2-23-2017

NEWS MassRobotics, a company that offers workspaces to robotics startups, opened a laboratory in the Seaport District Friday. p. 3

CATALYST “Rally to Stand Up for Science” joins Boston researchers, scientists and community to support data-driven policies. p. 7

40°/64° CLEAR

SPORTS Senior forward Justin Alston reflects on his time with the men’s basketball team and his relationship with coach Joe Jones. p. 12

DAILYFREEPRESS.COM @DAILYFREEPRESS

(FORECAST.IO)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLVI. VOLUME XCII. ISSUE VI

BU students petition for gender neutral bathrooms

BY LUDI WANG DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Two Boston University students have recently created a petition to change the bathrooms in the Community Service Center at George Sherman Union to be non-gendered bathrooms.

The online petition garnered 368 signatures as of Tuesday evening from prospective and current students, alumni, staff, faculty and community partners, wrote Rebecca Reynolds, one of the students who started the organizers.

Reynolds, a senior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, is collaborating with Aaryn Clerk, a senior in the School of Education, to gather support from the BU community for this initiative.

The petition is intended to make the CSC a place where everyone can feel welcome, Reynolds wrote in a message.

“This is an important initiative because having non-gendered bathrooms on all parts of campus makes people feel safer, included and benefits all people, especially trans folks, parents with children and people with disabilities,” Reynolds wrote.

The CSC’s location was a deliberate choice, Reynolds wrote.

“Because the CSC is an intentional community and our bathrooms are not highly trafficked, plus there are plenty of other gendered bathrooms in the [George Sherman Union], this solution is ideal for our space specifically,” wrote Reynolds, who also works as a program manager at the CSC. “This is a student-led and student-supported proposal

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL FREEMAN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Two Boston University students start a petition, advocating for gender neutral bathrooms at BU’s Community Service Center, which would be the only gender neutral bathrooms in the George Sherman Union.

that works within our space.”

Reynolds put the idea for the petition forward about three weeks ago, CSC Program Manager Charlotte Gleeson said.

“She put up temporary gender neutral bathroom signs, or all-gender bathroom signs” Gleeson said. “That started a conversation in this space about whether or not that can become a permanent fixture because there

aren’t any all-gender bathrooms in the GSU building at all.”

Most of the program managers at CSC got on board with the petition as well, ensuring Reynolds had the support of the CSC community at large. Since then, it has amassed support from outside the CSC, Gleeson said.

“I think people feel positively toward [the petition],” she said. “We want everyone to feel

comfortable when using the bathrooms here.”

Gleeson, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she personally hopes the petition will go through, although she is not yet sure how the situation will play out.

Right now, the CSC, which is on the fourth floor of the GSU, has multi-stall gendered bathrooms.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Opioid-related deaths continue to rise in Massachusetts

BY JACKIE CONTRERAS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The number of opioid-related deaths has continued to rise among Massachusetts residents, with an estimated 1,979 fatalities occurring in the past year, according to a Massachusetts Department of Public Health report released Friday.

Approximately 220 more opioid-related deaths occurred in 2016 than in 2015, resulting in an estimated 13 to 24 percent increase. In addition, opioid-related Emergency Medical Services transports were reported in 80 percent of cities and towns in Massachusetts, according to a DPH press release.

The state has responded to the epidemic by focusing on prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery, the release stated.

In light of the growing crisis, the BakerPolito Administration pledged in the release to continue their efforts in combating the issue through increasing options for treatment and providing further support for law enforcement.

“Our administration will continue our intense focus on fighting this epidemic by further increasing treatment options and

expanding support for law enforcement and their efforts to arrest and convict drug traffickers who prey on vulnerable people, selling them more and more deadly and addictive substances,” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said in the release.

Baker and his administration have allocated $145 million in funding for programs that help with “prevention and treatment of substance abuse disorders,” according to the release.

The prevalence of the issue has prompted the state to dedicate resources to ensuring various forms of assistance for those directly involved in the opioid epidemic, according to the release. For instance, the number of support groups for opioid addiction has doubled across the state since 2015, and the state has distributed overdose rescue kits to first responders and family members of those who have addictions.

The state is also working to raise awareness on the pressing issue and educate the public by promoting public awareness campaigns, according to the release.

Matthew Hoffman, the program director for Boston Alcohol and Substance Abuse CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

GRAPHIC BY GABRIELLE DIPIETRO/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

2 NEWS

Deeqo Jibril advocates for local immigrants C A M P U S CRIME LOGS

BY SABRINA SCHNUR DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Somalian refugee and longtime Roxbury resident Deeqo Jibril has recently declared her candidacy for Boston City Councilor of District 7.

Jibril, who graduated in 2011 from Emerge Massachusetts, a program aimed at training Democratic women to run for office, attributes her decision to run to Tito Jackson, the current District 7 city councilor who is campaigning for the mayor seat.

“The seat became available,” Jibril said. “[Jackson] is currently running for mayor and I said, ‘Why not?’ This is our time.

Boston never had [anyone] like myself. It’s time for justice and equality for all.”

Jibril said her desire to become politically active first emerged when she found refuge in Roxbury, after fleeing from wartorn Somalia as a child.

“I am a longtime resident of Roxbury,” Jibril said. “I came to Roxbury at the age of 12, from a civil war country in Somalia where my family came in as a refugee fleeing from war. Since then I was [an] advocate, I mobilized the community.”

Jibril said she was inspired to run for office thanks to the democratic process and opportunities made available to Americans.

“I came from a country where we don’t have a democracy,” Jibril said. “Learning the voting process and just being empowered by how you can fight for democracy in this country, the same fight that my parents and other immigrants from Africa are fighting for [inspired me].”

If elected, Jibril said she would work to ensure equality for all communities and continue to dedicate her efforts to issues such as immigrant empowerment and affordable housing.

In the past, she has played a major role in creating a dialogue between local law enforcement and the Muslim community, Jibril said.

“I’m a coalition builder,” Jibril said. “I brought the Muslim community and the law enforcement on the table and I started the first Somali-Muslim youth with Boston police dialogue and that [is] becoming a national [conversation] now.”

As graduate of Emerge, Jibril praised the organization for their efforts to

BY HANNAH HARN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The following reports were taken from the Boston University Police Department crime logs from Feb. 17-19.

Cell phone stolen from 595 Commonwealth Ave. A female employee reported that her personal cell phone and a BU-issued cell phone were stolen off her desk in the Questrom School of Business. The report was filed at 3:35 p.m. on Friday but the incident occurred between 10:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. the previous day.

PHOTO COURTESY GUNNAR VINCENS

Deeqo Jibril, an activist for immigrant rights, discusses her plan to run for a Boston City Council seat.

encourage the engagement of minority women in politics, and said there is a need for similar programs.

“They help minority women,” Jibril said. “They train minority women to run for office. I love those programs. They’re great. We need to have more programs that train women.”

Jibril emphasized the importance of organizations like Emerge because she said women are not equally represented in politics despite progress toward equality.

“Women in general are the backbone of any society,” Jibril said. “Coming from a country where gender bias exists, you would think a country like America would have more women politically active or elected.”

In the light of Donald Trump’s presidency, Jibril said she expects more people to get involved in politics as a result.

“I think the Donald Trump administration is going to make the whole country become active,” Jibril said. “He’s waking us up.”

Ryanne Olsen, the executive director of Emerge, said the entire network has witnessed an increase in applications for the program, with the Massachusetts organization accepting an incoming class of 48, double the size of this past year’s.

“Across the entire Emerge network, we saw an 87 percent increase in the number of applications,” Olsen said. “Almost every state almost doubled. A lot of others of our sister organizations or organizations who

do similar work … have also seen this surge.

Women [are] wanting to step up and make sure that they have a voice at the table.”

Olsen said Emerge offers three types of programs, including a boot camp, a sixmonth training program and two to fourhour workshops called “Women Organizing to Win Workshops.”

“The whole concept is to recruit great women, provide them with the skills they need, the network they need and the confidence they need to run for office and win,” Olsen said.

Olsen highlighted Jibril’s various efforts to unite her community in solidarity with local officials.

“She’s been really active in her community, building bridges between [the] Somali community and city government and the police department,” Olsen said.

“She’s really trying to bring [her] community together.”

Olsen said Jibril, an active alumnus, continues to be involved with the organization.

“She has been one of our alumni who’s come back to sit on panels and help share her knowledge with upcoming women who want to run for office as well,” Olsen said.

“She just came back for an alumni panel a couple weekends ago.”

Olsen said although Emerge cannot legally endorse Jibril, the organization is “really proud and excited that she’s running for office.”

Students’ bathroom petition awaits approval BATHROOM, FROM PAGE 1 Reynolds said they hope to add a lockable outer door to the bathrooms already in CSC, which would allow the bathrooms to be single-stall. Users would be able to lock the outer door and be alone in the bathroom if they desire.

The construction currently underway at the GSU may work in the initiative’s favor, said Katherine Cornetta, assistant to the dean of students.

“Any ideas like this that students want to bring to us, we can always consider,” Cornetta said. “If any students have any ideas about what they’d like to see in buildings, what would make them feel more welcome on campus, they can always contact us directly.”

Cornetta confirmed the petition has been brought to the deans’ attention, but it has not been approved by the Dean of Students office. No action has been taken yet to make the petition’s requested changes as of yet.

