March Print

Is college responsible for the party culture?

20 page

News

Irish History

Boston celebrates its connections to Irish history

Pg 08

Unspoken Rules

OF BC

What not to do

Pg 16

Beer Review: ALL ABOUT STOUT Pg 24

Culture:

Radio Rediscovered: 8 Tracks Pg 36

March 2013 / Volume V / Issue 02

Dear Reader, Welcome to our second issue of the new year. I encourage you to browse through the following pages and read this edition of The Gavel.

If you missed previous issues, they can be found online at www.bcgavel.com under the Print tab. Continuous online updates can also be found here.

If you are interested in becoming involved or have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me personally at mslende@gmail.com. I would be more than happy to talk with you!

Happy reading,

Mason S. Lende Editor-in-Chief

Editoral Board MASON LENDE OLIVIA SIMONE ROB ROSSI MEGHAN SMITH JASMINE UDUMA MEIDEMA SANCHEZ JING XU KATIE LEVINGSTON ALISON RICCIATO KATIE TOLKOWSKY EMILY AKIN SAMANTHA COSTANZA MARY YUENGERT SAMEET DHILLON MICHAEL NATALIE SARAH GARCIA TEDDY KOLVA ANDREW SCHOFIELD JAKE MILLER MARION HALFTERMEYER SHANNON COGAN KELLY SLATER KATELYN CROWLEY KARA WEEKS LISA MELLA DANEY RAMIREZ TAYLOR GARRISON

Editor-in-Chief Print Manager Managing Editor News Editor News Editor Assoc. News Editor Assoc. News Editor Features Editor Assoc. Features Editor Assoc. Features Editor Culture Editor Assoc. Culture Editor Assoc. Culture Editor Assoc. Culture Editor Opinions Editor Assoc. Opinions Editor Sports Editor Assoc. Sports Editor Assoc. Sports Editor Copy Editor Assoc. Copy Editor Assoc. Copy Editor Assoc. Copy Editor Photo Editor Design Editor Assoc. Design Editor Assoc. Design Editor

Video Department MEGHANA KUTHYAR Video Manager LAUREN REVER Ass’t Video Manager

Business and Operations RYAN LEAHY ANGELA SONG ERIC KOPELSON TAYLOR MCELDOWNEY PAT LENEHAN DAPHNE WANG JEANIE LEE ELYN ZHANG AJAY VELLORE TIM OH

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Executive Director Finance Director Ass’t Finance Director Marketing Director Ass’t Marketing Director Advertising Director Avertising Acc’t Manager Avertising Acc’t Manager Avertising Acc’t Manager Avertising Acc’t Manager

facebook.com/bcgavel Photo by Lisa Mella / Gavel Media Image

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Cover art by Kara Weeks

March 2013

March

The Gavel / March 2013 / Volume V, Issue 2

Table of Contents 04 News 04

The Perp Walk

05 08 10

Celebrating Women’s History

Is fashion crime worth the punishment The most awesome women of 2013

Boston celebrates its Irish history Is this the solution?

Guns and college campuses

12 Opinions 12

Obama 2.0

14

BC Athletes’ perks benefit all

16

Unspoken Rules of BC

What can Obama accomplish in his second term?

Defending the “perks” varsity athletes receive

20 Features 20 Is College a pathway to partying?

Professor Spotlight: 22 Assistant Professor Liane Young Review 24 Beer All About Stout

26

International Update: Mali

28

Overheard at BC

What is the source of conflict in the newly democratic nation?

30 Culture

Oven? No Stove? No problem!

30 No Mint Chocolate Truffles

31 Netflix: What’s in your queue?

“Workaholics” 32 The Guide to St. Patrick’s in Boston 34 Sound City: The Human Element 36 Radio Rediscovered: 8 Tracks 38 Restaurant Week on Hanover Street

40 Sports 40

Game Day

44

Striking a Balance

46

Athletics from both sides of the game

BC Hoops walk-on masters the art of being a true “student-athlete”

The Not So Beautiful Game 3

INSIDE: Women’s history / Boston’s Irish roots/ Guns on college campuses

News

March 2013

The Perp Walk

Is the fashion crime worthy of the punishment?

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re e h e l t i T 4

ashion criticis can assist followers in either expressing or oppressing style motifs. Many, like Atlantic-Pacific, started by New Yorker and lover of style Blair Eadie, celebrate new looks that include a variety of colorful patterns and cutting-edge accessories. Others focus on condemning looks, targeting style choices with pointed language.

A fashion blog’s purpose is to cover the fashion industry and personal style has arguably escalated violently in our generation. What has this done to the fashion industry and the new perceptions of what is and what is not acceptable? The tone has shifted from critiquing to bullying in some aspects, adding fervor to the dialogue that demoralizes a person’s look.

Imprinting popular opinions on fashion choices has started for younger age groups. Fashion blogs featuring children’s apparel have caused many to think they have gone too far. Not only are kids’ fashion blogs, like “Ladys & Gents,” speaking for a demographic that has yet to learn how to spell “personal styles” but they are also teaching parents that helping their children look good is the most important factor when interacting with others and how they see themselves in re-

By Meidema Sanchez Assoc. News Editor lation to others.

More of these children’s fashion blogs, like adult ones, are targeted toward girls rather than boys. “I would rather see the same thing, those same pictures with those girls standing by calculators” said Dr. Alan Kazdin, professor of psychology at Yale University, to ABC News.

Forbes magazine has looked into how these developmental aspects have progressed during childhood into adulthood. They found that women are often the most vicious bullies, going after a target mentally, emotionally and sometimes physically.

Forbes has found that workplace bullying is four times more common than sexual harassment or racial discrimination. Much of this bullying is based off of appearances and the associations women make with them. This often leads to colleagues badmouthing or allying with or against other women in the office.

It is interesting to consider what fashion blogs have done to perpetuate the emphasis on female appearance over female thoughts -- priority that was made especially apparent last May when Fox News asked in a headline if Hillary Clinton “forgot” her makeup.

Looks are becoming a social standard for acceptance and integration in the workplace, classroom, on the street or at a get-together.

March 2013

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Celebrating women’'s history

By Jasmine Uduma News Editor

www.bcgavel.com

ational Women’s History Project has announced that the theme for this year’s Women’s History Month will be the movers and shakers in the sciences. Titled ‘Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,’ this year’s celebration of women will be similar to themes passed, encouraging young women to pursue careers in typically male-dominated arenas.

Women’s History Month first started as a national celebration in 1981 with the passing of a congressional bill authorizing the president to proclaim a week dedicated to women’s history. First beginning March 7, 1982, the next five years were filled with more congressional approval to expand the initiative. In 1987, the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress to pass a bill that would make the entire month of March “Women’s History Month.”

Between 1988 and 1994, Congress had to continue submitting resolutions authorizing the president to dedicate March to the recognition of women’s history. Starting in 1995 with President Bill Clinton, every president since (George Bush and Barack Obama) has issued an annual proclamation designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month” without congressional action.

The Boston College Women’s History project has focused on detailing the role that women have played in the history of the university in order to more clearly understand their current contributions to BC’s growth. The Council for Women of Boston College created a documentary discussing the participation of women from the university’s earliest decades. In 1915, the club did much to break barriers for women at BC.Despite their efforts, BC only started granting allowing degrees to women in 1926.

The DVD “Making Our Place: A History of Women at Boston College” also looks at the role of the female students who founded the School of Social Work and helped grow the Schools of Education and Nursing.

Watch out for programs held by the Women’s Resource Center throughout March.

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News

Most

Kickass

re e h e l t i T 6

women March 2013

Television: Amy Poehler & Tina Fey

Sports: Serena Williams

What could possibly be said about them that hasn’t already been said?

Easily America’s funniest women (and possibly America’s funniest people), Amy Poehler, who started her comedy career in BC’s improv group ‘My Mother’s Fleabag,’ and Tina Fey, the brilliant creator and actor in “30 Rock,” have continued to wow us with their charm, wit and mastery of comedy.

One of the strongest female competitors of all time, Serena Williams has battled injury, defeat and life-threatening illness to rise back to the top as No. 1 in tennis in the world. A powerhouse of athletic ability, Williams continues to be an inspiration for young women athletes and a poster child for Title IX.

Business: Indra Nooyi As CEO to PepsiCo, the world’s second largest food and drink business, Indra Nooyi revitalized the industry, pushing for healthier, cleaner options in making the company’s food products. Despite initial backlash and doubt on the initiative, Nooyi’s approach has now become the new gold standard for businesses becoming more health conscious.

Education: Michelle Rhee

Fashion: Anna Wintour

Easily one of the most controversial educators in our lifetime, Michelle Rhee has made a name for herself for her out-ofthe-box tactics when it comes to tackling the issues educators see every day.

As chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools, her aggressive reforms earned her a lot of praise and criticism.

She went on to found StudentsFirst, a non-profit organization that works on education reform issues. She also founded and ran The New Teacher Project. The project is responsible for the training of more than 23,000 new teachers who work specifically in urban schools.

Editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour has become an important figure in much of the fashion world as a pivotal supporter of younger designers and new trends. One of the few print editions still outperforming its online media, Vogue has recently opened its digital archives for articles, photos and ads dating back 120 years. The unofficial inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada, Wintour is also a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Awesome

Music: Beyonce

of

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New mother, award-winning singer, unrivaled performer and allaround powerhouse, Beyoncé has earned the rightful title of modern day ‘Diva.’, This year already has given us a lot of Beyoncé news (inauguration controversy, stellar Super Bowl XLVII performance, buzzing news of the Destiny’s Child reunion and a recent HBO documentary) and everyone is ready to see what else the year will bring.

2013

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News

“Tugged up from their home roots, taken and going willingly from the sea smell and the peat smells...Shoved into a boat with seating and cursing and stinking and praying, with deaths and births, with old age and youth, they landed and a shovel was placed in their hands or a hammer or a spade and they built B o s t o n and New York and Chicago and Philadelphia. And in the evening they walked home in the leaning shadows of the gray stone to their one room or two rooms and fell into bewildered sleep.”

~Jack Dunphy, “Prologue,” John Fury

Boston celebrates its Irish history re e h e l t i T

By Meghan Smith News Editor

Photo by Meghan Smith/Gavel Media

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March 2013

I

t is no secret that Boston and Ireland have a long history, and Boston College is no exception. From buildings with names like O’Neill, Fitzpatrick, McElroy, and McGuinn, to students’ celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day on , it is clear that Boston College has a lot of Irish pride. But what many students may not know is that the whole month of March is Irish-American Heritage Month.

