Vol. XCVII, No. 11 Thursday, February 25, 2016

HEThe Independent

Student Newspaperof Boston College

www.bcheights.com

e s t a b l i s h e d 1 9 1 9

documentation also provides another

student’s name. This student is not on

the student conduct board, but under-

stands the student conduct system and

can be a resource to whom that student

can reach out in order to understand

his or her rights and the process. Each

building is paired with a student consul-

tant, as of right now, and the program

hopes to expand.

“That’s a lot of feedback that we

heard. That students felt that they were

getting, to some extent, tricked into

things by not understanding the system

or how it works,” Hussey said.

Hussey said that the group of stu-

dents met in the beginning of the se-

mester with the Conduct Board to more

closely understand how it works.

“A big part of this is going to be

transitioning it because in order for this

to operate well you need several stu-

dents who are willing to be references,

considering there’s 1,400 write-ups,”

Thomas Napoli, UGBC president and

MCAS ’16, said, noting that Sundaram

is a senior this year.

Napoli said that there is a lot of

potential for the program to grow

since right now its focus is on meeting

with students who are documented to

Elizabeth Medlevow, executive di-

rector of the Rappaport Center for Law

and Public Policy, introduced lawyers

Dean Strang and Walt Kelly, Boston

College Law ’68, to a packed audience

in Stuart House on Newton Campus

on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Famous for

representing convicted murderer Steven

Avery, Strang and Kelly visited BC Law

to talk about the Netflix series Making

a Murderer, their collaboration with the

media, and to offer inspiring words of

advice to the law students.

Avery, a native of Manitowoc Coun-

ty, Wis., served 18 years in prison for

a wrongful sexual assault conviction.

After new methods of DNA testing

proved his innocence, he was exoner-

ated with the help of the Wisconsin

Innocence Project.

Released from prison in 2003, Av-

ery filed a lawsuit against Manitowoc

County, its sheriff, and its district at-

torney, with Kelly as his lawyer. The

lawsuit was pending until 2005, when

Avery was arrested for the murder of

a female photographer, Tessa Halbach.

Kelly explained that the team made a

conscious decision not to file the suit

right away.

Kelly, a civil rights and liberties

lawyer, became involved with Avery’s

case through a friend on the staff of the

Innocence Project who told him that

Avery was about to be exonerated after

DNA testing proved his innocence.

“A reporter called up and said, ‘Walt,

your client is being followed up in the

case of a missing woman,’” Kelly said.

Kelly had to reconfigure the case

immediately after hearing that Steven

was charged for the disappearance of

Halbach. She said that they quickly

switched gears when they realized Ste-

ven was in peril.

Avery, who maintains his innocence,

was shocked at his arrest. Steven sat

through almost all of the depositions

of the civil case, Kelly said.

“He would ask, ‘How could they do

this to me?’” Kelly said.

Public favor of Avery immediately

declined after Ken Kratz, special pros-

ecutor on Avery’s case, gave a press con-

ference that was picked up by all seven

of Wisconsin’s media markets.

“The damage was done before the

trial started,” Strang said.

Strang said that if he could have

changed one aspect of Avery’s trial, it

would have been the press conference

SPORTSA very poor shooting night doomed the Eagles against Virginia Tech on Tuesday, B8

TECH MATEMETROThe literary publications at BC are having a showcase at Fuel this Thursday, A8

FUEL YOUR PASSIONSCENESusan Michalczyk’s fi lm reignites the conversation about BC’s fi rst black athlete, B1

‘A LEGACY RESTORED’

Th e desires of many frustrated alumni

may fi nally be realized.

Boston College will pursue the creation

of three new facilities to help varsity, club,

and intramural sports, Director of Athletics

Brad Bates announced Monday afternoon.

Th is will include a new recreation center,

athletics playing fields, and an indoor

practice facility. In total, the project will

cost approximately $200 million.

Th e new recreation center will replace

the Plex and be placed over Edmond’s Hall,

which will be torn down at the conclusion

of the 2015-16 academic year. Th is was

included in the University’s Institutional

Master Plan (IMP) from 2009. Th e project

will begin this summer, following the clear-

ance of several permits, and construction

will take approximately two years. The

2009 IMP also approved permits for new

intramural, baseball, and softball fi elds to

be built on the Brighton Campus.

BC’s newest development, however,

See Conduct, A3

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF BC ATHLETICS

Student Initiatives and the Student

Assembly, departments under the Un-

dergraduate Government of Boston

College, have been working to create

Conduct Consultants. This semester,

the pilot version took flight under the

“Conduct Consultant Program” spear-

headed by Dan Sundaram, MCAS ’16.

The program is composed of a team

of four students of the Undergraduate

Government of Boston College.

These students have been working

with the Dean of Students Office, in

particular Dean Richard Decapua, and

the Student Conduct Board in order to

assess the Student Conduct Board and

the Student Conduct System, in gen-

eral. They have also been working as a

resource for students going through the

conduct system.

Olivia Hussey, UGBC executive vice

president and MCAS ’17, explained

the goal of this new initiative. When

students get documented, the email

that they receive to account for the See Facilities, A8

See UGBC, A3

DREW HOO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Murderer, A3

The Elections Committee announced

Tuesday afternoon that it is extending the Un-

dergraduate Government of Boston College’s

presidential candidate nomination deadline to

allow other candidates to run against the only

team currently in the race, Anthony Perasso,

LSOE ’17, and Rachel Loos, MCAS ’18. Th e

new deadline is Tuesday, Mar. 1 at 12 p.m.

Two teams—Russell Simons, MCAS ’17

and Meredith McCaffrey, MCAS ’17, and

Nikita Patel, MCAS ’17 and Joseph Arquillo,

LSOE ’17—have already collected the neces-

sary 250 student signatures to be added to the

presidential ballot.

“We know that the daily life of most BC

students does not include UGBC,” Arquillo

said in a statement. “As an organization for

dialogue and discourse across the University,

we want UGBC to help students engage with

the student government, administrators, and

policymakers about issues that they are pas-

sionate about.”

Th e elections will now take place from

Mar. 15 until Apr. 1. Th e Committee is also

allowing new nominations for the Student

Assembly in addition to UGBC president and

executive vice president.

The Committee’s decision comes after

current executive vice president Olivia Hussey,

MCAS ’17, dropped out of the presidential

race on Saturday due to personal matters. Th e

Elections Committee decided to postpone the

Election Kickoff until further discussion could

take place. With Perasso’s encouragement,

the Elections Comittee decided to extend the

nomination deadline to ensure fair competi-

tion within the election.

McCaff rey, Hussey’s former running mate,

formed a team with Simons when Hussey

exited the race.

Simons was interested in running for

president earlier in the semester, but decided

against it to support Hussey and McCaff rey’s

campaign. Once Hussey withdrew, Simons

decided to run to continue their vision.

“Our hope for next year is to serve Boston

College students by re-engaging the student

voice,” Simons said in a statement. “Meredith

and I want to focus on building stronger

relationships across the university that will

allow for constructive action on issues facing

BC students.”

All new candidates will be held to the same

standards as previous candidates, including

attending mandatory meetings, the Com-

mittee said.

The UGBC presidential race initially

started with three teams—Perasso and Loos,

Hussey and McCaff rey, and Elizabeth Foley,

MCAS ’17, and Joseph McCarthy, CSOM ’17.

Foley and McCarthy dropped out of the race

Feb. 15 due to personal matters.

When Foley and McCarthy exited the race,

they encouraged the Elections Committee to

allow more teams to run, despite the original

Lawyers Dean Strang and Walt Kelly talked with BC Law students about their experience.

THE HEIGHTS

Gasson Chair Pierre de Charentenay, S.J., will speak at 12 p.m. on Feb. 25 about the significance of the veil that Muslim women wear and its connotation in different countries around the world. The event will be held at the Boisi Center. 1

Two panels will be held on Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. to discuss governing in the digital age. Panelists will speak about “Data Driven Leadership” and “Public Records Reform: Challenges and Opportunities.” The event will be held in the Barat House. 2

Thursday, February 25, 2016 A2

Nancy Ammerman, a religion professor, will speak about the one-third of today’s younger adults who claim to have no religion. Her presenta-tion will take place in Simboli Hall on Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m. and will deal with the demographic, political, and cultural trends of today’s youth.

Top

things to do on campus this week

3 3

—Source: TheBoston College

Police Department

If you could time travel, would you go to the past or future?

NEWSBRIEFS

Boston College granted Chia-maka Okorie, CSON ’17, the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Scholarship at a din-ner last week.

The award is presented an-nually to a junior who demon-strates academic achievement, involvement in extracurriculars, involvement within the African-American community, and pas-sion about African-American issues.

“It’s such a huge honor,” Oko-rie said to the Office of News and Public Affairs. “Martin Luther King was able to unite a whole host of people for one mission, and that’s because he centered it on something that’s beyond race, that goes down to core identity.”

Okorie was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States when she was only eight years old. After returning to Nigeria to visit, Okorie decided to give up her plan to be a political science major and transferred to CSON. She now hopes to work in public health policy after testing the waters as a nurse post-gradu-ation.

Okorie traveled to Ghana last summer to conduct research on malaria prevention for mothers and their children. She later shared her research at the Con-ference on Child Rights and Sight at Yale University.

At BC Okorie serves as the vice president of the Black Stu-dent Forum. She also works as a Resident Assistant and has created programs to increase dialogues about race on campus. Okorie also works with Campus Ministry.

POLICE BLOTTER 2/22/16 - 2/24/16

Monday, Feb. 22

12:24 p.m. - A report was filed regardng trespassing on Newton Roadways.

9:44 p.m. - A report was filed re-garding a property confiscation in the Walsh Hall Lot.

Tuesday, Feb. 23

1:08 p.m. - A report was filed re-garding an issued trespass warning in O’Neill Plaza.

4:01 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a miscellaneous traf-fic issue in the Commonwealth

Garage.

7:58 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious person on Commonwealth Ave.

Wednesday, Feb. 24

12:20 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance pro-vided to a BC student in Duchesne East.

Math professor J. Elisenda Grigsby is one of 105 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engi-neers. This award is one of the highest honors that the United States grants science and engi-neering professionals.

Grigsby will travel to the White House this spring to re-ceive her award.

“These early-career scientists are leading the way in our efforts to confront and understand chal-lenges from climate change to our health and wellness,” President Barak Obama said in a press release.

Grigsby has conducted re-search for the National Science Foundation, in addition to teach-ing linear algebra, advanced calculus, and algebraic topology at BC.

The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engi-neers are granted by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is within the president’s executive office. The government looks for those who have con-ducted innovative research and focus on community service.

