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1-28-2015

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NEWS Hospitals reevaluate the value of training for violent situations in wake of Brigham and Women’s shooting. pg. 2

CATALYST Aging pipes mean that a startling amount of the state’s natural gas is seeping into the atmosphere. pg. 5

4º / 29º LIGHT SNOW

SPORTS Back on Track: Men’s basketball attempts to take charge in the Patriot League standings against Army. pg. 11

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY YEAR XLIV. VOLUME LXXXVIII. ISSUE II.

PHOTO BY JACQUI BUSICK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore spoke with students on Jan. 21 about the plans of Boston officials to inspect off-campus student housing for violations.

City to begin inspection of off-campus housing BY SAMANTHA GROSS DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

After receiving addresses for local college students living off-campus, the City of Boston will send inspection officers to examine off-campus residences in the upcoming weeks for code violations, such as overcrowding. A 2014 ordinance for the City’s University Accountability Report required schools to include residential addresses of students living off campus in Boston, said Gabrielle Farrell, a spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s office. The Boston City Council voted on Aug. 20, 2014 to require colleges and universities to submit student addresses, The Daily Free Press reported Sept. 4, 2014. Approximately 580 addresses have been identified as places that will be inspected for potential overcrowding, The Boston Globe reported on Jan. 2. “The addresses shared by the colleges and universities will assist the Inspectional Services Department in determining what properties may be in violation of the Boston zoning code stipulation that no more than four undergraduate students occupy a single unit of housing,” Farrell said in an email. “Any property found to be in violation will be inspected, and appropriate actions will be taken.” No more than four full-time undergraduate students can live together in a “dwelling

unit,” according a 2008 amendment to the Boston Zoning code. The addresses BU shared with the city kept students’ names and personal information confidential, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. Sharing such confidential information would violate the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. “No names were included with addresses, in some cases the addresses being an apartment building with multiple units,” Riley said. “It doesn’t mean any are out of compliance there. It just means that the address has more than four undergraduates living at it.” Sara Miranda, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, lives in an off-campus apartment in Allston, and said the information revealed in the inspections will hopefully keep students safe. “I don’t know the real reasons why they have to submit it, but I would guess that it’s because all of the off-campus fires that have happened and all of the BU students who have been involved in those,” she said. “I don’t mind personally if my name was released, even though I don’t think they are releasing names.” In 2013, Binland Lee, a senior in CAS, died in a fire at her residence at 87 Linden St., the FreeP reported April 28, 2013. The property landlord and real estate agency received a lawsuit for allegedly renting an apartment that did not have permission from the City to add more bedrooms, violating the number of undergrad-

uates allowed in one unit, the FreeP reported on Sept. 4, 2014. A 2014 Boston Globe Spotlight Team series, titled “Shadow Campus,” highlighted the safety hazards and illegal housing conditions that lead to Lee’s death. “Even just last semester, there was a huge fire in Allston, and I remember my friend’s apartment was right next door, and so she was evacuated and was really nervous that her building was going to catch on fire too,” Miranda said. “It’s definitely something to think about.” While the City will not have access to students’ names, Tara DeRosa, a junior in the School of Management, said she still thinks the inspections disrupt their privacy and the purpose of the off-campus experience. “I personally don’t really see that being necessary. For me, it’s definitely a breach of privacy. It’s a little odd, since we’re not on campus,” DeRosa said. “I moved off campus just to have more of a real-life situation … part of that is being responsible for yourself and making sure your own apartment is safe and everything. I don’t think there should be random inspections.” Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore met with students Jan. 21 to give them information about the city’s enforcement efforts. Katherine Hasenauer Cornetta, assistant to the Dean of Students, said although the office does not have control of students’ housing

affairs off campus, it will continue to offer assistance and information to students about the upcoming inspections. “A lot of these types of inspections tend to come around move-in weekends. We usually aren’t notified for every single [code violation], but we’ll find out if a house has been inspected and deemed completely uninhabitable,” she said. In serious situations when students do not have a place to go while their landlords make repairs or a residence has been deemed uninhabitable, Cornetta said the office will make sure students have a place to stay. “In dire situations, if we have space on campus, we’ll bring them on temporarily. That’s becoming increasingly rare,” she said. “We don’t get to know about every single time a house has been deemed uninhabitable. If that happens to students, they need to contact us, so we can know what’s going on, and we can put a bunch of things into motion to help them out and navigate the process.” Miranda said beyond the City’s inspections, there are other issues that need to be addressed with off-campus housing. “It’s a good thing for the city to do, but I think it’s probably not going to be realistic in what they can really do, especially because overcrowding is a huge issue,” she said. “There’s not a ton of affordable housing right near the schools, and everyone wants to be as close to campus as they can.”

Massachusetts lacking in some areas for LGBT equality, laws BY MEILING BEDARD DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, but despite its marriage equality, it is still lacking in some of its non-discrimination laws, according to the 2014 State Equality Index released Friday by the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Federation. The report separated states into four categories in terms of progressive legislation. Massa-

chusetts falls in the “Solidifying Equality” group, meaning that the state has marriage equality and some non-discrimination laws, but lacks full protections against discrimination. The most progressive category, “Working Toward Innovative Equality,” was reserved for states with “robust LGBT non-discrimination laws.” “The purpose of [the study] was to look at the type of laws that affect LGBT equality across the country,” said Alison Gill, Human Rights Campaign senior legislative counsel and author of the State Equality Index.

According to its website, the HRC is the largest civil rights organization promoting equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. The Index evaluates statewide laws and policies that affect these communities and is the first of what the Human Rights Campaign plans to be an annual report. Each state’s scorecard shows whether it has laws regarding LGBT equality in six areas: relationship recognition, parenting laws, non-discrimination laws, hate crimes laws, youth-related laws and health and safety laws.

Gill said shortcomings in the state’s parenting, non-discrimination and youth protection laws have prevented Massachusetts from being placed in the Index’s most progressive category. Gill hopes that lawmakers are able to see where gaps in their own state equality laws lie. “Massachusetts has always been a leader in marriage equality,” Gill said. “The key piece I’m trying to raise is that despite marriage equality, there are still gaps.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 4


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NEWS

BU arts community contributes to city’s cultural, artistic hub BY STEPHANIE PAGONES DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

With galleries, studios and concert venues scattered across Boston University’s campus, the city of Boston has been named a top cultural and artistic hub, according to the Arts Vibrancy Index report by the National Center for Arts Research, released Jan. 21. Lynne Allen , the director of the College of Fine Art’s School of Visual Arts , said students and faculty at BU can contribute to a vibrant arts community both on campus and in the city. Events such as the School of Visual Arts ’ Faculty Exhibition, opening Friday, give members of the school art community opportunities to display their work. “We [BU] contribute through relationships with many non-profit arts organizations, by hosting music events, master classes, visiting artist lectures open and free to the public, art exhibitions of professional artists from around the world, plus we are educating the next generation of art professionals and leaders,” she said in an email. The “Boston, MA, Metro Division,” as it was called in the report, ranked fourth out of 20 large cities nationwide, and included Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk Counties. Boston was trumped only by the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, ranked number one, the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin area,

ranked number two, and the New York-Jersey City-White Plains area, ranked number three. Ty Furman , the managing director for BU’s Arts Initiative , said BU contributes to the culture of the city in distinct ways by providing education, training and experience through programs offered through CFA, the College of Communication and the College of Arts and Sciences . “As a relative newcomer to Boston, I can only say what I have seen and experienced and that is the energy, commitment and enthusiasm around how city government can affect change in the arts sector,” he said in an email. “It is a great time to be an artist in Boston, and our office is committed to continuing to participate in citywide dialogue around these issues and providing increased access and support for our students to engage with the arts both on and off campus.” Boston’s large student population and the presence of art institutions contribute to Boston’s classification as an artistic hub, Furman said. “The Boston area not only has more colleges and universities than any other U.S. region, it boasts some of the best arts training programs in the U.S. including those at Boston University,” he said. “There are several arts service organizations that … provide invaluable resources to large and small arts organizations and provide countless opportunities for artists

and arts administrators to come together whether in celebration or for advocacy.” Meg Tyler, a professor of humanities in the College of General Studies, said the arts initiative leads a concerted effort for the university to maintain the artistic presence in an “art-rich environment.” “We have so many young people coming in and out of the city who are inspired to make their mark and try something new,” she said. “We have such a variety of educational institutions, which impress upon those young people the wealth of the western tradition so they learn about the tradition. They try to perceive their place in it, and then they want to try to do something a little bit new or some kind of mixture of what people have done.” Tyler said the increasing presence of technology and the high entrance cost into many institutions affects the city’s cultural and artistic environment and the ways in which art is experienced. “The problem is, there are so many distractions in the city, and I worry a little bit about the addictiveness of screens. I fall prey to that myself,” she said. “It’s harder to drag people away from their machines now. You have some exhibitions online, but it’s really not the same as seeing it in person.” Several CFA students said they found value in their arts education and the relationships they’ve made as a result of their hard work and

PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Students and alumni attend an art gallery opening at Boston University’s 808 Gallery in October. Boston is the fourth most vibrant city for the arts, according to the National Center for Arts Research.

time spent at CFA. Michelle Pizzo , a senior in CFA, will soon have her work, along with the work of one of her classmates, featured in an upcoming gallery show called “Flu-Like Symptoms,” which premieres on Feb. 25. “It’s a show of paintings and mixed media pieces,” she said. “Some of the themes are the obscurity of meaning and emotions, collaging imagery and ideas. The title is basically a joke about art school and how 90 percent of the time, it feels like getting sick.” Kelly McCabe , a senior in CFA, said she appreciates the shows throughout the year that allow other students to see her work and allow her to see her classmates’ work. “I like that BU has a stu-

dent-run gallery and gives us the opportunity to have a thesis show in 808 [Gallery]. The thesis show is a fi nal undergrad senior show, which will be up around April and May. It’s a culmination of all of our work,” she said. “The alumni show was just up, but is now taken down, and that had alumni from all over the world and of different graduation years.” Julianna Hoff , a sophomore in CFA’s five-year Art Education Masters Program , said CFA is a community of artists and has an atmosphere of growth and learning. “Being in both studio and art education courses, I can really see how the whole of CFA puts being an artist fi rst and foremost,” she said. “Both professors and students are pretty invested in their own work.”

Questions of security raised after Brigham and Women’s shooting BY ALEXANDRA DAVID DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Brigham and Women’s Hospital found itself at the center of a tragedy on Jan. 20 when a man, later identified as Stephen Pasceri, 55, of Millbury, walked into the hospital’s Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Center, asked for cardiovascular surgeon Michael Davidson by name, and shot the doctor twice before shooting and killing himself in an exam room, The Daily Free Press reported. Davidson died as a result of his injuries later that night, the FreeP reported. The incident raised questions about safety in hospitals and the ability of hospital security to deal with active-shooter situations. “Hospitals prepare in many ways by having good policies and procedures, training and awareness programs, active shooter simulations and drills, good technology and very good security departments,” said Bonnie Michelman, director of Massachu-

setts General Hospital Police, Security and Outside Services. Michelman said hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s partner hospital, regularly prepare for incidents such as shootings. “They have literally thousands and thousands of people in there every day, but on the other hand, health care is a high-stress environment, and we always have to be cognizant and aware of violence that could occur,” she said. Despite intense preparation, Michelman said not all emergencies can be avoided. “If there is a known threat that is known in advance, actions can be taken to mitigate that threat and to do some things around that, but there are times when the threat is not predicted or not anticipated,” she said. While she said she could not speak for Brigham and Women’s, Michelman said that when an incident occurs, the hospital will take action. “I’m sure that with any scenario, all of us review what happened and if

PHOTO BY DANIEL GUAN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Hospitals are reviewing security measures after a surgeon was fatally shot at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Jan. 20.

there are any modifications needed, they would be made,” she said. While the security procedures that are taken are comprehensive and effective, they were not always that way, Michelman said. “The whole industry has become much more sophisticated in protecting the environment than it ever was before,” she said. “I’ve been in health care security for many years, and I can tell you it is far more better protected than it was ten or fifteen years ago.” No matter what, Michelman said, a hospital is an open environment and can’t be locked down. “A hospital is an open 24-hourper-day facility usually with dozens of doors and thousands and thousands of people coming in and out daily, so it’s not a fortress. It can’t be secured like a fortress can unfortunately,” she said. In a Jan. 20 press conference following the shooting, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans praised the efforts of Brigham and Women’s in responding to the incident and pointed to the numerous trainings the hospital had performed. “Within the last year, we’ve done several trainings here on this very scenario, an active shooter scenario,” he said in the press conference. “When we came up to this hospital, everyone was doing exactly what we trained for. That’s why we do this training, and I have to commend their response.” Several residents said that more security in hospitals could not hurt, but this situation was an unusual cir-

cumstance. Elmar Mizazade, 47, of Boston, said there should be more security in hospitals due to the high amount of terrorist activity. “There should be more security in hospitals, because of situations involving terrorist acts today. I know the incident at the hospital was different, the man had a connection to the doctor through his mother, but it’s still very bad,” he said in Russian. “If

there is enough security, it is … good for doctors and everyday people like me.” Ben McNeil, 28, of Roxbury, said the shooting may not be an isolated incident. “I don’t know if it was just an isolated freak accident or if it’s actually endemic of a real situation,” he said. “Anytime an innocent life is taken, you’re shocked and saddened, and your heart goes out to the family.”

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NEWS

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SG leadership to work on student outreach, participation BY SEKAR KRISNAULI DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

After a series of staff changes following the departure of three Executive Board members at the end of the fall 2014 semester, Boston University’s Student Government plans to focus on outreach and several large campaigns to better engage the student body. President Joe Ferme, formerly executive vice president, said he looks to increase communication between students and SG to address problems around campus. “Whether it’s polling or asking them what they’d like us to prioritize, to work on and encourage them that they can turn to student government for us to direct them the right way, answer the questions and hopefully solve the problems,” said Ferme, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “We’re really hoping for students to know what we’re doing, but more so for us to know what they want.” Ferme succeeded Richa Kaul as president, and vice president of Finance Joshua Mosby took

Ferme’s place as vice president, The Daily Free Press reported on Dec. 11, 2014. Stephen Chang, previously judicial commissioner, was elected Senate Chair succeeding Tyler Fields, and William Horne, a former member of the Department of Advocacy, filled Mosby’s spot as vice president of finance. “So far, we’re really working together great,” Ferme said. “We’re really comfortable around each other, and we all respect each other. I really think we’re going work well throughout the semester.” Chang said he wants “to see the bigger picture” with his new role to help direct Senate and promote its initiatives. “One of the biggest proposals for Senate is to expand our PR reach, so getting students involved, knowing what we’re doing and then expanded presence on campus,” said Chang, a sophomore in CAS. Horne said he looks forward to having a “bigger leadership role on campus” to monitor SG’s budgets and to reach out to students on campus.

PHOTO BY BETSEY GOLDWASSER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Joe Ferme (CAS ’15), Boston University Student Government president, speaks at a Dec. 1 Senate meeting.

“The hardest thing I guess about student government and really any student group on campus [is] reaching out to everybody,” said Horne, a sophomore in the School of Management. “It’s not that we haven’t reached our optimal level, because I think that would be saying a disservice cause we’ve been doing a really good job reaching out to the student body, but that’s something you can always improve and work on.” Alexander Golob, chairman of the College Government Presidents Council, said he plans to streamline the election process for college governments by aligning their schedules with SG’s general election. “College government elections have sort of been everywhere in terms of scheduling,” said Golob, a junior in the College of Fine Arts. “We’re trying to make the college government’s timeline align with the student government’s schedule so that everyone is helping to promote the idea of participating in the process of voting and becoming aware of the concerns of the community through the election process.” Mosby also said he has concerns about student participation but he is confident that SG’s efforts will better appeal to the student body. “The challenge is we kind of have an apathetic student body. We want to just let the student body know that everyone is a part of student government and that we’re really here to work together,” said Mosby, a sophomore in CAS. Executive board members met Sunday to talk about upcoming plans for the semester, Ferme said. SG will focus on the “16,000 Strong” campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault and rela-

tionship violence and the “Expect More” campaign to gather student feedback. Robbie Brussell, the SG communication director, is leading the “Expect More” campaign that was launched during the fall 2014 semester. Students will participate by responding to a couple of survey questions via text message throughout the semester. “This semester, we’re more focused on jumpstarting the signups,” said Brussell, a junior in SMG. “Since we’re only going to have three questions, it will most likely be big picturesque questions on housings, the bus and things alike.” The survey will begin once 1,000 phone numbers have been collected to make sure there is enough representative data, Mosby said. Students will now be able to sign up for an SG newsletter that was previously only available to Executive Board members on the Friday before each Senate meeting, Brussell said. The newsletter will include upcoming Senate agendas, cabinet updates and Execute Board updates. The “16,000 Strong” campaign, lead by Horne, is an initiative from the fall 2014 semester, started by former Chief of Staff Pablo Das. “This semester’s going to be really good in terms of laying the groundwork and really starting to complete initiatives, put on events and make sure that the student body is aware of this issue,” he said. “Launching this campaign is going to help us provide hard numbers and hard facts behind what we’re actually saying so that we have hard statistics.” As part of the campaign, SG has reached out to organizations such as the One Love Foundation to provide training sessions for

student leaders on campus about sexual assault prevention, Mosby said. SG also plans to continue the Warren Recycling Project and Shaw’s Rewards Program launched in fall 2014, Ferme said. Several students said although they are interested in SG’s initiatives, more work needs to be done on campus to fully tackle problems on campus. Amanda Grice, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said she hasn’t seen much advertising about the specific programs and initiatives SG is working on. “I haven’t heard much about them. I’ve heard them in passing, but nothing specific,” she said. “I wish they’d contribute with fresh ideas for students to know more about SG.” Sophia Perez, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, also expressed interest in the campaign, but said more marketing should be done on it. “They [SG] should really pump up their reaching-out program. It seems like they have pretty good initiatives but they need to make sure that students are aware of them,” she said. “I’m really supporting the ‘1600 Strong.’ It’s good knowing that BU’s doing something about it ’cause it’s really been going on for quite a while, and I’ve hardly heard BU doing anything about it.” Quinn Wilson, a freshman in CAS, said “Expect More” is a good strategy to get students engaged, but the campaign will need to go further to see a real impact. “As long as people are aware that they’re [Student Government] actually doing something to change how BU acts and behaves, I think it’s a good idea.” he said. “Hopefully that can get it going strong with more than 1,000 people.”

