3-25-2014

The Daily Free Press

Year xliv. Volume lxxxvi. Issue XXXIII

MARTY PARTY Mayor hosts 1st of weekly neighborhood forums, page 3.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

BANG BANG

New evidence proves existence of cosmic inflation, page 5.

]

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IN REVIEW

Season recap of BU’s women’s hockey, page 8.

WEATHER

Today: Cloudy/High 41 Tonight: Snow/Low 31 Tomorrow: 35/17 Data Courtesy of weather.com

City leaders gather at Boston Marathon bombings symposium

By Jaime Bennis and Taryn Ottaunick Daily Free Press Staff

Top city officials agreed that communication and preparedness are essential to responding effectively to emergencies such as the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings at a leadership summit held Monday by co-directors of Boston University’s Initiative on Cities, former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Political Science Department Chair Graham Wilson.

“This year the eyes of the world will be upon us because of the anniversary,” Menino said.

“When those world-class athletes sprint down Boylston Street, when we applaud the athletes who couldn’t finish last year who finally get a chance to cross the finish line, people will see why Boston is the best city in the world ... Those moments of triumph will show that Boston just keeps getting stronger.”

Entitled “Leading Cities Through Crisis: Lessons from the Boston Marathon,” the daylong summit sought to consider the community’s response to the bombings, analyze the aftermath of the bombings and develop ideal reactions to future crises both in Boston and other cities, Wilson said.

“The purpose of the Initiative on Cities is to bring cities together with each other and with experts from Boston University to learn lessons that will help dynamic, urban leadership in the future,” he said.

The summit highlighted three key criteria to addressing future crises similar to the marathon bombings in other cities as well as in Boston,

MIKE DESOCIO/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino makes closing remarks concerning the city’s disaster preparedness at the Leading Cities Through Crisis: Lessons from the Boston Marathon conference Monday afternoon.

Wilson said.

“Need for communication, need for planning and need for a relationship of trust between government and citizen,” he said. “Those are the three things that stick [out] in my mind as critical to success.”

Attendees of the leadership summit included political leaders from the New England region, people directly involved in the aftermath of the

marathon bombings and members of the BU academic community, said Initiative on Cities Executive Director Katharine Lusk.

As a community deeply affected by the tragedies of the marathon bombings, BU is an appropriate venue to hold the summit, Lusk said.

“It’s incredibly meaningful that the Marathon Conference to take place here at BU, as the host of the Initiative on Cities, the host of

Mayor Menino, as a community that was deeply impacted by the effects of the marathon both personally and as a wider community,” Lusk said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for the academic community here to learn about lessons of resiliency.”

BU President Robert Brown, who delivered opening remarks at the summit, said the events of the bombing last April were particularly horrific for the BU community.

“It is still painful for us at Boston University to talk about last April because members of our community staffed the emergency room at Boston Medical Center because so many of the volunteers at the finish line were BU students, and most of all because our wonderful, promising student Lu Lingzi lost her life at the finish line bombing.”

Brown said the ramifications of the bombing for the BU community should move members to honor those who lost their lives by learning lessons from the tragedy.

“For us, this conference is very personal,” Brown said. “We know firsthand how lives have been lost, shattered and changed forever by a senseless, horrific event. We can honor Lu Lingzi and the others who died on Marathon Monday by thoughtfully examining what we have learned from those dreadful days last April.”

The summit featured four panels throughout the day: “Caring Amid Crisis: External

Marathon, see page 2

2 slates facing off for seats on BU Student Government Executive Board

By Adrian Baker Daily Free Press Staff

Boston University Student Government hosted an Election Kickoff Monday afternoon in the George Sherman Union Link as part of BU’s first Week of Spirit where students were provided the opportunity to meet candidates from competing slates TrueBU and BU’s Push to Start.

Student Election Commission Chairwoman Lauren LaVelle said the SEC is also making efforts to increase student engagement in the election process this year. Last year, 3,100 students voted in the SG Executive Board Elections.

“Student engagement can be increased, and it’s an important thing to do,” LaVelle said.

Students will be able to cast their votes for SG Executive Board from March 21 at noon to April 7 at noon. Voters may choose candidates from both slates, each of which comprises of four students running for the positions of president, executive vice president, vice president of internal affairs and vice president of finance.

Candidates on the slate TrueBU, respectively, are College of Fine Arts sophomore Alexander Golob, School of Education sophomore Sandra Soto, College of Arts and Sciences junior Cassandra Shavney and CAS junior Salma Yehia.

BU’s Push to Start candidates, respectively, are CAS sophomore Richa Kaul, CAS junior Joe Ferme, College of Communication junior Jamie Ellis and CAS fresh-

man Joshua Mosby.

The most significant change in election rules for the Spring 2014 SG elections will adjust the procedure of issuing penalties to candidates for campaigning violations, said LaVelle. In the past, candidates who broke the SEC rules while campaigning incurred monetary fines of around $20.

“Anyone could, for very little money, buy themselves out of breaking the rules,” LaVelle, a School of Management senior, said.

The updated election code specifies that a candidate will lose a certain number of votes for larger infractions. The number of votes lost is dependent on how many students voted in the election, LaVelle said.

“Some people don’t agree with taking

away votes. We found it was the best way to take the precedent in our code… and make it more concrete,” LaVelle said. “I’m going to admit it’s not perfect, but I think it will serve us well this year.”

The time when election results will be announced will also be revised for Spring 2014 SG elections. Last year, the winners were announced on the same day as the final day of voting, leaving little time for candidates to file voting complaints with the SEC, LaVelle said.

This year, there will be a five-hour period for candidates to submit complaints after voting ends, followed by a 24-hour review period by the SEC and another 24hour period for candidates to appeal those

SG, see page 2

Walsh makes changes to ensure landlords maintain building codes, respect tenants

By Kelsey Newell Daily Free Press Staff

In an effort to prevent landlords from mistreating their tenants and holding their buildings to low standards, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh is amending the Boston Rental Housing Inspection Ordinance.

The current housing ordinance requires private rental units to register annually for a fee, and inspections are conducted every five years. Walsh’s amendments to the ordinance, which include waiving this fee for certain units, are focused on encouraging landlords to keep up their properties and act as a protective measure for any mistreated tenants.

“Boston has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, and too often we only find out about serious health and safety issues through tenant complaints or after a tragedy has struck,” Walsh said in a Saturday release.

“This is an important step in ensuring access to safe and healthy housing for all Bostonians.”

Walsh is proposing waiving the registration fee for rental units in 1-to-3 family owner-occupied buildings and providing a hardship waiver for 4-to-6 family owner-occupied buildings where the owner is more than 65

years old. The City of Boston will refund any registration fees that now fall under these categories as an attempt to encourage landlords to take care of their properties without being hindered by a registration fee.

According to the press release, 108,000 units are currently registered by more than 16,000 landlords. Under the amendments, approximately 10,000 units would be exempt from paying the registration fee.

Additionally, the changes include a directive for the Inspectional Services Department, which will begin in-depth inspections of the properties of landlords who have had code violations and compliance issues in the past.

“Proactive inspections that will begin this spring will allow the city to correct housing problems sooner and connect landlords with services and programs that will help them repair their units quickly and at lower cost,” Walsh said in the release. “We heard concern from our constituents that the registration fees may have been a barrier to some landlords, but this amendment strikes a balance with those concerns and addressing the real safety issues we see in neglected rental properties.”

City Councilor Timothy McCarthy, who owns and occupies a two-family rental unit,

MAYA DEVEREAUXDAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced a series of changes to address housing problems Saturday, which aim to reduce health and safety hazards in apartment buildings.

said he supports the efforts to protect tenants with neglectful landlords.