“Obviously, it is a dream come true to be recognized by the President,” Grigsby said to the Office of News and Public Af-fairs. “I am thrilled I will have the opportunity to meet the other awardees and learn firsthand about their work. I hope it will give me a better perspective on what my own research priorities should be, moving forward.”

By Becky ReillyHeights Staff

On Easter Monday in 1916, over 1,000 people swarmed to oc-cupy strategic points throughout Dublin to declare an independent Irish republic. The aftermath of the so-called six-day Easter Rising saw nearly 1,500 men imprisoned by the ruling British, who execut-ed the organizers while the offend-ers’ families stood within earshot. Irish citizens and descendants claim the event to be the first step toward Irish independence, a struggle that continued into the next 100 years.

U.S. Representative Richard Neal and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, WCAS ’09, spoke in Gas-son 100 about the Easter Rising of 1916 before its centennial. Neal also fielded questions about its historical background and politi-cal implications for the future, in an event sponsored by the Irish Studies Program.

Walsh was elected mayor in 2013. His parents emigrated from Ireland to Boston in 1956 and 1959, both from County Galway. His parents taught him Irish grow-ing up and spoke it around the house, and he studied the Easter Rising on his own after hearing so much about it from his parents.

Neal, the representative for Massachusetts’ first district, has long been at the center of U.S.-Ire-land relations. He currently serves as co-chair for the Congressional Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Af-fairs, and he worked toward an Irish Republican Army ceasefire in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. Through his grandparents, he has Irish heritage. Walsh, with his language ability, gave two speeches in Gaelic on one visit to

the country.Walsh spoke first, noting that

he had to leave for an event im-mediately after finishing. He discussed the importance of the Easter Rising to him and his family, emphasizing that the underlying issue of the event was self-determination. Walsh lauded leadership figures like James Connolly, a socialist theo-rist and Rising organizer. Walsh said that their values and history originally inspired him to pursue public service and connected the Irish will for self-determination to the struggles in the countries from which people immigrate to the U.S.

“I want Boston to be a place where anyone can make their own destiny,” Walsh said. “I want Boston to be a community that supports self-determination and freedom for people from all over the world. It’s a universal human need.”

Neal then took the stage, be-ginning by narrating the events of the Easter Rising and describing the gruesome conditions of Irish treatment afterward. Ireland was Britain’s first colony and an experiment in colonization, a western island that could act as a military launching point. One principal division has emerged from religious differences be-tween the Anglican Protestant British and Catholic Irish, ac-centuated especially during the Reformation years. But despite famine and subjugation, Neal said, the late 19th century before the Easter Rising was marked by cultural revival.

For all the Irish efforts, the Act of Ireland created a Northern and Southern Ireland in 1920, and the latter eventually became

a sovereign state. Neal attributed Ireland’s successful transition to a free state to the Easter Rising, an event of political upheaval, as well as the intellectual contributions of Irish writers like George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce. Neal and Walsh both acknowledged the importance of Irish America to popularize the Irish independence movement abroad, as well as aiding in peacemaking efforts throughout the island afterward.

“Irish nationalism in America has always been stronger than Irish nationalism in Ireland,” Neal said. “It’s why we’re here. So we get the memory here. The harshness of what happened because of immi-gration and famine. We have all the stories here, even while the Irish in Ireland are down to business.”

When an audience member asked Neal about his visions for continued peace and stability in Northern Ireland, he said that the processes with which he helped—including the Good Friday Agree-ment, which allowed for the joint governance of Northern Ireland by

the United Kingdom—should be kept intact. He also expressed his hopes to continue a close Ameri-can-Irish political relationship, citing the fervent American-Irish support of the Easter Rising.

“A hundred years later, we celebrate their determination, we celebrate their courage,” Neal said. “It is the American determination that keeps the British attention in Northern Ireland.”

Neal presented an optimistic vision of Ireland’s future during the question-and-answer session. He predicted that the United Kingdom will likely be reluctant to participate in any centennial acknowledgement unless it falls to Northern Irish pressure. He also talked about the renewed Irish national confidence after overcoming politically and eco-nomically tumultuous times in the recent past.

“All of us in the global Irish diaspora have taken pride in Ireland’s history,” Walsh said, em-phasizing the country’s continued worldwide support.

Please send corrections to eic@bcheights.com with

‘correction’ in the subject line.

CORRECTIONS

Mayor Marty Walsh spoke about the Easter Rising before its centennial.KRISTIN SAILSKI / HEIGHTS STAFF

By Andrea OcasioFor the Heights

In the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from clinically significant eating disorders, according to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) Web site. On college campuses 5 to 20 percent of college females and 1 to 7 percent of college males have been reported as suffering from eating dis-orders. And four out of 10 individuals have either personally experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has.

This week, Boston College’s chap-ter of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), a non-profit organiza-tion dedicated to finding help for people struggling with mental illness, is hosting events coinciding with National Eating Disorder Awareness (NEDAwareness) Week.

According to nationaleatingdis-orders.com, educating students on getting help for eating disorders has become crucial. Eating disorders can often go undiagnosed, and the rate at which they have been diag-

nosed in recent years has increased dramatically.

“Eating disorders can occur in many different forms,” Hanaa Khan, co-president of TWLOHA and LSOE ’17, said. “They are also nondiscriminatory.”

In addition to drawing attention to the importance of early detection and intervention when it comes to eating disorders, the week empha-sizes what friends and family can do to support those who suffer from eating disorders.

TWLOHA started NEDAware-ness week with a pledge-signing in front of O’Neill Library. The pledge was to love one’s body despite imper-fections, similar to what TWLOHA did during National Suicide Preven-tion Week during the week of Sept. 7. Next came a Scale Smash in O’Neill Plaza on Wednesday from 12 to 2 p.m. The Smash is supposed to rid the stigma associated with eating disorders and continue to promote positive body images, Gilbert Pan, co-president of TWLOHA and MCAS ’16 said. The week will con-clude with a movie screening of To

Write Love on Her Arms on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Stokes 103N.

The film is based on the true story of a 19-year-old girl fighting drug ad-diction, manic depression, self-harm, and other life issues and how her friends and family helped put her on the path to recovery. It inspired TW-LOHA chapters to start up in different colleges all over the country.

“Mental health is associated with a certain stigma that renders talking about it difficult,” Pan said in an email. “I wanted to change that. I wanted to bring these issues to the forefront rather than let them simmer on the backburner.”

The danger of eating disorders, Khan said, is that they will frequently go undiagnosed until the person’s health is at risk.

The longer an eating disorder goes untreated, the more advanced it becomes and the harder it is to achieve full recovery. That is why this year’s NEDAwareness week is titled 3 Min-utes Can Save a Life: Get Screened. Get Help. Get Healthy.

In addition to attending TWLO-HA’s on-campus events, students can

go online and take a free screening where participants can learn whether it is time to seek professional help.

“It’s time to get beyond the stig-ma and stereotypes and recognize the diverse experiences of people affected by disordered eating,” Claire Mysko, interim CEO of NEDA, said in an online statement. “Early inter-vention is a critical first step toward ending this epidemic, and everyone who is struggling deserves to be able to access help without delay to pro-vide them the best chance possible of full recovery.”

In terms of prevention, it is im-portant to pinpoint risk factors, like societal pressures, dieting, and fam-ily social support deficits, according to nationaleatingdisorders.org, that may make an individual susceptible to eating disorders, and learn how to diminish them in everyday life.

“TWLOHA is predicated on cre-ating a community on campus to talk about mental health and foster hope,” Khan said in an email. “It is more than just specific mental illnesses—it is about connection and the power of hope.”

THE HEIGHTS Thursday, February 25, 2016 A3

nomination deadline of Jan. 29. Foley and Mc-

Carthy did not believe that there was enough

competition between the two remaining

teams remaining teams.

The Elections Committee declined their

request, which was then appealed by Arquillo,

who was originally Foley and McCarthy’s

campaign manager. Arquillo wanted to run

for president when Foley and McCarthy

dropped out. His appeal was rejected until

Hussey and McCaffrey exited the race on

Monday, and they felt that there was insuf-

ficient competition with just one remaining

team, the Committee said.

“When Arquillo appealed, we had two

legitimate presidential teams running,” the

Committee said.. “Thus at that time, we had a

competitive election season in our eyes. Once

Olivia suspended her campaign, however, we

only had one legitimate team left. Without

another team, we felt that there was a lack of

proper competition in the elections. There-

fore, we decided to reopen the elections.”

There is precedent for the Committee’s

decision, which occurred in the UGBC

presidential election two years ago. The team

consisting of Nanci Fiore-Chettiar, GSSW

’16, and Chris Marchese, BC ’15, was running

unopposed. Fiore-Chettiar and Marchese also

encouraged the Elections Committee then

to reopen the nominations and allow more

teams to run to ensure a fair election.

In light of the events surrounding this

election, the Committee has also decided to

revamp the current Elections Code, to ensure

fairer elections in the future.

UGBC, from A1

Conduct, from A1

discuss their rights. Napoli explained that

schools like Georgetown University have

expanded with an entire Student Rights office.

Offices like this serve as a place for students

to report things they believe were mishandled,

as well as offering professional consultants for

the students, Napoli said.

Napoli said that the office at Georgetown

is more professionalized and the services they

provide serve as more of an advocate for their

students, while the Conduct Consultant Pro-

gram, in its starting stage right now, primarily

functions to provide accurate information

from fellow students to those who have been

documented.

Hussey said that they hope that at some

point, with continued efforts on conduct, they

can get to a more holistic view with student

rights initiatives, but they believe this policy

is a step in the right direction.

Murderer, from A1

given 10 months earlier.

“We could’ve had an even shot had that horrific

story not been put out,” Strang said.

Strang is unsure, however, if a change of setting

for the Avery case would have resulted

in a different outcome.

“That’s the question I will live

with until I am not living,” Strang

said.

Filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and

Moira Demos contacted the Avery

family, thinking that they would be

documenting a post-exoneration

civil suit.

“The collaboration with the film-

makers would not have happened without Steven

Avery saying, ‘This is what I want,’” Strang said.

Ricciardi and Demos won the trust of Strang and

worked hard to honor the wishes of both the family

and lawyers. They respected the lawyers’ boundaries

throughout the process.

There is no conversation between Steven Avery

and his lawyers, Strang said. Strang explained that

there is no such recording, but rather that Steven

Avery’s voice recordings are recordings from con-

versations he had in jail with his family and his

girlfriend.

When asked about Avery’s innocence, Strang

and Kelly cannot come to a definitive conclusion

but allege that he is innocent.

“I’ve never known, I personally suspect that he

is,” Strang said. “There is, honestly, evidence sug-

gesting guilt.”

