1-22-2014

The Daily Free Press

Year XLIV. Volume LXXXVI. Issue IV

GOING GREEN Danielsen named greenest BU dorm, page 3.

[

Wednesday, January 22, 2014 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

ASD SPECTRUM

Job opportunities limited for people with autism, page 5.

]

www.dailyfreepress.com

FIRST TO LOSE

Men’s hoops takes seven-game win streak to American, page 8.

WEATHER

Today: Snow showers/High 14 Tonight: Mostly clear/Low 0 Tomorrow: 20/0 Data Courtesy of weather.com

Blackboard acquires online platform MyEdu Mass. officials agree

with Pres. Obama’s future NSA reforms

By Emily Hartwell Daily Free Press Staff

The enterprise technology company and Boston University affiliate Blackboard Inc. will acquire a smaller online business as a tool for university students, officials announced Wednesday.

The Austin, Texas-based company MyEdu provides students with grading information and professor reviews as well as connects them to employers through online resumes, said Jay Bhatt, the CEO of Blackboard Inc. “Adding MyEdu into our portfolio allows us to quickly expand the value we are providing to students and be more ‘learnerfocused,’” Bhatt said. “Plus, the company has seen an incredible amount of success in a very short amount of time. It is a growth company that is just starting to take off.”

This partnership is a step toward bridging the gap between higher education and the workforce, a gray zone that graduating college students often find themselves in, Bhatt said.

“The free, user-friendly tools are used by millions of students to simplify their paths to degrees and create stronger connections between higher education and the workforce,” he said. “The company is defined by three big areas of focus: helping students succeed, helping students tell their “story,” and helping connect students with potential employers.

Bhatt also said that MyEdu would contribute to Blackboard Inc.’s larger goal of providing students with the resources to maximize

By Clinton Nguyen Daily Free Press Staff

ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Education software company Blackboard acquired MyEdu Thursday. MyEdu, a three-year-old startup company based in Texas, aims to help students find career opportunities.

the value of their education.

“By adding MyEdu into our portfolio, we are able to help them [students] address two major challenges they are currently facing: graduating on time and securing a job,” Bhatt said.

The website also incorporates simplified course mapping and planning to allow students to graduate on time and see more easily the path to earning their degree.

“Many students are struggling to navigate a successful path throughout their college ex-

perience,” he said. “Completion rates aren’t as high as they could — or should — be and nearly half of all students who earn degrees are either unemployed or underemployed once they graduate.”

Blackboard has yet to determine how MyEdu will be integrated into the Blackboard system, but Bhatt said they are working on the best way to merge the two companies and make the MyEdu tools available to Blackboard-affiliated students.

blacKboaRD, see page 2

Bill to restrict surveillance drones sent to hearing in Mass.

By Felicia Gans Daily Free Press Staff

A bill to restrict drone use in Massachusetts will go to a Transportation Committee hearing on Feb. 5, after being postponed from Wednesday to due to inclement weather.

The Drone Privacy Act, introduced by Mass. Sen. Robert Hedlund and Mass. Rep. Colleen Garry, will require police officers to have warrants before using drones, except for emergency situations.

“We think of drones as controversial tools of warfare and killing, but this remote controlled aerial surveillance technology is also increasingly of interest to local law enforcement,” the bill said on the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts website.

“It is up to state lawmakers to ensure that this emerging technology is used responsibly in Massachusetts — without weapons … and not for warrantless surveillance of our movements and activities.”

The bill will create two regulations that ensure that weaponized drones will be banned in Massachusetts, and drones will only be available for use in specific circumstances, including the execution of a search warrant, emergencies, threats to state safety and other rare cases, the website said.

“Drones should never: use biometric matching technology, except to identify the subject of a warrant; collect data on other people who are not the subject of the warrant; or monitor people’s lawful First Amendment activities,” the bill said.

R. John Hansman, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he does not see the purpose of the bill because there is no difference between a drone and an aircraft.

“We allow people to fly aircrafts over populated areas,” he said. “We allow the police to operate. So, the only difference between a manned airplane and a drone, or a UAB, is that it can be smaller, so that allows it to get

places that a manned airplane or a helicopter can have a hard time getting.”

Hansman said forcing the police to have a warrant before using drones could also affect the necessary access to other resources that can help in dangerous situations.

“Let’s say, for example, there was a major traffic accident that occurred on 128,” he said.

“You could send in a UAB or drone to quickly access if you needed to be sending ambulances. In a situation like that, you’re not using the drones for surveillance in the type of way you think about it when you’re trying to figure out if someone is doing a drug deal.”

Several residents said they have been deprived of their privacy in recent years, and they are hopeful that the Drone Privacy Act will be passed.

Will Cohen, 23, of Brighton, said warrants are the best way to ensure that the police will not overstep into the privacy of the people.

DRoNes, see page 2

Massachusetts officials are in agreement with the reforms U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Friday, which would end the National Security Agency’s authoritative hold over databases of telephone records held by millions of Americans, as an improvement but only one of many that are needed.

While Obama’s reform plans will end the NSA’s warrantless telephone record monitoring, a long-held ability afforded under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, it still does not cover the swaths of user data available from data giants such as Google and Facebook.

While lawmakers in Boston were pleased by the changes, they were concerned the government would run into many logistical problems in holding the NSA judicially accountable for their searches, especially with leaks from people such as Edward Snowden alleging that the NSA is able to rifle through individual web histories and browsing habits.

“America must always find a balance between security and liberty, but the trove of information from NSA ‘data-tapping’ programs, most of it on innocent Americans, is ripe for future abuse,” said Sen. Edward Markey in the Friday news release.

While Markey was pleased that Obama was taking initial steps to curtail government surveillance programs, he said more needed to be done to ensure that the privacy of U.S. citizens remains fundamental right.

Kade Crockford, director of the technology for liberty program at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, was more critical of Obama’s NSA reform plans.

“The President’s proposals do not go nearly far enough,” she said. “They just barely scratch the surface of the problems that we’ve learned exist in the intelligence agencies at the highest levels of government in this country.”

While Obama is ending the NSA’s hold over the millions of phone records , he failed to specify who would have ownership over the phone records, meaning it

Nsa, see page 2

Mass. Gov. Patrick invests $12 million in summer job program for at-risk youth

By Kelsey Newell Daily Free Press Staff

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC HAYNES/GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick announced Saturday the state would invest $12 million in a program that will open up 6,000 summer job-training opportunities. YouthWorks, a state subsidized job initiative for at-risk youth aged 14-21, will oversee the funding.

Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick announced Saturday $12 million would be devoted to YouthWorks, a program that provides opportunities for teenagers to obtain statesubsidized jobs to prevent destructive behavior.

The YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program was added to the 2015 fiscal year state budget and is overseen by Commonwealth Corporation department. The program targets at-risk youth ages 14-21 and teenagers of all backgrounds utilize the program.