“As an owner and a landlord, I believe in fairness toward the tenants,” he said. “I really have no sympathy for the landlords who risk

the tenants’ safety or exploit them financially … I congratulate the Walsh administration for being able to address it and feel comfortable

Housing, see page 4

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tuesday, marCh 25, 2014

FEMA admin.: Preparedness key to crisis response Candidate: ‘Systematic issues’ hinder forming of unified BU MaratHon: From Page 1

Response and Internal Recovery,” “Crisis Reporting: The Media’s Role in Making Sense of Tragedy,” “Revitalizing Business: Getting ‘Back to Boylston’” and “Healing a City: Lessons from the Survivor Community.” Panelists included members of the emergency response community, medical community, business community, survivor community and media.

Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who spoke at the summit, said while the Boston Police Department was forced to make tough decisions in response to the marathon bombings, BPD’s reactions ultimately saved lives.

“These are terrible things and nothing goes according to planned, but there were really good decisions made by people in the police field,” Davis said. “... Innovation requires people feeling empowered to change, and in some way, to go against policy to make decisions that save lives.

That’s what I’m most proud of.”

Davis said the leadership summit was essential to keeping community leaders vigilant of potential tragedies such as the Marathon in their own cities.

“It’s really important to the future, so that people who have to face the potential of this happening are vigilant in understanding that this could happen anywhere at anytime,” Davis said. “BU is doing a great service to this community and other communities to give us a chance to talk about it.”

Chief of Boston Emergency Medical Services and panelist Jim Hooley said preparing for crises is essential to

citizens to feel more comfortable amidst the crisis.

“The kind of response that we saw last [year] ... it requires leadership, leaders with courage to make decisions while the rest of us want to pull the blanket over our heads and hide,” Grilk said. “... Doing something when there is a problem is the easy part. The hard part is having the plain courage to make decisions when you know you’re going to get criticized. All of us at the BAA thank you.”

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said one of Boston’s strengths in reacting to the crisis was remaining united as a community throughout the most difficult times.

“The mayor often talks about the importance of working together, and in so many ways what we saw through the success of that experience was the power in working together,” Patrick said. “The thing that lasts most for me is the extraordinary and consistent acts of grace we saw at a time when people frequently can and sometimes do turn to their darker side.”

Menino said that this year on Marathon Monday the entire world will understand why Boston is such a special city, and everyone will see that Boston is even stronger now than it was before.

“On Marathon Monday I will be out there with the crowds,” he said.

“I will stand with them and thank them for what they’ve done and what they do every day. I will cheer for the runners and their families and their friends because Boston is even stronger now because its people are the kindest, most generous citizens I have ever known.”

being equipped to address them.

“Planning, exercising and training sometimes seems a little boring and repetitious until you see what happens in the real world,” Hooley said.

“Then you see the value of the well thought out plans that you have exercised and that you can then execute.”

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, who also served as a panelist, said Boston’s operation system was ideal for reacting to a crisis such as the Marathon.

“Boston has treated special issues as a planned disaster for many years,” Serino said. “This was 20-plus years of preparedness. Not every city integrates hospitals and public health, emergency medical services, law enforcement, the fire department ... in addition to bringing together the business community. This was key in both in the response and the preparation for recovery.”

Panelist and Boston Public Health Commission Executive Director Barbara Ferrer said Menino was essential to providing aid and understanding to the survivor community as a longterm commitment. “[Menino] said to us [BPHC], ‘I don’t want anybody who was affected by this to have their needs go unanswered, for as long as it takes,’” Ferrer said. “In the midst of this crisis, Menino insisted that we understand that we were not being tasked with something for the next 24, 48, 72 hours ... but for however long the recovery period was defined by the survivors.”

Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association Thomas Grilk said the courageous responses from Boston community leaders allowed

sg: From Page 1

decisions, LaVelle said.

The three tenets of TrueBU’s platform are community, empowerment and vision, with issues including reform of BU’s Student Activities Office, improving the peer-to-peer mental health support system and funding community-oriented startups, Golob said.

Golob said he became motivated to run for SG president after being elected CFA sophomore class president and witnessing the inner workings of the administrative process.

“You see systemic issues that hinder us from really forming the community that we want to see,” Golob said.

Yehia, SG’s current director of student affairs, said TrueBU is distinguished because of the unique backgrounds of its members and emphasized the importance of consulting the student body before making major decisions.

“We’re civil servants ready to serve the BU community,” she said. “That’s the way it should be, and sadly, I don’t think that’s the

current situation.”

Kaul said she is running for SG president as part of the BU’s Push to Start slate because of the change she feels is necessary within Student Government.

“The central theme in our campaign is to be an inclusive student government,” Kaul said.

BU’s Push to Start aims to better involve student groups in the planning of projects in which they have a vested interest Kaul said.

She also stressed the importance the slate places on transparency, both within the student government and in the university administration.

Ferme said although he has not been involved in Student Government before, he would offer a fresh perspective.

“Coming from the more normal student’s perspective might be beneficial, because it is a fresh face, fresh ideas, from someone who really hasn’t been involved in student government before,” Ferme said.

Candidates from True BU and BU’s Push to Start will face off in a debate held Thursday evening from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in COM 101.

Summer 1: May 20–June 27 Summer 2: June 30–August 8

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Campus & City

Campus Crime Logs March 17 to March 23

By Alyssa Ciofani Daily Free Press Staff

The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department crime logs from March 17 to March 23.

Student harassment BUPD opened a general investigation March 17 at 4:38 p.m. when a student notified the department that her ex-boyfriend, who is not affiliated with the university, was showing up on campus and harassing her. The student is considering a restraining order.

Wallet stolen over Spring Break A student reported March 17 at 11:08 p.m. that her wallet had been stolen from her dorm room at 518 Park Drive over Spring Break. No forced entry was found.

IPhone stolen from FitRec A student’s iPhone was stolen from BU’s Fitness and Recreation Center Wednesday around 8 a.m.

The student was able to track the device to 575 Commonwealth Ave. but could not determine the exact location of the phone.

Unwanted emails A faculty member at 745 Comm.

Ave. reported that a non-affiliate who yelled at her in a meeting in 1996 contacted her Wednesday at 8:40 a.m. after 18 years. She said that he has been sending harassing messages, but she is unsure of what he wants.

Narcotics found in Warren Towers Marijuana was found in a dorm room at 700 Comm. Ave. on Thursday at 11:15 p.m. The marijuana was confiscated, and the student will be cited.

Wallet Stolen A student’s wallet was stolen on Friday at 10:59 a.m. at 590 Comm.

Ave. Underage possession of alcohol Two students were stopped at 914 Beacon Street on Friday at 8:26 p.m. for possession of alcohol.

One student, over the age of 21, had supplied an underage student with alcohol. Both students will be summoned to court.

Party broken up BUPD discovered a party being held at 188 Bay State Road on Friday at 11:00 p.m. Three underage students were found drinking alcohol and will be summoned to court.

Sexual assault reported A female student reported that she was sexually assaulted at some point between Saturday and Sunday. The address is confidential and officers are investigating.

Non-Affiliate charged with possession & lewdness A student reported on Sunday at 10 p.m. that a non-affiliate exposed himself to her at 865 Comm. Ave. She contacted police and police identified the man. He was charged with open and gross lewdness as well as possession of heroin and was arrested.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Walsh kicks off 1st ‘Mondays with the Mayor’ BUSI screens film about gay men in Israel

3

By Felicia Gans Daily Free Press Staff

Upholding a campaign promise to listen to the voice of the public and maintain transparency with his constituents, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh held the first of a series of community town hall meetings entitled “Mondays with the Mayor” at Another Course to College in Brighton.

The meeting, sparked by his successful Mondays with Marty program that he ran prior to his inauguration, allowed residents to share their questions and concerns with the Walsh administration. Over 250 people attended the meeting, and attendees were chosen at random to ask their questions. Those not chosen were given the opportunity to tweet questions to the mayor’s official Twitter account.