Anyone who has seen The Departed, The Town or Good Will Hunting will undoubtedly pick up on the Irish pride as seen through tough, Irish, workingclass neighborhoods like South Boston, otherwise known as “Southie.” But the roots of Irish-American culture run deeper than some shamrock tattoos and the camaraderie of having a pint of Guinness at a local pub.

Potatoes and immigration

F

ollowing the Great Irish Famine from 1845 to 1852, which destroyed potato crops that were vital for the livelihood of many Irish farmers, more than one million Irish immigrated to America in search of a better life and to escape starvation. They settled among major metropolitan areas, such as New York, Chicago, and of course, Boston.

Like many immigrants, the Irish faced many obstacles, from discrimination in employment to assimilating to the new culture. They were caricatured in newspapers as irresponsible drunks, and signs were frequently seen saying “Irish need not apply.”

In order to overcome prejudice, Irish-Americans started to organize for change, especially politically. The voting bloc became known as the

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“green machine,” and was successful in advancing into political offices locally and nationally. John F. Kennedy made Irish-Catholics (as well as Bostonians) proud when he made it to the highest public office in the country. Now it is not at all uncommon to see Irish last names on local and national ballots

Obama with Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Oval Office.

Photo Courtesy of Pete Souza/Wikemedia Commons

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A university for Irish sons

t was in this environment that Boston College was founded in 1863, with its original campus in the South End. The institution was originally meant to serve the sons of Irish immigrants, who commuted to campus, and has since evolved in to one of the country’s leading Catholic universities.

Of course, looking at Boston now, it is hard to imagine a time when the Irish were not an integral part of the local culture. Massachusetts is the most Irish-American state in the country, with 24 percent of residents claiming Irish heritage.

Because of this legacy, Boston has become one of the best places in the world to be on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. Ever since the first parade in 1762 in New York, American cities have taken on this tradition, and Boston’s Southie neighborhood is now acclaimed for its festivities.

Although North America has the biggest events, countries all around the world celebrate with green everything and Guiness. At BC, St. Patrick’s Day is certainly an excuse to go out, but also to celebrate the culture, whether you are Irish or not.

Both Barack and Michelle Obama have Irish blood; the president’s third great grandfather Falmouth Kearney moved from Moneygall to New York City in 1850, and Michelle is traced back to the first Irish immigrants in the South.

“The green strands they have woven into America’s heart, from their tiniest villages to our greatest cities, is something truly unique on the world stage,” Obama said.

Celebrating Irish Heritage In his presidential proclamation declaring March Irish-Heritage Month in 2012, President Barack Obama outlined the importance of Irish-Americans in America’s history, and encouraged remembrance of their legacy.

“Defying famine, poverty, and discrimination, these sons and daughters of Erin demonstrated extraordinary strength and unshakable faith as they gave their all to help build an America worthy of the journey they and so many others have taken,” Obama said.

“During Irish-American Heritage Month, we recall their legacy of hard work and perseverance, and we carry forward that singular dedication to forging a more prosperous future for all Americans,” he said.

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News

Is this the solution?

Guns and College Campuses

By Meghan Smith News Editor Jing Xu, Assoc. News Editor, contrubuted to this report

“They deserve a vote. Gabby Giffords deserves a vote. The families of Newtown deserve a vote. The families of Aurora deserve a vote. The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote.�

- President Barack Obama

re e h e l t i T 10

March 2013

I

n his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation on Feb. 12, President Barack Obama reiterated his statement that has now become an important platform of his second term: more gun control. Although it took the tragedy of Newtown, Connecticut for Obama to mention gun control for the first time in a State of the Union address, the issue is now on the table, and Obama has made sure to mention other mass killings to highlight the urgent need for gun control reform.

Of all the campus police departments in the country, as many as 1 in 4 are not prepared to handle an active oncampus shooter, according to a survey

by Campus Safety Magazine. Another survey shows that 46 percent of campus public safety departments are understaffed. In the last decade, campus shootings have increased.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December, which left 26 people dead, including 20 children, public attention turned to whether stricter gun control was the solution for preventing another tragedy. Obama revealed a new plan on Jan. 16 to fight gun violence, one month after the deadly shooting, and urged Congress to pass it in his State of the Union address. However, it does not include provisions to specifically prevent shootings on college campuses.

Obama’s plan came in a combination of proposals to Congress, as well as an executive order—which does not need approval from the legislative body. He is proposing that Congress increase background checks for all gun purchases and that a ban is reinstated on assault-style weapons and highcapacity magazines. The proposal also includes more action on school safety, including increased federal aid so that schools can hire resources such as officers, counselors, psychologists, and gain more access to mental health www.bcgavel.com

care.

The executive action includes directing federal agencies to increase effectiveness of the national criminal background-check system, as well as lifting the freeze that has been put on research about gun violence at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obama also directed the Department of Education to ensure that all schools have improved emergencyresponse plans.

“I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality,” Obama said about the proposal. “If there’s even one thing that we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we have an obligation to try. And I’m going to do my part.”

Among the executive actions is a directive that calls for “model emergency-response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.”

John King, the Boston College Police Department Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, said that BCPD has been working in order to prepare the campus for a crisis.

“The Boston College Police Department has taken a proactive approach in preparing for critical incidents on campus,” he said. King would not comment on specific policies.

King also said that BC is working with various departments to ensure the safety of students. BCPD “works closely with other university departments, student organizations and external law-enforcement departments to help in providing a safe and secure community,” he said.

“All sworn members of the department meet various training standards set by the Massachusetts Police Training Council,” King added.

Without Obama specifically pushing for gun safety on college campuses, state government and college admin-

istrators are left with the task. Polls show that Americans have mixed responses about allowing guns on campuses. According to a poll from HuffPost/You Gov, Americans are evenly split at 43 percent for and against whether people with proper permits can be allowed to carry concealed guns on college campuses. The other 14 percent said they were unsure.

King is confident that BC is prepared to handle such a crisis. BC has policies in place which prohibit anyone from “possessing or carrying a firearm, loaded or unloaded, in any building or on the grounds of Boston College without the authorization of the Chief of the Boston College Police Department,” King said.

Obama’s proposals do not intend to remove guns from college campuses, despite the fact that the Sandy Hook shooting prompted hundreds of college and university presidents across the country to speak out about the issue. These presidents wrote a letter to encourage Obama to stay true to his word about using the power of his office to prevent gun violence and urged Americans not to forget that the deadliest mass shooting in American history took place on a college campus when 32 people were killed at Virginia Tech in 2007. Ten more college campus shootings have occurred since then.

“Our nation looks to colleges and universities to solve its most pressing problems and these are issues on which we stand ready to provide a way forward,” Emerson College President Lee Pelton said in a letter to Obama on behalf of college presidents. “We, therefore, pledge to do what we do best in our academic communities: engage thought leaders, faculty, students, staff, trustees and friends in meaningful debate and dialogue, which, in turn, might lead to positive action,” he said.

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INSIDE: Obama 2.0 / BC Athletes’ perks benefit all / Unspoken rules at BC

Opinions OBAMA 2.0

What can Obama realistically accomplish in four more years? What should he?

By Francesska Jean-Pierre/ Gavel Media Staff

President Obama laid out a highly progressive agenda for the next four years in his inauguration speech. The speech reflected the direction that a majority of Americans want to see the country heading in.

In the speech, the President focused on economic growth, education, civil rights and foreign policy. The question is, realistically, what can Obama accomplish from his Inauguration speech? What else should he focus on?

I.

On the economy and jobs crisis: “We must harness new ideas and technologies that remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and power our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, reach higher.”

While we see signs of the economy improving, it is not improving quickly enough. Unemployment is hovering around 7.9 percent.

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The private sector is doing fine and adding thousands of jobs every month consistently.

However, the public sector has been losing thousands of jobs. State and local governments are usually the hardest hit during recession and the austerity measures being taken by Republican state legislatures are contributing to public sector job losses.

Jobs in the public sector include teachers, policemen, firefighters. These jobs are often occupied by minorities, which contributes to the high levels of current unemployment among blacks and Latinos.

Unfortunately, Republican Congressional members continue to be hyper-focused on the deficit, for which they are largely responsible. During the 2010 midterm election and the 2012 general election, everyone was talking about jobs, jobs, jobs. Following the most recent election, Congress seemed more occupied with fiscal showdowns that have nothing to do with job creation.

Let’s not be naïve here. The pivot to the deficit is how the GOP won the House in 2010 because they seem fiscally responsible. However, reducing the deficit implies cutting social programs like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (also known as welfare), Medicare (which they usually describe as needing to be reformed) social security (also needing reformation) and countless other social programs. Despite these cuts, they left the bloated defense budget alone.

Obama, in his inauguration speech, talked about a framework to tackle unemployment.

He wants innovation and a more skilled workforce. This language needs to translate into a jobs program. Obama cannot be distracted by GOP congressional members who want to dismantle social programs under the guise of deficit hawks. He needs to be more aggressive and work on his public message in order to get the people on his side.

March 2013

On climate change: “We will respond to the threat of climate change—knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”

I really hope that Obama does tackle this issue. Climate change is not an impending crisis—it’s happening right now. Ice caps are melting and carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other chemicals are being pumped into the environment at significant rates. Companies are feverishly participating in fracking, which can cause earthquakes.

The president likes to move slowly on these issues and sadly, Mother Nature and her people cannot afford this delay. Additionally, there are many Republicans who have to pretend or truly believe that climate change is liberal propaganda. It certainly does not help matters if the biggest backers of the Republican Party fund organizations that seek candidates who do not believe in climate change.

If President Obama is going to make any progress on climate change, it’s going to have to happen through executive action. It is not likely that a cap-and-trade or a carbon tax would pass in this congress, but it is certainly worth trying.

In the meantime, President Obama is going to have to act quickly to regulate carbon emissions and stop the Keystone pipeline that is not going to create the promised millions of jobs or siphon oil that is going to be used in the United States.

II.

On foreign policy: “We the people still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.”

While Obama has ended the war in Iraq and is ending the war in Afghanistan more quickly than expected, this statement is simply not true.

We are going to be in a perpetual war, except that we will not be using boots on the ground. What we are going to be using is new technology, including predator drones. The use of new technology does the same thing that ending the draft did—it makes war less of a collective experience, so they are easier to fight with less public outcry.

Obama’s foreign policy doctrine has been mixed. Yes, he captured Bin Laden and yes, he prefers multilateral action to unilateral action, but he also likes to use drones and has a disposition matrix. The disposition matrix is the official name of the “kill list,” which is a list of terrorists who will be targeted by drone strikes.

Drones are not making us safer—they create more Al Qaeda operatives who hate Americans because a strike killed their friends or family members.

