The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue LII
FLIGHT PLANS
Chinese international students weigh in on direct flights, page 3.
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Tuesday, December 10, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
PILLS & NEEDLES Research could allow injections to be administered by pill, page 5.
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OUT IN OT
Men’s basketball falls to Harvard in overtime, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: Snow showers, high 34. Tonight: Snow showers, low 21. Tomorrow: 31/16. Data Courtesy of weather.com
Students gather on Marsh Plaza to honor Nelson Mandela MBTA to have $25 million deficit due to union agreement By Olivia Deng Daily Free Press Staff
MIKE DESOCIO/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Zoliswa Mali (center), a professor in the Boston University African Studies Department, leads the crowd in the singing of the South African national anthem Monday night at the Nelson Mandela candlelight vigil at Marsh Plaza. By Trisha Thadani Daily Free Press Staff
In front of a flag that flew at half-mast outside of Marsh Chapel, members of the Boston University community gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of former South African President Nelson Mandela at a candlelight vigil Monday. As the grievers held their candles, Rev. Brittany Longsdorf spoke to the crowd of about 50 people and said the best way for someone to commemorate Mandela is by acting with his same sense of tolerance, kindness and compassion. “We might choose to remember him daily in our lives by acting in the way he did of compassion, the way he fought for justice and the way he shared his life for equality,” Longsdorf said. “In this moment, let’s choose to do that forever more, as we enter into a sacred time and space
to remember Nelson Mandela.” Mandela died Thursday at the age of 95. Student Government President Dexter McCoy spoke as well, commemorating Mandela for his international achievements as an instrumental South African leader who made a difference in the lives of millions affected by apartheid. He said Mandela taught the world to love one another rather than to hate. “He [Mandela] didn’t expel his adversaries from his administration — he embraced them, and we must do the same,” McCoy, a College of Communication senior, said. “I am so glad that is what we are choosing to do here — we are choosing to come together in love, and that is what we do in this community here in Boston University.” McCoy quoted Mandela when he said, “What counts in life is not that we have lived, it is what difference we have made to the lives
of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” After a moment of silence, the crowd lit their candles as Zoliswa Mali, a professor of African Studies, led the group in singing the South African national anthem in honor of the leader who helped defeat apartheid. Mali said the virtues of Mandela’s forgiving and peaceful spirit reconciled her native country of South Africa. She said the BU community, and the country as a whole, has a lot to take away from Mandela’s tolerance, love and reconciliation. “Mandela, even though he suffered as he did for all of us, he still came out strong and forgiving and loving and kind,” Mali said. “He was a unifier, and if BU students have that embracing spirit, where they embrace diversity and show
Mandela, see page 2
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is on track for a $25 million deficit for the 2013 fiscal year, despite receiving a financial bailout in 2012, implementing fare hikes and increasing taxes, due to an arbitration award for a MBTA employees union, according to various news reports last week. Michael Verseckes, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said the award would cost the MBTA between $62 million and $88 million. “The wage award will increase salaries by 10.4 percent over the term of the contract, an increase which exceeds the more modest wage pattern that had been established by the majority of other MBTA unions,” he said. “As a result, the top base rate for a bus operator would be approximately $70,000, not including overtime pay.” Sarah Kerr Garraty arbitrated the award for Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589, the MBTA employees union that represents bus drivers, subway operators and maintenance workers. The award gives union members retroactive raises of $10,000 to $14,000 per worker. Boston Carmen’s Union officials declined to comment. The MBTA filed a complaint against the arbitrator’s decision on Sept. 26, stating Garraty did not consider the costs when coming to her decision. “The basis of the T’s appeal is that the arbitrator did not give due consideration to the MBTA’s financial ability to meet these additional costs,” Verseckes said. This is not the first time the MBTA has run into financial troubles. In 2012, the Mass. Legislature helped the MBTA close its deficit by approving a bailout.
MBTA, see page 2
Mayor Thomas Menino, Dropkick Murphys support local New England authors By Sarah Capungan Daily Free Press Staff
With Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston-native band Dropkick Murphys in attendance, residents gathered at the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square Monday for the Hometown Authors Reception to honor 29 New England authors. The reception, hosted by ReadBoston, a city organization dedicated to encouraging literacy with a focus on children, featured book signings from the authors, a speech from Menino and a closing acoustic set from Dropkick Murphys. “If you can’t read, you can’t dream,” Menino said in an interview with The Daily Free Press. “That’s what’s so important—giving young people the opportunity to open up their minds to new experiences and new ideas. That’s why I love ReadBoston, one of the best nonprofits in the city.” About 200 residents met several best-selling authors including Jack Beatty, William Martin, Susan Shea, Jackie MacMullan and Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Harding. Theresa Lynn, executive director of ReadBoston, said the reception celebrates local authors in addition to raising money for the organization. “In Boston we have so many well-known accomplished authors,” she said. “We try to bring together very well-known people and also people that have done very well in literary circles and may not be well known to everyday
Bostonians.” Menino said he personally chose some of the authors and invited them to come and as a measure of gratitude. He introduced himself to each of the authors and thanked them for participating in the reception. ReadBoston is a non-profit organization founded in part by Menino in 1995 that aims to have all children in the city reading at grade level by the end of third grade. However, several of its programs, including the reception, are meant to appeal to an adult audience as well. Some of its outreach services include its Story Mobile program that brings free books and story-telling sessions to children at 82 sites ranging from community centers to public libraries during the summer. It also works to develop better communication between children and parents through its Early Words program, according to the ReadBoston website. After a few words from Mayor Menino, the reception ended with the Dropkick Murphys playing the attendees a short set, closing with “The Season’s Upon Us,” a holiday song. The band played a role in the campaign of Mayor-elect Martin Walsh and Ken Casey, band member, will continue to be involved in local politics as a part of his transition team. They were chosen to perform because of their close ties to the city. “We thought they [Dropkick Murphys] sort of embodied Boston this year,” Lynn said. “Between the legacy of the Red Sox, they’re very well-known. They’re very internationallyk-
EMILY ZABOSKI/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino talks with former Celtics player Jo Jo White at the Hometown Authors reception Monday night at the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square.
nown as a Boston band and we were looking for a musical guest and they generously agreed to do it. They were our top choice, and we’re so happy they said yes.” Several of the authors said they were equally grateful to be recognized. “I love seeing all these people out and talking to authors,” said Susan Shea, author of “Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow,” ReadBos-
ton’s Best Read Aloud Book of 2012. “I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful thing ... to help people get into literacy.” Jason Landry, an author and owner of the Panopticon photo gallery in the hotel, said he was enthusiastic about ReadBoston’s role in promoting literacy.