“These jobs are essential to providing our Commonwealth’s at-risk youth with a better opportunity for a brighter future, while reducing youth violence across the Commonwealth,” said Patrick in the release. “I look forward to working with our partners to ensure that YouthWorks remains fully funded this summer, so we can continue our commitment to the next generation.”

YouthWorks has grown continuously

since Patrick took office. A year after he was elected to his first term, funding for YouthWorks was at $4.7 million. In 2010, funding had grown to $10 million, and this year’s investment will be the largest to date.

As many as 5,175 teens across 31 towns in Massachusetts successfully completed their employments, and this year the program is projected to assist approximately 6,000 teens, according to the release.

Josh Dohan, director of Massachusetts’ Youth Advocacy Department, said investing this much of the city’s budget will benefit the state in more ways than just providing youth with jobs. Many of the work sites provided for participants are jobs that give back to the city, so the city’s investment will be returned.

“We heartily endorse Governor Patrick’s commitment to funding employment opportunities for at risk youth,” he said.

“History and research have made it abun-

sUMMeR Jobs, see page 2

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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Program to reduce ‘millions’ in prison costs Students: New online resources will improve Blackboard Learn sUMMeR Jobs: From Page 1

dantly clear that promoting education and employment opportunities for underserved kids is a great long term investment and an incredibly effective public safety strategy. Providing good summer jobs now will save us millions of dollars in prison costs down the road.”

Additionally, $2 million will be allocated to Youth Builds, an adjunct program which also targets at-risk and low-income youths and provides them with education, job training, leadership development and community services.

Some residents said they believe the program has good intentions but are not sure that it will truly pay off.

“I have nothing against giv-

ing aid to underprivileged families,” said Paulina Sefanowski, 20, of Allston. “There’s definitely a limit to how much we can give … I worry it’s a big investment and it might not really make a huge difference, but I do think it’s a good idea. I don’t see anything wrong with giving hard-working kids from low-income families a chance to change their future.”

A business developer in Boston, Alan Epstein, 34, said he fears the program may be taking jobs away from adults looking for work.

“I’d be worried if this program isn’t adding jobs, but instead specifying that certain jobs will only be fulfilled by this program,” he said. “Obviously the governor’s heart is in the right place, I’m just not sure how practical it is. And as a business owner, I’m

wondering how much incentive businesses are going to receive to hire these teens.”

Angela Schroder-Dill of Brighton said she is completely in support of the program, as long as the directors have specific ways in which they’re going to accomplish their goals.

“I want to know what kind of jobs they’re targeting because it’s important to consider what kinds of jobs you’re getting your youth involved in,” she said. “If they’re getting paid a reasonable wage, it could definitely teach them work ethic which will extend later into life. Also, jobs that they could progress in would be great for their future. To make this work, they need to have specific ideas and guidelines in mind in order to foster good attributes in these kids.”

Markey: ‘Gov’t should not be siphoning’ info Nsa: From Page 1

could go back to telecommunications companies or a third party, Crockford said.

“Giving that data to another third party would endanger our privacy rights even more than they’re doing now,” she said.

“Not only is it blatantly unconstitutional, [but it’s] a danger to everyone’s privacy and civil liberties.”

Similarly, Markey voiced concern with the government overstepping its bounds with vast surveillance sweeps.

“We cannot invade the privacy of the innocent as we look for the

guilty,” he said. “As Americans increasingly connect with one another through a multitude of technologies and devices and services, the government should not be siphoning up more information about the innocent.”

Several residents said although they see the value in surveillance to prevent terrorism and other crimes, it crosses a line when it invades the personal lives of innocent people.

“I’m all for trying to protect people, especially innocent people, but only if there’s legitimate concern that an individual or a group of people pose a serious threat,” Drew Stevens, of Boston,

said. “But that is a very specific set of circumstances. It sounds like a lot of the issues that are happening go well beyond that and they’re a lot more intrusive and probably cavalier with a lot of things that they’ve done or [have] been doing.”

Thomas Estrada, of the North End, said Obama was only acknowledging one part of the NSA issue. “[Obama] is doing a halfway decent job of at least addressing it,” he said. “On that same note, something has to be done in the fact that they can’t just go into everyone’s house and spy on them.”

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blacKboaRD: From Page 1

“Our first and biggest priority in the near term will be to fully integrate the MyEdu team into our company structure and sustain the incredibly positive experience students have with the platform,” he said.

Young Woo Oh, a School of Hospitality Administration junior, said he was interested to see how MyEdu could be incorporated into the Center for Career Services.

“Everyone’s on the same boat,” Oh said. “Everyone is just trying to look for jobs, and I think this could be more convenient for everyone in the school. Right now, I’m not doing much with myself but I know in time, I’m going to have to head over there [CCS] soon to find out what I want to do, so I think that an online tool is great as well for students.”

Maddison Fisher, a College of General Studies sophomore, said

MyEdu could function beneficially for students in a manner similar to that of RateMyProfessor.com.

“It will be good because people use a lot of things like RateMyProfessors.com and stuff like that so I feel like it will be a cool way to figure out your schedule and connecting better with your classes before actually taking them or while taking them,” she said.

Gina Doherty, a College of Arts and Science senior, said MyEdu could be useful in giving students the resources to ease the challenge of acquiring connections in their desired career fields.

“There is very little direction,” Doherty said. “We’re kind of dropped off after we graduate. It’s kind of like survival of the fittest whoever is able to get there quickest, who has the right networking skills. I think that’s a huge portion of it. So if there’s a way to give everyone a level playing field, why not?”

Residents split over drones’ many potential applications DRoNes: From Page 1

“It’s not something that I’m worried about any short-term effects but the potential of abuse, even not at an institution level but at an individual level,” he said. “The potential for abuse could be really high, and I feel like the temptation for abuse would be really high. It certainly would be for me.”

Angelica Giardina, 18, of East Boston, said privacy is the primary goal and no one should have the ability to take that away, even for potential security purposes.

“I don’t even support the use of drones at all, but I definitely think that police should have to use a warrant,” she said. “We have a right to

have our own privacy. I don’t think that the police or anyone should infringe upon that.”

David Davis, 52, of Back Bay, said individual privacy has been gradually decreasing, but law enforcement officers should be granted the use of surveillance drones if they feel they are needed.

“We don’t really have any privacy any more,” he said. “If the law enforcement officials feel that they need surveillance drones to do what they need to do to keep the criminals off the street, then they have to do that. The only thing that would worry me is if it’s a waste of money.

How many criminals would this really catch? It may not be worth it.”

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Campus & City City Crime Logs

Jan. 13 to Jan. 19

By Kelsey Newell Daily Free Press Staff

The following crime reports were taken from the AllstonBrighton D-14 crime logs from Jan. 13 to Jan. 19 Computer and iPhone stolen from home At 7:23 p.m. on Jan. 14, officers were called to 10 Radcliff Rd. for a reported breaking and entering. The victim said she came home to find her front door dead bolted. She decided to go around back and enter through the rear door. When she went inside, she found that her apartment had been broken into through the kitchen window. According to the victim, both her computer and her iPhone were stolen.

