The Daily Free Press [
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue L
BURGERFI ME
Sustainable burger chain set to open on West Campus, page 3.
Thursday, December 5, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
LET IT SNOW
‘Frozen’ defies norms, thaws cold hearts, page 5.
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TOP TERRIER
Sperry named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: Showers, high 52. Tonight: Showers, low 50. Tomorrow: 53/35.
Data Courtesy of weather.com
Boston Police salary increase met with some dissent Millenials define success as finding meaning, purpose By Olivia Deng Daily Free Press Staff
Despite disapproval from several city officials, Boston City Council passed a six-year contract award that will provide a 25.4 percent salary increase for Boston Police Patrolman’s Association members on Wednesday. Councilor John Connolly, who had previously said he was against the raise, was not present for the vote, and the $87 million contract passed 12-0. “We ask our cops and our firefighters on a daily basis to wake up not knowing if they would go back home to their family,” said Councilor Felix Arroyo. “We ask them to do that. Now thankfully, most of the time, they come back home to their families. But we ask them to be prepared to give up their life for a stranger.” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino previously denounced the award, which was arbitrated by labor arbitrator Timothy Buckalew, and said while the police did deserve a raise, the city was unable to foot the bill. Meredith Weenick, chief financial officer for the city of Boston, said even prudent management would not alleviate the cost. “I will offer that I agree with the arbitrator’s assessment of sound financial practices, but just because we are not Detroit does not mean that one union deserves an oversized raise,” she said. “We simply cannot afford it. Because we are well managed, we have the tools to make the tradeoff to balance the
By Rachel Riley Daily Free Press Staff
MAYA DEVEREAUX/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The Boston City Council voted to raise Boston Police Department rank and file officers’ wages by 25.4 percent over six years.
budget to accommodate the pay raise. There will be tradeoffs to accommodate this award. There’s no getting around that.” The award applies to the salaries of all rank and file officers in the police force. This award comes following a similar raise for firefighters approved in 2010 that cost $74 million. Councilor Matt O’Malley voiced his support for the salary increase and said a high
percentage does not necessarily imply a high cost. “There is a real possibility, should we not pass this contract, that the percentage in the final negotiating contract would be lower than 25.4 percent, but the cost associated with it would be more,” he said. “Parity [with the fire department] is key, but we need
Police, see page 2
Students voice excitement about extension of MBTA hours By Paola Salazar Daily Free Press Staff
The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has announced it will extend its latenight services beginning in 2014, an initiative Boston University students feel will benefit them as well as the city of Boston. Elica Yoneyama, a School of Hospitality Administration senior, said this latenight service option is a productive initiative by the MBTA. “It’s [Boston] a college town and I don’t see why they [MBTA] didn’t have later transportation before,” Yoneyama said. “We can save money, cabs can really add up … I hope they [MBTA] benefit enough for the program to stick around, it would have definitely changed how much I paid for cabs [in] the past four years.” This late-night service transportation pilot program will extend the service hours of all of the MBTA’s subway lines and some of its most popular buses until 3 a.m.,
said MBTA spokeswoman Kelly Smith. The MBTA decided to implement this latenight service based on a large public demand. Smith said a large part of Boston’s economy is based around late-night businesses. Extending late-night transportation options around the city will make bars and restaurants more accessible for young college students, and thus help Boston continue to grow as a vibrant city. “There are different groups that have had a voice on this topic with varying reasons,” Smith said. “There’s students who want this mainly for entertainment purposes since there are bars and restaurants that close later in the night, and there’s also the service workers who work at these places who just want to get home at the end of their shift.” Due to lack of financial support, Smith said the MBTA currently has no plans to permanently expand its service hours after
the pilot program ends. “Financial constraints are something that we always deal with,” Smith said. “We were finally able to come up with a budget and plan and received some financial sponsorship from private vector companies and coming up with that plan has allowed us to explore the pilot program for a one year period.” Emma Ritcey, a SHA senior, said the City of Boston will not only profit from the late-night transportation services, but become safer for students as well. “It’ll [extended MBTA service hours] make it [Boston] safer, too, because people won’t have to walk through any of the neighborhoods at night,” Ritcey said. “… It’s [Boston] a college city, and we’re [students] going to be a big part of the people using it [MBTA services] at those hours … and it’s also good for people who work as
MBTA, see page 4
In light of a recent New York Times op-ed piece contending that the millennial generation defines success less in terms of materialistic gains and more in terms of purpose, Boston University students and professors agree that young people today are searching for fulfillment in ways different from earlier generations. “Earlier generations were more materialistic,” said Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Taylor Juretic. “I know personally, as a student, I’ve talked to way more people who are searching for a bigger purpose … I don’t care if I’m rich. I care if I’m happy and helping other people.” After facing economic challenges brought on by the Great Recession of 2008, members of Generation Y, or those born after 1980, have become less focused on money and more focused on meaning and happiness than prior generations, the writers argued in the Nov. 30 op-ed titled “Millennial Searchers.” A July 2013 study by Sage Publications, which intended to examine the recession’s influence on the attitudes of high school students, supports this claim. Students surveyed after 2008 rated material concerns such as having a significant amount of money less importantly than they did in the ‘70s and early ‘00s, according to the study. Students also rated their levels of concern for others in different areas such as social issues and inequality at higher levels than in prior time periods. “After the last decade, there was a trend of rising concern for others, and some of the materialistic values were becoming less important,” said co-author of the study Heejung Park, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of California-Los Angeles’s psychology department. BU psychology professor Catherine Caldwell-Harris said the millennial generation’s search for happiness and purpose reflects the outlook of young people in the ‘60s. “[In] the late ‘60s, because of the openness of society, anti-Vietnam [War] and the sexual revolution, there was a huge empha-
Millenials, see page 2
Formerly homeless speakers talk to BU students about experience, struggles By Mina Corpuz Daily Free Press Staff
Boston University College Democrats and BU College Republicans co-hosted a presentation Wednesday night that would give students a different look at homeless individuals in order to spread awareness about the issue of homelessness. The talk featured two speakers from the Massachusetts Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau who shared their stories of being formerly homeless. “It’s a tough life,” said speaker Peter Stewart, who transitioned from homelessness five years ago. “Seven days a week, 52 weeks per year, and I did that for seven years straight. I would go canning and collect them in a shopping cart [to get money] to go check out a job or have a good cup of coffee.” About 15 students attended the presentation in College of Arts and Sciences room 316. Stewart said that working with case
managers and social workers to get social security and disability money helped him get his own apartment, receive income and transition out of homelessness. “I was blessed to be out of there [the shelter], out the door and in a place that’s a home,” he said. “It’s nice not having to carry my backpack around ever [again].” Stewart was recruited to be a speaker for the Massachusetts Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau, which is a partnership between the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, the National Coalition for the Homeless and AmeriCorps VISTA. As a speaker, he wants to be able to teach and inform people about what homelessness really is and how to really help out, he said. “People mistreat you, not you directly, [but] it’s just the way they look at you,” Stewart said. “One of the best things is not to turn away from [the homeless]. Offer to
Homelessness, see page 2
ALEX HENSEL/DAILY FREE PRESS
Paul U. (left) and Peter Stuart (right) speak to BU students about their stories of being homeless at the Massachusetts Faces of Homelessness event Wednesday evening.