The lawyers not only focused on the Avery case,

but also offered advice to the students in attendance.

Kelly encouraged students to remember the impor-

tance of and hang on to mentors.

Strang agreed and credits the mentors that he has

acquired throughout his law career with helping him

find a path to success. He assumed that many stu-

dents are probably too focused and too directed. By

taking every opportunity and being

prepared, students can feel fulfilled

by their law careers. Strang en-

couraged students to be available

for when serendipity arises.

In regards to the future of the

Avery case, Strang is unsure if

Avery will ever be freed.

“At this point, it would be

newly discovered evidence,” Strang

said. “He has exhausted an appeal

and opportunities in federal court.”

Both Kelly and Strang appreciate the positive

response that the show has elicited, especially in

explaining the criminal justice system to viewers in

the hopes of later reformation.

“The gift of the movie is to show the system in a

real way to real people,” Kelly said.

ISABELLE LUMB / HEIGHTS STAFF

By Sophie Reardon

Assoc. News Editor

Wadley was 8 years old when she and

her mother moved into a tent in Port-au-

Prince, Haiti. The Jan. 10, 2010 earthquake

destroyed her home and her school.

Her mother no longer had enough

money to send her to the temporary school

set up in the tent town. She spent her days

traveling to a well with a bucket to collect

water while her mother walked around

town, looking for lost friends and family.

Wadley, determined to go to school,

took a seat in the outdoor school with her

notebook and a pencil. Even though her

teacher sent her home the first day because

her mother had not paid for school, she

continued to go back until her teacher

finally let her stay.

On Tuesday night, Medicine, Education,

and Development to Low Income Families

Everywhere (MEDLIFE) hosted a screening

of Girl Rising, a documentary following the

lives of girls, including Wadley, across the

globe in the pursuit of education despite

gender and financial barriers.

“We’re trying to touch more on educa-

tion here,” Kayla Daniell, the chair of educa-

tion for MEDLIFE and MCAS ’17, said. “We

really want BC to learn more about what

MEDLIFE is and what we do and why these

people need help.”

Suma, from Nepal, began working

as a servant at the age of 6. Her parents

could not support her and needed her to

start to make a living. At her first master’s

house, work started at 4 a.m. She cooked,

cleaned, and watched the master’s daugh-

ters, who made fun of her because of her

dirty clothes.

Her second master, she said, called her

“unlucky girl” and forced her to sleep in the

goat’s shed in the backyard. She ate scraps of

her master’s food and was beaten every day.

Writing and singing songs, Suma said, was

all that got her through this time.

There was a teacher at her third master’s

house. Suma began to take night classes

with other slaves where they would be able

to talk with peers about the hardships they

all endured. One day, her teacher came to

her master’s house and told him that having

slaves was illegal. He refused to listen, but

the teacher was persistent, and Suma was

eventually liberated.

Now, Suma lives at home with her par-

ents. She works to get masters to release

their slaves, just as her teacher did for her.

There are 66 million girls out of school

across the globe, the film explained. Par-

ents often cannot afford to send all of their

children to school, so they will only send

the boys. The girls, who are forced to work,

face more violence, hunger, and disease. But

if these girls were educated, there would be

a high rate of return.

Senna, a 14-year-old living in a moun-

tain village in the Andes in Peru, found

inspiration in poetry. Her father was a

miner, but he left his job after a near-death

incident in the mine. Senna began to work

in the public bathrooms, while her father

worked as a cook, and her mother and older

sister worked on the mountain.

She was, however, also able to attend

school. Her father saw the importance of

education—it would keep her out of the

town’s brothels—and encouraged Senna to

go to school, but her concern for her father’s

poor health distracted her.

As her father’s health declined, Senna’s

mother decided to take him to the bottom

of the mountain to be examined by a doctor.

He died on the journey there. Senna was

devastated, she said, but she found hope and

inspiration in a poem she read in school.

Senna found, she said, the power of

words and began to memorize poems and

write her own. Her family was the poorest

family on the mountain, but she continues

to go to school and now realizes why her fa-

ther stressed the importance of education.

Amina, who lives in Afghanistan, was

married to her cousin when she was 11 for

$5,000. For the sake of her safety she chose

to conceal her identity—she said her hus-

band or her brother would kill her if they

knew what she was saying in the film.

At her birth, she said, her mother was so

upset that she was a girl that she cried and

cast her aside in the dirt. Being born a girl

cast her into a lifetime of servitude, Amina

said. She has worked for her parents since

she was 3 years old. She was able to attend

school for a few years as a child, and she is

determined to go back to school, despite

having a husband and a child.

“If you try to stop me, I will just try

harder,” she said. “Put me in a pen, I will

climb out. If you kill me, there will be other

girls who rise up and take my place. I will

find a way to endure, to prevail. The future

of man lies in me.” ‘Girls Rising’ is a documentary about girls who pursue education in spite of gender barriers.ISABELLE LUMB / HEIGHTS STAFF

—Walt Kelly, Boston College Law ’68

Two lawyers on the defense team from Netflix series ‘Making a Murderer’ spoke to students at BC Law School on Wednesday about their experiences with the trial.

THE HEIGHTS Thursday, February 25, 2016 A4

It’s that time of the year again,

and boy, am I happy about it. It’s the

time when old men and young kids

alike can eat copious amounts of

food and escape judgment from hor-

rified onlookers.

The same can be said about

the questionable-yet-appropriate

language directed toward those in

control of the proceedings.

That’s right: baseball’s back.

Around early February every year,

I anxiously begin looking at the cal-

endar, waiting for one specific date

to finally arrive: whenever pitchers

and catchers report for spring train-

ing.

Ever since I was a child, I re-

member being in a field playing, be

it with my friends, a team, or with

my dad. It was my escape from the

hustle and bustle of the city and

school life. It was my very own per-

sonal garden to express myself and

let off some steam.

Some of my best memories re-

volve around baseball, like spending

my birthday at a game with my dad

or winning a title with my travel

team.

All of the sudden, that joy came

rushing back at the possibility of

sitting in the stands at Fenway Park

once more, cheering on the Red Sox,

and seeing off David Ortiz during

his final season.

Some say it’s just a game. But, at

least to me (and many others will

agree), it signifies so much more

than that. It is the opportunity to

be a part of something bigger than

yourself, to engage in a quasi-reli-

gious experience with 40,000 other

individuals who are all there for the

same reason: to see a bunch of guys

hit and throw a ball around for 3

hours.

It’s an entire city getting behind a

team and wanting to see it succeed.

Just take a look at a city like Kansas

City and what it meant to it to finally

win it all this past year.

Or look at the city of Boston

after the Marathon bombing, how

it rallied behind the Red Sox all the

way to a World Series title in 2013.

The impassioned speech “Big Papi”

Ortiz delivered (“this is our f*****g

city”) will always live on in the city’s

lore.

In a time of duress, the team

served as a needed escape from the

grueling reality that took over the

city during those jarring spring and

summer months, when the abrupt

reality of the state of the world came

knocking down Beacon Street.

The entire city united as one,

in a way it may never again, in a

time Boston needed it most. It truly

became but one nation, a Red Sox

Nation.

Fast-forward to today, and there

is genuine optimism about the team

once more, after two years of me-

diocrity, that there might be a light

at the end of the tunnel. Year after

year, “Sweet Caroline” plays over

the speakers during the eighth in-

ning at Fenway every night, but this

year, it might keep playing deep into

October.

So, I impatiently check Twitter

for updates from those lucky enough

to be down in Ft. Myers, watching

and reporting how the Sox are get-

ting ready for the season.

I can just hold back the excite-

ment it generates in me to finally be

able to join the crowds at the ball-

park, hot dog in hand, wearing my

David Ortiz jersey and see one of my

childhood heroes take the field for

the last time. It’s been one hell of a

ride, may it never end.

Once in a blue moon, spending your

night standing in the frigid Boston air

has a purpose, and Thursday is defi-

nitely one of those nights.

This Thursday, Feb. 25, Del Frisco’s

Grille, a nationwide chain of high-end

steakhouses, will host a Polar Bear

Dinner.

Inspired by the Arctic Blast that

recently shocked the Northeast, Del

Frisco’s has partnered with the Salva-

tion Army to put the frigid tempera-

tures to good use.

During the Polar Bear Dinner, guests

will be challenged to eat their meals

outside, braving the cold winds so

that others might not have to. Those

interested only need to show up at the

Grille’s Burlington location at 7 p.m.

with an empty stomach and plenty of

layers.

“For the Burlington location the cost

of a prix-fixe meal is $55 for an hour

and a half of eating outside,” said Nicole

Berrio, a spokesperson for the Grille’s

event. “A portion of those proceeds, 15

percent of each prix-fixe dinner, will go

directly to the Salvation Army.

The longer that guests eat outside,

the more money is donated to the

Salvation Army, but obviously we are

encouraging people to brave the cold

for as long as possible, to finish out

their meal, so that the most money can

get donated to the foundation.

Del Frisco’s Grille was started by Del

Frisco’s Restaurant Group, a company

that also operates Del Frisco’s Double

Eagle Steakhouse and Sullivan’s Steak

House.

Known for its contemporary atmo-

sphere, Del Frisco’s Grille embodies

elements of the traditional American

bar-and-grille concept, but incor-

porates menu items specific to each

individual location.

Del Frisco’s also attempts to source

many of its ingredients locally in order

to make its flavors and cuisine as au-

thentic as possible.

The menu will feature some of Del

Frisco’s most popular and hearty items

in order to keep customers cozy in brav-

ing the outdoor air. This includes items

such as the famed cheesesteak egg rolls,

as well as more traditional items, such

as the Grille Prime Cheeseburger and

the Prime Beef Short Rib Stroganoff.

Drinks and dessert are also included

in the meal, with comforting and warm

options, such as Del Frisco’s Hotty

Toddy and its Warm Chocolate Cake.

Del Frisco’s currently has no pro-

jections as to how high the dinner’s

resulting donations might be, but tits

locations are eager to see the event’s

success, as it is their first ever Polar

Bear Dinner.

“It is the first time that we have

launched this series,” said Berrio. “We

are offering these Polar Bear Dinners

both at the Burlington Del Frisco’s

Grille and the New York Del Frisco’s

Grille, those are the only two of all of

the 19 Grilles in the country hosting

them.”

This means that this week’s Polar

Bear Dinner is a much-anticipated trial

run. If all goes well and the event proves

successful, the Polar Bear Dinner could

become an annual event that takes place

at nationwide Del Frisco’s locations. But

regardless of the night’s overall suc-

cess, any revenue that results from the

dinner will directly aid the Burlington

community.