Mass DOT, Bytemark launches mobile ticketing app BY RACHEL LEGON DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation and several private bus companies launched the pilot version of the BusPlus program Monday, which includes a number of improvements to increase intercity and commuter transportation options. The BusPlus program will make transportation easier with the use of a mobile app for purchasing and storing tickets, according to a Thursday press release. MassDOT developed the program with Bytemark, a UKbased mobile ticketing platform. Riders can use the app by simply showing their phone screen to the bus driver or scanning a barcode on their phone. “This will be the first smart phone app in the country in which tickets can be purchased from several different intercity and commuter private bus operators. This is a big win for customers

traveling to, from and within the commonwealth,” said MassDOT spokeswoman Amanda Richard in an email. Bus operators participating in the pilot program are Plymouth & Brockton Street Railway Co., DATTCO, Coach Company, Bloom’s Bus Lines, Boston Express and Yankee Line, according to a Jan. 22 article on the MassDOT website. Richard said MassDOT funded the cost of app development. Private bus operators will then pay a per-ticket transaction fee that will go toward maintaining the app. In addition to the app, MassDOT is outfitting new buses for the bus companies in exchange for additional service. The buses are “state-of-the-art,” with newly designed interiors, Richard said. Additional services outlined in the program include soon-tobe released New England-wide intercity transportation maps and newly launched subsidized intercity and commuter bus service. “All of these elements com-

bined make this unique public/ private partnership a major win for the traveling public across the region and is the only intercity and commuter bus program in the country which focuses on all aspects of improved customer experience,” Richard said. Mike Costa, Yankee Line spokesman, said they hope the online ticketing program will provide more options for riders and “change the mentality of people.” “The new BusPlus program, for the Commonwealth, has secured luxury coaches for this service. They include Wi-Fi connectivity and extra leg-room, so it’s more comfortable. It’s more of an office environment where you can actually be productive,” he said. “It’s a more luxurious option, and we’re really excited about it.” The price of tickets has not changed and will continue to be in line with commuter rail rates, Costa said. For Yankee Line specifically, it is more cost effective to travel more, as multi-ride tickets can be discounted.

“We’re trying to get people to shift their commuting habits. This might actually sway people to commute by coach,” Costa said. “This is just another option out there available to people in the Commonwealth to get people off the road and on boarding coaches.” Several residents said that Massachusetts transportation is efficient, but it could be better. Emma Gimlich, 21, of Allston, said she doesn’t take the bus often, but when she does. it’s often crowded and could use an improvement. “The bus is always crowded, and it’s fine on the off hours, but when you actually need it during rush hour, I feel like it’s always packed,” she said. Ramya Ramadurai, 21, of Allston, said that transportation in Massachusetts is sometimes difficult to navigate and the app will facilitate travel. “It will give people an opportunity to see other parts that they haven’t seen because Boston is such an amazing place and so

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLOG.MASS.GOV

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Bytemark released a pilot of BusPlus, a mobile ticketing app, Monday.

is Massachusetts in general,” she said. “And it’s also really hard to get from the suburbs to Boston, like specific suburbs in Western Mass.”


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NEWS

Walsh promotes LGBT rights: residents surprised by ranking CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, emphasized the need for further equality for the LGBT community in a Friday press release. “Despite historic progress on issues like marriage equality, a majority of states still struggle to reach even a basic level of equality for LGBT people … Even worse, equality opponents continue to push deeply harmful laws forward, including those seeking to undermine critical protections in the guise of ‘religious liberty,’” he said in the release. Laws that undermine LGBT equality are also included on the scorecards. Massachusetts currently has one of these types of laws, a law that does not allow Medicaid to cover costs involving gender transition for transgender people. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has a history of promoting LGBT rights. In June 2014, he signed a bill that guarantees all employees of the city of Boston access to transitional procedures for transgender people, The Boston Globe reported on June 11, 2014. “From day one of this administration, we have been very clear about our commitment to inclusion in Boston,” Walsh said in an email statement. “We are thrilled that Massachusetts received positive reviews in the State Equality Index. In Boston, we believe that everyone deserves to be part of our community and hope that other cities across America can share in our values of inclusion and equity.” Several residents said the rankings were unexpected because they assumed Massachusetts would have a higher ranking. Michael Chen, 30, of Brighton,

States in which same-sex couples legally married prior to a court stay Arkansas

Michigan

States that issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa

Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina

Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

States that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Hawaii Illinois

Iowa Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Nevada New Jersey

New Mexico Oregon Rhode Island Vermont Washington

States that prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation only New York

Wisconsin

New Hampshire

SOURCE: HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FOUNDATION GRAPHIC BY SAMANTHA GROSS/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

was surprised by the results of the report, and thought Massachusetts had progressed more in terms of LGBT equality. “It seems like Massachusetts is on the forefront of gay and lesbian rights,” he said. “I’m a little surprised.”

Danny Rabkin, 20, of Boston, said Massachusetts is far ahead of many other states in terms of LGBT equality. He said marriage equality is the most publicized issue, but not necessarily the most important. “Marriage equality is really in the

limelight a lot,” he said. “Overall is it the most important, like if we had to trade everything else for marriage rights? No.” Nishan Finch, 32, of the North End, came to Boston from San Francisco and said some communities in Bos-

ton have struggled more with accepting LGBT rights. “It’s a little different of a culture,” he said. “In San Francisco, everyone’s grown up with or has someone in the family who’s gay, so it’s more acceptable. [Massachusetts] has got a ways to go.”

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CATALYST THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Wicked Leaky: Study finds flaws in aging Mass. methane BY OLIVIA DENG DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Beneath the ground people walk on is a large network of pipes. These pipes, out-ofsight and seemingly innocuous, have contributed a startling amount of methane gas to the atmosphere, according to a study published Jan. 22 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists from Boston University, Harvard University and Stanford University found that 2.7 percent of natural gas transmitted and distributed in eastern Massachusetts seeped from the gas infrastructure. Nathan Phillips, one of the authors of the study and a professor of earth and environment at Boston University, said an estimated 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts can be attributed to natural gas pipeline leaks. Previous research conducted by Phillips, which detected over 3,000 gas leaks in Boston, served as a precedent for this follow-up study on methane emissions. “That work was the discovery of the thousands of pipeline leaks. These are the pipelines that are underneath the street sidewalks that’s providing the natural gas from our homes and businesses for heating and hot water,” Phillips said. “As any valuable research does, it raised more questions than it answered … What are the safety implications for explosions? What are the other impacts on air quality? What about the damage to the trees? The questions provided impetus to do a follow-up study.” Phillips and his colleagues used sensors to measure the net buildup of methane. From 2012 to 2013, they collected data from sensors at Copley Square, Boston University, Nahant and the Harvard Forest in Petersham. “A few strategic locations up in the air, like on top of a tall building, provide a nice measure. You measure the pulse of a person on a part on their wrist, that tells you something about their whole body,” Phillips said. One of the drivers of methane leaking from

natural gas pipelines is the aging infrastructure, said Steven Wofsy, another author of the study and a professor of atmospheric and environmental science at Harvard. “Many of the gas pipes are from the 19th century, 20th century, if you can believe it. There’s thousands of miles of cast iron pipe, and each segment is 16 feet long,” Wofsy said. “Also, cast iron is brittle.” Though a significant contributor to emissions, gas leaks do not paint the entire picture, Wofsy said. “Another major source that we know something about is industrial facilities … those devices also deliver gas in the atmosphere. You have a variety of things that can happen, the more unknown unknowns, appliances like your gas furnace or stove,” he said. “And then some other strange things … if I go to the subway system, it is not uncommon to find higher levels of methane. When we look for

61.4 430.9 83.7 309.7

traces of natural gas, like sewage, methane is down there too.” Nonetheless, Phillips said, the leaks need to be patched immediately. “Natural gas is a fossil fuel. It’s a huge benefit to patch the leaks because one molecule of methane is 34 times as powerful as a corresponding molecule of carbon dioxide, if it leaks to the atmosphere,” Phillips said. “We found that 2.7 percent of all natural gas consumed in the study region was leaked. We have to address that problem and stem those leaks. That’s not a choice. That’s an imperative.” While it may be an imperative to stem the leaks, policymakers are faced with a different choice — whether or not to continue using natural gas for energy resources. Lisa Tornatore, sustainability outreach coordinator for sustainability@BU, said scientists and policymakers need to cooperate to

achieve the goal of emissions reduction. “It is certainly concerning to hear that natural gas leaks are higher than previously estimated. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, more so than carbon dioxide, so it has implications for increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere,” Tornatore said. “Researchers from BU and other universities work closely with the City of Boston and the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts] to bring to light issues like this one so that our lawmakers and utility companies can make improvements quickly and efficiently.” In the meantime, Phillips said, everyone else needs to consider whether or not gas is worth the risk. “We really need to think carefully about our reliance on natural gas. Are we using natural gas, are we doubling down on it to stay committed for decades to come?” Phillips said. “Our study really presents us with a choice.”

