Campus & City Column
Never too old
Until 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, I will be in constant anticipation. When “The Hobbit” finally begins on the theater screen before me, my childhood will be rekindled. I first read “The Hobbit” in fourth grade, about 10 years ago. And ever since then, I’ve been obsessed with To l k i e n ’s world. I remember going to see “The Lord of the Rings” movKRISSEN ies in theaters after I KAWACHI fell in love with “The Hobbit.” I think it was December of 2002 that “The Two Towers” had been released. I remember seeing it with an old friend of mine, although she was never as crazed about it as I was. A year later, December of 2003, was the release of “The Return of the King.” It was a school day, and back then at 10 years old, the chances of me being allowed to see a movie at midnight were slim. But the day of the release, I begged my parents to take me (and I think a few friends) after school. I remember my dad waited in line that afternoon, by my request, so we’d get good seats in that showing — he was the first one there, camped out on one of those fold up chairs — poor Dad. My grandma picked us up from school and dropped us off at the theater. I was wearing, what I thought to be, the greatest costume of all time (months before, for Halloween, my mom had made me a dress just like Arwen’s in the movie). I proudly walked through that mall and into the theater wearing my costume. And I would do the same today, if only I still had the costume (my mom sold it at a garage sale and claims that it wouldn’t fit me — I’m unconvinced). Fast-forward nine years. This past summer, I attended the comic con in San Diego, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cast and crew of the upcoming Hobbit films. They held a panel in the biggest discussion hall to 6,500 screaming fans, and many had been camped out for over 24 hours. I sat there through a few hours of other panels, anxiously awaiting the time designated for “The Hobbit.” And when the lights went down and 14 minutes of never-before-seen footage began to project on the massive screen before me, I lost it. I became a 19-year-old sobbing child — me and one of my best friends who was sitting there next to me. I remember my mom laughing at me, saying I was ridiculous, before silently handing over a few tissues. To this day, I feel no shame. And I’m also 100 percent confident that, when I see the movie at midnight, I’ll start crying just the same. And luckily, that friend is coming to visit Boston to see the movie with me so we can share in that overly dramatic, nostalgic moment together. Krissen Kawachi is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at kkawachi@bu.edu.
Monday, December 10, 2012
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City Hall to Go truck places services on menu By Nora Philbin Daily Free Press Staff
PHOTO BY NORA PHILBIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The new City Hall To Go truck stops in the North End at the Paul Revere Mall on its way to different Boston neighborhoods to showcase its services with the Mayor’s Enchanted Trolley Tour Sunday afternoon.
Voter registration, dog licenses and e-Library cards are among the few “menu” items Boston residents can order in the city’s first mobile city hall — a vehicle inspired by Boston’s food truck scene that will travel throughout the city offering government services. The truck, called City Hall to Go, allows pedestrians to make ticket payments, permit requests and renewals, certificate requests and property tax payments, according to the City Hall to Go menu on the City of Boston website. In addition to convenience, the van is designed to reach people who may not have access to the Internet or understand the process of dealing with City Hall, said Katharine Lusk, program director for City Hall to Go.
“Many people don’t necessarily have Internet at home or at their workplace,” Lusk said. “The idea really is to give a face to the City of Boston. It’s a very visible way that we can provide more direct services.” Elderly community members and immigrants within the city are two demographics to which the program might be especially helpful, Lusk said. The program emerged as a part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor’s Challenge, and the mayor’s office decided that it was worth pursuing, Lusk said. The Mayor’s Challenge is a national competition in which cities submit an idea to address a prevalent social issue. “It seemed like a good way of en-
City Hall, see page 4
Mugar rents out puppy love for finals stress relief Mass. among states By Brian Latimer Daily Free Press Staff
After the large turnout for “Puppy Parties” at Boston University’s Marsh Plaza and the School of Management in previous semesters, a Mugar Memorial Library employee organized two days during the study break for students to reserve a time to play with therapy dogs at the library. Students have to reserve time with a dog by emailing Mugar for a 15-minute slot either on Thursday, Dec. 13 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. or Saturday, Dec. 15 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Ann Marie Dryer Shafer, the evening circulation coordinator at Mugar, said she started working on this possibility in August. “It originally started as a trend for young adults and children who were having difficulty reading, she said. “Librarians would bring in dogs because kids weren’t stressed out about reading to a dog.” Shafer said she coordinated with the Dog Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support group, which organizes therapy dog volunteers. “I picked days during the study period because I didn’t want to overlap when people were taking exams or when they were still in classes,” Shafer said. Students who signed up to play with a therapy dog will have 15 minutes with a single dog, she said.