Read Boston, see page 4
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tuesday, deCember 10, 2013
MBTA fares may be increased CAS freshman: to meet deficit, spokesman says Mandela loved by all at home MBTA: From Page 1
Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the MBTA, said to fund the award to Local 589, the MBTA may have to draw money from its deficiency fund. Additionally, fares, which were raised in 2012 by an average of 23 percent, would need to be raised again. “In accordance with the Transportation Finance Law enacted this year, the MBTA plans to raise fares by a rate of 5 percent on July 1, 2014,” he said. Despite the projected $25 million deficit, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick announced on Dec. 3 that the MBTA will run a late-night transit service as part of a $20 million pilot program. To finance the program, Pesaturo said the MBTA would use private sponsors, revenue from fares collected from late-night customers and state funds. Christine Rossell, professor of political science at Boston University, said she is opposed to the union’s award. “In a recession, it’s really stupid to start paying civil servants more money than they already make,” she said. “They already make more money than the average worker. There will be no extended hours, which is the option that is being considered right now. I think MBTA employees are paid a good salary. We live in a greedy world.” Rossell said she disagrees with
the idea of bailing out the MBTA because staff layoffs would be a more feasible option to balance the budget. “You ought to just start firing people and paying them less,” she said. “There are important things that government could do — subsidized childcare from birth, preschool. Honestly, how skilled do you have to be to run an MBTA train? Somebody has got to start representing the public.” Several residents said they had mixed feelings about the $25 million deficit. Matt Augustine, 33, of Boston, said the MBTA made the right decision to appeal the award. “From a business standpoint, it [MBTA] has to make money to keep going,” he said. “They are $25 million short, they have to fight it in any way they can. I believe it’s the right decision.” Sherry Green, 25, of Dorchester, said she supports union members for their hard work. “It is not so much as they are trying to save customers’ money, but I feel like they are trying to save money for themselves and have bigger paychecks and stuff to take home,” she said. “These people work on the holidays, they work late at night, they drive in dangerous weather sometimes to serve the community … [they] should get paid more.” The Suffolk Superior Court will hear arguments on Dec. 16.
MAndelA: From Page 1
love and kindness, that will be a great thing to take from Mandela.” During the vigil, Mensimah Bentsi-Enchill, president of the African Students Organization, said Nelson Mandela will go in the history books in this century and the next as one of the greatest revolutionaries of our time. She said she hopes people around the world become educated about his legacy to become united, to move forward and to accept differences between people. “It was expected, but nonetheless it was a somber experience for us, and that is why we decided to have the vigil,” Bentsi-Enchill, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior, said. Isabella Romano, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, became emotional while she reminisced on the personal impact Mandela left on her. While in South Africa two summers ago, Romano said she experienced the entire country sing happy birthday to Mandela on his 94th birthday. “While I was there [South Africa], I could just see all the magnificent things that Nelson Mandela accomplished,” Romano said. “… People speak of him as if they were talking about a deity. I’ve just never seen a country love a man so much.”
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Campus & C ity Chinese students to take advantage of direct flights Campus Crime Logs Dec.3to Dec.8 By Alyssa Ciofani Daily Free Press Staff
The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department crime logs from Dec. 3. to Dec. 8. Bicycle stolen A bicycle was stolen from 725 Commonwealth Ave. on Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. from the rack outside BU’s College of Arts and Sciences. Breaking and entering Between 3 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday, electrical equipment was stolen from a construction company at 243 Bay State Road. Larceny at Warren Towers A student reported on Wednesday at 11 a.m. that several pieces of jewelry were stolen from her room at 700 Comm. Ave. over Thanksgiving break. Intruder investigation On Wednesday at 3:46 p.m., an intruder entered 50 Worthington Road. After a short police investigation, the male claimed he had entered the wrong address and was waiting for a friend. Bait bike stolen A BUPD bait bike was stolen from 700 Comm. Ave. on Thursday morning. Officers followed the bike to where it was abandoned on Hemingway Street. No suspects were found. Shoplifting at City Convenience At 10:32 a.m. Thursday, two males were reported shoplifting food from the City Convenience at 957 Comm. Ave. Police later identified the two males as juveniles from the Match Public Charter High School. Employee threatens other employee On Thursday at 700 Comm. Ave. around 10:46 a.m., a parking services employee reported an employee drove past him and made a threatening motion towards him upon leaving the parking area. Assault in Allston A general investigation began on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. when judicial affairs reported to BUPD that there was an assault of two BU students on Highgate Street. The two males were roommates and were engaged in a fight. Fire in academic building On Thursday around 4 p.m., a lab in the Photonics Center located at 8 St. Mary’s St. had a light malfunction and caught fire. There was a charred fixture outside the room, but no one was harmed. Narcotics found On Friday morning, officers collected marijuana and paraphernalia from a student’s room at 275 Babcock St. No students were present at the time.
By Drew Schwartz Daily Free Press Staff
Chinese Boston University students who travel home for vacations will soon be able to avoid layovers and will save five to six hours of travel time due to Logan International Airport officials’ recent decision to offer direct flights from Boston to Beijing. Xi Jin, a College of Communication junior who lives in Beijing, said the new service will make traveling easier for her. “Taking connecting flights is very time consuming and it’s very tiring,” she said. “You have to wait in the airport, and it’s pretty boring. If I could stay on the plane for the whole time and just go home, it will be better. I might want to travel home more frequently.” Hainan Airlines, a Chinese carrier, was recently granted federal approval for direct flights from Boston to Beijing, The Daily Free Press reported Monday. The nonstop flights will be available beginning in June 2014. This came as good news to BU’s international student population, almost a third of which hails from China. According to the data from BU’s 2012 applicant pool, 31 percent of international students at BU are Chinese. Chi King Li, a School of Management senior, said the flight would make his trips to and from Beijing less stressful. “The addition will definitely make my trip more convenient,
since [a] layover sometimes means that I have to go through security twice, which is especially troublesome in the U.S.,” he said. “Shorter trips and knowing exactly how long it takes for me to get home is also a plus.” Other Chinese students at BU will likely take advantage of the non-stop service, King Li said. “A lot of students will go directly to Beijing if they’re from there, or at least use it as a hub,” he said. “Beijing is one of the major cities in China, so most flights go through it. It will be more convenient for students who are going to nearby places as well.” King Li said he travels home to Beijing twice a year for BU’s winter and summer breaks. The university’s shorter breaks, such as spring break and the short Thanksgiving recess, are not worth enduring the jetlag and long flight time, he said. “I would definitely consider direct flights if they were around the same price as the non-direct ones,” he said. “They’re more convenient and there isn’t the stress of waking up just to go through immigration. Running around an airport at three in the morning with your suitcase isn’t exactly fun.” Jiaying Li, a Beijing resident and COM freshman, said she is typically required to stop at least once anywhere from Detroit to Philadelphia during her trip home. “I don’t mind [having] to take
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
3
Adjunct professors begin to unionize in higher numbers By Taryn Ottaunick Daily Free Press Staff
a one-stop flight,” Li said. “… If I have one stop, I can relax, get some food to eat, [walk] around and relax myself. Without a stop, I have to spend 14 hours on the plane without any [chance to] relax.” Li said the cost of the new flight will likely determine whether she and other Chinese students at BU decide to take advantage of the direct flights to Beijing.