We are heading towards a “Homeland-like” reality if Congress does not end the Authorization for Use of Military Force against Terrorists (AUMF) resolution and it does not seem as though either the administration or congressional members want to end this resolution any time soon.

III.

On civil rights: “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma and Stonewall.”

Obama has done a great deal for the rights of women and people who identify LGBT. He has also done a lot for people of color, though

IV.

less explicitly. However, there is a lot more to be done. Though he did sign the Lily Ledbetter Act, the Fair Pay Act was filibustered in the senate.

Since the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” gay and lesbian soldiers still need to be able to reassure their families that in the event that they lose their life, their families can receive benefits like all other soldiers. The “Employment Non-Discrimination Act” still needs to be passed to make sure that people will not be fired for their sexual orientation.

The housing crisis seriously depleted the wealth of the middle class, especially the black middle class. Our immigration system needs to be fixed so that it involves less bureaucracy and is faster and more efficient.

Like climate change, most of these things are probably going to be done through executive action because Congress remains uncompromising.

President Obama has a lot on his agenda and has begun to move forward with many items including immigration and gun control. He has already shown signs that he is more comfortable with using the bully pulpit. However, part of being President includes dealing with the unexpected which can seriously damage second term agendas; just ask President George W. Bush about Hurricane Katrina.

Photos by Barack Obama/Flickr

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Opinions

BC Athletes’ perks benefit all students One writer defends the supposed “perks” varsity athletes recieve

A

5:30 a.m. phone alarm rings to tell me it’s time to wake up. It is still dark outside and my neighbors have been in bed no more than two hours. My roommate is already half-dressed. I rummage in my piles of clothing to find my gear. I’m dressed by 5:45 a.m. Every motion this early in the morning is made with a shiver and seemingly exaggerated slowness: a shiver of tiredness and weariness at the knowledge of a long day ahead of me. By now it’s 5:55 a.m. I’ll be late. No time for breakfast or to refill my water bottle. I grab my bag and make the trek to Conte Forum. Practice starts promptly at 6 a.m.

Two and half hours of sweat later, while some of my fellow teammates have gone to

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class, I’m trying to stay awake and finish my homework. I’m already one PowerAde in and it’s only 9 a.m. I have three classes today, with my last class ending at 9 p.m. I need time to shower, eat and go to a meeting throughout the day. Homework will be addressed during mealtimes or squeezed between classes. I don’t have a minute to breathe.

I’m a club athlete on the synchronized skating team. Twice a week I get up, just a few hours after the last seniors have finished drinking, to practice. But honestly, compared to many other athletes, I have it pretty easy.

Contrary to popular belief, being an athlete doesn’t equate to being lazy, and the misconception that athletes receive unfair perks is untrue.

As a club athlete, I don’t have the ultimate prestige varsity athletes receive or the same advantages they are given. But I also don’t have to be as regimented or shoulder the responsibilities that they do. Imagine having a day like mine every day, and then triple the amount of hours; that is the life of a varsity athlete.

My purpose here is not to illicit pity but to simply debunk this all-too-prevalent assumption that athletes get too many benefits the rest of the student population does not get.

First, while the majority of campus is out socializing with only the fear of getting a

By Marion Halftermeyer / Copy Editor

bad picture on Facebook, varsity athletes are reminded that not only do they represent their team, but also BC as a whole.

Whatever they do in the public sphere and their private social lives reflects upon the name they bear on the front of their jerseys. They are forced to abide by rules— the men’s hockey team is banned from MA’s and a sophomore women’s soccer player was suspended from the team for tweeting about Penn State in a negative way. They don’t have time to make friends outside their teams, nor join clubs, and they need to be careful when they go out.

Everything athletes do can be — and most likely will be — used as negative publicity.

Not only do they sacrifice the social community that seems to define college for many students, they’ve been doing it for most of their lives to be the dedicated and highly regimented athletes that they are.

On leading a double life One may argue that a varsity athlete chose to become a varsity athlete and therefore cannot complain about the foreseeable hardships of being said athlete.

This is very true.

However, what is often forgotten in this argument is that these individuals not only choose to be varsity athletes, but they also choose to be full-time students. In fact, their dedication to their sport could be equated to having a full-time job while be-

March 2013

ing a full-time student.

You see, while the average student is free to do whatever he or she may please to do once classes are finished for the day—whether it be homework, socializing, extra-curricular activities or a parttime job—a varsity athlete’s day is far from over. Almost every part of the day is dedicated to practice which includes intense workouts with trainers that watch them like hawks.

Imagine not only being forced to work out even if you don’t feel up to it, but also having someone standing over your shoulder counting out the reps you do per minute. Torture? No, this is the life of a varsity athlete.

not saying that all athletes eat five meals a day, but I am saying that they require just a little more energy than the rest of the student body that isn’t working out for a minimum of three hours a day. Just imagine what a 200-pound offensive lineman needs to eat to maintain his stature and work out as much as he does. In reality, it’d be unfair if the athletes weren’t given access to more food than their fellow nonathlete peers.

On academics With the little time that the athletes have left over from a day in classes and at practice, they have to do their homework, like every other full-time student. However, unlike every other full-time student, ath-

Each varsity team is assigned, along with a faculty advisor, an academic counselor who monitors and overseas each student’s academic progress.

The perk? It’s like having a personal tutor. The downside? The realization that this personal tutor is needed if you want to achieve the delicate balance between being a student and an athlete. It’s not a perk in the eyes of a student-athlete; it’s a necessity. For those who do need it and make use of it, well, they deserve it.

The final complaint I hear is that the athletic department lets athletes skip class whenever they want. This is a misconception; athletes do not choose to skip class whenever they please. Sometimes they

As I walk out of Conte Forum at 9 a.m., the women’s crew team has been running around the concourse (and running up and down the stand stairs) for an hour, the men’s basketball team has just started running on treadmills and biking, and another women’s team is lifting with trainers.

On food The extra dining money is particularly controversial. Unfortunately, the way our bodies work, the more energy we burn the more energy we need to consume to make up for that lost energy. Because athletes work out so much, they spend more energy than the typical non-varsity student does, so as it goes they need to make up for that lost energy by eating more.

They would run out of dining bucks two months into the school year if they had the same plan as a non-varsity student. I’m

letes must meet a GPA minimum.

Not only do they have twice as many responsibilities as the average student does, and twice as long of a day, they are also deprived of the right to slack off when they feel like it—a privilege the non-varsity athlete student often does not realize.

Because of this GPA minimum, the athletic department has given varsity athletes the necessary help to achieve this standard through a center called Learning Resources for Student-Athletes whose mission is “to provide the academic and personal support services to all varsity studentathletes.”

It’s essentially the Connor’s Family Learning Center (a resource center for non-athletes that provides tutoring and help for students with learning disabilities), but reserved only for varsity-athletes.

have to miss class in order to fulfill another set of requirements: their duty to represent BC in competitive events.

The only reason an athlete ‘gets’ to miss class is because he or she is away for a competitive event, or training for one, during that missed class time. That athlete is not lollygagging on Netflix while you are slaving away in class; he or she is out making your school have a competitive and wellknown name.

Varsity athletes work hard for the perks they get and those perks do not even begin to compensate for the sacrifices these students make. Truth is, you should be thanking them not chastising them. These socalled perks are actually for every student’s benefit, as we all attend a more prestigious university because of their performance on the field and dedication in the classroom.

Photos by bkstr.com, Cynthia Blue/Flickr, and Terre et Cote Basques/Flickr

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Opinions

Unspoken Rules of BC At Boston College there are many rules. Don’t drink underage, don’t smoke weed and don’t have a Keurig in your room. As many RA’s and BCPD will tell you, these rules are quite often disregarded and broken.

Meanwhile, there are strict, unspoken social rules on campus that only a few radicals would ever dare to break.

Most people can handle getting written up once or twice, but can anyone really stand being socially ostracized or receiving disdainful glares from classmates from going against these rules?

By Tim Coogan / Gavel Media Staff Rule #1 — Shh…It’s Bapst

Probably the most well known social rule on campus is that you must be silent in Bapst Library. I remember that on my first visit to BC the tour guide warned the group to be silent as we walked up the grand staircase. Despite our best efforts the sounds of the tour group succeeded in drawing the attention and scornful glares of the students studying.

There is no whispering, no chewing and

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no music blasting out of your headphones (which are probably Dr. Dre Beats). Even opening your backpack zipper too loudly can cause what seems to be the entirety of the students in Bapst to turn their heads towards you with a look of fiery disdain.

Many pre-med students have even discouraged others from breathing so that they can more effectively study for that big chemistry exam.

Rule # 2 — Using a Tray is “Social Suicide”

Thanks to the recent blizzard, BC students now know the only use for dining hall trays is sledding. From experience, I’ve never seen those trays used for anything else. I observed a senior male telling a freshman girl in the first week of school that taking a tray is “social suicide.” Now, will your friends actually abandon you forever the second you come to a table with a tray? Who knows? I’m pretty sure nobody has ever dared to try.

The anti-tray movement at BC is definitely a bizarre social code. Trays are very convenient, especially when you have a plate, silverware, napkins and a drink to carry until you find a table. However, when nobody is using them, people forget that they are even there. Going tray-less is part of the dining hall culture, and using one can be a giveaway that you are a first week freshman or that you don’t even go here.

Rule #3 — Do not sit next to anyone, ever If you’re thinking about sitting at a table at the Rat with more than two strangers, you should probably think again. Few BC students muster up the courage to go against the Rat “stack system,” where two fellow students sit at opposite corners of the table and dare not to make eye contact.

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Even when students get desperate and decide to be the third stranger at a table, they usually ask permission to sit down. This system is not confined to the Rat though, and can be seen at tables all across campus.

Of course, you are bound to see various tables filled with friends, and numerous duos sitting directly across from each other. Only once in my time at BC has someone that I did not know sit directly next to me. There was space at the table to have one chair between all parties sitting.

However, the unknown person saw that there was nothing wrong with the chair next to me, and he took his seat. It was not some terrifying or a life defining experience to sit so close to someone, but still we avoid it like the plague

Rule #5 — The Hillside Elevator

The Million Dollar Stairs are beautiful, especially in the spring and summer when all the shrubs and flowers are in full bloom. However, for those not looking to have a quick workout before class, the Hillside elevator is the only way to climb the Heights. Take caution though

Rule #4-Thank you for not smoking

Smoking does not fly with the health conscious, calorie counting, Plex-addicted Boston College population. With the exception of the typical congregation outside of O’Neill Library, it is rare to see more than one student smoking a cigarette on campus at any time. I’ve even witnessed other students telling fellow students, whether they are good friend or just acquaintances from class, that they should quit smoking because of the health risks.

