4-26-2018

Page 1

BOSTON STRONG, 3

UNCOMMON, 7

FINAL WORD, 9

YOUNG BLOOD, 11

A local nonprofit made unauthorized ‘Boston Strong’ liscense plates.

An art exhibition was unveiled on the Boston Common Wednesday.

Our editor-in-chief says farewell to the paper and people of the FreeP.

Sophomore attack Kailey Conry has had a stellar sophomore season.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

YEAR XLVI. VOLUME XCIV. ISSUE XIV

Comm. Ave. Bridge construction to start July 26 Wheelock

social work students will go to Simmons

BY ARMAND MANOUKIAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced Monday that it will continue construction on the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge for 15 and a half days starting in July. According to a press release sent out by MassDOT on Monday, construction will occur between July 26 and Aug. 11. All modes of transportation in the Boston University/ Saint Paul Street neighborhood of Boston along Commonwealth Avenue will be affected, including impacts to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line, commuter rail, Amtrak and traffic on Interstate 90. This phase of construction comes nearly a year after the first phase. While the construction project last summer focused mainly on the eastbound side of the bridge, as well as the MBTA tracks in the center, this phase will focus mainly on the westbound side. The project will likely cost $110 million. The goal of the project is improved infrastr ucture. According to the press release, it will replace the bridge’s infrastructure and add “functional and safety improvements” such as more bike lanes and “extensive” pedestrian improvements. BU spokesman Colin Riley said he does not foresee a huge level of disruption due to MassDOT’s ahead of schedule

BY KIRAN GALANI DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

some stations on the Green Line B Branch and MBTA Bus Routes CT2 and 47, according to the press release. Contractors will be working 24 hours a day, using accelerated construction techniques in order to minimize the impact of the project. MassDOT planners have even set up shop in one of the university’s buildings on Commonwealth Avenue, Riley said. Commuters during the construction period will experience changes in transportation routes in various ways, according to the press release. Pedestrians and bicyclists will

As a result of the scheduled June 1 merger between Boston University and Wheelock College, more than 100 current Wheelock students will be moving to the Charles River Campus. Some of these students, those looking to complete a Bachelor of Social Work degree, will become Simmons College students despite living on BU’s campus. Due to the fact that BU does not offer a bachelor’s in social work, the students were given the option to transition to Simmons or remain at BU to pursue another course of study. A little over 20 students who chose to attend Simmons will be living on either BU’s Charles River Campus or Fenway Campus, BU spokesman Colin Riley said. “It’s actually very straightforward,” Riley said. “We’ve assured the students who are pursuing a bachelor’s in social work that they’ll be able to continue to matriculate in that program, and we’ve partnered with Simmons College to do that.” Most of the students enrolled in the program are upperclassmen who are going to be matriculating soon, Riley said. As a result, this will not be a long-term arrangement for them.

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PHOTO BY MADDIE MALHOTRA/DFP FILE PHOTO

The Commonwealth Avenue Bridge will undergo the second phase of its renovation this summer.

work from last summer. “If it goes as smoothly as it did last year, even though there’s a tremendous amount of construction, there won’t be as much disruption as people anticipate,” Riley said. Since last year’s construction took place while most students were away for the summer, Riley said, it did not interfere greatly with university operations. “Students in [summer] activities on campus coordinated so that anything that was taking place on campus could be held with the least [amount of] problems,” Riley said. Because last year’s renovation was also more extensive than the work planned for this year, the

construction should not be as big of an impediment to BU students, Riley said. BU has a close working relationship with MassDOT when it comes to construction that will affect students, Riley said. “It’s been an ongoing conversation for many years and a continued very positive working relationship,” Riley said. “Everything is being coordinated. We’ve been in conversation on what their planning entails and what our needs are, so they’re very accommodating.” Several detours and transit shuttles will be put in place over the 15 and a half days of construction. These will be necessary for

Grad students may unionize Medical marijuana policies still unclear BY HALEY LERNER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Last week, Harvard University research and teaching assistants voted to unionize, allowing them to collectively bargain with the university for better conditions and payment. This historic result prompts questions of similar efforts occuring at Boston University. The Harvard students’ vote to unionize was held April 18 and 19, resulting in 1,932 ballots cast in favor of and 1,532 against creating a graduate student union, according to The Harvard Crimson. The ballot tallying was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board at their regional office Friday. Now, Harvard graduate students can collectively bargain with their administration, which they previously had been unable to do. The Boston Universit y Graduate Workers Union-United Auto Workers is advocating for the working rights of graduate student employees at BU. While the union is not currently recognized by the BU

administration, the organization hopes to collectively bargain with them regarding graduate students’ employment, said Lizzy Karnaukh, a second year doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a member of the BUGWU-UAW. Karnaukh said she feels great about the fact that Harvard graduate students have formed an officially recognized union. “It’s a really incredible thing,” Karnaukh said. “It’s really powerful. It shows the measure of solidarity and building power in working to improve the working conditions of graduate students.” Karnaukh said she thinks Harvard’s new union will positively affect the progress of the BUGWU-UAW. “We looked at our colleagues across the river and we see that they can win a [graduate student] union,” Karnaukh said. “That’s really exciting for us because it’s fresh momentum for us to build off of in our own organizing on our campus.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

BY MUGDHA GURRAM DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Massachusetts State Legislature will not be clarifying medical marijuana laws this congressional session despite an April 17 Supreme Judicial Court ruling that raised concerns with the Commonwealth’s current legislation. A 2012 ballot measure allows

Massachusetts residents to possess a 60-day, or 10-ounce supply, of medical marijuana. Daniel Smith, legislative director and general counsel for Sen. Patricia Jehlen, said the ruling rested partially on the fact that the guilty party was convicted of selling marijuana illegally. “It wasn’t decided on the amount of plants that were being

PHOTO BY BETSEY GOLDWASSER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Medical marijuana regulation won’t get updated this year, according to the Senate chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Marijuana Policy.

grown at one time,” Smith said. “It was based upon finding a large quantity of cash, finding scales [and] finding baggies in the same location as the marijuana.” Currently, medical marijuana patients who require a larger dosage can receive permission with a doctor’s recommendation. Despite this, the court called into question the clarity of the language regarding the 60-day medical marijuana supply. “What the court referenced was that it’s hard to tell from the language of a 60-day supply and of 10 oz. how that applies to growing plants,” Smith said. He said defining the supply in terms of the number of marijuana plants could be cause for concern, since plant yield can vary depending on the grower. “There’s plenty of evidence to show that separately defining [the 60-day supply] based on an arbitrary number of plants, when everyone admits that we don’t know how much is coming from each plant, CONTINUED ON PAGE 4


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