NEWS Dzhokhar Tsarmaev tweeted he “wanted to bring justice to his people” pg. 4
MUSE To Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell, laughter is the best medicine for even society’s ills. pg. 6
37º / 53º LIGHT RAIN
SPORTS Man-Handling: Men’s Hockey tries to sweep the Manchester Regional and advance to the Frozen Four pg. 12
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THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLIV. VOLUME LXXXVIII. ISSUE IX.
Students, officials differ on effects of misconduct survey BY J.D. CAPELOUTO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
BU,” she said. BU’s international applicant pool has grown faster than the overall applicant pool, which Walter said can be attributed to the United States’ position as the “gold standard” for higher education. “Since 2010, international applications have increased 156 percent. This year, we are planning on 24 percent of our class being international,” she said. “159 countries were represented in our applicant pool. That’s not quite the UN, but it’s pretty darn close.” The average SAT score of the incoming freshman class has increased by 75 points since 2010, with another 14-point increase since 2014. Several recently admitted students from the Class of 2019 said they look forward to the prospect of attending BU.
When the Boston University administration released a sexual misconduct climate survey on March 19, students were given the opportunity to share what they know about ways the university addresses sexual misconduct on campus. Mia*, who had been part of a sexual harassment case against another female student, opened the email and took the survey expecting to see questions and scenarios reflecting her own situation, but as she delved further into the survey, she soon learned that would not be happening. “That survey didn’t really apply to me. I thought there was a lot missing from it,” she said. “It was disappointing to see that sexual harassment wasn’t on there … There are a lot of different levels of sexual misconduct, and I thought that [the survey] didn’t really apply to all of them.” Mia said many of the survey questions specifically portrayed sexual misconduct as physical “sexual violence.” The definition of misconduct in the survey missed situations such as inappropriate staring, gestures or comments, she said. Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said learning about students’ impressions of the prevalence of sexual assault on campus helps university officials improve the system and protect students. “We hope what we can do with the survey information is to make sure we continue to improve our policies, our approaches to how we handle sexual misconduct and also how we address education and communication about the topic,” he said. Steven Jarvi, the associate dean for student academic life in the College of Arts and Sciences, said based on results seen on other college campuses, the survey will have an impact at BU. “I do think it will be effective,” he said. “It’s proven to be effective at other institutions, people that have done this, [and] the questions are well formulated, directions are clear. With anything like this, you hope for a robust response rate so that you’re basing your decision on the majority of responses and not individual responses.” As of Tuesday, 1,025 of the 27,000 students who received the survey had completed it, BU spokesman Colin Riley said. Along with Peter Fiedler, vice president of administrative services, Elmore chaired a task force made of faculty and staff from various schools, departments and organizations to create the survey. The group had been working on the survey since July 2014, he said. Amie Grills, a clinical psychologist on the task force who works in the School of Education, said members focused on different sections of the survey and went over every question “item by item.” “We just really wanted to make sure that we were phrasing the questions in a way that everyone felt was the most effective, and a way that would be clear, and then we kind of went through that process once,” she said. About 200 students from various classes and organizations completed a pilot version of the survey to determine whether the language and questions were clear, concise and complete, Elmore said.
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PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trains are running at full service after winter weather related service interruptions, and refurbished Green Line trains will be released for service in April.
With end of winter, Green Line has service restored BY PAIGE SMITH DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced a number of updates to Boston train service over the past week. The MBTA announced a number of updates to the Green Line and Commuter Rail, including 86 refurbished Green Line trolleys, in a March 18 press release. The $104.4-million-dollar project expects half of the refurbished trolleys to return to service by next winter, while the other half will be reintroduced by the end of 2016, the release stated. “Systems are being replaced or upgraded while others are being overhauled. Some of the improvements include a replacement in the upgraded design HVAC, auxiliary lighting, flooring, seating and insulation,” the release stated. “The overhaul work addresses the structure, roof, exterior skin, door system, brake equipment, trucks and propulsion.” Despite the repairs, the MBTA’s rapid transit lines have been fully functional throughout the month of March, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. However, repairs continue to
be made to the cars. “MBTA vehicle maintenance crews continue to work around the clock to repair subway cars and trolleys that were damaged during the snowiest winter in Boston history,” Pesaturo said in an email. “Vehicle maintenance crews have replaced or repaired hundreds of traction motors on subway cars. The motors, which are needed to power the trains, were crippled by heavy snow that accumulated in the cars’ undercarriages.” The updates follow crippling winter storms in January and February, as well as a change in management following the resignation of MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott. Scott formally announced she would be stepping down on Feb. 11, following several days of completely halted services. Frank DePaola, former Highway Administrator and MassDOT’s Chief Operating Officer, was named Interim General Manager in a Feb. 25 press release from MassDOT. The appointment officially took effect on March 4. The MassDOT Board of Directors has started a nationwide search for a permanent general manager, Pesaturo said. Mark Williams, a Boston University professor of finance and economics who penned
an article entitled “A priority list for fixing the MBTA” for The Boston Globe on Feb. 25, said he is concerned, rather than reassured, by the announced improvements. “I get concerned when they say ‘refurbished.’ On the Green Line, we have trolley cars that are almost 30 years old. On the Orange and Red Line, we have cars that are actually 40 years old,” Williams said. “The refurbish route sounds like the MBTA going on the cheap instead of doing the right thing, and that is buying new cars.” Despite the crippling nature of the storm, Williams said, it highlighted the flaws behind the region’s primary form of transportation. “There are 1.2 million people who ride the T to and from work everyday, so this transportation system needs to be dependable. I think it’s disingenuous though, for the head of the T to say, ‘In March, things are running on schedule, so it’s fine,’” Williams said. “It really exposed years and years of mismanagement, underfunding, poor training, bad systems, dilapidated cars, not enough investment and the basics to run something that a first-rate city like Boston deserves.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Record-breaking number of applicants for Class of 2019 BY CHRIS FERGUS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Boston University Admissions received 54,757 applications for spots in the Class of 2019, setting a record high for the university. The Class of 2019 had an acceptance rate of 33 percent and admitted students from all 50 U.S. states and 159 countries, said Kelly Walter, associate vice president and executive director of admissions. Applicants received decision notices on Saturday. “Every student wants to go to a name brand institution, and we have so many opportunities available for students, whether it is research or internships or double degrees,” she said. “Students can do all of those things here and do all of them in four
years. If you think about being ranked 37th in the world, BU is well-known whether you’re in China, Argentina, Germany or Iowa.” Although there was only a 1.1 percent increase from last year’s Class of 2018 applications, admissions still received a record-breaking number of applicants this year, reflecting potential students’ interest in the university, Walter said. The number of applicants has increased 43 percent between 2010 and 2015. Walter said the growth of the applicant pool and higher quality of applications has made admissions for BU more competitive. “We’ve gone from an admit rate of 58 percent [in 2010] to 32 percent [in 2015] in a short period of time, and that is quite impressive. Each year, it has become more and more difficult to gain admission to