The Daily Free Press [
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue XLIII
MI CASA
Gov. Patrick unveils $1 billion housing plan for MA, page 3.
Monday, November 18, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
DIGG THIS
Taye Diggs stars in unflattering ‘The Best Man Holiday, page 5.
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www.dailyfreepress.com
GAME, AGAIN
Kosienski nets another game-winner as BU advances, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: AM rain, high 64. Tonight: Clear, low 36. Tomorrow: 44/27. Data Courtesy of weather.com
BU revamps bike safety website, increases resources Family background
OLIVIA NADEL/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The Boston University bicycle safety website was updated Thursday, with a redesigned home page and a new bike accident toolkit. By Felicia Gans Daily Free Press Staff
Boston University Parking and Transportation Services announced an updated version of their bicycle safety website on Thursday that gives cyclists at BU greater accessibility tools intended to assist bikers. Jarrod Clement, a member of BU’s Bike Safety Committee, said the site has been planned since 2008 and was finished in early fall.
“It [the website] serves as a primary resource for the BU community,” Clement, one of the site’s main architects and a Judicial Affairs administrative official, said. “It promotes a safe environment for cyclists and pedestrians within the BU community through education, awareness and infrastructure improvements.” In early October, BU officials pledged their support of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s new Urban Cycling Guide, which was designed to reduce cycling accidents around the city. The initiative is particularly relevant to
BU. In November 2012, College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Chung-wei “Victor” Yang died in a collision with a bus on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston while riding his bicycle, and one month later, College of Communication graduate student Christopher Weigl died while riding his bicycle at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and St. Paul Street when a tractor-trailer turning right from the left lane struck him. The new site contains many of the same features as the old website, but the resources are meant to further engage cyclists in safety procedures, Clement said. “The old website contained much of what’s on the new one,” he said. “It was tired-looking, honestly. It was antiquated. It needed some aesthetic dressing up, so we worked with creative services to develop a new, more modern interactive experience.” The main page of the new site features an accident toolkit, bicycle safety videos, news and events. The site also includes forms to register a bicycle, request a bicycle room or find a bicycle rack on campus. Creators of the website hope the updates and changes will help students pay attention to bike safety and use their bicycles more safely, Clement said. “We were primarily focused on relevant content and accessibility, so we kept it as simple as possible in terms of its design,” he said. “I tried to make sure that timely, relevant con-
Bike Safety, see page 2
Warren resident charged with 3 counts of indecent exposure By Sara Herschander Daily Free Press Staff
A Boston University student was charged with indecent exposure Tuesday following numerous reports of flashing other residents in a Warren Towers elevator earlier that morning. BU Police Department officials charged the student after he flashed several other students, said BUPD Captain Robert Molloy. “We were told about the problem, and we identified the student,” Molloy said. “He was then removed from the building and put in another space. He’s now currently being charged on several counts of indecent exposure.” Molloy said the suspect has been relocated to another dorm on campus and is facing disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion, at the discretion of university officials. The investigation is ongoing.
Sabrina Katz, a College of Communication freshman, said she was on her way to class Tuesday when the student rummaged through his messenger bag and his pants fell down. “He picked up his messenger bag, and his pants fell to the ground and he wasn’t wearing any underwear, and he didn’t notice, I guess, because he didn’t really react to it,” Katz said. “… Around the 10th floor or so, somebody else got on the elevator and she looked at him but didn’t even acknowledge that anything was wrong.” Katz said the suspect looked down a few moments later after his pants fell down, expressed surprise at his exposure and subsequently apologized to Katz and the other resident who had just entered the elevator. The student in question implied that the incident was unintentional. Katz said she then exited the elevator and attended class without reporting the incident. She said she was initially amused
by the incident, but then became increasingly concerned after speaking with several other female members of her floor. She said a number of her floor-mates had the same experience with an individual of the same physical description that same morning. “He [the student] was wearing red sweatpants and a white t-shirt, and was kind of chubby, not very tall — probably between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8,” Katz said. Katz said her resident assistant heard seven different women express complaints of a student exposing himself to them. The other eyewitnesses declined to comment. “I found out that some other people on my floor had had the exact same thing happen to them,” Katz said. “We told our RA, and we went downstairs. This was around 10 p.m., and so we told the RA on call, we
Flasher, see page 2
indicative of college success, study suggests By Taryn Ottaunick Daily Free Press Staff
With an increasing number of students seeking a college education, officials at competitive institutions, such as Boston University, must reach out to financially disadvantaged students at a younger age in order to attract them sooner, according to a recent study. Despite attempts from universities to increase financial aid, students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds still have fewer opportunities to attend high status universities, said Steve Kappler, assistant vice president for College and Career Readiness at American College Testing. “We tend to see that the conversations [about opportunities] don’t take place,” Kappler said. “Whether they’re in school or at home or with peers, they don’t take place as often, so they see opportunities as being limited instead of seeing them as a whole plethora of options based on their ability to look at a range of opportunities.” The Sutton Trust, which funds and evaluates programs that help thousands of youth from low- and middle-income homes, presented the study at a summit on Wednesday. Children of working-class parents are three times less likely to gain admittance to highly selective institutions, despite similarities in academic achievement to children of professional parents, according to the study. Although there is a wide economic gap between students of different backgrounds, Kappler said the problem of poor college readiness affects all social backgrounds. “I don’t think that’s really restricted to the financial means within a household,” Kappler said. “We have plenty of students that have financial wherewithal to go anywhere and academic support to go anywhere and just don’t.” Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to develop the necessary skills required to gain admission to a high-status university, according to the study. Additionally, young people in the United States frequently drop out of their institutions of higher education, and almost half of those who enter such institutions do
Achievement, see page 2
Officials meet to talk about possibility of hosting Summer 2024 Olympic Games By Steven Dufour Daily Free Press Staff
Members of the special commission established by Massachusetts law to study the feasibility of hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 2024 met for the first time in the State House on Thursday to raise preliminary concerns as the bidding process progresses. “This is an enormous undertaking, one that is not done lightly and one that we need to very carefully look at from many angles,” said Mass. Sen. Eileen Donoghue, sponsor of the bill that created the commission. “2024 seems like quite a ways away, [but] time is of the essence.” Seven of what will be an 11-person commission, made up of appointees from Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Mass. Sen. President Therese Murray, Mass. Sen. Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, Mass. House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Mass. House Minority Leader Bradley Jones Jr., said the main issue they must keep in mind is ensuring all plans would benefit the
entire New England region for years after the games. “[London] used the Olympics as a catalyst to make changes for the city that they desperately wanted,” said Mass. Rep. Cory Atkins, chairwoman for the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development. “If we get involved in that kind of planning, we’re less apt to make the mistakes other cities have made in the past, and you’re also more apt to make the social changes you want in a city.” In light of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings and the 1996 bombings at the Atlanta Olympics — the last U.S. city to host a summer games — commission member and Suffolk County Sherriff Steve Tompkins said they should also develop a specific and comprehensive plan to make sure the city would be safe. Ralph Cox, a commissioner appointed by Murray, also expressed that concern.
Olympics, see page 2
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
A special Olympic commission discussed the plausibility of hosting the 2024 Olympic rowing competition on the Charles River.