Several BU faculty and students said they support the idea of making bathrooms

on campus more inclusive and comfortable for all people.

Social sciences professor Susan Lee, who specializes in gender studies, said she supported the idea of having gender-neutral bathrooms at BU. “It sends a message that the BU community is aware that we have trans members of our university and that traditional male or female bathrooms may not be comfortable for them,” Lee said.

She said since many college students are exploring their “adult identity,” making structural provisions for them is a good idea.

“From a sociological perspective, gender is socially constructed, though most people feel comfortable with their assigned gender,” Lee said. “For those who don’t, however, it makes a big difference to have some flexibility on campus.”

Some students raised question about the necessity of addressing this issue by changing the bathroom layout.

Valeria Salazar, a sophomore in CAS, said instead of petitioning for non-gendered bathrooms, students should focus their efforts on creating a friendly envi-

ronment that encourages gender-neutral students to use gendered bathrooms based on how they identify themselves.

“Honestly, I think it is kind of unnecessary to make existing restrooms gender-neutral,” Salazar said.

On the other hand, Ivy Zhang, a freshman in the College of Communication, said she recognized the importance of the statement BU would make if it decided to install gender-neutral bathrooms.

“This is the university’s way to demonstrate its solidarity and support for transgender students,” Zhang said. “Importance varies and I believe, for students who recognize themselves as transgender, this is a really important issue.”

Marco Alesci, an exchange student from Italy who is currently studying in CAS, also said students will potentially benefit from the changes.

“If some students don’t recognize themselves having a particular sexual identity, imagine every time they go to the GSU and realize that they have to choose between ‘male’ and ‘female,’” Alesci said. “It must be a frustrating feeling.”

Disorderly conduct and trespassing at 925 Commonwealth Ave. Officers assisted security in removing a party from Agganis Arena at around 10:44 p.m. on Saturday. The subject refused to cooperate and struggled with security. Officers arrested the party for trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Woman fell at intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Silber Way At around 2:50 a.m. on Sunday, officers responded to a call reporting a male student assisting a female student who was on the ground. The female student stated she had overworked her legs at the gym and had fallen. She declined transport to the hospital.

CITY

CRIME LOGS

BY NOOR ADATIA DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The following reports were taken from the Boston Police Department crime logs from Feb. 20-21.

Motor vehicle larceny at YMCA parking lot A man reported that someone broke into his blue 2017 Subaru Impreza between 3:00 and 4:25 p.m. at 615 Washington St. on Monday. The vehicle’s rear driver side window was smashed. The victim reported the suspect stole his credit and debit cards, as well as a brown leather briefcase, which contained his checkbook.

Woman reported her brother’s unusual behavior A woman reported her brother was behaving unusually at 916 Jette Court on Tuesday at 10:12 a.m. Prior to the officers’ arrival, the brother, who had stopped taking his medication, departed the residence.

The officers found him walking barefoot in the snow to a nearby playground. Officers led him back to the residence, where they waited for the Boston Emergency Medical Services. Unable to answer the EMS’s questions, he was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center for further evaluation.

NEWS 3

Study finds colleges may not be the greatest equalizer

GRAPHIC BY GABRIELLE DIPIETRO/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

BY ALLIE MILLER DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR

Getting a college degree may no longer be a source of economic mobility, according to a new study conducted by two City University of New York scholars. The study shows that after graduation, students from low-income families may be less successful than students from higher-income families, even if they go to the same school.

Research by Dirk Witteveen, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the Graduate Center of CUNY and Paul Attewell, a professor in sociology also at the Graduate Center, tied the burdens of college loans and fees to the economic background of students’ families.

The study adjusted for certain factors, such as excluding people who were unem-

ployed for 10 years out or dropped out of college. Researchers also look at other factors such as major and academic performance.

They found that college graduates from low-income families earned around 12 percent less than their higher income peers, with a median income of $57,000.

The study’s result was met with controversy and skepticism, for its direct contradiction of another study on the same subject.

Another report, conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, said that college acceptance was indeed helpful to “economic advancement.”

Evgeny Lyandres, a professor of finance at Boston University, wrote in an email that there were possible margins for error in the study.

“It does not control for race, which may be related to post-graduation earnings, and this

omission makes the conclusion that wealth on its own affects post-graduation earnings less reliable,” Lyandres wrote.

However, he also added that no matter the results of the study, he found the issue it tried to address in college income inequality relevant, and could possibly be remedied by Witteveen and Attevell’s suggested solutions.

“If the problem of persistence of inequality post college indeed exists, I think that the remedies proposed in the article — training in financial literacy and public speaking — could indeed alleviate the income gaps among college graduates,” he wrote.

BU spokesperson Colin Riley said there were also issues with the way the study was conducted, that it should not have pulled from “more than one singular school,” but expressed confidence in BU’s positive impact on all students, regardless of income.

“I think in my own experience, there is data that can help you understand the benefit of a Boston University degree for all graduates,” said Riley. “They end up in careers that allow them to repay those loans over that period of time.”

The study did however show that those who graduated college made significantly more than their peers who did not attend college. “[V]irtually every study shows that the lifetime earnings of a person with a college degree is significantly higher than someone with just a high school education,” Riley said.

“Now, going to college isn’t all about lifetime earning … But certainly, you want to be sure that if you do borrow money, you want to be able to repay those loans. So, it reflects well on our students.”

Several students said they believed other factors could have been at play in the study as well.

Skye McKay, a sophomore in College of Arts and Sciences, also believed that family connections and the ease of the job were different for students with differing incomes.

“People with a higher income, their families have higher incomes so their families know more people and they get more job opportunities,” McKay said. “Whereas with a lower income, you can’t just ask your uncle who knows this company for an internship.

You gotta actually work to find it.”

Grace Jeffrey, a senior in CAS, also said that she saw the potential of a low-income background hindering a college student’s success in her personal experience with balancing work and school in order to satisfy loan and scholarship requirements.

“There’s definitely an accessibility gap between families that make a lot of money, and families that have a lower income,” Jeffrey said. “From someone who has a lot of loans, having to do work, on top of school to pay for add-ons, like going out with your friends and also just making sure you meet your scholarship requirements … can add a lot of stress and is time consuming.”

Meghan Garrity, a freshman in the School of Education, said these inequalities are less common at BU. “But I think at least at BU, for the most part, people have equal opportunities because you don’t really have to like, pay to join clubs or do anything,” Garrity said. “I think the only thing that people who are from a wealthier background might have an advantage with is housing or dining plans or sororities and fraternities.”

MassRobotics opens new office space in Seaport District

BY BREANNE KOVATCH DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

MassRobotics, a collaborative workspace for robotics startups, opened its initial laboratory, office and test space with a ribbon cutting ceremony in the Seaport District on Friday.

The new 15,000 square-foot space will allow robotics startups to develop and scale their ideas and prototypes in the “emerging robotics industry” in Seaport, according to a press release from the company.

“MassRobotics will serve as a collaborative resource for Boston’s entrepreneurs, offering access to facilities and cutting-edge equipment that will help companies bring their new ideas to life,” Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said in the release. “I look forward to seeing these companies grow and develop exciting, new technology that has the potential to change how we interact with the world around us.”

The MassRobotics team has launched a fundraising campaign to build an additional 25,000 square foot in the facility because of high demand from various robotics companies to use the space, according to the release.

Tom Ryden, the executive director of MassRobotics, wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that the new space will further MassRobotics’ mission.

“MassRobotics mission is to support and grow the robotics and connected device community in Massachusetts,” Ryden wrote. “We believe by creating the hub of robotics here in Boston we can bring in start-ups and jobs to the area. We also support STEM initiatives, exposing students to robotics technology and opportunities in the field.”

MassRobotics originally shared a space with other startup companies in various fields before moving to the Seaport District, Ryden wrote.

“We started in the Cambridge Innovation Center’s co-working space but felt that robotics companies needed their own co-working space that included things like a machine shop, electronics lab and shareable benches,” Ryden wrote.

While some of these companies moved into the space on Feb. 1, Ryden said, the official ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday, which included a number of notable guests, including Walsh, who held the ribbon while a “collaborative robot” cut it.

MassRobotics will receive a grant of $75,000 from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative toward building a new laboratory space and furthering community outreach efforts, Ryden added.

“We are currently working on building out an advanced robotic manufacturing lab where start-ups will have access to the latest industrial arms and collaborative robots,” Ryden wrote.

Joyce Sidopoulous, the robotics community manager at the Mass Technology Leadership Council, said MassTLC works to connect technology companies with local businesses in order to foster beneficial partnerships.

“One of our missions is bringing people from the tech sector together to form collaborations and business partners and to help businesses accelerate,” Sidopoulous said.

Sidopoulous said MassTLC is the largest technology member organization in the state, with over 500 member companies both large and small.

“MassTLC is one of the founding partners of [MassRobotics],” Sidopoulous said. “At one of the MassTLC press room meetings … we brought together these two groups that had similar ideas and started sticking off the whole idea of [MassRobotics].”

Sidopoulous said like MassTLC, MassRobotics works to connect the startups with the tools they need to succeed, but

PHOTO BY JINGYI LIN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

MassRobotics, a center designed to serve and inform the public about robotic initiatives, opens a new facility in the Seaport District on Friday.

on a smaller scale.