Suspect breaks in through back door, technology products stolen Also on Jan. 14, around 9:10 p.m., police officers received a radio call to 250 Allston St. for another breaking and entering report. This time, the victim stated the rear slider door may have been left unsecured and is probably how the suspect entered. His laptop, speakers and Kindle were all stolen.

Suspect looses cool and throws hot coffee On Jan. 15 around 11:14 a.m., officers were flagged down at 602 Washington St., at the Sunoco Gas Station. The Victim stated he was parked at the gas station when the suspect approached the victim and yelled, “You just cut me off!” The suspect continued to threaten the victim and members of his family.

The suspect then threw a cup of coffee inside the victim’s car and fled.

Masked and armed attempted robbery Officers received a radio call to 33 Rogers Park Ave. for a robbery in progress at around 7:56 p.m. Jan. 15. When the police arrived, the victims reported that while they were walking through Rogers Park, two unknown males in all black and with masks approached them and screamed, “Give me your money!” The men produced a firearm and screamed again, “Give me your money!”

The two victims fled from the park without having anything stolen.

Suspect Steals Boots from UPS Package On Friday around 8:47 p.m., officers received a call to 1135 Commonwealth Ave. for a larceny report. The victim had gone to pick up a package she had delivered by UPS that day, but instead found that an unknown suspect had cut open the box and removed the Steve Madden boots she had ordered.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

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Study: Applicants select quality of campus life over academics

By Taryn Ottaunick Daily Free Press Staff

As the pressure to commit to institutions of higher education such as Boston University plagues college applicants, a study published Thursday suggests a university’s qualityof-life ranking may trump its academic rating in the decision-making process.

“It’s a major transition to go to college,” said School of Education professor Evangeline Harris Stefanakis. “You want to be in an environment where you feel you’re in a positive place socially as well as academically a place you can grow.

People care what their peers think.

Whenever you join a club or buy a car, you get the information about what others who you respect think.

Rankings do the same thing.”

The study, which was conducted by researchers at Columbia University, found that an institution’s rankings in student happiness, campus quality and desirability of location weighted more heavily in increasing applicants than overall quality of education.

“People care about where they’re spending their time and how much time their college is spending on social stuff,” said Rendall Reback, who co-authored the study. “People tend to look at that, stuff like the success

of sports teams, quality of life, all that.”

While receiving high rankings for campus beauty or student happiness increased a college’s number of out-of state applicants, ranking in the “Top 20 Party Schools” list predicted an eight or nine percent decrease in out-of-state applicants, the study stated.

“For some people, even among students who do like to party, there are different effects on whether or not they like the idea of attending a school known as a party school or that a parent would allow them to attend a school with that reputation,” Reback said.

BU’s sophisticated facilities and motivated students foster a high quality of life and contribute to the steadily growing number of applicants it receives, said BU spokesman Colin Riley.

“We do have great facilities, outstanding faculty and students who are high achievers who arrive here for a quality education,” he said. “When that’s affirmed here, when they see someone else affirm the quality of their university [on ranking websites], it makes them happier with their decision, and it’s shown in the attrition rate of student applicants ...

Our attrition rate has been steadily increasing through the years”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Researchers at Columbia University conducted a study that found changing reputations altered the demand for colleges in terms of application numbers and enrollment decisions.

Lauren Howard, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, said many of BU’s online rankings made her hesitant to attend.

“I almost didn’t attend BU because I read a lot of bad things online,” Howard said. “How BU is overpriced and how that money doesn’t really come back and benefit the students very much, and I read a lot of reviews from people who weren’t really happy with their lives here at BU. The percentage of students who transfer out of BU is an important factor also ... I was definitely hesitant about coming to a school where people weren’t happy.”

Nicholas Pantages, a CAS senior, said college rankings are valuable in preparing applicants for the obstacles they could potentially face as students, but are not always realistic.

“You can get a good idea of what issues you might run into when attending school there,” Pantages said.

“I took them into account, but at the same time you have to realize that schools fit better for different people.

You have to trust your instinct and if you’re feeling great about a school, you shouldn’t let online reviews dissuade you ... They’re either super good or super bad, not always realistic.”

MIT researcher finds drug to eliminate traumatic memories

By Kaitlin Junod Daily Free Press Staff

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Li-Huei Tsai published a study Thursday in the journal Cell about an experimental drug that erases traumatic memories in mice.

Tsai and her researchers concluded that one dose of the drug, called a histone deacetylase 2 inhibitor, allowed the mice to forget memories from the distant past that had caused fear or anxiety.

“We are interested in the mechanism in underlying memory extinction, especially at the cellular-micro level,” Tsai said. “There is this very well established observation in the literature that recent memory can be extinguished using behavioral training. But distant memory or long-term remote, or old memories, are more resistant to extinction training.”

Because anxiety disorders are not scientifically curable, there are very few strategies used to erase traumatic memories in humans. However, Tsai said her study shows how behavioral training, mixed with a dose of HDAC2, could be the key to erasing

these memories.

According to Tsai’s research, the HDAC2 inhibitors make the brain more malleable and allow patients to learn new associations and replace the traumatic memory.

“Based on our previous studies, when we look at the memory reconsolidation process, to our surprise, increase in histone isolation seems to play a very important role in reconsolidation and extinction,” she said.

Postdoctoral associate Damien Rei worked with Tsai on the research project, said this research has a lot of translational value.

“That data has been acquired, and there are a lot of interesting possibilities for the patients and patients in particular that are suffering from PTSD,” he said.

Rei said there are multiple possibilities for using the study’s results, though more research still needs to be done. Researchers would most likely test the HDAC2 inhibitors on monkeys before introducing it to people.

“If investigators think that the drug used in the study is good enough, the next step is to do clini-

cal trials,” he said. “So, in that regard, it could take five or 10 years before actually getting the drug on the market.”

Tsai said she hopes scientists who focus on post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety problems and addiction will further study the results of her research and that future research will address some of the issues that were discovered in the most recent study.

“In terms of the more translational aspect, small molecule HDAC inhibitors were developed previously for oncology purposes,” she said.

“For the central nervous system, there is always this concern about safety. Now I understand there are pharmaceutical companies that have HDAC inhibitor programs with the goal to identify more content and safe compounds that can be administered to humans.”

Several residents said they were wary of a drug that can permanently affect memories. Percy Ballard, 32, of Fenway, is skeptical of any drug that can erase memories permanently. He said he would only recommend it to someone who has a full

understanding of the risks and benefits of taking it.

“The brain isn’t like a hard drive,” he said. “You can’t just erase it. If the memory is suppressed, there would probably be something left behind, like some sort of a symptom.”

Joe Holt, 20, of Back Bay, said the drug could be useful for people returning home from conflicts overseas.

