3-19-2015

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THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLIV. VOLUME LXXXVIII. ISSUE VIII.

Housing issue Rates on the rise

Yearlong housing garners interest

New apartments at 1505 Comm. Ave.

Unemployment adversely affects housing

Massachusetts unemployment numbers drive housing crisis

BY ALEXANDRA DAVID DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

PHOTO (LEFT) COURTESY OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY AND (RIGHT) BY DANIEL GUAN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Built in 1965, Warren Towers has now been a part of Boston University’s campus for 50 years.

50 years of Warren Towers, the “quintessential dormitory”

BY SAMANTHA GROSS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University community is celebrating 50 years since the opening of Warren Towers, a landmark on BU’s Charles River Campus that has played a role in many students’ BU experiences.

“These days, the majority of the students living at Warren Towers are first-year students, so it’s that first impression that they have when they come to the university. It’s the quintessential dormitory-style feel. That in and of itself speaks to the culture of students when they come to Boston University,” said Daryl Healea, the associate director of residence life for student and staff development.

The three 18-story towers, which officially opened their doors in 1965, make up the second-largest non-military American dormitory, Healea said. Warren was built out of increased demand for on-campus housing.

“When it was built, it was able to house approximately 1,650 students,” he said. “In the mid 1970s, they were able to do some construction on that first-floor block that adjoins the underground parking garage to open up some commercial space for stores and for food options …

Since then, there’s become an extremely high demand to live on campus, and the university has increased the occupancy at Warren Towers.”

When Warren Towers first opened, only two towers, the Fairfield and Marshall towers, were occupied while the third was under construction, Healea said. Construction was continued throughout the years, but he said aside from increasing occupancy and adding retail businesses, the dorm hasn’t changed much from its original look.

The towers are named after William Fairfield Warren, the first president of BU and the “First Family,” Healea said.

What is commonly referred to as “A Tower” is named after the former president.

“President Warren was in many ways well ahead of his time,” he said. “He was a progressive president who really came

up with the idea of Boston University and really helped to establish Boston University to be a very progressive, modern research university.”

The other towers, Marshall and Shields, are named after William Marshall Warren and Shields Warren, the son and grandson of President Warren.

William Marshall was the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, now the College of Arts and Sciences, and Shields was a medical statesman and a chairman on BU’s Board of Trustees, Healea said.

Kate Campbell, a junior in the College of Communication, chose to live in Warren as a freshman out of convenience, but ended up staying for her next two years due to her love for the community, friendship and overall residents’ willingness to connect with others.

Campbell said she lived on 6B in Marshall Tower where she befriended upperclassmen that had moved back into the dorms to create a community. The next year, she decided to join the group of upperclassmen that lived on 7B, the unofficial floor for BU’s CRU chapter, an interdenominational ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.

“When I was a sophomore, I chose to be a part of a group of upperclassmen that moved back into the dorms, and we chose to live on 7B, and it’s been a blast to live there,” she said. “It’s just been a huge part of my life at BU, and people joke that I’m going to be the old lady who lives in Warren when she’s 80 years old. It’s a place that I really love.”

Campbell said Warren is a hub of likeminded people looking for friendship, which is what makes it such a welcoming atmosphere for first-year students and upperclassmen alike.

“Freshman year is hard, and it can be very overwhelming. It’s better to do it with other people,” she said. “Where you live can really determine how your year goes. People want to live in a place where they feel safe and feel understood and feel loved.”

Andrew Cho, a junior in the School of Management, was the Warren council president of the Resident Hall Association for two years and now serves as the

president of the BU RHA Overarching Executive Council in Student Government. He said living in Warren brought an excitement that he found was unique to the building.

“Warren is a little city within BU within Boston, in a sense. Each of those layers is so diverse and exciting and complex,” he said. “As a freshman, something that is common with all BU students is they come to BU excited for that city experience and really engaging with all the different things going on. It’s just a really good place for transitioning and to experience all the excitement of freshman year in Boston and BU.” Cho said his leadership in Warren Towers stemmed from excitement and interest in the students’ quality of life.

His work with RHA has included planning events for Resident Assistants and their floors, such as a trip to New York, and remaking the patio outside of Shields Tower into a usable outdoor space.

Several freshman students living in Warren said they have come to value the experience of living in the dormitory community.

Jocelin Pinto, a freshman in the College of Engineering, said being around many other first-year students has helped her adjust to college life.

“It’s really good for freshmen because you’re around all freshmen, so you’re all new and you all make friends with each other pretty quickly,” she said.

“The dining hall is very convenient, especially when you’re new because you don’t know how to get around.”

Gabriella Espadas, a freshman in CAS, said although she had her doubts at first, she does not regret choosing Warren for her first-year residence.

“Absolutely everyone I talked to was like ‘You have to live in Warren,’ so I did end up putting it as my first choice, and I don’t regret it at all,” she said. “I like that it’s in the middle of campus, so going to the gym is not too far and going to Kenmore [Square] and Bay State is also pretty close. The dining hall’s nice, and you’re interacting with so many freshmen. It actually makes a big difference.

At least for me, it did.”

Unemployment rates in Massachusetts, though decreasing, are causing a housing crisis for populations that find themselves “chronically unemployed.”

The Massachusetts Employment Population rate reached 62.3 percent in January, up from 60 percent in January 2014, according to data released by the Worcester Unemployment Action Group on March 10.

“The new unemployment figure, while it looks good on paper, masks the critical need for good jobs for working people,” said Chris Horton, volunteer organizer for WUAG, in a March 10 press release. “The [unemployment] rate has dropped to 5.1 percent largely due to job seekers giving up and dropping out and would have to increase by over 4 percent of the working age population, about 230,000 more people employed, just to get us back to the level of 2000-2001.”

The employment population ratio has been rising steadily since July 2013, according to the data.

“Unemployment driving down wages and conditions helps to create a situation where people can’t afford to live the way that they have organized their lives so we see a lot of foreclosures,” Horton said in a phone interview.

Horton said the high cost of maintaining a building is making it difficult for landlords to provide adequate housing for their tenants, contributing to the crisis.

“You have a lot of buildings that are just abandoned and landlords can’t find anyone to rent to at the rent they need, so it’s contributing to a housing catastrophe,” he said.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced on March 12 the establishment of a task force to combat chronic unemployment in populations including African Americans, Hispanics, the disabled and veterans, The Daily Free Press reported Monday.

The average unemployment for these groups ranges from 7 to 12 percent, despite Massachusetts’ annual average unemployment rate of 5.8 percent, according to a March 12 press release from the governor’s office.

Samantha Ormsby, communications coordinator of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, said in an email that unemployment affects nearly every aspect of a person’s life, and the task force will address issues of affordable housing.

“We know that there is a demand for CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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NEWS

BU housing, on-campus living rates on the rise Boston University has increased its housing and dining rates for the 2015-16 academic year, Director of Housing Nishmin Kashyap announced in an email sent to students on Feb. 28.

The standard minimum rate for a double, triple or quad in a dormitory-style room increased $490 to $14,520, with a dining plan included, for the 2015-16 school year, and the rate for an apartment-style room increased $420 to $12,490 for the same period, according to BU’s housing website. Standard dining plans increased $120 to $4,950 in 2015-16, while unlimited plans increased $130 to $5,250.

On average, room and board rates went up 3.5 percent from the 2014-15 school year, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. The BU Board of Trustees determined the increase.

“It’s a matter of continued operations, the cost of operating the facilities and maintaining and renovating them over the years,” he said.

“There’s an increased cost in things like energy and maintenance.”

On-campus housing rates increased $561 and dining plans increased by $140 for the 201415 academic year, The Daily Free Press reported on March 5, 2014.

Riley said there is nothing out of the ordinary about the price hikes for the 2015-16 school year. He said the budget is largely impacted by recently added facilities, such as the development of the housing and dining buildings at 100 Bay State Road, 33 Agganis Way and 10 Buick St. “Over the past 20 years, the university has added about $2 billion of new facilities,” Riley said. “When you build new facilities, they require staffing and maintenance and upkeep, and renovation after periods of time to keep them in good condition.”

Student Village II, which has apartment and suite-style rooms, opened in the fall 2009 semester, according to BU Housing’s website. Marciano Commons, housed within the Yawkey Center for Student Services, opened in East Campus in September 2012, the FreeP reported on September 2, 2012.

BY ANUSH SWAMINATHAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department from March 12 to March 18.

PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston University Housing announced Feb. 28 in an email to students that rates for housing and dining options will increase in the 2015-16 academic year.

Members of the Community Task Force have proposed plans to renovate Myles Standish Hall and build Student Village III in the Institutional Master Plan, the FreeP reported on Feb. 5, 2012.

In order to afford the number of staffers necessary to facilitate new buildings, Riley said the school’s total budget has to expand.

“When you look at the operating budget of the university, nearly half of the operating budget is for salaries and benefits,” he said. “People want a low student-to-faculty ratio. Higher education is labor intensive, and when you are giving increases in wages and benefits, those costs [factor into] the cost of housing.”

Riley said in determining housing rates, the Board of Trustees takes into account the impact on students living off campus compared to living on campus.

“The most important factor to me, as a parent, is that historically, students who live on campus do better academically,” he said. “You also have 24-hour maintenance, proximity to classes, dining facilities and FitRec. If you live on campus, you’re not worried about the T not running down Commonwealth Ave. from Allston during the month of February.”

Several BU students disapproved of the increase and said they wished the school maintained better communication about housing costs.

Humzah Mahmood, a junior in the College of Engineering, said BU should release a detailed

list of the allocations of housing money.

“It’s kind of annoying because it happens every year, and we’re not given a detailed description on what’s going on and what [the money is] going to,” he said. “I have a [housing] scholarship, so I’m fortunate, but I know a lot of friends who, because of the increase in housing every year, they’re either commuting or next year, they’re going to live in an off-campus apartment because they can’t afford the increase in prices.”