Up to four people can pet one of the 16 volunteer dogs coming. Two dogs will be present every hour and alternate shifts. BONES has trained more than 800 teams of people and their therapy dogs to send to retirement homes, libraries and colleges since it was founded in 2002, said Jeanne Brouillette, BONES president. “You guys are in the middle of finals and looking for a diversion and you’re looking for a reason to get out of cubby holes to pet some dogs,” Brouillette said. “It’s creating a reason to take a deep breath.” There have been a number of studies about how dogs relieve stress, Brouillette said. “It’s the social contact with an animal giving you unconditional love that helps,” she said. “People who have a dog will have a chance to reconnect with that feeling they get at home.” Shafer said she implemented reservations because she needed to prepare for large crowds and limit stress for all parties involved. “The dogs need to be safe and the students need to be getting what they come for, but these are volunteers and we need to make sure they aren’t crushed by students asking to pet the dogs,” Shafer said. “I’m trying to make it more structured and having the waiting list gives us a good setup.” William Murphy, College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, she he would be interested in going to
Mugar to see the therapy dogs, even if he had to put his name on a waiting list. “I can see the tangible benefits to this and it’s pretty cool so I’m definitely thinking about it,” Murphy said. Shafer said she knew the dog therapy was going to be popular based on turnouts from previous years, but she did not expect that the spots would fill up so quickly after only putting a poster up Dec. 1. “By 6 p.m. [Dec. 3], judging by the number of emails I had in my inbox, the reservations were already full,” Shafer said. “Just on the off chance one of the dogs wasn’t able to come I only wanted to reserve for half of the time, so if you show up there are still half of the spots available.” Christine Lee, CAS freshman, said she would rather study in her room instead of losing time in line. “It’s not just 15 minutes for the dog — you have to stand in line as well,” Lee said. “There might be a lot of people who do it and the chances of getting time with a dog are slim.” Justine Velez, College of Communication junior, said crowds agitate her and it would be more stressful to go. “It’s the only reason why I wouldn’t go,” she said. “If I were to walk by and there was nobody standing there with no line, then I would go play with the dogs.”
hit hardest by ACA taxes, study suggests By Jasper Craven Daily Free Press Staff
A recent analysis of a new healthcare insurance tax contained in the Affordable Care Act will likely place a greater tax burden on residents of Massachusetts than those in many other states, one study suggests. The report, announced Wednesday by America’s Health Insurance Plans, places Massachusetts as the 10th most affected state by the new tax — shouldering about $4 billion of additional taxes on citizens over the next 10 years. “With full implementation of the ACA a year away, the focus needs to be on making coverage more affordable,” said AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni in a press release. “Taxing health insurance will have the opposite effect by making it more expensive.” Massachusetts was also listed as a state that will see large tax-hikes for families purchasing insurance. The report, conducted by the Oliver Wyman consulting firm for AHIP, estimated Massachusetts families could see an increase of $9,937 in health care taxes over the next 10 years on the individual market, and a $8,555 increase of taxes through small employers. The Affordable Care Act, more
Obamacare, see page 4
Older Bostonians reminisce about community from decades past By John Ambrosio Daily Free Press Staff
For Kevin Fennessy, the now defunct Raymond’s Department Store brings back memories of his father shopping downtown “in the Theater District’s grittiness.” Fennessy, who has lived in the Boston area all his life, said there is a variety of things he missed about Boston in the 1970s. “I miss the nightlife of the ‘70s with the Kenmore Square clubs like the Rat, Cambridge’s Inn, Square Men’s Bar [and] Jack’s,” he said. Fennessy is among a group of Bostonians who remember an older age of Boston, with fewer students and corporate stores. One Facebook page, called “Dirty Old Boston,” allows such residents to reminisce with vintage Boston photography, and more than 14,000 people have become fans since its inception on Sep. 22. The page includes photos that document people, local hangouts and other defining characteristics of Bos-
ton before the late 1980s. The concept has gained a following among both longtime residents and those relatively new to the city. Jim Botticelli, the page’s founder and administrator, said he started the page as a means of showing Boston the way he knew it. “I wanted to document where the city had been in the past,” Botticelli said. “There are a lot of young folks around here who weren’t around back then and have no clue, but they’re all on Facebook and like to look at the pictures.” Botticelli, a recently retired teacher who taught in the Boston area for 31 years, is no stranger to the city. After growing up in Lexington he moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University. Botticelli said that the number of changes he has seen in his time in Boston shocked him, and it is important to him that he remember these changes. “It’s a lot cleaner, it’s a lot brighter and it’s a lot more expensive,” he said. “It’s gone from a city of families to a
city of not families — a lot more students and condominiums.” Despite these changes, Botticelli said he is not upset that the city is different than it used to be. “I’m trying not to put a value judgment on it. Change is change,” Botticelli said. “Nobody’s getting hurt by this, except, maybe, for the many people who can no longer afford to live here because of these changes. Obviously it’s a negative change for them.” Fennessy also said he feels as though Boston has become less family-friendly over the years. “I miss the uniquely Boston shops before every city became an outlet for Macy’s and Banana Republic and the Gap,” he said. Paul French, a truck driver who has lived in Jamaica Plain his whole life, said the city has experienced improvements, but corporatization has visually altered Boston. “The landscape has changed incredibly,” French, who moderates the Facebook page “J.P. Loop,” which also accepts old photos of Jamaica
Plain and the Boston area, said. “I still love the city, but I feel that it went corporate. There’s an improvement as far as the accessibility of public transportation. As far as neighborhood stores though, it’s pretty much negative, and it’s all corporate.” French said the inclusiveness makes the Dirty Old Boston Facebook page especially intriguing. “A lot of people contribute things and I like the inclusiveness of the page,” he said. “It’s just fascinating.” The Dirty Old Boston page is open to contributions from anyone looking to share, Botticelli said. “The only thing we’re looking for is pictures from before the El went down,” he said, referencing the abbreviation for “elevated,” the former Orange Line branch of the T. This would be before 1987 or 1988, he said. The Dirty Old Boston page has been gathering photos from all over
Boston, see page 4