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percent of all natural gas escapes into the atmosphere. *2.7 Pipe leaks make up 10% of all methane emissions in MA SOURCE: EIA.GOV GRAPHIC BY SHIVANI PATEL AND KATELYN PILLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

MUSE INTERVIEW: “The DUFF” cast on crushing teenage stereotypes BY CONNER REED DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Regardless of their individual experiences, most American adults are likely to share one thought: high school was a terrible place. Hollywood films tend to have a lot of fun in portraying the high school experience. Made by people who have already finished high school and who possess both knowledge and perspective of its significance, these films toy with reality to provide narratives which either course with knowing cynicism (“Heathers,” “Clueless,” “Mean Girls”) or provide rosy views of burgeoning adolescence (“High School Musical,” “Grease”). They distort memories of the arbitrarily determined social hierarchies and exaggerated emotions that color the high school years, or they rewrite the bitterness to encourage audiences to

laugh at the absurdity. “The DUFF,” from first-time director Ari Sandel, continues in both traditions. Based on a young adult novel by Kody Keplinger, Sandel’s film tells the story of Bianca (Mae Whitman), who discovers through popular jock Wesley (Robbie Amell) that she serves as the DUFF — Designated Ugly Fat Friend — for her small, popular social group. This means she the one to distract from any shortcomings the other members may have by being the least physically attractive. Upon revealing her status, Wesley agrees to help Bianca “improve” herself in exchange for her academic assistance The fact that Keplinger finished the book at age 17 puts the film in a unique position in the lineage of high school cinema. It sprang from the mind of a girl in the thick of the world it presents, but it’s being brought to life by those with enough distance from it to make CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

PHOTO COURTESY OF GUY D’ALEMA

Mae Whitman (left) stars with Bella Thorne (right) in “The DUFF,” a comedy that will be released Feb. 20.


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FEATURES

SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Activist organizations want film to start conversation on race BY ALEX CREED DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

With the high-profile deaths of unarmed black men Michael Brown and Eric Garner during the summer of 2014, discussions about race seem to be featured in media every where — from CNN to Twitter feeds. Boston University’s Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground is looking to bring that conversation to campus. On Feb. 11 at the Tsai Performance Center, the HTC will host a screening and panel discussion of Justin Simien’s “Dear White People,” which won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. “What I’m trying to do with this film and other programs at the Howard Thurman Center is to create platforms for people to start having better conversations about race,” said Christian Cho, assistant director of the Howard Thurman Center. Cho, who planned the screening for BU, stressed the need for conversation, especially with regard to higher education, and said a movie such as “Dear White People” could provide an outlet for students to have that conversation on campus. “For students who know about race and racism, it’s going to reaffirm their understanding of race and racism in a refreshing way,” Cho said. “But for a lot of students who aren’t aware of race and racism but want to learn more, it’s a funny way and low-risk way to learn about how race does come into play in higher education.” The film, which earned a 92 percent rating from popular film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, focuses on several African American students in a fictional and predominantly white university. “In the end, we have to understand that each character in the film has elements of his [the director’s] own experience,” Cho said. “For a lot of black students and for a lot of students that are not white, [they] will identify with the four characters in some way.” Victoria Dutcher-Brown, a sophomore

PHOTO BY ASHLEY NGUYEN/COURTESY OF ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

“Dear White People,” released in October, highlights race relations on college campuses.

in CAS and a volunteer and events coordinator for BU’s Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism, said BU could benefit from the sort of conversations that she hopes events like the screening will spur. “Race discussion at BU is abysmal. It needs to be brought to higher attention. We barely talk about it,” Dutcher-Brown said. “If we do, we glaze over it, and someone says a quote from [Martin Luther King, Jr.] … While we recognize MLK went to BU, we don’t always remember all the things he believed in.” Dutcher-Brown said one of the scenes in “Dear White People” ref lects the need for conversation. In the scene, a white male college student says, “Sometimes, I think the hardest thing to be in the American workforce is an educated white guy.” Statements like this, Dutcher-Brown said, show the “ridiculousness of reverse

racism or other issue areas like ‘meninism,’ people who believe that due to other issues, they’re oppressed even though historically and systematically, they’ve been the oppressor.” CGSA, too, has worked to ignite discussion about race and other issues within the BU community. This past year, the center began hosting BU group People of Color Coalition every other week. The group explores race on campus, in the media, in government and more, providing both a safe space for conversation and a jumping-off point for bigger endeavors. “People go to different protests, rallies or hear people speak to present a solid front,” Dutcher-Brown said. “It’s often scary if you haven’t been to a protest. If people want to go to a protest, the center provides the place for people to meet.” That communal approach is something

Cho said he is aiming for. All students need to be comfortable with talking, he said, if they’re going to talk at all. “While we are a ‘diverse’ place, if we’re not bridging the gaps and we’re not leaving social circles, nothing’s going to change,” he said. “I hope people feel comfortable enough to have conversations with people whose experiences are different, whose opinions are different about race, whose outlooks are very different.” Although the screening and other similar events last only one night, both Cho and Dutcher-Brown said conversations about race cannot stop when the house lights go up. “It’s just that we as a country have come to the place where we tell white people they can’t talk about race,” Cho said. “We have to make room for people to learn, and we have to make room and be okay

Whitman, Arnell and Thorne seek to re-teach high school tropes DUFF, FROM PAGE 5

retrospective comment. For the film’s three leads, though, it’s sometimes hard to appreciate that distance. “I definitely was bullied and called weird names [in high school],” Whitman said, in a conference call interview with The Daily Free Press. Whitman is 26 years old, but said she still feels the importance of countering

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negative high school experiences with realistic stories that sport a message of hope. “For me, I like the idea of breaking down the need for people to compare, judge and keep people down,” Whitman said. “It’s really limiting for everyone, and it’s just not real … It was important for me to communicate that the coolest kids in the world are bullied, just like me.” “I’m the coolest kid in the world,” she

t sprang from the mind of a girl in the thick of the world it presents, but it’s being brought to life by those with enough distance from it to make retrospective comment.

added with a laugh. Amell, also 26, was similarly drawn to the film for its universality. Though he described his high school experience as “tame” — “I grew up in Toronto, where everybody is polite and apologizes for everything,” he said — Amell said the movie scenes are a particularly accurate vision of the average high school experience. “It was super refreshing to read a teen comedy script that kind of grasps what it’s like to be in high school. Everybody is trying to find their way and figure out who they are, dealing with their own issues and with other people,” he said. “It was nice to see that in something that actually turned out to be so funny.” When it comes to the film’s content, its focal points include social hierarchies, self-esteem issues and teenage romance. Perhaps its ripest and most prominent target, though, is the all-too-familiar phenomenon of adolescent stereotyping. “The whole point of this movie is to expose stereotypes and how thin they are,” said Bella Thorne, the 17-year-old

actress who plays Madison, the “mean girl” counterpart to Whitman’s sympathetic Bianca. “If this movie didn’t have the understanding of stereotypes, maybe it would feel a little more upsetting … it was kind of nice to start out by going, ‘Hey, here are these stereotypes,’ and then getting to spend the rest of the movie breaking them down and showing how you can let them go.” Although stereotype shattering has served as the premise for many films over the past several decades, “The DUFF” looks to start a new conversation about stereotypes in 21st-century high schools. “What we really wanted to convey with this movie was how silly it is to think that anyone deserves to be put in a box that someone else has made up for their own weird, sad reasons,” Whitman said. “None of that stuff exists. You’re the only one who can say what you are and be who you are. Nobody else knows what they’re talking about.” “The DUFF” opens in theaters Feb. 20.


