The Heights 01/17/2013

Check out the new Heights sports blog at bcheightssports.com!

ON THE MOVE

MEN’S HOOPS FALLS

SMOOTH SOUNDS

SPORTS

METRO

SCENE

Eagles lose game in final minutes yet again for third conference loss, A10

Converse headquarters are moving to Lovejoy Wharf in Boston, B12

Rapper A$AP Rocky delivers strong debut album with ‘Long. Live.

A$AP,’ B5

www.bcheights.com

HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

established

1919

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Vol. XCIV, No. 1

Athletics report reveals financial data

BY AUSTIN TEDESCO Heights Editor

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC released financial data in accordance with the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

Boston College athletics changed its reporting methods of revenues and expenses for ticketed sports in its Equity in Athletics Data Report last year, a move toward greater transparency for the department.

The department used to include institutional financial support as a part of team revenue on the report, which resulted in a reported net profit of zero for all teams except the profitable football program. Now, without the insitutional support, actual figures for men’s hockey, men’s basketball and women’s basketball are available for the 2011-12 season, as well as the previously available football figures.

The inclusion of institutional support in the report showed a net profit of zero for the hockey program in every year dating back to 2005, but now without those numbers the report indicates that the program posted a net loss of more than $1.8 million. Total revenue totalled more than $2.2 million dollars while expenses were more than $4 million.

Revenue increased for the football program by more than $1 million from two years ago, with expenses decreasing slightly leading to a profit of almost $3.7 million, up from the $1.9 million mark the year before, according to the report. That profit ranked second to last in Atlantic Coast Conference, ahead of only Wake Forest University.

Jesuit student leaders will gather in 2014

BY DEVON SANFORD Assoc. News Editor

It’s going to be a very similar exterior restoration to the Gasson Hall project,” said Thomas Runyon, project manager for the restoration of St. Mary’s. In addition to replacement of the cast stone and windows, the roof will be completely replaced.

The interior will be renovated as well.

“The top three floors and the ground floor will be completely renovated,” Runyon said. “The first floor will be kept in tact in terms of room layouts for the most part.”

The residential floors, however, will be completely upgraded in order to serve as

As the spring semester begins, University Health Services (UHS) is preparing students and staff for this year’s flu season.

Across the country, 47 states have reported massive outbreaks of influenza-related illnesses and the city of Boston has declared a public health emergency. The staff at UHS is urging students to get a flu shot if they have not done so already.

“We have seen a significant amount of flu cases globally,” said Thomas Nary, director of UHS. “Something to remember is flu seasons go in cycles. There are always going to be less severe and more severe flus …

This year, the early evidence suggests that the flu season is going to be severe and that people are going to be sicker than previous years. The other aspect to consider is that this flu season has begun earlier. Usually flu season begins in February and January. This year, the first flu cases were proven to have landed in Boston in early November.”

Much to Nary’s surprise, he and the staff at UHS have not seen an above-average amount of patients since the start of the spring semester.

“There were flu cases before winter break, so we know that it is on campus,” Nary said. “Since we’ve been back, we have had a couple influenza-like illnesses … It has not been an overwhelming deluge … However, we have to go on the reports both Boston and nation-wide, that being that there is going to be a high-volume virulent strain.”

When asked if he expects the amount of

See St. Mary’s, A4

See Flu, A4

BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT News Editor

See NJSLC, A4

See EIA, A4

University prepares for flu outbreak

BC to host leadership conference

Boston College will host the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference (NJSLC) for the first time during the summer of 2014. The three-member team of Maria Ireland, Kathryn Nowak, and Teddy Raddell, all A&S ’15, who all attended NJSLC at College of the Holy Cross last summer, recently learned that their 21page bid, submitted last fall, was successful.

“We got recommended for the bid by Holy Cross,” Raddell said. “They recommended us to JASPA [Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators], and told us that we were recommended as the top choice—the only choice.”

All other interested committees from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States sent their bids to Holy Cross, whose co-chairs and staff advisors selected the BC bid in early October, recommending at the same time that other schools withdraw their bids. JASPA met in early November, and sent the trio confirmation that their bid had been accepted last week.

As planning for the 2014 NJSLC will last up until the conference itself, the three co-chairs are currently in the process of choosing students to serve on the small core planning committee that will work throughout the next year and a half. Each chair will end up with three to four committee members for the three sections of planning: logistics, headed by Nowak; education, headed by Ireland; and events, headed by Raddell. “As of right now, we are three separate chairs, but we’ll have interchangeable committee members,” Nowak said. “It’s a large planning committee, although we will break up occasionally into teams.”

Some committee members will be able to accompany Raddell, Ireland, and Nowak as they attend the 2013 NJSLC, hosted at Santa Clara—the chairs anticipate this summer as an opportunity to do research for their own conference.

In terms of administrative support, Jessica Graf, resident director of CKM (Cheverus, Kostka, and Medeiros) and RHA advisor, and Adrienne Dumpe, Student Programs Office assistant director, are both serving in an advisory role. “We are looking into getting more faculty, staff, and administrators to help, once we have committees,” Ireland said. “That’s kind of part of this process, is we’re branching out into the student community, to try to get more people on our committee, and we’re also looking into administration and staff to get more support there,” Nowak said.

Each NJSLC has a distinct focus. For

The men’s basketball program had the smallest profit in the conference and was one of only two teams to finish in the negative zone, according to the report.

BC had the lowest revenue, bringing in less than $500,000, leading to a net loss of $623,000.

Women’s basketball also reportedly finished last in profit in the conference. With revenue equalling less than $300,000 and expenses around $4 million, the team had a net loss around $3.7 million.

The department as a whole reported no profit, with total revenues and expenses around $66 million. This is consistent with previous years, but the figures had been

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS STAFF

While St. Mary’s Hall (above) undergoes renovation, the Jesuits who were living there have moved to 2000 Commonwealth Ave.

Restoration of St. Mary’s Hall begins

BY PARISA OVIEDO Heights Editor The new year welcomes not only Stokes Hall, but also a recent approval by the Boston College Board of Trustees for the complete restoration of St. Mary’s Hall.

Located across from Bapst Library on Linden Lane, St. Mary’s was founded in 1917 as the primary Jesuit residence facility, a preferential option for daily commuting to the University.

Often ranked among the the top most beautiful college campuses, BC is well known for its classic Gothic architecture

and cast stone buildings. St. Mary’s is not the only building to undergo renovation in recent years, however—Gasson Hall, BC’s original academic building, reopened in September 2011 after months of restoration work.

A fence was put up surrounding St. Mary’s last Monday in order to begin the 24-month renovation. Renovation plans “entail a complete facelift of St. Mary’s,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn in a press release.

“We’re going to restore all of the exterior cast stone on the building and restore the original leaded glass exterior windows.

Marching band selected to perform at inauguration

BY BRIGID WRIGHT Heights Staff On Monday, Jan. 21, the Boston College “Screaming Eagles” Marching Band will perform at the Inaugural Parade for the second Inauguration of President of the United States Barack Obama. On Jan. 3, the Inauguration Committee announced the Screaming Eagles’ selection, along with a list of other groups from around the country selected to perform at the 57th Inaugural Parade. According to the inauguration website, more than 2,807 applications to participate in the parade were submitted, and the BC Marching Band was one of only 60 groups chosen to perform. The band is scheduled to depart for Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Jan. 20, and return the following Tuesday.

The BC Screaming Eagles Marching Band was founded in 1919 and today is one of the largest student organizations and performance groups on campus, with over 180 members. Aside from playing fight

songs in Alumni Stadium or Conte Forum, the BC Marching Band has performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as well as several bowl games. Most recently, the BC Marching Band has played the National Anthem for the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics, as well as accompanying the Dropkick Murphy’s on local stages like the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA and the House of Blues in Boston, and entertaining at the Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner in New York City.

The Inaugural Parade is the second time the Screaming Eagles will perform for Obama. In September of 2005, the marching band performed for then-Senator Obama, when he delivered the Freshman Convocation keynote address.

David Healey, director of the BC Marching Band, noted that this was an incredible opportunity for the Screaming Eagles.

“The members of the Boston College Marching Band are tremendously honored and humbled by the opportunity to represent Boston College and the entire

University community at the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade,” Healey said. “This will be the BC Band’s first appearance [in the parade] and the most prestigious performance opportunity in the history of our program.”

Healey also commented that this honor is attributable to the exceptional amount of time and commitment the band displays.

“The Marching Band is exceptionally proud of the work of the band members,” Healey said. “These students devote over 200 hours of service to the University in a single semester—as much as a full course load—without any academic recognition or scholarship assistance.”

Healey finally expressed an extreme pride for the members of the band and noted that they are impressive musicians.

“They are remarkably talented, intelligent, and committed, and they serve as some of the University’s greatest ambassadors both on campus and throughout the United States,” Healey said. “We’re all very excited to travel to Washington this

weekend, and we hope to see lots of Eagles fans along the parade route and throughout the city.” 

EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS STAFF

BC Marching Band director David Healey (above) will accompany the band to D.C.

TopTHREE

THE HEIGHTS

A2

..

Thursday, January 17, 2013

things to do on campus this week

1 2 3 Women’s Basketball

Men’s Ice Hockey

Today Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: Conte Forum

Boston College’s women’s basketball team will face off against No. 22 Florida State today in Conte Forum. The team is coming off of two wins and has surpassed its win record from last season.

Memorial Gathering

Friday Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: Conte Forum

Boston College’s men’s ice hockey team will face off against Massachussetts on Friday in Conte Forurm.

Monday Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Gasson 100

Campus Ministry is hosting Boston College’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Gathering. There will be an Ecumenical Worship Service celeberating his legacy with performances by the Liturgy Arts Group and other campus groups.

FEATURED STORY

Rightside Shirts raises money, awareness

BY GABBY TARINI For The Heights Last spring, recent Boston College graduates Dylan Enright, BC ’12, and Jeff White, BC ’12, started a non-profit company called Rightside Shirts.

Rightside Shirts is a t-shirt company whose goal is to raise money for youth arts education in public schools by selling shirts designed by elementary and middle school students.

Both Enright and White flourished during their time at BC. White was an economics and finance double major, while Enright was an economics and environmental studies double major.

Despite their success, both students turned down conventional and lucrative job offers at high-powered firms after graduation to follow a dream.

“I was really committed to making a bunch of money and being an investment banker,” White said. “But after an internship at a big investment bank in New York, I realized that I hated it—I was working all the time, didn’t feel like I was making a big impact on anything at all, and most importantly, I wasn’t being creative.”

During their senior year, cold feet combined with an art history course on German expressionism led White and Enright to seriously reconsider their post-graduation plans.

“I took this class our senior year called ‘Rebels and Revolutionaries: German Expressionism in the 20th Century,’” White said. “The main theme of the expressionism is basically to release all of your inhibitions

COURTESY OF DYLAN ENRIGHT

Two examples of Rightside shirts (above) sold to raise money for youth arts education. and channel a child’s creative energy in your work. Learning these things really imprinted in my mind that the big artists were really just trying to paint like kids.”

When spring semester came around, Enright and White decided to test out their idea. The two talked with the Edison School, a Boston public school near BC, and arranged for every child to be given a piece of paper on which to draw whatever he or she wanted. Enright and White then selected two designs and printed them on 72 t-shirts.

The response was overwhelming.

Within two days, every single shirt had been sold.

“We really believed in this idea,” White said. “We felt like we were doing a good thing.”

That same semester, Rightside Shirts was born. The company’s primary goal is to fund art programs at all schools that do not have them.

White laments that arts education

and the importance of creativity among children gets overlooked by schools too frequently—art is often the first program to be eliminated when a school needs to crunch its budget.

“We talk about how math and science are critically important to a child’s education—but there’s no reason why they should consistently be all the way at the top of the funding list,” White said.

“Cultivating creativity is important, and art should be at least on an equal playing field as math and science.”

The company has printed nine student designs on 11 different t-shirts. All the t-shirts are available for purchase on the company’s website, http://www. rightsideshirts.org.

One hundred percent of Rightside Shirt’s profits go directly back into the schools it partners with in order to fund art education.

This past year, with the funds raised from the student-designed t-shirts, Rightside Shirts has placed 17 volunteer

POLICE BLOTTER Friday, January 11 8:35 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a minor motor vehicle accident with no injuries resulting in the lower lots.

Sunday, January 13

11:53 p.m. - A report was filed regarding an intoxicated BC student being transported by ambulance from College Road.

12:30 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an intoxicated BC student in Ignacio who was transported by ambulance.

Saturday, January 12

2:02 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an on-campus noise complaint for Vanderslice.

12:34 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an intoxicated BC student being transported by ambulance from Gonzaga.

3:14 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an intoxicated BC student in Fenwick transported by ambulance.

In the News

BY DEVON SANFORD Assoc. News Editor In recent weeks, college students across the country have demanded that university endowment funds sell off stocks in coal, oil, and gas in an attempt to reduce atmospheric carbon levels. Students believe that the initiative will force climate change back onto the national political agenda. Unity College, a small institution in Maine, and Hampshire College, located in Massachusetts, have both voted to sell off their endowments’ holdings in large fossil fuel companies. Hampshire College has already adopted a broad investment policy that is ridding its portfolio of fossil fuel stocks. Recently, students at Swarthmore College have proposed a similar plan to administrators.

As more college students bring attention to the problem of climate change, administrators are taking notice.

“In the near future, the political tide will turn and the public will demand action on climate change,” Stephen Mulkey, the Unity College president, wrote in a letter to other college administrators. “Our students are already demanding action, and we must

not ignore them.”

No school with an endowment exceeding $1 billion has agreed to divest itself of fossil fuel stocks. Harvard University, which holds the largest endowment in the country at $31 billion, recently voted for change in stock holdings. With roughly half of the undergraduate voting, 72 percent of them supported the change. Many colleges with large endowments are facing similar results. Administrators are viewing demands skeptically, saying the change will undermine their goal of maximum returns in support of education.

350.org, a grass-roots organization that focuses on climate change, is working on divestment campaigns. The group’s name is a reference to what some scientists consider the maximum safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, 350 parts per million.

Led by Bill McKibben, a climate change advocate, the organization is urging students to begin local divestment initiatives focusing on 200 energy companies.

While many college administrators have taken global warming seriously at the urging of their students, investment changes are not expected to happen immediately. 

The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES

art teachers at seven different schools in the Boston area. The volunteers teach 15 art classes either weekly or biweekly.

“We basically sit down with the administration and have a conversation about what the most effective use of funds would be for that specific school,” White said.

Usually the funds go toward art supplies like colored pencils, crayons and paints for the volunteers, but White stresses that the funding is for any creative endeavor—not just visual art classes.

“At the James Otis Elementary School, we raised funds for their annual spring musical, while at the Cambrigdeport Elementary School, all the funds went toward their allstudent art show,” he said.

Despite initial fears, Enright and White have been met with little resistance as they have expanded Rightside Shirts from the pilot program at the Edison School to the seven flourishing programs around Boston.

White admits that the hardest part of the process is making initial contact with the school. However, once established, it has a 100 percent success rate.

“It’s simple—all we really ask of administrators and teachers is to give their students time to create a design—they just need to hand of a piece of paper,” White said. “Once we have the designs, we can make the tshirts and begin funding art programs at the school.”

BC students who are looking to get involved in Rightside Shirts should contact White or Enright at info@ rightsideshirts.com. 

1/11/13-1/14/13 12:50 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a non-BC affiliate who was placed into protective custody due to intoxication.

A Guide to Your Newspaper

9:38 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a water leak inside of Edmond’s.

News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story?

Call Eleanor Hildebrandt, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or e-mail news@bcheights. com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk.

Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Austin Tedesco, Sports Editor, at (617) 5520189, or e-mail sports@bcheights.com.

Arts Events The Heights covers a multitude of events both on and off campus – including concerts, movies, theatrical performances, and more. Call Sean Keeley, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or e-mail arts@bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk.

Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact David Cote, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or e-mail editor@bcheights.com.

CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Jamie Ciocon, General Manager at (617) 5520547.

Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2013. All rights reserved.

Monday, January 14 12:25 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an intoxicated BC student transported from Keyes.

CORRECTIONS

1:22 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an under-age intoxicated BC student from the roads near Upper Campus.

Please send corrections to editor@bcheights.com with ‘correction’ in the subject line.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

VOICES FROM THE DUSTBOWL “What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of Stokes?”

“New.” —Vivian Chang, A&S ’16

“Expensive” —Lakeisha St. Joy, A&S ’15

“Opulent.”

—Will Krom, A&S ’16

“Golden.”

—Stefan Sandoval,

CSOM ’16

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A nod to the band MATT PALAZZOLO On Monday, President of the United States Barack Obama will be inaugurated for a second time.

The event will be missing the record crowds from January 2009, as well as the historic nature of an African American taking the presidential oath for the first time. Monday’s inauguration will feature a new special guest, though: the Screaming Eagles Marching Band.

Despite being the largest student organization at Boston College, the marching band largely stays out of the limelight. They played a prominent part in the Eagles’ first down chant controversy, when the student section’s loud comparison of the opposing team to female dogs forced a hasty change in the band’s song choice. For the most part, though, the band plays a supporting role, providing the soundtrack to BC football games. They play “Seven Nation Army” to heighten suspense between plays, “For Boston” after a BC score, and a smorgasbord of pop songs during commercial breaks.

Despite their massive presence in the corner of the student sections, fans largely ignore the band when they aren’t on the field during halftime. I myself am guilty of taking the band for granted during games, with the notable exception of when I watch as my favorite conductor directs the band in exuberant fashion.

Earlier this year, I wrote a column describing how the Holy War could potentially be the signature home game of my BC experience.

For a multitude of reasons, that frustrating defeat was nowhere near signature. The aftermath of the final home game against Virginia Tech, however, was a highly memorable moment. As the football team trudged off the field after “Hail Alma Mater” was played, the seniors remained in the stands and chanted for the band to play one more song.

The band obliged and began to play “Build Me Up Buttercup,” an unintentionally amusing choice in light of the recent last second defeat to Virginia Tech. As the song drew to a close, the seniors, myself included, chanted even louder for one more song. We had all suddenly realized that this was the last moment we could enjoy the BC football experience as students.

The first in a long series of lasts had unexpectedly arrived. The marching band was suddenly the center of attention as the seniors begged for one last encore, many with tears in their eyes.

For nearly a half hour the band continued to play song after song for the seniors, long after the players had left the field. After the game I asked my roommate, a sousaphone player, if he was annoyed by the extended encore. He replied that the seniors always remain in the stands after the final home game, and it’s one of his favorite parts of playing in the marching band. I remembered how the gratitude shone in the band members’ faces after the seniors gave them one last standing ovation before leaving the field as students for the last time, and couldn’t help but agree with him.

On Sunday, the band will fly down to Washington, D.C. in preparation for the inauguration.

This is no small achievement; around 2,000 groups applied to participate in the parade and only around 60 were accepted. While I may jokingly refer to the band as the social rejects when my roommate is around, in reality they were an integral part of the BC football experience. I may have slept through nearly every Eagle Walk to the field, but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing them perform during the games. While people with inferior schedules are in class on Monday, I will be watching the inauguration, hoping to catch a glimpse of the band on TV. That final encore after “Hail Alma Mater,” rather the Notre Dame game, was the signature BC football experience for me.

Matt Palazzolo is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at news@bcheights.com.

A3

Faculty named top Irish Educators

BY SAM COSTANZO Special Projects Editor Six Boston College faculty members were recently named to Irish Voice newspaper’s 2012 Irish Educators 100 list. The newspaper recognized Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., Seamus Connolly, Mike Cronin, Thomas Groome, Joseph Nugent, and James Smith for their contributions to higher education.

Irish Voice, a small newspaper created in 1987 to address the needs and interests of Irish immigrants, published the first Irish Education 100 list in 2009 in order to highlight the achievements of Irish educators in the U.S. Groome is the chairperson of the Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry department at BC’s School of Theology and Ministry and has been working in theology and religious education for 37 years.

“How we educate in faith is an ultimate issue,” Groome said.

“There’s nothing more life-giving than good religion, there’s nothing more destructive than bad religion, and there’s nothing as inevitable as educating in ways that are lifegiving.”

To this end, Groome said that he is committed to sharing his own faith tradition in positive, liberating ways that will help people in turn commit themselves to social justice and equality of life.

Nowadays, however, leading a religious life is not expected of everybody. Groome said that in a post-modern world, people have a choice about which religion, if any, they will follow. “Whatever faith people come to is more likely to be a chosen faith, a faith that is embraced out of conviction and with personal commitment,” he said. Rather than scare people into adhering to Catholicism, or any other religion, Groome said that the Church must instead explain its values in order to attract people to the faith.

Nugent also understands this

changing world’s effects on education. He is a professor of English and Irish studies, specializing in the works of James Joyce, and has also been deeply involved in what he calls the digital humanities.

The students in his last advanced topic seminar created a digital textbook of Joyce’s short story collection Dubliners. The e-book, which Nugent said will be commercially available for free by next March, features video and written commentary from students, contemporary films, music, and photos, and annotations.

“What the digital humanities has enabled us to do, what my class tried to do, is to produce a horizontal model,” he said. “I like to think that my students are actually manufacturers of information.

They’re not simply absorbing the stuff … they’re sharing with colleges out there, indeed you might say, with their peers throughout the world.”

With all of the updates and shifts that are constantly taking place in education, tradition can sometimes be overlooked. Connolly aims to prevent that through his music. As BC’s artist in residence, Connolly oversees classes in Irish dance, tin whistle, fiddle, and flute, and teaches some of these courses as well. He also organizes concerts with visiting musicians and has contributed a large part of his collection of audio and visual recordings to BC’s archives.

“When I was growing up in Ireland, music was at a low ebb,” Connolly said. Nevertheless, he grew up learning from and listening to old masters of Irish music.

By the time he arrived in the US. traditional songs were becoming more popular. “I found out and was amazed at the great interest there was among Irish and IrishAmericans and Americans of other ethnicities to know about Ireland and Irish music and the heritage,” he said.

Connolly has also been impressed by his students’ creativity, which he said stems from their

exposure to various cultures and ability to incorporate some of these elements into Irish music. While Connolly says this gives culture and tradition life, he hopes tradition will not be changed too much.

“Deviation is very important, but so is that they appreciate and respect from whence the music came and the people that I got it from,” he said. “They shouldn’t be forgotten about.”

