9-13-2012

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Special Issue: Dining Guide for Students in Hub

The Daily Free Press

Year xlii. Volume lxxxiii. Issue VIII

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Thursday, September 13, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

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HOMECOMING

TEXTBOOK SMART? Some students choose convenience when buying textbooks, page 3.

BU men’s soccer team to face Brown in home opener, page 8.

www.dailyfreepress.com

WEATHER

Today: Sunny/High 81 Tonight: Clear/Low 58 Tomorrow: 79/62 Data Courtesy of weather.com

Allston inspections result in condemned properties, fines Students still unsure about pros of using, owning credit cards By Jasper Craven Daily Free Press Staff

Although Boston city inspectors issued more than 2,800 fines for sanitary code violations during the city’s recent student move-in period, students said conditions in their apartments in Allston are habitable. Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 4, the city’s Inspectional Services Department issued more than 100 abatement orders and 20 fines for housing code violations, even condemning three properties. “What we’ve noticed is that with the influx of students coming into the city of Boston, we’ve noticed a burden on trash,” said Lisa Timberlake, a spokeswoman for the Inspectional Services Department. “We’ve also received complaints in the past regarding the apartments that students are actually planning on moving into not being up to code.” Indira Alvarez, the assistant director of the Housing Division at the ISD who was present at some inspections during student move-in, said some of the most common violations included trash on the property, faulty fire alarms, no postings of ownership and bed bugs. More than 275 pieces of furniture were tagged for bed bugs, according to an ISD report on the inspections. Allston received 117 house inspections during student turnover, most of which resulted from student complaints, Timberlake said. Land managers, who are contracted out

By Emily Payne Daily Free Press Staff

ABIGAIL LIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Allston had 117 house inspections during move-in weekend as a part of the city’s efforts to crack down on violations.

by landlords, are just as responsible for following city housing and sanitary codes as landlords, she said. “We believe that the landlords and the management companies are well aware of the laws and regulations in the state of Massachusetts,” Alvarez said. “We hold the landlords responsible. Ignorance is not an excuse. If you are renting an apartment to someone, you should deliver it in decent

condition.” Joshua Krefetz, an Allston-based attorney who deals with landlord-tenant law, said although there were many violations detected in Allston, many of them could have simply been flaws that many people live with every day. “Just because there was a sanitary code

Allston, see page 2

Boston City Council remembers former member at meeting By Carol Kozma Daily Free Press Staff

After signing off on a bill involving paid leave for new parents, Boston city councilors took time to remember the late Bruce Bolling, former Boston City Council president, as a man who always served the public. Councilor President Steve Murphy and Councilor Charles Yancey spoke on behalf of the late Bolling, according to a video posted in the Boston City Council’s online archives. Bruce Bolling was “the first person of color to hold council presidency in the history of this city,” Murphy said. Bolling, a Roxbury resident, died Tuesday at his home, Yancey said. He was elected to the

City Council in 1981, and became its president in 1986. “Councilor Bolling never stopped serving the public, long before there was a Governor Patrick or even a President Obama, there was a president Bruce Bolling right here, in the Boston City Council,” Yancey said. City Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley said she was influenced by the Bolling family, “dubbed the black Kennedys.” “We will miss our beloved Bruce,” Pressley said. “We will miss him as a public servant, as a loving husband and devoted father.” Councilor Felix Arroyo and Yancey also presented a bill that would give families paid

Unhealthy food in dining halls easy to avoid By Emily Overholt Daily Free Press Staff

When Bennet Gavrish, a Boston University College of Communication 2010 alumnus, took philosophy in the spring of his sophomore year he was looking for an easy semester full of hypothetical discussions. Instead, he said, he found a launching point for major life change. “All the readings and all the lectures were about death and dying — it was a really depressing class,” he said. “It got me thinking, I would look at myself and I could barely sit in a desk in that classroom, which always really frustrated me, and I said ‘what am I doing?’” At the time, Gavrish weighed about 300 lbs. After his realization, Gavrish lost more than 120 lbs. in a year by avoiding the pitfalls of college dining, which he recounts in his book “Secrets to Losing Weight in College: How I reversed the Freshman 15 & Dropped 120 Pounds in One Year.”

Many students said they worry about gaining the rumored “freshman 15” in college, but also see options to avoid becoming unhealthy. “I think you have to have a sense of selfcontrol if you want to stay healthy,” said School of Education freshman Dominique Bray. “But it’s definitely hard with all of these choices [available in dining halls].” Gavrish said the trick to staying healthy while navigating the dining halls is to choose the right line. He said that often the shortest lines are healthier, since most students wait for hamburgers or macaroni and cheese. “I stuck to the sandwich line for sure and the burrito or wrap station, where you could customize your meal and see exactly what’s going into it and how it’s being prepared,” he said. As for why students often gain weight in college, Gavrish said inexperience could be the cause.

Diet, see page 2

leave when they have a child. The bill, he said, would allow parents to have four weeks paid leave and six weeks if the birth included a caesarian section. Arroyo said the bill would also allow a two-week leave for adopted children and a oneweek leave for partners. Aside from Yancey, Pressley and Murphy, Councilors Matt O’Malley, Tito Jackson, Michael Ross, Bill Linehan and others added their name to the bill and referred it to the Committee on Labor, Youth Affairs and Health. “I think this is a great opportunity for Bos-

Council, see page 2

To pay for increasingly expensive dorm rooms filled with college-specific furniture and brand new textbooks useful for only one semester, many Boston University students cover these costs with credit cards, officials said. “Credit card use is not uncommon to 19- to 21-year-olds as well as grad students in their late 20s — it is a trend and an issue,” said School of Management professor Mark Williams. “As a student you’re in school to learn and many students don’t have the time to work a second job so their credit card bills add up.” Students who are not educated about their finances run a high risk of being careless with credit cards and neglectful of their payments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published Monday. As the economy worsens, students still carry MacBook computers, iPhones and North Face jackets to class, said SMG professor Kathryn Griner. “Kids are so entitled today,” she said. “Parents are maybe giving them these credit cards more than in the past.” Griner said she would advise students to use their debit cards instead of credit cards as much as possible. “If [students] do have a big balance, they can do their homework and transfer to a credit card with a much lower rate,” she said. “Even if it’s just 3 percent less, it makes a difference.” College of Communication junior Jennifer Ngo said she does not have much trouble with credit card debt, but does tend to spend more recklessly when she uses credit instead of debit cards. “I’ve had some friends that don’t quite understand that paying just the minimum balance on a credit card means that the rest of the balance collects interest, and that’s gotten a few people in trouble,” Ngo said. BU contributes to the financially reckless mentality of the students with Terrier Card points, Williams said. Calling the money on your Terrier Card “points” makes students forget they are spend-

Credit, see page 2

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

JACKIE ROBERTSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAF

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior Alyssa Kleinberg smokes hookah at Boston University Students for Israel’s welcome BBQ Wednesday.


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9-13-2012 by The Daily Free Press - Issuu