Evan Gott, a senior in the College of Communication who lives off campus, said building more on-campus housing could combat the issues of rent and safety often associated with off-campus living.

“Allston should be an affordable alternative, but they’re turning it into not that. They’re turning it into a really difficult place to live,” he said. “BU, as a response to that, is creating more housing, and that’s where the price increase comes from, which is understandable and necessary for them to do, but it’s a response to the city doing this negative thing.”

Dan Leary, a sophomore in CAS, said he regrets his decision to live on campus, citing a lack of transparency over where his and others’ funds are being spent.

“My general reaction at first was I was kind of upset that they did increase the rates,” he said.

“Why the increase now? And why is there a continuous increase, because there was an increase last year. So I’m kind of curious as to when will they stop increasing or will this be a continuous trend?”

BRA approves renovated apartment building in Brighton

BY CHRIS FERGUS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Partners Properties LLC, an Allston real estate agency, will renovate an underused five-story building into an 80-unit Brighton apartment complex at 1505 Commonwealth Ave., according to a Friday press release from the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The developer will add 8,000 square feet to the building and expects a combination of studios, one- and two-bedroom units and one-bedroom lofts in the renovated building, the release stated.

The project is estimated to cost $9 million, and it is expected to create 37 construction jobs. Construction is projected to begin in the third quarter of 2015 and will last for 12-14 months.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has highlighted a need for new housing, and the apartment building at 1505 Commonwealth Ave. will help satisfy that need, said Nick Martin, director of communications at the BRA. “That in particular [the project at 1505 Commonwealth Ave.] speaks to a need that Mayor Walsh has mentioned on several occasions and also a priority of ours in that it creates a decent amount of housing,” he said.

“The mayor has a goal of creating 53,000 new units of housing by the year 2030. We really need everyone to chip in from across the city and encourage smart development and increase density where it’s feasible.”

The building that will be renovated is currently being used as office space, according to the project notification form submit-

CAMPUS CRIME LOGS

BY ALEX ROZIER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

ted to the BRA on Jan. 5. The developers determined that a switch to residential use would be best after market research indicated that many tenants would choose to live at this location because of its proximity to a number of employers, such as St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line, which provides access to Boston University and Downtown Boston.

The building’s urban design, in addition to the proposed development on the Lancaster and the Brighton Marine Health Center, will “revitalize” that area of Commonwealth Avenue and turn it into a desirable place to live, the project notification form stated.

Martin said the project has the potential to draw new residents into the city.

“It takes a building that is under-utilized at the moment and brings an influx of new residents and new tax revenue onto the city’s books,” he said.

Martin said the BRA is aware of the potential for increased traffic during construction and will work with the developer to ease the burden on the community.

“That’s something BRA works closely with the developer and the community to mitigate the effects of,” he said. “All large development projects need to have a transportation plan that addresses traffic concerns during construction.”

Partners Properties has outlined a construction management plan to cope with traffic demands, according to the project notification form. The plan includes a police detail and secure fencing to manage pedestrian and vehicle traffic, designated truck

routes and the prohibition of construction workers from parking in residential areas.

When the complex is complete, the developer expects “comparable or less” traffic in the area, compared to current numbers, on a daily and peak-hour basis, the project notification form stated. In fact, the developer anticipates the number of average weekday vehicle trips to be reduced from 1,318 to 640.

Several residents said the revitalization of the Brighton area is a necessary step that they are happy to see the BRA taking.

Desmond Scaife, 21, of Fenway, said a renovated apartment building could be an efficient use of space for the area.

“There are a bunch of houses in that area, so maybe an apartment building would be a better use of space,” he said. “I will say that I do think Brighton is a neighborhood that could be improved.”

Michael Raymond, 26, of Fenway, said construction could be a problem, but one that could be managed by the city.

“During construction, traffic would be a problem. But it’s not like managing traffic is something the city has never handled before.

It can be managed, but I do think it will get worse during construction,” he said.

Natalia Muniz, 22, of Back Bay, said the apartments could help keep students in the city after graduation.

“There’s always a need for new apartments,” she said. “It sounds like this place is going to attract young professionals and college students. Boston is trying to keep kids that graduate from college in the city, and a new complex in Brighton can help that.”

Spray paint found outside Kilachand Hall Employees at Kilachand Hall at 91 Bay State Road reported on Thursday at approximately 7:04 p.m. that the rear door of the building had been spray-painted with graffiti. Additional graffiti was found on the Silber Way Footbridge. The incidents are currently under investigation.

Teenagers found fighting in West Campus Two male minors, aged 14 and 15, were found involved in a fight on Friday at approximately 1:16 p.m. on Braves Field Way behind the Match Charter Public High School at 1001 Comm. Ave. The males were found to be students at the school. Officers notified the principal of the school about the incident and turned the parties over to him. $300 jacket stolen from FitRec A 34-year-old male reported that his jacket, valued at $300, was stolen from the second floor of the Fitness and Recreation Center at 915 Comm. Ave. on Friday at approximately 5 p.m. The victim put the jacket down in the gym, but when he returned to look for it, the jacket was not there, he reported to police.

Male steals $152 headphones from RadioShack Employees at the RadioShack at 730 Comm. Ave. reported that a male party took a pair of headphones, valued at $152, from the store Sunday at approximately 5 p.m. The male allegedly grabbed the headphones and left the store. He has not been located, and officers do not have a description of him.

Wallet stolen from unlocked locker at FitRec A 19-year-old male student reported Sunday at approximately 8:37 p.m. that his wallet had been stolen from the second floor locker room of FitRec at 915 Comm. Ave. The wallet contained two credit cards and was taken from an unlocked locker. BUPD has yet to identify a suspect.

PHOTO BY MARY SCHLICHTE/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Board of Directors for the Boston Redevelopment Authority approved five development proposals at a meeting Friday, including new apartment units in Brighton.

NEWS

3

Tsarnaev trial turns to friend of suspect, physical evidence

BY KATIE ARAMENTO, JACKLYN BAMBERGER AND SAMANTHA GROSS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Tuesday and Wednesday marked days eight and nine of testimony in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 21-year-old who allegedly, with his deceased older brother Tamerlan, placed two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.

The bombs killed three and injured more than 260. He is pleading not guilty to all 30 federal counts for which he is being tried.

On Tuesday morning, the younger Tsarnaev’s childhood friend Stephen Silva took the stand.

The 21-year-old is allegedly responsible for providing Tsarnaev with the handgun used in the murder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier on April 18, 2013. Silva took the stand after a brief examination of David Henneberry, the owner of the Watertown boat that Tsarnaev had allegedly been hiding in before being taken into custody.

Silva said he has known the defendant since the eighth grade and they were close in high school.

In high school, Tsarnaev and Silva were both enrolled in a class that allegedly debated whether or not terrorism is justified. Silva said Tsarnaev often participated in these debates.

“At this point in class, I remember we were having a debate about American foreign policy in the Middle East … the defendant raised the point that American soldiers and American foreign policy tend to be hostile towards the Middle East and Muslims … and Americans shouldn’t be

able to go wherever they want and force people to believe what they don’t want to believe,” he said.

After graduating from high school, Silva and the defendant still spoke almost every day during their first semester in college. He said he and Tsarnaev talked about usual topics — how the first semester was going, girls and partying.

After a brief stint in Tampa, Florida, Silva moved back to Boston in late 2012. He, his brother and his good friend Nick considered purchasing a firearm for protection.

It was around this time that Silva’s friend, Howie, had been looking for someone to take his P95 Ruger handgun for a few weeks. Silva offered to help out and stored the handgun and 10 rounds of ammunition in a ceiling tile in his apartment.

“The gun was black. It kind of looked a little rusty … It said P95 on the top side,” he said. The serial number had also allegedly been “obliterated” before Silva received the gun, according to Silva.

It wasn’t until later, Silva said, that Tsarnaev became interested and asked for the gun. Silva agreed and gave Tsarnaev the gun and 10 rounds of ammunition.

“I remember him saying something like, ‘food for the dog,’” Silva said of the defendant’s reaction to being given the ammunition.

Silva said he only visited Tsarnaev’s home once during their friendship. He identified photos of Tsarnaev’s room, desktop computer and a black flag with Arabic writing on the bedroom wall for the jury.

When Howie asked for his gun back, Tsarnaev held out.

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PHOTO BY SAMANTHA GROSS/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

An explosive found on Laurel Street in Watertown was used as evidence in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse Wednesday.

“He just kept coming up with excuses state police’s bomb squad. McCarthy’s tes[as to why he couldn’t give the gun back]. timony focused on the potentially explosive He was beating around the bush,” Silva said. items found on Laurel Street and in the Silva last saw Tsarnaev before the mar- Mercedes-Benz SUV that was considered a athon bombings in early April 2013, when suspect vehicle.

Tsarnaev bought marijuana from him.

On the night of April 18, 2013, McCarWhen Silva saw surveillance videos of thy said he received calls about a carjacking Tsarnaev in the Shell Station across from in the Cambridge and Watertown area. his mother’s apartment complex the night “They’re throwing bombs at us. We of Collier’s murder, he was taken aback. need the bomb squad,” McCarthy recalled “I was in a state of huge shock, disbe- police officers in the Watertown area saylief, paranoia. I did nothing … I didn’t really ing. want to talk to people. I didn’t really want Upon arriving in Watertown in the to go outside. I stopped selling,” he said. bomb squad truck, McCarthy said he In the cross-examination, defense “heard a loud pop” and saw smoke rising attorney Miriam Conrad focused on Ta- nearby. merlan Tsarnaev’s influence on his youngMcCarthy exited the truck, but reer brother, the Associated Press reported turned once he heard the sound of gunfire.

Tuesday.