As the adjunct faculty members at schools such as Boston University increases, a trend has emerged of adjunct professors unionizing in rebellion against the unequal treatment many believe they receive in comparison to full-time faculty, according to a recent New York Times article. While tenured professors are guaranteed a job and its benefits for life, adjunct professors are hired on a per-year or per-semester basis and paid a fixed amount for each class they teach, said James Baldwin, a lecturer at BU and adjunct professor at Bentley University. “As a lecturer … I have the same kind of benefits that a tenure-track professor has, with the exception of being on a per-year basis,” Baldwin said. “Any given year, I could be let go. I have no idea, any given year, if I have a job at the university again the following year or not … At Bentley, where more than half the faculty are pure adjuncts, there’s no benefits, there’s no nothing. It’s basically a fixed amount of money for each given class and that’s it.” Lack of job security and career benefits is one of the most
Flights, see page 4
Adjuncts, see page 4
ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
College of Communication freshman and Beijing resident Jiaying Li says cost will determine if she flies directly to China in the future.
Mayor-elect Walsh learns to handle city problems at Mayor’s Conference By Alice Bazerghi Daily Free Press Staff
Newly elected mayors from all over the United States, including Boston Mayor-elect Martin Walsh, learned about issues that new mayors face at a conference that concluded Friday at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. Trey Grayson, director of Harvard Institute of Politics, said the goal of the seminar is to provide incoming mayors with valuable information they can apply to the problems they will face once in office. “We recognize that in three days, they’re not going to become experts,” he said. “Every city is a little different, so we hope to get them to think about big-picture issues or lessons that they can apply to their own community, like how do you hire a police chief? How do you put together a budget? How do you reconcile all the different promises that you’ve made?” A group of 25 incoming mayors gathered at the Institute of Politics for the 20th biennial Seminar on Transition and Leadership for Newly Elected Mayors, co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Kate Norton, spokeswoman for Walsh, said Walsh found the conference informative in terms of transitioning into office. “Mayor-Elect Walsh had an opportunity to sit down with other newly elected mayors from around the country to discuss some of the issues he will be facing as the next Mayor of Boston,” she said in a Monday statement. “This was one of a few opportunities Mayor-elect Walsh has had, and will have throughout the transition period and beyond, to connect with other Mayors and
learn from seasoned municipal leaders.” Tom Cochran, USCM executive director and chief executive officer, said the seminar has been an ongoing program since the mid-1970s. Every two years, newly elected mayors from cities with a population of more than 75,000 people are invited and all the costs, including each newly elected mayor’s travel and hotel accommodations, are paid for by the Institute of Politics. He said the mayors participated in a variety of sessions led by current and former mayors, academics and practitioners. The seminar included sessions on transitioning from campaign to City Hall, jobs, economy, education, technology, public safety, finance and administration. “During the seminar, newly elected mayors discuss several different aspects of leadership, including all the various issues that mayors typically deal with at the local level — budgeting, police and fire departments, first responders, water and waste water issues and municipal services,” Cochran said. Mayor Walter Maddox of Tuscaloosa, Ala. gave two presentations to newly elected mayors focused on disaster relief. “Sharing Tuscaloosa’s disaster response experience with others is important,” he said in a Monday statement. “We learned a lot from those who were in similar situations before us and I hope that Tuscaloosa’s experience can provide insight into future disaster response planning.” The conference also offers these new mayors with a sense of community, and Grayson said he hopes they will reach out to each other for advice in times of need.
KIERA BLESSING/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Newly elected mayors including Mayor-elect Martin Walsh attended the three-day Seminar on Transition and Leadership for Newly-Elected Mayors at Harvard University
“Another big goal is letting them know that there are all these other mayors around country, as well as other experts like Harvard professors, folks with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and others who want to help,” he said. Grayson said another important lesson the program covers is modern-day aspects of governance, such as recognizing the role of Facebook and Twitter. “If somebody’s trying to communicate with a mayor via social media, they can’t ignore them because they’re going to go spread the word to their friends and their followers that you’re not paying attention and not doing a good job, in their view,” he said. Grayson said he was interested by how existing mayors cautioned new mayors to be careful with public pronouncements. “You don’t want to change your mind and look like you’re
waffling, so don’t be afraid to delay a decision if you don’t have sufficient information,” he said. “Now explain it, be transparent about why maybe you haven’t made the decision, but don’t be afraid to say you don’t know, especially at the beginning when people are going to be more forgiving of the fact that you don’t know something.” Mayors who have attended the conference in the past have called the experience invaluable, Cochran said. “Many of the mayors have never served in elected office, but also it is critical that they have an opportunity to meet and talk with their colleagues who will be dealing with and have dealt with many of the same challenges,” he said. “The seminar provides an opportunity for them to exchange information, innovative ideas and best practices.”