“All of the proceeds are going to the

specific markets,” said Berrio. “All of

the donations in Burlington are going

to that specific market, and same goes

for New York City.”

Those who choose to attend Thurs-

day night will be supporting a cause

that has a significant impact on the

community, in addition to having the

chance to create unique and delicious

memories.

“It should be a fun night,” Berrio

said. “We are hoping to have a lot of

people come out, and embrace the cold

so that others don’t have to.”

FRANCISCO RUELA / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

Do you find yourself constantly

missing your dog? Sometimes, all

college students need is some canine

companionship and puppy love to al-

leviate stress. With the mobile applica-

tion Bark’N’Borrow, you can browse

hundreds of dogs around you available

to borrow at no charge.

Liam Berkeley, CEO and founder of

Bark’N’Borrow, grew up surrounded

by dogs who were loved and treated

as family during his childhood in Aus-

tralia. After moving to Los Angeles,

Berkeley and his girlfriend contem-

plated getting a dog, but his 12-hour

workdays and her commitment to

school made it impossible. He started

meeting dog owners in the neighbor-

hood and playing with their dogs. As

he got to know them better, he would

offer to take the dogs for a hike or down

to the beach for a run when the owners

were busy.

He got the idea for the service when

people would go up to him when he

was out with the dogs. He found out

that a lot of people could not have

dogs because they got either got a new

job, moved, lived in an apartment, or

traveled too often. He then explained

the situation and told them that he was

actually borrowing this dog.

These encounters made him think

about a platform that would connect

dog owners to a trusted community of

dog lovers in their local area.

“I saw that there was no medium

between having no dog and committing

to one for the next 15 years,“ Berkeley

said. “My idea could make everyone

happy ... borrowers were happy because

they could get their puppy fix, and

owners were happy because their dogs

would be with someone who genuinely

wants to spend time with the dogs.”

Enough interest was generated

to build a website. In the meantime,

Berkeley continued meeting more

dogs, and it took about a month to six

weeks before he became a familiar face

and was building trust with the owners.

Toward the end of 2014, a rough ver-

sion of the app was launched.

After a bit of testing feedback,

Berkeley learned that many dog own-

ers needed someone to look after their

dogs at the last minute. The profes-

sional service element was also a big

draw for the system.

By creating an account and passing

the background check, you become

part of the Bark’N’Borrow Pack. You

can connect through Facebook or enter

your email address, home address, and

phone number. When addresses have

been verified upon registration, users

can then access and connect with dog

owners, borrowers, and professionally

paid dogsitters and walkers.

As a borrower, your online profile

will consist of a photo, personal infor-

mation, reasons for wanting to borrow

a dog, and qualities you are looking for

in a dog. Bark’N’Borrow also has the

option to find certified dog walkers,

sitters and caretakers, especially when

dog owners need help for long periods

of time.

The product launched in November

2015 in Los Angeles, San Diego, and

San Francisco. In the last three months,

the app has expanded to Boston, Chi-

cago, New York, and Seattle. Last week,

Bark’N’Borrow hit 50,000 profiles.

With the success the company has

seen, Bark’N’Borrow wants to give

back. It hopes to launch a paid model

of the borrowing service in the near

future. The fee will help promote the

platform by making sure that everyone

is insured, and part of the profit would

go to the rescue organization it will

partner with. The borrowing service

also plans to eventually branch out to

adoptable and foster dogs.

Berkeley believes the app will con-

tinue to further create and foster a

community.

“We look to establish relationships

because this is not simply a product,

it’s someone’s baby … everyone loves

their dogs,” he said. “I love having dogs

around, and I want people to have the

same options.”

COURTESY OF BARK’N’BORROW

The longer diners are able to brave the cold temperatures while enjoying their food this Thursday night, the greater the donations the Salvation Army will receive from the establishment.

Individuals who join Bar’N’Borrow and pass the background checks will get the chance to be loaned a dog free of charge.

THE ONLY JUAN

more attention to the site, its history, and beyond—to the national parks as a whole.

As the fall approaches, the National Park Service is celebrating the centen-nial of the creation of the National Park Service.

The park is also targeting the young-

er generation, especially those who are more technologically oriented, to in-crease both awareness and involvement in park service as a part of its “Find Your Park” campaign. By showing how the story would have been reported, it sparked renewed interest in the historic building.

THE HEIGHTS A5Thursday, February 25, 2016

By Leslie SellersHeights Staff

140 characters: just enough room to spew a witty joke, start a debate between Kanye and literally anybody, and bring American history to life.

In the past week, the Boston Af-rican-American National Historic Site’s (BAANHS) Twitter account has released a number of sequential tweets detailing the trial of an escaped Vir-ginia slave, Shadrach Minkins.

The site sought to make history come to life by retelling it in a format both familiar for young audiences and one commonly used as a news outlet today.

News of the past became accessible by transmitting it through modern methods.

Shawn Quigley, an official park guide for the site, described his inspira-tion for the Twitter campaign.

“I wanted to tell [Minkins’] story without lecturing or just linking an article explaining what happened,” he said. “I started thinking about sensationalized trials, such as Whitey Bulger, and how reporters used Twit-ter as a medium to let people know what was happening essentially in real time.”

Shadrach Minkins, originally en-slaved in Virginia, escaped to Boston where he took up residence and began

work at a local coffee shop. He was working when federal

marshals arrived and took him into custody.

When Minkins was brought to a hearing, he could not testify for him-self because under the Fugitive Slave Law, the U. S. government denied him citizenship.

As the hearing proceeded, hundreds of black and white Bostonians crowded into the courtroom, overcoming the armed guards.

Eventually, black abolitionists freed Minkins from the marshals and hid him inside a Beacon Hill home.

A day later, Minkins headed to Canada by way of the Underground Railroad, where he finally reached Montreal.

Quigley, in one of his later tweets, wrote, “Breaking news: Our sources have informed us that Shadrach has made it to Canada and is now free!”

Using social media for the campaign had dual intentionality. Quigley attrib-uted this duality to BAANHS’s desire to increase its online visibility.

The Twitter campaign fits into that mold. But increasing its presence is not their only goal.

“It’s important to show that history is more than dates or lectures from a professor,” Quigley said.

The BAANHS has more dates and presentations, too.

The site displays permanent and rotating exhibits on local African-American history in an 1834 school-house, runs special tours and outreach talks, and gives daily talks at its partner site, the Museum of African American History.

The Black Heritage Trail, a 90-min-ute, mile-long walking tour through the north slope of Beacon Hill, however, remains its most popular program for visitors.

“When most people think of na-tional parks they think of Yosemite or Yellowstone—not downtown Boston,” Quigley said. “But we are unique in the sense that instead of protecting a natural resource, we protect a cultural resource.”

That cultural resource is the free African-American community on Beacon Hill that existed in antebellum Boston.

And though a story of abolition-ist success, both Minkins’ story and the site remain mostly unknown by Bostonians and visitors alike, in stark contrast to the common knowledge of many of Boston’s surrounding historic sites.

Making the BAANHS more visible in the historic and popular commu-nities relies on the ability to get the word out.

Using the most accessible form of media, the BAANHS sought to bring

COURTESY OF BAANHS

By Pasquale DiFilippoHeights Staff

It’s that time of year again. “Hous-ing” is a word that often makes Boston College students cringe, especially for undergrads who are not guaranteed four years of housing and graduate stu-dents still on the hunt for apartments.

The competition for housing is so steep in an already crowded market that juniors often begin looking for

accommodations just weeks into the fall semester.

Coupled with the fact that Boston came in as the third most expensive housing market in the country, with the median one-bedroom rental price clocking in at $2,340 according to the national report released by Zumper, a real-estate rental startup, things look bleak.

This has been a particular problem for middle-class families who struggle

to meet rent, as housing prices continue to rise, yet income has failed to keep up. Allston, however, came in much lower, at $1,800 a month. On average, BC has about 1,000 students living off campus.

BC has been proactive in its efforts to increase on-campus residency, ob-taining permits to build 2150 Comm. Ave. and convert 2000 Comm. Ave., an apartment complex, into a residence hall. BC has also disclosed plans for further housing developments in its Institutional Master Plan.

Local real-estate firms are also beginning to dip their hands in the student housing market. Cabot, Cabot, and Forbes (CC&F), purchased vacant St. Gabriel’s Monastery in Brighton for $21 million. CC&F aims to transform the site into housing for graduate stu-dents.

The renovation will include much-desired amenities for students, includ-ing a gym, Wi-Fi, and parking and shuttle service to universities in the area.

The property is adjacent to St. Eliz-abeth’s Hospital and just under a 10-minute drive from Lower Campus. The project will provide between 400 and 500 housing units for grad students.

“The idea is to provide a housing option that gives an inducement for graduate students to live there and get out of the way of families trying to live in the three-deckers of the neighborhood,”

Doherty said. Doherty also expects the cost of rent

for the two-bedroom units to be “mate-rially lower” than the price tag of $4,000 for many newer apartments.

CC&F sees its latest housing project as an opportunity due to the explosion of graduate student enrollment in the city, a 47 percent increase from 1995 to 2010.

Despite trends in online education, increasing importance of post-second-ary education suggests that enrollment will continue to grow at universities across the city.

The Allston-Brighton area houses the largest share of graduate students in the city. Private development of student housing has been hard to come by in the city due to its expensive land.

Developers will choose to finance large high-rise buildings backed by cor-porate tenants rather than residential. This is due to the fact that it is more difficult to screen each individual tenant occupying the building, especially col-lege students, according to The Boston Globe.

According to a January U.S. Census report, the ownership rate in the city is slightly below 60 percent. That, coupled with record population growth in the city over the last 25 years, has led to a surge in rental demand.

In order to combat rising costs for students, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, WCAS ’09, released the first compre-

hensive report on student housing trends in the city last April. The reportplaced a priority on making housing safer for students and increasing on-campus beds at universities in the city.

Boston, led by Walsh, has cracked down on students’ over-occupyingapartments in the city. Last year, for thefirst time, over 30 universities submit-ted addresses of their off-campus stu-dents. Of the 25,000 addresses analyzed, the city identified 580 apartment units it suspected were overcrowded.

A 2008 zoning ordinance preventsmore than four undergraduate studentsfrom occupying a single apartment. The Inspectional Services Department(ISD) checked the addresses for health and safety violations, according to the Walsh administration in a previous Heights article.

Last month, Northeastern Universityannounced plans for a residence hallhousing 800 students.

The school partnered with a private developer, American Campus Commu-nities (ACC). ACC will construct andmanage the building.

Because the building will be privatelyoperated, it will not be included in theuniversity’s housing lottery, and stu-dents must independently lease units.