“For people coming back from wars that want to forget that part of their lives, that could be kind of cool,” he said. “If I knew someone who went through something so bad they needed it, I guess I would recommend it to them.”

Zachary Kerr, 20, of Fenway, said he thought any drug that inhibits the brain and its natural functions is not good.

“I wouldn’t recommend a drug like that because I feel like anything like that needs to be dealt with physically,” he said. “[They should] go to a therapist or talking to someone about it. I think that just chemically suppressing memories isn’t good.”

Danielson Hall wins energy-saving competition hosted by SG

By Taryn Ottaunick and Sebastian Alamo Daily Free Press Staff

Sustainability at Boston University and Student Government officials held a pizza party for students living in Danielsen Hall on Tuesday as the prize for winning an energy-saving contest.

The competition, which was held throughout September and October of the Fall 2013 semester, challenged all major residence halls to reduce their energy consumption. Performance was judged based which hall could use the least amount of electricity during these months compared to those in the previous year.

“It was a comparison in the electricity used in the previous year with the current year over September and October,” said Director of Sustainability Dennis Carlberg. “So it’s the same period for the same building and the goal was to reduce your en-

ergy consumption in comparison to the previous year.”

Because the competition was successful in inspiring students to change their energy consumption habits, similar contests will likely be held in the future, Carlberg said.

“Every time you see a competition like this you see intense participation, and then people tend to get closer to their old habits, but they never return to their old habits,” he said. “It always makes a difference. We are talking about making this again next year and we do, the level [of energy used by students] will decrease even more. We also have a new audience, new freshmen, new people on campus so the more you do this, the more it becomes the norm. And we want it to become the norm.”

President of the Danielson Hall Residence Association Dheandra Jack said residents of Danielsen Hall were encouraged to save energy

through posters and sustainability discussions at meetings.

“There was a sign up in the hallway and we talked to residents at our open meetings,” Jack, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said.

“Whenever we saw them in hallways, encouraging them to remember to turn of their lights, shut off the water when they are not using it--just to be sure they were mindful of how they are using the energy and not to overuse.”

Liza Stone, a CAS junior, said controlling energy usage in the bathrooms by shutting off the lights or turning off dripping faucets was a significant method of saving energy.

“I always turn off the light in the bathroom, even if I am walking by the bathroom and the lights are on, I’ll turn it off,” Stone said. “There is one sink on the eighth floor that is always dripping ... I always push it the rest of the way whenever I pass by it.”

Alyssa Laiacona, a College of Communication sophomore, said she and her roommate cut down on their energy usage by remembering to turn their room’s lights off during daylight hours, and when they were not in the room.

“My roommate and I always turn off the lights before we leave,” Laiacona said. “We don’t keep the lights on long. If we are both in the room, we will only use one light. We use the daylight during the day, obviously, we don’t have the lights on at six in the morning, we just let the sun come up.”

Jacquelyn Cleary, a CAS sophomore and resident of Danielsen Hall, said she will continue her energysaving habits in order to protect the environment.

“I’ll continue to do everything I can to save energy,” Cleary said. “It is our world and we need to make it better and keep it going.”

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Wednesday, january 22, 2014

Field notes from the funding cliff: Massachusetts’ autistic youth graduate with abysmal options Brooke Jackson-Glidden

N

Features Editor OTE: The persons involved in this story chose to remain partially anonymous.

David’s future could have been an easy case.

The 22-year-old from Amherst was never confused about his future. He never switched a major and never decided to veer off his chosen track: to work on cars. He did not gravitate toward an inaccessible or risky career. He had no interest in being an artist, a doctor or an actor. He wanted to work on cars, and his Autism Spectrum Disorder did not have to get in the way of that dream.

David, who chose to partially remain anonymous, is one of many young adults who went through the Massachusetts statewide special education program, which provides specialized curriculum, counselors and activities to students with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Beginning in preschool, students meet counselors and advisors that help them learn skills they can use to live independently. Once these young adults approach their graduation date, they begin to discuss placement options with their parents and school counselors in Individualized Transition Planning meetings. These meetings are designed to help students find their places in the world once they leave the public school system, whether that places is in a sheltered workshop, a college environment, a Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission Independent Living Program (MRC), or at home with Department of Developmental Services checks.

Nonetheless, the funding for and the organization of this program leave many young adults like David with few-to-no options. However, there are currently two bills in state legislature may change that.

David is one of the many Massachusetts adults with a developmental disability. As a high-functioning person with ASD, David cleans up after himself, goes to school and work, procrastinates on the internet and plays video games — he was very excited to set up his new Xbox One — like any other 22-year-old. Yet he struggles with social communication, reading nonverbal cues and finding the words to express the world inside of his head. Get him going on cars, however, and he will talk for hours.

ASD diagnoses have increased 600 percent in the last 20 years, and yet Massachusetts is the last state in the country to only offer Department of Developmental Services support — monthly checks, residence placement assistance, job placement assistance, counseling, etc. to those with an IQ below 70.

That excludes a large number of people with developmental disabilities, including those who fall on the high-functioning end of the Autism spectrum, like David.

“It’s kind of like being lower-middle class,” said David’s father, Eddy. “You’re not poor enough for food stamps, but not rich enough to eat.”

Early on in his schooling, David’s parents reached out to the school in an attempt to discuss the possibilities for David’s adulthood. However, the school did not begin David’s ITP meetings until six months before graduation. The Massachusetts gov-

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses have increased by 600 percent in the last twenty years, according to Autism Speaks. Massachusetts is also one of the few states that does not offer Department of Developmental Services support for transitioning youth with an IQ above 70.

ernment recommends meetings begin two years prior to graduation.

Ineligible for DDS and rapidly approaching independence, David was offered only three major routes: MRC, which provides similar programs as DDS with less allocated funding (MRC is responsible for all varieties of disability, while DDS simply focuses on those with intellectual disability), a sheltered workshop (which will all be closed by 2015) or college.

He attended Westfield State University and dropped out within two years.

“I decided that it wasn’t really the right time for me, yet,” David said. “It was too fast … I made this whole new group of friends and sort of lost focus on what I was doing.”

At first, David went to a center for students with disabilities at Westfield to meet with an advisor, but after a sudden change in its administration, David slowly stopped visiting the center. Now able to choose his own level of involvement, David chose to stop attending meetings altogether — and, subsequently, to leave Westfield.

“We provide a rich array of programs for the developmentally disabled if you are 21 or younger — we have some of the best special [education] laws in the country,” said Senator Michael Barrett, chairman of the Committee for Children, Families and Disabilities in the Massachusetts state legislature. “Once you turn 22, you do fall off a cliff.”

David felt himself falling as well. His advisors recommended MRC for job placement, and David spent months trying to get ahold of a counselor who never responded to his emails or calls. When he was finally reassigned to a dedicated job placement counselor, she did not end up getting David a job, forcing him to turn to his parents for help.

His father, Eddy, drove him from building to building with resumes for him to get

his current job working in a pet store when he was already working on cars in high school.