At this point, McCarthy said “everyone” “‘He said his brother was very strict … was calling for the bomb squad. very opinionated, and that since I wasn’t a After investigating a suspicious-lookMuslim, you know, he might give me a lit- ing cardboard box on Mt. Auburn Street, tle [expletive] for that,’” Silva said, the AP McCarthy received reports of potentially reported. live devices in the Laurel Street roadway, Silva said he hadn’t previously heard where one of the suspect vehicles, a green the defendant make any anti-American Honda Civic, remained. comments, the AP reported.

McCarthy said two undetonated pipe Silva is currently housed in a correc- bombs were recovered and transported via tional facility for crimes including the trailer containment vessel to the Boston possession and intent to distribute heroin, Police Department’s gun range at Moon as well as for the possession of a handgun Island. with an obliterated serial number. His coOn April 19, 2013, McCarthy and the operation with the U.S. government in the bomb squad were called to the intersection Tsarnaev trial could lead to a shortened of Spruce and Lincoln Street after police sentence of five to seven years, as opposed found “a Tupperware box that had a fuse to his proposed sentence totaling about 160 coming out of it” in the Mercedes, which years in prison. He has pled guilty to all the had been abandoned by the defendant. charges against him.

The Tupperware container was placed Wednesday’s proceedings focused on onto the street and the lid was pulled off on evidence recovered from the standoff and site, revealing “two to three pounds” of exmanhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers that oc- plosive powder and a bundle of hobby fuse. curred in Watertown in the days following At Moon Island on April 20, 2013, the the Marathon bombings. two homemade pipe bombs recovered on First, the prosecution called to the Laurel Street were rendered safe and furstand Massachusetts State Police Troop- ther examined. er Robert McCarthy, part of the READ MORE AT DFPR.ES/TSARNAEV319

4

NEWS

Students show increased interest in yearlong housing option

BY OLIVIA QUINTANA DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Since the program’s launch in May 2014, Boston University students have expressed an increased interest in the 12-month long housing option that allows students to remain on campus during breaks from the academic year.

Nishmin Kashyap, the director of housing at BU, said the yearlong housing program, found at 90 and 92 Bay State Road did not originally attract a lot of students during the room selection process but gained popularity as the 2014-15 school year wore on. Applications to live in the yearlong housing for the upcoming May-to-May cycle were released in February, according to the BU Housing website.

“Last year, we didn’t have a

whole lot of interest during the room selection process, but we had more and more interest as the year went on, and we have those who are interested in committing for next year as well,” she said. “This year for room selection, we have about 16 applicants so far, and 11 of them were international and five were domestic.”

Students living in the Bay State Road yearlong residences may remain on campus during summer sessions until the beginning of the school year and during Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks, The Daily Free Press reported.

The residences include a common area kitchen to use when dining services are unavailable during the breaks, but students are still required to sign up for a dining plan, the FreeP reported.

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT The Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) will be on campus March 30th and March 31st 2015 to review the Master of Science Degree Program in Speech-Language Pathology. An important component of an accreditation site visit is to seek input about the academic program being reviewed and to inform stakeholders about the accreditation renewal process. A public meeting will be held on March 30th from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm in Room 303, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College, 635 Commonwealth Avenue. All interested parties are invited to attend.

A copy of the Standards for Accreditation and/or the CAA’s policy on public comments [PDF] may be obtained by contacting the Accreditation Office at ASHA, 2200 Research Boulevard, Rockville, Maryland 20850; calling ASHA’s Action Center at 800-498-2071; or accessing the documents on ASHA’s website at http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/stan dards_forms.htm

Carlos Echeverri Solis, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences currently in the yearlong housing program, said he appreciates both the ability to remain on campus during breaks and the amenities provided in the residence.

“I chose the option so that I can stay here for the breaks in case I need to,” he said. “I also had an extra comfort compared to the dorm life because I have a kitchen to cook if I want to, but I’m also close to the dining hall and the CAS classrooms. Also, all of the people around this area are really nice to me.”

Kashyap said the housing option was created primarily for those students who are not able to leave campus for vacations. The majority of students living in these residences are international students, she said.

“In the fall of 2014, we had 23 international students and 10 domestic students,” she said. “For the spring of 2015, we have 22 international students and 11 domestic, so it is trending more towards international students.”

Approximately 20 students have indicated interest in yearlong housing for the upcoming year, and there are 35 spaces available, Kashyap said. Further expansion of the option may not be necessary because there is sufficient housing for those interested.

“We didn’t see a lot of students wanting it beyond the spaces that we had, so we did not want to put yet another restriction on other students during room selection,” she said.

Kashyap said one reason yearlong housing is seeing a slow increase in popularity is because of the commitment students have to make to live there.

“They have to be able to see far into the future to make it because the commitment starts at the beginning of the summer into next year,” she said.

Katelyn Brunner, a senior in

PHOTO BY KELSEY CRONIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Full-year Boston University housing, which began in May 2014 at 90 and 92 Bay State Road, allows students to stay in the residence for 12 months and during all vacation sessions.

CAS also in yearlong housing, said while the brownstone has not always been in the most convenient location, the option was helpful during the summer.

“It’s working out well,” she said. “I had an internship over the summer, and it was really helpful for that because I didn’t have to find an apartment for three months.”

The 2015-16 school year will be the first year that all BU dormitories will remain open during Thanksgiving and spring breaks, the FreeP reported on Feb. 19. The BU Housing vacation housing policy change is designed to accommodate students who have trouble going home during the recesses, according to a Feb. 12 email from Kashyap to students.

Kashyap said the yearlong housing and the new Thanksgiving and spring break policy change helps international students greatly.

Felicia Lu, a freshman in CAS,

said though the temperature in her room is difficult to regulate, she has really enjoyed living in the building.

“I do like it here because it’s quiet, and I love my room because it’s so big,” she said. “The only thing is that the house is very old and heat cannot come up because I live on the fourth floor, and in the summer, we don’t have any air conditioning, so it’s very hot, but I do like it here.”

Brunner said although students can potentially live in the residence for 12 months, longer than students typically stay in on-campus housing, relationships among the residents are not always easy to make.

“One thing I will say about year-round housing is that, since it’s so many people who, for logistical reasons, shouldn’t go home, it’s very internationally segregated,” she said. “I don’t know if I would do it again, but it’s been really helpful.”

Greater education needed to increase employment, experts say EMPLOYMENT, FROM PAGE 1

more affordable housing near urban centers, where people have easy access to public transit and a wide-ranging job market,” she said.

The unemployment rates for the specified groups are a clear indication that statistics speak for themselves, said M. Daniele Paserman, an economics professor in Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“I think this is the main explanation for that these groups also have a lower educational attainment, and the labor market for unskilled market has not been very good for the past 30 years,” he said.

“Any demographic groups that has a high incidence of unskilled workers, workers with a low educational attainment, will tend to suffer from chronic unemployment.”

Ron Walker, Massachusetts secretary of labor and workforce development, said an integral part of increasing employment is giving

members of the workforce a proper education.

“It’s very clear that as a nation, if we don’t credential 60 percent of our citizens, in 2020 or 2025 that we’re going to have a real issue filling the jobs, and then of course we’re going to look at the employers who are actually the customers and figure out what they need in today’s, not yesterday’s, model to make sure that we’re developing a pipeline that they can fill the jobs that they have here in the Commonwealth,” he said.

Several residents said unemployment and housing are complex issues that contribute to the well-being of the system.

Anita Lessard, 37, of Back Bay, said the economy is improving.

“It’s the end of a recession,” she said. “I think that what happened in 2008 [with the recession], it takes around 10 years to fully move past it, so I think we’re starting to hit our stride.”

Joseph Martelli, a senior in the

College of Communication, said for students, the job market has a better turnover because there are always students graduating and leaving their jobs in the area.

“Each year, we have kids that keep graduating, and each year, we’re not going to have those same positions once they’re filled the previous year,” he said. “It would be interesting to see which jobs are open and which jobs are available, and if those jobs are typically available each year because of high turnover or those jobs are long-standing ones that are going to be filled and then not open again for 10 more years.”

Kristina Spinney, 27, of Charlestown, said in addition to unemployment, inadequate wages contribute to the housing crisis.

“It’s getting more and more expensive to live here, to the extent that I don’t know I even can continue to do so,” she said. “Especially with the bid in for the [2024] Olympics, it’s going to become even more

GRAPHIC BY SAMANTHA GROSS/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

expensive, so they need to start paying people the actual price of living.”

Paige Smith and Monika Nayak contributed to the reporting of this article

FEATURES

5

MUSE THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

Circus juggles waning market, elephantine ambition

T

he circus, with its large tents, clowns, crowds of people and acrobats, is not an experience that would generally be described as intimate.

However, the Big Apple Circus is trying to change that with their new show, “Metamorphosis,” opening outside Boston City Hall Plaza on Tuesday. “From the minute you come in, you realize it’s going to be a different kind of show,” said Ringmaster John Kennedy Kane. “No seat is more than 50 feet away. We have cotton candy and the things you’d expect as souvenirs, but we have no vendors in the seats, so the focus is on the show.”

BY EMILY EVANS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Big Apple has been operating for 37 years, but “Metamorphosis” is a new show, with a brand new stor y line and acts. In his second show with Big Apple, director West Hyler is putting to work his Broadway experience as associate director of “Jersey Boys” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to Big Apple, Kane said, creating a show about transformation both around and within the audience members.

“It’s not a circus g uy coming in and saying how to do a circus,” Kane said. “He has a whole different outlook.”

That emphasis on uniqueness seeps into other aspects of the organization, Kane said. The Clown Care program brings the circus to hospita lized children in 16 pediatric facilities across the countr y.

The Big Apple has performances they ca ll “Circus for the Senses,” specif ica lly designed for children who are blind or hearing impaired, and they have recently launched a specia l show for families with autism.

“This is the f inest circus I’ve ever been on. I’ve been on circuses where the most important part was getting to the net town, getting the tent set up. The most important part was getting the popcorn ready, the cotton candy, souvenirs, so that we can sell to the audience. That’s not the case at Big Apple. The most important thing is the performance,” Kane said.

