NEWS A pro-marijuana legalization group leads anti-marijuana legalization groups in funding by over $2 million. p. 2
CATALYST Daly Field is the only public complex in the New England area that implements organic Geofill, which is made of 100 percent natural fibers. p. 7
57°/70° CLEAR
SPORTS Former women’s golf standout Emily Tillo was recently nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year, and discussed her childhood, BU years and career. p. 12
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLV. VOLUME XCI. ISSUE II.
“YES TO DIVEST”
Student’s death raises questions on campus safety BY SEKAR KRISNAULI DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
PHOTO BY BETSEY GOLDWASSER/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Members of Divest BU gather in front of the BU Castle to protest the Board of Trustees’ investment in fossil fuels.
Group rallies for fossil fuel divestment BY SOPHIA EPPOLITO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Chanting “no more coal, no more oil, keep your carbon in the soil,” approximately 80 members of the Boston University community rallied on Marsh Plaza Wednesday afternoon, urging the university to divest funds from fossil fuels. Divest BU, a coalition that advocates for divestment movement on campus, organized the rally when they learned that the BU Board of Trustees might make a decision on
divestment this week, Divest BU Secretary Masha Vernik said during the rally. “[BU’s] infrastructure in fossil fuel divestment is ultimately corrupt,” Vernik, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said to the group. “We are here today because we know that the decision-makers we have aren’t going to make the right decisions unless we tell them to.” Throughout the rally, Divest BU volunteers handed out pieces of orange felt, the symbol of divestment, for participants to pin on their clothes.
The group of students, faculty members and alumni marched towards the BU Castle, where they believed the BU Board of Trustees was meeting. They then circled around the entrance to the Castle and placed a ballot box filled with slips of paper on the steps of the building — the goal, Vernik said, was to symbolize how participants would vote on this issue if they had the opportunity to do so. Kalman Gacs, a 2007 College of Fine Arts alumnus, said when it comes to divest CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Uber offers flat rate within select college zones BY DAVE SEBASTIAN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
College students around Greater Boston, as of this month, can travel inside designated college areas for a flat rate of $2 using Uber’s ride-hailing option uberPOOL, according to a Friday press release. Students are eligible for the uberPOOL flat rate by sharing the ride with another passenger going in the same direction. Areas covered by the program are Kendall, Harvard and Davis squares, Fenway, Kenmore, Allston, Brighton and JFK, the release stated. The program is the first of its kind among Uber’s U.S. operations, Uber spokesperson Carlie Waibel said, dubbing the Boston area as an “education hub.” “This offers a very affordable and convenient way for students to get around their campuses as well as their neighboring community,” Waibel said. “Whether it’s going to and from a restaurant, going from class,
going out in the evening, these are important things to make sure people do have that reliable transportation option.” Students around Greater Boston welcomed the flat rate program, because of the clear economic cost and convenience. Anthony Zhao, a sophomore at Boston College, said he does not use Uber to travel across his campus, but the flat rate program would be beneficial if it was expanded to include downtown Boston. “That’ll make trips so much cheaper,” he said. “I’d probably use it a lot more.” Though Massachusetts Institute of Technology junior Kyle Pina regularly uses his car to commute, riding Uber can be a practical option when finding parking space, he said. “If you know it’s going to be $2, for college students, it’s not a bad idea at all,” he said. “I definitely think it’s easier to use.” Uber, launched in San Francisco in March 2009, faces increasing competition with other companies that provide similar ride-hailing services.
Lyft, for instance, offers Lyft Line, an option similar to uberPOOL. Though special pricing has not yet been implemented, Lyft lauds itself as the first company in Boston to offer shared rides since September 2015, said Lyft spokesperson Timothy Rathschmidt. “We’re always looking at ways to make rides more affordable and efficient,” Rathschmidt said. Fasten, another ride-hailing company that operates in Boston and Austin, also serves as a price competitor for Uber. Though it currently does not have sharedride options like Uber and Lyft, Fasten’s “rates are the lowest in town,” said Fasten co-founder and COO Vlad Christoff. “The more, the merrier,” Christoff said, referring to the increasing competition among ride-hailing services. “The more companies out there, the better it is for drivers and riders because we compete for both drivers and riders.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
As the Boston University community grieves the death of a 17-year-old BU student from China, many cannot help but wonder how the university can ensure the safety of its approximately 8,500 international students, many of whom are in the states for the first time when they start classes. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police discovered a body on the tracks behind 10 Buick St. in the early morning hours of Sept. 7. Transit Police on Wednesday identified the victim as Xianhu Chen, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. While authorities cannot conclude the nature of Chen’s death at this time, preliminary evidence “shows this is a tragic, sad accident,” Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan told the Boston Globe. Although the case is still under investigation, evidence does not suggest foul play, and has not been deemed, Suffolk District Attorney spokesperson Jake Wark said. “You have probably heard that we had a student who died, and you have probably seen news reports saying that student was from China. That is true,” BU Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore told a group of Chinese students Friday during a special orientation. Approximately 200 Chinese students came to the Law Auditorium to attend a special orientation hosted by the BU Chinese Students and Scholars Association, BUCSSA President Zhibo Dang said. The unexpected tragedy stunned the Chinese student community, Dang said. Not many students had the chance to know Chen because he arrived in Boston just a week before the incident, but everyone feels for his family, the Questrom School of Business junior said. During the annual Chinese student orientation, one of the main topics was safety, Dang explained. The university’s general orientation also informed the incoming Class of 2020 on student safety, especially on BU’s cam CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
PHOTO BY ERIN BILLINGS/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The tracks where a BU student was struck and killed by an MBTA Commuter Rail train tracks sit behind Buick Street.