While some of our social codes may be ridiculous (the trays phemonena) and uncalled for, this is definitely a social rule that we can be proud of. Cigarettes are proven to cause various forms of cancer and increase other health risks like coronary heart disease. Additionally, second-hand smoke from cigarettes has been proven to be a carcinogen. As a highly educated community it is an excellent thing that we discourage this self-destructive addiction.

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because those elevators maintain some of the strictest social rules places on campus.

Unless you are physically unable to do so, DO NOT take the Hillside elevator to any floor except level four. Get off on the third floor and the BC community may forgive you. Take the elevator to the second floor though and you will feel immense amounts of hate from the packed elevator as you walk out, if the crowd even lets you out.

If you thought Bapst was silent, you really haven’t experienced the Hillside elevator. After shuffling in with as many people

can fit, no one dares to talk to each other.

There is only painful, awkward silence as people pretend to check their iPhones.

Rule #6 — You’re Here to Look Good, Not Work Out The students at Boston College work up a mean sweat every day at the Plex, sculpting and toning their bodies to per-

fection. Going to work out at BC is more than just the exercise aspect though. People feel the need to follow the Plex dress code. Usually this involves the typical Under Armour, Nike and lululemon athletica for the girls. Maybe even a shirt with the sleeves cut off for the guys who are really getting “swoll” on.

It’s not just about what you wear though, it is where you wear it. Guys belong by the heavy weights and mirror. If they want to do cardio, it’s either the treadmill or a bike. Ellipticals, a machine that most guys deem too “feminine” for them, and the majority of the floor mats are reserved for the ladies.

Are our strict social rules the reason we are often referred to by outsiders as homogenous? Some are, but in the end it’s just weird quirks that our school has. Every school has them, and BCPD definitely won’t go after you if you’re a man on an elliptical.

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March 2013

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INSIDE: Professor Spotlight/ Beer Review:All About Stout /International Update:Mali / Overheard at BC

s e r u t a e F pathway to Is college a partying?

P

By Victoria Southwood/ Gavel Media Staff

artying is one of the most frequently discussed activities throughout a student’s college years, no matter where he or she attends school. Recently, this topic has made its way into the news as people become more aware of the prominent role that partying has on college campuses and more people start to wonder what students really do while they are away at school.

A recent New York Times article (“Does College Put Kids on a ‘Party Pathway’?”)

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Marcus Walker raised the idea that college is becoming Murphy cites a study completa waste of time and money as students ed by sociologists Richard Arum and their four years. The specific categobecome less focused on academics Josipa Roksa in which they determined ries that were defined as important for and more interested in their social life. that in general, college students are intellectual growth included “critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other According to a recent study by Pro- showing a “lack of intellectual growth.” higher-level skills.” According to Arum fessor Laura Hamilton at UC Merced, The study examined students’ intellect and Roksa, all of these are necessary for there has been a trend indicating that at three stages: when they first entered a person to be successful after college. students whose parents pay for their college, in the middle of their four Arum and Roksa accused college of years and education are “ I do not think that the when they various weaknesses, all of which supmore likely to completed posedly lead to this inability for college receive lower responsibility falls on the under- to truly prepare students for the real grades than university for this phenomenon their g r a d u a t e world post-graduation. Some of these those stuof college partying,” Molly education. include the curriculum, which they bedents whose According lieve to be “watered-down,” and a lessparents are Connor, A&S ‘15 to the study than satisfying work ethic among unnot financially invested. However, New York Times titled “Academically Adrift,” 45 percent dergraduates. Not to mention the lack contributor Annie Murphy Paul sug- of the tested students did not demon- of appropriate priorities that college gests that this trend might be part of strate significant intellectual growth students have these days, according to a larger issue that is becoming more after the first half of their undergradu- the sociologists. When students should difficult for people to ignore. This issue, ate experience and 36 percent of those be worrying about academics first and Paul claims, is the general disintegra- tested demonstrated the same lack of foremost, extracurricular activities, intellectual growth after the end of Greek life, sports, other social engagetion of a college education.

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ments and even sleeping have started to take a priority.

All this in mind, any college student’s parents who are financially invested in their education might be second-guessing their contribution to the world of college. But for current Boston College student Molly Connor, A&S ’15, both studies and the article itself vastly misrepresent how students feel about their experience and what they are getting out of their college education.

“I do not think that the responsibility falls on the universities for this phenomenon of college partying,” she said.

“The age-old argument that college is not properly preparing students for ‘the real world’ is a problem that is by no means new, and that will continue to persist as long as college remains an institution that presents students with a previously unknown level of freedom. In this way, college is helping students prepare for the real world, where the option to slack off and drink alcohol is still [there].”

So maybe college does have an increasingly prominent party scene, but who is to say that this is the fault of college as an institution? Responsibility falls on everyone in the equation, including college in part, but also including the students themselves, their parents and their values.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/SVTHERLAND

ics. “Our biggest programs on campus are things like 4Boston, Appalachia, Student Admissions Program, Undergraduate Government of Boston College, and Arrupe,” Mallon said. “BC’s typical social engagement is deeply meaningful and they aren’t detracting from classes.”

So while Paul accuses college of becoming increasingly less effective and lacking in the ability to prepare students for the real world they will face after graduation, Boston College students appear to be confident that the four years they will be spending here are worthwhile. Paul uses the studies to make generalizations about numbers and data, but when it comes down to it college has always been and will always be an opportunity in which you get out of it what you put in. BC sophomores like Connor and Mallon are aware of this and intend to spend their next two and a half years making the most of their experience. Academics, service trips, spiritual reflection and all.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Jeff Wilcox

Other students feel as though the study was unfair in its conclusion regarding the financial side of college. Claiming that rather than making her less motivated to perform well at BC, Mallon reflected, “knowing how hard my parents worked to get me here just makes me work harder. I feel like I owe it to them, and to myself, to get the most I can out of college.”

Not only does Mallon disagree that students who weren’t paying for their own education wouldn’t get as much out of their college experience (in fact, it truly seems to depend on the student), she also demonstrated frustration at the lack of understanding the article had for the importance of activities outside of academwww.bcgavel.com

Photo courtesy of Jamie Williams

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Features

Professor Spotlight

Assistant Psychology Professor Liane Young

By Itzel Ayala/ Gavel Media Staff

T

he concept of morality has been researched and debated for thousands of years. The earliest philosophers posed questions on the roots of morality and its effects on social cognition. Today, Assistant Professor of Psychology Liane Young tackles field research about our perception of moral behavior and everyday decisions.

Young is a Boston native who has lived in the area her entire life. She attended high school in Massachusetts, then went to Harvard University to receive her B.A. in philosophy and her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology. She then moved on to do her post-doctoratal training at MIT in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Young is currently the director of the Morality Lab at BC. When the job opened up in the psychology department, Young was drawn to BC’s warm environment and to the work that some of her colleagues were doing with emotions and psychology.

“We have robust intuition and then search for a reason for those judgments.”

Young’s lab is bustling with Boston College spirit. A handful of graduate students as well as post-doctorate students work in her lab to “study the cognitive and neural basis of moral judgment,” Young said. Their research focuses on “the role of theory of mind, mind attribution 22

and emotions in moral judgment and behavior, as well as individual and cultural differences in moral cognition.“ To do this, she works with those in her lab to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as surveys and analyses of patients “with specific cognitive deficits.”

Studying moral judgment and moral behavior involves a lot of adult behavioral research, and a number of fMRI projects are used to monitor a subject’s brain while they are making certain moral decisions. Another technique modulates activity in certain brain regions that they feel are important for people making moral decisions. Social and moral cognition are the basic threads used to apply neuroscience to morality and to find its direct correlation.

While developmental psychologists have been studying moral reasoning in children for a very long time, Young’s work in applying neuroscience to moral psychology is a relatively new field in psychology. Young expressed how such a new research field can be very exciting because researchers are just figuring out the sorts of questions to ask on a broader theoretical spectrum, especially when there aren’t as clearly defined scales as in other fields in psychology. Since the scale of morality has not been clearly defined, deciding what makes a judgment a moral judgment versus a judgment solely based on social convention is a tough question.

Morals, facts and preferences all must be taken into account when seeing how individuals make moral decisions. One study Young is working on looks at how people’s beliefs about morals as hard Photo by Itzel Ayala/Gavel Media

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facts versus morals as opinions influence their decision making process in moral situations.

A range of experiments have been conducted, in one such experiment, the results were directly related to how the researcher posed a question before asking the participants to make a charitable donation. When the researcher prompted people to think about morality as objective and not just opinion before telling them about the organization, they were more likely to make a donation. For example, asking one group “do you think there are some things in the world that are good or bad wherever you are?” versus asking another group, “do you believe that our morals and values are shaped by your moral upbringing?” were questions prompting the difference between an objective and subjective state of mind.

The first group proved more likely to donate money.

can effect our everyday decision-making process.

Young believes in the importance of her research: “We’re often really bad at coming up with a reason for our judgment. So we might come up with judgments first then try to figure out why we think it is wrong.”

Young has found that this phenomenon, called moral dumbfounding, is one that holds true in a lot of places: “We have robust intuition and then search for a reason for those judgments.” The results from Young’s findings could be used to reflect on the reasons people have in making everyday decisions and maybe even alter the way we think for the better.

Apart from running the emotion lab, Young is also co-teaching a seminar on moral emotion this semester.

“While developmental psychologists have been studying moral reasoning in children for a very long time, Young’s work in applying neuroscience to moral psychology is a relatively new field in psychology. ” Young first became interested in this field when she considered the intuition behind moral philosophy. She questioned the extent to which this intuition was universal and if it could be altered, the biological basis of intuition, as well as the extent to which intution depends on culture and upbringing.

How we think about morality and judgment, as seen in the experiment with the charitable donation,

Young and her students in her Morality Lab

Photos courtesy of Liane Young www.bcgavel.com

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Features

Beer Review All about stout

By Christian Fiedler/ Gavel Media Staff

St. Patrick’s Day. It’s all about wearing green, watching parades with your family and celebrating your Irish heritage.

Just kidding. St. Patrick’s Day is all about stout. Join us as we explore this essential and varied style, running the gamut from 4 percent ABV Dry Irish Stouts to 15 percent ABV Imperials.

Murphy’s Irish Let’s start with a stylistic benchmark: Dry Irish Stout.

Since we covered Guinness Draught last year, this year we picked up a 4-pack of Murphy’s in nitro cans this year.