Cronin, the academic director of BC in Ireland, is responsible for all BC students studying abroad in that country. His department also carries out research for BC’s Irish Institute, which he said conducts research and contributes to the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland.

Cronin considers business an important but overlooked factor in Ireland’s development.

“For many BC students who graduate in the coming years, the opportunities afforded by Ireland, as a place to work and do business, are huge,” he said in an email. “It’s a place that is about more than misty hills and pints of Guinness, but rather is a key driver in US. European business, and in particular IT, relations.”

Smith is an associate professor in BC’s English department and also teaches in the Irish Studies department. He focuses on Irish literature and culture and has done extensive research on the oppressive conditions Irish women faced in Magdalene Laundries, or rehabilitation centers for supposedly morally deficient women.

He co-authored the Justice for Magdalenes group’s submission to the Irish Human Rights Commission and the UN Commission Against Torture.

Leahy has also committed himself to the research of 20th century American social and religious history, particularly that of the developments in higher education during that time period. 

Welcome back and Happy New Year from all of us at The Boston College Office of Sustainability! We have many exciting events planned for this semester and we look forward to your involvement and participation.

Whether you’ve made a resolution to be greener in the New Year or you just enjoy a little friendly green-themed competition, this semester has something for everyone!

The “NRG” Games 2013 This month long, campuswide event encourages each residence hall and their residents to compete to reserve the most energy. And if the satisfaction of knowing you’ve lessened your carbon footprint isn’t enough, there are cool prizes involved too! During the games, students are encouraged to turn off lights, unplug appliances, and turn the heat down, among other things. Overall, Boston College residence halls have saved over 44,000 kilowatt hours of energy.

This year’s NRG Games will kickoff on Jan. 28. Flyers with more information are coming soon!

Recycle Mania Recycle Mania is an annual 10-week contest that challenges colleges and universities across the country to promote waste reduction on their campus. BC

Asst. News Editor

KYLIE MONTERO / HEIGHTS STAFF

Racquetball court under renovation

BY MAGGIE BURDGE Heights Editor

Racquetball court number five is currently being turned into a new cycle studio and wellness office, creating an air conditioned room for spin classes and making way for new programming.

The Flynn Recreation Complex has four multipurpose rooms used for spin, yoga, Pilates, hip-hop, swing dancing, and smaller group classes. Currently, however, the rooms are too small to accommodate the classes, so programs are only run out of the cycle studio and a yoga studio, BC Rec officials said. “In essence, if you were to ask me how many multipurpose rooms we have, we use it as two rooms,” said Caitriona Taylor, director of campus recreation.

Once the spin classes are moved to the new studio, there will be an additional multipurpose room available, allowing for the creation of two larger rooms for more space.

While this will allow for more of the regular programming, this space will also be used for more small group training. “With yoga or Pilates, you might have one person that drops in once or twice in the semester,” Taylor said, noting the difference between small group training and group fitness classes. “Small group training is something that you’d sign up for for six weeks.”

This training would include classes like kettle bell and functional training as well as smaller, more private, intensive classes.

“So, instead of someone going out in the weight area not knowing what they’re doing, they’re in a more private area, they’re getting instructions, it’s a smaller group setting, and they can really work towards their goals,” Taylor said.

Although racquetball court availability was an initial concern in the process, the court will fill more needs once construction is completed, BC Rec officials said.

Research conducted by Campus Recreation found that at least two racquetball courts were reserved only 20 percent of the total Flynn Complex operational hours and all three courts were reserved only three percent of the time. Also, instead of only serving two racquetball players at a time, the spin studio will be able to accommodate more people at once.

Because of these numbers, the congestion in spin classes overrode court availability concerns in the decision making process. “We definitely have a lot of problems with overbooking,” said spin instructor Natalie Bowen. “Today was probably one of the only classes that I didn’t have to kick someone out.” The new studio, 150 square feet larger, will likely add more room for more bikes, limiting congestion in the rooms and opening up more rooms for additional programming.

While spin and yoga classes cannot run at the same time now because of their proximity, in the future, multiple classes can run in the multipurpose rooms while spin classes are also running in the new studio.

Besides the added space, the room will also serve as an air-conditioned area. “That’s the number one challenge,” Taylor said. “The number one request that we get is that we have more air conditioned space.” During construction, the ceiling in the racquetball court has been lowered in order to add air conditioning in the rooms, one of the only air-conditioned spaces in the Flynn Complex.

The air conditioning also gives flexibility to the wellness office, a place that will allow for more general health treatments for students.

Campus Recreation has already been approved to give massages in this area, and also hopes to use the space for more private assessments.

Campus Recreation also plans to work with the Office of Health Promotion to bring more wellness programs to the Flynn Complex.

One potential program would bring student health coaches to the office to perform their individual health programs (IHPs), which are currently done in Gasson. “I’d like to get some of those health coaches down here where the students are,” Taylor said. “It will just give us more opportunity to add more health and wellness programs for our students.”

The construction has also included a window from the main hall looking down upon the cycle studio, making the programs more visible to gym-goers in the hopes of generating more sign-ups. “This only works if people come sign up for classes,”

Taylor said. 

Other Ways to Go Green This Semester:

• Join a campus sustainability initiative like Eco Pledge or Real Food BC. • Talk to the EcoReps in your residence hall to see how you can do your part to make your home a little greener.

• Check before you chuck.

80 percent of what Americans throw away can be recycled.

Despite this fact, America’s recycling rate is only 28 percent.

Look before you throw away.

• Go paperless. Chances are you have a student account or credit card. Instead of having your billing statement mailed to you every month, get it online!

• Don’t be a drip. Remember to shut off the faucet when brushing your teeth and washing your hands. Take shorter showers. If you notice a leak, report it to Facilities and submit a work order immediately!

• Stop buying bottled water.

Use reusable water bottles made from materials like stainless steel, aluminum, or plastic.

All information for this article was taken from Boston College Office of Sustainability.

BC student creates gaming tournaments

BY ANDREW SKARAS

One of three racquetball courts is being reconstructed into a new cycle studio and wellness office for coming semester.

competed in its first Recycle Mania contest in 2005. Stay tuned for more info.

Across the campus, one item likely to be found when looking into a random dorm room is a video game console. While styles range from a modern console like an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3 to a classic console like an Nintendo 64 or a GameCube, a gaming console of some sort is a staple for college students. With his startup company, Campus Gamer, Daniel Donohue, CSOM ’13, wants to bring gaming on campus out of the dorm room and into the public square in the form of gaming tournaments hosted on campus.

“To get Campus Gamer started, my goals are oriented at holding gaming tournaments exclusively at BC at the end of February or mid-March,” Donohue said. “I wrote a business plan for Campus Gamer my sophomore year, but I

“The goal is

to get as much interest now and get a buzz for Campus Gamer.”

- Daniel Donohue Founder of startup company Campus Gamer and CSOM ‘13 finally had time this year to bring it back out and start it. I bought the domain name and picked Call of Duty, FIFA, and Words with Friends.”

The idea for Campus Gamer originated in Donohue’s love for gaming. When he was a sophomore, he was an Electronic Arts campus representative. In this position, he did marketing campaigns and giveaways for game releases on campus.

“While I was doing it, I was limited to doing EA things and campaigns that they wanted me to do,” Donohue said. “I thought it would be so much more fun if I could do things with everyone.”

At the same time, Donohue cofounded Add It Up, the predecessor to Jebbit, with Tom Coburn, A&S ’13, and Jeb Thomas, CSOM ’13. An

online marketing company, Add It Up tied for first place in the Boston College Venture Competition and won $6,500.

“From there, we took the funding and applied to a program, Summer @ Highland, where we got an additional $15,000 and a bunch of resources over the summer to continue working on the idea,” Donohue said. “I branched off and ended up leaving the company and pursued learning how to program.

The company has since changed and is now called Jebbit.”

Even after leaving Jebbit, Donohue remained active in the startup scene, interning with the online payment company Plastiq, which is similar to PayPal. This led him to revisiting Campus Gamer when he returned to campus in the fall.

Currently, he is focused on setting up the tournaments for this semester.

“I chose Call of Duty because a lot of people have played it and it is a key genre,” Donohue said. “I chose FIFA because I wanted to put a sports game in there. Specifically at BC, sports games are really popular.

I chose Words with Friends because I wanted to see what I could do with a mobile gaming tournament.”

For the C all of D uty and FIFA tournaments, Donohue has planned a $5 entrance fee, in order to fund the tournament and prizes. There are first and second place cash prizes to emphasize the competitive nature of the tournaments. Similar to the BC intramurals, Donohue has also planned for a t-shirt and mug to be given to the winners. To facilitate the tournaments, he is promoting with an RA in Edmond’s, Clement Yu, GA&S ’13.

Looking to the future, Donohue hopes to continue working on projects at BC, while expanding to other college campuses.

“Gaming is a passion of mine and so I would like to stay in a gaming or entrepreneurship role post-graduation,” Donohue said.

“The goal is to get as much interest now and get a buzz for Campus Gamer. I want to network with other entrepreneurs and try to see if anyone is interested in funding the company. If I can get it to work at BC, then I can show that it can work at other major colleges across the country.” 

A4

The Heights

Report also shows aid gap

the chocolate bar returns

EIA, from A1 presented or allocated differently before, showing a net gain in some years.

“Every year our goal is to break even,” said Chris Iacoi, associate athletic director of business operations in an email.

“The prior years that show a profit only show those figures due to the way the figures were presented and allocated in the report.”

The data in the report is compiled by the U.S. Department of Education from all institutions that receive federal student aid from the government. Along with revenues and expenses, BC is also required to report financial and participatory differences between men and women.

The gap between BC athletic financial aid for men and women was the largest it has been since as far back as 2003, although there was only one more male participant than there were female participants in athletics last year, according to the report. A participant is defined in the report as any student who is listed on a varsity roster, receives athletics-related student aid, or practices with a varsity team and receives coaching from a varsity coach.

Male participants received in excess of $1.7 million more in athletics-related student aid than did female participants

last season. That difference is almost $800,000 more than it was two years ago, when there were 16 more male participants than female participants, according to the report. Men received $1.3 million more in 2009 when there was one fewer male participant than there were female participants, and they received $700,000 more in 2005 when there was, similarly, one more male participant.

“As a private institution, our general policy is not to discuss specifics related to budgetary/salary numbers, which applies in this case,” said Chris Cameron, head of media relations, in an email.

Despite the increased gap, the difference between aid-per-male-participant and aid-per-female-participant does not differ greatly from the rest of the private schools in the conference. Male students at BC receive, on average, $25,000 in athletically related student aid, while female students receive $20,000, on average.

That $5,000 gap is less than the $8,000 gap in favor of men at the University of Miami, which has three more male participants than female participants.

Male students received $2,000 more than female students on average at Duke University. The gap favored women at Wake Forest University, where female students received $6,000 more than male students on average. n

Thursday, January 17, 2013

NJSLC, from A1

emily sadeghian / heights staff

Students queue up by the Chocolate Bar’s new location in the south wing of Stokes.

Jesuits move out of St. Mary’s Hall St. Mary’s, from A1 better housing units for the Jesuit community. Such an upgrade, Runyon said, includes redoing the entire kitchen. “The chapel will be preserved with air conditioning and fire protection being added,” Runyon said.

As the second oldest building on campus after Gasson Hall, St. Mary’s new look will maintain its original purpose: even after a complete restoration, it will still serve as a Jesuit residence, as it has for the past 96 years.

Until the project is completed, the Jesuit residents have been relocated to 2000 Commonwealth Ave., an apartment complex and high rise building owned by the University. For the next two years, the business and administrative offices that were once located in St. Mary’s Hall have been moved to 30 Old Colony Rd. The restoration project is expected to last through October 2014, when new furnishing will be installed and interior decorating will be completed. The building will not reopen to the BC community, however, until January 2015.

The previous Jesuit residences will not be the only ones making the improved St. Mary’s their new home in 2015—the offices of the computer science and communication departments will be moved into the south wing of St. Mary’s. The south wing will, after the project, be used as academic space for the University, housing offices for not only these two departments but also for the Woods College of Advancing Studies.

The renovation plan, which was developed through a year-long design effort, is expected to transform St. Mary’s Hall, similar to the significant changes seen in the restoration of Gasson Hall. n

NJSLC plan takes shape

matt liber / for the heights

The renovation of St. Mary’s Hall is expected to conclude in October 2014. The building will also house CS and communication offices.

theirs, the co-chairs picked the theme “First to Love.” After the welcome ceremonies on July 23, the remaining three days will center around different aspects of the theme: “First to Love Thyself,” “First to Love Faith,” and “First to Love Others.” The schedule includes keynote speakers, workshops led by students from BC and visiting Jesuit schools, and trips into the greater Boston area.

The application for the committee is currently open, and applications are due by Jan. 27. The co-chairs will then conduct an interview round, and hope to have their committee finalized within two weeks after interviews conclude. The chairs are looking mostly for sophomores and freshmen, as they will still be undergraduates during the 2014 conference— juniors can apply, but must commit to being at BC for the conference.

A few aspects of NJSLC have to be planned well in advance. Ireland is already working on finding keynote speakers for the conference, while Nowak is working to obtain local and national sponsors and coordinate housing. The trio anticipates a large group to attend BC’s conference: “Holy Cross accommodated 300 students and 50 Staff Advisors from 26 Jesuit schools,” read an excerpt from the bid. “Our hope for NJSLC 2014 is 350 students and 50 Staff Advisors from 28 Jesuit schools in 2014.”

For keynote speakers, Raddell said, they are looking for politicians who went to BC—“Not necessarily John Kerry,” he said—as well as coaches and other recognizable members of the BC community. “We thought it’d be really cool if we could get Jerry York to come,” Ireland said. Other possible speakers listed on the bid include former Senator Scott Brown, Rev. Michael Himes, S.J., and Mark Herzlich, BC ’11.

Apart from applying to be on the main committee, there are other opportunities to get involved in the 2014 NJSLC. Another round of applications will open up in the spring of 2014 for those BC students interested in a less time-intensive way to contribute to NJSLC. Student volunteers will be needed to lead small groups and facilitate the different components of the conference. In addition, Ireland is looking for members of the BC community to help with workshops. “We definitely want to get BC involved—faculty, staff, or BC students, if they have something they’re passionate about to present on, we would love to get a lot of BC people to run workshops at the conference,” she said.

Students interested in more information or obtaining an application can send an email to njslc@bc.edu. n

UHS encourages students to stay healthy, get flu shots Flu, from A1 cases to increase in the coming weeks, Nary said, “I would guess yes. It is a calculated guess. But because the flu season started so early, it may be the case that students had the flu or flu-like illnesses over the Winter Break and thus, the flu won’t be as aggressive in volume.”

In early January, Nary sent an email to Boston College students, writing, “All preliminary data suggests this will be a more

serious than average flu season … For best results, you should get the vaccine ASAP while you’re home.”

For those who were unable to get a vaccine over winter break, UHS is offering a flu clinic for students, staff, and administrators today, Thursday, Jan. 17, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Murray Function Hall of Yawkey Center. A total of 400 flu shots are available on a firstcome, first-served basis. The flu vaccine costs $25 and there is no co-pay. The claim can be billed to Harvard Pilgrim and Blue Cross of

Massachusetts, Tufts, MassHealth, Fallon, and Aetna. Students with out-of-state insurance coverage can pay $25 by cash, check, or credit card, and submit the claim to their insurance provider for reimbursement. Those interested should bring their insurance cards.

To avoid the flu, Nary advises students to wash their hands frequently, keep an appropriate “social distance,” and cover their mouths when they cough.

“There are very common sense ways to avoid the flu,” Nary said. “And if you do have

flu-like illnesses, come in, see us early, and make an extra effort to avoid close proximities to roommates, friends, and teammates.”

He reminds students that it is never too late to begin taking precautions against the flu.

“Even if a student hasn’t gotten a flu shot

by Thursday, they can call and we’ll try to make an appointment,” Nary said. “It’s important to keep in mind, there is a nation-wide shortage of vaccines, so we can only give as much as we have, until it’s gone.” n

CLASSIFIEDS

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 17, 2013

COMMUNITY HELP WANTED Cash for one time study participation. Participate in a Psychology research study for cash. Use the Sona Systems link (http:// bc.sona-systems.com) to access our studies. You will need to click “Request an account here” and then sign up using your BC email address.

MISCELLANEOUS

COMMUNITY

Herbal medicine practicioner.

Spiritual guru well-acquainted with use of aromatic candles, tribal music, herbology; extensive tapestry collection for comfort of patients. Please make appointments one week in advance. Contact hg.shoemaker@ gmail.com.

Balloon animal artist available for events. Willing to make offcampus appearances. Specialties include hats, giraffes, and hearts. Willing to accommodate specific color theme or spell words in balloons. Hourly rate upon request, at least two days’ notice required. Contact: richardmv@bc.edu

Directions: The Sudoku is played over a 9x9 grid. In each row there are 9 slots, some of which are empty and need to be filled.

Each row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 to 9. You must follow these rules: · Number can appear only once in each row · Number can appear only once in each column · Number can appear only once in each 3x3 box · The number should appear only once on row, column or area.

Graduate School of Education

Your next steps begin at Fordham University.

Fordham can start you on the road to a successful and rewarding career with master’s, doctoral, and professional diploma programs.

Graduate School of Education areas of study include: • Teaching • Educational Leadership • Interdisciplinary Research • Counseling and School Psychology

Join us for an information session: Monday, February 11, 2013 | 5 – 7 p.m.

113 W. 60th Street | Lincoln Center Campus | New York City

For more information or to RSVP: www.fordham.edu/gse gse_admiss@fordham.edu | 212-636-6400 Can’t attend in person? Visit www.fordham.edu/gse to learn about upcoming online information sessions.

Proud to be a Yellow Ribbon University eeo /aa

A5

The Heights

A6

‘The Heights’ looks to the future with new partner

Thursday, January 17, 2013

QUOTE OF THE DAY Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.

-Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and philanthropist

Starting with this issue, The Heights will be printed by Globe Newspaper Company, Inc. Regular readers of The Heights may be wondering why our newspaper appears slightly different today than it did in December. Since our inception, the goal of The Heights has been to bring relevant and reliable information to our readers in the most thorough and accurate way possible. Throughout the more than 90-year history of the newspaper, various changes have been made to ensure the stability and growth of our publication as we move forward.

In line with our goals for future success and development, The Heights is proud to announce a new publication partnership with Globe Newspaper Company, Inc., publishers of The Boston Globe.

The physical form of The Heights will experience only very minor changes as a result of this new arrangement. Each page in the newspaper will be slightly smaller than in previous years, but the image area for printing will remain identically sized, allowing The Heights to

continue providing the same amount of high quality campus news to our readers while cutting down on waste and becoming more environmentally friendly.

In terms of content, The Heights is not downsizing in any way, despite these smaller physical pages. In fact, readers can expect to see more colorful issues in the future, often with additional pages of engaging and relevant content.

The Heights is the first college newspaper to be printed by The Boston Globe, and we are proud to begin a relationship with a newspaper company as esteemed as The Globe. In the future, The Heights will benefit immensely from the experience and skill of the employees of The Globe. In turn, this will benefit readers of our publication. This is the start of an exciting relationship between our two companies, and we look forward to using this new arrangement to continue to bring our readers news of the highest quality.

Athletics should control gap in aid to athletes The Heights urges BC to ensure the continuation of equitable aid to men and women athletes According to a report filed by Boston College in compliance with the Equity In Athletics Disclosure Act, varsity male athletic participants received $1.7 million more in athletically-related student aid than female participants did during the 2011-12 season, despite there being only one more male than female participant.

This gap results in male athletes receiving an average of $25,000 annually, while female athletes receive an average of $20,000 annually.

Although at first glance this gap in student aid seems alarmingly large, in comparison with similar schools it is less so.

For example, at the University of Miami, male athletes on average receive $39,000 annually, while female athletes receive only $30,000 annually, a gap of $9,000 in comparison to BC’s gap of about $5,000.

At Wake Forest University, the gap is about $6,000 in favor of women. These schools are less successful in keeping the number of male and female participants comparable, however. At Wake Forest, there are 238 male athletic participants and only 124 female participants. Duke University has a gap of only about $2,000, but similarly to Wake Forest has a large gap in participants—374 men to 274 women.

It seems that the Athletic Department is providing equal opportunities for male and female athletes, at least to a greater extent than similar ACC schools—in the last 10 years, the number of male and female participants has never differed by more than 30 athletes in either direction,

and often switches between more men and more women.

While the $1.7 million gap is not extremely surprising, The Heights is concerned by how much of an increase this is from previous years. For example, in 2010, when there were 16 more male participants, the gap was only $940,000, according to the report. In 2009, the year with the next highest gap in aid, male athletes received $1.3 million more.

What, then, caused this gap to increase so greatly from 2010 to 2011? While BC is not legally obligated to provide exactly equal dollar amounts of athleticallyrelated student aid to men and women, it seems only fair that if the number of male and female participants is close to equal, the amount of aid should similarly be close to equal. BC has done a relatively good job of this in the past, and should pride itself on that. For this reason, The Heights hopes that the apparent trend of increasing gaps between male and female athletically-related student aid is limited in the upcoming years.

This year’s report was also the first in recent years to report revenue for ticketed sports without including institutional support, as is often done with non-ticketed sports. This results in a more transparent and accurate reflection of the finances of the men’s basketball, women’s basketball, football, and hockey teams. The Heights appreciates this effort on the part of the Athletic Department and hopes that in the future they will report finances similarly for non-ticketed sports.

NJSLC is a forum where BC must impress

Faculty and students should embrace BC’s hosting of the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference In the summer of 2014, Boston College will host the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference (NJSLC) for the first time. The Heights would like to commend the work of Maria Ireland, Kathryn Nowak, and Teddy Raddell, all A&S ’15, for their work on the successful 21-page bid that landed the conference for BC. The three students attended last year’s NJSLC at the College of the Holy Cross and spent the fall preparing an application that eventually beat out applications from among the other 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States.

The process of planning the conference will continue until the week it is hosted next summer, and The Heights would like to encourage interested students to find a way to get involved.

This conference will bring BC in touch with students from all over the country, and the more students that help out, the better represented our University will be.

BC is one of the foremost Jesuit universities in the country and the world, and it seems fitting that an esteemed conference of young Jesuit students should be held on the Heights.