David’s father is a well-known man in Amherst, and someone who was fortunate enough to know people willing to hire David. But David is not a typical case. Unlike other young adults with ASD, he was lucky enough to have parents dedicated to helping him succeed, who could afford to spend the time helping him find a job, and who understood they system enough to help him. Many youths with disabilities do not have resources available like David’s.

Many of those youth end up depending on their parents for many years after graduation or living on the street.

“Too oftentimes, when people aren’t offered these services early on, they are likely to stay home and languish,” said Barbara A. L’Italien, director of government affairs for ARC of Massachusetts, an organization that provides services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Two bills in state legislature may improve conditions for youth with developmental disabilities: The Bridges to Success bill regulates the Individualized Transition Meetings, forcing representatives from whichever adult services agency the student and counselors choose to attend the ITP meetings. This requirement ensures the chosen option for the student is a good fit.

It also forces schools to begin ITP meetings at least two years before graduation, so more students avoid the pre-graduation rush that David tried to avoid. Finally, it institutes more community programs for adults with disabilities, so various new graduates can meet and talk to others about how to become self-sufficient.

The second bill, Passage to Independence, provides an extra $23.4 million to the Department of Developmental Services to provide more options for people with developmental disabilities who are transition-

ing out of the school system.

Both of these bills heard testimony on Nov. 5 and are still awaiting judgment in committee. Many young adults with disabilities from across Massachusetts came to testify on behalf of both bills. Cassandra Agger, a 22-year-old from Waltham, said she believes the bill could protect her from a possibly desperate condition.

“I have a friend who has been homeless for six months now,” Agger said in her testimony. “I don’t want that to happen to me.”

Both bills suggest changes for the 2015 fiscal year, and no action has been officially made by the committee on children, families and persons with disabilities since the hearing. The bill was originally brought before state legislature one year ago.

Although no committee members have publicly opposed the bill, Senator Barrett said he would like to see a bill that encourages more assistance from independent entrepreneurs to help students with disabilities transition. For instance, he thinks the development of an online rating system, like Yelp, for state transition services would help students with disabilities and their families pick an agency.

“There are ways the state could help, but I’m interested in encouraging the private sector solutions to address the same question of the young person’s empowerment,” Barrett said.

David was not sure whether more meetings, more online resources or more funding would help kids like him find independence. More than anything, David just wants to go to automotive school, and his father, like most parents, just wants him to be happy.

“I want a job that I want to wake up for every day,” David said. “My biggest fear is that I’ll look for that job, hope for that job, find that job … work to get that job and then not get that one.”

6

Opinion

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Daily Free Press

A Semester in Shanghai

The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

Incentives

44th year F Volume 86 F Issue 4

Sarah Kirkpatrick, Editor-in-Chief Brian Latimer, Managing Editor

Rachel Riley, Campus Editor

Alice Bazerghi, City Editor

Andrew Battifarano, Sports Editor

Trisha Thadani, Opinion Editor

Heather Goldin, Multimedia Editor

Maya Devereaux, Photo Editor

Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Features Editor

Emily Hartwell, Layout Editor

Tate Gieselmann

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager The Daily Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Monday through Thursday during the academic year except during vacation and exam periods by Back Bay Publishing Co.,Inc., a nonprofit corporation operated by Boston University students. No content can be reproduced without the permission of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2013 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Classless marriage

A California-based activist group, Kids Against Divorce, proposed a ballot initiative that would require couples in Colorado to take pre-marriage education classes. The Colorado Marriage Education Act would be government funded and include tax cuts for those couples that voluntarily continue taking the education class each year. This act would require potential spouses to complete 10 hours of pre-marriage education, 20 hours for those about to embark on their second marriage, and 30 hours for those third-timers.

The proposal claims this act would, “reduce the billions of dollars taxpayers spend annually on divorce.” The government has already shoveled billions of tax dollars into pre-emptive programs, such as D.A.R.E. and abstinence-only sexual education programs — both of which have been proven ineffective through comprehensive research. We all either were or remember the timid middleschoolers who vowed they would never drink alcohol or engage in sexual activity. And, well, we all know how things change.

Same goes for the smitten 20-somethingyear-olds who are still in the midst of their honeymoon phase. A class like this would most likely teach the standard for how a marriage “should be.” This sort of standardization would ignore the uniqueness that exists in each relationship. Every marriage is different, and no syllabus or PowerPoint presentation can fully prepare anyone for the realities of such commitment.

In a 25-year-long study by Judith Wallerstein in 2000, several landmark case studies suggested most adults who were children of a divorce experience extreme psychological effects such as depression and relationship issues themselves.

The strength of a marriage can be measured based on how well a couple communicates and compromises with each other in extreme situations. Sometimes couples can get through hard times and other times they simply don’t.

According to a 2011 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6.8 in every 1,000 marriages ended in divorce in the United States. There are more pressing issues in society to ask taxpayers to fund such as in-

frastructure and law enforcement than trying to save a marriage before it goes sour. When a married couple is in the throws of a heated argument, it is hard to imagine them sitting down and referencing the “five steps to solving an argument” that they learned in their pre-marriage class.

Kids Against Divorce is centered on supporting children whose parents are divorced.

Founders of the organization, Davil Schel and Sharon Tekolian, said this act will, “better prepare individuals going into marriage to fulfill their new roles as spouse and potentially as a parent, to furthermore protect children given that marriage is the foundation of a family unit.” This group needs to gather more than 86,000 signatures by Aug. 4 to put the initiative on the November 2014 ballot.

Before the next election, the organization reports they plan to propose similar bills in states across the country.

If proponents of this act from Kids Against Divorce want to protect impressionable youth from growing up in unstable homes, they should be raising money to fund sexual education courses that teach safe sex instead of no sex as opposed to asking Americans to pay for another social program.

The subject matter of this pre-marriage class could be extremely generic and stereotypical, and thus corrupted in several ways.

The way people respond to or teach this class is dependent on personal values, which could touch on sensitive subjects such as homophobia or sexism.

All couples should have the option for this pre-marriage class, but mandating it is an unnecessary effort. The state could simply spend the money on spreading awareness about existing marriage counseling programs. Or the money garnered from this program should be put towards subsidizing counseling for those 28 percent of divorced couples who the CDC reports live below the poverty line.

In regards to this proposal, Tekolian said since education is the key to success in every aspect of live, “this [program] will have a positive impact on marriage.” But haven’t we all taken those classes that we thought we aced but ended up failing – and vice-versa?

I love Mandarin Chinese. Even after nearly seven years of studying it, the language continues to confuse and amaze me.

The origins of Mandarin Chinese date back nearly 3,000 years, and today is by far the most commonly spoken language in the world.

As I wrote in my column last week, I happened to begin studying Chinese by accident. Although my experience began by chance, I quickly fell in love with the East Asian dialect. My original fascination with Chinese stemmed from the beauty of the written language. Chinese characters, or hanzi, are not comprised of an alphabet.