Dry Irish Stouts are deep and dark black, with a bit of ruby color around the edges of the glass. The nitro can produces an awesome cascading carbonation effect and an extremely dense and foamy tan head. On the palate, Murphy’s is driven by chocolate and caramel flavors, finishing dry with a mild, but not overbearing astringency and pleasant fruitiness. Less sourness and bitterness, as well as more chocolate flavor, make Murphy’s a pleasant alternative to the more ubiquitous Guinness.

Dry Irish Stouts also make a great pick for the calorie-counters among us. “Hey, wait, Guinness and other stouts are such a meal in a glass!” Nope! Don’t be fooled by the bold roasty flavors or heaviness imparted by the nitrogen carbonation, Murphy’s and other stouts in its class only have about 10 more calories per equivalent serving of Budweiser. Enjoy.

4/5 Sierra Nevada Stout Next step up the alcohol-by-volume ladder is Sierra Nevada’s stout. Americans make plenty of stout too, although they don’t always play by old-world rules. Sierra Nevada Stout changes the game a bit by omitting roasted barley, typically considered a key ingredient, opting to use a special ingredient called “black malt” instead.

What does this mean for the drinker?

Expect a pitch-black pint, impenetrable to light, with a very hoppy and charred aroma containing notes of dark fruits and a pinch of coffee. On the tongue, Sierra Nevada Stout is all about burnt dark chocolate, charcoal, earthy hops and an elevated bitterness characteristics of many Sierra Nevada beers. A middle-of-the-road thickness makes SN Stout a versatile and tasty domestic pick.

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Guiness Extra Stout Guinness Extra Stout is the older brother of Guinness Draught. Originally produced in a class of beers with elevated alcohol content designed to withstand long sea voyages, Extra Stout is nowadays a more potent and flavorful version of a familiar style.

In the glass, it’s the same black, red-around-the-edges color we’d expect from a normal dry stout. The aroma reveals sour and burnt toast notes alongside coffee and mild cocoa.

Over the tongue, Extra Stout starts bittersweet, mixes a touch of earthy hop character with a roasty background, and finishes sour dry, and astringent. One of the more unique bits about this beer is the noticeable warmth; enjoy one on a chilly winter night.

Overall, Guinness Extra Stout is nothing to write home about, but it is a nice change of pace from normal Guinness Draught.

3.5/5 Founder’s Breakfast Stout Breakfast Stout is one of Founder’s most famous offerings, and for good reason. They took a novel idea – ingredients typically associated with a savory breakfast, including coffee, oatmeal and cocoa – and incorporated them into a thick, boozy treat.

Like everything else here, Breakfast Stout pours a pitch-black color and probably has the best head of all the others we have tried, with rocky peaks of tan foam sitting above the ebony surface of the beer for the duration of the drink.

On the palate, Breakfast Stout strikes a great balance between its constituent ingredients. Surprisingly fresh chocolate and coffee flavors start us off, transitioning into more traditional stout beer flavors like caramel, roasty malt and biscuit on the back end.

A fantastic beer with a perfect balance between exotic ingredients.

Bourbon County Brand Stout

Bourbon County Brand Stout sits at 15 percent alcohol by volume. Think about that for a minute. That’s a little less than four Bud Lights. In a word, it is awesome.

Bourbon County pours just like motor oil, very sparsely carbonated, and picks up a thin tan head. Don’t plan on drinking anything fancy after a Bourbon County stout; once it hits your palate it’s game over. Nothing else you eat or drink will match the incredible level of depth packed into each sip. Alcohol is omnipresent (at 15 percent, it’s unavoidable, really), supporting a wave of creamy chocolate, toffee, and dark candy sugar flavors.

Vanilla, charred oak, and whiskey flavors from the barrel ride atop the beer’s thick, oily texture. Bourbon County finishes with a soft, vinous, dried-fruit taste reminiscent of port wine, leaving its drinker wondering what exactly just happened. It really is that good.

5/5 www.bcgavel.com

Photos by Zoe Geary/ Gavel Media Staff

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Features

International Update: Mali What is the source of conflict in the newly

By Alison Ricciato/ democratic country? Associate Features Editor News reports in the last several weeks have been rife with accounts of violent uprisings in the northwestern African nation of Mali. Between talks in the United Nations and the intervention of French troops, the conflict in Mali is quickly becoming an international issue.

Many people find themselves questioning where all the troubles stem from.

In March 2012, Islamist rebels connected to al Qaeda took over about half of Mali after a governmental coup. The militants ruined ancient holy shrines throughout the area, as multiple human rights violations were reported to the U.N. Just last month the U.N. Security Council authorized intervention in Mali and French troops entered the country to help fight the rebel 26

forces.

A former colony of France, Mali’s intervening forces were mainly French, although the country gained its independence in 1960. By 1992, Mali had democratic elections after decades of instability, battling factions and various militaristic dictatorships. This democratic system was successful until 2012, when a group of soldiers instigated a coup, destroying the government and a relatively stable socioeconomic status.

The rebel soldiers were angered that the government did not give them enough weaponry to fight against Tuareg rebels in the country. There was a riot at their military camp, followed by a march to the palace. A soldier took control of the state-run television channel and de-

clared that the soldiers were now in charge, with the president nowhere to be found. The aforementioned Tuareg rebels saw the transfer of power as their chance to dominate and gained dominion over areas in northern Mali with hearty stockpiles of post-Gadhafi weapons.

Islamist extremists in the area fought with the Tuareg rebels, ultimately seizing control of a large portion of northern Mali where many al Qaeda connections exist.

The particular wing present, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has been connected to the attacks in Libya that resulted in the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and others. A successful ejection of the al Qaeda extremists will require not just international action, but African help as well. This is also necessary for do-

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mestic recovery, the rebuilding stability and democracy that Mali previously enjoyed.

Meanwhile, Tuareg rebels continue to vow to battle the Islamic militants and win an independent country in northern Mali, called Azawad.

The Islamist extremists have implemented more aggressive applications of sharia law, which locals, who are used to looser interpretations, do not understand. Listening to music, drinking alcohol and watching sports are all newly forbidden activities under this law. More troubling is sharia’s call for corporeal punishment such as public

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flogging and amputations. The Islamic militants have been destroying the ancient city of Timbuktu’s various holy sites and shrines, vowing that they are ‘idolatrous.’

It is clear to see why foreign intervention in Mali has been so complex: it is a multifaceted problem. Tuaregs and Islamists vie for domination in the north, French troops attempt to recapture cities from rebel troops and historic sites are being destroyed.

It would seem that true reform will not succeed until change occurs from within Mali itself. A combination of Malian and foreign efforts can minimize damage and help lead the country to recovery.

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commonsr

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Features

Overheard at BC

Overheard at BC is a cherished Gavel Media tradition. Read on to get some laughs at the expense of your fellow BC students and be careful what you say— or it might show up here! All statements are 100 percent “overheard” and not fabricated by Gavel Media.

“I wish I was in my flannel pajamas watching Pitch Perfect .” –Outside Lower

“Uhhh Asia isn’t India” –CoRo

“It would get to the point where I would get to go to class and I was like F*** YEAH!” –Outside Vandy “If you’ve ever been written up freshman year and you’re applying to be an RA, you should tell them you were, because most people they accept were wrtten up actually. The guy said 40 percent of the people they choose were written up. ” –Mac “Okay dude, it’s f****** hair in the f******* bathroom.”

–Hillside “My roommate went on a date with someone he met on Tinder and they hit it off!” –Student Services “I skipped class, I’m above class.”

-Lyons “Does that ever happen when you’re sleep deprived? I heard you could like die” -CoRo “I wish I was in a onesie.”

–Outside Lower Photos by Kara Weeks/Gavel Media

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INSIDE: The guide to St. Patrick’s Day in Boston / Sound City: the Human Element / Radio Rediscovered: 8tracks / Restaurant Week on Hanover Street

Culture

Dorm Recipe: No oven? No stove? No Problem!

Mint-Chocolate Truffles

By Samantha Costanza / Assoc. Culture Editor St. Patrick’s Day, the holiday of leprechauns, shamrocks and excessive festivity. Boston College’s Irish population guarantees highly-anticipated annual celebrations that include (responsibly consumed) brews and plenty of delicious munchies.

At home, St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays, specifically for the delicious food. Although my family is less than 25 percent Irish, that doesn’t mean we don’t take the celebration seriously, especially when it comes to cooking. Just thinking about my mom’s Irish soda bread and grandpa’s corned beef and cabbage puts me in a food coma from the first day of March until I smell the warm soda bread coming out of the oven.

Of course, no holiday is complete without dessert. No oven? No

PROCESS • 1. Place the cookies in a Ziploc bag and start pounding away until you have fine crumbs.

Put that textbook you never opened to good use!

• 2. Mix the cream cheese and cookie crumbs together in a bowl.

• 3. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on wax paper in the fridge for about 30 minutes (or until they are less squishy).

• 4. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave and stir in a few drops of green food coloring.

• 5. Dip the balls into the melted chocolate until they are fully covered. TIP: Use two forks to gently push the balls around in the chocolate so they don’t fall apart.

INGREDIENTS • 1 package chocolate mint cookies (e.g. Girl Scout Thin Mints, Keebler Grasshopper cookies) • 4 oz. (1/2 package) cream cheese, softened • 1 bag white chocolate chips • Green food coloring

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Photos by Samantha Costanza/Gavel Media

March 2013

NETFLIX: What’s in your queue?

“WORKAHOLICS”

By Sameet Dhillon/ Assoc. Culture Editor

Searching for a new Netflix addiction?

Look no further.

After reading a synopsis of Workaholics, I was slightly hesitant to start watching the show. I’d just watched all eight seasons of Entourage, and I thought I’d had my fair share of “bro” television. Okay, I’ll admit that I enjoyed almost every minute of it...until Season 8 happened. But Workaholics takes it to a new level.

What could possibly be more “bro” than three post-college guys living in a man-cave in Southern California?

Don’t write this show off just yet though. I’m going to convince you that it’s worth putting in your queue.

Basically, the show depicts the lives of three post-grad losers: Adam, Blake and Anders. They spend their days indulging in the basics of “bro” culture: getting wasted, getting stoned, eating ridiculous amounts of food, making fun of each other, creating “poop dollars” and generally paying absolutely no attention to their boring jobs as telemarketers.

I cannot deny that the show addresses one of my biggest fears: becoming a post-graduate burnout. I know that I am by no means a “bro,” but the show touches on a fear that is within all of us. To me, it felt like a male response to HBO’s Girls. Our genera-

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Actually ahh, I’m not really cool with the amount of responsibility I have now. So if you ah, wanted to promote me down a peg, I’d be cool for that.