That said, circuses as a whole have been losing popularit y among current generations, less ta lked about and less publicized and often faced with harsh criticism, mainly for their treatment of anima ls.

The Ringling Bros. Circus announced on March 5 that they will be retiring a ll of their elephant acts by 2018, after str ug gling with both criticism and

legislation that make planning tours diff icult for the company.

Katie Adams, a senior at Boston Universit y and a member of the school’s equestrian team, has worked behind the scenes in a circus and seen the treatment of horses in a circus environment. “[On site], they had open sta lls to move around in and bedding to protect their joints from the hard concrete,” Adams said. “They don’t get freedom of grass and open pasture, but they weren’t put in standing sta lls. The hardest part for these anima ls is the constant travel … hours of standing upright ba lancing in a moving vehicle. Overa ll, I don’t think the horses live the best life at the circus, but there are horses that live far worse lives in people’s backyards.”

Kane was adamant, though, that the anima ls at the Big Apple Circus are appreciated and respected by a ll members of the cast, most importantly the trainers.

“The cast of the circus loved them, which was key,” Adams said, remembering her own circus.

In genera l, Kane doesn’t see any downward trend. To him, the popularit y of circuses, and the desire to join them, has remained steady and if any thing, is increasing.

“We still get great crowds,” he said. “There’s at least 300 circus programs in the United States, and some of them are offered at colleges. We have many aeria lists who come to us that are a lready trained. They come with a degree, or they come with training. I didn’t have any thing like that.”

Kane acknowledged, though, that circuses might not be as popular with young er generations, but blamed this on their lack of exposure.

“There are no circuses on T V, no circus cartoons. I used to watch an annua l big circus on T V ever y year,” Kane said.

“I don’t think kids are asking their parents, ‘Please take me to the circus!’ I don’t think they know, but the parents and the grandparents remember their experiences at the circus, and that’s why they bring the kids.”

In his eyes, whether it’s their commitment to performances, their communit y programs or their intimate family atmosphere, something about the Big Apple Circus is keeping them relevant and bringing in large audiences.

“This show is rea lly different,” Kane said. “It has a rea lly nice stor yline and a good feeling when you leave. You’ll feel that you rea lly have seen something.”

The Big Apple Circus will be performing in Boston at City Hall Plaza from Tuesday to May 10.

2million $6million $100,000 $

deficit reported in 2013

total circus budget cuts in 2007

debt owed to City of Boston GRAPHIC BY ERICA MAYBAUM AND SHIVANI PATEL/DAILY FREE PRESS

Despite the company’s financial trouble in recent years, ringmaster John Kennedy Kane remains optimistic that Big Apple Circus’s newest show will draw families back into the tent.

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FEATURES

SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

To ASB coordinators, vacation not all that’s ever wanted

BY ANDREA KAUFMAN AND SONIA RAO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

During spring break, many Boston University students participated in the Community Service Center’s Alternative Spring Break trips, where they dedicated their time to volunteering in locations around the United States and Puerto Rico. These trips, despite their service-based goals, have recently drawn a lot of controversy in the media. Critics have referred to these acts of “voluntourism” in negative ways, expressing the contradiction of traveling for both pleasure and selflessness.

Mark Denega, a 2009 graduate of the College of Communication, explored this disputed topic in his 2014 documentary “H.O.P.E. Was Here.” Rather than fully focusing on the negative aspects of alternative breaks, Denega sought to represent each side equally.

“I wanted to focus on the debate between the two because I thought it was more interesting, and I didn’t want to make a propaganda piece for the college,” Denega said.

“I was very aware of the fact that I was leaking something that I would have to show to an audience, so I wanted it to be as captivating and as interesting as possible.”

Much of the debate over voluntourism stems from the short length of the trips. BU students who chose to participate in ASB, for example, volunteer for a single week.

Giancarlo Rodriguez, a sophomore

PHOTO BY MICHAEL DESOCIO/DAILY FREE PRESS

Boston University alternative service break participants take a break during volunteering in Hobe Sound, Florida last week.

in the College of Arts and Sciences, coordinated a trip to Detroit and said most days only consisted of about five to six hours of volunteer work, with the rest of the day devoted to sightseeing. This limited amount of time that the volunteers spent helping in Detroit, Rodriguez said, posed a challenge.

“It was a bit heartbreaking for the direct service, because you would get to know these people and you would see them for just a few hours and never see them again,” he said. “We feel like we made as much of an impact as we could, but we wish we could have done more.”

Emily Lawson, a senior in CAS and an ASB program manager, acknowledged many of the same chal-

lenges and said the volunteers are often cognizant of this drawback.

“We’re aware of the fact that we’re not going to be any kind of saviors,” she said. “We’re only there for a week, so there’s only so much we can do. Our main goal is just for people to become more engaged citizens in the future.”

Lawson emphasized that she and her fellow coordinators worked to educate their groups to be mindful about over-documenting trips on social media.

“I think that the world we live in, obviously, happens a lot on the Internet,” she said. “Our ASB trips are also big on the Internet, in trying to connect with people through Facebook and all of that. But I think

we also try to emphasize the fact that it should be a secondary thing.

We don’t want people to, instead of doing the service on site, post pictures of them doing the service.”

In light of heightening criticism, BU’s Community Service Center is adapting its staff training to reinforce the service-based intentions of ASB trips. According to Lawson, the coordinators and volunteers were encouraged to be aware of the harmful effects of losing sight of the purpose of their respective trips.

“It’s something super important to be aware of, but the way that you approach the trip can really determine what will be the outcome,” she said. “If you’re aware of what

you’re doing, you can make a big difference.”

Niki Shah, a junior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and a co-coordinator of the Puerto Rico trip, felt that her training helped her group get the most out of their trip.

“Fortunately, I have never felt the voluntourism,” she said. “Our organization did an amazing job of making sure that we understood their mission and how we could assist them.”

With this educated approach in mind, she said, students felt they were able to better assist the organizations in the communities they visited, as well as gain an understanding of the cultures surrounding the areas.

“It’s changed it [my life] completely,” she said. “I am now very much educated on HIV/AIDS and the situation in the Puerto Rican area, as well as finding out my potential and understanding the culture and my inner drive to do service.”

Despite the partially critical lens of his documentary, Denega said the community services trips hold an important value.

“One of the most positive things I took away from going ... is just the experience of seeing another culture and getting to meet people from different walks of life,” he said. “I was definitely critical myself of the trips that we went on, but sort of like the educational and cultural aspects of [them], they’re fantastic.”

INBUSINESS THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

New StartHub boss’s business starts with Boston business

BY SOPHIA LABAS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston is the start-up community’s new Petri dish.

The many successful students and companies that make up the city of Boston already provide for an environment designed for start-up innovation, and now, Boston Mayor Martin

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON

Rory Cuddyer is heading Boston’s StartHub initiative to support start-ups in the city.

Walsh has added his bit to the mix. Enter StartHub, the entrepreneurship program that’s aiming to be local start-ups’ connection to City Hall.

Walsh has named Rory Cuddyer to lead the program, which will have a physical location, the Roxbury Innovation Center in Dudley Square, by the end of 2015. During his time as advisor to the mayor’s chief of staff, Cuddyer gained some experience with the start-up community, helping local entrepreneurs navigate through issues and keeping a usually tedious, tiresome and overwhelming process relatively smooth, he said. Now that he’s working with start-ups full-time, Cuddyer’s initial plans include lots of chitchat.

“We’re going to be having conversations with the community at large, and it’s really going to be a collaborative approach,” Cuddyer said. “They are going to help us identify what the city is doing well, what the city needs to improve upon and then

what the city can actually do to help them.”

Cuddyer said although it’s early, most of the policies he’ll be pursuing will come from those conversations. He believes the community best understands their own needs and challenges, which is why he plans to start small.

Through his appointment as “start-up czar,” Cuddyer provides local start-ups with an actual face in City Hall to go to with issues. While StartHub is still in its very early phases — it has yet to introduce any policies — the program and the city government, he said, are all-ears to hear what Boston’s entrepreneurs have to say.

Yet while the main focus right now is on an open dialogue, StartHub is also aiming to keep the local business ecosystem strong. The hope, Cuddyer said, is that Boston’s abundance of universities can provide a significant f low of fresh ideas and venture capital-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

FEATURES

7

CATALYST THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

Music initiatives key in setting tone for therapy, experts note

BY OLIVIA DENG DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Music is widely regarded as a form of art and entertainment.

What may be less apparent, however, is music’s value in treating medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism and Parkinson’s disease.

Though music therapy is not an entirely new concept, it has made great strides in recent years, aided by research and technological advancements. Boston-based companies, such as the newly launched The Sync Project, have, through their work, acknowledged music’s utility in improving health outcomes.

The Sync Project, a company that launched at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, aims to personalize music therapeutics by mapping music to biometric data.

“The Sync Project is based on an idea: that music can be harnessed to improve health,” Alexis Kopikis, co-founder and CEO of The Sync Project, wrote in an email. “Music has always been used anecdotally to alter health state.

It’s as quintessential to human evolution as language.”

Kopikis said his son, who has neurological disorders, inspired the mission of The Sync Project.

“My son Adar has [Fragile X syndrome] and autism. On a daily basis, music empowers him to communicate better, connect and improve his social interaction,” Kopikis said. “Understanding why music helps Adar and so many others across so many conditions is the

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

New tech firm The Sync Project, which will use music as therapy, debuted Tuesday at South by Southwest.

passion of every member of The Sync Project.”

By linking health data collected by wearable devices such as smartwatches and music-listening behavior, The Sync Project hopes to provide data that will be helpful for researchers.

Rebecca Zarate, assistant professor of expressive therapies at Lesley University, said harnessing data from companies such as The Sync Project can generate valuable insights.