“MassTLC … represents the tech industry, everything from big data to robotics to [internet] to healthcare,” Sidopoulous said. “[MassRobotics] is more of a place and a location for entrepreneurs and start ups to meet and work together. They also do a lot of programming to help the robotics startups progress and scale … to become larger. They’re closely related.”

Several Boston residents praised the addition of the new facility to the Seaport District.

Hector Laureano, 26, of Brighton, said the city should invest more in the robotics industry.

“In the last 10 or 20 years, we’ve had so much development, and I think that for the city to look away from that would be ignorant,” Laureano said. “Hopefully, [MassRobotics] will bring and keep college students, because I know that a lot of college students come here for school and end up leaving.”

Simmone Miller, 28, of East Boston, said the new facility is a good idea, and it will encourage the sharing of ideas between startup companies.

“Robotics is always a good thing, as long as they have their own limitations,” Miller said. “There are a lot of different things that I use personally in my everyday life that have come from robotics.”

Jessica Denaples, 30, of Brighton, said the robotics industry will positively impact the “up-and-coming” Seaport District.

“It’s nice that people who might not have the means to do this work on their own can use this space that is shared [with MassRobotics],” Denaples said. “Hopefully it will bring people from other areas of the country and the world who are advanced in that field to collaborate with people in Boston and vice versa.”

4 NEWS

Panel discusses potential of Massachusetts cannabis industry

PHOTO BY BRIANNA BURNS/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

A panel of business leaders gather Wednesday night in the Questrom School of Business Auditorium and discuss the potential economic impact of the 2016 motion to legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts.

BY CYNTHIA FERNANDEZ DAILY FREE PRESS PRESS

More than 60 people gathered in the Questrom School of Business Auditorium Wednesday evening for a panel entitled “Beyond Stigma: Envisioning the Cannabis Market in Massachusetts.” The discussion focused on the industry’s potential for growth now that Massachusetts has decriminalized the growing, possession and consumption of marijuana.

Jessica Bartlett of the Boston Business Journal moderated a panel including four leaders of the Massachusetts cannabis industry: Tim Keogh, Valerio Romano, Shaleen Title and Jeffery Zucker.

Rizkullah Dogum, a second-year graduate student in Questrom and the College of Arts and Sciences, said

he organized the panel in hopes that it would help move the conversation about cannabis forward.

“Over the last few years, there was a stigma over the people who use marijuana, either recreational or medical,” Dogum said before the panel. “I didn’t want the conversation to be about whether cannabis or marijuana was a good thing. I wanted to move beyond that.”

Dogum wrote in an email earlier that although marijuana has been legalized in Massachusetts, it is still widely misunderstood.

“I thought that after the decision in November of Question 4 it was important for people to understand what are the impacts, and how it could affect Massachusetts overall,” Dogum wrote. “There is a lot of confusion over what you can and cannot be doing.”

He wrote that he hoped the panel would be especially helpful to those interested in entering the industry.

“I just knew that some people were interested in starting companies around this,” Dogum wrote. “I know it’s also confusing. I felt that getting people from the industry who knew how to do this could provide some insights.”

Dogum invited Keogh, president and CEO of AmeriCann, to open the discussion. Keogh spoke about the vast financial opportunities in the budding industry.

“The cannabis industry is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity,” Keogh said. “We are in the bottom of the first inning, you really can’t think too small. Opportunities to get involved are out there, and innovations are going to happen.”

Romano, founder of the

Massachusetts Marijuana Compliance, said this job growth also extended to smaller towns where marijuana dispensaries are set to be opened.

“As these dispensaries start to open, there will be more and more jobs.

It’s one of our promises to host communities: we go in and convince them to allow us to open a dispensary in their Puritan, perfect town,” Romano said.

“They might actually have to help sick people without Big Pharma involved.

One of the ways we do that is by promising to give them jobs.”

Title, co-founder of THC Staffing Group, agreed that job opportunities in the cannabis industry are far ranging, including everything from accounting to social media.

“Don’t limit yourself,” Title said.

“Think more broadly.”

The discussion then moved to the positive effects of marijuana and how it could potentially combat the heroin epidemic in Massachusetts.

Romano spoke about how marijuana can help the people of Massachusetts by allowing cannabis to be used as an “exit drug.”

“Right now, in Massachusetts, we have a scourge of heroin overdose,” Romano said. “People get prescribed [opiates], and then they do heroin. If you start with cannabis, you never go down that road.

Cannabis is an exit drug. I always say if someone is really interested in combating the opioid problem we have today, they would absolutely embrace cannabis.”

Zucker, co-founder and president of Green Lion Partners, said he has seen cannabis help personal friends quit narcotics.

“It’s so clear that cannabis can lower [opioid addiction],” Zucker said. “We need to continue to build data and continue to build evidence that shows marijuana can be such a good cure for this.”

After the discussion, Title said that she wanted people to leave with a sense of optimism.

“I hope people feel confident and not defeated about a lot of the things we talked about, because this is an industry where innovation comes from young people and people who would not be your traditional entrepreneurs in traditional industries,” Title said.

Several students and alumni who attended the panel said it was a great way to learn about the largely unknown industry of cannabis.

Rick Roberts, who graduated from BU in 1981, said he agreed with the panelists about the power of marijuana as an exit drug.

“My mother-in-law was taking opiates and was basically a vegetable,” Roberts said. “We got her off those and got her medical marijuana.

Next thing you know … she regained herself. I think it is a great thing and many people can benefit from it and remove the stigma.”

Matthias Grenon, a senior in CAS, said he learned a lot from the panel about the business side of the cannabis industry. “[I learned] how difficult it is going to be to get any kind of clarity around how to start a business,” Grenon said. “Things are clearly going to be subject to change in the next couple of years, and you need to prepare for how you are going to contend for all of these things.”

Shubhesh Misra, a first-year graduate student in Questrom, said the only downside of the discussion was that it wasn’t longer.

“The panel was really informative,” Misra said. “You got the legal side, and the consultant side. I wish it was a little longer … I’m trying to leverage my MBA and try to see if I can make my own startup and see what avenue I can go down.”

BostonASAP helps state in fighting against opioid epidemic OPIOIDS, FROM PAGE 1 Programs, Inc., said issues regarding substance abuse have historically been a problem in Massachusetts. “[Drug epidemics] go in waves,” Hoffman said. “Every decade or so it increases to the point where people start paying attention. This time around with the Fentanyl, I think that’s really the critical factor. It’s so powerful and drug users aren’t really used to overdosing so easily.”

In fighting the opioid epidemic, Boston ASAP offers support groups for people who are taking opioids for medical needs, Hoffman said. “[Opioids are] intended to be

substitutes for using heroin and for injecting drugs,” Hoffman said.

“If they’re dispensed by private physicians … there really isn’t any treatment involved, so we’re trying to step into that gap and make sure that this important treatment is handled well for people who are taking the substitute drugs.”

Hoffman said the organization attempts to encourage affected individuals to seek out treatment by contacting physicians directly.

“By contacting the Suboxone doctors and telling them that there’s help available, [we raise awareness],” Hoffman said. “Other groups have more to do with getting

the word out about treatment availability. We’re direct treatment.”

Hoffman said the state is finally moving in the right direction in terms of treatment and funding for the opioid crisis.

“One of the big factors is that we have a governor who is so involved,” Hoffman said. “That definitely helps in recovering from this epidemic.”

Several Boston residents expressed concern with the continuing opioid problem, and said they appreciate the government stepping in to tackle the issue.

Daniel Miller, 43, of the South End, said he is pleased that the gov-

ernment is putting forth preventive measures and treatment plans.

“I’ve known people who have had this problem, and it’s hard seeing them go down that road,” Miller said. “I’m glad to hear that the government is doing things to prevent this from happening and making sure they’re also treating their people.”

Nicole Brown, 38, of Fenway, said she questions why the amount of opioid-related deaths continue to rise, and said the local government should focus on handling the root of the issue first.

“I’m curious as to why the rates are going up if we’re suppos-

edly spending so much money on it,” Brown said. “I don’t know if it would be better to put more money toward the police departments to actually stop the root of the problem or for treatment centers and whatnot, but I think starting with the root of the issue really helps.”

James O’Connor, 46, of Back Bay, said Baker’s devotion to combatting the opioid epidemic is reassuring to residents.

“If the governor is allocating that much money for treatments and prevention, it just goes to show how much he cares about the commonwealth,” Connor said. “I think it gives everyone a sense of hope.”

Campus Calendar: activities on campus this week Want your student group event featured here? Email editor@dailyfreepress.com with details.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27

“God of Carnage”

Funderdome VII

Free Comedy Show

Oscars Watch Party

Student Concert

Student Theater at Agganis Arena

Tsai Performance Center

BU Central

GSU Academy Room

CFA Concert Hall

8 p.m.

7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

8 - 10 p.m.

7 - 9 p.m.

8 p.m.

Hosted by BU Stage Troupe

Hosted by The Callbacks

Hosted by Slow Children at Play

Hosted by BU Film Society

Hosted by School of Music

FEATURES 5

MUSE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

REVIEW: “The Honey Trap” is thriller of emotional depth

BY KAYA WILLIAMS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Playwright Leo McGann knows a thing or two about theatrical history. A native of Northern Ireland, he graduated from Oxford University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in modern history and is currently enrolled in Boston University’s MFA Playwriting Program. A product of his studies and playwriting prowess, “The Honey Trap” — which runs from Feb. 16 to Feb. 26 at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre — is a thrilling portrait of human emotion through a historical lens of the not-so-distant past.