Rather, each character is a glyph with an original meaning.

Though characters often feature a combination of preexisting radicals, each character is unique. An average Chinese person holds about four thousand characters lodged in their memory. Some characters are pictographic: for instance, the Chinese word for eye is a near direct depiction of the human eye. Other characters are often ideographic, with their depiction resembling an abstraction of the meaning of the word. The example that makes the most sense to me is that the Chinese words for the numbers one, two and three are simple dashes.

As a 13-year-old, the characters were what made Chinese exciting. I would pore over my basic lessons, memorizing the various characters and working on my handwriting during class assignments and essays.

As my education continued, my incentive to study Chinese rose from a shared connection with my classmates. In my nonChinese high school classes, we Chinese students would use Chinese to speak with any of our friends who were also studying the language. We would discuss plans for after school, talk about our social lives or (regrettably) give nicknames to any teachers we happened to dislike. It was pure adolescent mischief but I enjoyed it all the same.

An event that bolstered my early interest in Chinese was the Chinese New Year.

Our Chinese class took lessons on the ritual “dragon dance,” in which we learned how to beat a gigantic drum in a particular rhythm and control a two-person dragon costume.

We performed in front of the whole school, and though it had the potential to be incredibly embarrassing, it ended up bringing our class closer together.

At that point in my high school career, our Chinese classes consisted of semi-serious pursuits; though our teacher quizzed us once a week, we spent the rest of our class

time watching Chinese movies with English subtitles and playing card games.

One card game that became popular in our classroom was a Chinese version of Magic: the Gathering titled sanguosha. The game featured aspects of the American trading card game but replaced mystical characters with historical figures from China’s Three Kingdoms (220-280 A.D.). Famous warlords and generals such as Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Quan, renowned for their triumphs in Ancient China, were locked in constant battle in our San Francisco classroom. This card game and our use of Chinese as a sort of secret language helped bolster my resolve to continue studying Mandarin.

This same incentive continued into the beginning of my time at Boston University. One of my favorite memories from my freshman year was sitting in a room with my roommate and a bunch of his friends from back home in Shanghai playing sanguosha – I still can’t believe I managed to win a hand.

In recent years, my reasons for studying Chinese have shifted. Although I still have a real appreciation for the beauty of the written language and the fun of participating in Chinese culture, I’m beginning to look towards the professional aspect of my proficiency.

While I study abroad in Shanghai (and believe me, I’m counting down the days until my Feb. 9 departure) I’m going to try my hardest to gain fluency in spoken and written Chinese. Regardless of where I intern while I am abroad, I want to be in an environment that will push me outside of my comfort zone and force me to speak as much Chinese as possible. Even though I’ll be living in a foreign student dormitory building, I hope to explore the campus of Fudan University that I will be studying in.

By the time I graduate from BU, I want to be able to use my knowledge of the Chinese language to put my Political Science degree to use. For now, my studies of Mandarin Chinese revolve around making this goal a reality.

Mandarin Chinese has held many functions in my life: a builder of friendships, a resume booster and an art form. One thing Chinese has never been is boring. I am continually amazed by the breadth, depth and scope of the written and spoken language and its history.

Tate Gieselmann is a College of Arts and Sciences junior studying abroad in China.

He can be reached at tateag@bu.edu.

The opinions and ideas expressed by columnists and cartoonists are their own and are not necessarily representative of the opinions of The Daily Free Press.

Terrier Talk Reflections

Following yesterday’s editorial about the seemingly dwindling spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, The Daily Free Press wanted to hear what about his legacy has resonated most with Boston University Students.

Here’s what some of them said.

INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS

BY OLIVIA HAAS

ARTHUR BLUE

HALEY SPIVEY

“Just how he wouldn’t accept defeat ... and he continued to work as hard as he could to try to have a huge impact on people’s lives and overall as a country as a whole.”

-SAR freshman

“MLK’s legacy that stuck most with me was the community that was built around him...

When I think of his legacy, I always think of masses of people coming together for change and equality.”

-CFA sophomore

LAUREN JIRON

“What resonates most with me about MLK is that he was an alumni here at BU and so that has a lot to say about ... the kind of people he influenced here, and the kind of people we grow into as a community at BU.” -CGS sophomore

TRAVIS NELSON

“The idea of equality and how every human no matter who they are can have the same basic human rights and ability to live their life the way they want to without the interference from other people.”

-CAS sophomore

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

7

McKay: Syracuse guard Ennis utilizes zone defense to perfection McKay: From Page 8

season has been lost in the hullaballoo and hype surrounding potential top draft picks in Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins and Duke forward Jabari Parker. But it has been quite the year, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Ennis is currently averaging 2.7 steals per game, and has been a fearsome force in the passing lanes. But he’s just the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the Orange starting lineup featuring guard Trevor Cooney, forward C.J. Fair, forward Jerami Grant and forward Rakeem Christmas are an average of 6-foot-7. That means a tremendous amount of wingspan and shotblocking. Even if a player breaks down the top two in the zone (Ennis and Cooney), Grant, Fair or Christmas is waiting down low to contest or dismiss impudent shot attempts.

The mechanics of the 2-3 are pretty simple. Two players (typically smaller, quicker guards) have the responsibility to defend the 3-point arc and occasionally into the key. The remaining three players defend the area of the court near the basket and the corners. These three players are typically larger and less mobile than the guards up top.

The fascinating thing about the 2-3 zone is that when the ball moves on offense, the entire defense moves with it. Say the ball is at the top of the key. The defense is straight up, hands out, waiting for the offense to make their move. The offensive player passes the ball to his right, to a waiting teammate on the right wing. The player that had been guarding the ball before (one of the top guards) hustles over to the new ball handler, to harass him into making a quick pass or force up a contested shot.

This strength in this zone is that is forces a copious amount of low-percentage, contested 3-point shot attempts. Of course, if a team excels at hitting these shots, playing a 2-3 against them wouldn’t be the best idea. But very few teams, even in the National Basketball Association, let alone the NCAA, can do that, hence why Syracuse is so successful year in and year out.

Another strength in this defense is that the zone can serve to hide a defensive player who is not as gifted as his or her teammates.

This is why this zone is so popular among recreational league all-stars such as myself.

A quick move, and the player I’m covering can drive past me without much trouble.

But with the 2-3, I just have an area to be responsible for. All I have to worry about is making sure no one scores right on top of me. If the ball doesn’t rotate around to my side of the court, I don’t have to do any-

thing. I don’t have to break too much of a sweat.

I’m not suggesting in any way, shape or form that the 2-3 that my friends and I run is even correct. Sure, we know the basics.

But none of us are above 6-foot- 2, and I often end up playing center in the zone, the position that requires superior rebounding and shot-blocking skills, which I’m not really equipped to do. But when a team has height and runs it correctly like Syracuse, it is a joy to watch.