FEATURES

7

INBUSINESS THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Boston start-up Spotzer aims to sync mobile with Monet BY BECCA DEGREGORIO DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Digesting visual art, from cubist Picasso to dancey Degas, takes work. Developing artistic taste can beg even more. As fewer and fewer people find themselves making the effort, the museum industry is looking for a way to draw them back in. As tends to be the case, there’s hope in technology. Spotzer, a new mobile app platform that lets patrons of client museums read and listen to audio information, receive recommendations and complete the social media trifecta of “comment, like and share” for specific pieces, is finishing its first round of funding. Founder and CEO Brendan Ciecko said the company will be closing its door to investors “any day now.” “We’re not just providing technology. We’re providing and modeling an experience for the visitor,” Ciecko said. “Our vision really expanded from building technology to how can we impact the space, solve problems for the museum, help the museum be more successful and help the patrons have a much more fulfilling, insightful, social, engaging experience.” Spotzer stems from one of Ciecko’s already developed companies, Ten Minute Media, a branding and creative marketing company geared toward the entertainment industry. When an art museum on New York’s famous “Museum Mile” requested tech support from the company in 2013, the idea took root: mobile help for curatorial gain. “We thought this was an interesting dilemma and an interesting opportunity, especially around the way people interact and engage with the actual art,” Ciecko said. Shake-ups like what Ciecko promises couldn’t come at a more dire time for the art museum industry. Visual arts attendance has been in sharp decline for over ten years, among every demographic but the oldest Americans, according to a January 2015 report by the National Endowment for the Arts. That free fall has forced many respected institutions, like Boston’s own Museum of Fine Arts, to compromise their values in order to see a profit. “Museums are more and more trying to balance what you might call their cultural mission on one hand with their commercial impulse on the other,” said Bruce Redford, the chair of the history of art and architecture department at Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences. “The MFA has done extremely successfully commercially, but it’s done so at a great cost. The balance in my view, and in the view of many of my colleagues, at the MFA has tilted towards commerce and away from the cultural and educational mission.” With mobile supplementation, Ciecko said, comes increased levels of attendance and museum membership. In Spotzer’s case, museums would purchase software and technology to support the company’s mobile app, which Ciecko advocates to be cost-free for museum patrons. “It’s really important to share all this great knowledge and to not limit your adoption by charging for it,” Ciecko said. “They’re going to be more fulfilled by the experience.” Part of that initial investment involves installing Bluetooth “beacons,” small sensors that radiate content unique to their location. Beacons are deployed throughout museums, al-

PHOTO BY FALON MORAN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Spotzer, an app which finished its first round of funding this month, hopes to change the way visitors experience museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

though Spotzer is not the first to use the technology. The technology has mostly been used in retail settings to provide customer information and gauge what excites people, said Ian Mashiter, director of entrepreneurship activities in the School of Management. “In order to get funding and develop your customer base, you have to show customer traction,” Mashiter said. “You have to show that the dogs are gonna eat the dog food.” Existing information services within client museums could also play a role in the app’s success, especially in largely developed museums such as the MFA, which Ciecko deemed “a dream customer of ours.” “In order to be truly useful, it would need to be in sync with the resources that the given museum already has to offer,” Redford said. “It would have to be quite sophisticated in order to genuinely compliment or supplement what a museum like the MFA already has.” That is, technological guides, including Spotzer, also have as much potential to hinder visitor exploration as they do to enhance visitor expertise. “My fear is that you would miss the chance encounters with galleries and masterpieces, just what happens when you walk through galleries from point A to point B,” Redford said. “Apps, Acoustiguides and the wrong sort of label can direct and, quite often, diminish the viewer’s experience with a masterpiece by telling you what this is, by directing you how to look and how to interpret.” Regardless, Ciecko said Spotzer’s motive is rooted in cultural engagement. As the app evolves from private data latency to an implemented tool, settings for the program may surpass museum walls. “Our big-picture vision is to become the passport to the world of art and culture so that includes museums, galleries, street art, monuments,” Ciecko said. “Anywhere that culture exists is what we’re focusing on.”


OPINION

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Felicia Gans, Editor-in-Chief Jacklyn Bamberger, 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

44th year | Volume 87 | Issue II 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 © 2015 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Mike DeSocio , Multimedia Editor

Judy Cohen, Sports Editor

Allie Wimley, Photo Editor

Mina Corpuz, Campus Editor

Casey Mintz, Editorial Page Editor

Samantha Gross, Layout Editor

Alexandra David, City Editor

Joe Incollingo, Features Editor

Shakti Rovner, Office Manager

BU should share more about sexual assault survey plans On May 1, 2014, a White House task force unearthed new plans to improve the ways college campuses deal with sexual assault. They released a list of 55 colleges that are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for allegedly violating Title IX and mishandling reports of sexual harassment and assault. On that list are several local schools including Harvard University, Emerson College and our very own Boston University, The Daily Free Press reported. Harvard will be participating in the Association of American Universities’ national sexual assault climate survey this coming spring, meant to assess the problems in the schools’ communities and gain information necessary to create policies aimed at awareness and prevention. However, BU will not. In fact, Harvard is the only Boston-area school to participate in the AAU’s version of the survey. Twenty-eight schools are using the AAU’s survey, leaving schools such as BU and Emerson to create their own. Emerson administration announced in September 2014 that they would be administering anonymous surveys every two years to assess how students feel about the handling of sexual violence on campus and their knowledge of Emerson’s policies and the resources the school provides for victims, BostInno reported on Jan. 23. BU has not made it entirely clear what their plans for the survey are. Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore did, however, tell the

FreeP that they definitely will be conducting their own investigation. “We want to have a survey that’s a little more tailored to our population, what we’re looking for and we also had some questions about the survey that AAU is conducting and the timing,” Elmore told the FreeP on Jan. 22. “It didn’t quite fit into our cycles here, so that was important for us.” Along with whatever timing inconveniences it may cause BU, the survey is expensive. It costs about $85,000 to administer the survey, Inside Higher Ed reported on Nov. 19, 2014. However, Elmore told the FreeP he does recognize how it could be beneficial to participate in the AAU survey for purposes of data comparison. “There may be some elements of attitudes and behavior and conduct that have more of a citywide implication than we think, so in an ideal world, we would have a similar survey as our other urban Boston-area colleges and universities had, and that way we could share data and really get a good sense, but that’s just not where anyone is right now,” he said. The university has taken other efforts to inform and assist students in addition to creating its own survey, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. “In the past few years, BU has established a Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center and implemented bystander intervention training and expanded its educational programs as part of a comprehensive approach to increasing awareness of the

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comforting — to students if the school were more open about this. There’s no reason to hide, and they’ve been on the list for nearly a year now. It’s time to see results.

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issue and the steps to take and resources available if one is the victim/survivor of sexual assault,” he told the FreeP on Jan. 22 in an email. But however much Elmore and Riley try to placate us, it still feels like BU is trying to skirt around some questions they don’t want to address by opting out of the national survey. It’s unclear what BU’s tailor-made survey plans on finding that a nationally funded and developed survey wouldn’t find. It sounds as if they fear that something they have no hand in creating would turn up something they don’t want unearthed. Elmore told the FreeP that there has been a version of the sexual assault survey in the works since August, and while they are still finalizing the survey, students should be able to take the survey online starting after spring break. Once BU’s survey is sent out and the results are revealed, students will finally have concrete evidence that BU is performing research that will ultimately improve the way sexual assault is handled on campus. It’s important to note that the majority of schools on the DOE’s list are taking the BU route and saying that they have something else in the works, therefore avoiding the national survey. But some schools, such as University of Michigan, are both opting into the AAU survey and creating their own, therefore going above and beyond. It’s hard to blame BU for not doing anything when we don’t know what they’re really up to, but it would be helpful — and

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35. G 36. Study hard 37. Flooded 38. “Pow!” 39. Assist 40. Breaks 41. Pieces of insulation 42. Wetness 44. A parcel of land 45. Stop 46. Get hold of 50. ___-garde 52. Unsophisticated 54. Caviar 55. Mousses 56. A certain cut of meat 58. Leer at 59. Daisylike bloom 60. Small island 61. Homosexuals 62. Utilizers 63. Sleeveless garment

1. Blockheads 2. Enlighten 3. Notches 4. East southeast 5. Bury 6. Dens 7. Atop 8. Tautness 9. S 10. Cream-filled pastry 11. A boxing weight class 12. Roll up 13. Views 18. Bird sound 22. Engendered 24. Snip 26. “Sure” 28. Appearance 29. Tidy 30. Precious stones 31. Fraud

32. Threesome 33. Revolutionary 34. Cognizance 37. Rectum 38. Light bulb unit 40. Immediately 41. Silly mistake 43. Detects 44. Admirers 46. Made from apple juice 47. Got up 48. Spirals 49. Basic belief 50. All excited 51. Lyra’s brightest star 53. Initial wager 56. Letter after sigma 57. 54 in Roman numerals


