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BC lacrosse faces Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament today, A10
With just months remaining of his tenure, Mayor Menino put his city before himself in the wake of tragedy, B12
The Scene spotlights eight oncampus artists featured at this year’s Arts Festival, B1
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HEIGHTS
THE
The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College
established
1919
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Vol. XCIV, No. 22
Irish PM Enda Kenny to be 2013 Commencement speaker BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT News Editor
The University announced today that Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will be the Commencement speaker for the Class of 2013. Kenny assumed office as Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland in March of 2011. He is a member of the Irish Fine Gael political party and established a coalition government with the Labour Party at the beginning of his term. Before his election as prime minister, Kenny served as Ireland’s Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997, and has served as a
Teachta Dala—a parliamentary representative—since 1975. Kenny was in the news in relation to BC earlier this year after he issued a public apology to the survivors of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries in February. James Smith, a professor in the English department, worked extensively in order to bring the abuses suffered by women in the workhouse system to light, and contributed heavily to the McAleese Report, which prompted Kenny’s apology on behalf of the state. “Prime Minister Kenny is an internationally respected leader with a well-known reputation for promoting human rights and
causes of social justice, two issues that resonate with the Boston College community,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. “It also seems fitting, during our 150th anniversary, to welcome the leader of a nation whose history is intertwined with our own. We look forward to having the Taoiseach address our students on May 20.” University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. will present an honorary Doctor of Laws degree to Kenny at the ceremony. Four other honorary degrees will be awarded at the Commencement ceremony to individuals with strong ties to the University and the Greater Boston community.
Wayne Budd, a former member of the BC Board of Trustees, former adjunct faculty member at the BC Law School, and BC ’63, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the ceremony. Budd served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1989 to 1992, and was the Associate Attorney General of the U.S. during the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Mary Lou DeLong, retired vice president for University relations and former University secretary, will be awarded an
See Commencement, A4
Jones named new VPSA
UGBC picks new cabinet members
BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT News Editor Boston College, which has operated without a vice president for student affairs (VPSA) since former VPSA Patrick Rombalski left in November of 2012, announced today that Barbara Jones has been hired to fill that position. Jones will officially begin work at BC on July 1 after she finishes the year at Miami University of Ohio, where she has worked as the vice president of the division of student affairs since 2008. “Barbara Jones stood out as the ideal candidate to lead Boston College’s student affairs division based on her extensive experience and nationally recognized reputation as a leader in the field,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. “She is very enthusiastic about joining us at Boston College, and we look forward to her arrival on campus early this summer.” Jones is not the only top-level administrator at BC with ties to Miami University. Director of Athletics Brad Bates, who joined the University last October, served as Miami University’s athletic director from 2002 to 2012. According to a press release from the Office of News and Public Affairs, Jones created an initiative to improve academic success and expand student internship opportunities while at Miami University. “Jones also helped to enhance staff development through a targeted series of professional development programs that focused on student retention, academic success, program assessment and alcohol education, and to foster a culture of assessment by introducing both learning and program outcomes and data-driven decision making,” the release read. Under Jones’ leadership, Miami University hosted its first Multicultural Student Leadership Conference last September. Jones also cochaired the Steering Committee for Retention and Graduation, which aimed to improve areas such as academic advising in order to increase the Uuniversity’s retention and graduation rates. Jones has extensive experience in student affairs. Her previous positions include chancellor for student affairs at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she worked for eight years; associate vice president for student affairs at Ball State University, and director of student activities and organizations at Minnesota State University-Mankato. From 2006 to 2007, she also served as the president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), an association devoted to the advancement of student affairs administration, implementation, and policy. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Educational Administration and earned both her M.A. and B.A. from Indiana University.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Jones will begin work as BC’s VPSA on July 1.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Kenny, Ireland’s Taoiseach since 2011, will be this year’s Commencement speaker.
BY ANDREW SKARAS Asst. News Editor
GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Four Boston College undergraduates shared their personal experiences with GLBTQ issues at Monday’s BC Ignites on Stokes Green.
‘Ignites’ explores BC’s GLBTQ culture BY MARY ROSE FISSINGER Heights Editor
Three days before the beginning of Arts Fest, the white tent on Stokes Green was packed with students. They weren’t there to take in the visual arts showcase—no paintings would even be hung for another 36 hours—but rather to listen to four of their peers share their experiences with GLBTQ issues on campus. Monday’s BC Ignites was intended to take place in the open greenery of the Stokes Lawn, but after discovering power
issues that precluded the microphones from working properly, creator of the event Conor Sullivan, LSOE ’13, decided to move the second installment of the BC Ignites series he created at the start of this year to promote discussion on various diversity topics at BC into the nearby, then-vacant tent. While the topic and setting of Monday’s event were quite different from September’s BC Ignites, which took place in O’Neill Plaza and centered around race, the format was very similar: performances by student groups followed by a series of speeches.