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tuesday, deCember 10, 2013
Campaign focuses on increasing benefits for adjuncts Novelist: ‘Fantastic’ that attendees Bentley and the vote was negative do it and be able to participate,” purchased books as holiday presents AdjuncTs: From Page 3
pressing issues adjunct professors — particularly those who live off of their adjunct salaries — face today, said Malini Cadambi Daniel, a spokesperson for a campaign called Adjunct Action that focuses on increasing benefits available to adjunct professors. “We hear over and over how hard it is for adjunct professors to have any sort of real livelihood or real stability,” Daniel said. “They are just reapplying for their jobs at the end of each semester. There’s a hideousness about this pattern, where you can’t plan on the future, and the future isn’t five or 10 years down the road … It’s in the next 18 weeks where they have to wonder ‘do I have a job, do I have an income?’” The growing issue of job stability has moved adjunct professors to consider unionization, including professors at Bentley University in Waltham. “Bentley just went through a big push for unionization,” Baldwin said. “… The faculty all voted on whether or not to unionize
… What the really big issues were was benefits, the lack of job security and the relatively poor pay. There was really lively debate among the faculty, lots and lots of emails were very heated, very angry and very emotional.” Although it is unrealistic to live off an adjunct professor’s salary and coverage, adjunct professors can find value in the act of teaching something they are passionate about, said School of Theology adjunct professor Chapin Garner. “It’s not going to be particularly lucrative, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be something that you’re really passionate about and enjoy doing,” Garner said. “I understand that it’s got to be really difficult for people who want to teach and that’s the only option available to them, but that’s kind of the deal.” Garner said that although he does not live off of his adjunct salary, monetary compensation is not his motivation for working as an adjunct. “I view it as a gift to be able to
Garner said. “I don’t do it at all for the money. I do it because I believe in what I’m teaching and I believe in the school I’m working for. I do get compensated, but the truth is, I’d probably do it for free.” Despite the trend of disgruntlement among adjunct professors at various universities, BU spokesman Colin Riley said BU values and appreciates their adjunct professors, who are often esteemed professionals in their fields for their unique expertise. Riley said he has not heard of any negative feedback from the adjunct professors at BU. “We’ve had reporters who work for The Boston Globe or major publications who teach in the College of Communication,” Riley said. “They’re sharing their expertise, and we’re happy to have them. When your instructor wrote a story that you read in the paper in the morning and they’re there that afternoon teaching in your class, you understand better. These are working professionals.”
SMG junior: Flights encourage students to return home FlighTs: From Page 3
“For direct flights, it will be much more expensive,” she said. “… Because we don’t know the price of the new flight right now, I don’t know if a lot of students will choose the direct flight, or the one-stop or two-stop flight.” Zhongyi Wang, a School of
Management junior who lives in Beijing, said several Chinese students were pleased with the announcement of nonstop service to and from Beijing. “I heard from a few friends that they were excited about [the nonstop flight],” he said. “We have been waiting for it for three years, ever since I came to BU.”
Wang also said the trip might encourage more students to fly home to Beijing for spring break. “It would be a lot easier to go home,” he said. “If I visit Beijing, it’s 12 hours from Boston to Beijing, direct, but it’s usually going to be 20 hours if I take a stop somewhere.”
ReAd BosTon: From Page 1
“They [ReadBoston] are doing good things for the Boston community,” he said. “Any time that you can educate more people about reading is important. There are a lot of businesses and non-profit organizations throughout Massachusetts that are trying to do things like that … It’s a great thing.” Bill Littlefield, a novelist and host
of National Public Radio’s “Only a Game,” said the reception was a welcome encouragement. “It’s a wonderful event and I’ve already talked to some people who said that they’re doing their holiday shopping here,” he said. “It’s fantastic that anybody still thinks of giving books as holiday gifts in this age of advanced electronics that we’re living in.”
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Take intensive medication without the needle
MIT researchers discover how medications administered through injections may be taken orally in future treatments of diseases like cancer and diabetes
I
magine cancer patients not having to go to the hospital for hours of chemotherapy. What if, instead, they could just take a pill the way most people take ibuprofen when having a headache? Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brigham and Women’s Hospital recently published a study suggesting that some drugs injected into the bloodstream may soon be offered orally. History of the problem The study, published in Science Translational Medicine on Nov. 27, is what researcher Eric Pridgen, a former MIT graduate student, called a “platform” study. “It’s sort of an enabling technology that we hope will allow nanoparticles to go from being limited to injections to being able to be given orally,” Pridgen said. In other words, the results of this study could enable scientists to put many kinds of medications that are currently administered via injection into a pill form — not just insulin, which was the drug studied, but also in a wide variety of other medications. Currently, many large drugs such as insulin, proteins involved in immune therapies and chemo drugs are too large to be administered through a pill because they are too large to move from the human intestine into the bloodstream. For that reason, many drugs must be injected directly into the bloodstream to have full effects and benefits for patients. To create a compact pill form of these drugs, researchers first encapsulated the drugs in something called a nanoparticle. Nanoparticles can be defined in many ways, but for this particular use, researchers described them as “tiny biodegradable polymers.” David H. Koch, a professor at MIT and member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and researcher Robert Langer described nanoparticles as being thinner than a human hair — and Pridgen added that they are even much smaller than a cell. From this step, the researchers were able to easily insert the nanoparticles into a pill.
Kiera Blessing Features Staff The problem with this, however, was that the nanoparticles, despite their small size, were still too large to pass through the lining of the intestines. The lining is composed of epithelial cells that join together and create an impenetrable wall. Breaking this wall would allow the drug-filled nanoparticles through, but could also allow harmful bacteria in. A new approach In order to get the drug-harboring nanoparticles into the bloodstream, researchers analyzed a previous study that described how infants absorb antibodies from their mothers’ milk. There is a cell surface receptor called the FcRN that acts as a sort of keyhole to the bloodstream. Antibodies containing Fc proteins work as the key: when the Fc proteins and FcRN receptor come into contact, the protein is allowed through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream. The researchers coated the nanoparticles in Fc proteins, something that had not been tried before, and tested the pills on mice. The results showed a success — the nanoparticles were finally able to reach the bloodstream 11-fold, more efficiently than those that were not. How it works Once the nanoparticles enter the bloodstream, they will circulate with the blood until they finally reach a “leaky” blood vessel. “Normally, in a typical tissue, the blood vessels will grow within the tissue and they’ll be well-formed and they’ll be tight,” Pridgen said. He said vessels that form in tumors are “a little bit leakier … if you make a nanoparticle of a certain size, it’ll be big enough where it doesn’t leak out of the normal vessels, but small enough that it can leak out into the tumor tissue.” For this reason, chemotherapy drugs administered using nanoparticles have been heavily studied. For many cancer patients, treatment
PHOTO BY SARAH SIEGEL
means regular trips to a hospital for hours of chemotherapy treatment. Not only is this treatment time-consuming, but it also has a multitude of unpleasant side effects since the medication is technically toxic to human cells. “What you’re trying to do is give enough drug that’s toxic to the cancer cells, but at the same time, you don’t want to kill all your other cells,” said Pridgen. This is why the nanoparticles could be so useful. If engineered correctly, the chemo drugs will leak into the tumor only, and not throughout the rest of the body. This could lessen the unwanted side effects patients often experience and also allow medical professionals to administer higher doses to patients. Pridgen noted it is important the that nanoparticles, which are intended for cancer treatment, reach the tumor sites quickly since the drug will begin leaking out of the nanoparticles quickly. If too much of the drug leaks into the bloodstream, patients may experience the same unpleasant side effects as chemotherapy by injection. “There’s a lot of engineering that goes into, ‘How do you control the release of the drug?’ or ‘What size do you make it?’ or ‘How fast do you want it to get to the tumor?’, things like that,” Pridgen said. “So they’re all sort of parameters that people are working on to try to optimize for different nanoparticles.” Despite the extensive research into chemo drugs, the idea of this study was to find if a general platform was attainable — that is, with these results, if any drug can be administered orally. Student reactions Ultimately, a large part of the reason this study was conducted was to make administering medications easier for both patients and doctors alike. “If you’re the patient yourself and you have the choice between taking something orally and an injection, what would you do?” Langer said. “Most people would want to take a pill.”