OPINION

9

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

The truth about a “gay” assembly

BY REBECCA REYNOLDS COLUMNIST

I was perusing Facebook and stumbled upon this article shared by a friend entitled “Middle School tries to sneak in ‘gay’ assembly — but MassResistance intervenes!” I was led to a webpage with MassResistance’s slogan, “Pro-family activism that makes a difference!” proudly plastered at the top. This so-called “gay assembly” they are referring to is a Gay-Straight Alliance. The article claims that a mother contacted MassResistance, a conservative action center, with a concern about an assembly regarding the new Gay-Straight Alliance club being formed at a public middle school. She was concerned that parents hadn’t been notified about the meeting or received the option to remove their kids from the assembly. MassResistance goes on to warn about the “LGBT agenda” and how anti-bullying legislation is allowing “homosexual and transgender programs to be brought into the public school.” MassResistance pits parents versus schools to effectively try to keep GSAs and the “gay agenda” out of public schools. MassResistance is an organization that adamantly opposes gay marriage and has a whole pamphlet on all the awful things “same-sex ‘marriage’” has done to destroy Massachusetts and families. For those of you who don’t know, a GayStraight Alliance is an optional afterschool club just like sports or art club. It is a safe space for any student (LGBTQ or otherwise) to make friends, support each other and fight discrimination, violence and harassment. It is a place to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation issues and educate the school community. Gay-Straight Alliances connect LGBTQ students with allies and role models to help form a safety net during a time when teenagers are beginning to explore and experience their identities. GSAs are an important asset to not only LGBTQ students, but to school communities in general. As a group, they often organize anti-bullying work that benefits the whole community and makes the school a safer place. Anti-bullying legislation works the same way. It protects all students from the harmful treatment they might endure from bullying. It educates administrators and teachers to better respond to bullying. Why anyone would op-

pose making our schools safer for our children is beyond me. This article hit even closer to home for me, because the middle school at the center of this is Lynnfield Middle School, a school only five minutes away from where I call home. To paint you a picture of Lynnfield, it is a community that is 95 percent white, more conservative than the rest of Massachusetts, has a median family income of $82,386, and has a public high school ranked number 28 in the state. I tell you these statistics because nothing exists in a vacuum. While these statistics do not speak to Lynnfield as a whole, and this one concerned mother does not speak for all of Lynnfield, it is a still-startling story to hear. Each of these factors plays a role in how a community responds to social events and influences an individual’s beliefs. And it proves that even in Massachusetts, over 10 years after same-sex marriage was legalized, there can be backlash against something as harmless as an after-school group. By resisting change and rejecting differences, communities lacking diversity are perpetuating fear of the unknown. However, most of the time, this fear is not justified or rational, and as you meet people who are different than you, you begin to realize they aren’t so different after all. This is why Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States, urged people to come out in the ’70s. As more and more people came out, the community would have to accept them and realize that they are no different from everyone else. When you realize your daughter, son, sister, brother or friend is gay, it changes things. Gay people are no longer this “other” or a group to fear. They are your friends and family. Over the break, I was shopping with my family (yes, despite what MassResistance believes, queer people are part of families too) at a marketplace in Lynnfield. I wonder if I ever met this concerned mother in passing. Did she notice me at all? Was she uncomfortable? Has she ever met a queer person in real life? In the end, this parent chose to opt-out her child from the assembly. I feel sorry for that child and for that mother. She let her fear of the unknown deprive her child of a valuable life experience, even if it was just an assembly. You can’t opt-out of diversity in the real world. Although some people may try, successfully interacting with people who are different from you is an important part of growing up as a well-rounded adult. Learning to see and understand things from multiple perspectives is something that cannot be taught in an atmosphere that doesn’t first learn to respect and value differences. Hopefully one day, we can all live in a world that respects and values differences, so we will all truly appreciate one another.

We need to be allies for trans rights

BY MARIEL CARIKER COLUMNIST

At the end of December 2014, a young girl named Leelah Alcorn took her own life. She was born Joshua Ryan Alcorn and was raised in a conservative Christian household. When she was 14, she came out to her parents who then didn’t accept her identification as a woman and refused to let her undergo transition therapy. They instead sent her to Christian conversion therapy, withdrew her from school and tried to ban her from social media. All of this pushed Leelah over the edge, and she posted her suicide note on the social media platform Tumblr. In it, she stated that she hoped her death would start a conversation about the abuse and lack of support that transgender people face. After the note was posted, the Internet exploded. Screenshots of Leelah’s mother’s Facebook status about her daughter’s suicide surfaced, showing that she continued to misgender Leelah by referring to her as “him.” Details of Leelah’s parents’ abuse continued to leak out. This started a dialogue about the understated abuse that many transgender youth face. However, positives managed to rise from the ash of this horrible tragedy. Under the hashtag #RealLifeTransAdult, many trans people told their stories on Twitter and gave advice to younger members of the transgender community. Petitions were started for the creation of “Leelah’s Law,” a ban on conversion therapy. Recently, the media has been picking at Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, due to the fact that their child, born Shiloh, has expressed that he wants to be called John. At the premiere of Jolie’s movie “Unbroken,” John wore a suit and various magazines jumped at the opportunity to attack Jolie and Pitt. Star Magazine released a picture of John on the cover of one of their issues with the title “Why Is Angelina Turning Shiloh Into A Boy?” They accused Jolie and Pitt of being bad parents, saying they were forcing John into dressing in stereotypically male clothing. This type of reporting is not only offensive, but also damaging to all who read it. It enforces strict gender roles and leaves no room for the positives that this situation reflects. By

allowing their children to express themselves and dress how they feel comfortable, Jolie and Pitt are refusing to be their child’s first bully. They are providing a great example for all of how to be supportive of your children by disregarding stereotypically “correct” ideas of gender and allowing them to grow into who they believe they were meant to be. Positive trans representation has been seen recently through TV shows such as “Transparent” and “Orange Is the New Black.” Both feature plotlines with transgender characters and were nominated for multiple awards at this year’s Golden Globes Awards. Laverne Cox, who plays Sophia on “Orange Is the New Black,” has used her fame to bring the rights of trans people into the light. Jeffrey Tambor won the Golden Globe for best actor in a TV series or comedy for his role as Maura Pfefferman on “Transparent.” Tambor dedicated his acceptance speech to the transgender community, saying, “Thank you, for your courage, for your inspiration. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for letting us be part of the change.” Although we are living in a time where many are openly accepting, transgender people still often face a slew of negative retaliations when they make the decision to transition. Many young trans people such as Leelah aren’t accepted by their parents and face abuse or neglect at home. Many are specifically targeted victims of violence on the street, and the homicide rate is highest for trans women. The unemployment rate for the trans community is twice the national average, and for trans people of color, the rate jumps to four times the national average, according to November 2009 findings from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Trans representation in movies and on TV is a great start, and it shows progress. However, this positive change needs to continue on a massive, global scale so trans people can have the rights and safety they deserve. It’s unfortunate and upsetting that it takes continued, very preventable violent acts against a certain group of people before many start to notice that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Transphobia is still alive and well in many places, and that is truly unsettling. We as a society need to be better allies for transgender people. It’s not hard to use others’ preferred gender pronouns. Embracing gender nonconformity could possibly change everything. If we didn’t stick ourselves and others in such strict gender codes and roles, maybe there would be more acceptance toward those transitioning or questioning the sex they were born as. Anyone coming to terms with how they identify, whether they be 5 or 85, should receive compassion and support from those around them, instead of fearing that they will not be accepted.

Interrobang

After French parents tried to name their newborn baby “Nutella,” a judge ruled they wouldn’t be allowed to name their child the trademarked name of a food product. The couple ended up settling on “Ella.” We here at the ol’ Free Press were wondering what bizarre name BU people would try give to their child?

SMG: $$$.

ENG: [Your Name] 2.0.

COM: Venti iced coffee.

BU Athletics: Jack Eichel.

Theatre majors: #blessed.

President Brown: President Brown.

BU Dining: Make A Difference Michael.

FreeP: UBurger.


10

SPORTS

BU Coach Lesley Sheehan earns 351st win with program Power, 6-3. Kwok then went on in No. 1 singles play to defeat senior Justin Pagan 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 119, in one of the longest matches of the day. Lemire competed in No. 2 singles play and downed Power again, when the Pioneer retired in the second set of the match after Lemire took the opening set 6-2. The Terriers return to action Feb. 8 when they welcome Quinnipiac University to the Track and Tennis Center. BU Coach Lesley Sheehan earns 351st win with program as women’s tennis emerges victorious.