“It’s really about allowing people to have a voice,” Walsh told The Daily Free Press at the conclusion of the event. “It’s a campaign promise that we made, a commitment to come back to the communities and hear people. It makes me a better mayor, and it keeps me connected to

By Drew Schwartz Daily Free Press Staff

ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh answers an audience member’s question at his inaugural “Mondays with the Mayor” forum Monday night at Another Course to College.

the people that otherwise might not have a voice.”

Event attendees asked Walsh a variety of questions, ranging from bicycle safety to park maintenance.

Any questions that could not be answered by Walsh were directed to one of the cabinet members or department heads, sitting in the first two rows of the auditorium.

Representing nearly all neighborhoods in Boston, many of the event’s attendees wanted to ensure that the problems in their individual neigh-

borhoods would not be overlooked.

In response to one Allston resident, Walsh said he hopes to use these meetings to show all residents that their neighborhoods have not been forgotten.

“One thing I heard on the campaign trail was that people forget Brighton, and people forget Allston,” he said. “This is the very first Mondays with the Mayor that we’ve done, and we’re doing it right here in that neighborhood.”

Walsh, see page 4

Small businesses gather to meet local government

By Andrew Keuler Daily Free Press Staff

Business leaders from across Massachusetts gathered at Roxbury Community College Monday for a Business Matchmaker event that looked to inform small businesses about the opportunities available to work with the federal government.

Co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. General Services Administration, the event hosted about 250 small business owners, government contractors and other local government officials and business experts.

“I love being here because just outside this room, there are students working to fulfill the jobs that you are creating,” Warren said at the event. “So it’s a great honor to be here. We’re here to produce jobs here in Massachusetts.”

Warren said the event brought together a variety of professionals, including small business administration experts, agency partners and representatives from the Department of Defense.

“Altogether we have 25 agencies and prime contractors who need the work that small businesses do,” she said. “There is work to be done and good news is we have people who are here to do the work.”

Warren’s speech was followed by a presentation from Major General Craig Olson, program executive officer at Hascom Air Force Base in Bedford. Other speakers included Dr. Valerie Roberson, president of Roxbury Community College; Seth Goodall, regional administrator of the Small Business Administration; Robert Zarnetske, regional administrator of the General Services Administration; and Steven Wert, program executive officer of Battle Management.

In addition the small businesses looking to network with the federal agencies, many national contractors were looking to make connections with small businesses. These federal businesses, called prime contractors, have to ensure that a certain percentage of their supply comes from small businesses.

Several attendees, all small business owners, said the business

matchmaking event will help them network with federal agencies and reach small business standards.

Michael Levin, sales and marketing manager for Independent Pipe and Supply Corporation, located in Canton, said he was looking forward to connecting with prime contractors and he was optimistic about meeting prospective partners for his company.

“I hope to gain some contracts with the government, whether it’s the Army, the Air Force, their contractors like Lockheed, or some contracts directly to Hascom Air Force,” he said. “Through some of this networking, we should be able to boost our business this morning.”

Representatives from Elbit Systems Ltd., a multinational corporation headquartered in Israel, attended the corporation looking for specific types of small businesses that could properly supply them while also meeting federal contractor requirements, said Ronald Belden, the company’s purchasing manager.

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

To encourage students to view Israel as a progressive nation and foster dialogue about its evolving social policies, Boston University Students for Israel hosted filmmaker Michael Lucas at BU Monday and screened his documentary entitled Undressing Israel: Gay Men In The Promised Land.

About 20 students came to the College of Arts and Sciences to view the film, which portrayed increasing acceptance and prevalence of gay life in Tel Aviv. Attendees were able to ask Lucas about the documentary in a question and answer session after its conclusion.

“I’ve been going to Israel for such a long time,” Lucas said. “It’s a very open society toward gay people. It’s annoying to hear all the time, why am I going there, that I should be careful, gay life is probably very difficult.”

BUSI President Danny Hochberg, a School of Management sophomore, said the film provided insight into a largely unknown facet of Israeli culture.

“With the whole gender-neutral housing movement that’s going on at BU and all those barriers that students are crossing, I think that this event helped show how a country that a lot of BU students don’t really know about has made a great gay community in Israel,” he said.

Lucas said it was important to portray Israel in a positive light, which is BUSI’s primary goal.

“The only thing that you see on the news is about Israel and its Arab neighbors, and about the conflict between Israelis and Arabs,” Lucas said. “I wanted to bring gay tourists to Israel.”

BUSI member Raphael Fils, a College of General Studies sophomore, scheduled Lucas’ visit to BU after learning he was also screening his film at Northeastern University.

“It was a side of Israel people don’t normally hear about on campus,” Fils said. “I thought it was the perfect opportunity to show a lot of people how their misconceptions of

BUSI, see page 4

New Verb Hotel replacing outdated Howard Johnson Inn

By Adrian Baker Daily Free Press Staff

By remodeling the archaic, nowclosed Howard Johnson Inn located in Fenway, a development company is creating a new, modern hotel to reflect the diverse and vibrant Fenway neighborhood.

The old hotel is being remodeled into an “unconventional and irreverently styled” hotel by Samuels & Associates. The new hotel, called The Verb, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2014, said Diana Pisciotta, executive vice president of Denterlein, a communications company working closely with Samuels & Associates.

“With an unconventional décor and rare music and pop-culture memorabilia from Boston’s heritage, supplied and curated by the Boston Phoenix archive, the concept seamlessly melds the best of Boston’s past with the spirited culture of modernday Fenway,” she said.

Samuels & Associates is undertaking the project with business part-

ners Weiner Ventures and Spot-On Ventures. Though this is the first hotel project Samuels & Associates has taken on, its key partners both have extensive hotel experience. Spot-On Ventures, for example, was behind development of the Mandarin Oriental in Boston.

“Weiner Ventures is a development partner and investor with Samuels & Associates on all of the projects in the Fenway,” said Adam Weiner, managing partner of Weiner Ventures, in an email. “This is a natural next step to develop one-of-a-kind buildings for this vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.”

Pisciotta said the project can be attributed to a longstanding commitment to developing the Fenway area, but would not disclose the cost of the construction project.

“It is a spectacular neighborhood that offers the best of Boston in terms of arts and culture, outdoor spaces, dining, entertainment and shopping,” she said. “There is a clear demand for additional hotel space and creating

JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The former Howard Johnson Inn on Boylston Street behind Fenway Park will be transformed into an edgy, trendy boutique hotel in an $18.8 million renovation headed by Samuels & Associates.

The Verb Hotel was a natural fit.”

The Verb will fully restore the architecture of the original hotel, which opened in 1959 under the name of the Fenway Motor Hotel, as well as introduce a cultural vibe inspired by Fenway’s musical past.

The new hotel will have 94 fully renovated guest rooms and common spaces including a lobby, restaurant, lounge and pool area.

While the construction project is underway, surrounding businesses have felt the impact of the Howard Johnson Inn’s absence.

Andy Moore, manager of The Baseball Tavern, said he has noticed a small decrease in business since the hotel closed for renovation.

“The Dropkick Murphys played

Hotel, see page 4

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Landlords worried about Walsh’s preferences Walsh: Community needs ‘voice’ Housing: From Page 1

talking with city councils and its residents to come up with a compromise.”

But despite backing the effort, McCarthy said the ordinance lacks balance. Landlords often cause tenants problems, but on the other hand, tenants can often cause landlords problems.

“Landlords, and especially the smaller landlords like myself who own and occupy their properties, we’re generally very responsive to our tenants needs and subjecting them to an annual fee is really not [necessary],” he said. “But [the or-

dinance is] too broad and I think it’s unfair. If you’re going to have an ordinance such as this, which I think is important, we also need one that talks about landlord rights as well.”

