
By Annie Husted Daily Free Press Staff
Looking to inspire residents to push the initiative forward, Raise Up Massachusetts, a campaign targeted on raising the minimum wage and creating a state-wide earned sick time policy, has held several rallies across Massachusetts. On Sunday, workers rallied in Brookline to gain support for the campaign. Stephen Crawford, communications director for Raise Up Massachusetts, said the campaign’s goal is to reach 200,000 signatures so it can be on the ballot in the November 2014 election. “We have a long way to go,” he said. “We are gathering people together to celebrate our successes and encouraging people to continue working. We were lucky that a number of elected officials are willing to participate.” Crawford said Raise Up Massachusetts is advocating increasing the current minimum wage for workers and requiring employers to offer earned sick time to ensure that employers keep up with the increasing cost of living. “Our proposal, which will go before the voters, would raise the current minimum wage from $8 an hour to $9.25 the first year and $10.50 the second year,” he said. “After that, it would be tied to the rate of inflation.” As of Wednesday, the campaign has received 150,000 signatures, according to the Raise Up Massachusetts Twitter account. Among the elected officials who joined the group to support the initiative include Mass. Treasurer Steven Grossman, who running in the gubernatorial race in 2014. “For more than a century, the success of our family business depended on retaining an experienced and talented workforce, and treating our workers with the dignity and respect they deserve,” he said in a Tuesday statement. “I’m proud to support earned sick time and a higher minimum wage for the citizens of our Commonwealth.” Crawford said they hope to grant workers one-hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked and up to 40 hours a year so workers are not at risk of losing their jobs to take
Minimum Wage, see page 2
Alumna decorates chairs in CAS classrooms as part of art initiative for students By Rachel Riley Daily Free Press Staff
On Oct. 17, 22 colorfully painted chairs appeared in classrooms in Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences. CAS alumna Hila Landesman, who graduated in January 2013 and now lives and works in New York, said she started The Chair Project to brighten up students’ learning environment. “Design goes much further than beautiful typography and pretty colors,” she said. “… The question is, how is it [design] making this specific location more beautiful, [and] is it improving people’s lives?” Students from the College of Fine Arts, College of Communication, School of Management and CAS helped to paint and decorate the chairs, according The Chair Project’s website. Landesman said a major goal of The Chair Project is to encourage collaboration among BU’s different colleges. “You can’t have successful results if you don’t combine fields, if you don’t work together with other people,” she said.
Students from more than 15 majors and minors, ranging from painting to business, helped Landesman with the project, according to the website. Landesman said she hopes other Terriers will consider continuing the tradition of The Chair Project by adding creativity to other parts of BU’s Charles River Campus. “Having these chairs inside a classroom — they’re all very bright, colorful, and ingenious chairs,” said School of Visual Arts Director Lynne Allen. “They’re really fun to look at — to bring that into the classroom, where there’s scholarship and deep discussion, brings art into their [students’] lives in a way they wouldn’t expect.” Landesman came up with the idea for the project after taking a School of Visual Arts course, taught by professor Hugh O’Donnell called Site-Specific Art, in which students create proposals for art projects in various spaces on campus, Allen said.
Chairs, see page 4
JUSTIN AKIVA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
College of Arts and Sciences alumna Hila Landesman created the Chair Project, which decorated chairs in CAS Room 208 (left) and B18A (right).