Giving students access to more off-campus housing units should bring down rental costs and mitigate viola-tions of the “No More Than Four” rule.

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

One of the aims of CC&F is to transform an old monastery into graduate student housing.

exist, they’re not even my favorite breakfast food, yet over the past few months they have become a noticeable presence in my life. In fact, I can prac-tically trace my experience in Boston through my consumption of pancakes.

I had my first Boston pancake shortly after I arrived at school. It was actually my first off-campus meal, which is probably why the day sticks in my head so vividly, a brunch with people who would become two of my closest friends.

By some miracle, we had gotten seats at The Met Back Bay, and I was starving for something different after almost a month of dining hall food. As I glanced over the menu, the Red, White & Blue buttermilk pancakes jumped out at me, and before I knew it, I had ordered them without even giving a second of consideration to the Nutella stuffed French toast, or the three-cheese omelet.

Any regret I had vanished as the pancakes made their way toward me several minutes later.

Light and fluffy, each pancake was almost the size of my head and topped with intricate swirls of whipped cream and berries. They were so simple and sweet, exactly what I needed that day.

And apparently they were exactly what I needed not much later, when I ended up at a sub shop in Newton

Center that for some mysterious rea-son had pancakes on the menu. A part of me knew that they wouldn’t even be that good (they weren’t), but they still made the perfect lunch.

It turned out that pancakes were also what I felt compelled to order the first time (and the next couple of times, if I’m being honest) I dragged my friends to Johnny’s Luncheonette for dinner one fateful Friday night.

Even though it was clearly dinner, and I had yet to eat anything even vaguely nutritious that day, I ordered pancakes with whipped cream and blueberries, and relished every last bite of them.

It eventually became a kind of pattern. If there were pancakes on the menu, I would order them, regardless of the time of day. There were even moments when I didn’t particularly want pancakes, but I would order them anyway. It was almost like I was driven by some pancake-obsessed in-ner force that I had yet to recognize.

But as time went on, I began won-dering about why I was so drawn to pancakes when the opportunity pre-sented itself. Back at home, pancakes were a frequent breakfast item, but not so frequent an item that arriving in the pancakeless-world of a college dining hall could have left me with a deep pancake void that I needed to

I’m not sure if any of you know about this yet, but this week is Na-tional Pancake Week. Maybe some of you have been awaiting National Pancake Week with bated breath. Some of you might even be like me, delightedly caught off-guard and ec-static to find something that will give meaning to the nightmare that is (for me at least) the second consecutive week of midterms and papers.

But most of you might be con-fused as to why I even care about it in the first place. In a city where more sophisticated and mouth-watering breakfast foods like waffles or crepes are readily available at restaurants like Zinneken’s Waffles or The Paris Creperie, why would I be so excited about a week dedicated to the humble pancake?

Honestly, I’m not even sure that I could tell you. Pancakes are by no means my favorite food. And in a world where scones and pastries

fill up. In retrospect, I think that it had

something to do with the childish nature of a pancake.

Entering college can be a stressful time for even the most organized of people. There is suddenly a new city, a new workload, a new set of people, and everyone needs a coping mecha-nism. For me, that coping mechanism was pancakes.

I see pancakes as the definition of childhood. They are the ultimate diner food for a 6-year-old, and the break-fast that almost any child will request

before he or she understands what a crepe is. Pancakes are a grasp at the simplicity of being very young. They represent an existence when my familysurrounded me at all times.

So I think that the whole thing has to do with the fact that every time I eat a pancake, I can feel childishly young and carefree, if only for a few moments. But sometimes, a few mo-ments are really all that I need.

KELSEY MCGEE / HGIGHTS EDITOR

The new courthouse in downtown Boston was the site of a slave escape in the 1800s.

THE HEIGHTS Thursday, February 25, 2016A6

HEIGHTSThe Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

THE

“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”-John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accom-pany pieces submitted to the newspaper.

Letters and columns can be submitted online at www.bcheights.com, by e-mail to editor@bcheights.com, inperson, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.

EDITORIALS

The views expressed in the above editorials represent the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by the Editorial Board. A list

of the members of the Editorial Board can be found at bcheights.com/opinions.

Boston College Athletics officially announced Monday that it will pursue the construction of three new athletic facilities within the next three years: a recreation center, playing fields for baseball and softball, and an indoor practice facility.

The project will cost $200 million and will give varsity, club, and intramural sports better facilities to practice in, especially during winter.

By providing athletes with these nec-essary facilities, BC will be in a better recruiting position with more leverage over comparable schools. After a disap-pointing football season and the recent losses in basketball, it is clear that athlet-ic improvement is necessary if BC wishes to maintain a competitive program in the ACC. As one of the few FBS schools located in a major city, with high-quality academics and a great alumni network, BC already has a number of great sell-ing points for recruitment, as Director of Athletics Brad Bates often points out. But one of the main selling points for student-athletes is quality athletic facili-ties. In that regard, BC has failed in its recruiting efforts over the last 10 years. Once new facilities are in place, BC can attract recruits who would otherwise have chosen a different school.

This is a project that has been a long time coming. Indoor practice facilities are a must-have for a top college sports program, especially one in the North-east. The University has promised im-provements for roughly a decade now, and progress has been very slow.

While this announcement is a posi-tive sign, it remains necessary that we wait and see if everything comes to fruition as it is meant to. If BC fulfills the plan it has put forward—and we should see this process begin over the

summer after Edmond’s Hall has been demolished—it will be a worthwhile project that establishes a firm footing for athletics in the future.

It is important to note that the entire $200 million cost is covered by private donations, meaning that no tuition dol-lars will be put toward these projects. A common complaint when the University announces athletic expenditures is that the money could be spent elsewhere, but in this case, since the University is not using tuition dollars, it is putting donors’ money into programs that donors wish to see supported. Alumni have been clamoring for improved practice facili-ties for years, and using their donation money for this purpose exhibits a com-mitment to alumni interests.

This proposal is a worthwhile use of donation money that would greatly improve the state of BC Athletics. BC has lagged in the creation of these fa-cilities, and it is important to wait for an ensured fulfillment of the proposal. Once construction is fully underway and the new facilities are an inevitability, BC will have taken a step toward legitimately improving athletics and the many pro-grams they affect.

This will benefit everyone by increas-ing BC’s national prestige and bringing in more money that can be used on vari-ous non-athletic projects.

The Undergraduate Government of Boston College has created a pilot pro-gram to provide an individual conduct onsultant for students who receive dis-iplinary sanctions. This consultant is a tudent whose job is to inform the dis-iplined student of his or her rights and

help the student through the process. A conduct consultant program is useful

or students. As it stands, the disciplin-ry process often leaves students unsure

of how to proceed. They do not know what they should say to their residential director, how to approach their hearing,

nd what rights they have. A trained onsultant is a simple way of confronting his and preparing students. By informing tudents of their rights, the consultant

will be able to help students understand heir position and how to proceed. This ould mean that a student could seek an ppeal, or better explain the situation to

his or her RD with complete knowledge of the process.

UGBC has access to resources of which most students are unaware. By spreading nformation to consultants and setting

up a system through which students can eek support, UGBC is using its resources

wisely by supporting this program. Hope-ully, this program will remain in effect in he future and will expand. This program s similar to an already-offered service at

Georgetown University, which ensures hat students understand their rights n the disciplinary process. By joining nother elite Jesuit university in the cre-tion of this program, BC is improving its

offerings for students. While this is a good first step, the

University should continue to develop tudents’ rights programs. The previously

mentioned Georgetown program involves an office devoted to students’ rights. Moving forward, the University would do well to keep the conduct consultant program while also expanding students’ rights offerings.

One necessary portion of ensuring this program’s success is to properly train consultants. Since the consultants themselves will be students, they must undergo a thorough training process and be made aware of every facet of the disciplinary process in order to effectively help students. An untrained consultant would de-legitimize the program and

could easily hurt a student’s disciplin-ary situation more than help it. This is the most essential part of the program and deserves serious attention as UGBC moves forward.

A student’s lack of knowledge regard-ing his or her rights can lead to unnec-essary mistakes during a disciplinary hearing. As an institution meant to help students, UGBC should attempt to create as many tangibly beneficial pro-grams for undergraduates as possible. Succeeding in the creation of a conduct consultant program demonstrates these tangible benefits and will help a great deal of undergraduates.

phy by Alan Walker, and in the context of the overwhelmingly lame, uncontro-versial Grammys last week, I scrolled through my classical music playlist and wondered, “Is anyone else feeling this?”

This is no elitist, I-was-totally-born-in-the-wrong-generation, woe-is-me-pop-music-is-shallow lament. Anyone who knows me can attest to my position on the Nicki Minaj defense squad, the fact that I’ve had Zayn’s “Pillowtalk” on repeat since its release, and that I wrote my last column for The Heights on Be-yonce—all in all, that I am a shameless lover of the celebrity phenomenon and am unafraid to defend it. But it still feels to me that classical music has a timeless sort of depth, maybe one that we as youth should draw upon to reconnect with the most important facet of our humanity: our emotions.

Obviously, the tears I shed at Franz Liszt’s brilliance are not unique to me. In times of tragedy, classical music has often given us comfort: Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” has become the effective anthem of mourning in our country, though it wasn’t written with that intention. Similarly, the first thing I do in the aftermath of human tragedies lately (mass shootings, police brutality, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, un-just rape trials) is listen to instrumental music. Without words, without restric-tions on what I should think, with only space to absorb the music and make my thoughts mine—this is, for me, the matchless power of classical music.

Lately in my MCAS Honors semi-nar, we have been learning about the ideals of Enlightenment thinkers. Most notably, Immanuel Kant tells us in his

famous essay “What is Enlightenment?” that it is the courage to sapere aude—dare to know. It is a rejection of the easy way out, an embrace of the difficult, a willingness to think for ourselves—only then can we become enlightened within our humanity. It is with these academic principles in mind, or perhaps even the notion that I have access to these complex academic principles with my $60,000 tuition, my BC bubble, and my safely locked and maintained dorm, that I reflect in these spaces on what I am doing on this Earth—what I should accomplish, when people are struggling even to survive in just the next country over, the next city over, the next street over. Listening to Franz Liszt unlocks in me not just my deepest emotions, but the knowledge that I have the capac-ity for these deep emotions, that I am magnificently human. Feeling in this capacity is an assertion of our shared humanity.