The premise of the play depends on several drastic twists and thrilling breakthroughs. To maintain the integrity of its mystery and status as a mind-bending exposé of emotional history, any plot synopsis is forced into ambiguity: two friends from the army meet an enticing pair of women at a bar.

The outcome of that seemingly innocuous evening gone terribly awry is recounted 30 years later for an oral history project.

Even as the play begins, its intentions for development remain unclear, demanding a complete immersion into the world exposed therein to discover the answers to an infinity of questions. To provide any more information would be to intrude upon a gallery of revelations and rob the play of its exhilarating development.

The set alone offers opportunities for speculation. The moments of conversational buzz and a locating of seats, which precedes any theatrical production, offer a unique opportunity for the consideration of a simplistic yet unique set design before the more malleable components of dialogue and character are introduced in the opening scene. Marvelously intricate and simplistic at the same time, the set stimulates geniality and tension in a manner which penetrates the subconscious of viewers throughout the experience of the 105-minute, two-act run.

Dynamic components frequently slide, roll and hurtle across the stage throughout the production, while the corrugated metal and grimy brick walls seem to simultaneously bear the conspicuous smudges of the past and hide an infinitely massive bulk of the present unknown. Varied heights — aided by wooden

PHOTO COURTESY KALMAN ZABARSKY

Maureen Keiller and Barlow Adamson play Sonia and Dave in Leo McGann’s new play, “The Honey Trap,” at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

platforms and bare-bones structural support — transform a small space of limited square footage into numerous environments which will be filled with personality, emptied of neutrality, and fundamentally transformed as the characters do the same.

Just as the visual and physically concrete elements of the set transmit a myriad of emotive possibility, the pervasive depth of each character grants the theatrics a forceful, expounding integration of sentimentality and angst against the backdrop of haunting uncertainty.

An aged, bearded and coarse Dave (Barlow Adamson) is provided a jigsaw of coping mechanisms and a jolting articulation of grief, guilt and dealing with the torture of recollection.

He is a performance worthy of supreme accolades. In his interactions with other characters, as well as literal ghosts of his past, Adamson cultivates in Dave a penetratingly absorbing representation of the complexities of desperation. This is complemented by Conrad

Sundqvist-Olmos’ portrayal of a morally confused Young Dave, and a haunting recurrence of his since-passed companion Bobby (Ben Swimmer). This introspective examination of Dave’s traumatic experience is the pinnacle of poignant theater.

In scenes of the present day, Dave’s multilayered psyche is further accentuated by two contrasts — that between him and an interviewer named Emily in the first half of the play, and that between him and a woman from his past, Sonia, in the second half.

Emily, an uptight and result-driven academic, is played to a tee by Grace Georgiadis, whose firm, terse dialect — the only character with an American accent in the play — is sharp and buttoned up. While Emily is no more than an independent academic on assignment, her increasingly driving questions and vocal sparring with Dave highlight his short fuse and paranoia, a likely consequence of the events he details in the interview. The question-answer format is expertly

manipulated for the purpose of development in the play, and there is no doubt that the interrogative circumstances of Act One catalyze the intensity of Act Two. Exponentially opposite are interactions between Dave and Sonia, who actress Maureen Keiller develops as an alluring representation of Dave’s unfulfilled desires and his incessant need for relief, information and solace from the enigmas of his past. Sonia is, in many ways, a resolution of Dave’s existential dilemmas. She grants him the outlets through which he proceeds to come to terms with his internalized conflicts, albeit with cliff-hanging effect in a gasp-inducing final scene.

In combination with stellar acting and a magnificently grungy set, McGann’s historically accurate and intricately emotional writing of “The Honey Trap” oozes complexity from the pores of the human condition.

Deeply cathartic and penetratingly profound, its examination of the traumas of the past are an undeniably essential theatrical experience.

INBUSINESS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

BU discusses professional success for international students

BY ELISE TAKAHAMA AND NATASHA MASCARENHAS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

For many international students, adjusting to American culture can be difficult.

Once students are able to get past the initial culture shock, they’re left to compete against homegrown candidates for internships and post-graduation work.

At Boston University, there’s no shortage of this issue. International students represent 24.4 percent of the Class of 2019, making up the second largest group of the student body.

BU is ranked ninth in the country for hosting the most international students.

“I think the makeup of the international portion of the freshman class 20 years ago, when I started, was very different,” said Anne Corriveau, director of international admissions at BU. “Chinese students made up a much smaller percentage and those numbers have shifted.”

Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Center for the Study of Asia and Global Programs hosted “School in China, College in the US: Challenges and Rewards as seen at BU” on Wednesday afternoon, a talk that addressed why international students decide to attend the university.

Bob Murowchick, director of the International Center for East Asian

Archaeology and Cultural History, welcomed the audience and gave brief introductions of the event’s three speakers, Charlotte Mason, Anne Corriveau and Deepti Nijhawan, all BU employees.

The conversation leaned toward an in-depth discussion of some issues international students face and strategies the university can implement to ensure foreign students are just as academically and socially successful as American students.

Corriveau shared her research on the increase of international students at BU over the past few years. Her portion of the presentation focused on how the numbers have changed over time.

“It has a very positive effect from an economic standpoint,” Corriveau said, citing a NAFSA study on the 2015-2016 academic year in Massachusetts. “They actually cite really impressive numbers in terms of economic benefits, but I think there’s the whole obvious social added nuances they bring to this campus. How do you put a price on something that profound?”

According to the NAFSA study, international student enrollment generated $2.3 billion and 31,550 jobs in Massachusetts during the 2015-2016 academic year, which are numbers that have steadily increased over the past 10 years.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6 FEATURES

IMPACT THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

GRCB hosts concert in support of female empowerment

BY GURSIMAR KAUR DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR

After the numerous marches through the streets of Boston, protesting for women’s rights, Girls Rock Campaign Boston came up with the idea to host a night that advocates for a specific cause — the empowerment of girls in the music scene.

GRCB, a nonprofit feminist organization that promotes music education for all girls, hosted a Love Trumps Hate Dance at the Bella Luna Restaurant and Milky Way Lounge in Jamaica Plain on Sunday night.

The night consisted of dancing, live DJs, food and learning more about the GRBC as well as other social justice organizations.

“The great thing about using music as a vehicle to help boost girls’ self-confidence is that there’s such a rich history of female trailblazers who were able to express themselves in what is usually a male-dominated space,” sad Carolyn Berk, a member of GRCB’s planning team for the event.

“Music education through GRCB helps girls find the strength to buck traditional gender roles and go against the status quo.”

Attendees at the Love Trumps Hate Dance donated to the organization, whose goal is to empower girls by providing a supportive community, which cultivates “self-expression, confidence, and collaboration through musical education and performance,” according to GRCB’s website.

Berk said she thought of the idea for the dance party and helped put it together.

After Trump’s election, protests have been widespread around Boston — one of the reasons why Berk said she was passionate about this dance.

“We wanted to align the work that Girls Rock Campaign Boston has been doing with what has been happening recently such as the Women’s March,” Berk said.

PHOTO COURTESY JENNY BERGMAN

Girls Rock Campaign Boston hosts Love Trumps Hate Dance in Jamaica Plain Sunday night to support women of the Boston music community.

“There have been so many protests happening and it’s very easy to burn out.”

Because of this, GRCB made an effort to bring some fun into the cause as well, Berk said. It not only promotes community action, but also may be seen as a stress reliever.

Erin Morrow, a GRCB volunteer and the head of the events committee, said the group knew this weekend would be a great opportunity to raise awareness. After a protesting for a couple of weeks, she said, the team expected people would need a break.

“We wanted to get the community interested and we know people like to

dance and that it would attract attention especially during the holiday weekend,” Morrow said. “We did it for the fun aspect but also to create a safe space for people to connect.”

With so much political uncertainty surrounding women’s rights, Berk said, it’s important to have a safe space to share thoughts, fear and ideas.

Jaime Lederer, 35, of Medford, attended the dance and said she has been to previous GRCB events.

“It’s always a great time to get together and build the community that GRCB

has already established here in Boston,” Lederer said. “It was a lot of fun and felt really safe and welcoming.”

There was a great mix of people there and the event was well-received, Berk said.

After seeing the great amount of support received on Sunday, Berk mentioned that there has been talk about making it an annual event, as it piqued the interests of individuals who didn’t even intend on attending.

“There were also people that weren’t attending and were just eating dinner,” Berk said, “but still donated and wanted to learn more about our organization.”

International students find campus job opportunities limited INTERNATIONAL, FROM PAGE 5 Qizhao Li, a sophomore trying to transfer into the Questrom School of Business from the College of General Studies, is from Shenzhen, China and said he felt the education system in China was much more rigid and traditional.

“American society is more open-minded and more creative,” Li said. “So while I’m studying here, I’m getting an American education.”

This rising trend in enrollment marks new responsibilities for professors, fellow students and institutions. There’s a growing demand for international students to find professional experience while attending classes.

Esther Hu, a writing professor in the BU Arts and Sciences Writing Program who attended the discussion, explained that international students cannot apply for certain jobs in their first academic year because of regulations of F-1 student visas.

Students who have F-1 visas are technically allowed to work in the United States, but have to follow the guidelines issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. In a political context where immigration regulation is being strengthened, work flexibility becomes even less of an option.