In addition, The Heights calls on faculty and administrators to consider being a part of the conference. There will be many opportunities for these professionals to participate in panels and speaking engagements, and it will be hard for the conference to succeed without the help of faculty and administrators.

The Heights wishes the students involved luck as they plan the conference throughout the coming year.

The Heights The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 David Cote, Editor-in-Chief Jamie Ciocon, General Manager Joseph Castlen, Managing Editor

Editorial

maximillian adagio/ Heights Illustration

Letter to the Editor The following letter is in response to “Study abroad” by Marye Moran, originally published on 12/6/12: Marye, I appreciate you for writing this column and for taking a leap and going abroad. The thought of surviving on your own in a completely foreign country, even one that speaks English, can be quite daunting. I myself studied in London last semester, but I will expand more upon that later. I am responding here to you because frankly, I believe that your column is complete blasphemy. My main argument rests on the fact that you have not yet gone abroad at all! How can you say that going abroad is not worth it when you have not yet? I urge you not to make pre-judgments about this experience, you will only ruin it for yourself if you do not go in with a positive attitude and an open mind.

I question when you say “I think for most people, the study abroad experience is not worth it.” Is this just a personal opinion? Because I can tell you truthfully that I have not yet talked to someone in my life that has been disappointed with their study abroad experience. You also say, “People go for cultural exchange and, in some cases, language acquisition...” I believe that you are simplifying this a bit much—I personally had no true reason why I was going abroad. I simply wanted to know what it was like, if I could handle it, and most importantly, I went because I couldn’t stand my school or the people there (I just transferred from Wake Forest to BC this semester.)

Again, I go back to my point about not judging your experience before you finish it. I learned a hell of a lot more than international study experience over in London. Being able to survive and even thrive in a place thousands of miles away from home, all by yourself, is really an amazing thing.

I’m sure you will do both of these things there, and then understand what I am talking about. The whole concept of being so far away, of having no one to rely on but yourself is truly a maturing experience, and I can say that I have much more confidence and trust in myself now compared to before my five months in London.

While you note that many BC students study in the same few, westernized places, I must note that before you criticize, realize that you are also going to one of these six locations. I personally went to London because of this reason— though I can speak Spanish, I could not fathom taking upper lever math and economics courses (my majors) in Spanish or Italian, two of the places I looked at going. I would have loved to have gone to South or Central America as well, but total culture immersion and living with a host family takes a certain special kind of person. I was not looking for a culture-immersion experience, and thus settled with a more westernized country. Please, though, do not generalize students’ reasons for studying abroad, but understand that everyone has a specific idea of what they would like to accomplish while overseas, and these ideas vary vastly.

I would next like to evaluate your statement, “When people study abroad, they often maintain the idea of visiting, not living in, the foreign country.” Let me tell you something, Marye. You will not feel like you are visiting after 5 months in London. Abroad, I was in charge of all my own food and preparation, living in a flat, and navigating public transportation in a place where everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, among innumerable others things. It is no wonder I now refer to London as my second home. You do not have to strive for a deep understanding of British culture: I didn’t either, it just comes about naturally through interactions with people throughout the city. I also thought that I would

be gone every weekend, traveling across Europe and touring the most famous towns. What I didn’t know, though, was how much culture and how many activities London itself offered. I urge you to reconsider your thought process and look to the city as a beacon for excitement, rather than a main base from which you are constantly looking to wander.

My last evaluation deals with your statement about friends and relationships: “Friendships become all-or-nothing - with the burden of keeping in touch, it’s either a big commitment or the friendship is put on hold.” I would certainly challenge this - if keeping in touch is such a burden, are these people truly your friends? It is certainly not a big commitment at all to keep in touch with those you care about - simply because you care about them and are genuinely interested in their lives. Friends understand that you are abroad and are facing a whole new world in a brand new country. I could not imagine any of my friends deserting me because of this growing experience, and I hope you cannot either. If so, I would recommend you to reconsider these people and their role in your life: true friends will stay true to the end, and only care about your success and happiness, even if it involves less communication with them for a few months.

Allow me to sum up by saying that you sound like you are not looking forward to this experience at all, and that you are generalizing the views of hypothetical students that you believe to share your own thoughts on the matter. However, I will take your word for it that you plan on carrying out the trip to London, though grudgingly.

With this, I beg you to go forward with a positive mindset. Expect the best, and I can almost guarantee you the time of your life. I too was unsure of the commitment that I had made, but it turned out for the very best. I still have frequent dreams that I have gone abroad again, only to have the world dropped on me when I wake up and realize that it is no longer a possibility with all the credits I need to make up from my transfer.

So please, go only expecting greatness, and the world will be your oyster. The Brits love us Americans because of our outgoing personalities and for the fun we bring with us everywhere—please do not disappoint them. When you are in my old stomping grounds, remember that this is a privilege that most people do not have. You are blessed with a great education and the funds necessary to travel across the world, so make the best of it! Just please do not make judgments before you arrive, or even before you leave.

If you would like to reflect on this at all, I would be happy to oblige whether through email correspondence or over a cup of tea—you’ll probably be drinking a lot of it over there.

Also, if you need any information on London in general I could certainly point you in the right direction and would be willing to help you out with whatever questions or concerns you may have. If not, I truly hope you enjoy your experience there, and I wish that by the end of your time there you will see yourself not as a visitor, but as a member of London’s vibrant community.

Thank you.

The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 400 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages.

The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted

to the newspaper.

Submissions must be signed and should include the author’s connection to Boston College, address, and phone number. Letters and columns can be submitted online at www.bcheights.com, by email to editor@bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.

Kendra Kumor, Copy Editor Eleanor Hildebrandt, News Editor Austin Tedesco, Sports Editor Michelle Tomassi, Features Editor Sean Keeley, Arts & Review Editor Tricia Tiedt, Metro Editor Mary Rose Fissinger, Opinions Editor Sam Costanzo, Special Projects Editor Graham Beck, Photo Editor Lindsay Grossman, Layout Editor

Mark A. Veikos BC ’14 Editor’s Note: This letter was shortened due to space constraints.

You can read the entire letter online at www.bcheights.com.

Business and Operations Maggie Burge, Graphics Editor Elise Taylor, Blog Manager Mary Joseph, Online Manager Henry Hilliard, Assoc. Copy Editor Connor Farley, Asst. Copy Editor Devon Sanford, Assoc. News Editor Andrew Skaras, Asst. News Editor Chris Grimaldi, Assoc. Sports Editor Marly Morgus, Asst. Sports Editor Cathryn Woodruff, Asst. Features Editor

Ariana Igneri, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor John Wiley, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Ryan Towey, Asst. Metro Editor Alex Gaynor, Asst. Photo Editor Maggie Powers, Asst. Layout Editor Jordan Pentaleri, Asst. Graphics Editor Julie Orenstein, Editorial Assistant Parisa Oviedo, Executive Assistant

Marc Francis, Business Manager Amy Hachigian, Advertising Manager Adriana Mariella, Outreach Coordinator Donny Wang, Systems Manager Mujtaba Syed, National Advertising Manager Will Lambert, Account Manager Chris Stadtler, Account Manager Andrew Millette, Collections Manager Rosie Gonzalez, Project Coordinator

The Heights

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A7

Jean Valjean and me Thumbs Up Taylor Cavallo Bathroom blunder - Just a couple days ago, we tweeted (follow us on Twitter! @BCTUTD) a picture of the sign in front of the women’s bathroom in everyone’s favorite building, Stokes Hall. The sign read “WOMENS” and inspired us to briefly reflect on our past experiences with bathrooms: have we ever seen a bathroom sign that looked like this before? Was this grammatically okay? The answers, it turns out, are no and no. After recovering from the blow that was the realization that our beautiful Stokes indeed has a flaw, we took a picture of the sign and tweeted it. The next day, another Stokes bathroom’s sign was conspicuously missing an “s,” exhibiting a gaping lack of text between the end of the word and the end of the border of the sign. Long story short: we at TU/TD are taking credit for the signage correction and awarding ourselves a Thumbs Up. Yay! Almost Famous - Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a celebrity in our midst.

Our beloved Baldwin has taken the leap from adored school mascot to television phenomenon. With his appearance in the most recent ESPN commercial, he has joined the ranks of some of our generation’s greatest athletes and most recognizable mascots. So, obviously, we have some requests for our famous friend: First, introduce us to Stuart Scott. Second, as you work your way from the small screen to the silver screen as we know you will, negotiate the contract for a full-length feature film about your life at BC which will be filmed here on campus, and star Ryan Gosling as you, forcing him to spend all day every day for months on our campus.

Thanks in advance.

Thumbs Down Plexapalooza - We’re all for the whole “New Year, New You” thing, because self-improvement is a noble goal toward which we should all constantly strive, but when six o’clock rolls around and there are more people in the Plex than in Lower, we’ve got to play the Thumbs Down card. First of all, it’s hot enough in there already. Add 100 reborn fitness freaks and we’re going to start visiting the sauna in the locker room to cool down. Second of all, we are starting to greatly lament the fact that New Year’s Day takes place during winter. Perhaps, if we reworked the Gregorian calendar so that the New Year occurred in May, all the freshlydetermined exercise-aholics would turn outdoors for a workout arena and maybe take a nice jog around the Res. As it is, however, they pile into the already too-small gym, forget to wipe down their ellipticals, and stare bemusedly at the plethora of ambiguous muscle-building machines. We admire your resolve, but also hope it wears off quickly.

The Next Big Thing - On behalf of certain racquetball-obsessed editors of this newspaper, we have to bestow the kiss of death (aka a Thumbs Down) to the conversion of the third racquetball court into a spinning studio. We understand that spinning is the exercise phenomenon that is sweeping the nation, but we here at TU/TD have the foresight to see that racquetball is next! The Plex is making a grave mistake, we swear. By the end of the semester, racquetball will be so popular throughout America that, mark our words, there will be plans to convert the entire pool into several different courts for this sport that will by then be known as the new national pastime. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Like Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down? Follow us @BCTUTD

While sitting in a stiff movie theatre chair in Chanhassen, MN catching a late night viewing of Les Miserables, I thought about a few things, but for our purposes, most notably two. 1) Movie theatre chairs are one of the most germ-infested areas we can be regularly exposed to, and 2) I had something in common with Jean Valjean. The latter was a fleeting thought, accompanied by a chuckle.

I was promptly distracted by Russell Crowe’s singing. What I simply wrote off in my mind as my occasional willingness to be seduced by overzealousy might not be so far from some semblance of truth, or at least some interesting questions.

Jean Valjean of Les Miserables is 24601.

Sonmi of Cloud Atlas is 451. I am 400…and something… At least I’m in good company?

Every student you see sitting hidden behind a cubicle in the endless rows of the library, in the back corners of your classroom and down the limitless hallway of CLXF, has a number. What the all-knowing Agora Portal so neutrally calls “cumulative rank,” is an unavoidable fact of Eagle life, as we all consult the Agora Portal for every little piece of logistical and practical information we might need.

Yesterday, while frantically searching for the room assignment I needed for my next class, I was reminded of something I had seen hundreds of times in my peripheral vision: I was still four hundred and something out of 1528.

I will be honest. I am not satisfied with my “cumulative rank.” But who is? Who even knows what number makes a ‘good’ cumulative rank unless you’re the few lucky dogs in the top 100? The rank is placed so clearly and so accessibly in front of our faces, yet it is almost never mentioned or discussed by any authoritative or scholarly figure. All the jobs I have applied to so far as a senior have

never once asked for my class rank, or even a transcript.

So, I ask why. Perhaps some medical or law schools would be interested in knowing those statistics for admission purposes, but I would guess that the majority of jobs don’t care. If graduate programs want that information, it can, and rightfully should, be provided, but class rank does not need to be so easily accessible to us. I’d venture to say that students don’t need to know it at all. All it probably produces is another tidal wave of anxiety, and one doesn’t need to look too far to realize that here at BC, we’re all pretty stressed.

The cumulative rank is fundamentally flawed as it does not take majors into account, simply schools. You are ranked against others in your grade and school: i.e. my class rank is against all seniors in A&S. However, as we all know, majors are different, with different content, professors, expectations, exam styles, core requirements, the list goes on. If the BC legislation thought a class rank was absolutely necessary, as they seem to, it should not simply be throwing you into a large pool of all A&S students, which include a strangely wide range of majors. It should be restricted to your major specifically. It is not possible to compare what I do as an English major to the labs and problem sets my chemistry major comrade does.

The number weighs us down, limits us.

Haven’t you heard your mother say she once dabbled in a pottery class in college, or your father say he once took a Russian literature class his senior year, “just because?” While you may have rolled your eyes at this, claiming simply that your parents were hippies in the ’70s, this exploration of the unexplored is the true spirit of a university.

The Jesuit liberal arts education imparted on us at BC claims to educate our whole person, to make us not just people in the world but people of the world. These words mirror the hopes and dreams that early academics projected towards the future of the university as an establishment. In The Idea of a University, John Henry Newman wrote that in a university “a habit of mind is formed which lasts through life.”

I wonder what “habit of mind” we are

forming by having to systematically look at our cumulative rank every single day...

“Wasn’t that elective fun?! You’re still #1322 out of 1528.”

“Try new things! But don’t screw up your GPA.” “I’m just 999th out of 1528.”

I’ve always been interested in Evolutionary Biology. Would I take a biology elective on just such a topic? No. If I didn’t do well, it would mess up my ever so temperamental, all too overly sensitive GPA. My class rank would go down and then where would I be?

I truly believe that this same sentiment goes through the heads of students when it comes time to choose courses. The real purpose of an education is lost on students when they have to think about GPAs and cumulative ranks.

Academic erosophy most always looses in the battle against wanting to maintain a good GPA. No one can put a label on an academic experience, and learning shouldn’t be about your class rank, how you measure up against your peers, or even the more widely respected GPA. As Newman also stated in the same work, “any kind of knowledge, if it be really such, is its own reward.” Placing a lifeless rank in front of our faces constantly is slowly but surely dulling and killing our desire to learn, pulling us away from the unknown and towards our comfort zones, thereby painting us into a box. Fueling competition can only end badly.

I’d guess that any grade grubbers reading are itching with unease. Perhaps it’s new-age or too touchy-feely for most who are intensely motivated by competition or don’t mind being so plainly ranked against their peers, friends, significant others, or roommates. Maybe people are just plain curious and want to know where they stand. Or maybe people don’t even look at rank as much as I’m assuming they do.

But as an English and philosophy major I’m good at asking questions I can’t answer. After all, even Socrates famously admitted that the one thing he knew was that he knew nothing.

That’s why I wouldn’t take a bio class.

Taylor Cavallo is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

The Snapchat effect Benjamin Olcott Snapchat doesn’t require much of an introduction. Thousands of smartphonetoting 20-somethings send photos/one-to10 second videos of favorite funny faces, “ironic” road signs, their genitals, that weird thing Sparky does when he comes in from peeing, etc., to friends and family every day with it. Its user population is expanding at a clip reminiscent of recent Twitter- and Instabooms. It’s the next “big thing” in social media, and if you’re not familiar with it yet, you soon will be.

So why has Snapchat, sort of like the pissed-off prince/princess of King Facebook and Queen Twitter with a camera lens for a head, ascended? Why has it, out of the variegated pool of social media tech, survived the Social Media Evolutionary Process fit and fecund?

To begin with, Snapchat is sufficiently different and original from the social media behemoths Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

These titans that emphasize instant textual communication via the status, tweet, post, etc., have text as the basic sharing unit. As we are all painfully aware, these communications often devolve into gabby chit-chat about life’s great wonders like the unsatisfactory amount of foam in a Starbucks cappuccino or insipid commentary on Justin Bieber’s drug habits; achingly banal matters that over time, stretch the patience of even the most frequent Tumblrer/Facebooker/ Tweeter thin. Snapchat limits the text-perpost to a 32 character “caption”, not entirely removing the possibility of textual garrulousness, but without a doubt, lessening it. Not to mention that as of now, Snapchat does not feature any sort of “stream” or “feed”, meaning vapid statuses/posts/tweets that are also completely esoteric won’t unavoidably pop up into your eye line every time you sign on.

The app banks on the quite ordinary human

Lecture Hall

perception that a facial expression is a more “intimate” communication of an emotion or thought, and thus cashes in on frustrations that other social media platforms leave users feeling detached.

But Snapchat has succeeded where other apps have failed for a more insidious reason: it requires about zero mental effort to use.

Despite the sometimes egregiously stupid content of text-based social media communication, forming sentences, even basicallyincoherent solecism-ridden ones, requires far more brainpower than making a silly face, or snapping a picture of your pet. I posit this comfortably. In my experiences with Snapchat, about 90 percent of photos I’ve sent and received are of things easier to think about than a Kimye tweet. It even has a built-in device for bracketing thought. The 10-second timer ensures that we do not have to go through all the trouble of really looking at a person’s/dog’s facial expression meaningfully.

All we can possibly get out of a photo in such a short amount of time is shallow understanding, if there is anything at all to understand about bulging eyes or pouting lips or cute barks. Horrifyingly, with our incontinent attention spans, not many have complained.

One might counter, “but Snapchat isn’t for meaning, it isn’t supposed to be meaningful, it’s just for fun.” This rebuttal is idealistic; it implies that humans cleanly and easily can separate fun and meaningful communication. In vivo, the problem is that the platitude “humans are creatures of habit” turns out to be true. Constantly contacting people with messages unintended to evoke thought inevitably makes real, significant conversation a less frequent event (that it might be called an “event” almost proves the point). The more we take the path of least resistance, the easier, ostensibly more pleasurable road, the more we feel inclined to always take that road. Over time, the path becomes so trodden that it is nearly impossible to get your feet out of the morass. It’s Rock Bottom Avenue, ask any addict.

And are we as a people not heavily addicted to social media? Do we not use our smartphones to tweet/post/Snap in front of our loved ones, sometimes in ways that demean real friendships, in the middle of

a one hour class, or nearly every second of our downtime? Do we not sometimes feel sickened without it?

I don’t think this is a revolutionary point, it’s an evolutionary point. Social media is here to stay, there is no question of that, but neither is there a question that Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr can promote beneficial stimulation. These platforms, when used purposefully, can weed out some of the really noxious crap on the Internet, and focus our attentions on important information. Snapchat cannot do this, and does not want you to do this.

As quoted from Snapchat Inc.’s self-description on the iTunes app store, “Snapchat is instantly fun and insanely playful.” I wouldn’t call reading Twitter streams of updates on the Newtown shooting “insanely playful,” and I wouldn’t describe reading about Islamist terrorism in Mali as “instantly fun,” but both are relevant and difficult.

The point is that if Snapchat really is “next” in social media, then we are already knee-deep in Rock Bottom Ave. If it becomes as ubiquitous as the current behemoths, I foresee the 32-character caption forcing the adaptation of more internet-lingo abbreviations (a selective pressure, if you will), further eroding an already decayed language. I foresee hordes of people ignoring meaning, or worse, not looking for it, content with funny faces, genitals, and pets. I foresee Snapchat’s iTunes app store exhortation to “Show your friends how clever you can be and enjoy the lightness of being!” becoming the motto and prerogative of a generation.

To those who say to this, so what if we ignore the immeasurable difficulty of being? So what if we are full of lightness?

I say: well, perhaps one day we will all lift off the ground and float into the freezing stratosphere, our heads so full of lightness, and perhaps a couple of birds will fly away in cold fear at the sight of our bloated faces frozen permanently into a contorted, “funny” pose, unsure if the howling in their ears is pity, revulsion, or just the wind.

Benjamin Olcott is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

BY PAT HUGHES

The opinions and commentaries of the staff columnists and cartoonists appearing on this page represent the views of the author or artist of that particular piece, and not the views of The Heights. Any of the columnists and artists for the Opinions section of The Heights can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Toxic TV Bud O’Hara I’d like you to imagine that you have spent 20 of last week’s 168 hours lounging around different parts of your dormroom/apartment watching each episode of the television phenomenon of this century —Game of Thrones— with a dutiful attentiveness so vigorous that it actually makes you nervous because you’re 99 percent certain that your experience with the show can only be characterized by a sort of religious fervor. You find it unnerving that a TV show influences and stirs you so profoundly, but you justify the behavior because it was winter break, and you didn’t have any other pressing obligations. And, as everyone knows, Game of Thrones really is that good.

Though I don’t necessarily know who you are, it seems likely this hypothetical situation will not be entirely foreign to you. This sort of entertainment binge seems to me a regular, if not “normal” happening in the lives of us youths. I fell victim to both seasons of Game of Thrones last week—the same I who generally tends to avoid popular entertainment vacuums, and actively limits time spent with popular entertainment because I’m self-righteous and a f—ing hipster. But again, Game of Thrones seriously is that good.

Anyway, imagine you are watching the last episode of the show’s second season, and you start feeling miffed. For one, you’re not finding this last episode as satisfying as you’d hoped because, from the beginning, your expectations for the episode were hopelessly unrealistic. You also know that with each passing scene you’re getting that much closer to a definitive end, after which there will be a gaping void in your life. You’re being dumped by a TV show and you know it has to happen, and you’re picturing the show being all like “it’s not you babe, it’s me—quite literally I have nothing more to give you. It’s a character flaw, I know,” but it still sucks, and you’re mad. You’ll have to wait until Mar. 31, and you just don’t wanna.

But the more self aware, rational part of your brain that you likely consider your conscience is even more peeved because it has taken into account larger concerns. You realize that nearly one whole day of your existence has been dedicated to reclining whilst having your brain infiltrated and subsequently commandeered by moving pictures on a screen.

You’ve done nothing productive in that time, and have, in a way, wittingly surrendered yourself to this entertainment. What I mean by surrendering of the self is that during this time you bring nothing of yourself into the world.

You don’t move forward in any way (mentally or physically) you just lie there and absorb what’s projected from your laptop/HDTV. To a certain extent, the show dictates how you experience it—it’s likely that you’ll laugh at Tyrion Lannister’s witticisms, cringe at the immoral and vicious decisions of King Geoffrey, etc. I don’t mean to suggest that you don’t produce thoughts or opinions on the show—it’s rather that the show’s characters and plot lines define a specific range in which your thoughts and opinions necessarily fall.

There is nothing creative about the experience of watching “Game of Thrones”—there is nothing about the experience that is uniquely you. Your mind merely reacts. It doesn’t have to grapple with stress; it doesn’t have to push itself forward in any way. The thrusting forward of your mind seems to me the best way to assert yourself in the world—to actively forge the person you intend to be.