Next time you’re at FitRec, or any gym around where you live, check out what’s happening on the basketball court. If a team is playing a 2-3 zone, close your eyes.

Imagine world-class athletes playing defense the exact same way. That’s the appeal of this defense, anyone can do it, and elite players use it as well. It’s the people’s defense. And it’s so much fun.

Irving-Watson combination key for men’s basketball down stretch Men’s Basketball: From Page 8

sive threat will be a point of emphasis for the Terriers as they game plan for tomorrow’s game.

“We’re going to need to focus and be in the right places,” Jones said. “It’s a very intricate offense. They run it especially well.

It’s going to be really important for our guys to lock in and defend for the whole game.”

BU has also established its own unique offensive style with the 1-2 punch of sophomore guard Maurice Watson Jr. and senior guard D.J. Irving.

After missing last week’s win over Colgate University due to an ankle injury, Irving made his return to the court Monday night against Loyola University-Maryland, coming off the bench to score 14 points, while making two late 3-pointers to help the Terriers down the Greyhounds (8-9, 3-3 Patriot League). Having Irving back will mean more scoring, as he is second on the team with 11.8 points per contest.

Jones said having Irving at full health will be instrumental to the team’s success as it moves forward through the rest of the season.

“That’s a big key,” Jones said about having Irving in the lineup. “We feed off of him. He’s one of the most unselfish kids I’ve ever coached. We go how he goes.”

The other half of the guard combination has been just as important. Watson has hit 53.5 percent of his field goals, good for 60th in the NCAA rankings in that category, while averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game.

Sharpshooting sophomore guard John Papale has been a welcome source of offense for the Terriers as of late as well. In BU’s last three games, Papale has averaged nearly 13 points per contest, and always is a threat to hit from the outside.

BU will also attempt to establish senior forward Dom Morris in the post. Morris is putting in a career-high 11.6 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds.

Although the game will have considerable implications in terms of the Patriot League standings, Jones said he is not trying to place too much focus on the matchup.

“I try not to pay too much credence to one game over the next,” Jones said. “We can’t make this game bigger than it needs to be. We’re going to approach it the same way we approach every game.”

Dobbs commands strong Eagle offense Women’s Hoops: From Page 8

MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sophomore guard John Papale has averaged close to 13 points over his last three games.

Sullivan named NHL interim head coach Notebook: From Page 8

players.

Sophomore Kevin Roy, who BU fans may remember for his hat-trick performance against the Terriers in last year’s Beanpot, leads the team with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists). Freshman Mike Szmatula (nine goals, 18 assists) and senior Braden Pimm (15 goals, 10 assists) are not far behind him in point totals.

Junior netminder Clay Witt has seen a revitalization in his career during his first season as the starter goaltender. His save percentage (.943) is good for second in Hockey East, while his 2.09 goals-against average is tied for sixth in the conference.

To no one’s surprise, BC is leading the conference — and could very well run away with it. The Eagles lead the Huskies by six points.

BC’s most productive line — that of junior Johnny Gaudreau, senior Bill Arnold

and senior Kevin Hayes — has been unstoppable since uniting last month. In nine games, the threesome has combined for 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists) and a plus-46 rating.

Gaudreau, Hayes and Arnold rank first, second and tied-fifth in the country in points per game, respectively.

Here and there

Forward Sam Kurker, who left BU earlier this month after a season and a half as a Terrier, officially joined the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League. Former Terrier Mike Sullivan was named the interim coach of the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. John Tortorella, the team’s head coach, is suspended 15 days (six games) for an in-game incident over this past weekend. Sullivan coached the Boston Bruins for two games last decade.

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lead. Then when we stopped scoring, we had a nice cushion … all of her threes she knocked down early in the game. She’s doing a great job, and hopefully she comes right back with another one.”

The Eagles rely on senior Alexis Dobbs for much of their scoring. The American guard scores about 13.8 points per game, shooting 48.5 percent from the field and an impressive 87.5 percent from the line.

Dobbs has been strong on the glass as well, grabbing 4.4 boards per contest, good for fourth on the team.

Forward Arron Zimmerman has contributed to the attack as well, scoring 10.1 points per game. She’s shot 47.1 percent from the field, good for second on the team behind Dobbs for shooters who have taken at least 100 shots on the season.

Although American’s record and stat sheet may seem daunting, most of its success has come at home in Washington, D.C., where it boasts a 7-2 record. On the road, the Eagles are 5-3, and 2-0 in conference

play. The Terriers may not have the statistical advantage at home, but the playing field might be a little bit more even than if they were to travel down to the nation’s capital.

While the task ahead for the Terriers will be difficult, Greenberg stressed that her team should both focus on the game ahead, but also relax.

“We know what we should do, we know we’re a good team, and let’s just let that happen, focus on our strengths and be very much aware of our opponent,” Greenberg said. “Really focusing on staying in front of Dobbs and not letting their transition game get going because they really score a lot in transition … just balancing what we do well on and also knowing what they do well on and making sure they don’t get too much of it.

“We needed [the win on Saturday] We were pretty disappointed with our previous two losses, and we just really wanted the game to be much more settled. Let’s be relaxed. I think all of our players want to win so badly that we’re almost going too hard. It was a team effort.”

Follow us on Twitter: @DFPsports

“

“

Quotable

We’re going to approach it the same way we approach every game.

-BU coach Joe Jones on his team’s next matchup

page 8

Foul Shots The 2-3 Zone: The People’s Defense

Patrick McKay

Go to any recreational center in America, and there’s going to be a pickup basketball game going on. One team will probably just look better than the other.

They might have players that look sleek and athletic, while the other team could have a couple people with beer bellies and knee braces.

The less gifted team is on defense and one of their players will hold up two fingers in a sort of peace sign, and yell, “2-3! 2-3!” The defense immediately understands and moves accordingly. One of the players on the other team can’t help but smile. He’s seen this before.

Most college teams use the 2-3 from time to time, as a change of pace from the bruising style of man-to-man defense. However, Syracuse University, coached by Jim Boeheim, has run only this type of zone since 1976. Every game, every play, no matter what, the Orange’s opponents have known exactly what they’re going up against. Detractors of the zone say it’s too predictable, and that it can be broken down again and again for easy buckets. Easy buckets lead to easy wins. In a related story, Boeheim’s teams are 938-314 (.749 winning percentage) since he began coaching at Syracuse. The only thing “predictable” for the Orange since Boeheim’s arrival has been a win total north of 20 per season. Syracuse is successful with the zone, where other teams fail scoring against it because the intimate knowledge each player on the Orange has of it. The players have been running the zone so much in practice that their dreams have probably shifted into zones.

Watch a Syracuse game. On defense, the five-man unit moves as a cohesive whole, as if operating on a long pole. They wait for the offense to get overconfident or bored, and then they pounce in a flurry of quick feet and absurdly long extremities.