-Blake Henderson

ing to mess tion is terrified of the world up as badly as beyond college. Are we all these characters doomed? Is it all downhill but we’ll all inevfrom here? Well, the anitably face failures swer that Workaholics and fears. Why not gives us is…yes. These do it with a sense of three guys deal with humor? their “grown-up” lives by getting The best part of completely the show is getting to obliterated all see these three losers the time. And it attempt to interact with is hysterical to the real world. In one of watch. my favorite episodes, we get a flashback to their Okay, now college years. We see you’re probthem exploring a career ably thinking fair and discussing how this show is horrible it would be to be completely a telemarketer one day. depressing. But The irony of all of this is you’re wrong— both hilarious and terriWorkaholics fying at the same time. gives us the Workaholics manages to chance to laugh achieve a good balance at our biggest between the ridiculous fears and insecurand the realistic. ities. Sometimes life doesn’t work For those of you out exactly how who take issue with we expect it to, and the fact that this growing up poses show deals with more of a challenge three white than we ever imagined. boys… I’d like to Sometimes we’ve got to point out a few sit back and just laugh at it things. First of all. I’m not saying we’re go-

all, let’s not forget Montez Walker. He is that character that you love and hate,but mostly love. I am a huge fan of Walker. Who couldn’t love the man’s sass and all the unnecessary and somewhat disturbing details he provides about his sex life.

And don’t ignore Jillian Belk, their socially awkward, wannabe “broworker.” Belk tries really hard to partake in their shenanigans and she usually just ends up appearing creepy but occasionally helpful. The girl just goes for it.

Overall, the characters of Workaholics are pathetic and annoying, yet somehow extremely loveable. Maybe this is because we pity them.

Maybe—and this is a scary thought—we see a small reflection of ourselves, and the people around us, in them.

Screenshot by Kara Weeks/Gavel Media

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Culture

The guide to St. Patrick's in Boston

By Christie Merino/ Gavel Media

An estimated 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed worldwide on St. Patrick’s Day. While Ireland most likely drinks the majority of those pints, Boston is also known to hold a fair share Boin that statistic; after all, the first parade celebrating ston’s this day was not held in Ireland—it was right here in biggest parade Boston. So before you head out in your green and of the year is the event orange garb in search of green beer and a pot of that every freshman gold, here are a few events and spots to keep needs to have on their BC bucket list. The St. Parin mind. Photo courtesy of Jenuinne Captures/Flickr

tick’s Day Parade this year marks the 113th anniversary of this over-the-top event. Up to one million Bostonians line the streets cheering for the Irish-American tradition that has fostered the rich, vibrant communities we know and love today.

The parade takes place in South Boston, starting near the Broadway T station on the Red Line and ending at Andrews Square. This year the parade will be held on St. Patrick’s Day itself, Mar. 17, starting at 1 p.m. and lasting about three hours. The trip from BC will undoubtedly take time, so plan ahead! You’ll want great spots on the sidewalks to see every float.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace will also be holding its own St. After Patrick’s Day themed festival the same day as the parade in losing the freshSouth Boston. Free Irish music and dancing will be taking man 15, what better way place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring local groups like to celebrate your newBay Street Pipers, Wood School of Irish Step Danfound healthy lifestyle than cing, Academy of Irish Step and O’Dwyer School running the St. Patrick’s Day 5K of Irish Dance. race in South Boston? Or, you could just sign up with your friends to raise money for the South Boston Boys and Girls Club. Either way, this event will be a great way to spend your Sunday morning on March 17th.

The race will cap at 1,750 runners, so sign up early!

You’ll still have time to take a celebratory jog over to the parade afterwards. Bonus: the first 600 people to register will get an official shirt designed by the Dropkick Murphys.

Photo courtesy of Paco Lyptic/Flickr

For Freshmen:

Photo courtesy of Kevin Harber/Flickr

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March 2013

Photo courtesy of Joe Shablotnik/Flickr

For Sophomores:

Looking for the most authentic Irish pub you can get? Look no further than The Black Rose.

Located in the heart of Boston, this bar’s staff attempts to greet patrons with a real Gaelic brogue.

With plenty of beers on tap and several popular mixed drinks, you won’t be disappointed by the selection. The menu in general is something to behold; its signature corned beef is “to die for,” according to CBS Boston.

Another Irish hot spot, McGanns, located near North Station and the TD Garden, is the ideal sports bar for any Boston fan. With around 50 beers on tap and bottled, plus delicious comfort food, this bar will undoubtedly be hopping on St. Patrick’s Day. Normally featuring a Celtics game or soccer match on the television during the day, this bar switches over to live entertainment to keep the party going all night. Photo courtesy of Lukosk/Flickr

For Seniors:

This may well be your last St. Patrick’s Day in Boston in the foreseeable future. We’ll miss you dearly.

But how exactly does one make senior year even better than two historic days of cancelled school, four consecutive Beanpot victories and a National Championship in 2010 and 2012?

How about celebrating St. Patty’s Day with the Dropkick Murphys? The band will be in Boston the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day, at the TD Garden the 15th, Brighton Music Hall on the 16th and finally the House of Blues on the 17th.

If you can’t make it to the show, a rowdy Irish pub should do the trick. McGreevey’s, which dates back to 1894, is said to be the home of the Dropkick Murphys. With a countdown until St. Patrick’s Day on the top of their website, you can bet this place is serious about celebrating. This bar will not disappoint, with a booked event calendar and stocked menu full of only the most Irish of foods. That, and its record of being voted the “best sports bar in Boston” and the “first of its kind in America” might be an indicator of a good time.

Photo courtesy of Lansing Jaycees/Flickr

No matter what class you’re in, Gavel Media encourages you to celebrate your Irish heritage safely and responsibly on St. Patrick’s Day.

Photo courtesy of Jacqueline TInney/Flickr

For Juniors:

Photo courtesy of Lansing Jaycees/Flickr

www.bcgavel.com

33

Culture

Sound City: The Human Element

By Adam Parshall / Gavel Media Staff

I

n the documentary Sound City (released on Feb. 1), Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl tells the story of the legendary Sound City recording studio in Van Nuys, CA. An analog tape-based studio with a knack for churning out hit records, Sound City closed in 2011, prompting Grohl to purchase some of the studio equipment, including the legendary custom-made Neve 8028 console.

He also planned to make a short film paying tribute to the studio, the console and the people who had worked there throughout the years.

But what started as a short film soon snowballed into a much larger project.

The resulting movie, Sound City, documents the studio’s history, its legendary physical qualities and the people who worked and recorded there who gave the studio its natural, human feel. Grohl takes us through the studio’s early days as a Vox amplifier factory all the way to its private ownership by Tom Skeeter in 1969, who bought the building as a way to get into the entertainment business. Through dozens of interviews with artists, engineers, producers and others associated with Sound City, Grohl shows us how this building, described by some who used it as “dumpy” and “trashed,” became one of rock and roll’s best-kept secrets.

One thing that set Sound City apart was the one-of-a-kind Neve 8028 analog console, custom ordered

34

for the studio by longtime engineer and producer Keith Olsen. Artists and engineers who worked on that board would often refer to it as the best board they had ever tracked on or recorded into. Grohl regards it as “the reason I’m here right now.” From the time artists began recording through that board, with Buckingham-Nicks in the early 1970s, to Fleetwood Mac after that, all the way through the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s, it was known for producing hit records.

Sound City’s first great successes came with Buckingham-Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, who recorded their critically-acclaimed, self-titled albums as well as Rumours at Sound City. That combination of the live tracking room, the Neve console and analog tape gave those albums their signature sounds. Sound City would continue to spawn hits throughout the late 1970s, including hit records with REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Cheap Trick and Tom Petty. With their next big success in Rick Springfield and Working Class Dog, Sound City saw a surge of business throughout the early 1980s, including

Nirvana.

Neil Young.

Fleetwood Mac. Metallica. Weezer.

Cheap Trick.

Johnny Cash.

Rage Against the Machine.

What do all of these have in common besides being multiplatinum bands and recording artists?

They all recorded at Sound City Studios.

Ratt’s Out of the Cellar and

Dio’s Holy

March 2013

Diver.

The conversation shifted, however, to the battle between analog and digital recording that would eventually seal the studio’s fate. With the emergence of digital recording technology, Sound City’s analog, tape-based process began to be viewed as archaic, as more and more bands were leaving analog studios to move to the cheaper, simpler digital studios.

That “human element” of music was slowly drifting into the digital realm, with sound manipulation and huge amounts of production becoming the popular way to make a record.

In the late ‘80s, Sound City was dying. The takeover of digital had almost driven it completely out of business, until Nirvana chose Sound City to record their multi-platinum Nevermind. That album essentially saved Sound City for the rest of the 1990s. Focused almost entirely on primal, raw performance, Nevermind launched Nirvana into the mainstream and made Sound City the place to record for those who wanted to make a hit record.

The ‘90s and 2000s were a crucial time for the studio, producing records such as Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled debut, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ One Hot Minute and Nine Inch Nails’ With Teeth. However, despite the www.bcgavel.com

success of those records produced at Sound City, the emergence of Pro Tools as a simpler, more cost-effective way of making a record sounded a “death knell” for Sound City. In 2011, the studio, behind on its bills, was forced to close. The studio that had been a home to so many inspirational artists and produced so many hit records was gone.

The final part of the film focuses on Grohl’s purchase of the Neve console from the studio in 2011, because he wanted to give “that old board new life, with new music.” Many of the musicians who had recorded at Sound City were invited to Grohl’s Studio 606 to make a brand-new record, Real to Reel. His goal was to capture the “human element” of music.

With the emergence of technology and new ways of manipulating sound, Grohl wanted to ask the bigger question of how we make music that continues to sound like people. Musicians that had recorded on the Neve in the ‘70s were brought together with musicians who never had, in order to create an album that reflects how people respond to others with music, and how each person feeds of each other’s “feel.”

The Foo Fighters teamed up with artists including Steve Nicks, Rick Springfield, Corey Taylor, Jim Keltner, Trent Reznor, Josh Homme, Chris Goss, Tim Commerford, Lee Ving, Krist Novoselic, Paul McCartney and many others to create a truly unique album that would try to encapsulate the vibe and the human aspect of music that was captured so many times at Sound City.

Hearing all of these artists playing and talking about the music they made together at Sound City drives home the fact that music is made by people interacting with other people.

The heart and personality of music are felt in the artists making that music. It doesn’t happen with a computer creating sounds for them. With Sound City and Real to Reel, a little bit of that human sound is captured again. For Grohl, Sound City represents a kind of musical “integrity” that is all too hard to come by nowadays. “Bring ‘em in the room, mic ‘em up, and just let tape roll.”

