NEWS Patriots celebrate Superbowl victory in Boston parade. pg. 3
SPOTLIGHT BU students Alessandra Marandola and Stephanie Deltor are honing their routines in anticipation of Sunday’s Miss Boston/ Cambridge beauty pageant. pg. 6
5º / 35º SNOW
SPORTS BU men’s hockey advances to Beanpot final against Northeastern. pg. 12
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLIV. VOLUME LXXXVIII. ISSUE III.
BU trustees decline recomendation to divest from gun manufacturers BY MINA CORPUZ AND J.D. CAPELOUTO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
access to a prescription anymore. To combat this issue, state officials, including U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, are pushing for the reauthorization of a prescription drug monitoring program. “We can often trace the origins of overdoses across our Com-
Members of the Boston University Board of Trustees and Executive Committee rejected a committee proposal from the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing to divest from civilian firearms manufacturers, according to a memorandum published by BU Today on Monday. Board Chairman Robert Knox stated in the memorandum, which was sent to the ACSRI, that the “degree of social harm” and “potential negative consequences of the decision” outweighed divestment action. “When the University, as an entity, adopts a single viewpoint or takes action relating to divestment, it risks undermining that goal,” Knox wrote in the memorandum. “Therefore, non-investment or divestment actions … should be judged to withstand the test of time in terms of how the wisdom of the University’s decision will be judged by future generations.” The Executive Committee came to a decision on the proposal after the Board “did not reach overwhelming consensus,” the memorandum stated. ACSRI, which formed in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012 that killed 26 people, made the proposal to divest from gun makers in December 2014, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. The committee suggested that the university cease investments until regulatory measures “[merit] repeal of this policy,” the recommendation, also published on BU Today, stated. Claire Richer, one of the three students on ACSRI, said the committee is relatively new and divestment from gun manufacturers was one of their first issues. “It’s really important … there hasn’t really been a precedent set before of ACSRI recommending things and then the Board of Trustees acting on it, so they had to be careful on how they chose to that,” said Richer, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “BU has divested from Rwanda and South Africa before, but they did that through the Board of Trustees and not through the ACSRI.” ACSRI meets annually and is comprised of trustees, faculty members and students, Riley said. Five out of nine votes are required to pass a proposal to the Board of Trustees. Richer said she is pleased with what has come as a result of the Board’s decision. “It’s great that they set a precedent of transparency of just like telling the BU
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PHOTO BY BETSEY GOLDWASSER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Massachusetts adjunct professors gather to vote about unionization at the National Labor Relations Board in Boston Wednesday.
BU adjunct professors vote to unionize BY J.D. CAPELOUTO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
As part of a yearlong campaign that has brought part-time faculty unions to several universities in Massachusetts, Boston University adjunct faculty voted Wednesday to join the Service Employees International Union Local 509. With the 319-158 vote held by the National Labor Relations Board, more than 750 adjunct professors will unionize, advocating for better standards and improved stability, according to a Wednesday press release. “It’s best when the university recognizes that it has a community and that we should be working to-
gether, and I think that the union will be a democratic process, as it was in today’s election,” said Dan Hunter, an English lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences. “What’s important is that a group of people, adjuncts, who have been invisible, now cannot be ignored.” Adjunct professors make up 41 percent of BU’s faculty, Hunter said. The NLRB sent mail-in ballots to faculty members Jan. 13, allowing them to cast their votes in the election, The Daily Free Press reported. The union will work to negotiate with the university over issues such as payroll, office space, longer contracts, job security and health benefits for the adjunct pro-
fessors, Hunter said. “What we really want to do is have as much conversation and discussion as we can on campus among the adjuncts and both people who supported the union and those who voted against it,” he said. “Now is the time to exercise democracy, to hear all the voices, to determine what adjuncts want the union to negotiate for.” BU spokesman Colin Riley said the university looks forward to working with the adjunct union moving forward. By becoming a part of SEIU Local 509, BU’s adjuncts join the faculties of Tufts University, Lesley University and Northeastern University, where individual union contract negotiations are in the
process of being made, the release stated. Laurie LaPorte, an anthropology lecturer in CAS, said she has been working on the unionization campaign for eight months. “I’m feeling pretty elated … listening to the stories of our adjunct colleagues and to have seen such an overwhelming turnout, we’re feeling pretty good about the outreach that we’ve done,” she said. LaPorte said she looks forward to discussing different issues with the adjunct faculty, whether or not they voted in support of unionization. “It feels very satisfying to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Heroin overdoses, deaths spike in Massachusetts BY GABI ARRIAGA AND STEVE FRIEDMAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Less than a year ago, Boston U Ten months after former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s declaration of a public health emergency in March 2014 to combat opiate abuse, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health saw a spike in heroin overdoses and deaths in December. Scott Zoback, manager of communications at the DPH, said the state’s problem with heroin and other opiate overdoses needs to be addressed to prevent more fatalities. “Like many states across the country, Massachusetts is facing an epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths,” he said. “We need to address this crisis, which requires taking action in four areas: prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support.” Data gathered by DPH revealed that opioid fatalities have been growing over the past sever-
al years. In 2013, there were 908 confirmed opioid-related deaths among Massachusetts residents, up nearly 200 from 2012. “My guess is that there was something very potent in the heroin,” said Joanne Peterson, founder and executive director of Learn to Cope, an organization that supports families dealing with addiction. Peterson said the drug was probably mixed with either Fentanyl, an opioid used during surgery, or methamphetamine. Peterson said December 2014 was one of the worst months she’s ever seen. As of Dec. 18, Massachusetts State Police predicted an additional 115 deaths before the end of the calendar year, bringing the 2014 total, if estimated accurately, to 983 total deaths. The fundamental issue at hand, Peterson said, is the widespread opiate addiction that leads to heroin use in the first place. “The opiate is in epidemic proportions right now. And it has
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been for a long time,” she said. “America consumes 80 percent of all opiate prescriptions in the world. It’s at the point where every person in this country could have a prescription.” Peterson said the increased usage of medically approved opiates often leads to heroin addiction when the user cannot gain