The current edition of the zone is personified

by Syracuse freshman guard Tyler Ennis. Ennis’ masterful debut

McKay, see page 7

Sports

W. Basketball vs. American, 7 p.m.

M. Basketball @ American, 7:30 p.m.

The women’s basketball team is set to take on second place American University P.8.

[ www.dailyfreepress.com ]

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Injuries hinder men’s hockey team

By Tim Healey Daily Free Press Staff

The Boston University men’s hockey team has been much maligned by the injury bug this season, but it is inching closer and closer to getting some bodies back.

Senior wing Jake Moscatel, who has been out with a lowerbody injury since Jan. 4 at Harvard University, is likely to play this weekend when No. 17 University of Vermont visits Agganis Arena for a two-game set.

Sophomore defenseman Ahti Oksanen and junior forward Evan Rodrigues were both day-to-day as of Tuesday, making their status against the Catamounts (12-8-3, 4-6 Hockey East) less clear.

In addition, sophomore center Danny O’Regan, BU coach David Quinn said Saturday, has been playing through a nagging, undisclosed injury he suffered while representing the United States in the World Junior Championships in Sweden last month.

“It’s a tough time,” Quinn said Saturday. “Sometimes teams have seasons like that, and we happen to be going through that right now.”

different reason.

BU is 10th in the conference standings — second-to-last — but No. 11 Northeastern University and Vermont have exceeded expectations most had for them at season’s start.

The Huskies (14-7-3, 74-1 Hockey East) sit in second in Hockey East play, while the Catamounts are seventh at 4-6 in the conference.

To put Northeastern’s success in simple terms, they are getting big-time contributions from four

The Boston University men’s basketball team will look to continue its winning ways and establish dominance over Patriot League opponents when it takes on American University in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night.

Both the Terriers and the Eagles remain unbeaten in conference play, meaning the victor of the matchup will take sole possession of first place in the Patriot League.

The teams enter the contest both riding winning streaks, as BU coach Joe Jones’ Terrier squad (13-6, 6-0 Patriot League) is unbeaten in 2014 and has yet to drop a league game in the new conference. The Eagles (10-7, 6-0 Patriot League) are also undefeated in Patriot League play and have won their last seven games overall.

Monday night, American pulled out a close 66-61 victory over Lafayette College. Guard Darius Gardner led way for the team with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Guard John Schoof was a force on offense as well, and added a team-high 16 points. Off the bench, forward Marko Vasic was crucial on the glass, grabbing seven boards.

Eagle coach Mike Brennan has his team run the “Princeton Offense,” which emphasizes constant passing and quick ballmovement. This offensive style has contributed to American’s balanced offensive attack.

Gardner, Schoof, center Tony Wroblicky and guard Jesse Reed are all averaging over 10 points per game. American also ranks ninth in the NCAA in team field goal percentage. From behind the 3-point arc, the Eagles have been solid, putting in 34.4 percent of their buckets from that range.

Controlling the American offen-

NotebooK, see page 7

MeN’s basKetball, see page 7

BC backslide One step forward, two steps back.

That seemed to be the story of BU’s (7-13-2, 2-7-1 Hockey East) weekend when, after staying competitive in an eventual loss to No. 2 Boston College Friday, it was outshot 42-12 at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell the next night.

The difference in level of competition, Quinn said, was inevitable “I thought that we were going in the right direction [after the BC game],” Quinn said. “But sometimes after BU-BC game there’s a little bit of a letdown no matter what the records are, no matter what the situation is.”

The Eagles swept the regular-

Terriers prepare for Wednesday night matchup

By Jacklyn Bamberger Daily Free Press Staff

KENSHIN OKUBO/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sophomore center Danny O’Regan continues to play through an inury.

season series over the Terriers, but BU has one more shot at their archrival. The teams will face off in the first round of the Beanpot, Feb. 3 at TD Garden.

BU beat BC (16-4-3, 10-1-1 Hockey East) in two out of four chances during the 2012-13 season, including the matchup in the Hockey East semifinal round.

Around Hockey East

BU is hardly the only Hockey East squad with surprising results this season, but two others that come to mind are surprising for a

W. basketball looks to continue winning ways against American

By Judy Cohen Daily Free Press Staff

Coming off a road victory against Loyola University-Maryland, the Boston University women’s basketball team looks to extend its good fortunes in the first of a two-game home stint, when the Terriers take on American University at Case Gymnasium Wednesday evening.

The Terriers (7-12, 2-4 Patriot League) return to action against a very solid American (12-5, 5-1 Patriot League), a team whose conference record is second only to the U.S. Naval Academy’s untarnished 6-0.

American has won its past four games, all conference contests, and has done so by 18, 17, nine and 15 points, respectively. Thus far,

the Eagles have outscored opponents by an average of 10.9 points a game, whereas the Terriers have been outscored by 5.7 points per game.

The Eagles also have a 42.4 percent success rate from the field, good for second in the Patriot League. They have held opponents to a stingy 35.6 percent from the floor, which is just 0.9 percent shy of BU’s 36.5 percent.

American also has the best turnover margin in the Patriot League with a 2.3 ratio, turning the ball over just 12.7 times per game, as opposed to the Eagles’ opponents who have given the ball up 15 times a contest.

The only categories in the conference where BU is ahead of the Eagles are in blocked shots and

3-pointers made. The Terriers have blocked 64 shots and made 139 trey balls to American’s 35 and 108, respectively.

The two teams are almost dead even in offensive rebounds per game, though the Eagles having a slight edge with 11.5 while BU has 11.4.

Despite the challenges that await the Terriers in the conference matchup, BU coach Kelly Greenberg said she is optimistic about the way her team will play, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

“We’re hoping to … get a feel for them early on, get a feel for what’s working for us early on, and really just don’t hurry,” Greenberg said. “We have a lot of really good options on the offensive end,

so let’s make sure everyone gets some touches.”

One of these options is sophomore guard Clodagh Scannell. The Ireland native has put up 15 and 17 points in BU’s past two games against Colgate University and Loyola (4-13, 1-5 Patriot League).

She hit five 3-point attempts in the game against the Greyhounds, while going 6-for-7 on the floor against Colgate (5-12, 1-5 Patriot League).

“I’m really, really excited for her,” Greenberg said of Scannell.

“She plays very hard and plays with a lot of energy. I’m just really happy things are working well for her right now. She made a lot of big shots for us early in the game on Saturday, which gave us a nice

Friday, January 24

Saturday, January 25

Sunday, January 26

The Bottom Line

Wednesday, January 22

EAGLE EYE

The Daily Free Press

Thursday, January 23

No Events Scheduled The Cleveland Borwns remain the only NFL team with a head coaching vacancy.

M. Hockey vs. Vermont, 4 p.m.

W. Hockey @ Vermont, 4 p.m.

M. Hockey vs. Vermont, 7:30 p.m.

W. Hockey @ Vermont, 7 p.m.

WoMeN’s Hoops, see page 7

No Events Scheduled This can be attributed to the fact that they are the Browns. That’s the joke.