Screenshots by Emily Akin/Gavel Media

35

Culture RADIO REDISCOVERED: 8 TRACKS

By Mary Yuengert/Assoc. Culture Editor

T

here are always those days when you’re in the mood for a certain type of music. So what do you do when a) you’re broke (oh wait, that’s every day) and you don’t have money to spend on iTunes, b) none of the bands in your music library can give you what you want, c) you find yourself skipping multiple songs on Pandora or d) all of the above?

W

hile most of us are familiar with Pandora (a free online radio station that takes your current music tastes and creates a “personalized” radio station that plays music you should like), it often times fails to feel very personal.

Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of a machine telling them what music is “their type,” the self-proclaimed “iTunes shuffle surfers” (guilty as charged) get annoyed at the three-song skip limit per hour aspect, while the easily bored get sick of hearing repeat songs on their favorite stations.

Despite Pandora’s promise to “create a listening experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs for you,” I find the need to enjoy my music in a more personalized way.

8

tracks.com managed to give me that more intimate experience with music, and I’ve never looked back. See you later Pandora. I was hooked as soon as I read the site’s vision: “8tracks believes handcrafted music programming trumps algorithms.”

The idea behind the site came from the old eight track mix-tapes in the

36

Photo courtesy of JMaz/Flickr

‘70s and ‘80s, when people would personally create a mix of eight songs and share them with family, friends or my personal favorite, a boyfriend or girlfriend. I’m a sucker for ‘80s romance and John Hughes.

It was a way to discover new music, network and interact with music on a more personal level.

A

s a new brand of internet radio, 8tracks.com prides itself by living up to the slogan, “Radio, rediscovered.” It offers users two options: to create mixes or listen to them. You start by typing in an artist or genre and the site generates a list of mixes that involve those keywords, all personally created by users on the site. Need some study music to keep you focused in the library? Type in tags like “study,” “classical” or “instrumental” to score a list of awesome playlists that some like to call “musical Adderall.”

O

r maybe you decided to throw a last minute Mod party and are scrambling for tracks that will wrangle in a crowd? Search by “party,” “dubstep” or “dance” to win over your friends and ensure your party is a success. If you find yourself falling in love with a song (don’t worry, it happens to the best of us), you can star the track for easy access later on or buy the song right there through a direct link to iTunes.

F

or those whose inner DJ tendencies are screaming to get out, 8tracks provides the perfect setting to experiment, make your mark on the Internet and even win

March 2013

over fans. DJs upload their own mp3s or AACs to build their playlist, add graphics and a description, and then publish their work on their own personal webpage on the site. True to the site’s name, each playlist has to have a minimum of eight songs.

F

urthermore, the site has a social networking aspect that allows DJs and listeners to interact. You can follow your favorite users, “heart” their mixes to save them for later, add their mixes to your own collection or share them on Facebook, Twitter or any of your other go-to social media sites. This way, you can show all your friends what awesome songs you’ve been jammin’ out to, unless you don’t want your mom to see on Facebook that you’ve been listening to nonstop party playlists all weekend. This can also help DJs get recognized for their work and get their names out there.

T

he best part about all of this, besides the totally awesome new music that you will discover, is that it is completely free and legal. Users can sign up and create a free account, which gives them unlimited access to all existing playlists on the site. For those who wish to create their own mixes, songs must be uploaded either from their personal music library or Soundcloud, and there are certain restrictions set up by the site, such as a limit on the amount of songs per artist or album on each playlist, to further secure legality.

M

usic is an experience, one that should be special and shared with others. 8tracks.com is completely unique in that its playlists are hand-picked by other users, like yourself, who have a love for music that transcends letting a machine decide what’s best for you. If you’re looking for something new, original and totally outof-this-world awesome, then 8tracks is the place for you. It truly is “radio, rediscovered.”

To start your experience, visit 8tracks.com or check out its app for iPhones and

www.bcgavel.com

Screenshots by Emily Akin/Gavel Media

37

Culture 4 3

2

Restaurant Week on Hanover Street

By Emily Akin / Culture Editor

Broke college kids love cheap food. This is one of the few certainties in life.

With this fact having been established, look no further in your quest for delicious food on a budget. It’s that time of year again folks!

Restaurant Week: the one, the only, the economical.

1

38

Mark your calendars and start planning those dinner dates, March 1722 and 24-29 is Boston’s Winter Restaurant Week.

This only comes around twice a year people. Take the opportunity to get out into the city and escape

the dining halls with some friends.

Here’s the gist of the week: restaurants across the city offer two to three course gourmet meals for a reduced fixed price. Gavel Media has limited your scope of this expansive event to the North End, a favorite haunt of every Boston foodie. Explore Hanover Street in search of affordable, gourmet Italian food. Enjoy these restaurants on a walkin-basis, no reservations required!

March 2013

6 5

1. Taranta

6. Cantina Italiana

210 Hanover Street

2. Tresca

7

346 Hanover Street

7. Maurizio’s

233 Hanover Street

3. Bricco

364 Hanover Street

8. Strega

241 Hanover Street

379 Hanover Street

4. Ristorante Fiore

9. Lucia Ristorante

250 Hanover Street

415 Hanover Street

5. Quattro Ristorante

8

10. Nico

266 Hanover Street

417 Hanover Street

Restaurant Week pricing: 3 course dinner for $38.13 2 course dinner for $20.13 2 course lunch for $15.13

10 www.bcgavel.com

9 Screenshots by Emily Akin/Gavel Media

39

INSIDE: Striking a Balance/ The not-so-beautiful game

GAME M

By Jake Miller Assoc. Sports Editor

att Gruby’s alarm goes off at nine in the morning.

He drags himself out of bed and meanders to the showers to start his day.

After a quick rinsing and a

bite to eat at Mac, Gruby sits down in his 10 o’clock class.

As the professor’s voice drones on and on about a topic

for which he could not care less, Matt stares out the window.

“Only two more classes and eight more hours,” he thinks.

Matt is restless because today is no ordinary day. While most of us think of today as Friday and the start of the weekend, Matt has other plans. Today is game day, and Matt Gruby is a Superfan.

40 Photo By Taylor Garrison/Gavel Media

.

.

.

Brendan Silk’s alarm goes off at seven in the morning.

He forces himself out of bed and staggers to the showers to start his day. Upon cleaning up and gathering his books, Silk grabs some food at Mac before his 8 and 9 AM classes.

He overhears classmates talking about ragers being thrown at the Mods or at off-campus apartments, but he pays them little attention. As everyone settles in for class, Silk has one thought in mind: only two hours separate him from the Conte Forum ice. Today is not just a Friday and not just the beginning of the weekend. Today is game day and Brendan Silk is an athlete.

THE GRIND

After his first class, Gruby saunters back to Mac to grab lunch. He needs to keep himself well fed and well hydrated if he wants to be ready for the hockey game tonight. He has read all about the Eagles’ opponent, the Northeastern Huskies.

He knows that Kevin Roy is the player to watch. With over 30 points at the halfway mark of the college season, Roy is capable of single handedly deciding the outcome of a game.

As Gruby starts to worry about Roy’s deadly snapshot from

March 2013

Photo Courtesy of Taylor Garrison

Sports

DAY the top of the hash marks, the wave of students filtering through Mac alerts him to the fact that the next set of classes has already started.

When class is officially over for the day, Gruby can now meet up with his friends at “The Rat” and talk about the upcoming bout at Kelley Rink. Talking hockey is a favorite pastime of Gruby’s, and he and his friends need to come up with the keys to tonight’s game.

They break down the offensive depth of the Eagles and how their blue line, decimated with injuries this year, will fare against Northeastern’s top six forwards. Before they begin their ascension to Upper Campus, they grab hot chocolate and cookies. Nutrition is key. .

.

.

After his two morning classes, “Silky” heads over to the rink for his pregame skate. The game does not start for another eight hours or so, but Brendan wants to get his hands and feet moving. The pregame skate lasts 30 to 35 minutes. He only wants to warm up, not tire himself out.

Silk heads up to the Shea Room in Conte after his skate to have his pregame meal around 12:30. This meal usually consists of chicken parmesan and pasta. He’ll www.bcgavel.com

need the carbohydrates to burn come the third period of this game against Northeastern.

They’re a fast and dangerous team, and Brendan knows that he and the rest of the Eagles can’t afford to turn the puck over to the Huskies, especially their leading-scorer Kevin Roy. Brendan can’t waste time thinking about what Roy could do, however. He must focus on what he can control, and that is his concentration and readiness for this game.

PREGAME

Now safely out of the cold and in the warmth of their dorm, Gruby and his friends prepare for tonight’s matchup with the Huskies. Before they regroup to begin their pregame routines, Gruby grabs a 90-minute nap.

He knows his Eagles will need him to be well rested for this game. He needs to be at his peak performance level come the drop of the puck and this nap could be the difference between a win and a loss. The Hockey East title is up for grabs; Gruby knows the stakes are high.

Preparations include a liter of Diet Coke – hydration is key.

41

Sports The finishing touch is Gruby’s prized possession. The Superfan shirt is much more than just a really comfortable, annoyingly vibrant beacon of yellow. It is his uniform. He wears it with pride and honor. Each week, he knows that if he can’t pull his own weight and do his part for the team, then he might as well just put another mark in the loss column.

Uniform on, stomach full and vocal chords in tune, Gruby heads down to Conte at 6:15 p.m. for the 7 p.m. drop of the puck. He could never imagine sitting up in the stands. It’s his time commitment that helps separate him from the rest of the pack.

He and his friends plant themselves three rows back from the glass and await what should be a great Hockey East matchup. . . .

Brendan returns to Upper to take a quick ninety minute nap. He understands that while some of his friends are busy making plans for the evening, he must be well rested for the contest tonight against Northeastern.

He knows that Coach York and his line mates Destry Straight and Kevin Hayes will need him feeling his best come opening faceoff. This nap could be what separates

him from a good game and a great game and the team from a win and a loss.

At about 4 p.m, three hours before the start of the game, “Silky” heads down to Conte, grabbing a coffee from Mac along the way (hydration, you guessed it, is key).

He’ll settle into his routine at about 4:30, beginning the monotonous process of taping his sticks and making sure his equipment is all set for the game.

He wears this jersey, emblazoned with a big “9” on the back, with pride. He feels lucky to be suiting up for BC and knows that it is an honor to playing for Coach York. Each week, he knows that if he can’t pull his own weight and do his part for the team, then he might as well just put another mark in the loss column.