I don’t mean to suggest that we can never permit ourselves any time for laziness. But what happens when we subject ourselves too often to too much popular entertainment, specifically in binges like the example, is that our mind starts to condition itself in a certain, passive way. The mind gets trained in reactive thinking rather than generative thinking.

I’m projecting, but these 20 hours of “Game of Thrones” left me all like, “damn, wtf am I doing with my life, and why am I subjecting myself to what is a pleasurable, but entirely unproductive diversion from the pressing reality that is my uncertain future?”

I’m a graduating senior, and of course I’m experiencing all the anxieties that accompany looking in the face of an ordinary and daunting adult life. That’s compounded by hopes of the pursuit of what are likely unrealistic goals, becoming the person I aim to be, leading a meaningful existence, and that sort of thing.

And at the same time I’m worrying about the prospects of my being gainfully employed which aren’t necessarily bleak, but are let’s say, “open-ended.” Instead of acting, forging my path, I sat on the couch and surrendered myself to a TV show (A F—ING GREAT ONE).

The only significant lesson I can draw from this experience is simple, if not brutal: get up off the couch and start living your life. The life you want isn’t going to find you, and a TV show isn’t going to impregnate you with the seeds to grow that life.

Think of it this way: Ned Stark met his death at the end of season one, not because of the way he responded to the vacant throne, but because he failed to take action. Those who win at the “Game of Thrones” forge their own destiny.

Bud O’Hara is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

The Heights

A8

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Commitment to roles boosts women’s hockey to record unbeaten streak Streak, from A10 act situation. One minute to go, and No. 4 Cornell still held a one-goal lead. The smallest error could turn the puck over to the Big Red, putting them in a position that they hadn’t faced since Oct. 25, 2012: a potentially losing situation.

In October, the situation would have been far from foreign. The Eagles had a tough start to the season, dropping their first three.

“We had a bad start,” said senior defender Dru Burns. “We felt what it was like to lose. No one liked that feeling, but we learned to put things in perspective.”

With loss comes a tough lesson in discipline. While some feel the need to scramble lineups and positions, the Eagles stayed calm. Head coach Katie King Crowley trusted that she had potential on her team and that consistency would eventually pay off. Her strategy did not involve making big moves that would shake the team.

“Our team has done a good job overall figuring out their role and taking their role seriously on the team,” she said. “That was a big thing this year because we do have some younger players who are goal scorers and some older players who have been mainstays on defense.”

Even new players are aware of how important those roles are to the team.

Freshman Haley Skarupa, who now leads the team in goals and points, saw that even when things were going poorly, a steady approach pulled them through.

“When we were losing, everyone stuck to the plan and to what they had to do individually, and it all fell into place,” she said.

With October drawing to an end and only one win under their belts, BC met Minnesota-Duluth at home. Even though the start to the season had been a rocky one, the Eagles stuck to their established roles. After dropping the first game of the series, their efforts paid off and they were finally able to slip past the tough opponent with a 3-2 win, their second of the season.

Finally, things were clicking. The next week, they faced Boston University, another top-10 team, and came away with a 7-1 win in the first meeting of the weekend and a 5-5 tie to keep them unbeaten. During the next month, the

Eagles began to build momentum, rolling past Providence, Northeastern, and Yale.

In January 2006, the Eagles won seven straight to set the all-time school record for consecutive wins . This November, as the team approached that mark, the record was not on their minds.

“We just were taking it game by game and didn’t really realize until we beat (the record),” Skarupa said.

Even with a one game at a time attitude, success never goes completely unnoticed. Rather than letting the streak, which by the beginning of January had grown to 10 straight wins and 15 games without a loss, cause undue pressure, the team used it as a tool to keep their confidence up and increase their motivation.

“Our team is really loose before games, people don’t get too wound up,” Burns said. “We like to joke around before games. It’s part of our team chemistry.”

The new year has not slowed them down or tightened them up. Three more wins against top-10 teams, Clarkson, Northeastern, and an overtime thriller against St. Lawrence, have established the Eagles as one of the top teams in the country. Just this week, the Eagles earned their highest ranking in program history at No. 2 behind the University of Minnesota. Rankings, however, do not pull a lot of weight in the BC locker room.

“Right now, we try to just make sure to focus on the next game that we have and not on the rankings,” Crowley said.

“We’re all happy that our program has continued to grow, and it’s definitely an honor, but we try not to focus on those numbers.”

At Cornell on Sunday, it seemed as though over two months without a loss might finally come to an end. With the safety net of a goaltender gone, six BC skaters took to the ice. Lesser teams may take that as a moment to panic. BC took an alternate route and relied on the same roles that they had since October.

Skarupa, one of the six, took the puck and scored with just 47 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime and allowing the Eagles to come away with the win.

“We have a lot of motivation from the streak, it drives us more,” Burns said.

“I knew we weren’t going to lose.” n

Brown and Day set to lead BC Football, from A10 Eagles suffered mightily at the tight end position last season, with Chris Pantale missing most of the year with an injury and the underclassmen failing to get involved with the passing game. Leonard brings with him 28 years of coaching experience that Addazio hopes will prove invaluable to the young Eaglestight ends.

Frank Piraino was brought in

by Addazio as the strength and conditioning coach. Like a number of the other new coaches, Piraino spent the past two seasons at the same position under

Addazio at Temple. Piraino has taught strength and conditioning at a number of different schools for a number of different sports. He has served as the staff leader for Florida baseball, Marshall football, and assisted at Michigan State for basketball, football, and hockey.

The seventh move made by Addazio saw Ben Albert named as an assistant coach. Albert has spent the past two seasons as Addazio’s linebackers coach at Temple, and brings with him 17 years of coaching experience that includes a brief stint as the defensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Finally, Addazio announced

the hirings of Todd Fitch as wide receivers coach and Al Wasington as the running backs coach. Fitch served the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator at the University of South Florida and has 26 years of coaching experience, during which he has served under some big name coaches such as Lou Holtz.

Washington spent last season as an assistant special teams and assistant defensive line coach at BC. Washington was also a defensive tackle at BC from 2002-2005 and had spent his time since with some smaller programs before returning to Chestnut Hill last year. n

Graham Beck / Heights Editor

New head football coach Steve Addazio filled out his staff over the winter break with eight new hires.

Gaudreau makes name for himself Gaudreau, from A10 Gaudreau had what was arguably his most impressive performance of the tournament when he scored a hat trick in the U.S.’s 7-0 routing of the Czech Republic in the Quarterfinals.

Gaudreau gave Team USA the pivotal lead in the game by scoring the first two goals of the contest, as well as the sixth.

Five games into the tourna-

ment, Gaudreau had already put up impressive numbers.

Yet, given that Team USA was to face Canada in the semi-final round, there was certainly no chance for Gaudreau to stop there. In Team USA’s 5-1 routing of Team Canada, Gaudreau scored his sixth and seventh goals of the tournament. Those goals put him in a tie for second place on the list of most goals scored all-time in the tourna-

Graham beck and alex gaynor / heigts editors

The women’s hockey team has not lost a game since Oct. 25, 2012. They are currnetly at their highest ranking ever, No. 2.

ment.

While he didn’t record a point in the gold medal game against Sweden, Team USA still could not be stopped as they won the game 3-1.

Gaudreau finished the tournament with 9 points, and his play throughout, which was full of toe drags, backhands, and, most importantly, goals, fueled Team USA’s offense for the better part of the tournament. n

THE HEIGHTS

EDITORS’ PICKS

Thursday, January 17, 2013 The Week Ahead

Standings

Men’s hockey hosts Northeastern on Saturday night. Women’s hockey takes on Mercyhurst on Friday and Saturday.

Women’s basketball plays Wake Forest at home on Sunday afternoon. Men’s basketball hosts Maryland Tuesday night. The Patriots and Ravens meet in Foxborough for the AFC Championship Sunday night.

Austin Tedesco

0-0

Chris Grimaldi

0-0

Marly Morgus

0-0

Heights Staff

0-0

A9

Recap from Last Week

Series of the Week

Men’s hockey tied Providence 3-3.

Women’s basketball lost to Arizona State 68-59. Men’s basketball defeated St. Francis College 72-64.

Alabama crushed Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game by a score of 42-14. New sports editors Chris Grimaldi and Marly Morgus are joining picks.

Women’s Hockey

Guest Editor: Lindsay Grossman

Mercyhurst vs. Boston College University

Layout Editor

“Meet me on the ‘Pathway to Nowhere.’

Literally.”

Marly Morgus Asst. Sports Editor

Lindsay Grossman Layout Editor

Austin Tedesco Sports Editor

Chris Grimaldi Assoc. Sports Editor

Split

BC

BC

BC

Women’s Basketball: BC vs. Wake Forest

BC

BC

Wake Forest

Wake Forest

Women’s Hockey: No. 2 BC vs. No. 8 Mercyhurst (series)

Split

BC

BC

BC

Men’s Basketball: BC at Maryland

BC

Maryland

Maryland

Maryland

Ravens

Patriots

Patriots

Patriots

This Week’s Games Men’s Hockey: No. 2 BC vs. Northeastern

Who will win the AFC Championship?

This weekend, the No. 2 BC Women’s Hockey Team takes on No. 8 Mercyhurst in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Eagles are riding a streak that has left them unbeaten since October. Mercyhurst also boasts an impressive 16-3-1 record with solid wins over Providence College and Yale to equal BC’s performance against those two teams earlier this season. An early loss to Clarkson and more recent falter in two games against Robert Morris University have caused a slight slip in the rankings for the Lakers. Both teams are coming off of wins, Mercyhurst’s a shutout over Syracuse, and BC’s a last minute thriller over Cornell.

Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m.

Donahue sees improvment Column, from A10

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Head basketball coach Steve Donahue has proven that he has a solid foundation of young and talented players in his program.

Despite the loss, Eagles prove they belong ANDREW KLOKIW The first free throw bounced around a bit before mercifully dropping through the hoop. The second attempt did much the same before choosing a similar fate.

The third free throw met the front end of the rim and sent Jim Larranaga’s Miami Hurricanes home with a victory that many would argue they did not deserve.

Steve Donahue’s squad may have added to their loss column, but for a team that relies primarily upon a rotation of seven underclassmen, there is such a thing as a moral victory. As Olivier Hanlan’s final free throw went begging, the Eagles dropped to 9-8 on the campaign, but they began to demonstrate the first signs of a consistent ability to compete with the rest of the ACC. Coming into this season, Donahue’s third on the Heights, there have been quiet doubts voiced around this pro-

gram that perhaps the time had come to ask some questions of the progress made since the departure of former head coach Al Skinner. Some had questioned whether coach Donahue’s recruiting efforts were sufficient to keep up with the rest of the ACC. However, after watching Hanlan’s ball miss net, it is apparent that Donahue’s team is ready to beat back the doubters.

If this game is remembered, it will be as the game that Hanlan could not send to overtime. That is just how sports work. The reality of the situation is that on a night where BC’s best player, forward Ryan Anderson, did not have his best outing, two of his guards where there to pick him up.

Every time Hanlan accelerated into the paint, slashing fearlessly to the hoop in the face of one of Miami’s five big men over 6-10, the crowd sat a little further forward in their seats. Hanlan’s drives opened up just the right amount

of room on the perimeter for the more reserved Lonnie Jackson, who scored 16 points on the strength of four 3-pointers.

Hanlan and Jackson are a fun duo to watch, but more importantly they are Donahue’s fun duo to watch. Those two, along with fellow guard Joe Rahon and forward Ryan Anderson, hold the key to Donahue’s future on the Heights.

“I’m excited about getting back and getting better,” Donahue said. “I love coaching these guys and I love watching them develop. I’m excited about another challenge. This group will continue to get better. I’m convinced of that 100 percent.”

Larranaga’s Miami squad came to Chestnut Hill looking the easy favorite to run the Eagles right out of their own gym. The Hurricanes featured the aforementioned big men, as well as a 12-3 record and ten upperclassmen.

Donahue’s Eagles not only led most of the way, but they were able to control large periods of time and possession.

Miami may have been the more talented team top to bottom, but it was Larranaga who was clearly outclassed. Donahue gave a clinic on how to do more with less, and in the end it was a few turnovers and efficient free throw shooting that rescued Larranaga’s team.

“I thought it was a really hardfought game, I’m really proud of our effort,” said the coach of the game. “The kids played the gameplan to a T. They competed, defended and executed very well on offense against a pretty good defensive team. We just came up short at the end.”

Watching a disappointed Donahue reminisce on what might have been, one can immediately sense how personally invested he is in the on and off the court success of these players. After two and a half years leading the Eagles, he has finally put together a core of players that can consistently put a scare into the rest of the ACC powerhouses.

Behind the young guys, it appears that BC basketball’s rebuilding process is becoming something else. Those calling for Donahue’s head are doing so prematurely, and these young Eagles are beginning to prove that they, along with their coach, belong at the table with the rest of the ACC.

Andrew Klokiw is a staff writer for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

m. hockey

scoreboard

BC unh

Chestnut Hill, MA 1/11

5 2

m. basketball

BC VT

blacksburg, va 1/9

1 2

m. basketball

86 Anderson 26 PTS 9 REB BC 75 Green 24 PTS 9 AST WF

72 75

Chris Grimaldi is the Assoc. Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Eagles moved to a record of 1-3 in conference play after their loss last night.

Hurricanes sneak by BC Basketball, from A10 foul that spoiled what was supposed to be BC’s final possession.

“The guy pressured me,” recalled Rahon, who committed the foul after battling back from an apparent ankle injury in the first half. “I had to pop out a little bit farther than I would’ve liked to. I caught it with him on my back, and I tried to pivot to clear space and I guess my shoulder hit him in the chin or something, and the ref saw that as me clearing space, with my elbows, and he blew a foul. I’ll need to see the tape to see if it was that blatant, but in my mind, I was just trying to clear some space to move and turn the ball.”

Yet, the Eagles were granted a chance for redemption, and reclaimed possession with 10.6 seconds left. In an off-balanced, heavily contested attempt at a 3-pointer, Hanlan was fouled in the act of shooting with half of a second remaining on the clock. After knocking down the first two attempts, Hanlan’s third try in front of an anxious home crowd fell short, hitting the rim and dashing the Eagles’

Chestnut Hill, MA 1/12

durham, nh 1/12 w. hockey

m. hockey

Gaudreau 1 g 2 a BC desmith 12 sv UNH

very talented, real experienced teams.

We’re going to have to play great basketball to get wins.”

Donahue’s team has played just four conference games so far—the sample size is small but the results have been positive. After losing to No. 14 NC State and Wake Forest by a combined eight points, one could say that BC was a few more foul shots and a drained, buzzerbeating 3-pointer away from storming out of the gates with a 3-0 record in the ACC. It’s easy to start thinking retrospectively and counting wins when a maturing team on the path back to contention starts hitting its stride. But Donahue knows that this distracted mindset isn’t part of the recipe for building a powerhouse on the court.

In fact, the answer might be in that old paradox I mentioned earlier.

“Part of growing and building up a championship program is going through some frustration and close

calls and failures,” Donahue said. “The important thing is that we don’t let back, yet we still learn from those experiences, and you get better because of it and it makes you want to persevere more mistakes or whatever to overcome it to get to victory.”

Would it be great for the Eagles to knock off a legitimate ACC (or even national) title contender in Conte Forum? Of course. Yet whether we like it or not, progress comes in increments. Competing until the game’s final minute with an NC State team that just knocked off former No. 1 Duke doesn’t provide any solace for the win column, but it’s another step closer to a stormed court at Conte. In many respects, the Eagles have already defied odds. While progress might not always translate into victories, it provides BC basketball fans and their team with a reason to believe again.

Milner 37 SV BC Henrion 1 G UVM

7 2

winston-salem 1/12 w. basketball

Jackson 23 PTS 3 STL BC Harris 29 PTS 5 reb VT

53 46

hopes for an overtime victory.

“There’s not much you can do there,” Donahue said of Hanlan’s missed opportunity. “It’s as difficult a situation you can put someone in. The game’s riding on three made foul shots, not like you’re going to win, just got to tie. I’m just so proud of him and the attitude he’s had.”

Counting Wednesday night’s heartbreaker, the Eagles have lost three conference matchups by a combined nine points.

Excruciating losses in the final seconds of play might test the perseverance of a young team like BC, but Donahue is determined to roll with the punches on the path toward building a dominant program.

“I think in all three of them, foul shooting has been an issue,” Donahue said. “Execution, not necessarily our last possession, but maybe the last two minutes of the game we just haven’t been as sharp as we need to be. I think we’re very close. I think we’re competing, and honestly I told the team this, I’ve been coaching long enough that these things kind of even out. I’ve won games like this where…we’re lucky we got out of here.

We’ll get these with this group.” 

Chestnut Hill,MaMA11/11 1/13 Boston,

M. Hockey

Skarupa 3 G 2 A BC 4 Myren 1 G CORNeL 3 blacksburg, va 1/10

w. basketball

Doherty 15 PTS 5 REB BC UGoka 21 pts 13 Reb clem

Field 1 g 2 a FuLTON 1 g Newton, MAsc 11/09 clemson, 1/13

66 zenevitch 16 pts 9 reb 43 Pettaway 10 pts 11 reb

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

A8

A10

Thursday, January 17, 2013

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013

BC drops another nail-biter to Miami Controversial foul call and one missed free throw lead to Eagle loss at home

BY CHRIS GRIMALDI Assoc. Sports Editor

Continuing a trend of last-minute thrillers against ACC rivals, the Boston College men’s basketball team battled the Miami Hurricanes 60 Miami until the last Boston College 59 half-second of regulation last night at Conte Forum. Yet, a controversial foul call, countless lead changes, and their opponent’s size advantage were too much for the Eagles to overcome in a 60-59 loss.

“I’m very proud of our effort,” said head coach Steve Donahue. “We competed, defended, executed pretty much on offense against a very good defensive team, and just came up short at the end.”

The Eagles were immediately challenged

by Miami’s looming presence around the

net, as the Hurricane’s Kenny Kadji and Julian Gamble forced defensive mismatches early on. Donahue’s squad countered with its trademark strengths—speed and athleticism.

Timely shooting from forward Ryan Anderson and hustle down the court, capitulating in a highlight-reel block from sophomore Eddie Odio on the fastbreak, allowed underdog BC to go into halftime with a 28-26 lead.

“I thought our transition baskets were really efficient,” Donahue said. “I thought we pushed it when we got stops, but it’s much harder—it’s easier to slow a team down than to speed them up. They’ve got really good size all over, so I thought we moved them, got the ball reversed, attacked, shared it, didn’t shoot it great but shot it okay, and I thought we did enough to win. It’s just a tough one to swallow.”

Yet a stop-and-go first half defined by BC’s ability to capitalize on Miami’s five turnovers and poor foul shooting gave way

to a high-tempo second frame, beginning with an impressive 3-point play from guard Olivier Hanlan. Though Miami fought back with a threatening 10-0 scoring run, a Donahue timeout prompted BC to make a run of its own. Led by 3-pointers from Patrick Heckmann and Lonnie Jackson, the Eagles scored 11 straight points to amass a 42-36 lead around the middle of the second half.

If the Eagles last couple of losses were any indication, however, any lead could be jeopardized in a game’s closing minutes—and last night was no exception. After a 14-6 run, Miami regained the lead with less than two minutes to play, and converted at the freethrow line to extend its advantage to 58-57.

The Eagles’ ensuing possession marked a grim turning point in the second half. After receiving an inbound pass with the shot clock turned off, guard Joe Rahon looked to create space between he and Miami defender Duran Scott. Although Rahon’s elbow appeared to create limited contact with Scott’s face, the refs blew the whistle and charged Rahon with a crucial offensive GRAHAM BECK / PHOTO EDITOR

See Basketball, A9

Hanlan missed the final shot of three free throws that could’ve sent the game to overtime.

Making progress is a process

Streaking The women’s hockey squad is riding a school record 17-game and 84 day unbeaten streak

BY MARLY MORGUS Asst. Sports Editor

Down by one with less than a minute to play, most teams resign themselves to a likely defeat. A net without a goaltender seems to be a gaping mouth on the far end of the ice, easily choked by the puck slipping into the wrong hands. During the regular season, the prospect of an empty net goal usually means a crushing defeat to a single game. Very rarely do the six skaters find themselves defending 80 days of work.

After facing and defeating four top-10 teams over the course of the previous two months, the Boston College women’s hockey team found themselves in that ex-

CHRIS GRIMALDI

See Frozen Four, A9

ALEX GAYNOR / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Addazio fills out staff Eight new hires refresh BC football

BY STEVEN PRINCIPI Heights Staff

DANIEL LEE / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

BC forward Johnny Gaudreau earned a gold medal with the U.S. Juniors team in Russia.

Gaudreau grabs gold in Ufa

BY PAT COYNE Heights Staff

Boston College forward Johnny Gaudreau proved once again why he is one of the most skilled offensive players in Division 1 hockey. This time, however, he did it on a world stage in Ufa, Russia.

Over winter break, Gaudreau and the rest of the United States National Junior Team, which is composed entirely of players under the age of 20, traveled to Ufa to play against the best young hockey players from around the world in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship. In his usual fashion, Gaudreau put on a show for the international

audience that was crucial to Team USA, who would ultimately win the entire tournament.

Gaudreau didn’t score his first goal until the fourth game of the tournament, when Team USA had fallen to 1-2 in competition, but once he started scoring, Team USA would never stop winning. They went 4-0 for the rest of the tournament.

Against Slovakia during group play, Gaudreau netted his first goal of the tournament, putting Team USA up 31. Then, at 15:05 of the second period, Gaudreau put home his second goal of the game, giving Team USA a 6-2 lead.

The U.S. would go on to win 9-3.

See Gaudreau, A8

Head Coach Steve Addazio has gotten right down to business in filling out his coaching staff for next season, announcing nine hires over the break. The coaching staff now looks much more complete than it did a month ago, with several key roles having been filled.

Addazio started by hiring Don Brown to be the Eagles new defensive coordinator. Brown spent the last two seasons at the same position at UConn, where his Huskies ranked No. 10 in the nation in yards allowed and No. 22 overall in scoring defense.

Brown brings an aggressive style of defense that focuses on pressuring the quarterback and attacking the line of scrimmage, areas that the Eagles were noticeably weak in last season. He will face a difficult challenge turning around a defense that allowed almost 30 points and over 450 yards per game last season.

