NEWS Safety concerns, alcohol regulations indicate marijuana regulation, according to Miriam Schizer, an expert from the Boston Children’s Hospital. p. 4
IMPACT Documentary channel Wanderlost creates “Voices of the Future”, a concert to raise awareness for LGBTQ rights among artists and students. p. 6
29°/40° PARTLY CLOUDY
SPORTS With 6 NHL draft picks, the men’s hockey defense is one of the best in the country, and the pairs have formed a special bond on the ice. p. 12
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLVI. VOLUME XCII. ISSUE III
Immigration ban affects BU students BY TAYLOR KOCHER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
PHOTO BY JOHN KAVOURIS/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
A non-affiliated man entered several rooms unannounced and made explicit comments to residents of StuVi II on Jan. 22, according to Boston University Police Department’s crime logs.
Man charged for breaking into StuVi II rooms BY CAROLINE HITESMAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
A man allegedly entered several students’ dorm room in 33 Harry Agganis Way and made sexually explicit comments toward residents on Jan. 22, according to Boston University Police Department crime logs. Several items were also reported missing from one of the rooms after the visitor entered. The man, who was not affiliated with BU, was signed into the building as a visitor. He was initially released with a warning, then criminally charged once students reported several items were missing from one of the
rooms after the visitor entered, according to the log. He is banned from the residence hall, said BUPD Acting Chief Scott Paré. Maddy, a resident of StuVi II who requested her last name not be used, said she was folding laundry in her room the day of the incident when she heard the front door of her apartment open. “I heard the door open and just assumed my roommates were coming home. I was a bit thrown off by the male voices,” she said. “But then I thought, ‘Oh, probably a friend.’” Maddy said two men walked into her apartment and asked one of her roommates, who was sitting in the common room, if she
knew “where to find Sarah.” Maddy’s roommate told the two men they were in the wrong apartment. “They just walked back toward the front door and kind of lingered in our entry by our semi-open door,” Maddy said. Maddy said she didn’t think much of the incident until a few minutes later, when she saw BU police questioning the two men who had entered her room. “That’s when I realized that — oh my god, this guy is a stranger, and somehow got into the building,” she said. “This situation is pretty serious.” Maddy said that while the event frightCONTINUED ON PAGE 4
CDC correlates opioid with memory loss BY NATALIE CARROLL DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Prior opioid use has connections to rare instances of memory loss associated with toxic exposure, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published on Friday. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health requested in February 2016 that if medical professionals have received a patient who has new onset amnesia without apparent cause, they must report the case for review. The final review brought together 14 patients who have had onset amnesia since 2012 and found that 13 out of 14 patients had a documented history of substance abuse. Jeffrey Samet, a professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine,
said it is unknown if these patients’ memory loss resulted directly from opioid use. “The case is interesting because opioids have been around for a long time,” Samet said. “This amnesia as a consequence of drug abuse is not common. It is causing a wonder for what is causing this amnesia. Is it drugs? Is it external events?” Samet said while opioids can lead to addiction in some users, the long-term side effects of these medications are few for most. “[The] opioid epidemic’s most fearsome concern is … overdose,” Samet said. “It is a major priority for the CDC, for the governor … the fact that there is an amnesic syndrome pales compared to people who die from overdose over the country.” Alfred DeMaria, medical director of Massachusetts Bureau of Infectious Disease, Response and Services and co-author of the
study, said the issue was brought to his attention through public health surveillance. “We had gotten a report about this unusual syndrome, and we were concerned about an outbreak,” DeMaria said. “We contacted various departments to see what was going on. It resulted in finding 10 more cases on top of the four that we already had.” Mieke Verfaellie, a professor in BU’s Memory Disorders Research Center, noted that damage to the hippocampus could “result from oxygen deprivation associated with overdose.” “The evidence here of a severe amnesic condition is novel and certainly adds to the worry about potential cognitive ramifications,” Verfaellie said. “There is also evidence to suggest that cognitive impairment interferes CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Houchang Chehabi, an international relations professor at Boston University, said that due to his criticism of Iranian government, he got a warnings of arrest if he should travel to Iran. After President Donald Trump issued an order Friday to ban citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days, Chehabi, already signed out by his native Iran, said he now feels singled out by the United States as well. “I’m sort of discriminated against in both countries of which I have the citizenship,” said Chehabi, who holds dual citizenship of the United States and Iran. “I can’t visit [Iran because] I’m a citizen of the United States, and I’m being singled out [here] because I’m of Iranian background.” BU has approximately 100 students and 16 scholars from the countries listed in Trump’s executive order, BU spokesperson Colin Riley said. “Fortunately, no students or scholars were detained, refused entry, returned home or had their visas canceled,” Riley said. Although the order hasn’t had an immediate impact, Managing Director of BU’s International Students and Scholars Office Jeanne Kelley said the bulk of its impact is yet to be seen. “We don’t have anyone that’s stuck at an airport right now,” Kelley said in a Tuesday town hall regarding to the order. “But that doesn’t mean by any means [that the order] has not impacted our community.” Kelley said it is already obstructing both academic and personal plans of students from the afflicted countries. During the town hall, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore urged concerned students to reach out to resources on campus, namely the ISSO. “You should not face the anxieties you feel alone,” Elmore said. The university will be holding more information and Question and Answer sessions in the near future, Elmore added. Many students said they already feel the ban adversely affecting them. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
PHOTO BY ABIGAIL FREEMAN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Pardee professor Houchang Chehabi said he feels discriminated by President Donald Trump’s recent anti-travel orders against several Muslim-majority countries.