PHOTO BY STEVE MCLAUGHLIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Junior Johanna Hyoty had victories in straight sets in No. 1 singles action before continuing her win streak in No. 2 doubles play. BY MICHAEL JOSCELYN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University men’s tennis team had a strong start to its spring 2015 campaign, as it defeated Sacred Heart University 6-1 at the Track and Tennis Center Sunday. Coming off a fall 2014 season in which the Terriers (1-0) traveled from invitational to

invitational, BU had a dominant win at home over the Pioneers (0-2), winning nine of 12 sets in singles play. Junior William Kwok was the star of the day for the Terriers as he was victorious in both doubles and singles action. In No. 1 doubles play, Kwok teamed up with junior Stefan Lemire and defeated Pioneers junior Matt Dean and junior Brian

Reiser: OT better than SO in NHL REISER, FROM PAGE 12

307 overtime games went into a shootout in the 2013-14 season, which accounts for roughly 58 percent of all games that went to overtime and 7.24 percent of all games. If the current shootout rate for this season continues, the league should see about 172 shootouts in 315 overtime games by year’s end. If the NHL doesn’t want to use college hockey to modify its post-regulation rules, just look at its minor league counterpart, the AHL. The AHL has instilled multiple forms of overtime, four-on-four for three minutes, then three-on-three for four minutes, and finally if that isn’t enough, a shootout will decide the game. Last season, 64.7 percent of the games that went into overtime continued into a shootout, and this season, that number has been slashed down to 25.7 percent. Four teams have yet to play in a shootout in this AHL season, meaning every single one of their overtime games has been decided by playing hockey. Reactions have been mixed from AHL players, but most seem to like the excitement the open ice brings in a three-on-three format, a lot of room for players to skate, pass and shoot, leaving little time for goalies to think on odd-man rushes. Sure, some goalies may like just 1-on-0 where they focus on one shooter, but think of the excitement a 2-on-1 or a 2-on-0 brings during not just overtime, but a regular game.

Back at the NHL level, players make sure they’re just as prepared for a shootout as they are for regulation. “There’s scouting reports. I think every team does it, just for goalie tendencies,” said Boston Bruins winger Reilly Smith. “About once a week, we’ll do shootouts at the end of practice … [the shootout is] a good thing. It’s a key part of the game now.” Smith has been key in Bruins shootouts, scoring game-winners during shootouts last season against the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning, and this season versus the Detroit Red Wings. “Those [second] points put you in or take you out of the playoffs, and I’ve been fortunate enough to been put in some spots where I was able to win games.” Another Bruins forward who has been relied on throughout his career in the shootout is center Patrice Bergeron, scoring 22 goals on 69 career attempts as of mid-December, eight of those goals being game deciders. “You want to go out there, if you’re called upon, and do your job,” Bergeron said about his career numbers. “To have more goals and more games end up in overtime, finish in overtime before a shootout … I don’t think it’s a bad idea.” If the NHL wants something exciting and true-to-the-game to decide matches, I implore them to get rid of the shootout and figure something else out.

On the other end of the court Sunday, the Boston University women’s tennis team took care of business in similar fashion when the Terriers (1-0) took down the University of Rhode Island by a score of 6-1. The win marked the start of BU coach Lesley Sheehan’s 30th dual season and also marks her 351st win with the program. Sheehan is a member of the BU Athletic Hall of Fame for her work in the singles division when she played for the Terriers, when she was the highest-ranked singles competitor in the New England region. Against URI (0-2), junior Lauren Davis continued her excellent tenure at BU with wins in singles and doubles competition. The 2014 Patriot League All-Conference First Team Singles winner dominated in her matches, never losing a set in both doubles and singles play. Not to be upstaged, the 2014 Patriot League Player of the Year and the 2014 Patriot League Tournament MVP junior Johanna Hyoty won in straight sets in No. 1 singles action before continuing her win streak in No. 2 doubles play. Next up, the Terriers will travel to Hanover, New Hampshire to take on No. 63 Dartmouth College Friday. Men’s and women’s swimming and diving take two out of three matches in meet In its first action since Dec. 6, the Boston University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both took two out of three matches against American University, George Mason University and the United States Military Academy Saturday.

The host Black Knights beat both Terrier teams, besting the men by a score of 168108 and the women 159-139. The men’s team took home a dominating win against American as they won 226-45 before dropping to the Black Knights. The team rebounded against George Mason to squeak out a 144-135 victory. Helping the Terriers was the performance of freshman Garrett Chin. Chin claimed first place in the 200 fly and the 400 IM and was the only player on the team to earn two first-place finishes. On the women’s side, it was a similar result as they dominated American 228-71, then beat George Mason 163-137 before falling to Army 159-139. Freshman Lizzie Tillo had a strong performance for the Terriers as she placed first in the 1m dive and second in the 3m dive. Terriers fare well in Four-Way Meet In its most recent meet, the Boston University men’s and women’s track and field program hosted a Four-Way Meet against Delaware State University, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Boston College and Sacred Heart University on Jan. 22. Both teams had several winners across all categories, but sophomore Cameron Williams and senior Gemma Acheampong stood out amongst their peers. Williams has been a leader for the Terriers all season, and he continued his winning ways as he escaped with a win in the 60m dash with a final time that was just .02 faster than the second place competitor. Acheampong has been a constant force in her prolific career at BU, competing at a high level and setting school records like she did in the 100m dash at the 2014 Patriot League Championships with a time of 11.61 seconds. This time out, she secured a first place finish in the 60m dash with a time of 7.66 seconds. The Terriers also posted victories in the weight-throw competition, the pole vault, the 3,000m events and the 60m hurdles. BU will hope to continue its recent success when it hosts the John Thomas Terrier Classic this weekend.


SPORTS

11

Men’s basketball hopes to get back on track at Patriot League rival Army BY NICK NEVILLE DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Following a tough loss at the hands of Bucknell University Saturday, the Boston University men’s basketball team will look to get back on track Thursday when it visits the

United States Military Academy. This will be the first of two away games for the Terriers (8-11, 4-4 Patriot League), who come into this contest after losing to Bucknell (11-10, 6-2 Patriot League) at home by a score of 92-77. Despite being down only two points at the half, BU could simply never mount a

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA WIMLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Junior guard John Papale had a career-high 22 points against Bucknell University on Saturday and moved into ninth all-time at BU in made 3-pointers.

comeback to overtake the Bison attack. “We played unselfishly for the most part, and we had stretches of the game where we played very hard, but we were very inconsistent with our focus and our effort throughout the game,” said BU coach Joe Jones. Bucknell was led by the tenacious scoring of guard Chris Hass, who had a game-high 28 points. He and sophomore guard Cedric Hankerson are both in the top five in scoring in the Patriot League, but Hass got the best of Hankerson in this contest. One notable performance in the loss for BU was the play of junior guard John Papale, who set a career high with 22 points. He also hit three long-range shots during the game, placing him in ninth place all-time in scoring at BU with 173 points. “I was happy to see John play as well as he did offensively,” Jones said. “There are times when he becomes more of a playmaker when we need him to be more of a scorer. He came out strong in this game, and when we got down early, I thought he showed the aggression that we’re looking for on the offensive end.” Hankerson and junior forward Nathan Dieudonne each added 15 points for the Terriers. With BU’s inexperience, it is important that the upperclassmen continue to show up and contribute like they have been recently, Jones said. “The big thing for us is that our older guys have to pick up their leadership, and we have to get guys focused in terms of our defensive effort,” Jones said. The Terriers start this road stretch Thursday against Army (13-6, 4-4 Patriot League), who, despite having a better overall record than BU, are tied for third in the Patriot League with the Terriers. The winner of this matchup will improve to 5-4 in league play.

BU will have a tough task ahead of them in this matchup, as Army is the top-ranked offense in the Patriot League, scoring an average of 75.6 points per contest. It should turn out to be a high-scoring game as both teams rank in the bottom three in league defense. “The pace of the game is going to be very fast because we want to push it too,” Jones said. “We just have to be ready to compete, and we have the athletes to do that. For us, if we can play at a good pace, I like our chances.” The Black Knights are led by junior guard and 2013-14 First Team All-Patriot League selection Kyle Wilson. Wilson leads the Patriot League in scoring and is 24th in the nation with an average of 19.3 points per contest. Army boasts another scoring threat in 6-foot-7 forward Tanner Plomb who averages 15.2 points and 5.4 boards per game. The key for the Terriers will be to shut down the two-headed monster that is Wilson and Plomb. Army comes into Thursday’s game looking to extend its winning streak to three games. Most recently, they came away with a narrow 68-66 victory over American University on Monday. Trailing 66-61 with under two minutes to play, the Black Knights scored a few quick buckets to tie the score at 66. Guard Dylan Cox, who had five points and six assists on the day, hit a contested shot in the final seconds for the game-winner. Plomb led all scorers with 26 points in the game. In this game and beyond, Jones said he is looking for a more consistent effort on the defensive end of the floor. “The main thing for us going forward is effort and defense,” he said. “We need to understand that if we’re going to win, we need to get stops.”