McCarthy said Boston should be supporting landlords as well as tenants by also weighing landlords’ interests in these decisions, especially since these issues sometimes end up in court.

Many residents of Boston said they are pleased that helping tenants with problematic landlords is becoming a focus for officials.

“In a city like Boston, the majority of people are probably renting,” said Matt Jamison, 39, of the South

End. “That leads to people getting lost in the crowd … so when they’re trying to get help with a landlord problem, they can’t get it. These changes will hopefully really help that and prevent the problems from even happening in the first place.”

Yao Shu, 33, of Kenmore, said he is hopeful this will make it less stressful when looking for places to live.

“You really have to watch out for run-down apartments and the little details that landlords are supposed to take care of but sometimes don’t,” he said. “If there’s something protecting renters, then it takes some of the anxiety out of it.”

Filmmaker accused of ‘pinkwashing’ agenda BUSI: From Page 3

Israel are not really true. It’s a gayfriendly place, and it’s really progressive.”

Lucas’ film claimed that over the past decade, the amount of openly gay couples in Israel has increased by about 80 percent. The film focused not only on improving political conditions for homosexuals in Israel, but also the rapid development of openly gay culture in the country.

“I encounter this question about why I didn’t show anything about military conflict,” Lucas said. “I think that’s quite ridiculous. It’s something to do with double-standards, it’s something to do with unproportional criticism of Israel and a desire to put it down.”

Several journalists, including

Sarah Schulman of the New York Times, and other critics of Israeli policy have claimed that the country is guilty of “pinkwashing,” a term used to describe Israel’s alleged advertisement of gay-friendliness to distract international attention from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“First of all, nobody’s giving the rights to gay people. The rights are taken, the rights are being fought for in courts,” Lucas said. “The theory is ridiculous, but it’s becoming bigger and bigger because it’s so convenient.”

Fils said he did not feel Lucas’ film, criticized for “pinkwashing,” was guilty of doing so.

“It’s OK to criticize Israel, because Israel’s not a perfect country, as other countries are not perfect,” he said. “To choose to view it as

pink washing is not my intention to bring the film [to BU], and I don’t think that was the intention of Michael making the film.”

Both Fils and Hochberg said they aimed to draw a larger crowd to Lucas’ screening. Fils said several student organizations he attempted to collaborate with for the screening were unreceptive to his requests to do so, and to declined to attend BUSI’s event.

“People think associating yourself with Israel on campus is a negative thing, and it really shouldn’t be,” he said. “People tend to focus on problems that Israeli has than rather focus on good parts. Every country has its problems, no country’s perfect, but also every country has its pluses, and this was a really great way to showcase Israel.”

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Walsh: From Page 3

Walsh responded to several questions about the state of public schools and charter schools in Boston. He said the most important step residents can take at this point is to keep enrollment rates up and encourage others to support public schools.

“One of the problems we have this year is our enrollment is down,” he said. “So I would suggest that you talk to your neighbors and friends and have them enroll in the Boston Public School system because the way to improve the school system is not by running away from it. It’s by embracing it.”

Walsh addressed constituents’ concerns about the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which has undergone a series of changes since Walsh took office in January. Several residents complained about a lack of

transparency between the developers in the city agency and the people in the neighborhoods affected.

“We’re going to continue to move forward in a positive way for the community,” he said. “The community should have a voice at the table, and not just a voice at the table. They should be part of the discussions.”

In response to a question about a project in Cleveland Circle, BRA director Brian Golden said the BRA is looking to work with all Boston neighborhoods to agree upon projects that will be beneficial for everyone affected.

“We’re coming back out to the community to talk about how we can hopefully achieve an outcome that everyone can live with,” he said.

“You don’t want to see what you might perceive to be a flawed project go on just for the sake of getting something built.”

Manager: Hotel increases foot traffic Hotel: From Page 3

last week for St. Patrick’s Day and we used to get a good crowd that came up from all over the place,” he said. “They would stay there [at the Howard Johnson Inn] and always come over to here, but we didn’t see that this year.”

Jimmy Nguyen, manager of Mixx Frozen Yogurts, also has had fewer customers since the hotel closed, but said he supports the goal of the construction project.

“Long-term, it will be worth it,” he said. “The whole community will be better for it, and I think it will increase the foot traffic.”

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BU professors hail evidence of cosmic inflation as ‘most exciting’ astronomical discovery in 15 years Hoda Yehia Science Tuesday Staff

W

hen you hear about the Big Bang, what do you think? Do you worry about having missed last night’s episode of The Big Bang Theory?

Well, then you must have had quite a week given that the cosmological event was mentioned everywhere you turned. Last week, a team of researchers from Harvard University called the BICEP2 collaboration published what they consider to be observational evidence of an important post-Big-Bang phenomenon.

News outlets across the world celebrated the accomplishments of the BICEP team. The team of researchers, led by John Kovac, successfully observed spiral patterns that are visual evidence for gravitational waves and the theory that the universe expanded rapidly just after

the Big Bang, according to their published results.

Boston University professors hailed the findings as a major accomplishment for the field and as a clearer sign of our cosmic origins.

“My take on this announcement is that if it is confirmed, this is the most exciting thing to happen in cosmology in at least 15 years,” said professor Tereasa Brainerd, who is also chair of the astronomy department. “I think it’s really fair to say that … we have learned something new about the universe that our theories predicted ought to be there, and it appears that the observations are now telling us that the theory is correct.”

Using a set of high-powered radio telescopes located at the South Pole, the researchers surveyed the sky to observe some of the oldest light in the

PHOTO COURTESY OF HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS

To observe evidence of gravitational waves, researchers had to study some of the oldest light in the universe using advanced radio telescopes located at the South Pole.

universe, known as the cosmic microwave background — in other words, the dim afterglow of the Big Bang.

Since this background radiation has all the properties of light, it can be polarized like light, and the researchers concluded that this is evidence that the universe dramatically expanded after the Big Bang, referred to as “inflation.” “[The theory of inflation] was proposed back in the early 1980s to explain why if you looked in one direction and another direction at very great distances why the universe seems to be the same,” said Alan Marscher, director of the Institute for Astrophysical Research at BU. “…

The idea was that what was once a very small region where it got easily mixed up then expanded greatly, and then it took all that uniform mixture and expanded it.”

Scientists have published what they consider to be empirical, observational evidence that just after the Big Bang the universe expanded from a speck smaller than a subatomic particle to something close to the size of what it is today, all in less time than you can possibly imagine (from 10-36 seconds to 10-32 seconds). To do this, it exploded outward faster than the speed of light.

Such a violent rend sent ripples of gravitational waves through the fabric of spacetime, and as the universe expanded over time, the ripples stretched out. Imagine slowly spreading out a wrinkled towel for comparison. These ripples produced a distinct spiral pattern on light by polarizing it, and this pattern is what researchers observed in the BICEP experiment.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS

Researchers observed the above swirl pattern in the polarization of light using high-powered radio telescopes. The swirl pattern was left by gravitational waves, or ripples in spacetime, that researchers believe prove “inflation” took place soon after the Big Bang.

“One of the things we know about this light [from the cosmic microwave background radiation] is that the temperature is the same, almost perfectly, over the entire sky,” Brainerd said. “And it turns out that’s a hard thing to understand, because on very large scales of the present day, the universe shouldn’t have necessarily been as uniform a temperature. So inflation as a theory actually explains all of those observations.”

Both Brainerd and Marscher said they would be certain to include these findings into their classes on astronomy, though they admitted it may be difficult to present the information in an accessible manner.

“I wrote a book called From Nothing to everything and so I’ve got to revise this because it talks a little bit about … the cosmic microwave background pattern,” Marscher said. “… The pattern can be graphed and charts consistent with what was pre-

dicted by inflation — now I’ve got to add another figure about the polarization pattern that was observed and explain why there was a different polarization pattern that was predicted.”

