NEWS Ballot question finance reports show big funding for groups in support of various ballot measures. p.4
CATALYST The Facebook Virtual Reality Roadshow, a multi-city national tour, stopped in Boston from Monday to Thursday so people could test VR technology. p.6
36°/51° CLOUDY
SPORTS After missing the past two games, junior midfielder Anthony Viteri returned Wednesday for men’s soccer and helped lead them to victory over Holy Cross. p.12
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLV. VOLUME XCI. ISSUE VIII.
MBTA finds fare evasion on Green Line BY BLAU RAMOS DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR
and managing the Kilachand’s Peer Mentor program and in training Kilachand Ambassadors. “Josiah cared a great deal about education and was enormously devoted to his students who were deeply attached to him. All of us feel his loss, which is a blow to our community and to each of us individually.” Dellheim wrote. Epps also made KHC community “teas” a more prominent and significant part of campus life, Dellheim wrote.
Approximately $1.6 to $1.9 million are lost annually to rear-door boarding on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line’s above-ground stops, according to an MBTA study published on the MBTA Data Blog on October 21. The study was initiated in response to growing concerns by MBTA passengers about the Green Line’s all-door boarding policy, which allows passengers to board through the rear doors during peak periods, MBTA Deputy Press Secretary Jason Johnson wrote in an email. “Currently, in order to speed the boarding process, passengers are allowed to board through the rear doors at most, but not all, stops during peak periods, and rarely outside of peak periods,” Johnson wrote. The Green Line collects about $95 million in fare revenue each year, the report stated. Researchers, during the study, were accompanied by an MBTA official and would be situated inside the trolleys, asking passengers if they had a valid pass or had paid on the platform, the report stated. According to the report, even during peak hours, most Green Line passengers entered the trolley through the front door and paid their fare. Likewise, approximately 69 percent of those who boarded from the rear doors swiped their passes, the report found. In order to estimate the fare losses from rear-door boarding, MBTA personnel oversaw key boarding locations on B, C, D and E lines at morning peak hours and collected fares offboard, Johnson wrote. Findings of revenue losses in the study are being addressed by the MBTA through a variety of measures, according to Johnson. “In the short-term, the Authority will continue off-board fare collection at the busiest times and stations,” Johnson wrote. “In the medium-term the MBTA is working to reduce spikes in per-train crowding by improving the reliability of train arrivals at each station. Finally, in the long-term the MBTA is procuring a new fare collection system that will enable payment at all doors of Green Line vehicles and proof of payment fare enforcement.” Eugene Benson, a professor of city planning and urban affairs at Boston University, said the MBTA needs infrastructure upgrades, such as card readers at the back doors. “[The MBTA] needs more funding,” Benson said. “They are trying to triage what problems they need to spend more money on, when in reality they just need more funding.” Several Boston residents said fare evasion happens because of delays the T often experiences, and the MBTA should work to become more time efficient. Nancy Dolan, 37, of South Boston, said there is not much the MBTA could do to improve its all-door policy. “It’s always late, or there’s a disabled train
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A woman photographs a display at the IGers Boston photography exhibit showcasing Instagram photos of Boston.
IGersBoston Gallery benefits local charity BY ELISE TAKAHAMA DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The 120 handpicked photos captured Boston pride and extreme talent, but the Instagrammers and attendees exhibited the true meaning of the contest. The Sheraton Boston Hotel hosted the IGersBoston Gallery Friday evening, an exhibition and silent auction to showcase distinct parts of the city, including
the green lamps in the Boston Public Library, sailboats on the Charles River, ducks in Boston Commons and cobblestone streets in the South End. IGersBoston, the first Boston-based Instagram community, features talented individuals and captures views of the city. Since its founding in 2012, the account has gained over 70,000 followers, proving itself to be “among the most inf luential social media accounts in Boston” and “one
of the largest city based Instagram communities in the entire world,” according to the IGersBoston website. “Of course we want to bring the community together — which is definitely unique and beneficial for everyone to come together, share their artwork, meet one another,” said Alyssa Banker, Marketing Manager at Starwood Hotels and CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
KHC students, faculty mourn Josiah Epps BY JORDAN KIMMEL DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
H
e made us feel important, empowered and loved. He was funny, intelligent, supportive, honest and generous. I wish him peace.”
Josiah Epps, an academic advisor in the Boston University Arvind and Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College, where he was a beloved mentor and guide to many students, died on Oct. 19. He was 40. His death was announced to the KHC community on Friday. Students who interacted with Epps described him not only as an advisor who offered academic and career advice, but also a friend whom students could talk to
during difficult times. “He understood us,” Keara Russell, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said. “He made us feel important, empowered and loved. He was funny, intelligent, supportive, honest and generous. I wish him peace.” Russell said Epps was her “rock” at BU — someone she could always rely on. “His genuine concern for his students was unmatched,” she said. “When I would come into his office, he wouldn’t need to scramble for my schedule — he would ask me about my roommate who’s abroad, my younger sister applying for college, my current playlist and my new project in my drawing class.” Charles Dellheim, the director of KHC, wrote in an email that Epps was “warm-hearted, open, friendly and caring” who prioritized his students above all else. “The welfare of his students meant everything to him, and he went out office way to help them whether the issue at hand was dealing with the results of an exam or paper or thinking about their futures,” Dellheim wrote. The Reading resident had been advising at BU for two years; prior to that, he served as an administrative assistant and academic planning coordinator at Harvard University. In addition to advising a large number of students at BU, Josiah took the lead in shaping
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