Many students agreed with Langer’s assertion. “Obviously it’s a worthwhile thing,” said Tyrus Beaucher, a dual-degree junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Management. “My mother had breast cancer. She had to go receive chemo … it’s just a traumatizing process. The fact that they’re able to do it at home, I think is great for families and great for patients.” College of Communication graduate student Ashley Davis agreed with Beaucher and wondered what other uses the research could have. “I would be interested to see if it could be used on children,” she said. “It would be interesting to see how widely it was used or if it would be reserved for more specialized kinds of treatment.” While Langer did say children are a prime example of patients who would rather avoid an injection, Davis wondered if a pill might someday replace regular childhood immunization shots. However, as with the creation of any new drug, concerns are raised. “I don’t know what types of drugs exactly these are, but if there’s a possibility for them to have certain side effects, they could be abused,” said Emily Suarez, a junior in the School of Hospitality Administration, though she added that taking pills could lead to a less “abrasive” treatment experience for medical patients. COM freshman Charmaine Ye said while having treatment at home may help patients maintain a positive outlook, it can also lead to missed doses. “They might not take their pill ... I feel like people might just give up, or they forget,” Ye said. “If you have to go get a shot, it’s an appointment you have to go.” Despite the negative possibilities, students and researchers all expressed a positive outlook on the nanoparticle pills. “It’s too early to say what exact disease it’s going to go after,” Pridgen said. “I think what it shows is that targeting the receptor that we went after is a feasible way to overcome the intestinal barrier.”
PHOTO VIA FLICKR USER MATT BAUME
Patients undergoing intensive treatments, such as chemotherapy, may be further traumatized by the constant administration of medicine by injection, which is why researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are researching ways to convert these treatments into pills, taken easily and orally by patients.
6
Opinion
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The Daily Free Press
Girl, 21:
The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
Leviathan
43rd year F Volume 85 F Issue 52
Chris Lisinski, Editor-in-Chief Sofiya Mahdi, Managing Editor
Margaret Waterman, Campus Editor
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Sarah Kirkpatrick, Sports Editor
Brian Latimer, Opinion Editor
Michelle Jay, Multimedia Editor
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Regine Sarah Capungan, Layout Editor
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.
To divest is best?
Boston is no stranger to divestment. In 1984, student groups played a key role in Boston University’s divestment from private institutions with ties to apartheid South Africa by building a mock shantytown in the George Sherman Union Link, said Keith Lyle, College of Communication Class of 1988 graduate, in an email. Students gathered Sunday in Cambridge to urge Boston-area schools to divest from large corporations involved in fossil fuel mining and development. About 150 students from eight schools around Boston, including members of DivestBU, marched through Harvard Square calling for schools to cease funding companies responsible for creating large carbon footprints. Activists called for universities in particular to set a precedent for other institutions and withdraw investments from oil companies or other corporations with similar carbon outputs. Good thing BU already has a record of improving the school’s carbon footprint. Marciano Commons was awarded a Gold Certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design in September. Sustainability@BU is a special faculty-run group on campus geared toward initiating new environmentally friendly programs on campus. We even have the option to compost in the GSU. Students are already familiar with the steps the school has taken to improve the environment. Divesting endowment funds from fossil fuel companies help reduce BU’s hand in our carbon footprint, but the action has grander symbolic implications. Such action has the potential to familiarize a generation of students with the advantages of divesting. BU graduates are entering pretty much every facet of the workforce, and if this ecofriendly mindset spreads to multiple industries, more than just universities will make the choice to divest. With students from around the globe, BU graduates influenced by clean-energy initiatives can incorporate that knowledge to their careers, even if that means using hybrids as company cars or ensuring that offices properly recycle. If schools such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and BU start divesting from fossil fuels, that can influence more institutions to change their
current policies. Divesting is a statement for other institutions to emulate. A university moving away from an oil company may not impact the industry too greatly, but it is a symbolic gesture. But investing in these companies obviously has its advantages for BU. The university is not taking student fees to fund oil companies or other business ventures — BU is intending to make money in the future. You know, like any investment. BU students who call for divestment have to prepare themselves for losing the financial benefits and amenities for the sake of making a statement against climate change. Then again, we cannot put a price tag on the overall health of the planet for the sake of current students. Divesting from fossil fuels puts into perspective the long-term effects of pumping carbon emissions into the atmosphere. With an issue like climate change, it is hard to convince older people to reconsider environmentally unfriendly business deals because they most likely do not have to worry about the planet in 50 years. We, as students, do. A sustainable future, our future, is worth more than the wealth of any academic institution. Unfortunately, people still invest in companies with questionable business practices. To some, the obvious choice is to take the environmentally safe route, but in our current system, the best business practices are driven by revenue and not on the long-term effects of the deal. In the 1980s, divestment made sense because there were immediate human rights violations in South Africa that people could see. Climate change will affect our children’s children the most, but for now, there are no immediate repercussions that opponents can see. You’d think the past few hurricanes and typhoons would be enough proof for institutions to change their ways. For now, Boston area schools should choose to think about the future as opposed to the immediate benefits of investing in oil. Find other industries to gamble students’ money that do not warm the oceans. We are willing to sacrifice the benefits of investment in non-sustainable areas — so long as it is balanced by smart fiscal sense in university spending — to make a statement claiming responsibility for our future.