There are so many problems in the world. There is no simple answer to the diplomatic impasses between America and the world or to the dismal outlook of millennials, to the oppression of freedom by tyrannical governments, to the social and political divisions between warring parties. Obviously, just listening to music is not the cure-all to the world’s great problems. But it is still incomparably powerful. It insists on mindfulness from its listeners, on a silent and powerful affirmation of our humanity. If we drew upon music, or rather, upon the unique, wordlessly human quality of the emotion, I think we as individuals could understand each other, and ourselves, in a much deeper and necessary sense. It may inspire the urge to actually doing something.

“A sympathetic recognition is as-sured,” Liszt writes, “to everyone who consecrates his art to the divine services of a conviction of a consciousness.” Art has a knack for opening minds, and in this time of change, perhaps that’s just the push we need.

THE HEIGHTSThursday, February 25, 2016 A7

MUENSTER CHEESE - Most people are easily overwhelmed when they enter the wild world of cheese. Colby? Jack? Cheddar? What is this? For those people, we would like to pro-vide a moment of parental guidance. There is one true cheese, a cheese that rises above all others into a tran-scendent state of gustatory glory. That cheese is Muenster.

PUTTING YOUR FEET UP ON DESKS - There’s no greater power move than strutting into your professor’s office hours, plopping down on a chair, and planting the heels of your dog-turd-stained boots right on his desk. This is a guaranteed way to get an A in any class. The professor will respect you and assume that you are a reasonable, intelligent, and worthy student.

FREAKING OUT YOUR ROMMATE - There’s nothing better than an eight-month, extremely well-coordinated plan to drive your roommate insane. One day you’re found standing in a circle with seven extremely tall women, all raising both hands in the air and chanting, “Pimmy pams for my jimmy jams.” The next day you say you have no memory of this. You wake up in the middle of the night and begin laughing maniacally. When your roommate wakes, you fall back asleep. You brush your teeth every morning with a toilet scrubber while looming over your still-sleep-ing roommate. Occasionally you pet your roommate’s hair and tell them, “You’re the chosen one,” before sprinting from the room as fast as you can. Within two months your roommate will be requesting a new dormitory or a new college. That’ll teach them to treat you nicely and try to get along with you.

PLATITUDES - They’re fun because everyone can be a part of them. Join arms with me, fellow humans, and let us rejoice.

WASHING YOUR SHEETS - You wake up one morning and realize that you are swimming in a sea of dead skin and solidified sweat. The stench emanat-ing from your bed has attracted a horde of 17 rats that crawl up your walls in a synchronized assault of nightmarish proportions. Sighing, you rip the sheets off your bed and march down to the laundry room. The horror. Could your life be any more of a struggle?

TEST AND HOMEWORK ON THE SAME DAY - “This is absurd,” you scream. “I should report you to the police.” Homework on the same day you have a test? What kind of cruel joke is this? The second you heard the news you leapt onto your desk and proclaimed your protest. Your professor stares at you with a blank, dead-eyed glare. “Students, my brothers and sisters,” you yell. “I call upon you to rise up. To throw off this yoke of overwork. Come with me. We shall lie in our beds and watch television in solidarity. They may take our GPAs but they will never take our freedom!”

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Health care costs are one of the most contested issues in the Democratic Party today. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have been looking at the ris-ing costs associated with our health care system, and how the government can help alleviate the financial strain that health insurance is placing on people who are just trying to make ends meet. Clinton has framed herself as keeping with Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act policies (the staple legislation of his administration), while Sanders has signaled vehement sup-port for a single-payer national health care system—Medicare for all. The Affordable Care Act did not go nearly far enough in relieving the heavy burden of insurance premiums because of the lack of a public option. A single-payer system would be a tremendous step forward in reducing the exorbitant costs that Americans pay for health insurance.

Health care per capita in the United States costs 50 percent more than in Canada, and double the cost per capita in the United Kingdom. Private insurance providers calculate the expected cost of the insurance that they sell based on the likeli-hood of injury or illness and the costs of the medical care of treating those ailments. There are also other unavoidable costs in providing these plans, like administrative fees to cover labor, land costs, and technol-ogy. In all, the expense ratio for private insurers usually lies between 15 and 25 percent, while the Medicare program has a measly expense ratio of 2.9 percent. It doesn’t spend anywhere near the amount of money that private insurers spend on commercial advertisements and executive bonuses.

Critics argue that when all other costs associated with administering Medicare are taken into account, the ratio goes up to around 10 percent. If that number is cor-rect, most people would still benefit from a more efficient program. University of Massachusetts Amherst economist Gerald Friedman has looked at Sanders’ proposal for nationalized Medicare, and has shown that aggregate net savings with a single-payer system over our current system will be around $5 trillion over the next 10 years.

The legislation Sanders wants to implement would also allow the Medicare program to negotiate drug prices, which it is currently unable to do because of concessions made to the pharmaceutical industry under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. A recent study out of Carleton University and Public Citizen showed that Medicare pays 83 percent of a brand-name drug’s official price, on average. Medicaid and the Veteran Health Administration pay only 48 percent and 46 percent respectively because they are not prevented from utiliz-ing their bargaining capabilities.

The best critique of the payroll taxes needed to implement a national single-pay-er system is that taxes to pay for it are unjust because they are involuntary and people must relinquish the personal freedom to choose whether to pay for health insurance by themselves. The critique is right, but it neglects a critical aspect of the current system. What happens if someone chooses not to purchase insurance because they think that their likelihood of needing medi-cal treatment is low, and they are wrong? The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986 already requires hospitals, which receive payments from Medicare, to treat people that are in need of emergency medical treatment. The federal mandate does not provide funds to cover these people. The vast majority of hospitals have to pick up the tab for these people, and The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Ser-vices have pointed out that approximately 55 percent of an emergency physician’s time is spent providing uncompensated care.

If our country is supposed to protect its citizens’ lives, shouldn’t it consider nationalized health insurance to provide all citizens with reasonably affordable health care? The United States should implement a nationalized single-payer health care system, or at least a public option, in order to secure more affordable insurance costs for its citizens.

system, but the issue goes much deeper. It centers on the idea of vulnerability.

Imagine your high school friends. Many of us still cherish those relation-ships. Even though we might not see these friends every day, we still consider them some of our closest companions. High school was a formative time, and we had to confide in these friends, and share information on our hopes, dreams, and changing emotions. It gen-erated an undeniable sense of trust. We created a space of openness where we recognized that our individuality was accepted and appreciated.

Yet, while it’s still a formative experi-ence, college presents a different atmo-sphere. People are older, everyone talks about the “real world” and we have to put on the facade of certainty—act like we know what we want from life. But the same conversations, the ones of hopes, dreams, and changing emotions, are still there. It’s only in college that we are expected to be more reserved, to keep our problems to ourselves. With these expectations, how can we possibly be vulnerable? Our relationships suffer be-cause they lack this depth. We may live with someone for four years, but that doesn’t mean we are best friends. The strength of relationships is not defined by their longevity, but by their content.

We need this vulnerability. We need to be open with our friends. We can’t wait until the funeral to finally realize that it’s okay to say, “I love you.” I feel horribly for these seniors. I can’t imag-ine leaving school feeling friendless. Outside of the education, college friend-ships are perhaps the greatest reward to the experience. We need to intention-ally be open with our friends. Let’s take moments, whether they are birthdays, holidays, or Mondays, to actually tell our friends that we care. And if you don’t feel that way, then maybe it’s time to find a new group before it’s too late.

this culture in which you need to belong to a group—it becomes the core of your social status. The housing process makes students desperate to find a group and cling to it. We might even openly dislike some of the kids in the group, but that doesn’t seem to matter—all that matters is actually having a group.

We make sure we have a group and then commit a year of our lives to liv-ing with it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end after freshman year. At the start of sophomore year, the off-campus frenzy forces students to find a house or apart-ment almost immediately (I found my house within the first two weeks). But who are you going to live with? Another year committed, this time with a lease. At this point, living with this group is routine, and senior year won’t change the status quo.

So as I listen to these seniors, I can’t help but worry about my friendships. I wonder if I’ve merely found a group and stuck with it because that was the safe or easy choice. Again, I love my friends, but not even that recognition can stop the paranoia, the fear that I belong to the group because it’s convenient.

Then there was the funeral. When one of my friend’s family members passed away, the entire group left Boston to show support. It sounds cliche, and it is, but there was a liberating moment in loss. It gave us the opportunity to be vulnerable with one another—a certain unwritten license that let us cry together and say things like “I love you man.” I be-gan to understand more and more why seniors felt this level of insecurity. Sure, it was partially because of the housing

“I’ve spent four years here and haven’t made any real friends;” “None of my friends care about me;” “My friends are going to forget about me after I graduate”—all tearful confes-sions from seniors who have started their last semester at school. Since I am a junior, I can only nod my head and act supportive, left to question my own relationships.

Parts of BC, from our poor housing system to our competitive personalities, make students doubt the strength of their friendships. I love my friends, and I assume that I’ll share lifelong relation-ships with them. Yet after listening to different seniors, I became less confi-dent in my friendships, and I couldn’t help but wonder how I’ll feel a year from now.

College is strange because our first relationships are determined by a computer program—one that put me on the fourth floor of Gonzaga with two complete strangers. This randomiza-tion, paired with BC’s general “Who do you know here?” exclusivity, makes it difficult for freshmen to branch out. You spend freshman year with friend-ships formed out of convenience, hat-ing the fact that you don’t have close relationships like you did in high school. Some kids transfer, but most of us just go with it.

Then it comes time for housing, when students have to verbally express who their closest seven friends are, then five and then three (if you end up on CoRo like I did). There’s nothing more disheartening than having to be told you fit in less or are the “most expend-able.” The only thing worse is getting removed from a group. Especially when eight-man’s are so coveted, we create

This past weekend, I started my ulti-mate music history-buff move: curating an exhaustive list of my favorite classical works. As a violinist since first grade and progeny of a family of classical enthusiasts, I pride myself on having an intimate connection with the classical greats—Rachmaninoff ’s elevating piano concertos, Beethoven’s deeply pro-found symphonies, Paganini’s techni-cally incredible violin caprices—since before I can remember. Unfortunately, as expected, my list project backfired in a lot of ways: I did none of my required homework, I lost a Spotify follower, and I didn’t even end up finishing the list be-cause I became immersed in a cathartic rediscovery of how much I love Franz Liszt, Romantic-Era composer, virtuoso, and superstar, who reshaped the way an entire planet understands classical music, and what it does for humanity.

To keep it short, Liszt was a colossal and unrivaled pianist, whose solo per-formances defined the idea that a pia-nist could attract, and deserve, crowds of thousands—“A god for pianists,” as composer Berlioz said. He was allur-ing and brilliant, with a natural sort of magic that set off the phenomenon that poet Heinrich Heine termed “Lisztoma-nia”—a condition in which swooning female fans would literally faint in his magnetic presence, throw their bras-sieres onto the stage, and collect his cigarette butts as souvenirs. His music is rich and tantalizing at times, roman-tic and dreamlike at others, and always technically complicated, making him an inevitable adversary for any music stu-dent—a titan of emotional understand-ing and practical mastery.