Silky dresses for warm ups and gets in a few more minutes of skating and shooting, fine tuning everything before the game starts. He purposely unleashes a shot wide right of the net to scare some of his friends up against the glass, drawing some explicit gestures and select words from them. He eventually returns to the locker room with the team to prepare for the drop of the puck.

Boston College 3, Northeastern 0. A hard fought victory has Gruby feeling accomplished. As he files out of Conte,

Photo Courtesy of Flickr/ kcz33

42

March 2013

the game replays in his mind. While Northeastern managed to keep him off the score sheet, he knows his presence

LATE NIGHT was felt and that starting the “What’s the matter with NU?” chant was instrumental to the team’s victory.

As the crowd spills out onto Lower campus, Gruby and his friends begin their ascent of the Million Dollar Stairs.

After a tough game that expended most of their energy – with standing, screaming and what have you – these stairs feel like Mt. Everest.

Their journey brings them to the safe haven that is Mac. Out of the cold and into the fried food line, tonight’s victory starts to sink in for Gruby and his pals. Although he won’t say it (he’s not the bragging type), Gruby is proud of his performance tonight.

Gruby refuels with some chicken tenders and a side of fries. He sits and chats with his friends until about 11 p.m. before heading back to Upper. He has had a very busy week and this game took a lot out of him. Not to mention that BC is hosting Maine tomorrow and he’ll need his rest if he expects to be leading his Eagles into battle again.

It’s not easy being a Superfan, just ask Matt Gruby. .

.

Photo Courtesy of Cipriansjr / Wikimedia Commons

.

Boston College 3, Northeastern 0. A hard-fought victory has Brendan feeling accomplished. Filing into the locker room, he thinks about the game. While Northeastern managed to keep him off the score sheet, he made a few good defensive plays, rang a shot off the post and made sure his presence was felt by dishing out a couple hits that drew cheers from the stands.

Silk has a meal in the locker room with the rest of the team before going out to see his parents. A Wakefield, Mass. native, Brendan is luckier than most of his teammates in that his parents are able to come to all of his home games.

He heads back to Upper with some of his friends around 11 p.m. While many people are just beginning their nights, Brendan will be ending his. He’s tired from tonight’s game and has another tomorrow against Maine. If he expects to play as well as he did today, he will need his sleep.

Forfeiting the chance to test the party scene tonight, Brendan gets to bed a little after midnight. Maine will be coming into Conte ready to fight tomorrow and he can’t give them an advantage by not getting the proper amount of rest and recuperation.

It’s not easy being a student-athlete, just ask Brendan Silk.

www.bcgavel.com

Photo Courtesy of Brendan Silk

43

Sports

Striking a balance

BC Hoops walk-on masters the art of being a true “student-athlete”

Photo Courtesy of Flickr/md91180

By Teddy Kolva Sports Editor Juggling life as a Boston College student and a Division-I basketball player, Drew Jacobs will be the first to tell you that being a college athlete is quite the balancing act.

Drifting back to his dorm on Newton Campus in the wee hours of a weekday night, you might think he has grown weary of his everyday schedule. Waking up at the crack of dawn for shoot-arounds and chalk talk, Jacobs spends a lot of his time in Conte Forum improving his game: scouting opponents, lifting weights and refining his skills.

Then, it’s off to class: Principles of Microeconomics, Calculus and Perspectives of Western Culture, to name a few.

Before he can return to his room, he checks in at Conte once more. He knocks out any unfinished tasks from the morning, going straight into team meetings afterwards. Jacobs can enjoy some free time once he gets back to his dorm, but only after finishing his schoolwork, which is just as challeng44

ing as his athletic endeavors.

Never making an excuse for any failure on or off the court, he does not dwell on his hectic routine.

“It’s all for the fun and personal growth,” Jacobs says. “I enjoy being able to live a structured life, especially when I love the sport I play so much. That being said, it can get very demanding, so you need to be so good with time management.”

It was not always like this for the freshman point guard hailing from Mendham, New Jersey, a stonesthrow from New York City.

“Before basketball, I would wake up at 11 o’clock, go to my classes, hang out with friends and just bum out when time allowed for it,” said Jacobs. “I could do whatever I wanted—whenever I wanted.”

Jacobs knew what life was like pre-basketball at BC, as he didn’t walk on to the team until early October.

Comparing times before basketball to his current lifestyle as a Division-I athlete, Jacobs identifies the biggest impact joining the team had on his routine, saying, “You really have to be on top of things. It was so different from early fall. You have to be proactive instead of reactive. There’s not a lot of time to

March 2013

hang out, it’s more like—you just got to get things done.

All in all, there are really only two things that you are focused on in-season: basketball and school.”

The demands brought on by the basketball team forced Jacobs to reorganize his schedule and prioritize his life, even if it meant devoting more time to hoops and less to hanging with friends.

“I try my hardest to excel at what I do, and what I do is very draining,” says Jacobs. “But, I definitely try to savor the moment and college in general. I definitely try my best to hang out with my friends whenever time permits.”

Jacobs mastered the art of balancing sports and schoolwork, but it goes far beyond just him.

“The entire team is pretty good about balancing our school workload with our athletic demands,” said Jacobs.

“We are in an environment where our academic progress is constantly monitored, so we are always looking to boost our grades and get help if we need it. Most of the guys don’t need a reminder to do these things, though, and it’s incredibly reflective of the type of student-athlete BC draws in.”

Head Coach Steve Donahue, who previously coached at Cornell University, strongly emphasizes strong showings in the classroom. Jacobs and others are kept to a high standard of academic performance. To ensure this happens, Donahue and the BC athletic department have constructed a support system that assists athletes in need of better grades.

“Obviously, it is not always easy to get the best grades, especially in-season. But we have a lot of resources to enable our success,” said Jacobs.

Photo By Teddy Kolva/Gavel Media

www.bcgavel.com

The Student Learning Center is a resource for student-athletes who need extra attention and help with their studies, along with the several student-athlete advisors who are assigned to each of BC’s 29 Division-I teams.

A testament to the school’s commitment to its student-athletes, BC boasts a 97 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) among its student-athletes –much attributed to programs such as the Student Learning Center.

Beyond academic assistance, the athletic department created a mentor program — connecting current athletes like Jacobs with former athletes thriving in a variety of professional fields. Leaders in business convene with BC’s basketball team frequently, stressing the importance and value of a BC education and the career opportunities a degree offers.

For the walk-on point guard, providing a network of assistance beyond the court is what makes being a scholar-athlete a rewarding endeavor.

“I know that basketball won’t always be in my future, so for Boston College to provide me with the resources and tools I need to excel later in life, it truly is a blessing.”

For now, Jacobs is embracing the grind, keeping both his grades and his on-court performances in check.

Although the transition was rough, he ultimately found the process to be worth it.

“The whole experience thus far has developed me in so many ways,” he said. “With BC’s guidance and goodwill, I know that I will take so much away from this, especially when reality sets in and it’s time to move on from this school.”

Photo Courtesy of Flickr/imageenthusiast

45

Sports

The not-sobeautiful game

By Andrew Schofield Assoc. Sports Editor It was Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012.

Scottish side Celtic had just pulled off one of the greatest upsets in European history--defeating Catalán giant FC Barcelona 2-1 with a squad already hindered by a rash of injuries.

The Daily Mail’s Stewart Hunter wondered if there had ever been a bigger upset in Celtic history. Their manager Neil Lennon doubted if he’d ever top his latest triumph.

But for most soccer fans around the world, a disbelieving smile would have to suffice. For although some might call it “jogo bonito,” it is the game’s unpredictability--not its renowned beauty--that fills pubs and cafes across Europe every Saturday afternoon.

But that was 2012--a long three 46

months ago. This is 2013--a land of insatiable skepticism.

From PED paranoia to fake girlfriends and Internet hoaxes, ESPN’s coverage of the day’s headlines seem to share more in common with TMZ than the network news style it has always sought to emulate.

If I could have it my way, I would let Ronaiah Tuiasosopo masquerade as many fake Facebook personalities as he possibly could, if it meant saving soccer from the most damaging revelation of the past few months.

Europol claims to have uncovered 680 soccer matches under suspicion of match-fixing. If Europol’s allegations prove to contain the slightest bit of truth, the sport of soccer may lose its most beloved quality – its predictable unpredictability.

Match-fixing is hardly uncharted territory for many of the world’s

soccer fans. In 2006, Serie A, Italy’s highest soccer division, was marred by the so-called “Calciopoli” scandal during which investigators linked team managers with referee organizations.

Last July, the Turkish State Court sentenced Aziz Yildirim, chairman of Turkish side Fenerbahce, to seven years in prison for a similar offense.

And just this past year, Italian authorities launched yet another investigation into match-fixing allegations, albeit in the country’s lower, less popular divisions.

However, for the majority of soccer fans throughout the world, matchfixing has retained a certain enigmatic, Oriental otherness.

Sure, a soccer fan in England, Spain or even the United States might have been well aware of the various match-fixing scandals of the past

March 2013

decade. And while it very well may have been troubling to hear of the Calciopoli scandal, those types of allegations, for the most part, were always “an Italian problem” or “a Turkish problem”--never “a football problem.”

Then came Europol’s allegations.

While it still remains unclear how many of the aforementioned 680 matches have already been revealed and investigated (FIFA president Sepp Blatter claims “most” of the 680 matches have already been “dealt with,” but then again, what else would you expect from a man on the proverbial chopping block?), what is apparent is that match-fixing extends far beyond what anyone could have previously expected.

Although Europol has yet to of-

ficially reveal which matches are among those under scrutiny, a few details have made their way out into the public -- and they certainly don’t pertain to low-level league games in Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe.

Among those under scrutiny include an international friendly between the United States and El Salvador as well as a Champions League match at one of soccer’s most historic venues, Anfield -- home to England’s Liverpool FC. Many involved in international soccer organizations like FIFA seem bent on softening the blow -- maintaining that thousands of soccer matches are played and officiated without the slightest reason for suspicion.

But as Italy’s Serie A, which has struggled to regain popularity in wake of the 2006 match-fixing scan-

dal, can attest to, match-fixing can be become toxic. For whereas other sports scandals--such as Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez’s respective PED use -- erode the previously strong reputation of a particular athlete, match-fixing attacks the sport itself.

While the year 2012 will be well-remembered in the footballing world for last season’s thrilling end to the EPL and Celtic’s improbable run to the knockout stages of the Champions League, the years that follow may not be held in quite the same regard.

Clubs like Celtic FC will still find a way to top even the most talented of soccer teams, but under the shadow of the Europol’s allegations, we very well may regard the next Cinderella story not with adoration, but with skepticism.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr/Social Gedeon

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