Sydney L. Shea In my spare time, I give tours at a museum downtown. I’d rather not name the actual location, but I basically work (volunteer, actually) in a three-story glass globe that lights up and talks. Seriously. I spend several hours each week in this massive stained-glass sphere talking about architecture, art and how the world has changed between 1935 and today. The map is a time capsule of the world in 1935 and includes countries such as Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Naturally, this type of job lends itself to customer interaction, and I encounter a lot of interesting people. For some reason, I also have at least one British person on my tours throughout the day, which is chill because I miss London. You might be expecting me to write about some nightmarish incident that happened with a strange customer, but surprisingly, in the year that I’ve worked at this museum, nothing notable has happened. Universally, the exhibit is loved by everyone who passes through it, and at the end of each tour, people thank me for doing such a great job of showing them around. Different settings call for different levels of courtesy. When I was a waitress in high school, people treated me like complete s**t. I briefly worked at a restaurant in Brighton as well, but decided to quit because the pay wasn’t cutting it and I cried in the bathroom about every hour. I always thought I was being relatively kind and attentive, but some things — such as seating time, food preparation, the weather and your husband staring at my chest — are out of my control. Crabby customers are an assumed element of any restaurant job, but it was difficult for me to understand why so many people were in bad moods. When I worked at a breakfast place, I’m sure people were just hung over, but still. Whenever I went out to eat with my parents, they were really nice to the waitress and would tip her well, being sure not to make too much of a mess and not placing an impossibly high-maintenance order. But many of my customers were just pathetic soccer-moms completely discontent with their empty lives and hyperactive children. I’m sure there was some amount of envy whenever they had to interact with a 16-year-old who had minimal responsi-
bilities and an actual life in front of her. Stop taking it out on me that your husband doesn’t love you anymore, there’s no need to passive-aggressively ask for a new condiment or utensil each time I walk by. But whatever makes you feel big for, like, half a second. Creepy older men always tipped me well. It was so easy: I just had to pretend to listen to their stupid stories for a few minutes, and somehow I’d get a $10 tip on a $7 tab. But there was something perverse about that — even though I had all my clothes on, I couldn’t help but think that these guys had something else in mind. I was once late for work on a rainy day and explained to a single man at our counter why I was soaking wet, and he gave me a knowing look and told me that “sometimes it’s good to be wet.” It’s not very kind or ladylike to call someone out on these kinds of comments (and I was only 16), so I just took it and anticipated his departure so I wouldn’t have to feel like someone was staring at me the entire time. What did he honestly think would happen? “Thank you, sir, please tell me more! I’m so glad that you came in here to rescue me, would you like to go have casual sex?” Some people are pretty disgusting. A lot of urban myths circulate about waiters spitting in a frustrating customer’s food, which I have been tempted to do but never actually did. No matter how mean the person was, I would just feel really guilty if I did something that gross. Sorry that this is all so depressing. Anyhow, social etiquette is a relative concept. The same friendly people on my museum tours would be quick to yell at me for not taking their order quickly enough if we were in a different environment. Working at a restaurant made me sort of cynical, so it’s hard to estimate someone’s true character in more pleasant, cultured settings. Being treated horribly builds character. It shows a great deal of integrity if you can deal with terrible people in a classy way. But really, there are some evil people out there. Sydney L. Shea is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences Ancient Greek and Latin. 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.
Ever dream about writing a column? Send in a writing sample to letters@dailyfreepress.com!
I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger
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.
letters@dailyfreepress.com
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Late 3s from Papale send game to OT Men’s Basketball: From Page 8
Despite BU knotting up the score, Harvard went on a 14-4 run to take a commanding 6050 lead with 6:20 left in the second. Although they were down by 10 in the final minutes of the half, the Terriers battled back with a run of their own, which ended with arguably one of the most exciting minutes of basketball BU has played all season. Down 65-58 with 50 seconds remaining, the Terriers brought the ball down court and passed it to sophomore guard John Papale. Despite not hitting a single shot up until that point, Papale let it rip from behind the arc and the ball banked in, igniting the BU bench. On the ensuing Harvard possession, the Terrier press defense was able to force a turnover. After the steal, sophomore guard Maurice Watson Jr. found Robinson, who missed a 3-pointer, but a rebound and some ball movement gave Papale an open look from behind the arc, bringing BU within one with 27 seconds remaining in the half. On the next Harvard possession, the Terriers were forced to foul the Crimson with 13 seconds remaining. Forward Steve MoundouMissi went to the line for Harvard, but was only able to hit one of his two shots from the charity
7
stripe. After the miss, Watson brought the ball down court, and with the clock ticking toward zero, he made a dash toward the hoop and laid the ball into the basket to tie the score. “I actually was just trying to find D.J.,” Watson said about his initial plan on the game-tying bucket. “But after I did a little in-and-out, I saw Kyle Casey, he didn’t step up to me, and then he moved. I saw the clear path so I went aggressively to the hole.” A last-ditch effort from Chambers from 3-point range and tip-in attempt by junior Wesley Saunders with six seconds left did not succeed, and the game headed to overtime. Unfortunately for the Terriers, they were unable to continue their success from the end of regulation and Harvard grabbed the advantage. A slew of turnovers and fouls by BU in the waning minutes of overtime helped Harvard go on a 13-2 run to clinch the victory for the Crimson. Following the loss, senior captain Dom Morris said his team may have given in after a few foul calls. “It’s human nature when some things don’t go your way, and it could be a bad call,” Morris said. “I think we just gave in a little bit and it bit us in the butt.”
McKendrick gives women’s basketball major scoring boost off Terrier bench Women’s Hoops: From Page 8
three games. In the win against Monmouth (1-7), she led the Terriers off the bench with a team-high 14 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting while snatching eight rebounds. Against Old Dominion (5-4), she recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds on the way to being named BU’s Player of the Game. In their last contest, she extended her double-digit scoring streak to three games, registering 10 points against UMass along with five rebounds. Despite the fact that the
Mildura, Australia, native has not started any of BU’s nine games this season, McKendrick is fourth on the team in minutes played (24.9) while posting a line of 9.1 points per game this season, good for third on the team. “Mollie’s a great scorer for us,” Greenberg said. “She came back in great shape this year, worked hard over the summer, and she plays just as many minutes as [senior forward] Whitney [Turner] and Rashidat, so she’s off the bench but she’s a real big part of what we’re doing on both ends of the floor. I’m really happy for her, and I certainly hope it continues for her because she really deserves it.”