Addazio then made official the hiring of Ryan Day as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Day had previously been the wide receivers coach for the Eagles through 2011 and spent last season as the offensive coordinator at Temple with Addazio. Day ’s offense at Temple focused on another former Eagle in

Montel Harris, who led the running attack for the Owls. Day—along with Addazio—will likely seek to reestablish some balance in their offense and lean more heavily on the running game and players like Deuce Finch and Andre Williams.

Justin Frye was the next hiring, with Addazio naming him the offensive line coach. Frye spent the last two seasons at the same position with Addazio at Temple, and will look to return the line to the form that won BC the praise of being called ‘O-Line U’ in past seasons.

The line was a main concern for the Eagles last season, but Frye’s offensive line at Temple last season blocked for the number one rushing attack in the Big East.

Bill McGovern was then named the linebacker coach, a position he has held for the past 12 seasons. He had also been the defensive coordinator for the past four, but will now be turning over those duties to Brown. McGovern has coached his share of great linebackers in recent years such as Mark Herzlich, JoLonn Dunbar, and most recently Luke Kuechly, and has a number of talented players returning next year.

Next up was Frank Leonard, who was hired as the tight ends coach after spending the 2012 season at the same position at Temple. Leonard also has some professional coaching experience, as he coached the tight ends for the St. Louis Rams from 2009-2011. The

See Football, A8

There is a timeless paradox in sports that drives even the most patient fans crazy: “progress can’t always be judged by wins and losses.” There are times when this adage inevitably holds true, especially for teams flooded with youth and lacking with depth. Despite featuring a freshman backcourt and receiving limited minutes from its team captain, the Boston College men’s basketball team has progressed—and it has begun to win.

Only a season removed from finishing in the ACC cellar, head coach Steve Donahue’s Eagles have justifiably garnered attention in the college basketball world so far this season.

First-year standouts Joe Rahon and Olivier Hanlan have each earned conference rookie of the week honors while showing the potential to catalyze this squad for years to come. Sophomore forward Ryan Anderson has made the leap from ACC All-Freshman selection to one of the league’s most prodigious scorers, averaging 16.7 points per game as a sophomore “veteran.” Beyond individual improvement, Donahue’s Eagles marched into last night’s home contest against Miami with nine victories notched in their win column, already matching last year’s season total only a couple months into the season.

“The record is obviously always important, but it’s not the critical evaluation area,” Donahue said after Tuesday’s practice, in preparation for Miami. “It’s how we’re playing, how guys are developing individually, and how we’re coming together as a team as we go further into the season.”

Though they’ve already played 17 games, the true test of BC’s season has just gotten underway. It’s no secret that the Eagles have an unenviable conference schedule, which includes two matchups with No. 3 Duke next month. A consistently competitive ACC that left the Eagles with four wins and 12 losses last season isn’t expected to relent in 2013. Yet, this is not last year’s BC squad, as the obstacles that forced captain Dennis Clifford, Anderson, and guard Lonnie Jackson to grow up quickly, have also left them prepared.

“I think you’re already seeing the fruits of our frustrations last year when we played all those young guys,” Donahue said. “You’re seeing the growth in each of the guys individually and us collectively, and we’re much better than we were last year. More prepared for the competition we will see. That being said, certain teams in this league are

See Column, A8

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

Series of the week: women’s hockey Mercyhurst looks to end the Eagles’ unbeaten streak in a top 10 matchup this weekend.....B5

Eagles prove they belong in ACC

The young BC men’s basketball team made a statement, even in its loss last night.............B6

Editors’ Picks.............................B7 BC Notes...................................B7

A2Column

Fashion Forward

Well guys need to wear something, don’t they? page B4 Star Value

Kerli KOIV

Bubble goth queen reigns supreme, page B4

The Heights

Thursday, January 17, 2013

album review

‘Manifestra’

An interesting blend of jazz, pop, and indie rock, McKeown’s new album transcends genre conventions, b5

See B3, COMEBACK KIDS

MAGGIE BURDGE / Heights PHoto illustration

THE HEIGHTS

B2

WILEY’S FOLLIES

Stokes Hall and SCENE the Jesuit Ivy

Thursday, January 17, 2013

AND HEARD

BY: JOHN WILEY

JOHN WILEY The most recognizable tool in Boston College’s architectural arsenal over the last decade has been the eraser, not the pencil.

In 1978, The Architects’ Collaborative—a Cambridge firm founded by the Bauhaus School’s Walter Gropius—was commissioned to design a library to accommodate BC’s growing student population. O’Neill Library was built and completed accordingly, in Gropius’ postwar modernist tradition. Quite regrettably, the granite monolith had all the warmth of a mausoleum. Decades later, the building remains a monument to modernist misfire, its vague, unoffending form the bastard child of a far sight and poor reach. Thankfully, the redevelopment of O’Neill Plaza has softened the library’s dimwitted facade, draping classic collegiate charm over the folds of ugly.

In a similar spirit of rectification, Stokes Hall opened this week. The building is Fulton Hall with a six pack, a more succinct stitching of the same English Gothic fabric. Its profile is handsome, but soft spoken. It’s an architectural Benjamin Button, born at an old age, with its stone facade mitigated by the wrinkles of simpler years. Essentially, Stokes Hall is an eraser mark, softening public contempt for Carney Hall and McElroy Commons as the university promptly blows away these eraser shaving structures in the years to follow. No one seems particularly weary of this unwriting of BC history. On the contrary, most people applaud the administration as it pops these abscesses, draining the pus of a dead era. And yet, what is this plague we so desperately hope to cure ourselves of?

Perhaps the clearest indication is in Stokes Hall’s lone Ivy League archway, conjoining its north and south wings.

This simple architectural nod screams louder than the building’s $88 million stature, and there’s a richness its marbledecked interior can only dream of exuding. While most features of the building only mirror what has been, this feature is entirely unique on our campus. It’s the reclaiming of a phrase John F. Kennedy charged the University with in his 1956 commencement address: the “Jesuit Ivy.” How now can we revile our tradition of servitude to the Irish working class of Boston? How now can we dislodge the stones we were built upon, and rebuild ourselves from the ground up, just as we rebuilt Gasson Hall? Saint Mary’s is crumbling. The backbone of a simple Jesuit institution in Chestnut Hill, MA is broken under the weight of everything it promises to be. Stokes Hall is more than just a palace for the humanities; it’s the first vertebrae of the new BC. I am not suggesting the secularization of what 150 years has claimed divine, but rather a brave expansion of a Jesuit institution.

BC can only be made master through its servitude to higher education.

This is why O’Neill Library feels wrong. It refused to conform to the past, but then allowed itself to be subdued by it. It’s the hard face of the modernity, bereaved of any brilliance. Stokes Hall, on the contrary, heavily conforms to the distant past, while unrooting the nearer one. It anchors our university to the unrealized potential Kennedy spoke of in 1956.

So how then can BC become the Jesuit Ivy? We must step forward bravely through the next decades. The era of merely building in a manner that hopes to better frame Gasson Hall has expired.

Our university must adopt a new language of iconic architecture, just as MIT did with Frank Gehry’s Ray and Maria Strata Center in 2004.

BC is unsure whether to continue posing as a small liberal arts college or admit itself to be a large research institution—it buries this insecurity under its thick stone facades. However, the only way we can truly sort out our identity is to take up the pencil and draw something bold with it. The exuberant spirit of expansion on campus can be the means BC is looking for to articulate its position as the Jesuit Ivy. It’s an opportunity to substantially decrease class sizes, create the research facilities necessary to begin growing the endowment, and embrace a contemporary design language to reposition the Jesuit tradition at the forefront of higher education. All we need is far sight and long reach.

John Wiley is the Assistant Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

1. “AND THE WINNER IS...”

The 70th Golden Globe Awards aired Sunday, and was hosted by BC alumna Amy Poehler and her former SNL co-star Tina Fey. Highlights include former President Bill Clinton introducing Lincoln and Jodi Foster making a heartfelt speech about her sexuality.

The big winners were Argo and Les Miserables, the former winning Best Motion Picture (drama) and Best Director, the latter winning Best Motion Picture (comedy/musical) and two acting awards.

2. ‘IDOL’ RETURNS Last night, American Idol kicked off its 12th season with a fresh face, a front against declining ratings.

Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban, and veteran Randy Jackson make this season’s panel an eclectic mix aimed to diversify the show’s talent pool. Idol remains the most popular reality show, but suffers from a universal drop in ratings for talent competitions. Idol airs Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m.

4.KNEW HE WAS TROUBLE As always, it’s been a rough breakup for Taylor Swift. Her latest stint with One Direction heart throb Harry Styles ended abruptly last week, after capturing the public eye New Years Eve, when the pop star was seen kissing Styles in Times Square. Swift, iconic for her breakup songs, is rumored to have already returned to the studio. Taylor Swift’s impressive list of suitors includes Joe Jonas, Lucas Till, Taylor Lautner, John Mayer, Cory Monteith, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zac Efron, Eddie Redmayne, and Conor Kennedy. Her single “I Knew You Were Trouble” is currently ranked third on the Billboard’s Hot 100.

3. OBAMA’S GUN PROPOSAL

5. COMMANDO IN CHIEF

Following the massacre in Newtown, Conn. last month, President Obama is expected to propose extended background checks on those purchasing firearms as well as a ban on the purchase of high-capacity magazines and assault weapons.

The prospect of such reform has drawn criticism from the National Rifle Association, which suggested gun-free school zones and the lack of armed guards at educational facilities were responsible for the shooting. Businessweek projects over 32,000 gun deaths in the US this year.

In a Dateline interview, weatherman Al Roker revealed that following his 2002 gastric bypass surgery, breaking winds led to unexpected showers before a White House press conference. “I pooped my pants. Not horribly, but I knew,” he admitted. After disposing of his soiled undergarments, Roker proceeded to attend the White House press conference “commando.” He is currently promoting his book Never Goin’ Back, based on his successful loss of 160 pounds.

THE CRITICAL CURMUDGEON

@RAINNWILSON (RAINN WILSON, ACTOR/ COMEDIAN)

“ZERO DARK THIRTY WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF USAMA BIN LADEN HAD BEEN DRESSED LIKE ‘WALDO.’” PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE

From “Macarena” to “Gangam Style,” eccentric dances take the pop scene by storm, but they prove more embarassing than enduring.

Dance crazes? Well, call me skeptical MATT MAZZARI Hooray for the New Year! 2013 has already waddled its way in, laden with promise concerning these next 11 and a half crazy months. For instance, former Black-Eyed Pea and tireless opponent of capitalization will.i.am”promises to release his next studio album in February with the Twitter-friendly title #will.i.am, which might be considered a clever marketing ploy if you’re someone who microwaves his silverware to dry it off. But before we look ahead at the sprawling potential of this year, let’s take a brief glimpse into the past. Last year marked the release of Bruce Springsteen’s first album since Clarence Clemons’ death, Wrecking Ball, as well as Bob Dylan’s latest, Tempest, which was actually quite good. The second LP from Mumford & Sons, Babel, was still competing for popularity in September with Fun.’s release of Some Nights early in the year. Bieber and Minaj continued to exert hegemonic sway over the pop scene, until Canadian newcomer Carly Rae Jepsen blasted records and eardrums alike with “Call Me Maybe.” Casting a long, black, gyrating shadow over all of this, however, was PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” which will be remembered fondly as our generation’s “Macarena.”

On the subject of that Korean sensation, it might be time to address a pattern in the music industry that’s existed since the Mashed Potato and long before. I’m

talking about the quote-unquote “dance” tunes that will grab a nation in a headlock for months, frequently accompanying the most insipid music in pop with a new, unholy modification of the Twist. Every few years, a song comes along that defies the standard hands-by-the-hips shuffle with its own brand of boogie intended to make you look like an utter idiot, damned if you do it or don’t.

It’s always amusing to watch the awkward, wobbly dancing that happens in a white-bread early ’60s music video, particularly that one nutcase jitterbugging it up while his date admires what a hepcat she’s hooked. It’s all laughably out of style … that is, until you remember that there were people who did the “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)” dance un-ironically as late as 2008.

It’s my belief that dance culture isn’t getting any more complicated, cool, or edgy. As music fashion changes in its speed-of-light blur, one constant still remains: obnoxiously at the foreground of every music movement, a trendy song in some pop sub-genre will dominate the airwaves and demand that people learn its dance routine. If anything, “Gangnam Style” proved to America that the Western world is still not above pretending to ride an invisible horse if you drop the appropriate amount of bass and synth.

A good way to understand a genre is to investigate the way its fans cut a rug.

A ska concert will be distinguished by at least some degree of “skanking,” a jerky,

uncoordinated method performed with both arms locked: this validates the hell-ifI-care personality of ska, a punk offshoot populated by people who are quirky and image-unconscious. Bystanders at a metal concert will usually form what’s known as a “mosh-pit”, an animalistic ritual where long haired teens head-bang, elbow, and flail themselves around until someone is seriously injured: this confirms the dark, violent, nature of the music, as well as the fact that metal-heads do not know what fun is. Live house music generally encourages simplified, quick-tempo versions of hip-hop steps like “skating,” “jacking,” “wacking,” and “voguing”: the mindset of these moves compliments the reductive, stylized tone of minimalist, single DJ beats. Fun fact: a house music concert is really the only public place left where you can go “jacking” and “wacking” without attracting the attention of the local police.

It’s easy to make fun of, but amateur dancing has been a vital part of music literally forever, and newer, goofier techniques will never fail to crop up. What does your dance say about your taste?

What will it say about our generation, when our kids look up our music videos on their hydro-powered mini-tablets?

Only time can tell.

Spoiler alert: we’re going to look like friggin’ idiots.

Matt Mazzari is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

@OHNOSHETWITNT (OHNO$HETWITNT, HUMOR)

“TAYLOR SWIFT SHOULD INTERRUPT KIM KARDASHIAN’S CHILDBIRTH WITH A NEW BREAKUP SONG.” @JIMMYFALLON (JIMMY FALLON, ‘COMMUNITY’)

“LANCE ARMSTRONG WILL SIT FOR 90-MINUTE TALK WITH OPRAH. THOUGH IT’LL BE KIND OF SUSPICIOUS WHEN HE FINISHES IN JUST 60 MINUTES. #FALLONMONO @STEPHENATHOME (STEPHEN COLBERT, ‘THE COLBERT REPORT’)

“CROWDS GATHERED IN FRANCE TO PROTEST GAY MARRIAGE. THEY BELIEVE MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, AND ANY NUMBER OF MISTRESSES.”

SUBMIT YOUR FAVORITE TWEETS OF THE WEEK FOR CONSIDERATION AT ARTSEDITORS11@GMAIL.COM.

The Heights

Thursday, January 17, 2013

B3

Backstreet Boys

Though the best selling boy band in history never really did leave, there’s no denying the fact that, since 2005, BSB has been sort of “incomplete.”

After their fifth record, Never Gone, band mate Keith Richardson left the group. They released two albums, Unbreakable and This is Us, and even went on tour without him, but as a quartet, BSB wasn’t truly able to live up to the success of their late ’90s release Millennium. This past summer, though, the band announced on Good Morning America that not only was Richardson rejoining BSB, but that also they were all together in the studio recording their seventh album, set for release sometime this year. With only a new holiday song, “It’s Christmas Time Again,” and the hope of another “I Want It That Way” hit to cling to, fans will just have to wait to see what BSB has in store to celebrate the history of their incredible 20-year career. - A.I.

Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac has been around the block a few times. The British-American group was originally formed in 1967, and in the decades following has been held together by the steady presence of drummer Mick Fleetwood. But its most iconic member is surely Stevie Nicks, the blonde chanteuse who joined in 1974 and whose songwriting and vocal abilities elevated their 1977 LP Rumours to classic status. Mac fans can look forward to a reunion tour in 2013, beginning April 4 and spanning 34 cities across America. One of the band’s most famous songs urges, “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow,” and the group’s continued longevity proves that they never have. - S.K.

Beach Boys

When the remaining Beach Boys announced that they were reuniting in 2012 for a 50th anniversary reunion tour and a new album, it was a little too easy to be skeptical about the prospect: what were these 70-year-old men doing still pretending to be boys? But the sheer pop exuberance of their single “That’s Why God Made the Radio” was enough to dispel any cynics’ doubts. The Beach Boys’ resurgence reminds us that there may be no better harmonies in the history of pop music. Their innovative 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds is the best example, but their wildly successful 2012 tour and latest album prove that their vocal capabilities have held up amazingly well. Suddenly the words “Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older” took on a wonderful new resonance. - S. K.

Spice Girls

For those of us who grew up during the ’90s, it’s nearly impossible to think of the decade without hearing the infectious hooks of the Spice Girls bouncing around our heads. With hits like “Wannabe” and “Spice Up Your Life,” the group ruled the airwaves, and they even made a brief foray into movies with Spice World. The Girls seem to be at it again 12 years after they first broke up (and four years after a brief reunion tour). A performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics in August lit up the Twittersphere, and in December the ladies reunited again, promoting their London musical Viva Forever and appearing in a documentary about the band’s history. With such tantalizing brief appearances this past year, fans are hungry for more—perhaps 2013 will hold more surprises for Posh, Baby, Scary, Ginger, and Sporty. - S.K.

e m Co

s d i k k b ac

& gle, “Suit in s w e n t ase of his onths, or are se le e r t n e ew m e rec t with th ivity in the past f c a f is h t oduct ing on e is bank resurgence in pr k la r e b ed a in Tim ack . Just spread have stag b e m o c this a good lighted in ew again. f ying as h is t ig a h s s s t a is n artis quite 10 of the at ever ything old nothing ll ’s e A r . e s h u t t , usic ve th al hia In pop m x years of music ogether, they pro i .T rs Tie,” afte omeback in 2013 50 Cent c a The name “50 Cent” is Curtis Jackson’s for such

metaphor for what his music aims to represent: change. On the September 2007 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, Jackson rather fatefully appeared alongside rival Kanye West, the title reading “The Showdown: Who Will Be The King of Hip-hop?” Both artists released albums on the same day—West’s Graduation sold 2.2 million copies, while 50 Cent’s Curtis sold shy of 700,000. Quite ironically, 50 Cent’s career was seemingly derailed by the change he believed himself to represent. Confronted with mixed critical reception and mediocre sales in the years to follow, Jackson has declared the hip-hop industry “confusing.” He hopes to reclaim his title this February, however, with the release of Street King Immortal, his fifth studio album. With confirmed collaborations with artists such as Adam Levine, Akon, Alicia Keys, Dr. Dre and Wiz Khalifa, the album marks a possible comeback of the 37-year-old rapper, known best for his 2002 single “In Da Club.” - J.W.

David Bowie

After a decade away from music, David Bowie left little hope for his release of another album. However, this March he plans to do just that with The Next Day, his 28th studio album, announcing his return early this week. The lead single off the album, “Where Are We Now,” is a look back on his career, a funk-driven ballad much in the spirit of his 1977 single “Heroes.” Longtime producer and friend Tony Visconti promised the 17-track album to have a good number of “rockers” on it, mixed with “funky, mid-tempo songs” in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine. David Bowie has a history as a musical chameleon, changing his sound to match the decade, and although the extent of its divergence is unclear, The Next Day is slated to again refine Bowie’s sound.

The once androgynous, sexual revolutionary has since married Somalian model Iman, and with a 13-year-old daughter, now invests most his time in family life, with occasional stints in acting. Bowie is 66 years old. - J.W.

Destiny’s Child

Though the success of the trio’s individual members overshadows the impact of their mutual efforts, it’s important to remember that Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams were first Destiny’s Child. Despite the fact that a series of name changes preceded their self-titled debut in 1998, and a succession of member transitions influenced their next release in 1999, the popularity of Writing on the Wall enabled the R&B girl group to leave an indelible mark on the music culture of the past decade. Survivor and Destiny Fulfilled—which included a number of chart-topping singles—were released before their disbandment in 2006, and now, seven years later, they are reuniting to promote Love Songs, a compilation of their greatest hits. Though it’s true that the record includes “Nuclear,” a new song, and that Rowland and Williams are set to sing alongside Beyonce for her Super Bowl performance, it is, indeed, still questionable whether an actual reunion really does lie in their future. -A.I.

The Rolling Stones

Justin Timberlake

This week, Justin Timberlake officially ended his six-year hiatus from music with the release of “Suit & Tie,” a single produced by longtime musical partner Timbaland and featuring a verse from Jay-Z. The single proves the 31-year-old pop star has not lost his falsetto, but more importantly, it preludes the release of The 20/20 Experience, a musical project Timberlake describes as “the best time I’ve had in my career” in an open letter to fans. The former member of ’N Sync released two celebrated solo records before refocusing his career on acting, starring in films such as The Social Network, Friends with Benefits and Bad Teacher, and making several iconic appearances on Saturday Night Live. In describing his unexpected return to music, Timberlake explained, “I don’t want to put anything out that I feel like is anything I don’t love. You just don’t get that every day. You have to wait for it—I’m ready.” - J.W.

2012 marked the 50th anniversary of the Stones’ formation, and they celebrated the occasion in all sorts of ways. The new compilation album GRRR! was only the beginning, with the band making an energetic appearance at the 12/12/12 Sandy benefit concert and performing several reunion shows in London and New York. They also debuted two new singles, “Doom and Gloom” and “One More Shot.” The former was especially powerful, with ferocious guitar riffs and dizzying lyrics that make room for topical political commentary and surreal visions of a zombie apocalypse. The accompanying video, featuring actress Noomi Rapace playing dress-up and dancing to the band’s signature sounds, only helps to show what the Stones have proved once again this year: they can still make killer rock and roll. - S.K.

No Doubt

Characterized by their unique blend of ska, pop, reggae, punk, and rock, No Doubt was formed in 1986. Their first album, No Doubt, was received with little enthusiasm because its upbeat sound contrasted sharply with the grunge movement that was so prevalent throughout the ’90s. However, the group garnered a much more significant following with the release of The Beacon Street Collection and Tragic Kingdom. After achieving mainstream success with songs such as “Just a Girl,” “Don’t Speak,” and “Spiderwebs,” No Doubt recorded their last two records before a decade long hiatus, during which lead singer, Gwen Stefani, focused on her solo work. They joined together to tour in 2009, but it wasn’t until this past September that No Doubt finally released their sixth album, Push and Shove. Clearly, their status was uncertain for a time, but with a new album in their recent past, there’s no doubt that the group is back, at least for now. -A.I.