“It helps us take a look at a generalizable population. This is the kind of work we need to inform evidence-based practices,” she said.

“It will give us another angle. It would give us a piece of evidence

that would help us inform clinical practice.”

In the past decade, music therapy has adopted more evidence-based methods, lending to its newfound rigor as a scientific discipline. Scientific methods are what appealed to Brian Harris, CEO of MedRhythms, LLC, a local company that offers neurologic music therapy services.

Harris said traditional music therapy looks at music through the lens of social context, focusing on music as a form of self-expression and a relationship facilitator. In contrast, neurologic music therapy is interested in the biological impact music has on the brain.

“Neurologic music thera-

py looks at it from a neuroscience lens,” Harris said. “All of it is backed up with neuroscience research. We are not focused primarily on emotions or quality of life, or the social structure, but we are looking at purely neuroscience and anatomic structures of the brain and how those are affected by music.”

Harris said MedRhythms, LLC has partnered with the Boston University Aphasia Resource Center to launch an aphasia course for residents of the greater Boston area who suffer from the condition that inhibits individuals’ ability to communicate.

“It is a therapeutic group, and we work on functional language

goals through singing with the goal of having a performance at the end of the semester,” Harris said.

“So they are therapeutically, functionally, getting better because they know how singing affects the brain.”

Neurological disorders are not the only diseases music therapy can help with. Kathleen Howland, professor of music therapy at the Berklee College of Music, said music therapy can help with chemotherapy by decreasing stress levels.

“No matter what stage you are in cancer, the biggest issue is anxiety. Everybody suffers from anxiety,” Howland said. “It [music] minimizes the use of anxiety medications, which are addictive …

This is a wonderful use of music to decrease anxiety and limit having more medicine.”

Music therapy as an academic discipline has grown exponentially, Howland said, and projects such as The Sync Project will help propel further growth of music therapy by enabling researchers to access noninvasive analog data.

Kopikis said the quantification of health data, paired with large-scale studies, has a promising future in music therapy.

“We believe strongly that mobile interventions will be a key component in the future of health,” he said. “Connecting the scientists, technologists, device companies and in our case, musicians to be able to take advantage of data to deliver personalized care is where the next five to 10 years need to focus.”

Start-up czar Cuddyer looks to community to gauge next step STARTHUB, FROM PAGE 6

ists. Ideally, these factors will yield a f low of capital, as well as accelerators and incubators, all combining to produce a city of successful entrepreneurs.

Ian Mashiter, a lecturer in Boston University’s School of Management and the director of the BUzz Lab, BU’s own entrepreneurship center, sees this f low of ideas between the city and the universities as a possibility. The BUzz Lab not only has a workspace where student teams can run through ideas, but also holds business model competitions, boot camps and other activities to stimulate student entrepreneurs on campus.

“What entrepreneurs need are ecosystems that support them as they found their companies and grow their companies,” he said. “Some cities are better than others in terms of ecosystems, and Boston traditionally has always been a very strong entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Fellow BUzz Lab contribu-

tor and executive-in-residence at BU’s Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship, Vinit Nijhawan agrees Boston is “definitely a great place to do a start-up.”

Having served as CEO of three of his own start-ups, Nijhawan reemphasized Boston’s fantastic economic ecosystem while also claiming that changing labor markets have something to do with Boston start-ups’ success as well.

“There was a time … where you worked at a company for your whole life. Then you came to my generation where, not only have I not worked at one company my whole life, but I’ve switched careers three times in my life,” Nijhawan said. “I think with [the current] generation increasing, it’s pretty unlikely [they’re] going to stay in one thing for [their] whole career.

Those skills that you learn being an entrepreneur are really valuable in this new sort of dynamic labor market.”

But he has a suggestion for StartHub: don’t discount en-

trepreneurship in immigrant communities. With a lot of focus aimed toward technology start-ups, other businesses such as retail shops, restaurants or laundromats, he said, are overlooked.

“I think the city can really do a better job in really helping those types of entrepreneurs … The concepts of entrepreneurship or start ups have been around for a long time, but it has really started gathering speed in just the last five to 10 years” he said. “You can even see it at BU, where there’s a lot of focus on innovation and on entrepreneurship at the university partly because the nature of labor markets is changing.”

In truth, though, that sort of inclusion may not be so far off from what Cuddyer and his team have in mind.

“We want to make sure that any resident who has great talent has the resources to actually start a business,” he said. “And that’s what the city is really trying to do.”

Peace Corps

Meet and Greet at Boston University Choose where you want to go. Apply in one hour. Make a difference overseas as a Peace Corps Volunteer

Friday, March 20 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Yawkey Center for Student Services, Room 101

peacecorps.gov - 855.855.1961

OPINION

8

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

Felicia Gans, Editor-in-Chief Jacklyn Bamberger, Managing Editor

t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r a t b o s t o n u n i v e r s i t y

44th year | Volume 87 | Issue VIII The Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Thursdays 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 © 2015 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Mike DeSocio , Multimedia Editor

Judy Cohen, Sports Editor

Alexandra Wimley, Photo Editor

Mina Corpuz, Campus Editor

Casey Mintz, Editorial Page Editor

Samantha Gross, Layout Editor

Alexandra David, City Editor

Joe Incollingo, Features Editor

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager

BU should be more transparent, fair in housing process The monetary cost of living on campus is already steep, but it’s about to get a little bit steeper. For the 2015-16 academic year at Boston University, the average cost will go up by $561, and the cost of dining plans will increase by $140, as published on BU’s housing website, according to a Feb. 28 email to students who had put down housing deposits.

Boston University spokesman Colin Riley said the cost could be attributed to the university’s maintenance needs, which increase every year. This includes the cost of labor to run existing facilities, as well as food and transportation costs.

“The cost of building them isn’t in [the new housing rates], but the cost of running them and managing them is,” Riley said. “The university tries to keep increases as low as possible and works very hard to do that.”

On average, rates, which are determined by the BU Board of Trustees, went up 3.5 percent from last year, Riley said. The Board of Trustees determines housing rates by looking at the number of students living off campus compared to on campus, among other items. Riley said many increases in dining and housing rates are inevitable.

“The increase is not related to providing new things. It’s just simply the cost of providing the service,” he told The Daily Free Press on March 5. “Higher education is a very labor-intensive business.”

This year, the housing deposit deadline was extended twice, first from Feb. 28 to March 3 and then to March 7. In the email sent by BU Housing, students were given until March 6 to decide whether or not they wanted to cancel their reservation. If students canceled within the week, they would be refunded their full $600.

In that time, Riley reported a 2 percent withdrawal rate from on-campus housing, which he said was typical. Regardless of the small percentage that decided to forgo living on campus, 75 percent of the student body decided to take the plunge. This high rate of retention has been stable throughout the years, Riley said.

“They [students] would be faced with the same situation if they lived off campus,” Riley said of the rising housing rates. “There are so many benefits to living on campus … it’s a big part of the reason we have such a high four-year graduation rate. In addition, if you live on campus and one of your roommates in a suite or an apartment move out, you don’t then have to share that cost with another roommate … There are a lot of positive reasons from living on campus.”

Of course, the convenience of living on campus can’t be beat. If you have a class at 1 p.m. in the College of Arts and Sciences or the College of Communication, you can leave your lovely abode in

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crease on you. How is that fair?

One of the ways that BU Housing could prevent problems like this from occurring in the future is just prioritizing transparency. Try releasing the housing rates before a housing reservation is due.

There’s no way they weren’t aware of the increases at the time students were considering their future housing plans. Rather than let students make their decisions and changing the prices later, just lay all the cards on the table at once.

And perhaps while they’re at it, they could explain why housing rates rise so much every year to begin with. Students should know where their money is going and why the school is making them spend so much more than the year before to live in the same facilities. At this rate, by the time we graduate, a double in Warren will be as much as a double in a suite in Student Village II. And we don’t even want to think about how much that coveted spot in StuVi II will be.

But of course, we have no control over this increase in housing prices. We probably never will, and quite frankly, that’s OK. We’re the students, and we could never objectively make a call about housing costs. But providing students and families with some sort of footnotes for their housing bills could at least provide a little peace of mind while they’re signing that extra check.

This week’s crossword puzzle is brought to you by Andrew Hass

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Warren Towers at 12:56 and still make it there on time. And it is nice that if something’s broken, BU Facilities is compelled to fix it. A landlord would likely not be that kind. There’s a lot BU Facilities does that you won’t get while living off campus, such as clearing the snow in front of your door and cleaning your bathroom when it gets to be a little too much to handle. However, this steep rise in housing and dining prices just isn’t something we can ignore.

One might ask: in the grand scheme of things, is that $700 total increase (room and board plus dining) really going to make or break your decision to live on campus? And while the answer might be “no” for some, there are many who can’t afford the increase. For the majority of BU students, our parents are paying for our housing. If, for example, a parent is on the fence, that extra $700 could be the breaking point.