In the middle of my forgotten list I found myself embarrassingly teary-eyed at this virtuosic genius, now 100 pages into his gorgeous three-volume biogra-

THE HEIGHTS Thursday, February 25, 2016 A8

Nowadays, conversations do not often contain more than

simple, scattered text messages riddled with emojis. The inter-

personal connections many take for granted have begun to wither

away rapidly.

This Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., in a joint effort between the Laughing Medusa, Stylus, the Medical Humanities Journal, Slam,

and Other Americas, the literary publication community is taking

over Fuel America in Brighton during its “Fuel Your Fire” event.

The event, which will feature an open coffee bar and a wide

selection of pastries, hopes to expand the reaches of the creative

community within the BC student body.

It will also have poetry readings, slam performances, and read-

ings from all five organizations hosting the event, not to mention

a special performance by BC bOp!

Jennifer Heine, the events coordinator of Stylus and MCAS

’16, believes that this is an “exciting opportunity to feature our

work and everyone else’s.”

She says that this event will be different from other more

formal poetry readings in that this will be more of a social event

in a more informal, safe environment where everyone is there to

either showcase their work, support those performing, or to simply

observe. Additionally, she says that it is always fun for students to

get off campus for a bit and have fun.

“I hope that people [are] going [to] get excited about the cre-

ative forces at BC,” she said. “We sure are.”

Fuel America was chosen as the site of the event because of its

existing connection with the BC community, with many students

spending their mornings or afternoons there.

“People and students come and spend their entire day here,”

said Gabriel Ferreira, manager of Fuel. “They can relax and do

their work. It is an experience that is unlike that of Starbucks or

Dunkin’ Donuts—we aim to celebrate the people.”

Kaitlin Astrella, editor of the Laughing Medusa and MCAS

’16, agrees with what the event is trying to achieve and that the

venue was chosen due to its close proximity to campus and its

familiarity to the student body.

“I’m there all the time,” Astrella said. “I wanted it in a bigger

and safer space for all writers, especially women writers.”

Astrella also talked about bringing the literary community

closer and, thus, making it stronger. For her, listening to other

people perform allows creativity to flow through the entire audi-

ence. Plus, she added, all of the writers and performers “do cool

[stuff].”

Listening to others perform often inspires her, Astrella said,

as listening to others showcase their work and seeing their own

individual styles creates a special environment and a connection

between the performers and the audience.

Regarding her goals for this event, the biggest driving factor

was to bring together all of the other publications in one room

and to become familiar with both their work and the individuals

that make it happen.

“It opens up a lot of people to new ideas, and [I] hope that they

make new connections as well,” she said.

All of the publications when the idea first came to fruition,

said Astrella, were very receptive and excited at the possibility of

having a joint event and of “do[ing] something different.”

Looking toward the future, Astrella and Heine hope that this

type of event at which many publications showcase their work

together will become a more common occurrence.

But for now, this is a good start.

is the pursuit of an “athletics field house”

constructed adjacent to Alumni Stadium.

This indoor facility will provide a desper-

ately needed space for football and the

spring sports to practice during the winter

without having to rely solely on the bubble

over Alumni. Bates, however, confirmed

that the bubble will still be used as an

auxiliary practice facility for teams during

winter months.

University spokesman Jack Dunn

reiterated that the plans for the new rec

center and baseball/softball fields have

been approved and the University is

merely awaiting permits—that being said,

those projects should begin as soon as this

summer.

The indoor practice facilities, however,

will have to go through the approval and

permit process, just as those facilities did

when the IMP first came out.

The original IMP had planned for

undergraduate dorms to be placed on

Shea Field.

Since this plan was submitted to the

City of Boston in 2007, Dunn said that the

University will reevaluate the housing com-

ponent on Shea with the indoor practice

facilityslated to go next to Alumni.

Bates expressed his excitement that an

indoor practice facility will bring to BC

from a recruiting and standpoint.

“We have a lot of assets that are inher-

ent to Boston College,” Bates said. “When

you combine the facilities part of it, with

the assets of Boston College, it just adds

to the lucrativeness of Boston College to a

prospective student-athlete.”

Bates also believes that an indoor prac-

tice facility will greatly help the University’s

varsity sports, particularly football.

Moving practices indoors allows football

to avoid inclement weather in fall months. It

will also negate time and lighting as an issue,

and help BC simulate crowd noise of larger

stadiums in the ACC without disrupting the

neighboring residential area.

Though Bates said no red flags came up

in the process, BC Athletics wanted to make

sure that the plan was solid before making

it public, given how big of an investment

$200 million is.

As of now, contracts have not been es-

timated or put out to bid. That being said,

Dunn believes that this project will create

significant construction opportunities and

could result in hundreds of jobs.

“We’re looking to work with the city

to advance this project and to meeting

with the Boston College Allston-Brighton

Community Task Force, the mayor’s office,

and the BRA to advance this important and

noteworthy project for Boston College,”

Dunn said.

Bates estimates that, once the permits

have been approved for the indoor practice

facility, it will take 8-12 months to complete

the project. As for what the baseball/softball

Facilities, from A1

fields will look like, Bates said that it largely

depends on how many additional donations

BC Athletics receives—however, he stated

that the department has already been given

significant money for these projects.

“Once we put a shovel in the ground,

we’ll be able to give an accurate estimate,”

Bates said.

BC Athletics has provided artistic ren-

derings of the new recreation center and

the field house.

In the press release from BC Athletics,

several head coaches expressed their grati-

tude over the pursuit of this project.

“This announcement represents a

commitment from Boston College to give

our students the best facilities possible,”

football head coach Steve Addazio said in

the official release. “We are very excited

for an indoor facility that will provide our

student-athletes an opportunity to develop

throughout the winter months.”

“At Boston College we talk about and

believe in “cura personalis”—care for the

whole person,” baseball head coach Mike

Gambino said in the statement. “The BC

Athletics Department, and specifically the

baseball program, strives to live up to that

standard by making sure our student-ath-

letes reach their full potential on the field,

in the classroom and as people. These new

facilities will play a huge role in helping our

players develop on the diamond and, in

turn, helping our program compete on the

national stage and for a chance to go to The

College World Series in Omaha.”

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF BC ATHLETICS

BC is planning to significantly upgrade its facilities to remain competitive nationally in a project expected to cost $200 million.

Spent grain accounts for an estimated 85

percent of a beer brewery’s total by-product.

During the brewing process, the grain loses

its sugar content and nourishes the yeast.

Numerous breweries throughout the coun-

try have recycled spent grain as animal feed,

organic fertilizer for growing mushrooms,

and even fuel to power their day-to-day

brewery operations. Because most brewer-

ies recycle their by-products, the brewing

industry as a whole has earned a reputation

of being environmentally friendly.

Somerville Brewing Company, also

referred to as “Slumbrew,” has initiated

an innovative program that salvages the

unused by-products from the beer brewing

process. Considering its bounty within the

brewing process, spent grain is an abundant

and inexpensive addition to Slumbrew’s

pantry. Slumbrew is able to extract the

large quantities of spent grain at little to no

additional cost. By introducing food items

made with spent grain to its product line

and its menu, Slumbrew demonstrates its

creativity, resourcefulness, and commit-

ment to sustainability in its brewery. One of

Slumbrew’s specialty food items includes its

spent grain Belgian waffles.

An excellent source of fiber and protein,

Brewer’s Spent Grain, or BSG can be a foun-

dation for numerous foods. Because beer

and bread are similarly composed, water,

sugar, yeast, and grain, bread products are

the easiest ways to use spent grain in the

kitchen. Its unique nutty taste and gritty

texture are ideal for baked goods.

Slumbrew co-owner Caitlin Jewell hosts

45-minute interactive and instructional

cooking classes in which attendees use BSG

as ingredients for two different dog treats,

including sweet potato spent grain treats

and peanut butter treats. The cooking classes

feature a tasting of Somerville’s finest brews

as well as a tour of Somerville Brewery.

According to Jewell, the program is also

an environmental initiative, as grains that

would be previously thrown out are now be-

ing consumed or used for other purposes.

During the tour, the attendees not only

learn about the beer brewing process but

also pick up the recently brewed ingredients

for their recipes. The cooking class offers

an opportunity for Slumbrew to pair its

reputable brews with food items made with

the same ingredients. Jewell demonstrates

her expertise in brewing and provides an

in-depth explanation of how to successfully

incorporate liquid beer in baking repertoire.

At the end of the dog treat cooking class,

the guests receive a goody bag filled with

freshly spent grain, four recipes, and pre-

made samples.

“The recipes are ones I’ve modified

over the years for my beagle Bailey, and the

artisan bread, which is a rosemary bread, is

about to become a permanent part of our

menu,” Jewell said.

For the spent grain bread-baking class,

attendees can take home a freshly baked

loaf of bread, extra spent grain, other bread

recipes, bread and butter sampling, and

a beer “token” to a Slumbrew pint. Jewell

encourages her attendees to email her to

arrange to pick up additional spent grain

in the future.

Slumbrew currently incorporates BSG in

its recipes for four different dog treats as well

as bread. The brewery hopes to introduce a

line of chocolate chip cookies in the future.

“The funny part is these dog treats are

incredibly healthy for human consumption,”

said Jewell.

ARTHUR BAILIN / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

NETFLIX’S ‘LOVE’JUDD APATOW PRODUCES THE NEW NETFLIX RELATIONSHIP COMEDY,

TOO LATE FOR MS. LEEIN THE WAKE OF THE WRITER’S DEATH, TWITTER TEEMS WITH PRAISE,

PAGE B4

REVIEW

REVIEW

‘Last Week Tonight’PAGE B3

COLUMN

JOHN OLIVER RETURNS TO ‘LAST WEEK TONIGHT’ DESK READY TO TAKE ON LAST WEEK,

ABBY PAULSON / HEIGHTS EDITOR

THURSDAY | February 25, 2016

THE

Page B4

THE HEIGHTS Thursday, February 25, 2016B2

Years ago, somewhere in the vast expanse of New Hampshire, a 5-year-old Caroline Portu, MCAS ’16, prepares to face off against the French National Guard. She’s nervous. Portu has never faced off against a force quite like this. Her saving graces are her two brothers. They’re younger, but they’re made up of the same vivacity as their sister. She’s quietly singing to herself, “Here upon these stones we will build our barricade / In the heart of the city we claim as our own.” The Guard is advancing on their location. Portu and her brothers take a deep breath and prepare to jump. After a few seconds of perfect stillness, the three leap over the pillows and charge headfirst into the oncoming soldiers.