THE HEIGHTS

B4

Thursday, January 17, 2013

KEELEY’S CORNER

STAR VALUE BY LUIZA JUSTUS

Freedom, Kerli intrigues with pop and ‘Bubble Goth’ aesthetic through law and vengeance WHO: Kerli Koiv (aka Kerli)

BORN: February 7, 1987 (Age 25) WHERE: Elva, Estonia

WHAT: Increasnigly popular pop singer, notable for innovative blend of goth and pop sounds and styles

Just when we thought there were no more music genres left to be invented, the world of popular culture gets hit by a very young, platinum blonde phenomenon named Kerli. This odd-looking, pixielike singer is completely foreign, not only in nature, but in musical style.

Kerli was born and raised in Estonia, a small country in eastern Europe that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. After participating in several musical contests throughout Europe, she was finally signed to The Island Def Jam Music Group in 2006, and her renown has increased ever since. The genre of her music has instigated a noteworthy amount of confusion, for it does sound a bit like pop, but it has a dark and eerie component to it that makes it strive from what is commonly heard on standard airwaves. She gave it a name, and one that completely matches the gothicyet-adorable outfits she wears in her sinister music videos: Bubble Goth. In the lyrics of her most famous song, “Walking On Air,” Kerli describes herself pretty well: “Little creepy girl with her little creepy face saying funny things you have never heard.” With her Alice in Wonderland-esque style and very catchy music, Kerli is definitely a rising star to stay on the lookout for.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

FASHION FORWARD

Keeping it classy for Internship Fair Men should dress to impress as they enter the real world

ELIAS RODRIGUEZ It’s a new year, and that can only mean one thing: resolutions—goals we set for ourselves to achieve the best versions of us. They usually revolve around our bodies (eating healthier, exercising more, etc.), but what about what we put on our bodies? After all, shouldn’t the frame match the picture? Sure, that’s easier said than done, especially when one has to worry about upcoming essays and exams during the semester, yet a little effort goes a long way.

College is the gateway between high school and the real world—a place where the majority of Boston College students will eventually occupy highly ranked and recognized positions (sooner or later), so why wait? It’s not a good idea to get comfortable with sweats (“Under Armour is considered business attire”—said no one ever) however convenient they might be when rushing out the door for that class in Carney.

With the Internship Fair just around the corner, it’s the ideal time to start considering how what you wear shows how much you care. Of course, your resume is more important than your raiment, but if you show up looking like you’ve just left the gym, it is unlikely that potential employers will get past your ensemble and on to your eligibility. Smiles and handshakes matter, and so does how you present yourself, so avoid sluggish and go for sharp.

The convenient thing about business wear is that it’s classic, so it’s easy. A suit (preferably black, navy, or gray), white dress shirt and solid tie will do. That’s the thing about elegance—it’s simple.

But because the fair takes place in the morning, afternoon, and early evening over the course of two days it gives you room to play around with your attire. For those looking to spice things up a bit, there are a few options that can be taken into account.

Those who are attending in the morning/midday/ afternoon can opt for plaid, a pattern seen trending on the runways in the most recent Milan Fashion Week. The collections of John Varvatos, Versace, Jil Sander, and Moncler Gamme Bleu all featured different kinds of the pattern—so don’t hesitate to

incorporate it into your ensemble. Pairing a plaid tie with a solid jacket or vice versa can allow you to stand out, yet look appropriate for the occasion. It doesn’t have to be a plaid suit (this has only been pulled off by the greats e.g. Steve McQueen)—pairing a patterned jacket with solid pants works just fine. If the companies you’re applying to approach business less formally than others, this is definitely an option. Other items seen trending on the runways (Dsquared2, Gucci, Bottega Veneta) were double-breasted jackets, which could definitely make you memorable. If you are not keen on taking risks, the initially mentioned suit, white dress shirt and tie combo is a safe, yet timeless and classic choice. One way of taking this getup to the next level is by adding a tie clip and/or cufflinks. Just make sure that, if you’re going to wear both, whatever color they are (gold, silver, etc.), they should match.

Speaking of things that should match, so should your shoes and belt. Whether black or brown, make sure that they both are the same color, or at least similar tones. Whatever your choice, the important thing is that they are more formal than casual—a suit and Sperrys does not work (not on this planet, anyway). A good thing to remember is that when it comes to menswear, the rule—or, at least, the guideline—is that after 6 p.m. it is strictly black shoes, for the sake of formality, which in turn means a black belt.

Like your belt and shoes, your socks should match your pants. For example gray pants with gray socks. The only forbidden color is white—particularly white gym socks. It’s an atrocity, but I’ve seen people wear them with a suit. When it comes to formalwear, wearing white socks is worse than no socks, a look the Milanese sport well in warmer weather (not the current state of affairs, but something to keep in mind come spring).

Make sure that your jacket or suit is as best fitted as possible: that it hugs your shoulders; that your sleeves end at your wrists, and the cuff of your pants at the top of your shoes. Fit is fundamental.

Too big is just as bad as too small. Most drycleaners offer tailoring services, so if you must, pay them a quick visit.

Whatever you wear come the fair, do it with confidence. It can take a suit from a Zara to a Zegna, and a man from an applicant to an associate. If doubtful, go for classic—nothing makes us men feel more self-assured than a well-tailored suit.

Elias Rodriguez is a columnist for The Heights.

He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

Though BC students’ first instincts may be to throw on their Sperrys and Under Armour, events like the Internship Fair demand a more thoughtfully crafted, professional ensemble to impress potential employers.

THIS WEEKEND in arts

BY: ARIANA IGNERI | ASSOCIATE ARTS & REVIEW EDITOR

Friday 1. BROKEN CITY (FRIDAY 1/19)

An action-packed crime drama, Broken City, stars Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe, and opens this Friday. The movie involves an ex-cop and a city mayor in a scandal that explores the ever-thinning line between justice and injustice.

2. AUGUSTANA ACOUSTIC CONCERT AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB (FRIDAY, 1/19 7:00PM) Known most widely for their melancholy, pop-rock hit, “Boston,” Augustana is playing a completely acoustic, stripped-down show this Friday at the Paradise Rock Club with Lauren Shera.

Saturday

3. THE BOSTON FESTIVAL OF FILMS FROM IRAN: RHINO SEASON (SATURDAY, 1/20 7:00PM) Rhino Season, a poignant story of love and loss, is the first installment of the Museum of Fine Art’s annual Iranian Film Festival. Screened in Farsi with English subtitles, it offers viewers a unique opportunity to experience, reflect upon, and celebrate the diversity of Persian culture.

Sunday

4. ANGLE OF REPOSE: A PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION BY PROFESSOR TONI PEPE DAN (FRIDAY-SUNDAY) Professor Toni Pepe Dan’s photography exhibit is rounding out its last weekend on display in the third level O’Neill Library Exhibit. A striking collection of pictures, her exhibit delves thematically into elements such as absence and presence as well as into ideas such as memory and decay.

5. DOWNTON ABBEY (SUNDAY 9:00 AND 10:00PM) A British period drama centering on the ornately lavish and shockingly scandalous lives of the aristocratic Crawley family, Downton Abbey is airing its third episode of season three this Sunday on Masterpiece Classics.

SEAN KEELEY How do you make entertainment out of a subject as loaded as American slavery? It’s a question that has haunted cinema since its very beginnings. D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation is widely acknowledged as one of the most technically innovative movies ever made, with its epic scale and thrilling use of intercutting forever changing the nature of narrative filmmaking. It is also notoriously racist, with a portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force uniting the nation against belligerent, sexually predatory blacks. Even in the less-enlightened times of 1915, the movie proved so controversial that Griffith spent the rest of his career atoning for it with liberal-minded films like Intolerance, the inter-racial romance Broken Blossoms and an Abraham Lincoln biopic.

Nearly a century later, the debate about how to treat the subject seems no less settled than it was in Griffith’s day. Lincoln and Django Unchained have both garnered substantial critical praise and Oscar nominations, but they’ve also drawn the ire of a vocal minority for inappropriately dealing with the subject.

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln has been accused of being a mythic simplification of history, a hero-worshipping portrait of Lincoln that has little sense of the black experience or the realities of war. Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino’s provocative slavery revenge fantasy, has drawn far more controversy with accusations of irreverence, immaturity, and racism. The director Spike Lee, who has scuffled with Tarantino in the past, passed judgment on Twitter, saying “American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust.”

Lee is right, of course—but that doesn’t make Django Unchained an illegitimate way of treating the subject. If Lee actually bothered to see the movie, he might be surprised to find that amid all the gleeful carnage and genre movie references is a pretty serious movie about the injustice of slavery. But I wouldn’t count on it. Like so many other critics of Django and Lincoln, Lee sees the movie through a politically correct filter that allows him to criticize it for what it isn’t rather than appreciating it for what it is.

What, then, do these movies have to offer? To my eyes, they are two seriously shrewd, diametrically opposed but weirdly complementary movies about America’s most horrific legacy. How do you confront the evils of slavery? In Lincoln, the answer is through legal procedures, political arm-twisting, and above all, compromise. In Django Unchained, compromise is rejected: as so often in Tarantino’s movies, justice must ultimately come through bloodletting.

Of course, slavery was ultimately abolished through a combination of these two factors: the 13th Amendment made it official, but only after the deaths of 750,000 Americans. Lincoln dramatizes the first half of this equation, and what impresses me above all about the movie is its singular focus.

Despite all appearances, Lincoln is not your typical bloated biopic: it is tightly confined, in subject and mood. It rarely leaves the claustrophobic, musty setting of the 1865 White House, and what emerges from the movie’s exquisitely written and acted scenes of political maneuvering is a great movie about the political process—about achieving a noble end through decidedly imperfect means. Yet, toward the end, Spielberg reminds us of the larger picture. For a movie dominated by talk, Lincoln’s most haunting scene is a silent one, as Lincoln sadly tours the carnage of a battlefield, surveying the tragic human cost needed to make the legislation a reality.

Django Unchained is about vigorously rejecting compromise: its climax turns on the refusal to shake hands with an evil slaver, initiating a massive bloodbath. The last half hour of the movie, in which Django enacts his revenge, showcases Tarantino’s penchant for comically over-the-top violence, and it’s as hilariously campy and ridiculous as anything he’s done. But crucially, Django never trivializes the violence doled out to slaves. Those moments are deadly serious and repulsive, and the movie has a strong empathy for the slave characters. The movie’s final shootout is so wonderfully cathartic because it’s been built upon such horrific images, so that every killing seems justified. The movie is like a hallucinatory trip into Tarantino’s mind, in which moral outrage is channeled into merciless revenge, western-style. Or, to borrow from Tarantino’s own oeuvre, the movie is the ultimate embodiment of that fake Ezekiel quote from Pulp Fiction, showing that the only response to the greatest evils are great vengeance and furious anger.

Spielberg has made a respectable, Oscarfriendly movie—Tarantino, not so much. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lincoln wins Best Picture, nor would I be disappointed. But in the spirit of compromise, I propose a new category. If ever there were a Best Double Feature of 2012, this is surely it.

Sean Keeley is the Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 17, 2013

B5

‘Fade’ is commendable for its modesty and meaning

CHART TOPPERS TOP SINGLES

BY ALLAN GUZMAN For The Heights If Hoboken, New Jersey indie rock band Yo La Tengo sounds unfamiliar to you, it’s not your fault.

The group has eluded the mainstream musical atmosphere for much of its nearly 30-year career, while at the same time garnering a loyal cult fan base.

During this time, Yo La Tengo has quietly released 13 studio albums, complemented by a slew of separate recordings (the band is notorious for its collection of cover songs). This week marks the release of their latest LP, Fade, a 45-minute offering of layered, pensive tracks that tackle the themes of emotions and aging.

The backbone of the group consists of guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan and his wife, Georgia Hubley, on percussion and vocals. Assisting the couple is bassist James McNew. While small, the band can hardly be considered short of staff—the trio capably makes honest and deep music with the skill of any talented five-piece band.

Fade’s sound is a blend of bright and clean melodies accompanied by fuzzy, droning rhythms in the background. Heavily distorted guitars and synthesizers make up the brunt of this noise. Except it isn’t really noise, as it provides a certain robustness to the songs,

one that helps mold the band’s musical identity.

Fade starts out loud and lively.

The almost seven-minute opening track, “Ohm,” is arguably the most chipper in the album, putting the “rock” in indie rock. Imagine jogging through a field on a sunny day.

“Ohm” sounds exactly like what you’d hear while running through dirt trails with the heat gently beating down your head.

Other short and sweet numbers include “Well You Better”—with Kaplan caressing the microphone while a peppy guitar/synth combo wrap the song in a catchy aura— and “Paddle Forward,” a driving tune that’s perfect to listen to while riding in the car with the top down.

Fade shows its muted versatility in tracks like “Is That Enough,” adding color to the fuzzy feedback with a string section that’s just plain pleasant. “I’ll Be Around,” a lovely acoustic song where Kaplan’s whispery lyrics struggle to leave his mouth, strips the record of all the noise.

Halfway through the record, both the speed and the decibels begin to dwindle, giving way to the softer and more reflective half of the album. “Cornelia and Jane” puts Hubley in the spotlight, as her careful voice graces listeners’ ears over a subtle, perpetual bass line.

Fade requires multiple listens to

1 Locked Out Of Heaven Bruno Mars 2 Diamonds Rihanna 3 I Knew You Were Trouble Taylor Swift 4 Ho Hey The Lumineers 5 Thrift Shop Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis Feat. Wanz 6 Home Phillip Phillips 7 Beauty And A Beat Justin Bieber Feat.

Nicki Minaj

FADE YO LA TENGO PRODUCED BY MATADOR RECORDS RELEASED JAN. 15, 2013 OUR RATING B+

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATADOR RECORDS

Even after a fairly lengthy musical career, Yo La Tengo’s ‘Fade’ is an achievement that is both fresh and new. fully appreciate. Its first impression is that of a short, well-done record, but there’s more to discover here.

It’s after a couple of run-throughs that one begins to appreciate all the small details—guitar melodies here, bass lines there, a particularly meaningful lyric in every song.

It’s easy to mistake Yo La Tengo as one of the myriad young bands attempting to make waves in the

indie rock scene. This is a compliment, however, because it serves as proof that the group has hardly aged. At the same time, it’s apparent that, after nearly three decades of music, Yo La Tengo have settled down and produced an album that is more refined and restrained than their previous efforts. Fade is not the type of record that requires pages of praise. It’s a modest and

pleasant LP by a band that has cemented its place among its genre’s elite. What’s more, it has accomplished this without elaborate or raucous fanfare, which truly speaks to the band and its music’s personality.

It appears that, despite passing through musical middle age, Yo La Tengo is not ready to fade away just yet. 

TOP ALBUMS

1 Les Miserables Original Soundtrack Original Soundtrack 2 Babel Mumford & Sons 3 Red Taylor Swift 4 The World From The Side Of The Moon Phillip Phillips

Source: Billboard.com

A$AP Rocky ascends the ranks on debut ‘Long.Live.A$AP’

BY BRENNAN CARLEY Heights Senior Staff Much has been said about the state of New York hip-hop over the past decade, as Big Apple legacy acts like Nas and Jay-Z seem more interested in cashing in than creating iconic

art. While Harlem based rapper A$AP Rocky doesn’t quite solve the problem on his debut album Long.Live.A$AP, he instead tilts the genre in a new direction, incorporating a world of styles that makes the disc more Times Square than Crown Heights.

In late 2011, the mixtape Live.Love.

A$AP established the rapper as one to watch. Singles like “Peso” signaled the arrival of an unparalleled level of indie-rap production. It sounded like the city wrapped up in a neat package, but here, Rocky appears discontent to allow himself to be boxed in by his roots. Stepping behind the production

LONG.LIVE.A$AP A$AP ROCKY PRODUCED BY RCA RECORDS RELEASED JAN. 15, 2013 OUR RATING A

PHOTO COURTESY OF RCA

A vanguard in his genre, A$AP Rocky distinguishes himself from other rappers with his ambituous, diverse record.

decks on a few numbers—some of the album’s most coherent, explosive joints—he confirms a conversion from rapper to artist.

Several singles have been floating around the internet for months, like the Hit-Boy produced “Goldie” and recent smash single “F—ing Problems,” a pop-rap effort complete with cameos from Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz. These songs do little to demonstrate the Pretty Flacko’s talent as a lyricist. They’ll draw in new fans for the former indie, now Top-40 superstar, but they lose their sheen in the album’s grand scheme.

Thunder crackles as Rocky jumpstarts the album on “Long Live A$AP,” rapping confidently “I thought I’d prolly die in prison / expensive taste in women / ain’t had no pot to piss in / now my kitchen full of dishes.” Meanwhile, Instagram addicted hashtaggers are bound to go wild for “1 Train,” a posse cut in which each rapper seems to think he’s participating in some sort of Hunger Games type competition, all trying to outdo the others. While Rocky holds his own, highlights on the blinking track include the nineties-minded New York teen Joey

Bada$$, former meth addict turned Detroit icon Danny Brown, proudly overweight Jewish Brooklynite Action Bronson, and Georgia flash-spitter Yelawolf. It’s old school meets new school in a classic battle that explodes from its overabundance of egos.

The album’s real highlights are Rocky’s solo cuts. “LVL” crackles with previously unseen lyrical depth— laced with beats by Clams Casino—as Rocky ruminates about fame in a digital age. “Introduce you n—as to the new swag / n—as say a n—a blew up too fast,” he rhymes, exorcising some real demons in four short minutes.

“Fashion Killa” celebrates the intermingling of the musical and clothing worlds, while “Phoenix” remembers a fall from personal glory. Meanwhile, deep cuts like “Jodye” and “Angels” are dark diamonds in the rough that also outline rough patches in the erstwhile flashy rapper’s history.

Rocky lends some fellow hip-hop heads a verse or two on the album, calling up Schoolboy Q, Gunplay, and A$AP Ferg from the minors, but the disc’s most interesting guest appearances result from two very incongruous stars. On “Wild For The

Night,” a deep-voiced Rocky intones “middle finger to the critics / me and my n—a Skrillex / you know we finna kill it / A$AP / we the trillest” on top of drunken dubstep produced by the Canadian superstar. It’s a brash standout that some may label as selling out, but it’s hard to read the track as anything other than Rocky exhibiting his creativity and trying something that is, at turns, mildly revelatory. Meanwhile, on the bonus track “I Come Apart,” Florence Welch joins the swagged-out celeb on a rather lovely duet.

What sets Rocky apart from all other rappers is his ambition. On Long.Live.A$AP, the rapper refuses to shy from a challenge. He raps, he sings, he auto-tunes, and he produces.

He invites in whatever guests make him happy, even if it might not make sense on paper. He reaches inward and boasts outwardly at the flip of a hat. He travels to New Orleans for a dash of ratchet and even mines the west coast for some chillwave. A true trendsetter, Rocky represents a new breed of rapper—self-assured but vulnerable, indie with an eye on pop.

Industry dominance is in sight. Long live the new king. 

Musically and lyrically unique, ‘Manifestra’ asserts independence

BY ARIANA IGNERI Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Classified as a folk artist, Erin McKeown is, actually, by no means so easily explicable. The musical artistry on McKeown’s seventh and latest release, Manifestra, is equally as autonomous as the artist is herself. She is bound neither by commercial, stylistic trends nor by confining classes of genre because she writes, records, and produces her work entirely on her own, making her a genuine independent in the music industry.

Manifestra is innovative both musically and lyrically. With a curious and adventurous spirit, McKeown blends folk, pop, rock, blues, and jazz elements to craft a record that is unique in its form, but entirely cohesive in its nature. The singer-songwriter approaches her lyrics with a similar attitude. Thus, Manifestra consistently finds McKeown philosophically and politically criticizing society with her sarcastic wit. Together, both the melodic and lyrical components of her songs complement each other, for while the former is polished and smooth, the latter is brazen and sharp.

But both are wholly unique. The result is a record that is perfectly balanced and brilliantly unpredictable.

McKeown utilizes her lyrical voice as a voice of commentary most effectively in songs such as “The Politician,” “The Jailor,” and “Baghdad to the Bayou.” For example, in “The Politician” her bluesy vocals spit biting lines like, “If nobody knows, tell me what’s the crime? / Between me and God, tell me what’s the crime?” as she questions corruption and political injustice. Soulful and rhythmic, “The Jailer” allows McKeown to deliver a similarly razor sharp message of audacious sovereignty, as she taunts, “You can’t keep us out.” Manifestra’s closing track, however, is the most politically influenced. Co-written by Rachel Maddow from MSNBC, the song, with its classic, New Orleans jazz vibe centers on the Deepwater Horizon disaster of the Gulf Coast.

Aspects of Manifestra, such as the jazz structures in the former song, make McKeown’s music incredibly singular, and though these idiosyncratic experimentations generally work in her favor, there are times when her efforts actually seem to be too

contrived. The basic, driving riff and jamming sax solo of “Manifestra,” for example, work, but in the song, she employs a sing-talk method that just comes off awkward. Though poetic, the sliding cadence of her vocals is apparently forced. The musical risks McKeown takes in “That’s Just What Happened,” however, are entirely successful. The track could easily be taken as two separate pieces: the first sultry and brooding and the second jaunty and romping. Swinging back and forth between its two different identities, it is enigmatically captivating.

McKeown even manages to entrance her listeners with her more traditionally arranged songs, such as “Delight/Divide” and “Proof.” Basic and delicate, “Delight/Divide” is quite reminiscent of Regina Spektor’s style, with its twinkling, sparkling keys and sweet, swelling cellos. Likewise, “Proof” relies on a simple piano progression, and though it is the most mainstream track, the ballad is still unique, considering its company.

Both “Histories” and “Instant Classic” possess a comparable pop quality to them, but because they have other defining elements, they stand

out from the other tracks . The persistent yet playful handclaps and bright, electric guitar rift of “Histories” aren’t pop innovations in and of themselves, but McKeown’s use of these components certainly is. The song “Instant Classic” is effective in the exact same way. Its charming, skipping guitar melody and deep horns make the song

sound like a track from a Jason Mraz record. Inviting Ryan Montbleau to sing alongside her, though, McKeown actually makes “Instant Classic” her own by sharing it.