Hu currently teaches a WR100 ESL

course at BU, and said she does her best to connect with students in topics even outside the classroom, including job opportunities.

With this in mind, she attempts to interweave a broad range of skills in her lessons.

BU’s Center for Career Development is currently working with international students and holding an event for them in March, wrote Eleanor Cartelli, senior associate director of the CCD, in an email to The Daily Free Press.

Yihang Wang, who prefers to be called Greyson, is a sophomore in the College of Communication and an international student from Hangzhou, China. He said the CCD and the International Students and Scholars Office have been wwreally helpful in terms of job searching.

Although he said he is limited by visa policies, Wang does currently have an on-campus job in the George Sherman Union.

“It definitely is hard to find professional connections,” he said, since he can only work on campus. As a public relations major, Wang said there aren’t as many options for real work experience related to his professional goals. It can also be intimidating to reach out for help, he said.

“Being an international student, sometimes I feel I’m a little scared to ask questions and reach for opportunities,” Wang said.

PHOTO BY ELISE TAKAHAMA/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Anne Corriveau, director of international admissions at BU, discusses ways to ensure the academic and social success of international students.

To remedy this, Wang suggested the university should offer more specific seminars for international students, although the ISSO does send emails about upcoming workshops for career development.

But despite these concerns, Li still said he was relieved to be at an American university and would rather be looking for jobs in the United States.

“BU is telling you to be yourself, and I really like that because in China sometimes you just cannot be yourself,” Li said.

“Chinese society really cares about social levels, your academic background and what your position is in your company. You have to sacrifice sometimes and you cannot be yourself. But BU has taught me that, which I think is a really helpful reminder.”

FEATURES 7

CATALYST THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Boston community stands up for science, climate change

PHOTO BY DYLAN KIM/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Scientists, researchers and community members gather at a rally to stand in support of science Sunday afternoon at Copley Square.

BY KIRAN KISHOR GALANI AND LAUREN FRIAS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

More than 5,000 scientists and supporters of the cause gathered at Copley Square to take part in the “Rally to Stand Up for Science” on Sunday to protest the anti-science rhetoric they feel the current administration promotes. With the crowd ranging from children to older intellectuals who had dedicated their life to scientific development, the diverse crowd displayed their support for the scientific community.

The rally featured 11 speakers who all spoke out against the lack of support for science in this political climate. Attendees of the event were encouraged to make their own posters in support of science as well as create their own chants to chant at the rally.

Amanda Mourant, one of the main organizers, opened the rally by highlighting the important role science plays in our lives.

“We’re here because science serves the common good,” Mourant said during the rally. “It protects the health of our communities, the safety of our families, our children’s education. It’s the foundation of our economy. It creates jobs and the future that we all want to live in and preserve for the

coming generations. Scientists are real life superheroes.”

She said the rally for science was held on Sunday specifically to run in junction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting, which was taking place in Boston at the same time. She said this annual conference was the largest gathering of scientists from all over the world since President Donald Trump had been elected, creating a larger, louder voice that begged to be heard.

“This seemed like the right time to take a stand for science considering there were so many scientists from different fields right here who knew exactly how much of an impact this anti-science rhetoric would create,” she said.

One of the rally attendees, Aliza Stone, 23, of Cambridge, said she went to the rally for the reason Mourant mentioned before.

Though she said she believes the Boston rally, specifically, won’t create change on a larger scale, she said the rally allows for people with similar beliefs to connect and form bigger groups to protest for what they believe in.

“I think this is one of the most important, if not the most important, repercussion of what’s going on in the world right now,” Stone said. “It’s scary that we have to come support

the fact that facts are important. I wanted to be a part of a group that was protesting it.”

Several scientists and local science professors spoke at the rally. One of the speakers, Jacquelyn Gill, a professor of paleoecology at the University of Maine and host of the Warm Regards Podcast, noted that the fight for science was one that reaped benefits for more than just scientists alone.

“Standing up for science means standing up for those who stand to lose the most when our scientific institutions come under attack,” Gill said. “Those people who have the most to lose are not the scientists … you are all the ones who stand to gain or lose the most when those institutions come under attack.

Standing up for science is for everyone.”

Another speaker, Chiamaka Obilo, a high school senior at Boston Latin Academy and action fellow at the Alliance for Climate Education, agreed with Gill, also commenting on how it was up to her rising generation to deal with climate issues. However, she said those individuals will not be armed with knowledge if science education is continually shunned on this topic.

“The effects of climate change will transcend generations, and my generation must be equipped to confront this challenge,” Obilo said. “We must start allied campaigns with

the youth, going from door to door spreading the truth. In this new era of activism, we must make our voices heard and make our presence along with the facts visible to the citizens of the world.”

Katherine Kerr, a lab technician at the Wentworth Institute of Technology who attended the rally, said she was concerned by the fact that some people, especially those in power, label scientific fact as fiction.

“I’m really, really alarmed by a population that seems to hold facts in contempt, that will try to argue things that are simply not true,” Kerr said. “It doesn’t recognize that there is a difference between things understood by the scientific process and opinion.”

Mourant expressed a similar sentiment, adding that she hopes to “get more people invested and interested in the cause by showing them what’s at stake, especially with the Trump administration and their allies in Congress who don’t believe in climate science.”

But her main thoughts and ultimate goals of the rally were targeted at elected government employees.

“More than anything else, we’re holding elected officials accountable by calling out the denial, distortion and disinformation that are blocking bold action on climate change.”

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8 OPINION

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Weihua Li, Editor-in-Chief Candice Lim, Managing Editor

t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r a t b o s t o n u n i v e r s i t y

46th year | Volume 92 | Issue VI The Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Thursdays 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 © 2017 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Sophia Eppolito, Campus Editor

Anna Whitelaw, Editorial Page Editor

Gabrielle DiPietro, Layout Editor

Alyssa Meyers, City Editor

Elise Takahama, Features Editor

Kalina Newman, Blog Editor

Jordan Green, Sports Editor

Olivia Falcigno, Photo Editor

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager

Rescindment of transgender bathroom bill is troubling Since the inauguration, many people, including women, minorities and scientists, have felt targeted, bullied and worrisome for the future under the leadership of our new president and those within his administration. As a result, more than one million people marched through major cities to show their support for gender equality. Protesters took residence at airports throughout the country to defend immigrants traveling into the United States. And most recently, scientists of all ages rallied in Copley Square to advocate for the importance of scientific thought.

On Wednesday night, President Donald Trump struck once again. This time, Trump invalidated federal protections for transgender students to use whatever bathroom they wish based on their gender identity. Though Education Secretary Betsy DeVos originally opposed Trump’s decision, she swayed to the views of Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to relinquish this question for individual states to decide.

Rescinding this rule, started by the Obama administration in May in accordance with Title IX, is extremely cruel to the entire transgender community. They were given a right, a right to use whichever bathroom they felt comfortable with, and now the federal government is saying it doesn’t feel comfortable protecting this right. This country has just begun to acknowledge and work toward accepting

the transgender community, and now they have an excuse, given by the president, to continue to question the validity of this group’s fundamental rights.

Not only is it troubling for younger children in schools who question their gender, but this is also a setback to the national movement for transgender rights. It must be extremely disheartening to hear from the federal government that your rights are not

T

rump is essentially proclaiming that state autonomy is valued above the rights of an entire community within this country. being directly protected. Trump is essentially proclaiming that state autonomy is valued above the rights of an entire community within this country, one of 1.4 million people.

There are no facts or statistics that prove a correlation between nongendered bathrooms and a higher level of sexual assault in public schools and bathrooms. It must be difficult enough to not know what signage on a door represents who you are as a person. To possibly not be able to make that decision for yourself is simply immoral.

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case of gender equality, an issue that has plagued America since its founding documents, federal regulations are required to set a precedent.

Though legal action is incredibly vital to the proliferation of rights for the transgender community, for people to accept this group within society, laws are not enough.

Many people are still uncomfortable with transgender people and a law stating that transgender people may use whatever bathroom they wish will not make those people

automatically accept them. As long as we see these issues and others like it as taboo, change won’t come. This issue is inherently societal, caused by a general lack of education and a lack of empathy. Levels of discomfort are understandable from both the transgender community and opponents of it, but an institutional shift must occur if we wish to see this discomfort dissipate.

Legal action, along with societal normalization, is the only way to make progress for the transgender community.

Though Obama’s administration did pass a bill, states have violated these regulations in the past. Perhaps now that Trump has rescinded this bill, he actually did activists a favor. We’ve seen the American people rally behind the Affordable Care Act once the Republicans are talking about “Repeal and Replace,” though upon Obama’s exit from the White House, the program was nowhere near as popular. Perhaps Trump will encourage people to assemble around this cause, spread awareness and urge their local and state governments to make the ethical decision. In general, people don’t know what is valuable until they’ve lost it.

Hopefully, though Trump is leaving this decision up to each state, Americans will fight for the rights of transgendered people from a grassroot level. This may be putting too much faith in the citizens of this country, but in the current political landscape, it is what we are left with.

This week’s crossword puzzle is brought to you by Kevin Dillon

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The movement for basic human rights and the equality of transgendered people needs to be dealt with on a national scale.