McKay: FSU could rank atop all-time teams McKay: From Page 8
Louisiana State University in the title game. 3. 2004 University of Southern California Trojans While this team has officially vacated their national title victory (thanks to improper benefits extended to star running back Reggie Bush), it still remains one of the best teams ever assembled. Finishing at an undefeated 13-0, the Trojans destroyed opponents to the tune of a 25-point margin of victory on average. They had two Heisman Trophy finalists in Bush (who won) and quarterback Matt Leinart (who won in 2003). I watched a lot of college football back then, mostly University of Notre Dame games. When Notre Dame played USC that year, and jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the second quarter, I was beyond excited. Upset, anyone? At least until the Trojans rolled off 38 straight points after that, ultimately winning 41-10. This team was a machine. They ended up beating the University of Oklahoma in the national title game 55-19, which also doubled as the largest margin of victory in a BCS title game. 4. 2005 University of Texas Longhorns Two words: Vince Young. Four more words: 50.2 points per game. Margin of victory: 34 points. That’s not a misprint. This team gave us the most exciting BCS title game ever, beating USC 41-38, with Young scrambling into the end zone to put Texas ahead with less than a minute remaining. Young also passed for more than 3,000 yards while rushing for more than 1,000, which is an absolutely fantastic achievement. Sure, maybe Young didn’t turn into much in the NFL, but for one shining season, he turned the Texas Longhorns into the best team in the nation. 5. 2008 University of Florida Gators This team was so, so fun to watch. Back
when everyone was convinced Tim Tebow was a legitimate quarterback, the Gators offense positively strolled down the field every game. They scored 43.6 points per game, allowing just 12.9 points in return. The Gators topped Oklahoma in the BCS title game, 2414. So how do this year’s contestants (Florida State University and the University of Auburn) stack up with these heavyweights? Let’s take a look: Florida State Seminoles (13-0). Average margin of victory: 42.3 points. Scoring offense: 53 points per game. Defense: allowing 10.7 points per game. It’s kind of insane how Florida State’s closest game has been its 48-34 win over Boston College. Freshman quarterback Jameis Winston will be a Heisman Trophy finalist, despite the fact that he went through a sexual assault investigation near the end of the year. I think FSU is just as good as any team I listed above. Unless Auburn can stop Jameis and the Seminoles, they’ll go down as definitely one of the top five BCS champions ever. Auburn Tigers (12-1). Average margin of victory: 18.7 points. Scoring offense: 40.2 points per game. Defense: allowing 24 points per game. If you think Auburn’s an underdog just based on these simple statistics, you’re probably right. Auburn had no small measure of luck play into their bid into the title game. Remember the “Miracle at Jordan-Hare”? Remember the 109-yard missed field goal return to beat Alabama as time expired a couple weeks ago? I don’t think Auburn is in the same class as Florida State. I think that Auburn’s defense isn’t good enough to keep Jameis and his boys from doing whatever they want for most of the game. Of course, I could be wrong. In fact, I hope I am. We could use another classic BCS title game, instead of something along the lines of USC drubbing Oklahoma by 36.
MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Sophomore guard Maurice Watson Jr. had 14 points and eight assists as the Terriers fell to Harvard in overtime.
Excessive turnovers, fouls lead to BU loss Turnovers: From Page 8
from freshman guard Cedric Hankerson tied the game at 48 with 10:56 remaining. Harvard would then go on a quick scoring run to hold a 10-point lead with 6:40 left in the game. As the end of regulation neared, the Terriers pulled everything together, going on a 16-6 run to force the game to overtime, thanks in part to BU shooting an improved 48 percent from the field for the half. John Papale, who had not made a basket in the first 39 minutes of play, hit two clutch 3-pointers in the final minute of regulation to aid the comeback. Although the Terriers had all of the momentum going into the extra period and the noise of the crowd on their side, BU could not get out of its own way to start overtime. Three turnovers in consecutive possessions in overtime allowed the Crimson to pull away for good. The Terriers shot just 14 percent in the period, only making one basket. Watson missed two key free-throw attempts that would have cut Harvard’s lead to two points with 2:42 remaining. Instead, the Harvard lead swelled and the game ended in a 79-68 Crimson vic-
tory. “I felt like after John [Papale] hit the first shot in overtime, [Harvard] turned up their defense and we played a little timid,” Morris said. “We ended up turning the ball over, then fouling, then turning the ball over and fouling again. We didn’t play with confidence. I felt like we were the better team. They just got the best of us today.” While the Terriers out-rebounded the Crimson 23-18 and continually pressured the Crimson, in the end, Harvard’s plus-5 turnover ratio proved to be the deciding factor in the game. Morris ended the night with five turnovers, while Watson committed four. The Terriers also went just 12 for 20 from the charity stripe. “We average probably around 10 or 11 turnovers a game and we had 15 tonight,” Jones said. “You can’t turn the ball over against this team, they’re too good. We’re even on the glass, we turn it over and then we don’t make open shots. That’s the game right there. “You can say whatever you want about all the other things that happened, but we can’t have 15 turnovers. If we get 10, then I think we have a good shot.“
“
Quotable
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I think we just gave in a little bit and it bit us in the butt.
BU senior forward Dom Morris on the end of men’s basketball’s loss to Harvard
page 8
Foul Shots
A look back at the BCS
Patrick McKay
The BCS, since its inception in 1998, has been a contentious and controversial system. Indeed, it will be replaced next season. Since this is the last year of the BCS, I would like to take a look back, and rank the five best teams to win college football’s national title. 1. 2001 University of Miami Hurricanes It’s generally accepted that this is the greatest college football team of all time. This team was absolutely ridiculous. They went 12-0, and won their games by an average of 32.9 points, scoring 42.6 points per game. Are you kidding me? 17 players from the team were eventual first-round NFL draft selections. The players on the team have gone to an astounding 41 Pro Bowls, led by Ed Reed’s nine. Future all-pro nose tackle Vince Wilfork couldn’t even crack the starting lineup. Neither could fellow future NFL stars Sean Taylor or Antrel Rolle. Just looking at their running back corps might cause an NFL fan to feel weak at the knees. Starting was former Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins standout Clinton Portis, but the reserves were Willis McGahee and Frank Gore. They demolished the University of Nebraska in the national title game, 37-14. In 2006, ESPN ran a poll asking what was the greatest college football team of the past 50 years. Guess who won? The 2001 Miami Hurricanes.
2. 2011 University of Alabama Crimson Tide While Miami was known more for its flashy offense (its defense was awesome too, though), this Alabama squad was possibly the finest defensive unit we’ve ever seen at the college level. Any time you only allow your opponents to score an average of 8 points and gain a puny average of 184 yards per game, you’re doing everything right on the defensive side of the ball. And the offense was nothing to sneeze at, either. Led by quarterback A.J. McCarron and running back Trent Richardson (not to mention a world-class offensive line), the Crimson Tide pounded their way to a shutout 21-0 victory over
McKAy, see page 7
Sports
No Events Scheduled University of South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney was cited by police over the weekend.