Then there’s the issue of timing — the rates came out just hours after the final students put down their 2015-16 housing deposits. If you budgeted according to the 2014-2015 rates, not expecting such a huge increase in price, that could be the difference between your parents giving you the OK and them telling you, “That’s not what you told me before.” Try telling your parents that it doesn’t matter in the scheme of things. You budget it out in a certain way, and then BU springs this in-

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1. Algonquian Indian 5. Abounds 10. Fastened 14. Wander 15. Spells 16. Unique 17. Improve 19. Small island 20. Indian bread 21. Illegal activity 22. Extreme happiness 23. Tangle 25. Leered 27. One or more 28. Salutation 31. Directly (archaic) 34. Courted 35. Petroleum 36. Writing implements 37. Gulleys

38. Brownish purple 39. Genus of macaws 40. Planet 41. A friction match 42. Blackberry-like fruit 44. Skirt’s edge 45. Minim 46. Munitions 50. Verse writers 52. Approaches 54. Solemn promise 55. Constellation bear 56. Exotic dancer 58. Principal 59. Throw with effort 60. Tall woody plant 61. Wings 62. Affirmatives 63. Vesicle

1. Large long-necked wading bird 2. Ancient empire 3. What’s happening 4. Snake-like fish 5. Full of complexities 6. Creepy 7. Test 8. Space rock 9. South southeast 10. Commode 11. Pernicious 12. L L L L 13. Colors 18. Cake frosting 22. Hemorrhaged 24. Sickens 26. G G G G 28. Pious 29. Agreeable 30. Delight 31. Unwanted email 32. South American

country 33. Absence of the sense of pain 34. Guarantee 37. Herbaceous plant 38. A device that moves fluids 40. Dampens 41. Banquet 43. A flammable gas 44. Shingles 46. Do without 47. Female reproductive organ 48. Snouts 49. Sugary 50. Mountain lion 51. By mouth 53. Historical periods 56. Timid 57. And so forth

OPINION

9

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

Wait for campaign announcements Internships abroad offer experience

BY SARA RYAN COLUMNIST

Eight years ago, the 2008 presidential campaign season was already underway. The majority of candidates had announced they were running in late 2006 or early 2007, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. John McCain. For the year leading up to the Iowa caucuses, I’m sure the media was just as annoying about all the presidential election hype as they are now. However, there’s one major difference: no major candidate has declared for the 2016 election cycle.

A few candidates, including my favorite bootas-a-hat-wearing Democrat, Vermin Supreme, have formally declared their candidacy, but no one with any name recognition has made the jump into the presidential election season. Some notables, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley have created exploratory committees or political action committees (PACs).

Outlets across the country are clamoring for formal announcements. If a day goes by without a “When will [candidate name] declare?” article, it’s a miracle. This week, CNN reported that Ready for Hillary, a PAC supporting, you guessed it, Hillary Clinton, is close to signing a lease for Clinton’s Brooklyn, New York headquarters. The article also reports that Clinton is set to announce her candidacy sometime in April. My question is, why not wait longer? In fact, why don’t all the candidates wait just a little bit longer before announcing? It can only help them and our election process.

No one should declare in December or anything crazy, but how much of a difference would announcing in April be from announcing in June?

For those with a national presence, such as Clinton, Christie, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden etc., there’s really no point in campaigning longer than necessary.

Clinton especially can only benefit from a later start. Especially in the middle of “email-gate” (quotes to emphasize heavy skepticism), Clinton needs to separate her tenure as secretary of state from her campaign. The House Committee on Benghazi has already subpoenaed her emails, and Clinton promised to release all emails as soon as

possible. The PR nightmare that could ensue should be enough for Clinton to hold off her announcement. If Clinton launches her campaign amid the media storm, it would only spell trouble for the fledgling campaign.

Furthermore, Clinton really doesn’t need to declare now. Except for the overwhelming pressure from the media and supporters, there is no reason for an announcement. Because Clinton is so far ahead of any other candidates, the time off the campaign trail won’t do much to her poll numbers.

Quick side note, though: Let’s not discount the laughable, creepy grandpa figure currently sitting in the Vice President’s office. Biden has made a few, quiet trips to New Hampshire already, and his scathing response to the Iran letter of 47 Republican senators (don’t get me started) sounded authoritative, and dare I say it, presidential. If he can avoid any more offensive gaffes or embarrassing plagiarism scandals, he might be a contender.

But that’s a big “if.”

For the Republican contenders, there’s some advantage to declaring early, but I don’t know if it’s enough. Most of the candidates are already de facto campaigning anyway. The Associated Press reported that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s two sons are already planning to forgo their fall semesters at Marquette University and University of Wisconsin-Madison to help campaign. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, among others, made appearances in New Hampshire this past weekend. Just because you’re not calling it campaigning doesn’t mean it’s not campaigning.

The earlier you declare, the more money you spend and the more open to political blunders you are. No one can keep skeletons in their closet forever, but statistically speaking, you’re much less likely to say something stupid if you say fewer things. In other words, you can’t hide the secret love child, but you can minimize the chance of a verbal slip-up.

Most importantly, do we really need a twoyear campaign cycle in the first place? As fun as the literally endless stream of media covering the presidential election is, aren’t there other things for people to write about? Elections are simple. There is a winner and a pile of losers. There are blunders and victories on the route to those results. There are sound bites and posters and literally billions of dollars spent, but it’s simple. It’s a competition.

Governing, on the other hand, not so simple.

Behind every issue, there are thousands of books and papers and memos and position papers. Nothing is superficial or easy to understand. We can form an educated opinion, but there will always be more to read and take in. It’s easy to campaign.

It’s easy to follow election coverage. It’s not easy to cultivate change and economic growth, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. Running for government isn’t nearly as important as running the government.

BY RACHEL RILEY COLUMNIST

For college students, the word “intern” comes along with a host of connotations. The interns get the coffee. They answer the phone.

They are assigned the menial tasks that tenured members of a company or organization are much too busy to be troubled with, often for little or no pay, in the hopes of gaining experience in their discipline.

But while participating in Boston University Study Abroad’s Auckland Internship Program, I have found that an intern can be more than the bottom rung of a corporate ladder.

Recently, I started my internship with The New Zealand Herald’s Element Magazine, a monthly publication that focuses on sustainability and lifestyle. On my first day, I was delighted when I was assigned a 400-word story on a woman who was inspired to invent a brand of organic dark chocolate after visiting fair-trade cooperatives in the Dominican Republic. And when 5 p.m. on Friday rolled around, I was shocked when my boss asked me if I wanted a beer before heading out for the weekend.

But my experience is only one of 36, so I decided to speak with some of my fellow students participating in the internship program. The general consensus? We are pleased to be doing work that is valuable for our organizations and provides us with meaningful real-world experience.

Here’s a taste of what Spring 2015 Auckland Internship Program students are up to: School of Hospitality senior Liz Jones, Hospitality Major Jones has spent the past few weeks working for the New Zealand Comedy Trust to help stage their annual Comedy Festival, which takes place in Auckland and Wellington beginning in midApril.

“Everyone there is incredibly smart and incredibly good at their job, but at the same time, it’s very welcoming and funny,” she said.

The festival has a staff of around seven people split into two groups focusing on marketing and operations. Jones is working on digital promotions and media releases for the marketing team but will be helping out with operations as the festival approaches.

She is ecstatic to be working for an organization where she can build a portfolio, expand

Interrobang

her skill set to include marketing and get a feel for New Zealand’s festival scene.

“I’m given a real experience,” Jones said.

“I’m treated as part of the team. I’m treated as someone who’s valuable, and I’m given real work.”

College of Fine Arts senior Brandon Waltz, Acting Major Waltz is interning with Auckland-based production company Candlelit Pictures, which makes music videos for local artists.

Candlelit Pictures, staffed by 15 people, operates out of a large house in the Auckland suburb of Epsom.

Waltz has felt himself a vital part of the corporation since day one, when his coworkers involved him in every part of the creative process, from writing a new mission statement for the company to redesigning its website.

“They utilize my cultural perspective and my unique point of view in order to benefit themselves and also to benefit me,” he said. “I feel like these are lasting connections that I’m going to have for a long time.”

Candlelit Pictures differs from other production companies Waltz has worked with in the United States because entertainment isn’t about the money for them, he said.

“It’s very easy to sell out in the industry, to take the money where it comes and sacrifice your art, but these people believe deep down to their core that the blood, sweat and tears that go into making a piece of art, a video, is essential,” Waltz said.

College of Arts and Sciences junior Greg Jones, Environmental Analysis and Policy Major Jones is working for EnviroSpec, an organization that specializes in sustainable design consultation.

The company, which consists of two employees and two interns, rates its clients’ building plans on New Zealand’s Homestar certification system — similar to the United States Green Building Council’s LEED certification system — and offers suggestions for more eco-friendly and energy-efficient construction.

Jones’s job is to assess blueprints when they first come in from clients for the efficiency of the building’s heating and cooling systems, levels of energy consumption and eco-safety of raw materials.

“When you think ‘internship’ in the states, you think, ‘I need something to stuff my resume with so I can get a real job later,’” Jones said. “I actually feel like I have real responsibility. It’s intense and overwhelming sometimes, but that makes it all the more rewarding.”

Before his first day at EnviroSpec, Jones’s bosses took him surfing to have their first “board meeting.” The company staff is approachable and fun, he said, but at the same time, they know when it’s time to work.

“It’s a work-hard, play-hard environment,” he said.

At a World Book Day celebration at his school, an 11-year-old in England decided to dress up as the great literary character Christian Grey from the hit movie and book “Fifty Shades of Grey,” complete with a blindfold and cable ties. We here at the ol’ Free Press were wondering what fictional character BU people would dress up as?

CFA: Elphaba from “Wicked.”

ENG: Their girlfriends.

CGS: Amelia Bedelia.

BU Dining: The dad from “That’s So Raven” who only makes chicken (Victor Baxter).

SMG: Christian Grey.

President Brown: The Lorax.

BUPD: Steve from “Blue’s Clues.”

FreeP: The cast of “The Newsroom.”

10

SPORTS

Return of Pat Myers boosts men’s lacrosse’s offensive depth

BY JACKLYN BAMBERGER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Several different factors have contributed to the Boston University men’s lacrosse team’s program-record three-game winning streak, none more so than the healthy return of sophomore attack Pat Myers.

After suffering a season-ending wrist injury six games into BU’s (5-2, 2-1 Patriot League) 2014 campaign, Myers is now healthy and looks to play a key part in pacing this year’s Terriers as they enter a critical part of their Patriot League schedule.

Before he succumbed to injury, Myers was perhaps the most prominent of bright spots in the Terriers’ inaugural 2014 season. Using every bit of his 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame to weave his way through opposing defenses, Myers created a bevy of quality scoring chances for himself and his teammates.