Brainerd said this discovery validates much of the day-to-day, often draining work that comes with scientific research.

“I think as a scientist most of what you do day-by-day can be drudgery,” she said. “Every day, we go to work and we try to make small progress in science, and I think one of the things that helps all of us remain excited about our careers and excited about being scientists is when you see really major results. Those things don’t come along more often than 10 to 20 years and this is a biggie — this is really a biggie — so … this is just tremendously exciting for the field.”

Dire warnings about climate change increase in frequency

C

limate change is a phrase we have all heard and are likely to hear again.

Now, it’s not just the usual warnings of higher temperatures or melting ice caps. Two different reports both ring alarm bells and warn of dire consequences in the not-toodistant-future stemming from climate change.

The United Nations will release a report to the public by the end of March predicting several harrowing situations, including crop failures and flooding, according to a March 18 story in The Independent.

Somewhat similarly, on Tuesday, the American Association for the Advancement of Science released an extensive report titled “What We Know: The Reality, Risks and Response to Climate Change.” The report argues that citizens are not aware enough about the pressing concerns of the environment and that “abrupt, unpredictable and potentially irreversible changes” to the Earth could soon occur.

Dr. Adil Najam, a Boston University professor of international

Katie Lewis Science Tuesday Staff relations and Earth & environmental professor, said changes to the environment will affect college students and their generation more than current policymakers.

“It’s most unfair to you and your generation,” he said, “because essentially what my generation is doing is not making the tough decisions. The report is important, but we no longer need the crutches of these reports to know there is a problem.”

The UN’s report is based on the collaboration of hundreds of scientists around the world, according to The Independent. The worst of its predictions include a reduction in crop yields by 2 percent each decade for the rest of the century, which will increase malnutrition in children by about 20 percent and the displacement of hundreds of millions of people by the end of the century due to flooding and land loss.

The AAAS report warns that society is confused and unaware about the immediacy of climate change, especially because “in 2013, only 42 percent of American adults understood that ‘most scientists think

global warming is happening.’”

Najam said the public must pay attention and commit to taking meaningful action.

“We know from around the world that bad things are beginning to happen,” he said. “… It’s like students in college or school who know there’s going to be an exam at the end … but they keep willing themselves that they will [study] on the last night.

Well, here’s the news: you can’t pull an all-nighter with climate change.”

He said some use science as an excuse to avoid responsibility, for example, by demanding 98 percent of scientists to agree rather than 97 percent before acting.

“The world can’t wait for that,” he said.

So where can we go when it seems that our doom is almost certain?

On a large scale, governments and corporations can start changing their policies toward more sustainable ones, Najam said.

“It will be difficult, but it won’t be that difficult,” he said. “Did companies resist when we asked for seatbelts? Yes, they did … There

are lots of things that business might resist, but I think most smart businesses realize there’s money to be made in this. The Chinese have a wonderful way of putting this. They say, ‘There’s no such thing as waste.

There’s only unused resource.’”

Dr. Laurence Kotlikoff, a BU economics professor, said the U.S. government must take a lead in addition to corporations.

“It takes government policy,” he said.

“We need to have a carbon tax, a very significant one, to change things.

That’s what everybody thinks needs to be done, every economist who has looked at this. And that’s not even being proposed by anyone in the country in the government.”

At the individual level, Najam said every citizen, especially educated college students, should make slight changes.

“A lot of them have to do with our individual life,” he said. “… And I think if you start incorporating those into each of your decisions, they start adding up … What is the difference if I do laundry twice in a week rather than once? … There’s a difference.

Your doing it once or twice doesn’t matter, but every student at BU … that adds up. Every student in Boston, that really adds up. “ Kotlikoff said population growth also contributes to consumption.

“You also have about 2.6 billion more people coming on board in the next 40 years,” he said. “A lot of this growth is coming in developing countries, but as per capita GDP rises, they’re going to be big energy users too, big polluters as well. So it’s really a pretty dismal picture here. “ However, Najam said the onus now is not on scientists, but on politicians and their constituents to push important changes through.

“Is change going to be difficult?” he said. “Yes, it’s going to be somewhat difficult, but it’s not beyond us.

We are the greatest generation that’s ever lived on earth. We are the richest we’ve ever been in U.S. history. The tragedy is that we are flirting at the cusp of catastrophe at the moment of history when we have the most resources at command not to let this happen.”

6

Opinion

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Daily Free Press

RANTS AND raves

Fred Phelps

The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University 44th year F Volume 86 F Issue 33

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

Rachel Riley, Campus Editor

Alice Bazerghi, City Editor

Andrew Battifarano, Sports Editor

Trisha Thadani, Opinion Editor

Heather Goldin, Multimedia Editor

Maya Devereaux, Photo Editor

Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Features Editor

Emily Hartwell, Layout Editor

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 © 2014 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Medical conspiracies

According to a recent study by the University of Chicago, nearly half of Americans mistrust standard medical advice and mainstream pharmaceuticals. And, well, given that pharmaceutical companies are run like a business, why wouldn’t they be?

According to the study, 37 percent of respondents believe the Food and Drug Administration suppresses natural cures for cancer and other diseases due to pressure from pharmaceutical companies. Twenty percent of those surveyed said they feel physicians and government “still want to vaccinate children even though they know these vaccines cause autism and other psychological disorders.”

In a country where most advertisements are for medicines that will alleviate your headache, but may cause severe depression, hallucinations, uncontrollable muscle movements, nausea, heart burn and you know, death, it makes sense why many Americans are skeptical of mainstream medicine.

However, this is not to say such medicines and vaccinations should be completely ignored.

No pharmaceutical company would intentionally work to create a medicine that would harm the patient — at least, we hope they wouldn’t.

Maybe there isn’t a need to inundate our bodies with vaccinations for archaic diseases and relatively less severe illnesses such as chicken pox and the flu, but there is a justifiable reason to require vaccinations for diseases such as mumps and measles.

Although they sound outdated, mumps and measles have a knack for making random comebacks. Just this month, several patients were quarantined in New York City after a rare outbreak of measles spread to 20 people. Also this month, the California Department of Public health announced it had received reports of 32 measles cases so far in 2014.

According to the study, many are skeptical of these vaccinations because of medical conspiracy theories that say they lead to disabilities such as dyslexia and autism. But in a Sunday New York Times op-ed piece, Kristen Feemster, pediatric infectious diseases physician, said vaccine exemptions should be eliminated altogether in the interest in protecting those around us.

And, when it comes to diseases as severe as measles and mumps, Feemster is right.

Although some claim such vaccinations go against their philosophical and religious beliefs, there comes a point where individual interests need to be subverted for the general welfare of the public.

Unlike the hypochondriacs who believe talking on cell phones and standing next to a microwave will cause cancer, believing that certain vaccinations have serious drawbacks is at least somewhat justifiable. But, at the same time, the drawbacks would reap from not enough people being vaccinated outweigh any personal beliefs against them.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: An alumnus’ plea to save BU Wrestling

I am writing this letter to thank The Daily Free Press and the student body for their support of the wrestling program in our time of need, and also to outline why we need your continued support. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the university’s administration to mount a compelling defense of their decision to discontinue the wrestling program on the grounds that the “team is mediocre,” as suggested by Athletic Director Mike Lynch. With the ongoing support of the student populace serving as our backbone, this fight is not yet over.

As a current educational administrator in the Mount Pleasant Cottage School UFSD, I am able to empathize with the dilemma faced by the board of directors at BU. Even if they acknowledge that they initially acted with haste, they fear the ramifications of backtracking. Such menial consequences stand in the way of doing what we all know to be correct. The powers have backed themselves into a corner and will now blindly carry out their plan, unless pursued to do otherwise. For this reason, it falls on you, the students, to convince an administrator to have the courage to ask his or her colleagues to swallow their pride and reexamine a decision that should have never been made in the first place.