Women’s basketball gets set to play Army, needs boost in Patriot League BY KARLY FINISON DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University women’s basketball team will face the United States Military Academy Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Case Gymnasium. BU (4-15, 1-7 Patriot League) last faced Army (13-5, 5-3 Patriot League) in the Patriot League Quarterfinals last season, falling to the Black Knights 49-45. BU is still looking for its second Patriot League win after losses to Loyola University Maryland, American University and Bucknell University. The Black Knights come into Thursday on a four-game win streak. Army most recently defeated American University, giving the Eagles their first Patriot League loss of the season. Army currently holds the highest field goal percentage in the Patriot League, due in part to contributions from guard Kelsey Minato. The Huntington Beach, California, native scored 26 points against American (13-7, 8-1 Patriot League) and tops the Patriot League in scoring. Minato averages over 22.6 points per game. “We’ve got to stop Kelsey Minato from being Kelsey Minato,” said BU coach Katy Steding. “She's a really versatile player, a great scorer and has the mentality that you’re really going to have to do everything you can to stop me.” The 10-time Patriot League Player of the Week and 2013-2014 Patriot League Player of the Year has been the key cog for the Black Knights this season, as the next leading scorer, senior Olivia Schretzman, is just averaging double-digits at 10.1 points per game. Army has been a dominant force at home this season, winning eight out of the nine games that it has played while compiling only a 5-4 record away from West Point. Steding also emphasized how important BU’s game inside will be in Thursday’s contest,

as senior forward Mollie McKendrick scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double double when both teams last faced each other. McKendrick is averaging 9.2 points per game this season to go along with 6.1 rebounds per contest. The Mildura, Austrailia, native had her biggest game of the year against Stephen F. Austin State University when she recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Steding’s message was clear. “I think we’ve got to score on the block to be successful. We've got to get the ball inside and go at their bigs. I think it’s a matter of moving the ball and getting people to attack the paint. “We have to play a 40-minute game. For us to have a shot at it, we have to play hard, play ferociously for 40 minutes without taking a couple minutes here or there when the other team gets to score three or four unanswered buckets.” Despite BU’s three-game losing streak, the team has received increased contributions from redshirt junior guard Troi Melton. Melton scored 11 points against American University Jan. 21 in her 39 minutes of play and earned a career-high 16 points against Bucknell on Saturday. “I’m really proud of Troi,” Steding said. “She's been the one who has worked the longest. She and [Meghan Green] were here back at the beginning of the summer when I first got here. Troi came in and embraced making changes to her personal game. She's been relentless in getting extra workouts in. She's had some up and downs but she has never complained, she has never tore us down as a staff, she just comes back and asks for more work. “When she got her opportunity, she came in, stayed focused and really played hard. She's creating even more opportunities for herself by how hard she’s playing. That’s what you hope every kid embraces, that they have the power to change.” Melton will need to keep up her current production to increase her points per game

as she is currently sixth on the team with 5.5 points per game. A win Thursday night would give the Terriers a needed lift in the Patriot League standings, as they have fallen to last place. “We have to concentrate on stopping the

other team. Get this stop. I always tell them, ‘Get this stop.’ Don’t worry about the last one, or the one you didn’t get. Stay in the moment and focus on what we’re doing. It’s the same message for offense. Stay in the moment and get ourselves the easiest shots we can get.”

The BiggesT & NeWesT Back To school

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QUOTABLE

“She’s had some up and downs, but she has never complained. She has never tore us down as a staff. She just comes back and asks for more work,” BU coach Katy Steding on Troi Melton,, pg. 11

Sports

SERVING UP SUCCESS

Men’s and women’s tennis get off to a good start with wins against Quinnipiac and University of Rhode Island, pg. 10

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

LIGHT THE LAMP Ditch the Shootout

Meghan Green steps up for women’s basketball BY MICHAEL JOSCELYN DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

BY JAKE REISER DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Count ‘em, three times. Freshman forward Jack Eichel has scored in overtime three times to win games for the No. 2 Boston University men’s hockey team this season, against the University of Maine, the No. 10 University of Massachusetts Lowell and the No. 15 University of Vermont. Eichel leads the country with three overtime winners and is the first Terrier since Hockey East’s creation to have that many in one season. He has played less than a year at the collegiate level and already has three memorable tallies to add to his already impressive NCAA resume. Every time Eichel has hit the back of the net in extra time, he celebrates with unabashed enthusiasm and his teammates pour over him. That’s how exciting overtime is. That’s why the NHL needs to rid itself of the shootout. Hockey East is a perfect example of why the NHL needs to nix the “skills competition” at the end of a game to decide the result. Teams play full strength five-on-five hockey for five minutes, grinding as hard as they can, and if nothing happens, it ends as a tie. That’s how it should be, purely hockey, nothing more. No fancy dangling, no spinoramas, just the game itself deciding the result. In post-regulation, BU is 3-1-4 this season so far. Its only loss was a 3-2 decision against No. 4 Harvard University on Nov. 25. BU has participated in one shootout this season so far, winning against non-conference opponent Wisconsin, a member of the Big Ten conference, but the result didn’t count in the standings because it isn’t a part of how Hockey East games are decided. Shootouts do exist, though, in Big Ten play. As of Tuesday, 181 NHL games have gone to overtime, with 99 resulting in shootouts. Overall, 178 of CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

The Boston University women’s basketball team, still in search of its second Patriot League win, will face the United States Military Academy Thursday night in Case Gymnasium. BU (4-15, 1-7 Patriot League) last faced Army (13-5, 5-3 Patriot League) in the 2014 Patriot League Quarterfinals, falling to the Black Knights 49-45. The Black Knights come into Thursday on a four-game win streak. Army most recently defeated American University at home Saturday, giving the Eagles (13-7, 8-1 Patriot League) their first Patriot League loss of the season. Army currently holds the highest field goal percentage in the Patriot League, due in part to contributions from guard Kelsey Minato. The Huntington Beach, California native scored 26 points against American and tops the Patriot League in scoring. Minato averages over 22.6 points per game. “We’ve got to stop Kelsey Minato from being Kelsey Minato,” said BU coach Katy Steding. “She’s a really versatile player, a great scorer and has the mentality that you’re really going to have to do everything you can to stop me.” The 10-time Patriot League Player of the Week and 20132014 Patriot League Player of the Year has been the key cog for the Black Knights this season, as the next leading scorer, senior Olivia Schretzman, is just averaging double-digits at 10.1 points per game. Army has been a dominant force at home this season, winning eight out of the nine games that it has played while compiling only a 5-4 record away from West Point, New York. Steding also emphasized how important BU’s game inside will be in Thursday’s contest, as senior forward Mollie McKendrick scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double when both teams last faced each other. McKendrick is averaging 9.2 points per game this season with 6.1 rebounds per contest. The Mildura, Australia native had her biggest game of the

GRAPHIC BY: SAMANTHA GROSS/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF PHOTO BY: JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

year against Stephen F. Austin State University on Nov. 21, 2014 when she recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win. “I think we’ve got to score on the block to be successful,” she said. “We’ve got to get the ball inside and go at their bigs. It’s a matter of moving the ball and getting people to attack the paint. “We have to play a 40-minute game. For us to have a shot at it, we have to play hard, play ferociously for 40 minutes without taking a couple minutes here or there when the other team gets to score three or four unanswered buckets.” Despite BU’s three-game losing streak, the team has received increased contributions from redshirt junior guard Troi Melton. Melton scored 11 points against

American on Jan. 21 in her 39 minutes of play and earned a career-high 16 points against Bucknell (13-6, 5-3 Patriot League) on Saturday. “I’m really proud of Troi,” Steding said. “She’s been the one who has worked the longest. She and [Meghan Green] were here back at the beginning of the summer when I first got here. Troi came in and embraced making changes to her personal game. She’s been relentless in getting extra workouts in. She’s had some up and downs, but she has never complained. She has never tore us down as a staff. She just comes back and asks for more work. “When she got her opportunity, she came in, stayed focused and really played hard. She’s creating even more opportunities for

herself by how hard she’s playing. That’s what you hope every kid embraces, that they have the power to change.” Melton will need to keep up her current production to increase her points per game as she is currently sixth on the team with 5.5 points per game. A win Thursday night would give the Terriers a needed lift in the Patriot League standings, as they have fallen to last place. “We have to concentrate on stopping the other team,” she said. “Get this stop. I always tell them, ‘Get this stop.’ Don’t worry about the last one, or the one you didn’t get. Stay in the moment and focus on what we’re doing. It’s the same message for offense. Stay in the moment and get ourselves the easiest shots we can get.”

SUNDAY, FEB. 1

MONDAY, FEB. 2

Men’s Lacrosse (Exhibition) vs

Men’s Hockey vs Harvard @ TD Garden

Quinnipiac 11 a.m.

(Beanpot) 5 p.m.

BOTTOM LI NE THURSDAY, JAN. 29

FRIDAY, JAN. 30

SATURDAY, JAN. 31 Women’s Basketball vs Lehigh

Men’s Basketball @ Army 7 p.m. Women’s Basketball vs Army 7 p.m.

2 p.m. Men’s Hockey vs UMass Amherst 7:30 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Lehigh 2 p.m. Women’s Hockey @ UConn 3 p.m.


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