McKeown’s Manifestra is quite literally what it claims to be—an inimitable, blunt, and feminized manifesto. It encapsulates the artist’s

musical and lyrical independence and allows her to both playfully express herself and seriously share her societal perspectives. Her Manifestra is an admirable work of irony, wrapping the sharp truth in poetic verses and sweet melodies, and delivering it all with a seemingly harmless smile. 

MANIFESTRA ERIN MCKEOWN PRODUCED BY TVP RECORDS RELEASED JAN. 15, 2013 OUR RATING A-

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

McKeown’s album defies traditional structures and merges genres, offering a refreshing listening experience.

SINGLE REVIEWS BY MATT MAZZARI Bon Jovi “Because We Can”

Taylor Swift “The Moment I Knew” Not to be confused with the far more energetic “I Knew You Were Trouble,” this release rides the coat tails of the pop-tsunami Red with indistinctive melodrama. Swift’s ballad-style track falls flat lyrically, relying on cliched imagery to relate a formulaic stood-up-on-a-date anthem that’s girly with an unimpressive vibe, a piano-driven step backwards for T-Swift.

OneRepublic “If I Lose Myself” “Because We Can” lacks the punch, brood, and alluring badass-ness that originally launched the Jersey boy to fame, but those elements have long been M.I.A. This cheery, up-and-at‘em track might see a million faces, but never rock a single one. A lame, cookie-cutter solo spells trouble for guitarist Richie Sambora, but the song is otherwise catchy and fairly benign.

With its pseudo-Coldplay sound and knack for haunting refrains, OneRepublic has gotten more radio play than all other bands combined.

That isn’t true, but after “Apologize,” it certainly felt like it. This single continues in the vein of instrumentals digitally produced to a glossy sheen, topped off with vocal hooks destined to take the Light FM airwaves in a stranglehold.

B6

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Care about cancer?

Take the first step in helping to save a cancer patient's life.

E V I G

A SPIT T U O B A R E C N CA

TEXTMY SPIT to 38383 to learn about what you can do.

HINT: ITS MUCH EASIER THAN YOU THINK. *Standard data and msg rates apply

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Heights

B7

Emily Tommolino Clinical Student

REASON #9: IN 2012, OUR GRADUATES ATTAINED RESIDENCIES IN 17 SPECIALTIES ACROSS THE US AND CANADA. The prospect of attaining a competitive residency is just one of the many reasons students choose American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) to fulfill their dream of becoming a doctor.

AUC OFFERS STUDENTS: r )BOET PO FYQFSJFODF FBSMZ JO UIF DVSSJDVMVN r " TVQQPSUJWF FOWJSPONFOU XJUI GBDVMUZ XIP BSF committed to teaching and student success. r $MJOJDBM SPUBUJPOT BU 64 BOE 6, UFBDIJOH hospitals.

Additionally, AUC is eligible to participate in the US Federal Direct -PBO 1SPHSBN BOE Ă OBODJBM BJE JT BWBJMBCMF UP UIPTF XIP RVBMJGZ

FIND YOUR REASON AT AUCmed.edu.

For comprehensive consumer information visit aucmed.edu/consumer-info.html Š 2013 Global Education International. All rights reserved.

ATTEND OUR OPEN HOUSE: Saturday, January 19th at 10 am Boston Marriott Long Wharf REGISTER BY SCANNING THE QR CODE OR VISIT AUCmed.edu.

THE HEIGHTS

B8

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Grow your own way Every career path is different. That’s why we help you design your own.

We’ll provide the training, coaching and experiences that allow you to build relationships and take advantage of career opportunities. You decide what happens next—at PwC or beyond.

The opportunity of a lifetime. www.pwc.com/campus

Š 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership. All rights reserved. We are proud to be an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer.

RogeR WiLLiams UniveRsity schooL of LaW

Practice / Ready Outcomes:

Experience:

RWU LaW’s JULy 2012 fiRsttime baR pass Rates exceed state aveRages:

RWU LaW stUdents LeaRn mUch moRe than theoRy:

90% in Connecticut 86% in Massachusetts 86% in Rhode Island

100%

perform at least 50 hours of unpaid, hands-on legal work

100%

acquire practical know-how in upper-level skills classes

40%

extern with judges, corporations and government agencies

35% represent real clients through our legal clinics

#SJTUPM 3IPEF *TMBOE t MBX SXV FEV

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 17, 2013

B9

THIS WEEK IN...

BY RYAN TOWEY Asst. Metro Editor

EDUCATION

POP CULTURE

Boston University set a personal record with 1,505 early decision applicants for the fall of 2013 semester, more than a 40 percent increase from when BU received 1,069 early admission applications for the fall of 2012 semester, according to The Daily Free Press. This is resounding success in comparison to the 40 percent of private colleges that experienced a decrease in applicants last year, according to BostInno.com. This may be attributed to BU’s exceptional command of social media, with a 30 percent increase in Facebook “Likes” and a 47 percent increase in Twitter followers.

BU has only 3,800 spots to fill for the Class of 2017, 100 fewer spots than they had the year before. BostInno. com also reported that Zinch, an online college resource, polled 7,000 high school students, two thirds of whom confirmed that social media research plays a role in their college choices.

Mark Wahlberg has suggested plans to produce a new reality TV series regarding college students, specifically those of the nerdy variety, reported BostInno.com.

Wahlberg already produces two reality TV series, including Teamsters, a series that follows the Teamsters Union in Boston. Now, though, Wahlberg hopes to capitalize on the success of nerdy powerhouses like CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus George Zaidan, who hosts the video blog “Pocket Science,” helped inspire the concept for a TV series following nerdy college students. The series could narrow its focus on students anywhere from Harvard to MIT, following students as they engage in their nerdy escapades. Wahlberg’s brother, Donnie, has also tried his hand in the reality TV industry, producing Boston’s Finest, a docudrama following Boston police officers.

NEWS CUISINE Aaron Swartz, who assisted in the creation of social news and entertainment website Reddit, committed suicide on Jan. 11. He was 26. Swartz was considered an Internet activist by many, due in part to his stances on open web access, according to BostInno.com. Swartz was entangled in legal proceedings since 2010, when he crashed some of JSTOR’s servers in an effort to download documents through MIT’s online network. After he was removed from the network, Swartz plugged his computer directly into a restricted part of the network, resulting in his arrest and charge with 13 counts of felony. If convicted, Swartz could have served up to 35 years in prison.

The charges were dropped following his suicide. A petition from the MIT Society for Open Sciences has demanded the university publicly apologize for its role in “the unjust federal prosecution” of Swartz.

Enso Sushi, located in Boston’s Chinatown, is the first restaurant to serve kaiten sushi in Boston, reported BostInno.com. Kaiten sushi is better known as conveyor-belt sushi.

The process of enjoying a meal at Enso Sushi is simple. Patrons of the restaurant sit around a conveyor belt and are welcomed to select the dishes of their choice as they pass on the conveyor belt. After patrons are done eating, they leave the plates at the end of their table, where an employee calculates a check. While the conveyor belt can be fun, it is not the only way to eat at Enso Sushi. There are also options that patrons can order directly from a server. Kaiten sushi has gained popularity since its invention by Yoshiaki Shiraishi in 1958, when he opened Mawaru Genroku Sushi in Osaka, Japan.

STATING THE OBVIOUS Possessors of marijuana received a gentle reminder from MBTA Transit Police this week that federal and state laws, in fact, do not cease on the platform of the T or within a public transportation vehicle.

MBTA posted answers to the questions that they commonly receive after arresting or fining perpetrators, reported BostInno.com. The questions included “Is it okay to smoke a ‘joint’ while waiting on the platform for my train?” and “I met my friend at Downtown Crossing and sold him a ‘bag of weed’ while on the platform. The weight was much less than an ounce. Why did I get arrested?” The answer to the second question explained that, while Massachusetts decriminalized the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in 2008, its distribution still warrants arrest.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Sweet launches new flavors

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC LEVIN

BY BRENNA CASS For The Heights

HOUSE AD

With so many bakeries and sweet shops in Boston, it can be hard to choose the right one.

If you’re looking for a menu that features new takes on old favorites, Sweet definitely takes the cake—the cupcake, that is. This cupcake chain was started by Boston University alumna Courtney Forrester in 2008 with just one location in Back Bay, but has now expanded to four locations, all easily accessible from Boston College: in Back Bay on Mass. Ave., Newbury Street, Harvard Square, and on School Street downtown. The most quaint place to enjoy your delicious cupcakes is perhaps on Newbury Street. The store is whimsical and bright, with large windows and cafe-style tables that make for a great place to relax and watch the shoppers bustle by.

Sweet has just rolled out its new winter menu, featuring 12 mouth-watering fl avors split into three categories. They will be available Jan. 11 through Mar. 31. In addition to the new winter flavors, the store also sells classic cupcake choices.

Sweet’s cupcakes are great for both the cake and frosting lover, as both are done extremely well. It’s easy to see why Sweet was named Boston’s Best Cupcakes by The Improper Bostonian in 2009, 2010, and 2011.Their frostings have a great texture with just the right amount of sweetness and their cupcakes are both moist and flavorful. The frosting portions are very generous, however, and it may be necessary to scrape some off before biting in.

The first category on the winter menu, named “Winter Comforts,” highlights foods you would eat on a cold New England day. For the breakfast lover, there is a buttermilk pancake cupcake, topped with a maple-infused frosting. If you buy your cupcake in the store, you can really get the breakfast feel by indulging in more maple syrup. They also feature a blueberry pancake variation, topped with a maple-infused buttercream. Next up is the mint mocha chip, a cappuccino cake finished off with mint buttercream. The final cupcake of “Winter Comforts” is a holiday standby—hot cocoa. This rich take on the favorite drink is a dark chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling, topped with whipped cream that adds a light touch to such an

indulgent cupcake.

The next section of the three-part winter menu is the cookies, based off holiday favorites that you might see on a Christmas cookie tray. The first is the snickerdoodle, a cinnamon cake and cinnamon frosting. Though this sounds unexciting, the snickerdoodle flavor is distinct and the sugar crystals atop the frosting give it an unexpected crunch. Then there is cookies and cream, a vanilla cupcake with cookies and cream frosting topped off with a sandwich cookie. Next is the macaroon flavor, a holiday favorite. This is a vanilla cake topped with crispy coconut reminiscent of the cookie and dipped in chocolate ganache. Finally, the richest cookie cupcake is the chocolate chip

LOCATION: 225 NEWBURY STREET CUISINE: Dessert SIGNATURE DISH: Winter Flavor Cupcakes ATMOSPHERE: 8/10 AVERAGE CUPCAKE: $3-4

cookie dough cupcake. This decadent flavor is filled with real half-baked chocolate chip cookie dough pieces and finished with buttercream and chocolate chips.

Sweet also provides a divergence from the holiday-themed flavors with the final section of the new winter menu, “Sweet Escapes.” These light, fruity cakes will take you away to a tropical beach, with flavors like key lime and coconut. There’s also an angel food cake which is topped with whipped cream and can be finished off with fresh fruit or a maple and spun sugar topping. Finally, the Bananas Foster cupcake is a flavorful vanilla bean cupcake filled with real, fresh (not soggy) chunks of banana and topped with banana cream and caramel.

Sweet’s winter flavors are definitely worth sampling, as each one is more delicious than the last.

Check out one of their four locations in Boston and Cambridge to satisfy your “Sweet” tooth and end your cupcake craving. 

THE HEIGHTS

B10

BOOKISH BOSTONIAN

Narrative honesty in Junot Diaz

RYAN TOWEY All right, I’ll make the confession.

If it wasn’t already made obvious by my choice of a tagline for this column, I want to be a writer.

That’s right. I want to live my life chasing the literary dream, never having any money yet still somehow managing to travel the world and catch the occasional shower. That’s how it would start.

After that, I would want to be Junot Diaz.

I can’t claim to be an expert on Diaz, having only read the first short story in his This Is How You Lose Her, published this past September. But the impact of his prose demands that I wish for a sliver of his talent Only one problem. (Actually, there are multitudinous problems, but, for now, let’s say there is only one.) Even if I do somehow manage to match Diaz’s writing prowess, I will never be cool enough to be like him.

Diaz, who keeps a residence in Cambridge, teaches classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and acts as the fiction editor for the Boston Review.

People familiar with Diaz’s personality may think that I wish to achieve his confidence in front of a crowd, his self-assured—and often colorful—use of language. This, however, is not the case. Rather, it is his narrative honesty which I most wish to match. The first story in This Is How You Lose Her, titled “The Sun, the Moon, the Stars,” follows the narrator, Yunior, through his relationship with girlfriend Magda, on whom he has been caught cheating. The story follows him as he tries to salvage the broken relationship on a trip to Santo Domingo.

While there are many points on which Diaz has been repeatedly praised, including his distinct, strong voice and character development, I was most enraptured by the honesty of the story.

As Yunior narrates the collapse of his relationship with Magda, the reader is spared few details. Their relationship, ravaged by infidelity, seems to breathe a life of its own while still managing to extend an understanding hand to the reader, the kind that says, “Yes, you have been here, too.”

At one point in the novel, Yunior and Magda sit on a beach together in Santo Domingo, where Yunior describes his thoughts. “I’ll admit it,” he narrates. “with Magda half naked in public I’m feeling vulnerable and uneasy. I put my hand on her knee. I just wish you’d say you love me.” She doesn’t.

Though Yunior is the narrator, however, Diaz masterfully prevents the story from slanting in favor of Yunior.

Rather, the story is a critique of his behavior, especially when he and Magda begin having sex and she is uncertain about whether or not they should. When Yunior doesn’t understand why, she tells him to forget about it, and they proceed.

Even having only read this one short story, I can see that Diaz is a man comfortable with looking himself in the eye.

Though I have no evidence that the story of Yunior and Magda is based upon his real life experiences, the story provides a sense of self-reflection. The reason that I and most of us will never be as cool as Junot Diaz is that he is able to tell the story of a relationship more honestly than most ever will. In an interview with The Harvard Crimson,, Diaz himself put it best. “Profoundly and unnervingly, love reveals us,” he said.

I have seen love in my own way, but, no matter how hard I try, I struggle to put that pen down to paper to tell the story. As an aspiring writer, I strive to look something in the eye, see it for what it is, and turn it into words. For now, that skill is reserved for Diaz, a true master.

Perhaps, though, hope is not lost for me. Perhaps writing about being unable to write about something is my own kind of honesty.

It’s a step.

Ryan Towey is the Asst. Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Death total up to six due to flu in Boston Flu Epidemic, from B12 to reach its 45,000 residents, and in particular the 27,000 seniors who are at a greater risk. There was also an increased effort by the Department of Public Health to make vaccines more accessible and raise awareness about the importance of vaccines. The Department of Public Health has offered 760,000 free vaccinations to date.

However, more vaccinations are needed in this current flu season as seen in the 6,000 lab-confirmed flu cases in Massachusetts last week.

Doctors and medical professionals originally thought that this year’s vaccine would be very effective against the dominant strains of influenza. However, despite its perceived potency, the escalating crisis suggests that this year’s vaccine is somewhat less effective than previous years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that although the vaccine is well matched to the circulating virus strains, it was only effective 55 percent of the time against a particular H3N2 strain. This strain is present in nearly all of the flu infections throughout Massachusetts and has shown more severe symptoms among infected patients.

On Friday Jan. 11, two days after he declared the state of emergency, Menino announced updates for Boston’s response plan for the flu season. Twenty-two community health centers across the city committed to offering free public clinics over the weekend.

In addition, many digital display boards were placed around the city to increase awareness about the severity of the flu and where vaccines are located. “The push this weekend is to get as many people vaccinated as possible,” Menino said. “It’s the single best thing you can do to protect yourself.”

Despite the increased vigilance, a child under the age of six died from the flu last Friday, bringing the total deaths in Boston up to six. This fatality caused an increase in panic among many parents, with many more parents and children flocking to clinics Saturday morning. Some parents rushed into the city from remote suburbs to ensure their children could get the shot because the supplies in their local health

clinics and drug stores were gone.

The Department of Public Health is going to great lengths to distribute the vaccine, but they are close to exhausting their supply. Many doctors are on waiting lists for the flu vaccine, which has not happened in years past. According to Boston.com, pediatrician Mark Gilchrist advised in an email that “the best lesson to take home from this in the future is to get your influenza immunization as early as possible.”

“[The vaccine is] still by far the best tool we have to prevent the flu.”

— Mayor Thomas M. Menino

Vaccine manufacturers say they have some extra supply on hand, but it may take doctors several days or even weeks to get immunizations after placing an order.

MedImmune, maker of the FluMist vaccine, has more than 380,000 doses of the spray, which contains an attenuated form of the live virus and is often the vaccine of choice for children age two and older.

The problem is not only in Boston.

Thomas Frieden from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention said there are shortages nationwide and over 130 million doses have already been distributed. The flu has officially reached epidemic proportions across the country and it still seems to be increasingly severe in the Northeast. It does seem to have peaked in some southern states, however.

The public response to this year’s flu season has been filled with increasing fear and frustration. Many are angry at the lack of supply and preparedness.

The coverage and increased awareness is serving as a powerful impetus for vaccinations. Frieden conceded that the vaccine is “far from perfect,” yet he also added “it’s still by far the best tool we have to prevent the flu.”

COURTESY OF TED FITZGERALD / BOSTON HERALD

Mayor Menino was presented with his own pair of personalized Converse last Tuesday.

Converse bans competitors Converse Relocation, from B12 buildings and a neglected pier,” be put to better use and have more appeal to the public.

The new, nine-story Converse headquarters building, which will be located on 160 North Washington Street, will cover 45,000 square feet. It will also have a large, 400-seat restaurant on its ground floor.

Converse’s move will create job opportunities for 400 Converse employees and will allow the company $9.9 million in property tax breaks over a 25-year period from the City of Boston.

However, the new partnership and relocation plan are mutually beneficial to both the sneaker company and the City of Boston. Although the city is providing major tax reliefs to Converse, Boston will, in this 25 year period, reel in $63.3 million in new revenue. In fiscal 2013, the city can expect to gain $388,000 from the sneaker company in property taxes alone.

The company, a subsidiary of NIKE, Inc., provides footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children in over 160 countries. It is most well known for its sneakers, worn by middleclass Americans to Hollywood’s hottest celebrities.

Converse, Inc. had its first major breakthrough when, in 1921, it hired basketball player Chuck Taylor to be an ambassador

for the sneakers. Over a two-year time period, Taylor suggested adjustments to the shoe that provided more support and thus increased the shoes’ popularity. The All-Star logo was added with his name.

The design that Taylor promoted became what is known today as the Chuck Taylor All-Stars. Converse created other lines, and by the 1950s evolved into an iconic, American brand.

The retail space of the new Converse headquarters takes up a significant amount of the 186,525 square feet of offices planned for Lovejoy Wharf. The company is one of few to have made such a deal with the city, as many other bigname corporations have been banned from the wharf. The long list of banned companies that vied for a spot in Lovejoy Wharf ’s retail spaces include other apparel and shoe companies, including athletic brands such as Lululemon Athletica and Adidas. The ban, included in Converse’s deal with Boston, ensures that the company’s new headquarters won’t have heavy competition.

Calhoun noted that the relocation is well-suited for the city. “The city is part of [Converse’s] DNA and its spirit central to our continued growth and success.”

Calhoun acknowledges the benefits his company will get from the relocation, from adding 400 new jobs to receiving significant tax relief. “We are honored,” he said, “to be part of Boston’s next chapter and great metropolitan center.”

Felipe Calderon fellowship at Harvard causes controversy Calderon, from B12 Fellow in the Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Program, a program designed to provide “opportunities for high-profile leaders who are transitioning out of public office or other leadership positions to spend time in residence at Harvard.”

“This Fellowship will be a tremendous opportunity for me to reflect upon my six years in office, to connect with scholars and students at Harvard, and to begin work on the important papers that will document the many challenges that we faced, and the policy positions that we developed during my administration,” Calderon said in the press release.

While Calderon will not teach at Harvard as a fellow, he will spend time lecturing and collaborating with the Kennedy School’s Case Program “to develop Case studies

around the many policy challenges he encountered while serving as president.”

Despite the praise given to Calderon in the press release, many see a darker side to his presidency.

According to The Harvard Crimson, many have signed petitions on Change. org for Harvard President Drew Faust to deny Calderon his fellowship, claiming that Calderon’s militaristic methods in dealing with Mexico’s drug cartels led to the deaths of innocent citizens.

Early in his presidency, Calderon launched Operation Michoacan, an ongoing operation that originally involved 4,000 military troops in an effort to defuse the hold of drug cartels in the Mexican state of Michoacan.

This effort led to operations throughout the rest of Mexico.

In a report by the Human Rights Watch,

events in Mexico were traced through to 2011, claiming that Calderon’s heavy reliance “on the military to fight drug-related violence and organized crime” has led troops to commit human rights violations.

The report included data from Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, which reported nearly 90 cases of human rights abuses by the military since 2007.

The Human Rights Watch noted that the Human Rights Commission had also received “complaints of nearly 5,800 additional human rights violations from 2007 to October 2011.”

The Human Rights Watch believes that this is due in large part to Mexico’s failure to bring military abuses to justice.

Journalists, who often reported on the drug war in Mexico, were also subject to abuses, stating that at least eight journalists were killed in 2011. Though the report

acknowledged that some of these murders were committed by members of organized crime, the Human Rights Watch stated that “evidence points to the possible involvement of state officials in some instances.”

“Efforts by Calderon’s administration to combat organized crime have resulted in a significant increase in killings, torture, and other abuses by security forces, which only make the climate of lawlessness and fear worse in many parts of the country,” the report said.

According to The Harvard Crimson, however, administrative officials at Harvard have stood by the appointment of Calderon to the fellowship, with Ellwood writing in an email that Calderon’s fellowship would provide a chance for students to “engage with world leaders and to ask difficult questions on important public policy issues.” 

PERSON TO WATCH By: Tricia Tiedt | Metro Editor

It should come as no surprise that sophomore Johnny Gaudreau isn’t your average Boston College student. You won’t find him hanging out at the new Chocolate Bar—he’s more likely to be on the ice down at Conte and spending down time with the hockey team in their lounge. And forget about the “good break” stories floating through campus: as a member of the U.S. National Team at the Junior World Ice Hockey Championships, Gaudreau spent the holiday in Russia and brought back a gold medal.

Now, that’s a good break.