He scored BU’s first-ever goal in a 17-6 season-opening loss to Mercer University on Feb. 8, 2014 and recorded the program’s first hat trick in a nonconference loss to Providence College. At home, against a ranked Lehigh University squad on Feb. 22, 2014, Myers kept the contest tight, scoring one goal and adding two assists in a narrow 10-7 defeat.

Against Colgate University on March 8, 2014, Myers continued his torrid pace, assisting on a first-quarter goal from then-freshman attack Ryan Johnston to tie up the game at 1-1.

However, things quickly went from bad to worse for the Terriers as

Myers broke his wrist due to a harsh fall and the Raiders (4-1, 2-1 Patriot League) put together three unanswered goals in the second half on their way to a 7-5 win.

Myers’ injury required surgery, sidelining the Terriers’ top offensive threat for the remainder of their inaugural campaign. In just six games, Myers had racked up 15 points on seven goals and eight assists, tallying at least one point in every contest.

“Pat at the time was our best offensive player,” said BU coach Ryan Polley. “He was our leading scorer and the quarterback of our offense. We had to shuffle some things around, and some players had to step up. It definitely made what we were doing offensively harder. We lost a great player.”

Without Myers leading the charge, Polley said other players, including Johnston and then-freshman attack, stepped up for the Terriers, who ended the 2014 season with a 2-12 record.

As he underwent a long recovery process, Polley said in addition to missing out on valuable practice time, Myers faced the difficult task of being separated from his teammates.

“It’s challenging when you’re injured because you’re not with the team every day when you’re working on your rehab and you’re trying to get better,” Polley said. “It’s just very difficult.”

After suffering another setback over winter break, Myers finally made his return to the field in a nonconference matchup against the University

Kentucky favorite to win it all SOUZA, FROM PAGE 12

School alumnus Pat Connaughton, the Fighting Irish have gone 29-5 and post impressive wins against Duke (twice), UNC (also twice), the University of Louisville and Michigan State University. Expect this upstart quad from Indiana to make a deep run this month, and make sure you watch if the Fighting Irish take on the Wildcats of Kentucky. Prediction: Sorry Irish fans, but I just cannot see a way Notre Dame gets past the Elite 8 with the likes of Kentucky in their way.

University of Virginia 10-1: The 29-3 Cavaliers hold the second seed in the East region and are aiming to advance to the Final Four over powerhouses such as Villanova University while being careful of upset-ready Michigan State. Coming off a 30-win season where they were eliminated in the Sweet 16, the University of Virginia is led by the likes of Malcolm Brogdon who has amassed 445 points in all 32 games that he has started and averages 13.9 per contest. Prediction: Upset city in the second round as the Spartans of Michigan State take down Virginia.

University of Wisconsin 17-2: One of the only teams capable of beating Kentucky this year, the Badgers from Madison are coming into the tournament fresh off their overtime win over Michigan State in the Big 10 Championship Game. A No. 1 seed in the West region of the tournament, Wisconsin has the potential to cut down the nets in Indianapolis on April 6 after finishing the season with a 31-3 record. Standing in the Badgers’ way to the Final Four are Baylor University, UNC and Pacific-12 Conference

champ Arizona University. Prediction: Wisconsin finds a way through the battlefield of the West before falling to Kentucky in the Final Four.

Villanova University 10-1: The Wildcats from Pennsylvania have earned their second No. 1 seed ever in the tournament as they posted a 32-2 record this season. Nova Nation is expected to make a deep run in the tournament after dismantling Xavier University by 17 points in the Big East championship. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their magical upset over Georgetown University, Villanova is hoping to find a little more magic as it will have to go through tough tests, such as Louisville and Michigan State, if it hopes to reach the Final Four. Prediction: Even though I love Nova Nation, the Wildcats of Villanova will ultimately fall in the National Championship.

University of Kentucky 6-5: One of the deepest teams in recent memory, the University of Kentucky Wildcats will look to become the first team since Indiana University in 1976 to go undefeated throughout the entire year, including the postseason. With an Southeastern Conference Championship and 34 wins under their belt, the Wildcats will be searching for their first national title since Anthony Davis’ 2011-12 squad. Led by sophomore guard Aaron Harrison, who is currently averaging 11.3 points per game, the Wildcats are expected to wrap up the trophy and cut down the nets with ease. Prediction: Party time will come to Lexington as the Wildcats win their 9th National Championship ever.

of Vermont on Feb. 28, nearly one year since his freshman season was cut short. Coming off the bench, Myers notched an assist and one shot in the 15-7 win that kick-started the Terriers’ current winning streak.

As he eases back into collegiate play, Myers’ role on the team has shifted. Thanks to BU’s increased offensive depth, Polley said Myers has been able to regain his “sea legs” and get re-acclimated to the speed of the collegiate game as a member of the Terriers’ second midfield line.

“He’s making the plays that are simple plays that are kind of getting him going a little bit before he can make the really high-level plays,” Polley said. “He’s done a great job of putting in the extra time and working to get his stick where it needs to be.”

Going up against then-No. 18 Colgate in only his second game back in the scarlet and white on March 7, Myers assisted on a third-quarter goal from freshman attack Jack Wilson to help the Terriers take down the Raiders 18-11.

Then, Myers had what Polley called a “breakout game” in Saturday’s 17-8 Patriot League win over Lafayette College at Nickerson Field, scoring three goals on four shots and adding two assists for a team-high five points.

Though the team struggled without Myers during the 2014 season, Polley said the opportunities that other players had to step up has contributed to the Terriers’ offensive depth. This has been a crucial part of the Terriers’ recent success,

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE MCLAUGHLIN

Sophomore attack Pat Myers missed the majority of last season and the beginning of this one with a wrist injury.

as through seven games in 2015, 17 different BU players have registered points.

“Everybody had to step up, and players got some opportunities that they may not have gotten,” Polley said. “They did a great job, which has carried over to this year as we’ve gotten more and more players to go along with Pat and the guys we had last year.”

The Terriers will have to continue to receive offensive contributions from a number of different players as they embark on a critical three-game stretch against conference foes Bucknell University, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy.

All three of those teams will be competing with BU for one of six spots in the Patriot League Tournament.

Polley said the Terriers will only become an increasingly tougher team for opponents to prepare for as Myers’ confidence keeps growing with each game.

“It means the world to have another option on offense. The strength of our team offensively is our depth,” Polley said. “I don’t think you can necessarily concentrate on one player without somebody else stepping up … I think we’re becoming difficult to scout because we have so many guys that can step up and score goals and make plays and make assists.”

SPORTS

11

Women’s lacrosse wins overtime thriller against Holy Cross

BY EVAN YEE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Coming off a loss to the University of Denver, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team won a 9-8 overtime thriller Wednesday against the College of Holy Cross in Worcester.

In their second game in conference play, the Terriers (4-3, 2-0 Patriot League) struggled early on as they gave up five quick goals with senior Laura Ryan and attack Kate Martino scoring three and two, respectively.

However, BU partially closed the gap at the end of the half, thanks in large part to two goals by senior attack Kelsey Marafioti, one of which was in the final three seconds. The Terriers channeled that momentum to the second half and overtime, outscoring the Crusaders (2-7, 2-1 Patriot League) 6-3.

After not scoring in the first half, BU’s leading goal scorer, red-

shirt junior attack Mallory Collins, helped lead the charge by scoring two goals, giving her 20 on the year.

Sophomore attack Taylor Hardison had her best game of the year, scoring two of her three goals of the season.

Her game-winning second tally was assisted by junior midfielder Sofia Robins.

BU coach Liz Robertshaw credited her team’s late goals to execution from practice.

“This week, we worked on a lot of two-minute drills, and they came into play today, both with the work [junior defenseman] Remy Nolan did to get the ball and score the tying goal and with Taylor Hardison’s goal in a man-up situation,” she said.

“It was a textbook feed from Sofia Robins, and Taylor did her job by scoring.”

Robertshaw also said she was proud of her team’s fortitude after being down in the first half.

“The team fought hard today

in really tough weather conditions to battle back against a strong Holy Cross team,” she said. “I thought we were a bit tentative on our attacking end in the first half, but we showed aggressiveness in the second half and saw good goal scoring by a variety of players.”

BU remains undefeated in the Patriot League and moved a game above .500 for the season. The Terriers have won three of their last four games and beat a surging Holy Cross team.

The Crusaders struggled earlier in the season but had been hot in Patriot League play coming into their matchup with BU, as they were undefeated in conference play. Holy Cross’s recent strong play is largely due to the efforts of Ryan and Martino, who Robertshaw said she knew would be a handful coming into the matchup.

But after the first half, BU shut the two of them down with only

Martino scoring in the second half.

The Terriers limited Holy Cross’s offense as a whole, as they only allowed three goals in the second half. “[Ryan and Martino] are very good players, and I think in the second half, we had better doubling opportunities against them and a greater sense of urgency when they had the ball,” she said. “It was a good defensive adjustment made by our players.”

Another factor in the second half defense was sophomore goalie Caroline Meegan. After being named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the week of March 9, she had another solid game.

Second in the Patriot League in saves per game, Meegan saved eight goals against the Crusaders, which is around her average of 8.43 saves per game, giving her 59 stops on the year.

Robertshaw said her team will go as Meegan goes.

“Caroline’s confidence and

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Redshirt junior attack Mallory Collins hit the 20-tally mark on Wednesday afternoon.

play instills confidence in our team and allows both our defensive and attacking units to go out and take more chances,” she said. “I know she wasn’t happy about some of the goals that went in today, and we’ll continue working tomorrow to get better, but I like that sense of ‘it’s not good enough’ coming from her. It tells me she has higher aspirations for herself.”

No. 3 Terriers poised to complete run at Hockey East title, face UNH in semifinals series with Merrimack College. BU quickly dispatched the Warriors (16-18-4, 5-14-3 Hockey East) in a two-game sweep. Freshman forward Jack Eichel ended the series with six points (two goals and four assists), en route to his second Hockey East Player of the Week award this season.