Using bathrooms is not a different thing in one state from another, or from one school to another school — in order to create true, undeniable change, this needs to be a nationwide effort. While sweeping federal laws sometimes do make it hard for communities to move with them, in the

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ACROSS 1. Got up 6. Shopping place 10. Widespread 14. Jumpy 15. Chills and fever 16. Curved molding 17. Sea 18. A box or chest 19. A field of grass 20. Middleman 22. Misled 23. Indian dress 24. Restitution 26. Awestruck 30. A parcel of land 31. Do it yourself 32. Wings 33. Kind of bean 35. A common green newt 39. Windlass 41. Sovereign 43. Muse of love poetry 44. Store

DOWN 46. Former Italian currency 47. European peak 49. Genus of macaws 50. Boor 51. Package 54. Take it easy 56. Double-reed woodwind 57. A formal charge of wrongdoing 63. Japanese wrestling 64. Low islands 65. Markedly masculine 66. Brother of Jacob 67. False god 68. High school dances 69. Lairs 70. Declare untrue 71. Feel

1. Winter precipitation 2. Engineering school 3. Chocolate cookie 4. Egg-shaped 5. Units of force 6. Almond paste cookies 7. Nimbleness 8. Ploy 9. Foursome 10. A sport involving a ball and a net 11. Twice 12. Stitched 13. Looks after 21. Chip dip 25. Bearing 26. Dash 27. Winglike 28. Dad 29. Possessing a hard shell 34. In a romantic manner 36. Invigoration

37. Beige 38. Not this 40. Lacquered metalware 42. Opaque gems 45. Idyllically calm and peaceful 48. Tranquil 51. Modelled 52. Gall 53. Ancient empire 55. Lights 58. An abandoned calf 59. Container weight 60. Computer symbol 61. Units of resistance 62. Schnozzola

OPINION 9

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Sweden: equal, not that equal

BY JAHNAVI BHATIA COLUMNIST

The term “feminist” has been extremely politicized in the United States, with strong support and strong opposition to it. In Sweden, however, a majority of people self-identify as feminist. Three out of four women consider themselves in line with feminist ideals, and the feminist party was started a few years back.

With paid family leave and universal childcare, Swedish policies consistently set an example of how feminism is about gender equality, and is hence beneficial to men as well.

Their paternity leave policy states that fathers are eligible for more than 400 days of paid paternity leave (most of those days at 80 percent of their normal salary). In divorce cases, joint custody is always awarded unless there is proof of serious problems, such as abuse, from the other parent. Since men and women share child responsibilities equally, stay-at-home mothers are rare in Sweden.

However, in recent years, debate has arisen about the number of successful women employees in the private sector. Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries, in spite of their gender equality indices, have a lower number of women working as managers, entrepreneurs and high-achieving professionals than the United States.

This is despite the fact that a higher percentage of women in Sweden participate in the labor market than American women. The high tax burden in Sweden makes it difficult for families to survive on one income, therefore women are usually part of the workforce.

However, more women work in the public sector than in the private sector. One possible reason for this is that Sweden has better wages for the public sector than other country.

Public sector jobs offer more opportunity to work part-time. Even though Swedish policies promote gender equality, men still tend to work more hours than women. Additionally, the labor market is still gender-segregated.

It seems like even though Sweden has adopted more gender-equal policies, the society as a whole has not completely adopted this mindset. They still have semblances of traditional gender roles, with women working

fewer hours than men, and with certain jobs being heavily gender imbalanced. However, they are also working incredibly hard to make life better for the women who choose not to pursue very demanding careers. As for more women working in private sectors, that may happen with time. It doesn’t seem to be a lack of opportunity that is holding them back, but in fact a lack of social momentum.

Social movements like feminism give people tools that they can use, but it still takes time before they actually start using them to their fullest extent.

The lack of women leaders in the private sector is also important because it has given rise to a school of thought called the “Nordic Gender Equality Paradox.” This school of thought initially started in Norway, when the Norwegian State Television aired a documentary called the “Gender Equality Paradox” in 2011. The documentary questions the fact that Nordic countries still have way more male engineers than female engineers and a lot less male nurses than female nurses. The documentary, created by comedian Harald Eia, argues that there is no scientific basis for even having gender equality as a policy goal. It had enough of an impact to cause the Norwegian government to cut its funding for gender studies. To address the lack of female managers and CEOs, this documentary and its proponents say that women typically prefer work that is less technical and involves dealing with people. They say that in Sweden, when women don’t have that much of a financial incentive to pursue technical jobs, they instead take jobs that they stereotypically would prefer.

The problem with this line of thought is that it criticizes all sorts of affirmative action that Sweden has been taking to increase the presence of women in education, government, STEM and entrepreneurial fields. Sweden has introduced quotas for women on the boards of companies, in technical fields, in schools and in government. However, if more people begin to adopt the ideology that women prefer non-technical fields, this affirmative action will reduce. This ideology ignores the historical context of women in the labor force.

Women don’t necessarily prefer traditional, non-technical jobs, but they have historically been taught to pursue those. Even though they now don’t have that restriction, the historical context is important because it still influences societal norms.

The Swedish government is doing a lot to introduce policies in support of gender equality. This does not, however, mean that Sweden now has completely gender-equal labor markets and social norms. The policies are working toward obliterating traditional gender roles in all aspects of life, but that goal hasn’t been achieved yet.

A welcomed replacement

BY PATRICK BURKE COLUMNIST

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster has been chosen by President Donald Trump to be the 26th National Security Advisor of the United States. The move was made on Feb. 20, a week after Michael Flynn resigned 21 days on the job.

The move to McMaster is a welcoming one. He had no previous link to the president, while Flynn served as a campaign advisor through a good portion of the race.

However, a link to Trump before the official presidency is not enough for the American people to lose trust in someone. What should cause the public to lose trust is lying to the vice president about whether or not you were in contact with Russian diplomats.

Flynn was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 to be the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency after serving 33 years in the U.S. Army. As director of the DIA, he tried to institute plans to change the policies of the organization to keep up with challenges in the 21st century.

Flynn pressed the Obama administration about their tactics in defeating Al Qaeda and how to stop the spread of radical Islamic violence all over the globe. His intentions, when he was appointed by Obama, were desirable.

Be that as it may, controversy seems to follow the man wherever he goes. He retired a year early due to somewhat mysterious consequences, depending on who you ask. If one were to ask Flynn himself why he retired, he would say that he was forced out by senior officials for not complying with their every order. On the other hand, if you ask Colin Powell, he would give you a much different answer. According to leaked emails published by BuzzFeed, Powell said that Flynn was “abusive with staff, didn’t listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc.”

What strikes me here is the fact that Powell, a retired four-star general, spoke on the fact that Flynn worked against policy.

This seems to be a common theme.

The most concerning thing of all is the fact that President Trump appointed this man to be the new National Security

Advisor, even after he was ousted from his previous job. Not being able to judge a person’s character when it is very clearly documented is pretty scary.

With that being said, Trump may have struck gold with his pick to replace Flynn.

McMaster is seen throughout Washington D.C. as someone who will criticize what he feels is wrong. He is an independent thinker who has written a book condemning America’s entry into the Vietnam War. McMaster has also spoken out against the way the Bush administration handled the war in Iraq. The respected general most recently spoke out against Trump’s views on torture.

McMaster ser ved in the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan. He has proven himself on the battlefield time and time again, receiving everything from a Purple Heart to a decorated NATO Medal. General McMaster is the epitome of a war hero and a much better choice than Flynn was.

One concern coming from those in D.C. is the fact that McMaster is still an active duty member of the military. The reason for concern here is that those who are retired from the armed forces can easily oppose what the president has to say with little to no repercussions to their careers.

This may not be the same with someone on active duty. Take a look back at Trump’s first attorney general, who was essentially fired for not enforcing the travel ban implemented about a month ago. Sally Yates met her end because she didn’t agree with the president on one decision, leaving people to wonder about McMaster’s fate.

As an ordinary citizen, I agree with the appointment of McMaster to be the National Security Advisor much more than I agreed with the appointment of Flynn. I think that McMaster has a way about him that has not been seen in those chosen for the Trump administration so far. He is someone who is not afraid to express his views, whether they are positive or negative, to anybody.

It seems as though the Trump administration has had more downs than ups since our new president was sworn in a little over a month ago. With that being said, the appointment of General McMaster shows that the administration may be getting on the right track. I think they knew that if someone unfit to serve was appointed again, their credibility would be all but lost.

Only time can tell whether McMaster is truly better than Flynn, but as far as I know, McMaster is a great appointment for National Security Advisor and will serve the American people to the best of his ability.

Interrobang This year’s Oscar swag bag includes a six-day vacation to Hawaii, personal training sessions, diamond jewelry and designer “non-browning” apples.

We here at the ol’ Free Press want to know — what would BU people want in their swag bag?

West Campus: Hangover cure-all

BUPD: Segways

BU Shuttle: A BU Limo

Hockey Team: Beanpot trophy

Sargent: Fitbit

COM: An advisor

BU Dining: Vacation to Flavortown, USA

FreeP: A color printer

10 SPORTS

“Internal matter” keeps three basketball players off court

BY JORDAN GREEN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

As the Boston University men’s basketball team prepares for the Patriot League Tournament with the ultimate goal of getting to the 68-team NCAA Tournament, fans cannot help but notice that three of the team’s players have been absent from the games.

Senior center Blaise Mbargorba, junior guard Cheddi Mosely and freshman guard Destin Barnes all have not played in 2017.