If we are able to reopen these proceedings, the reexamining process will uncover a wealth of evidence that undeniably proves that Coach Carl Adams and his program is anything but mediocre, despite receiving only a minimum level of support from our athletic director.

As a member of the wrestling team from 2000 to 2004, I have witnessed events that should be not be labeled as mediocre. A microcosm of all of these remarkable acts of hard work and determination occurred during the 2003-2004 season. Jose Leon was a redshirt senior and our captain who tore his ACL in early

November. In any sport at any level, the severity of this injury would be season ending, and would require a year before returning to competition. Jose, on the other hand, would refuse to accept this fate. He had his surgery and attacked his rehab, even when doctors advised him against it. Even with experts telling him that a comeback from this injury was impossible, he not only returned, but also thrived, advancing to conference finals and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. What Jose accomplished that year might not have gotten any media attention, but it is the most remarkable thing I have ever seen in sports.

Jose’s story perfectly captures the profile of a Boston University Wrestler: a hardworking, determined student-athlete who competes for the love of the sport. I encourage The Daily Free Press and the student body to ask our administration if this the type of student that BU can afford to lose? And, how does the university benefit by dropping the wrestling program? If you are an administrator reading this letter, I implore you to have the courage to ask your colleagues the same questions.

I specifically challenge Dean Kenneth Elmore to choose to do something great for the BU Community. The BU wrestling family does not need you to jump in the Charles River or ask the alumni for a billion dollars, but rather to be an individual of merit and honor, a selfless person with the courage to take a stand and speak out against an injustice.

In closing, I would like to again thank you, The Daily Free Press and the student body for your tireless support of my wrestling brothers.

Stephen Beovich is a 2004 SMG graduate, and a BU Wrestling alumni. He can be reached at sbeovich@gmail.com.

kate hofberg On a beautiful coffee farm overlooking the beach in Maui, two of my best friends, John and Christopher, celebrated their love for one another surrounded by friends and family last summer. I have never met two people more madly in love with each other, and I have never been more honored to stand in a wedding as a bridesmaid.

Fred Phelps, on the other hand, would probably beg to differ. But at 11:15 p.m. last Wednesday night, the 84-year-old man died in hospice in care in Topeka, Kan., of natural causes. Thank God. For those of you who don’t know who Phelps is, let me give you a brief biography.

He’s the founding pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka known for its virulent anti-gay protests at more than 53,000 public events. He’s also known to believe that tragic events like the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. and the brutal slaying of Matthew Shepard, a gay man, were God’s punishment for the country’s acceptance of homosexuality.

I’ve got to say, there are some crazy religious philosophies floating around out there — just ask the Creationists about the instantaneous birth of man via magic tricks.

But, blaming the gays for natural disasters or school shootings makes about as much logical sense as blaming straights for obesity or global warming.

Believe me. As a proud bridesmaid in my best friends’ gay wedding last summer, no one was happier than me to hear that the bigoted old fool had finally gasped his last breath. But still, in the days since his passing, I can’t help but wonder if Phelps took an unfair share of the blame for pushing an anti-gay agenda that many other religious groups in the United States are equally guilty of pushing.

Phelps was an easy target for Americans to locate unequivocal intolerance in, and he was an easy person to hate. However, now that he’s dead, leaving the fate of the Westboro Baptist Church uncertain, what are other religious institutions with similar antigay sentiments going to hide their own doctrines behind? What makes the philosophies of Phelps’ cult-like church more detestable than the numerous other religious institutions that, albeit, not as loudly, have taken an active stance against homosexuality? Is it fair to say that the Westboro Baptist Church philosophies were more detrimental to the progression of gays in modern society than other religious groups in America, or are they simply just more vocal?

They may not be making a spectacle out of their intolerance with colorful banners at the grave sites of slain U.S. soldiers, but that doesn’t mean that doctrine of the Church of Latter-Day Saints is any more tolerant of homosexuality. Violate the law of chastity, and be prepared to face church discipline.

You may be subject to excommunication, restricted church membership and your temple recommendations may be threatened.

They’re not picketing outside of concert halls, but the Evangelical Methodist Church does preach that homosexuality is a sin equated with adultery, murder and stealing that leads to spiritual death and eternal punishment. Or how about the Islamic stance on homosexuality? Not only is being gay a sin, but it’s also a punishable crime under Islamic law. Forms of punishment differ between the four main schools of Islamic jurisprudence, but what they all agree upon is that homosexuality is worthy of a severe penalty.

If you ask me, there are religious groups that are equally responsible for stunting the progression of gay people in society. Even Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, seems to understand that discrimination based on sexual preference is outdated.

In 2013, Pope Francis told journalists, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge? The problem is not having this orientation. We must be brothers.

The problem is lobbying by this orientation ... This is the worse problem.”

Phelps’ controversial display of intolerant views on homosexuality as an abomination made him a notoriously detestable figure, and his passing brought a huge sigh of relief from many people who dubbed him as “the most hated man in America.” Certainly, the world is a better place without Phelps. However, he was just one man with an extremist opinion and a small following and if we as a society are taking the stance of outrage at the fierce messages of hate and discrimination of the Westboro Baptist Church, let’s make sure we are doing our part to distribute that outrage equally.

I’m talking to all you religious groups who back anti-gay doctrines. If we’re smart, we’ll not only celebrate the death of Phelps, but use his passing as an opportunity to shine a light on all the other discriminatory institutions out there who are just as guilty of intolerance and messages of hate.

Kate Hofberg is a graduate student in the College of Communication. She can be reached at kwhofberg@gmail.com

APRIL 3 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.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

7

Benedykciuk: Winning award does not always mean NHL success Benedykciuk: From Page 8

accounted for nine points. Gaudreau could not lead his team to victory in game three, though, as he saw his point streak come to an end. Even with the playoff loss, I would be surprised if Gaudreau does not win the Hobey Baker this year after his incredible season.

In his own conference, Gaudreau dominated the competition, scoring 1.80 points and .90 goals per game. Overall, he notched 38 points in just 20 games in the conference, five coming against BU. To say the least, he is a dominate force that deserves to win the coveted award in 2014.

Some, including Gaudreau, Wilcox and Gostisbehere have already been drafted by teams in the NHL, with Gaudreau and Wil-

cox being taken in the same 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After being named a finalist award, many would think that these players, especially Gaudreau, will achieve greatness at the professional level. Based on the performance of some previous players, this point seems valid.

Some notable Hobey Baker Award winners include St. Louis Blues goaltender Ryan Miller of Michigan State University, Tampa Bay Lightning assistant captain Matt Carle from the University of Denver, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold from the University of Minnesota and former New York Rangers captain Chris Drury from here at Boston University.

Even though many great players in the NHL have won the award in college, win-

ning the award does not guarantee success at the next level of hockey. Sometimes, players will even fall into obscurity after winning the award. Last year’s Hobey Baker award winner — St. Cloud State’s Drew LeBlanc — went undrafted due to injury; he was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks, but has only played two games.

Ryan Duncan won the award with the University of North Dakota in 2007, but has not played a single game in the NHL. He went undrafted, signed an Amateur Tryout Contract with the New York Islanders and played just two games with their AHL affiliate. He now plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) for the EHC München.

Boston University’s most recent Hobey Baker winner, Matt Gilroy, won the Hobey

Baker as his Terriers won the National Championship in 2009. He led all defensemen in the Hockey East in scoring, and ranked third nationally among defensemen during the 2008-09 season. He has yet to prove his worth in the NHL, however, and has already played with three teams in just four seasons in the NHL. So, to conclude, I’m not sure how well Gaudreau, Gostisbehere or Wilcox will do in the NHL. They may not even play a single game at the top level. I expect them to be the stars of tomorrow, especially Gaudreau, who is simply sensational to watch. Then again, LeBlanc, Duncan and Gilroy were superstars in college, too. So, we will just have to wait and see what happens with this year’s Hobey Baker finalists.

