9-13-18

Page 1

WOMAN POWER, 2

SUPPORT SYSTEM, 3

NO SWIMSUITS, 9

THE OTHER EAGLES, 10

Suffolk County DA nominee fights to become first woman of color in the position.

An advocacy group for students with disabilities is coming to campus.

Namu Sampath dishes on the Miss America pageant empowering women.

Field hockey is one of two BU teams to face American University this weekend.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

Fraternities institute hard liquor ban

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

BU rises in university rankings

YEAR XLVI. VOLUME XCIV. ISSUE II

College rush drives up traffic in city BY HALEY LERNER

BY LILLIAN ILSLEY-GREENE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

In its annual meeting, the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) voted to ban all alcohol above 15 percent alcohol by volume from chapter houses and events. Fraternities have one year to comply with the new decision, which was announced Sept. 4. Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Sigma Phi, Chi Phi, Delta Lambda Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Iota Nu Delta, Phi Iota Alpha, Phi Kappa Tau, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Zeta Beta Tau — all fraternities in which BU students are members — fall under the jurisdiction of the NIC and will be affected. The decision joins a wave of new, anti-hazing laws across the country and is the latest in NIC’s attempts to make fraternities safer for its members, according to a NIC press release. NIC has been implementing new health and safety initiatives over the last year, according to the organization’s website, including a Good Samaritan policy that stresses the importance of calling 911 in the case of an emergency. The conference has been in a “period of deep reflection” recently, NIC Chief Communications Officer Heather Kirk wrote in an email. “We have piloted and assessed several measures on colleges campuses,

Students swarm the streets in September, piling luggage into Ubers and shoveling their moving carts across the bustling streets of Boston. Moving trucks and minivans with their hazard lights flashing jut out into the middle of roads, and herds of freshman orientation groups crowd T cars past capacity. Several experts and Boston residents said the influx of students returning to the city for college in the past few weeks has affected traffic and the ease of transportation. The move-in rush and sheer quantity of college students returning from their summer break has caused longer wait times for commuters on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train lines and buses, and also has increased traffic due to an influx in using ride-sharing services. Studies have shown that the use of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft cause traffic. Emily Stein, president of Safe Roads Alliance, an organization that promotes driver and pedestrian safety in Massachusetts, said she hopes Boston students will opt for public transportation methods like the T. “I don’t imagine a lot of students bring their own car,” Stein said. “But that’s where the ride-sharing and car services come in — where I imagine the students might be using those

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

PHOTO BY RACHEL MCLEAN/ DFP FILE PHOTO

Boston University is No. 36 in a new Wall Street Journal/Time Higher Education U.S. colleges and universities ranking, up four spots from last year.

Boston University has advanced four spots in the 2019 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings of U.S. colleges and universities, rising from No. 40 to No. 36. The ranking methodology looks at aspects of the university including resources provided, student engagement, post-graduation outcomes and university environment, according to the Times Higher Education website. While these rankings validate BU’s progress and status as a worldclass university, BU President Robert Brown wrote in an email that BU’s administration will try to improve the school even further.

“I am very pleased that the metrics used by the WSJ/THE survey validate the progress Boston University is making in attracting very talented students to the University and giving them a worldclass education,” Brown wrote. “We are continuing investing in improving our programs and in hiring the most talented faculty members we can find to improve the University.” While Brown wrote that he has not yet been able to study why BU’s ranking increased this year, he added that BU’s recent actions relate to areas emphasized in the WSJ/ THE survey’s methodology. “[WSJ/THE’s] focus on out-

comes and student experience aligns with much of our investments,” Brown wrote, “such [as] the recent creation of Innovate@BU, the opening of the Booth Theatre on campus, and the expansion of resources for the Howard Thurman Center.” University Provost Jean Morrison said it is hard to tell why rankings change each year, but one important focus of the WSJ/THE rankings is issues important to students. “I think the THE/Wall Street Journal is a very valuable ranking because it looks at very student-centric aspects,” Morrison said, “and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Fewer than 20 percent of new Boston houses are affordable BY SAMANTHA DAY DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston is becoming one of the priciest cities in the United States to live in and is among the top 20 cities where the middle class cannot afford a home, according to a recent study. The report, by 24/7 Wall Street, found that around 69 percent of housing units constructed in Boston between 2011 and 2014 were considered high-end, and only 19 percent were considered affordable to the average resident. Additionally, almost half of all middle-class Boston households spend 30 percent or more of their salaries on housing. The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance is one of many organizations working to combat the worsening housing affordability crisis in the city. Larry Field, the deputy director, said this issue has been ongoing for decades. “The issue began 30 years ago when housing production, especially multi-family housing, went

down,” Field said. “We have not been producing enough housing, and the significant effects of that started to be felt 20 years ago when housing prices and rent started to rise.” The MSGA advocates for smart growth policy and development in dense locations where there is access to public transit, city centers and jobs, Field said. The agency’s current “Great Neighborhoods” campaign works to increase housing production and provide tools for municipalities to reach their production goals. Field said the greatest obstacle to overcoming the housing shortage is zoning laws, so the MSGA has been pushing for reform. MSGA statistics show that just 10 communities across the state produced 62 percent of building permits for multi-family homes in Massachusetts from 2010 to 2016, Field said. Boston produced 37 percent. The initiative, filed in January 2017, failed to be voted on before

the legislature adjourned to go campaign for midterms, Field explained. “We did not see a vote on our proposal, nor any others, so there has been no progress this term on this bill,” he said. “We are evaluating what to do for the next legislative term.” The City of Boston is estimated to reach a population count of more than 700,000 residents by 2030, according to the City’s Boston 2030 plan. Mayor Ma r ti n Wa lsh announced his comprehensive plan to deal with this growth, “Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030,” in 2014, which has the goal of creating 53,000 new units of housing by 2030. The new units will include units at a variety of income levels, including 44,000 units for members of the workforce, 5,000 units for senior citizens and an additional 4,000 units to improve market stability. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

PHOTO BY KATELYN GODERE/ DFP FILE PHOTO

A recent report placed Boston among the top 20 cities in the United States where the middle class cannot afford homes.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
9-13-18 by The Daily Free Press - Issuu