Mbargorba was last seen on court on Dec. 7 against Canisius College, Barnes hasn’t played since Dec. 10 at Syracuse University and Mosely last appeared on Dec. 18 against the University of New Hampshire.

Not only have they been absent from the court, none of these three players have sat on the bench during home games, at least since the spring semester began.

BU head coach Joe Jones has insisted from the beginning that the status of all three players is being handled internally, but said “those guys aren’t with us right now.” He declined to comment any further.

“As I have said before, this is an internal matter, and that’s where this is going to stand,” Jones told The Daily Free Press later in another interview. “I’m sorry if that makes you a little uncomfortable, but that’s where it’s going to stand.”

BU spokesperson Colin Riley echoed Jones’ statement that it is an internal matter.

He also declined to comment any further.

Several fans said the lack of clarity on the matter from the team and university has made them feel uneasy.

“It’s definitely something that is weird,” said Michael El-Hayek, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “The whole ‘internal matter’ thing is a little upsetting for a fan. We don’t have any idea how serious it is or what exactly went on, so it’s kind of frustrating from a fan’s point of view that you can’t even get a comment more than ‘internal matter’ out of Joe Jones.”

Cullen Deimer, a CAS senior, said that he wishes the team would be more clear, but he understands that it is a sensitive situation.

“It’s kind of disappointing as a fan to not know what’s going on just because you want to know why they’re not playing,” Deimer said.

“But at the same time, if [the team is] so steadfast in not releasing information, I guess they must have their reasons for it.”

Others, such as Benjamin Liang, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said they think that fans should trust the team to update them when it feels the time is right.

“I guess that’s understandable [for the team to not want to talk about it],” Liang said.

“You wouldn’t want any rumors going around.

I trust that they’ll handle it professionally and that they’ll release information once they know what’s actually going on.”

For the Terriers, although the loss of Mbargorba, Mosely and Barnes has been cushioned by the play of the bench, losing three of their top players has diminished BU’s depth.

Senior guard Eric Fanning, BU’s leading scorer, said it was difficult for the team to lose three players, and it has forced everyone to push themselves.

“It was tough at first, it’s always tough losing those kind of guys,” Fanning said. “Other guys stepped up, [junior guard] Will [Goff] has done a great job. Will brings so much to the table …filling in for Cheddi. All of our young guys have been stepping up. We have to

step and fill the shoes for those guys because those guys did a lot for us.”

Mbargorba’s absence pushed freshmen forwards Tyler Scanlon and Max Mahoney into solidified roles in the lineup. Up until Senior Day on Sunday, Scanlon started 18 games straight, beginning on Dec. 10, the first game in Mbargorba’s prolonged absence.

For some, though, Scanlon and Mahoney’s success as freshmen makes the loss of Barnes even more disheartening. The trio made up one of the most promising BU freshmen classes in recent memory, and Barnes was the first of the freshmen to show promise, shooting 40 percent from behind the arc in the 10 games he played in.

Deimer said that the absence of Mbargorba, Mosely and Barnes is noticeable and feels that fans missed out on seeing those players. Barnes in particular, he said, progressed over the course of the season.

“I think it definitely is [noticeable],” Deimer said. “I just remember earlier in the season, Destin as a rookie, along with Tyler and Max, they were kind of lighting it up.

So to see that part of the trio gone, I kind of miss that.”

After loss, men’s basketball still fighting for second place In its penultimate regular season game,

BY JONATHAN CHANG DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

PHOTO BY JOHN KAVOURIS/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Eric Fanning led the Terriers with 19 points in BU’s second straight loss.

In its penultimate regular season game, the Boston University men’s basketball team struggled on the road Wednesday night at the United States Militar y Academy, losing 73-62.

The Terriers (16-13, 11-6 Patriot League) were absolutely unstoppable at the beginning of the game, quickly jumping to a 23-6 lead with 11:46 to go in the first half. They played the inside- out game to perfection — most of their points came from either the paint or the 3-point line.

However, the stage was set for Army (12-17, 6-11 Patriot League), which was celebrating its Senior Day and made a 25-point comeback in its prior game against its rival the United States Naval Academy.

“We got off to a great start, and then we struggled,” said BU head coach Joe Jones. “After that, they just outplayed us.”

The momentum began to shift when the Black Knights’ bench came in. The team’s usual starters were on the bench for Senior Day, and when they came in, they were ready to play.

With 9:22 to go in the first half, Army guard John Emezie had back-to- back possessions of and-ones to cut a 15-point lead to a single-digit margin. After trading baskets, Army’s barrage of 3- pointers followed. By halftime, the Black Knights held a 38-36 lead.

Army’s bench scored 27 points in the first half. It would finish the game with 52 points.

Starring from Army’s bench unit was their junior for ward Luke Morrison, who scored 19 points and shot 5-5 from downtown.

“We call our shooters [to defend], and we want them to put the ball on the f loor,” Jones said.

“We didn’t pressure him hard enough.

On few occasions, we were there, but he just shot the ball over us.”

One of those moments was with 2:21 to go in the second half, when Morrison hit a tough bank shot from the top of the key

to secure the win for Army.

BU made defensive adjustments to stop Army’s momentum, but it was the Black Knights were able to successfully maneuver through them.

“We tried to change defensively late in the half and tried to play more zone and put them into our trap and they were able to beat that,” Jones said. “We weren’t able to make the adjustment going back to the zone. We’ve got to be able to change defenses. We struggled in man and zone.”

Nothing worked offensively for the Terriers either, as they shot 38.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from the 3-point line and 38.5 percent from the free throw line.

The odd stat line, given the hot start, left Jones perplexed.

“We turned them over 21 times and we scored 62 points,” Jones said. “It’s bizarre.

We weren’t able to score in transition. We missed layups at the rim. We missed foul shots. We just didn’t play well tonight.”

Senior guard Eric Fanning was the only BU player to score in double digits with 19 points.

On the bright side, BU was terrific in forcing turnovers and def lections.

Sophomore guard Kyle Foreman and junior guard Cedric Hankerson, both of whom are among conference leaders in steals, led the effort with four and three steals, respectively.

“We played really hard [on defense],” Jones said. “We were giving great effort and playing hard.”

As a team, BU recorded 12 steals and forced 21 turnovers, while only giving the ball away 11 times.

Ultimately, the Terriers were unable to stop Army’s outside shooting.

BU will have to win its final game of the season Saturday at the College of the Holy Cross to secure the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League and guarantee home court advantage through most of the tournament, but it will need to be in much better form in order to do so.

“We need to play better,” Jones said.

“The ball needs to move. We need to get back aggressive defensively.”

SPORTS 11

Free throws doom women’s basketball in loss to Army

BY MATTHEW MARTIN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University women’s basketball team let an important conference matchup against the United States Military Academy slip away at Case Gym, losing by a score of 64-52.

The Terriers (11-16 Patriot League 9-7) were killed by a dismal third quarter in which they were outscored 21-12 after entering halftime trailing by two.

The contest was close, as there were six lead changes and the score was tied three times. BU led with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter and were within one with just over two minutes before the fourth. In the final two minutes of the third, Army (20-7 Patriot League 11-5) took control of the game with a 10-0 run to go up by 11 points heading into the final period.

Junior center Sophie Beaudry finished the game with 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Senior guard Sarah Hope struggled, shooting 3-10 from the field for eight points while committing seven turnovers.

Freshman forward Nia Irving led the team with 13 points in 34 minutes, her sec-

PHOTO BY JOHN KAVOURIS/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sarah Hope struggled in BU’s loss to Army.

ond highest total minutes of the season behind a double-overtime contest against Colgate University. While Irving led the team in scoring, she did not have an efficient night, shooting 5-18, her most shot attempts in a game this season.

In this game, the Terriers missed the presence of senior guard Courtney Latham, who did not dress.

“Courtney is a really tough kid, I think she would have gutted this one out. I know she is bothered that she could not play in this game,” said BU head coach Katy Steding.

“She has a tremendous influence on the rest of the girls. It’s an opportunity for the rest to step up. We have won games with [junior guard] Corinne Williams out of the lineup.

People need to step up and continue to play their role.”

The first half was a back-and- forth battle. As a team, BU shot 11-33 from the field in the first half and 1-6 from behind the arc, while the Black Knights shot 11-30 and 1-7 from 3-point range.

Army outrebounded BU 23 to 20. After the first half, the Terriers trailed by a score of 28 to 26.

The first half was highlighted by four lead changes and the score being tied on two separate occasions as no team could establish control of the game.

The Terriers shot 50 percent from the free throw line and the Black Knights shot 77.8 percent from the line. The discrepancy in free throws was a major factor in the loss for BU.

“Their will was a little stronger than ours, if you look across the stat sheet everything is pretty equal except the free throws.

They shot a lot more and made more free throws than us,” Steding said.

Army junior Aliyah Murray led the way for the Black Knights with a double-double, totaling 13 points and 16 rebounds.

Sophomore Madison Hovern just missed a double-double of her own as she finished the game with 15 points as well as nine rebounds.

After building a lead in the third quarter, Army put the game away in the final stanza. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Black Knights were able to build a 16-point lead, which was the highest lead at that point in the game.

BU will look to get revenge when they head to West Point, New York for its final regular season game on March 1.

Before that, BU plays the College of the Holy Cross on Saturday at home for senior night.