The Dance Organization of Boston College (DOBC) kicked off Monday’s event, followed by an introduction by Sullivan, who explained his wish to promote conversation on controversial topics. “Embrace the dissonance,” Sullivan said. “Embrace the idea that the way forward in every situation is to listen to other viewpoints.” Next, the a cappella group the Bostonians performed, followed by Claire Geruson, LSOE ‘13, who recited two poems, one
See BC Ignites, A3
On Tuesday night, the UGBC Senate and Selection Committee met to vote on the nominations for the appointed vice-presidencies. Although nominees for the senior-level UGBC positions have been approved by the Senate in the past, this year saw the creation of a Selection Committee for the approval process. “The eight presidents and vice-presidents of UGBC met with Gus Burkett [Director of the Student Programs Office] and together we thought about what the selection committee should look like,” said Vanessa Gomez, president of the Senate and A&S ’13. “Usually it is the Senate-elect that confirms everyone. We thought that process was flawed because new senators do not have the capacity to ask a lot of those hard questions. And don’t really know everything they need to know about UGBC.” As a result of these changes, the Selection Committee was composed of the outgoing Senate and the presidents and vice presidents of ALC, GLC, and UGBC. In addition, a provision was included in the formation of the committee to exclude anyone, such as Molly McCarthy, Senate vice president and A&S ’14, who had applied for one of the vice presidencies from the deliberations and voting on that nominee. “When Matt [Alonsozana, A&S ’14,] won [the election for Executive Vice President], that decision had already been made, so we applied the same thing to Matt,” Gomez said. The slate of candidates nominated by Matt Nacier, UGBC president-elect and A&S
See UGBC Cabinet, A4
Top-paid administrators’ salaries released in report BY ANDREW SKARAS Asst. News Editor Compensation for the highest paid members of the Boston College athletic department rose during the 2011-12 season, according to the University’s Fiscal Year IRS 990, which was released this week. The document accounts for the tax year beginning June 1, 2011, and ending May 31, 2012, and also includes information about the University’s top paid administrators. Head basketball coach Steve Donahue saw a significant increase in compensation, with his total pay, including other benefits and forms of compensation, increasing 36 percent to $1,001,551, from $735,184 the year before. Donahue received a base compensation of $927,541, up from his $687,010 base compensation in 2010-11, his first year with the University. Former head basketball coach Al Skinner received $564,201 of “other reportable compensation” in 2011-12, according to the document.
Skinner’s contract was terminated early when Donahue was hired. Former head football coach Frank Spaziani received a base compensation of $1,030,841 and a total compensation of $1,117,873, according to the document. That total is 2 percent more than Spaziani was compensated during 201011, when he made $1,094,976, according to that year’s 990. Spaziani was fired in late November. Former Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo earned a base compensation of $529,574 and a total compensation of $631,918. In 2010-11, the 990 reports that DeFilippo earned a total compensation of $591,160. DeFilippo retired last September. Head men’s hockey coach Jerry York’s compensation was not reported in 201011, but the document states that he received a base compensation of $454,075 in 2011-12 and a total compensation of $528,299.
See IRS 990, A4
GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR
BC Dining’s On the Fly mini marts were introduced on Boston College’s campus last fall.
On the Fly closes out first year BY CONNOR FARLEY Heights Editor “As a team of over 200 full-time employees and several hundred more part-time employees,” the Boston College Dining Services (BCDS) website states, “we take our motto of ever to excel in F.A.C.T. (food, attitude, customer service, teamwork) to heart in everything that we prepare for you.” With a multitude of recent developments to campus dining options preceding the 2012-13 academic year, BC Dining continually makes strides toward meeting student satisfaction and financial stability with regards
to nutrition, individual needs, and a leading level of quality services. With change, though, comes hesitation—and often the circulation of misinformation on dining options. Upon BCDS’s unveiling a series of new “On the Fly” mini marts across campus— along with a set of other facelifts to dining locations—students began questioning the general focus of BCDS and its ability to merge student demands with a fiscally sensible budget. Financial matters pertaining to On the Fly mini marts and changes in accepted payment plans at Hillside Cafe were recently addressed by Helen Wechsler, director of BCDS as she
See Mini Marts, A4