BU seniors aid in offensive improvement Softball: From Page 8

Despite catcher Amy Ekart’s .233 batting average, she has been a force in the power department again, clubbing five doubles and two home runs.

Gleason said the team’s growing confidence in their approach at the plate, in addition to the team settling into spots in the lineup, has led to the offensive upswing.

“They are getting [confidence] each day in practice with their swing,” Gleason said.

“We believe that if you’re struggling a little bit, just keep swinging because that’s how you’re going to get what some people call a slump. We just encourage to just keep swinging.

“A lot of it has to do with the fact that our focus is completely on playing the game and not playing an opponent, not playing ourselves, just playing the game and each time in the game, you’re going to be set up with a different situation.”

Younan earns 2nd Patriot League Rookie of the Week Freshman infielder Brittany Younan earned her second Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors this week after hitting .533 (8-for-15) and slugging an astounding .800 at the Yale Invitational. In addition, Younan played a role in 10 of the 29 runs the Terriers scored during the tournament. The freshman previously earned Rookie of the Week honors on March 10.

The Chico, Calif., native went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored during a 13-2 victory over Yale University. Younan hit a crucial solo homer in the Terriers’ 8-3 victory over Bryant University.

For the year, Younan is second on the team in batting with a .392 batting average.

She has seven extra-base hits this year and is second on the team with 17 RBI.

Sperry wins 2nd-career HE playoff MVP Women’s Hockey: From Page 8

SARAH FISHER/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE PHOTO

Shortstop Brittany Clendenny has driven in a team-leading 25 RBI for BU this season.

Turnovers cost Terriers in latest defeat Men’s Lacrosse: From Page 8

game in their inaugural season less than two weeks ago, the Terriers have still yet to prove that they can field a consistently effective offense.

BU ranks second to last in the Patriot League in goals with 6.50 per game, assists with 4.25 per game, points with 10.75 per game and shots at 31.62 per contest.

Furthermore, the Terriers lead the conference with 19 turnovers a contest and are last in shot percentage with .206.

BU scored in double digits for the first time in its 12-7 win against Lafayette, which puts the program in stark contrast to conference foes such as Loyola University-Maryland and the U.S. Naval Academy, each of which average double digits in goals per game.

In its last effort, BU only collected three goals in a loss to the Bison (5-4, 3-2 Patriot League). That poor offensive showing matches the team’s season-low scoring mark set in a 9-3 loss to Canisius College on Feb. 15.

Against Bucknell, the Terriers showed their most harmful trends, only tallying 28 shots during the game and committed 19 turnovers.

“I think Bucknell is traditionally a very good defensive team, and I think some of the struggles are certainly our turnovers,” Polley said. “I think we need to limit our turnovers a little bit to give ourselves a maximum chance of scoring.

“We give too many possessions away. I think we had an okay offensive game going against a great team and we didn’t finish some shots. It was just one of those days.”

Johnston continues impressive rookie season After winning Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the games played between March 3 and March 9, Johnston has continued to increase his impact on the field.

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

The team scored 44 goals in its last 16 games of the regular season, good for a 2.75 goals per game average, which was significantly lower than the 3.50 goals per game it scored during its 12-2 streak.

“I think a whole bunch of things went wrong,” Durocher said. “Number one, you lost Kayla Tutino … we were playing with all the momentum for the first half of the year, but once we had the break we came back in the second half and we weren’t quite as dynamic. We were obviously not quite as deep as we were in the first half.

“All of a sudden the momentum went — and it was almost negative momentum, and we really had to fight that adversity. We had to come up with ways to win.”

After a regular season marred by crucial early-season injuries and late-season scoring troubles, the Terriers had to win the Hockey East Tournament in order to compete in the NCAA Tournament. On the back of senior goaltender Kerrin Sperry, they did just that.

In three Hockey East Tournament games, Sperry made 119 saves on 125 shots, good for a .952 save percentage and 2.00 goalsagainst average. BU first defeated Providence (11-24-0, 6-15-0 Hockey East) at Walter Brown Arena in the quarterfinals.

The Terriers then traveled to Hyannis and went on to beat Northeastern (19-4-2, 13-62 Hockey East) and then-No. 4 BC (27-7-3, 18-2-1 Hockey East) in the title game, all by the same score of 3-2, claiming their third consecutive Hockey East Championship.

Sperry was awarded with her second straight Hockey East Tournament MVP in

her final performance in the tournament.

“I think it’s pretty well-documented that [Sperry is] a kid who works as hard as anybody, that she’s competitive as anybody on this team and she certainly has a nose for figuring out how to win games,” Durocher said. “No better example than a lot of the playoff games we played where it was 3-2 all three games this year.

“That’s what sticks out in my mind — that she’s been unbelievably consistent and has just about always been there in the big games for us.”

Unfortunately for the Terriers, the NCAA Tournament draw did not work in their favor, going up against a juggernaut in Minnesota (38-2-1) in the quarterfinals. The Gophers only lost one game in the past two seasons heading into the tournament and defeated BU in the National Championship Game in 2013 by a score of 6-3, completing an undefeated season.

BU was unable to match the firepower of the vaunted Minnesota offense, and its season ended with a 5-1 loss in the same arena and against the same team as last season’s National Championship Game.

Durocher, however, said he is not keen on holding supernatural forces accountable for his team’s play.

“I don’t know if it’s déjà vu, but there is a little bit of frustration there,” Durocher said. “They also went out there with the full intention that they were going to win the game. “[The team] played a tough game, got the right type of bounces, got the goaltending and blocked enough shots to put ourselves in nice position, but it’s a game of inches.”

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“

“

Quotable

She’s been unbelievably consistent and has just about always been there in the big games for us.

- BU coach Brian Durocher on the play of goaltender Kerrin Sperry.

page 8

The Blue Line

Sports The Daily Free Press

[ www.dailyfreepress.com ]

Mike Benedykciuk

Benedykciuk, see page 7

MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sophomore forward Sarah Lefort was named an AHCA Second-Team AllAmerican after scoring 32 goals this season.

By Gregory Davis Daily Free Press Staff

In a season in which the Boston University women’s hockey team was confronted with much adversity, the squad was able to overcome its obstacles en route to a conference championship before suffering from a case of déjà vu in the NCAA Tournament, falling to the University of Minnesota.

The 2013-14 campaign was off to an unfortunate start for the Terriers (24-13-1, 14-7 Hockey East) before it even began, as top-pair senior defenseman Shannon Doyle suffered an injury during the offseason that sidelined her for the year.

“Certainly with the Shannon Doyle situation we were able to know that well in advance, and while it influenced [the season] because we lost a great player, we never had any lines or ‘D’ pairings set with her involved,” said BU coach Brian Durocher.

In the first half of the season, the firepower of BU’s offense was

No Events Scheduled Thanks to Dayton’s upset over Syracuse, there are no more perfect brackets remaining. Somewhere, Warren Buffet is smiling.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

able to offset the loss of the top defenseman. From Oct. 26 to Dec. 7, the team went 12-2, including eight-game and five-game winning streaks. Over the course of the 14game stretch, the Terriers scored 49 goals and allowed 27, good for 3.50 goals per game and 1.90 goals allowed per game.

Sophomore forward Sarah Lefort and senior forward Louise Warren led the offensive charge, while senior defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin led the squad in defensive scoring.

Going into the mid-season break, Lefort scored 15 goals and posted 10 assists, Warren put up 13 goals and dished out nine assists. Fratkin put up nine assists of her own and freshman forward Samantha Sutherland had a teamleading 11 assists.