As a student athlete, Gaudreau spends between three and six hours at practice per day—while taking a full course load. “[As a hockey player,] it’s a risk that I take,”

Gaudreau said. Gaudreau meets with a tutor twice a week at 9 a.m., and has every week since his first semester freshman year. “My parents always stressed how important academics were … if [there was a day] I didn’t go to school, I couldn’t go play hockey,” Gaudreau said.

Like many of his fellow teammates, Gaudreau has the utmost respect for men’s hockey coach Jerry York, who celebrated his 925th game win in the Mariucci Classic Tournament over winter break. In fact, it’s why he’s here at BC. “When I was younger, I remember watching York win championships. I wore BC hockey clothing as a little kid. I’m so happy to be wanted here.”

According to Gaudreau, York deserves credit for how well the team functions, emphasizing kindness and a genuine bond between teammates.” “[In my career] I’ve known and met lots of good guys and made some friends, but never had the connections and friendships I now have here at BC … It’s why we do so well.”

And boy, do they do well. With a 13-4-2 record thus far, the Eagles are well on their way to a winning season. Gaudreau has quickly become a campus celebrity and earned serious respect in the hockey realm, symbolized by a newly established nickname: Johnny Hockey. Gaudreau’s reaction to the nickname demonstrated his appreciation for his fans and those who follow college hockey. After watching Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, aka “Johnny Football,”

win the Heisman Trophy this past December, Gaudreau considers the nickname “hard to grasp”: “It is an honor to be called Johnny Hockey.”

When asked what he would like to convey to his fellow Eagles, Gaudreau’s answer did not follow what WHO: Boston College Eagles Men’s Ice Hockey Left Wing WHAT: Just won the Gold medal at the Junior World Ice Hockey Championship in Russia over Winter break WHERE: Boston College WHY IT MATTERS: Gaudreau serves as a representative for Boston College athletics and BC as a whole. you might expect from a student athlete. He didn’t discuss the ice, the game, or the status. Rather, he again mentioned his academics with the message: I am always hoping to improve. “Lots of my buddies [at other universities] don’t have adults that care. Student athletes just slide by because they’re athletes. It’s so special to have people [concerned with] our well-being. It’s so nice to have people care.”

The Heights

Thursday, January 17, 2013

B11

Run of the Charles provides fun for Bostonians of all ages Run of the Charles, from B12 -sional Flat-Water Canoe Marathon where elite paddlers can show off their athletic ability on a 26-mile course.

Elite athletes train hard throughout the year in hopes of winning the $5,000 prize awarded to whoever comes in first place.

The Run of the Charles is known to be an event that brings the city of Boston together while celebrating the natural beauty of the river. Bob Zimmerman, the CRWA Executive Director, said, “We are pleased to bring spectators and competitors together again for a day full of sportsmanship, recreation, and the chance to renew our determination to keep the river we all love, beautiful and clean.” According to Zimmerman, it is partially due to the large scale paddling event that, “the Charles River has transformed from being one of the dirtiest rivers in the nation, to one of the cleanest.”

Clean is an understatement. The pristine Charles River and the CRWA won the world’s most prestigious river award in Brisbane, Australia in 2011. The award, given out by the International River Foundation, applauded Boston’s very own for, “visionary and sustainable excellence in river management.” The

award would not have been possible if not for participants, supporters, volunteers, and the environmentally conscious Boston community.

So, when April rolls around and the Boston air becomes balmy and warm, grab your friends and head on out to the Charles River to cheer on the paddlers.

The CWRA encourages spectators to line the riverbanks during the races and you might be lucky enough to witness a few friendly BC faces taking part in some of the races.

And don’t miss the popular 6-mile race, which is known to host the broadest range of experience levels. It might be the only time you ever see 12-year old juniors racing against 60 and 70 year old seniors.

The public is also invited to celebrate the Run of the Charles at the free Finish Line Festival at DCR’s Artesani Park on Soldiers Field Road. The festival will include food, live music, awards, outdoor sports demonstrations, and post-race picnics. Sponsors of the event, including Boston Duck Tours, Wicked Local, and Charles River Canoe and Kayak, will also be around to show off their products and services. For more information about the event, visit www.charlesriver.org or send a quick email to rotc@crwa.org. n

photo Courtesy of Katherine YU

BC Honors students annually attend the Run of the Charles and particpate in canoe race.

MassEDchusetts

Background checks to ease minds LAuren Totino / Heights Staff

New Bruins players hit the ice at TD Garden for Sunday afternoon practice open to fans.

Bruins return to TD Garden Boston Bruins, from B12 2013 season up to Jan. 14 were cancelled, which accounted for 625 regular season games, or just over half of the season.

Fan-favorite events like the NHL Winter Classic, scheduled for Jan. 1 as a match between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as the 2013 NHL All-Star Game, scheduled for Jan. 27, were cancelled. For the duration of the 113-day lockout, many NHL players joined other leagues in North America and Europe.

After both sides agreed to the required MOU, the NHL released a revised schedule outlining each team’s 48-game regular season, which is to begin this Saturday. Of the 30 teams in the league, 26 of them will play on opening day. In total, 720 games will be played during the 99-day regular season, with playoffs beginning on April 30, and the Stanley Cup finals ending no later than June 28.

For Beantown, the end of the lockout means the long-awaited return of the Boston Bruins, who began training camp last Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. Before the official end of the lockout, players ran practices at Boston University’s Agganis Arena, as well as at the usual practice facility, Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass. For the duration of

virus that mutates very quickly. Drug companies need to predict which strain of the virus will be most prominent each flu season.

What this boils down to is that, on any given year, there could be mass vaccination against the wrong strain.

Finally, almost anyone would agree that medicine should be personalized to the patient’s needs. I would never want to be given the same medication as a sixty-year-old obese man with heart disease, yet vaccines do exactly that—every patient receives the same treatment to prevent the flu. To receive the vaccine you do not even need to speak with your doctor—you can just walk into your local Wal-Mart.

I’m not arguing against vaccines in general. Many vaccines are absolutely necessary. However, the flu vaccination is a different case. For those with strong immune systems, it is an unnecessary measure that is being taken as a direct consequence of panic—especially in the city of Boston.

I wholeheartedly believe in in more traditional methods: consistent and vigorous hand washing, vitamin C supplements, and plenty of rest. Skip the artificial vaccination and provide your body with natural tools to stay healthy.

Massachusetts officials have recently begun enacting laws to protect children and ensure the peace of mind of all parents in the Commonwealth. Thus, before the 2016-2017 school year, all teachers at public and private schools, workers at child care centers, and school bus drivers will be required to submit fingerprints for criminal background checks. Licensed family child care providers, their household members age 15 or older, individuals regularly on the premises of a family child care home, subcontractors commissioned to perform work on school grounds, everyone seeking to adopt children or become foster parents, and other employees of school departments who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children will also be affected by this law.

This recent push for more legislation comes just weeks after authorities announced the indictment of John Burbine, a Wakefield, Mass. man charged with sexually assaulting more than a dozen children while working at his wife’s unlicensed day care business. He is currently being held without bail after pleading not guilty. Burbine was registered as a Level One sex offender in 1989, which is a classification given to those least likely to reoffend. This situation nonetheless begs the question: If subsequent investigations of Burbine were completed over the years, would they have led him to be reclassified to a higher level?

Previously, the law only required a Massachusetts state check, but not a fingerprint check. However, the new law will not only require that the fingerprints be submitted to the state police for a criminal history check, but also that the fingerprints will be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national background check. The information garnered from these background checks can be used by investigators from the Department of Early Education and Care and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding allegations of misconduct by teachers and other school employees.

This new law will not fiscally affect the state or the various school districts because the person being fingerprinted will be responsible for the associated fees. The national criminal checks will be completed on a one-time basis.

Many politicians have praised the new law, such as State Rep. Alice Peisch, who affirmed that Massachusetts will “no longer lag behind” the other states which have already adopted the national fingerprint check. Oregon, New York, Maine, and Texas all passed similar laws requiring fingerprinting of school teachers.

Similarly, Governor Deval Patrick hopes that this law will close a loophole in existing state law and will help to protect children.

“We have historically checked the background of employees in schools and day care centers based on information that we can get from Massachusetts,” said Patrick, “but people move around so we ought to be able to get that information from elsewhere.”

In addition to this law, Sen. Bruce Tarr of Gloucester, the Republican leader in the Massachusetts Senate, has announced his plans to file legislation to improve communication between lawmakers, prosecutors, and the state Sex Offender Registry Board.

Burbine’s crime is not the only case of this nature that has unfolded in the past year. In fact, in 2012, a former Newton elementary school teacher was sentenced to 45 years in prison on child pornography charges, and a Taunton High School teacher was accused of various sex crimes against underage teens.

It is impossible to know whether or not these crimes would have been prevented if this law were enacted earlier.

However, one can only hope that it will, in the future, assure every child in Massachusetts that they can get on the school bus day after day confident that their school is a safe and secure place to learn and to grow.

Maggie Powers is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

Jacqueline Parisi is a staff writer for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@ bcheights.com.

the lockout, several Bruins players joined leagues abroad to keep up their skills and stay in the game. With 11 players in Europe, the Bruins had more players overseas than any other club in the league. Goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin, both replacing goalie Tim Thomas as he sits out this season, were among the Bruins who played during the lockout—Rask played for the Czech Extraliga and Khudobin joined the KHL’s HC Atlant Moscow Oblast team. Linemates Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron played in Switzerland, though for different teams. Defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk played for the German League and Austrian League, respectively.

The Bruins face the abbreviated season with mostly the same team as last year, including many of the players who led the team to Stanley Cup victory in 2011. At the first official post-lockout practice on Sunday at the TD Garden, the new faces of the Bruins were seen out on the ice. The Bruins also happily welcome the return of right winger Nathan Horton, who suffered a concussion after an open-ice hit to the head in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers last January.

The Bruins will host the New York Rangers in their home opener at the TD Garden this Saturday, Jan. 19, at 7:00 p.m.n

THE ISSUE:

As the Flu Epidemic in Boston continues to cause alarm, the question on everyone’s lips seems to be: “Did you get a flu shot?“ Students weigh in on the pros and cons of flu shots, analyzing the concerns, risks, and true necessity of vaccinations. Is the flu vaccination really the best combatant to protect yourself from illness this flu season?

photo Courtesy of Google images

Reduce your risk with shot Natural methods effective Julie Orenstein When I woke up Monday morning with a stuffy nose and a sore throat, I immediately feared the worst: the flu.

Everyone has heard about the outbreak of over 750 confirmed cases of the flu that have been reported in Boston so far this season, which led to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to declare a public health emergency.

The widespread weariness about germs and illness has prompted many to load up their CVS shopping baskets with hand sanitizer and wipes, some even going as far as wearing masks over their noses and mouths.

Beyond going to great lengths to avoid touching handrails and doorknobs, everyone should get a flu shot if they have not done so already. In a statement, Mayor Menino urged Boston residents to get vaccinated against the flu. “It’s the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family,” he said. The Boston Public Health Commission echoed this view with its recommendation that everyone over the age of six months receive a flu shot, especially those who are at higher risk for developing a serious illness as a result of the flu.

Getting the seasonal flu vaccine reduces your chance of getting the flu by at least 70 percent, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. Many are hesitant to get a flu shot because they believe

that the vaccination actually causes the flu, a common misconception that is incorrect, according to resources available online from Harvard Medical School. The vaccination does take about one to two weeks to work, and you are still susceptible to the flu during that period, but the shot does not cause the illness.

Several Boston-area universities, such as MIT and Northeastern, are giving out free flu shots to students because of its importance in preventing the illness. Michelle Bowdler, the senior director of health and wellness services at Tufts University, where about 40 percent of students have been vaccinated, told the Boston Globe, “It costs us about $10 a shot to purchase the vaccine, but we think it’s money well spent.”

You might think you are too busy or possibly you are too lazy to get a flu shot, but the benefits of sacrificing 10 minutes of your day to prevent a week or more of sickness are too great to ignore. Getting vaccinated keeps you in school and out of health services. The only reason you should need a box of tissues this week is because your new professor has already assigned a paper, not because your nose feels like it is going to explode with flulike symptoms.

Julie Orenstein is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

Maggie Powers From the moment the flu outbreak sent Boston into a state of emergency the anthem of the city seems to be “get the flu vaccine.” In the case of the elderly, small children and those with compromised immune systems, I support the flu vaccine. However, I disagree in the case of healthy individuals with strong immune systems. Obviously, this goes against popular opinion and the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So before you go running to the nearest clinic to get vaccinated, take a minute to consider how vaccines are actually made and the implications for your body.

Vaccines are a dead strain of the virus. By injecting it into the body, the hope is that a resistance to the strain will be built. Yet, all too often we hear the sentence, “I got my flu shot and then I got sick a few days later.” It’s possible by injecting this dead virus into the body more strain is put on the immune system, leaving the body more susceptible to infection.

According to TIME Magazine, this year’s vaccine is only 62 percent effective.

While that is technically a majority, those odds do not seem convincing enough to me. Also consider that the flu virus is a

Jacqueline Parisi

METRO THE HEIGHTS

B10

B12

Thursday, January 17, 2013

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013

BREAKING BOUNDARIES

A year in review

Converse to relocate to Lovejoy Wharf

BY PARISA OVIEDO Heights Editor

TRICIA TIEDT Welcome back to a fresh semester at BC. From all of us at Metro, we wish you health, happiness, and success in this New Year.

As I mentioned last semester, my challenge to you—by way of this column—is to become more acquainted with the city at our fingertips. But, just what does that mean? How does one “get to know” a city?

You can’t take it out for coffee or a beer—although Boston was named one of the Top 10 Best Beer Cities in the World by USA Today. What all does Boston encompass?

Well, a lot.

Here’s what the city of Boston was known for in 2012. Be warned, it wasn’t all rainbows and pots of gold (although we still hold the title for premiere St. Patrick’s Day celebrations). Consider this all the info you could possibly get from a blind date with Boston. According to our rankings, you may be glad it can’t actually happen—Bostonians have some pretty skewed relationships with the opposite sex, not fit for print.

Let’s start with the bright sides, shall we?

Fast Company named Boston the Smartest City in North America. It goes without saying that the educational hub brings in the sharpest minds. Massachusetts was named the best state for entrepreneurs, and the National Venture Capital Association named Boston the No. 2 Best City for Technology Startups (second only to San Francisco—screw you, Silicon Valley).

According to Forbes, all this success has made Boston the No. 1 Best City for Recent College Grads. Thanks to the overwhelming young population of the city, RealAge. com calls Boston “an eternal fountain of youth”—a.k.a., the No. 7 Best City to Stay Young. Speaking of forever young, Boston is apparently home to some pretty fun folks: we hold the highest concentration of drunken singles in the country. Our very own Allston-Brighton area was ranked the 18th most hipster neighborhood in America.

Alas, with the good fun comes the bad fashion sense: Boston ranks sixth in cities that buy/wear the most sweatpants.

According to Uber, Bostonians have more walks of shame on a daily basis than any other city in the country. Unfortunately, all these nights out have led to some serious loss: we rank No. 10 in Most Likely to Lose a Cell Phone. (Oh, you were expecting something about dignity? Me, too.) Now, is it just me, or could all these stats be seriously related?

When it comes to life after the party, Boston creates some interesting conundrums. Apparently, saying “I Do” won’t be so easy when you live in the No. 8 Most Expensive City to Get Married. And dinners for two won’t be too delicious: Consumer Reports ranks Shaw’s, Boston’s leading supermarket, as the third worst grocery store in America. However, Boston is the No. 3 city with the Highest Well Being for Women and fifth Best Place to Raise a Child—which is directly connected with the second Best City for Trick or Treating statistic by real estate company Zillow. While kids are approved, pets are not: Boston is one of the worst cities to own a dog.

Overall, Boston was ranked the 8th city with: the Best Jobs (by Forbes), the happiest residents (according to the Daily Beast and Career Bliss), and the freshest farmer’s markets (by Ziploc) nationwide. We’re also a paradigm of health: Massachusetts General is consistently ranked the top hospital in the country; Boston and Cambridge both hold the record for Best Walking City; the League of American Bicyclists rates Boston the third most cyclist-friendly place to pedal through.

In America’s Best 50 Cities, Bloomberg BusinessWeek placed Boston in their Top Five (number four, to be exact). For all its whims, quirks, and downfalls, I’d have to agree. Say what you will about this city—but I can almost guarantee, it’s got whatever it is you’re looking for.

Tricia Tiedt is the Metro Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

Being away from home for over a century is no easy task, so it’s no wonder that Jim Calhoun was excited.

Calhoun, the CEO and President of Converse, Inc., announced in a press release with Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino last Tuesday that, after decades of being anchored in North Andover, MA, the international trademark will relocate its headquarters back to Boston. The new office space for the sneaker company’s global headquarters is set to open in April 2015.

The timeless shoes have failed to go out of style and have made their signature on American vogue and culture since Converse, Inc. was established in Massachusetts in 1908. Known by many as “America’s Original Sports Company,” Converse will undoubtedly settle nicely into its new location in Lovejoy Wharf in downtown Boston. “We are thrilled to find our new home in the vibrant metropolitan center of Boston and look forward to growing with the city in the years to come,” Calhoun said.

Mayor Menino welcomed the iconic shoe company home with open arms. “Converse and Boston are a perfect marriage,” Mayor Menino said in the press release. They are “two venerable and classic brands that are also constantly evolving.”

Converse’s relocation to Boston will be part of a $230 million redevelopment of Lovejoy Wharf, which is situated between the Zakim Bridge and the Charlestown Bridge. Last December, a plan proposed by the Beal Companies and The Related Companies became approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority Board to renew the area in an effort to make better use of the space.

As part of the redevelopment project, the City of Boston will partner with the developer in a $15 million investment to create a new Harborwalk for the public by adding floating docks, an open waterfront, and public water transportation.

In addition to the new Converse headquarters, the site will also house new office and residential spaces. Boston residents will likely agree that it would be nice to see the area, which currently “houses two dilapidated

See Converse Relocation, B10 JORDAN PENTALERI / HEIGHTS GRAPHIC

Harvard fellowship causes stir

Menino declares flu epidemic for City of Boston

Former Pres. of Mexico not welcomed by community

BY SHANNON INGLESBY Heights Staff

2013 NHL season on Oct. 11, but only a month before this exciting day in the hockey world, a labor dispute launched the lockout. The dispute between the members of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) began after the owners of the NHL’s franchises, led by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, could not reach a new agreement before the deadline of the league’s CBA. This player lockout was the third in the 19 years since Bettman became commissioner in 1993, and follows the lockouts of 1994-95 and 2004-05.

All games scheduled for the 2012-

On Jan. 9th, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared a Public Health Emergency in Boston in response to the worsening flu epidemic. Since then, six people in Boston have died from the flu, including one child who passed away last Friday. This flu season has seen 700 confirmed cases in Boston alone, representing a tenfold increase in cases compared to last season and a daily unfolding of health related risks and fears for Boston residents.

Flu season, typically extending from Oct. 1st to early March, has been relatively mild in the Boston area since 2009. In recent years, the flu has accounted for only one percent of emergency room visits, yet with the increased potency of this year’s flu virus, flu related visits have risen to four percent, with 25 percent of patients ill enough to require hospitalization.

Mayor Menino declared the public health emergency last Wednesday and immediately began working to offer free vaccination clinics. “This is not only a health concern, but an economic concern,” Menino said, and urged people to get vaccinated and stay home from work or school if they were ill.

On the day following the declaration of the state of emergency, the City of Boston utilized its public call system

See Boston Bruins, B11

See Flu Epidemic, B10

BY RYAN TOWEY Asst. Metro Editor Felipe Calderon, former president of Mexico, will soon take on a fellowship at Harvard University in affiliation with the John F. Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. The extension of this fellowship to Calderon is considered controversial by many in the Harvard community, primarily due to the controversial war on drugs in Mexico during his presidency.

Calderon’s presidential term of six years ended this past Dec. 1. In a November press release, Harvard’s Kennedy School credited Calderon with “having boosted the nation’s economic development as a pro-business, profree market leader and having made significant reforms to the country’s environmental, immigration, and health care policies,” stating that he would hold a fellowship until Dec. 2013. Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood said that he was “thrilled” Calderon would return to the Kennedy School, from which the president received a Master of Public Administration degree in 2000.

Calderon will be an Angelopoulos

See Calderon, B10

PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN TOTINO / HEIGHTS STAFF

Fans were invited to an open practice to celebrate the return of the Bruins’ season.

NHL lockout resolved; “B’s” return to season this weekend

BY LAUREN TOTINO Heights Staff The National Hockey League (NHL) lockout of 2012-2013 officially ended last Saturday night, Jan. 12, as the players completed a new collective bargaining agreement by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the last step in the ratification process. The new 10-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) includes stipulations regarding payroll range, salary arbitration, free agency, reentry waivers, suspensions, drug testing, training camps, and entry drafts.

Hockey fans everywhere were looking forward to the start of the 2012-

31st Annual Run of the Charles date announced

BY KELSEY DAMASSA For The Heights Mark your calendars this semester to head out to the Charles River on Sunday, April 28 for the annual Run of the Charles, New England’s largest canoe and kayak event. This year marks the 31st consecutive spring where all levels of paddlers come together to enjoy Boston’s beautiful Charles

I NSIDE METRO THIS ISSUE

River while raising money for the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA).

The CRWA is a non-profit organization, created in 1965 that works to protect and improve the health, beauty and accessibility of the Charles River, its tributaries, and its watersheds. The organization’s mission, “to use science, advocacy and the law to protect, preserve and enhance the Charles River and its watershed,” has led the group

On the Flip Side

to make leaps and bounds when it comes to the vitality of Massachusetts’s most famous river, proving that they really are at the forefront of our country’s conservation and protection efforts.

This year, the CRWA’s annual Run of the Charles event is expected to bring around 1,500 racers to the chilly waters of the Charles, where they will paddle to their heart’s content while taking in some of the

In light of the flu epidemic in Boston, is the vaccination the only acceptable method of prevention? .........................................................B11

beautiful suburban sights along the 80-mile long river. Professionals, amateurs, and recreational competitors can participate in races ranging anywhere from six to 24 miles as long as they are at least 12 years of age.

In addition to the standard six to 24 mile races, there will also be the Profes-

See Run of the Charles, B11

Restaurant Review: Sweet Cupcakes..........................................................B9 Person to Watch: Johnny Gaudreau.............................................................B10