Despite running into a red-hot goalie in Rasmus Tirronen (.929 save

percentage), the Terriers outscored Merrimack 11-2 in the series. Stymied at times, BU still remained true to its game plan, and things worked out just fine.

The Wildcats, who entered the tournament as the eighth seed, have been on a roll since early February. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games, including a 2-1 overtime thriller in the final game of the quar-

terfinals over second-seeded Providence College.

Forwards Tyler Kelleher and Grayson Downing have been strong down the stretch with their scoring, but the big key to this late-season resurgence for New Hampshire has been the play of netminder Daniel Tirone.

READ MORE ON DFPR.ES/ MIHUNH

Northwestern SPS | 5.63” x 8” | 02/15/15 - 03/03/15

Summer Session

NORTHWESTERN UNI VERSI TY

2015

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS

Freshman center Jack Eichel earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors after posting six points in BU's series with Merrimack last weekend.

BY ANDREW BATTIFARANO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

There were no games to be played for the No. 3 Boston University men’s hockey team at this time last year. The Terriers were bounced from the Hockey East playoffs in one game by the University of Notre Dame, which ended a forgettable 10win season.

When he comes to think of it, BU head coach David Quinn can’t even recall the season taking place.

“Did we have hockey last year?”

Quinn asked jokingly with a wry smile.

Fast forward 365 days, and there’s a lot for Quinn to smile about, and more importantly, still hockey to be played for BU (23-7-5, 14-5-3 Hockey East). Already with two titles to show for this season, the Terriers have a chance at a third this weekend when they play for the Hockey East Tournament championship at TD Garden.

BU will first have to get past the University of New Hampshire in Friday night’s semifinal game to have any shot at the title game and raising the conference banner. And that’s all Quinn and his team has their minds set on right now. Looking back on how much the team has improved in a year’s time hasn’t ex-

actly been priority number one for the second-year head coach.

“I really haven’t thought about last year to be quite honest,” Quinn said. “Just so caught up in what we’re doing right now and season now and the success we’ve had and the opportunities we have in front of us here.”

Although a young team, the Terriers do have the experience of playing in big games already this season. They’ve played in and won the Beanpot, which happened to take place where the Terriers will play this weekend. Those two games, according to Quinn, provided his team invaluable lessons.

“It’s huge because I thought in that first game [of the Beanpot] against Harvard [University], we were very nervous,” Quinn said. “We didn’t start playing well until probably halfway through the second.

And then in the Beanpot, we had a terrible first period final against Northeastern [University], and then we played much better after that.

There was such a big gap between the two Beanpot games, I think we had to re-learn what happened.

“We’re in a much better state right now — been there, done that, won there.”

To get to this point in the postseason, the Terriers first had to win a best-of-three quarterfinal

Registration opens APRIL 13 northwestern.edu/summer

G e t A h e a d . E x p lo re. E n j oy.

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SUMMER SESSION V i s i t i n g s t u d e n t s c a n c h o o s e fro m mo re th a n 3 0 0 u n d e r g ra d u a te c o u r s e s .

Sports

Quotable “It was a textbook feed from Sofia Robins, and Taylor did her job by scoring,” said BU women’s lacrosse coach Liz Robertshaw on Taylor Hardison’s game-winning goal. p. 11

Going for Two Preparing for Madness

Ride to the Top No. 3 men’s hockey continues its march to the Hockey East championship, takes on UNH at TD Garden on Friday. p. 11

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Q&A: Men’s hockey forward Nikolas Olsson

BY CONOR RYAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

BY DAVID SOUZA DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Every year during the month of March, college basketball takes over the landscape of the sports world. Nestled between the Super Bowl and MLB’s Opening Day, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness, provides us sports junkies with a way to get our fix of competitive meaningful games in the long two-month stretch to summer ball.

Sunday, the bracket of 68 teams was released, with the undefeated University of Kentucky Wildcats coming into the tournament with the best odds to win at 6-5. While most of the country is anticipating the Wildcats from Kentucky to capture their ninth National Championship, and second under coach John Calipari, the field looks as competitive as ever this year. Here’s a look at a few of college basketball’s premiere teams and their chances to win the big dance in Indiana.

Duke University 9-1: The Blue Devils are coming off a big loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. While the boys from Durham have amassed a 29-4 record and are the No. 1 seed in the South region of the bracket, the Blue Devils have seen two of their last three seasons end in shock as they were upset by both Lehigh University in 2012 and Mercer University in 2014. Watch out for coach Mike Krzyzewski and company to make a run at the title, but place this Duke squad on upset alert.

Prediction: Bounced in the Elite 8.

Iowa State University 33-1: Taking the third seed in the South region comes the Cyclones of Iowa State University, who boast a 25-8 record and their second straight Big 12 Championship. After downing the University of Kansas Jayhawks in the title game, ISU is looking to improve on its Sweet 16 appearance from last year and is eying its first national crown ever. Prediction: Sweet 16 is sour to the Cyclones for the second-straight year.

University of Notre Dame 25-1: There may be no hotter team in the tournament currently than the Fighting Irish. After beating both Duke and the University of North Carolina en route to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, Notre Dame grabbed the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region and will face off against Northeastern University. Led by Massachusetts native and St. John’s Preparatory CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

On a 2014-15 Boston University men’s hockey team that values grit, flash and depth, freshman forward Nikolas Olsson has asserted himself as a jack-of-all-trades commodity.

The Escondido, California native has proven to be a valuable member of a loaded freshman class, compiling 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 26 games while establishing a physical presence out on the ice (43 penalty minutes).

With just a few days remaining until the Terriers’ Hockey East Tournament semifinal showdown against the University of New Hampshire, Olsson talked with The Daily Free Press about the 2014-15 campaign, emojis, Chipotle and more.

What has been your favorite memory of the season so far?

So far, probably the Beanpot. That was a pretty eye-opening experience. I mean, with all the big crowd, big rink, student sections going back and forth, especially winning in the fashion that we won was really fun. It was really exciting.

If you had to describe your style of play in one word, what would it be and why?

Physical … Try to make a skill play here and there, but mainly just do the right things and play simple and play hard.

Do you have any pre-game superstitions?

Not really. I don’t really like to have too many superstitions because I feel like if you have a superstition and you don’t get that one done, then it might be in your head that you’ll play badly, so I try to not have any at all. I guess other than right skate first, pretty simple. ‑‑ Who are the worst dressed players on the team?

[Freshman forward] J.J. Piccinich has some interesting style. He’s got sweats on a lot, same with [freshman defenseman] Brandon Fortunato. They wear a lot of sweatpants. So maybe them, but it all depends on what style you’re into.

Favorite show to binge-watch on Netflix?

Probably “Prison Break,” “Family Guy” [and “Californication.”]

Favorite NHL Player?

[Anaheim Ducks forward] Ryan Getzlaf. He’s a big power forward with a lot of skill. I’m a huge Anaheim Ducks fan, so growing up watching that. He just does everything. I like watching him play.”

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Freshman forward Nikolas Olsson has five goals and five assists so far this season.

What’s your favorite arena that you’ve played in this season that’s not Agganis Arena?

Who is your favorite Toy Story character?

I’d probably have to go with Buzz Lightyear, just because of the name. It’s a cool name.

[Conte Forum at] Boston College had a really cool atmosphere. In our first game there, the microphone went out during the national anthem, and the entire fan base just sang the national anthem. That was pretty sweet.

Did you fill out a March Madness bracket? If so, who did you pick to win it all?

I did not fill out a March Madness bracket, nor am I going to. I’m not really a big basketball guy, but I think [the University of] Kentucky is the one that’s doing well, so we’ll just go with the generic answer. Kentucky.

What’s your favorite emoji?

My favorite emoji has to be the little smirk emoji. It’s pretty standard.

Who on the team has the best celly?

What’s your go-to order at Chipotle?

Oof. Chicken and steak burrito. Extra meat and guacamole.

[Senior assistant captain] Evan Rodrigues has some pretty solid celebrations. I gotta give that to him.

What played into your decision to wear #13 here?

Who on the team has the best singing voice?

Really, it was just that a few numbers were given to me, and I had to choose one.

Number 13 seemed pretty cool, and I’d never worn it before, so I just figured, ‘Why not?’

I’m going to go with [freshman forward] A.J. Greer. He raps really well. I don’t know about the voice, but he gets it done.

What do you miss the most about home?

What song would you pick to be the theme song of your life?

[Laughs] Sunshine. Sunshine and warmth. The ability to wear a bathing suit and flip-flops in December and January. It’s pretty nice.

What’s your biggest fear?

Probably spiders. Just because they can creep down from just about anywhere and get ya.

Who’s the celebrity that you would most want to get a selfie with?

Probably Anna Kendrick. She’s a cutie.

“Buzzin” by Shwayze.

What’s the biggest key to a successful weekend for the Terriers in the Hockey East semifinal, and if you make it, the final?

Just playing consistently and playing hard. We won’t have to battle with the whole aspect to adapting to bigger ice.

That might help, and just doing the little things right. Don’t be tricked by their standing and their rankings. Don’t take them lightly.

BOTTOM LI NE THURSDAY, MARCH 19

FRIDAY, MARCH 20

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

SUNDAY, MARCH 22

MONDAY, MARCH 23

Men’s Hockey vs New Hampshire (TD

Wilfork said, “I just got tired of all the

“That dude’s crazy,” said Bill Russell,

Garden) 8 p.m.

winning, you know?”

juggling his 11 championship rings.

Women’s Lacrosse vs Navy 12 p.m.

Longtime Patriot DT Vince Wilfork signed with the Houston Texans this week.

Men’s Lacrosse vs Bucknell 2:30 p.m.

Softball @ Lehigh 2 p.m.