Before a Dec. 3 contest against Northeastern University, with three games to play before the break, BU lost one of its top offensive weapons, junior forward Kayla Tutino, to a season-ending

lower-body injury. She had four goals and six assists in 14 games played.

Despite another crucial injury early in the season, BU’s top players continued to flourish. Lefort ended the season with an NCAAleading 32 goals and Hockey East leading 55 points. For her play, she was named an AHCA SecondTeam All-American.

Warren finished second in Hockey East with 46 points and 27 goals, while Fratkin led Hockey East with 26 assists and was one of only two defensemen in the conference to finish in the top-10 in the category.

“As you always hope, people rise to the occasion,” Durocher said. “Kaleigh Fratkin had a fantastic year … Just the way she simplified her game and made it a much smarter game and an easier game to play around.

“Louise had the most goals she’s ever had in her career, and Sarah Lefort — despite losing two elite players in [forwards] Jenelle Kohanchuk and Marie-Philip Poulin — she exceeded most people’s expectations and led the country in goal-scoring.”

In addition to those veterans, freshman forward Maddie Elia emerged in the second half of the season, ending the year second in the Hockey East in freshman scoring with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points.

However, after ending the break with a 3-2 win over Dartmouth College Jan. 4, the adversity began to get the best of BU. The team went into its worst stretch of the season, going 1-5 over the next six games and falling out of the top-10 rankings.

The Terriers never quite got their game back on track, falling to then-No. 7 Boston College in the Beanpot semifinal, en route to ending the regular season on a 3-4 run.

WoMen’s Hockey, see page 7

Patriot League Rookie of Week

By Alex Rozier Daily Free Press Staff

Freshman midfielder Sam Talkow was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week Monday, the conference announced. Talkow is now the third consecutive Boston University men’s lacrosse player to win the award, following freshman midfielder Cal Dearth and freshman attack Ryan Johnston.

The Delray Beach, Fla., native has impressed in recent efforts, specifically in his role taking faceoffs for the Terriers (1-7, 1-3 Patriot League). Against Lafayette College on March 15, Talkow won 14-of-22 faceoffs, higher than the 8-for-22 number recorded by the Leopards (1-6, 1-4 Patriot League).

The freshman showed even more progress during the Saturday battle at Bucknell University. He won all 12 of his draws, including nine in the first half alone. Talkow also scored one of just three goals for the Terriers that day in the first period.

Talkow leads BU in not only faceoffs, but also in ground balls with his 54 total on the season. He is also building a reputation around the conference, as the freshman leads the Patriot League in faceoff percentage with .614 and is second in ground balls with 6.75 per game.

“He’s been great, he’s actually been great all year,” said BU coach Ryan Polley. “He’s been a dominant faceoff player. He went 12-for-12 against Bucknell, and what a goal, and against a very strong team he gave us a chance to win. Sam has been terrific all year.”

Offense continues to struggle Despite winning their first

Men’s lacrosse, see page 7

Defense improves in last 4 contests after rough start in opening tournaments

By Joon Lee Daily Free Press Staff

After struggling through a stretch of defensive difficulties en route to seven losses in 10 games during the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational and the Under Armour Showcase, the Boston University softball team picked up the pace in its last two tournaments, winning six of nine games.

While the Terriers (14-11) have improved offensively, outscoring opponents 29-14 at the Yale Invitational. BU coach Kathryn Gleason said the root of the team’s success has been in its rock-solid defense, which committed only three errors in the four-game stint in Fairfield, Conn.

“We played great defense, Gleason said. “Our pitchers aren’t going to get a lot of strikeouts so we have to play great defense and I think we did that this weekend.”

The Bottom Line

Tuesday, March 25

The BU softball team has used improved defense to win three out of its last four games, P.8.

Women’s hockey succeeds despite injuries Talkow claims

Hobey Baker

If you had asked me a month ago what I’d like writing about in March, I would’ve said with great confidence that I’d enjoy discussing the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. But with Ohio State University, the University of Syracuse, Oklahoma State University, the University of Kansas, Wichita State University and Duke University all eliminated from the tournament early, my bracket currently sits in the 28th percentile nationally. Quite literally, I despise the thought of the tournament right now.

In fact, I never want to talk about March Madness ever again. ever.

Until next year, of course, when I’ll try convincing everyone my bracket is better than his or hers. My submission to ESPN’s Tournament Challenge this year is the most pathetic excuse for a bracket I have ever mustered.

In other news, the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award in college hockey were announced. The group selected consists of University of Nebraska-Omaha forward Josh Archibald, St. Lawrence University forward Greg Carey, St. Cloud State University forward Nic Dowd, Oho State forward Ryan Dzingel, Boston College forward Johnny Gaudreau, Union College defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, BC forward Kevin Hayes, Ferris State University goalie CJ Motte, University of Wisconsin netiminder Joel Rumpel and University of Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox.

As of Monday night, Gostisbehere led the voting, but I doubt he will stay ahead for long.

Gaudreau led the NCAA this year with 69 points (32 goals, 37 assists) in just 37 games played.

His 31-game point streak tied NHL and University of Maine star Paul Kariya’s of the 1992-93 season for the longest in Hockey East history.

Gaudreau earned the nickname “Johnny Hockey” for his overall presence on the ice and his effort shift-after-shift.

After BC got thumped 7-2 by the University of Notre Dame in the first game of the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal round, Gaudreau led BC to victory in the second contest. He, along with Bill Arnold and Hobey Baker finalist Hayes,

PITCHER’S BEST FRIEND

Wednesday, March 26 W. Lacrosse vs. Yale, 4 p.m.

Softball @ Bryant, 4 p.m.

Between BU’s three pitchers, sophomores Lauren Hynes and Melanie Russell and freshman Makinna Akers, there have been just 103 strikeouts accumulated in the 25 games played, an average of 4.12 a game. So with the lower number of punch-outs, the Terriers have had to rely on their defense.

Despite the lack of opportunities to play on their home field at BU, Gleason’s squad has taken advantage of Nickerson Field and New Balance Field to get extra defensive practice in. The effect of the extra grounders and fly balls showed after the team struggled during its late February early March slide.

“We’re just trying to get as many repetitions in as we can,” Gleason said of improving the defense. “We haven’t been on our field yet so just making the most of what we have. Being able to be

outside on New Balance Field and Nickerson and just getting them to feel comfortable and I think that comes with repetitions and we were able to do that a lot last weekend. We hope to do that this week.”

According to Gleason, having a strong defense behind the starting pitcher will help the pitcher’s mindset throughout the game, especially knowing that they do not have to rely on just strikeouts. “[We can be] confident that we don’t have to strike people out and getting some ground balls and getting some fly balls when they are behind you,” Gleason said. “Getting ahead of the hitters and shutting the door when we do give up a big hit or a home run. I think they’ve responded and done a great job with that. They’ve done a great job of complementing each other.”

Thursday, March 27

Friday, March 28

Softball vs. Providence, 4 p.m.

Track @ Raleigh Relays, All Day Track @ Central Florida Relays, All Day

Offense coming together One of the major developments at the Yale Invitational was the progression of the Terriers’ offense. In their four games, the Terriers averaged an impressive 7.25 runs per game. During the Michele Smith Spring Break Tournament, the Terriers posted only 3.8 runs per game, despite taking three of five games in the tournament.

The seniors have been a huge help in this year’s improved offense. Outfielder Jayme Mask leads the team in both batting and on-base percentage at .452 and .505, respectively.

Shortstop Brittany Clendenny has compiled strong numbers thus far in 2014, hitting .318 as well as driving in a team-best 25 runs in as many games played.

softBall, see page 7

Saturday, March 29

Softball @ Army, 12 p.m., 2 p.m.

W. Lacrosse @ Lafayette, 1 p.m.

M. Lacrosse vs. Navy, 1 p.m.

Track @ Raleigh Relays, All Day