“Everyone gets up for senior night,” Steding said. “We’ll have a nice crowd, it’s a little sad to think this could be our last home game. It might be [the seniors’] last game at home, so we mark the occasion and play hard,” Steding said. Steding said.

Women’s basketball loses sloppy defensive battle to Army

BY RISHABH KRISHAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University women’s basketball team fell to the United States Military Academy on Wednesday night at Case Gym in a game with major playoff implications.

The Terriers (11-16, 9-7 Patriot League) were unable to secure a win at home in the first of two matchups against the Black Knights (20-7, 11-5 Patriot League). As a result, they lost ground in the chase to host a first-round playoff game. Now, the Terriers find themselves a game behind American University for fourth-place in the Patriot League.

While the first half featured numerous lead changes and sharp ball movement, there was no shortage of ill-advised shots and missed rebounding opportunities. The entire game was filled with sloppiness, as the referees constantly whistled for traveling violations, coaches yelled at their players to box out and both benches indignantly cried over foul calls.

Both offenses struggled, in part to very aggressive defense. The Black Knights assumed a full court press early on in the game, while the Terriers resorted to double-teaming. Consequently, both teams were held to under 40 percent field goal shooting in the first half.

BU was relatively successful on the glass, but missed several chances to secure defensive rebounds that resulted in second chances for Army in the first half. Furthermore, junior center Sophie Beaudry had difficulties boxing out her aggressive low post opponents. The Terriers’ frontcourt was only able to grab nine rebounds while the Black Knights amassed 13, a large enough difference to give Army a slight advantage at the end of the half.

In addition, the Terriers’ double-teaming efforts were successful, as the Black Knights committed 12 turnovers. However, the defensive feat was neutralized by 11 BU turnovers.

In the second half, the same defensive strategies reappeared. Army continued with full-court pressure while BU stuck to trapping. Ultimately, the difference came down to a 10-0 run by Army in the final two minutes of the third quarter. The Black Knights outplayed the Terriers with more tenacity and determination when it was most needed.

“Sometimes their will was a little stronger than ours,” said BU head coach Katy Steding.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, Army surged thanks to its full-court pressure. This effort produced turnovers and several rushed shots from the Terriers, which resulted in BU’s largest deficit of 16 points. The Terriers made several attempts to get back into the game, but Army held its ground and retained a double-digit lead until the end.

Additionally, Army’s success in stifling

BU’s backcourt resulted in several fast-break buckets and impacted BU’s ability to get back on defense or create any offense.

Despite BU turning the ball over one fewer time than Army, the Black Knights still scored 11 more points off turnovers than the Terriers.

“I don’t think we did a very good job of keeping the ball out of the right hands,” Steding said. “We did an okay job defensively.

We didn’t finish the deal so many times. They had multiple points off offensive boards and a lot of points off of our turnovers.”

Consequently, the Terriers’ 12-point deficit late in the fourth quarter proved too significant. Although the team forced turnovers the last couple minutes, the deficit was too large to overcome with so little time remaining.

However, the most concerning and game deciding statistic was free throws. After stout defense toward the end that got them to the free throw line, the Terriers did not convert and ended the game converting only half of their free throws. Contrarily, the Black Knights shot 77.8 percent from the line and also attempted seven more free throws.

“If you look across the stat sheet, everything is pretty equal except for the fouls,” Steding said. “The free throws. They were wonderfully good from free throws. They had more shots from free throws but they still had a higher percentage.”

The Terriers have one more game against the Black Knights in their last regular season game. On the road, BU will have the chance

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Sophie Beaudry had 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in Wendesday’s loss.

to redeem itself and even the series at one game a piece. Steding recognizes that the team needs to be better in the next matchup.

“It’s not about avenging this loss,” Steding said. “This is not who we’ve been. It’s about us playing like our normal selves.”

CHECK OUT MORE CONTENT ON THE BOSTON HOCKEY BLOG HOCKEY.DAILYFREEPRESS.COM

Quotable “This is not who we’ve been. It’s about us playing like our normal selves.” - BU women’s basketball coach Katy Steding on her team’s loss to Army. p. 11

Sports Thursday, February 23, 2017

“Internal Matter” Three men’s basketball players have not played since mid-December, and BU coach Joe Jones has described the situation as “an internal matter.” p. 10

Senior Justin Alston looks to go full circle in his final season at BU

BY MICHAEL JOSCELYN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Coming off a game in which he shot his worst percentage since November, senior forward Justin Alston was nothing but optimistic about the remnants of his final season in Boston.

The Boston University men’s basketball team had just come off an 86-66 loss to Bucknell University, but that showing did not damper the hopes for Alston, who is looking to lead the Terriers (16-12, 11-5 Patriot League) to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011.

“Right now we’re really locked in,” Alston said. “We need to continue to be locked in, continue to do things the right way. Once we do that we’ll be fine. With this group of guys, everyone works hard and once we get it all together we’re going to be great.”

Alston knows what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the Patriot League, as he is one of the few holdovers from the 2013-14 Terrier team that reached the Patriot League Tournament finals against American University.

That was a season in which Alston served a miniscule role, averaging 8.6 minutes per game to go along with 2.8 points and had to sit idly by as his team was dismantled 55-36 in the finals.

That season, the Terriers went 15-3 in conference, exhibiting all the classic signs of a dynamic offense up until their encounter with the Eagles (6-21, 3-13 Patriot League this season). “From that, me and the team as a whole learned that you can’t take anything for granted,” Alston said. “Even if you were one of the best teams, you have to come out prepared to win the game and get things done.”

Since that game, Alston has transformed from a bench player to a starter and the Terriers’ second-leading scorer. In his junior year, he averaged 8.3 points and 5.4 rebounds. Coming into his senior year, he would be relied upon as his team’s signature big man. And then eight games into the season, Alston went up in a non-conference game against Harvard University and came down on a broken foot.

Luckily, Alston was able to receive a medical redshirt and get a second chance at his senior year.

“It’s been a great opportunity

just coming back,” Alston said.

“God is good, I got to say that. Just blessed to come back a fifth year and play for my guys. This year is just about trying to get to the tournament — this is the last time, this is my last chance. I just want to make sure I get that.”

The NCA A Tournament seems to be on everyone’s mind with just two games remaining and BU sitting at second place in the Patriot League standings. Alston is doing everything in his power to earn his chance, with averages of 12 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

For Alston, this is another year in which the Terriers have finished at .500 or better in conference play, which they have done in all five years that he has been on campus. Compared to those teams, he needs this crop of Terriers to finish out the postseason. Surveying his current teammates, Alston remarks that the skill level from that 2013-2014 team is similar. However, these Terriers have more specific roles than their predecessors.

“That team, we had so many guys that were good that it sort of hurt us because we had so many guys that could score the ball and deserved minutes,” Alston said. “This group, we have good guys, but everyone has a role and they are playing it well right now. To the starters from the bench all the way down.”

Included in that 2013-14 Terrier squad was then-senior forward Dom Morris. When describing Alston’s maturation, BU head coach Joe Jones made sure to include Morris in the list of reasons that Alston has become a success.

“Justin had unbelievable energy from day one,” Jones said. “Positive, energetic, wanted to be good. Never a problem, never late, never back talk. Just right from the start, he got in the weight room and got stronger.

The two people I give a ton of credit to for Justin’s development are Justin himself and Dom Morris. Dom Morris was his big brother here and he was such a good teammate and showed Justin the ropes and how to handle things.”

Jones and Alston have a close relationship, with Alston stating that “everything [Jones] says is right,” and that is what he tries to teach the younger players on the team.

With Alston, Jones got five years of a player who he truly saw mature

PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Senior Justin Alston has continued to improve every year at BU and has been a leader on and off the court in his senior season.

into someone else on the court.

“I love him,” Jones said. “I actually love him. He came back this year, and he was ready to go, and he’s been great. He’s gotten better and better as the years have gone on.”

As a Washington D.C. native, Alston said he has been fortunate that the Terriers get to travel to his hometown every year to play conference rival American.

The road games against American have always given an opportunity to head home for a slight refresh, and his last game there was no different.

“The American game, on the road, that was my last game in front of my family,” Alston said. “I really enjoyed that, getting that win.”

While that may have been the last road game he would play in front of his family, his team is preparing

for a life without him. The last five years have been marked by the passion of Alston, and without him, the Terriers will have to find a new soul.

“His unbelievable spirit, that’s what we’re going to miss,” Jones said. “His energy, his spirit, his competitiveness, his fight. We’re going to miss all of that. It’s been a pleasure. I’d do it all over again if I could.”

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27

BOTTOM LI NE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Men’s basketball @ Holy Cross, 2 p.m.

Sacramento Kings GM Vlade Divac admitted to reporters that he had better deal for Demarcus Cousins than the one he accepted from the Pelicans.

Women’s tennis @ Boston College, 4 p.m.

Men’s hockey vs. Notre Dame, NESN, 6 p.m.

Women’s basketball vs.

Holy Cross, 2 p.m.

Playoffs: Women’s hockey

Playoffs: Women’s hockey vs.

New Hampshire, 7 p.m.

vs. New Hampshire, 3 p.m.

Men’s hockey vs. Notre Dame, 7 p.m.

Men’s tennis @ Harvard, 4 p.m.

Track and field host Last Chance

In the most Kings move ever,

Meet, all day

Divac was instantly promoted after making his comments.

Playoffs: Women’s hockey vs. New Hampshire, 3 p.m. (if necessary)