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Senior forward Rashidat Agboola leads women’s basketball in recent success, P.8.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Men’s basketball falls to Harvard, 79-68 Turnovers sink
BU in overtime loss vs. Crimson
By Christopher Dela Rosa Daily Free Press Staff
Between the great showing from fans and the rapid play on the court, it was a high-intensity afternoon at Case Gymnasium Saturday afternoon during this year’s battle between the Harvard University and Boston University men’s basketball teams. Unfortunately for the team and the home crowd of 1,223, the Terriers (6-3) could not carry the momentum from the end of the second half into overtime and fell to the Crimson (91) by a score of 79-68. “It was probably as good of a game as I expected it to be,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “It was a great college game.” Similar to the Terriers’ loss against the University of Connecticut earlier this season, Saturday’s contest against Harvard was a game of scoring runs. Despite a raucous crowd, Harvard went on a 12-3 run capped off by a 3-pointer from guard Siyani Chambers to give the Crimson a 24-15 lead with 7:46 remaining in the opening half. Immediately after the Harvard scoring burst, the Terriers went on a similar run, and a 3-pointer from senior forward Travis Robinson tied the game at 24 with a little more than four minutes remaining in the half. The final four minutes of the half were filled with turnovers, fouls and missed shots from both squads, resulting in little offensive output from the two teams. After a put-back dunk from forward Kyle Casey, the Terriers fell behind 32-28 with 10 seconds remaining. BU senior guard D.J. Irving then carried the ball up the court, found a lane and drew a hard foul as he attempted a layup near the basket. Irving hit both of his free throws, sending the teams to the locker rooms with Harvard holding a 32-30 edge. As the second half got underway, Harvard gained the early momentum. BU struggled to get defensive rebounds, giving Harvard multiple second-chance opportunities. That coupled with BU’s inability to hit shots caused the Terriers to fall be-
By Jacklyn Bamberger Daily Free Press Staff
thanks to the play of Irving and junior forward Malik Thomas.
Turnovers and mental mistakes ultimately proved to be the downfall of the Boston University men’s basketball team in Saturday’s 79-68 overtime loss to crosstown rival Harvard University at Case Gym. From the opening tip, both the Crimson (9-1) and the Terriers (6-3) brought high-pressure defense. Harvard’s defensive intensity, particularly from guard Wesley Saunders and forward Kyle Casey, forced early turnovers from sophomore guard Maurice Watson Jr., senior forward Dom Morris and senior guard D.J. Irving in the game’s opening minutes. This allowed the Crimson to open up a 10-5 lead with in the first five-anda-half minutes of the opening half. The Terriers played catch-up from there, countering every Crimson run to keep the deficit manageable. Pressure from the Crimson defense, coupled with the need to get back into the game, resulted in the breakdown of BU’s offensive rhythm and poor shot selection. “I think defensively, [Harvard] got up and pressured us,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “They took away some passes, and any time a team does that to you, it kind of takes you out of rhythm. They were taking away some passes and kind of forcing us to play more one-on-one at times. I think at times in the game, that took us out of rhythm and led to some mistakes.” With a strong defense, Harvard went into halftime nursing a 32-30 lead. The Terriers were held to shoot just 38.7 percent from the field in the half, but were fortunate to hold the Harvard offense to just 40 percent, keeping the score close. In the second half, the Terriers came out invigorated, taking better shots and making smarter decisions on the ball. Two free throw makes
Men’s BAsKeTBAll, see page 7
TuRnoveRs, see page 7
MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
BU senior guard D.J. Irving scored 10 points in the team’s overtime loss to Harvard.
hind 40-34 three minutes into the second frame. Five minutes later, the Terriers regrouped and tied the game at 46
Women’s basketball begins winning trend after slow start By Emmanuel Gomez Daily Free Press Staff
The Boston University women’s basketball team got off to a sluggish start out of the gates this season, with five losses in six games. Despite their lackluster opening to the 2013-14 campaign, however, the Terriers seem to have righted the ship over the last week or so. BU (3-6) has won two out of its last three games and is starting to build momentum going into the winter break. Despite only defeating Monmouth University (Nov. 24) and University of Massachusetts-Amherst by a combined 12 points, BU coach Kelly Greenberg said that she has been encouraged by her team’s progress
The Bottom Line
Tuesday, Dec. 10
SENIOR POWER
The Daily Free Press
Wednesday, Dec. 11
M. Basketball @ GWU, 7 p.m. W. Basketball @ Boston College, 7 p.m.
on ‘what was going on?” Greenberg said. “She certainly has the drive and the work ethic, and has the experience so, in some of our earlier games when she just wasn’t ‘Rashidat-like,’ you don’t want to talk too much about it. And I think now, after a couple practices two weeks ago, she’s starting to have things falling into place for her.”
Senior forward Rashidat Agboola has led the Terriers during their recent upswing. She has been impressive on the boards over the last two games, posting a combined 14 rebounds in those
two contests. She put up 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting against Old Dominion University on Dec. 1, while grabbing six rebounds and even adding a block. Agboola followed that game up with a dominant performance against the Minutewomen (2-7) in Amherst. Agboola scored a game-high 21 points on 50 percent shooting (8-of-16) from the field while also registering eight rebounds and a steal. Not only did the Methuen native dominate on the stat sheet, but she also had the last bucket of the game, scoring a layup to put the Terriers up 66-63 with only 33 seconds left in the game, ultimately sealing the win for BU. “As a coach, you wonder early
Thursday, Dec. 12
Friday, Dec. 13
Saturday, Dec. 14
as the year goes on. “We knew going into the season we were going to be a work in progress,” Greenberg said. “Our goal was to make sure we don’t get too down about some losses and certainly don’t get too up about any wins, and just to get better, learning from different situations that we’re facing in games, and I really think we have [gotten better].” Agboola leads way for BU
No Events Scheduled Clowney was pulled over for going 110 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone.
No Events Scheduled Reports are that Clowney was speeding in order to get an early seat at the NFL Draft Green Room in New York City.
McKendrick emerging as a force off the bench Agboola is not the only person making a mark on this team, as junior forward Mollie McKendrick has also played well over the last
WoMen’s hoops, see page 7
M. Hockey vs. Bentley, 7 p.m. W. Basketball vs. Marist, 1 p.m.