This is practically how Portu responds to the question, “What are some of your favorite musicals?” One might expect to hear her rattle off a few Broadway hits and move onto the next question. Instead, Portu hits you with a beautiful picture of her early days learning some of the best musical numbers to hit the world’s stages. Years later, finishing up her senior year at Boston College, Portu has just signed off on the last musical of her BC theatre career, Learning How to Drown. In her time here, Portu has performed in a variety of musicals and plays, including Godspell, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Trojan Women, and Le-

gally Blonde. While Portu notes that each of these musicals brought its own challenges, Learning How to Drown provided the best learning experience.

Learning How to Drown was written and produced by Patricia Noonan, BC ’07, and put into the BC theatre schedule as a workshop. The students involved were given a chance to experiment with characters since there were no previous performances. Portu was told to work on the character at many different angles. In this thinking, Portu was able to relate herself to her character, trying to see where her personality could aid the character. Also, with the novelty of the show came a chance for the students to interact with it on a more personal level instead of academically, as Portu puts it.

“It was great because it was less academic,” Portu said. “It was much more performance-oriented, which put us in a more professional setting. What I’ve noticed at BC, which is great, but can be detrimental, is that we’re focused on the history and background of a piece, rather than how we feel about it or connect with it.”

Looking back on her other work in the the-atre department, Portu noticed that she often enjoyed student-directed plays and the unique opportunities that they gave students. In a less rigid setting, Portu felt that the students could discuss where they fit into the pieces that they were working on, rather than the setting and reason that the play was written.

“I tend to like the student shows more,”

Portu said. “It’s more fun. We’re in charge. We can talk about a vision of a show over mozza-rella sticks, as opposed to being given these big inaccessible abstractions. The students won’t talk like that. They’ll ask you what you think. They’re really open to hearing your opinion because you’re on equal playing fields.”

Now that Portu has finished her last show at BC, she’s got her sights set on the future. With graduation nearing, Portu is in the midst of planning her career outside of BC. Currently, she’s working with two national wedding band companies. Over the summer, Portu will play at venues across the country, continually earning a name for herself in the music world.

She’s also looking to record an EP in New York, but with school, it’s hard for her to plan trips to New York to go into a recording studio. Sketch comedy is also an interest of Portu’s, and though she might not set that at the top of her priorities, Portu is all about keeping her options open to the best of her ability.

“The key is, you’ve got to actually be there,” Portu said. “That’s what this summer is for. I’ll probably start in New York and see where things go from there. I definitely don’t have a plan, and I’m fine with that because that’s what my life has been like for the past four years.”

Reflecting on her time at BC, Portu had many words of wisdom for future BC students and, particularly, theatre majors. Portu also went to lengths noting how dif-

ferently things worked out from how she thought her time at BC would be spent.

When Portu entered BC, she felt that theatre would be a much larger part of her educational experience here. She eventhought about applying to a conservatoryin the city under the assumption that she wanted to focus more on performing thanon traditional education. Once at BC, Portufound a love for philosophy and adopted thesubject in a double-major with theatre. Over the years, Portu started to realize that she could directly apply what she learned in her philosophy classes to much more than just academic papers.

Portu feels that an ability to observethe world from different perspectives hashelped her grow as an actress. She notes that her philosophy major helped her realize this vital point and that, even though she enjoys applying this practice into her acting method, she feels that having a multifacetedworldview is the most helpful thing some-one can do for his or herself in life.

“Generally, in college, your job should be to pick and choose the philosophies andworldviews that work for you, wrap them upin a ball,” Portu said. “You end up holdingonto that ball for the rest of your life.”

Portu’s future might be shrouded in fog. The French National Guard might belooming ahead of her. But Portu, also, hasher ball of knowledge—a ball of knowledge and practice that can help her through all of life’s challenges and trials.

A FULLER PICTURE

We all retain parts of our childhood that are reignited at certain points in our adulthood. For me, I think my love of video games stems directly from that piece of my childhood that lies, partially dormant, somewhere in my head. I’m not talking about just any video games, though—I’m talking about games that a lot of people might think a 20-year-old wouldn’t be playing. Ever heard of Kingdom Hearts, the epic Final Fantasy and Disney mash-up? I’m cur-rently going through my second play-through in my dorm. I can’t get enough. That is, until I get swamped with work for two weeks and can’t pick it up. That’s when the real world wins.

Back to my point. When I heard Disney had created a sandbox video game that pulled characters from virtually every corner of the Disney universe (including Disney’s recently acquired Star Wars and Marvel universes), I was hesitantly hooked. Did I want to build my own racetrack through Andy’s room from Toy Story and drive around as Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc.? You bet. Would I be mortified if anyone ever saw me doing it? Yep, kind of. With this in mind, I let the game go for a few years.

Each year, however, Disney released new versions of Disney Infinity rife with new missions, iconic places to build whatever you wanted, and more characters to buy. I should note that to play as whatever character you want, you need to buy a little figurine of the character at a video game store. You put these figurines on a pad that comes with the game, and they appear in the game—fascinating what technology can do these days. Anyways, once Disney started integrating Star Wars into the mix, I was really itching to get in on the fun. The game had actually gotten good reviews from IGN and Gamespot, and if those 30-some-thing-year-old men could play Disney Infinity, why couldn’t I? I decided I’d go check it out at Target, ready to explain to the clerk that I was getting it for a little cousin.

When I got to Target, I finally saw why Disney was pushing so hard for people to buy Disney Infinity. A starter pack for the game costs $80. Subsequent missions and character figurines can range anywhere from $15-35 each. Let me quickly repeat that. It costs $15 to play as Buzz Lightyear in a video game. There are 117 Disney characters you can buy for this game, and to play as just one, it costs $15. I might be a bit childish in my game selection and general demeanor, but there is no way in hell I would ever spend nearly the amount of money that Disney expects from me just to get a few characters and missions in Disney Infinity.

Later, it dawned on me just how brilliant Disney is to sell the game like this. With a beautiful color palette and stylized renditions of most, if not all of Disney’s most famous characters, kids must be dragging their parents to Best Buy and Gamestop to get the Barbossa figurine or the Pirates of the Carib-bean mission pack. With 117 figurines and a variety of mission and location packs, Disney has to be swimming in all the cash it’s raking in from this game.

It’s not the only one to take up this new formula. LEGO recently released its own version of the Disney Infinity world with Lego Dimensions. It’s practically the same concept, except LEGO takes advantage of the movie and television brands it has acquired over the years, pulling together a collection of charac-ters ranging from Bart Simpson to Legolas. Lego Dimensions is, notably, sold at about the same prices as Disney Infinity.

This is a dangerous and slippery slope we’re staring down as gamers. In a video game world where the effects and pervasive-ness of downloadable content are constantly growing, it’s terrifying to see this formula that Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions have quickly and efficiently mastered come to life. Sell the game, then sell individual missions, then sell individual characters. Sure, it’s cool to see a type of game that is constantly being updated with new content, but Disney set the standard with how these types of games can be sold, and the prices are excruciat-ing. I would not want to be a parent with a video game-addicted kid right now. I have to acknowledge, on the other hand, that that terrible gene is in me and that one day it could very well be passed down to my son or daughter. By that time, lord only knows how the Disney Infinity formula will have evolved.

THIS WEEKEND in artsBOSTON COLLEGE IRISH DANCE PRES-ENTS: “ELECTRIFY”(THURS.-FRI. AT 7 P.M.)Secure your tickets for this week’s Robsham show, Boston College Irish Dance’s “Electrify.” Experience a fusion of traditional dance and contemporary music at this captivating cultural performance.

‘EDDIE THE EAGLE’(OPENS FRI.)This family-friendly biopic of Michael “Eddie” Edwards’ outlines the Olympic aspirations of one unlikely Brit-ish ski jumper. The film emphasizes the importance of overcoming adversity and rising to great challenges in the pursuit of achieving an impossible dream.

FUTURE FEAT. TY DOLLA SIGN(FRI. AT 7 P.M.)Boston’s House of Blues is your destination for one of the greatest hip-hop concerts of the season. Find tickets now for Friday’s Future concert featuring Ty Dolla Sign.

MY MOTHER’S FLEABAG(THURS. AT 10 P.M.)Get to Gasson 305 early to grab a seat for the comedy styl-ings of the always-hysterical My Mother’s Fleabag. This week’s 2016 Spring Cafe is a free event that promises to bring entertaining improv comedy to campus.

“SO YOU THINK YOU CAN SWING?”(SUN. AT 4 P.M.)Join the Boston College Full Swing dancers this Sunday afternoon in Robsham Theater for a high-powered performance. The group’s first annual show will feature entertaining dance numbers from guest performers Fuego and AeroK.

‘TRIPLE 9’(OPENS FRIDAY)When a major heist hinges on the murder of a promi-nent policeman, a gang of criminals take drastic measures to ensure their success. Crooked cops and criminal behavior abound this star-studded action film, in theaters Friday.

TROYE SIVAN(MON. AT 7 P.M.)The Youtube star-turned singer brings his signature electro-pop sound to Boston on Monday. Sivan will perform hits like “WILD,” “FOOLS,” AND “BITE” straight off his debut album Blue Neighbourhood.

UNIVERSITY CHORALE (SAT. AT 7 P.M.)Head to St. Ignatius on Saturday to hear the University Chorale of Boston College perform classic and contem-porary songs. This weekend’s highly-anticipated winter concert is free to the public.

BY: HANNAH MCLAUGHLIN | ASST. ARTS & REVIEW EDITOR

20TH CENTURY FOX

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFFJULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

THE HEIGHTSThursday, February 25, 2016 B3

Last week, for approximately 24 hours or so, the Twittersphere took a momentary hiatus from societally perceived “important things”—incessant prattle about Kanye West and those viral white Vans belonging to some kid named Daniel, for instance—pausing, only briefly, to pay its respects to the life of award-winning author Harper Lee.

After publishing To Kill A Mockingbird in 1960, pocketing a Pulitzer Prize for it in 1961, and recently releasing her controversial sequel—a hotly disputed follow-up on the Finch family— Lee’s respectable literary resume received recognition from Twit-ter users worldwide when she died. Oddly enough, a vast majority of such sentiments read less like genuine admiration and more like an obligatory outpouring of posthumous praise.

As is often the case with big-name celebrity deaths, condolences come out of the proverbial woodwork to commemorate the lives of entertainment greats, prompting most social media platforms to transform into muddled messes of mourning messages and sorrowful soliloquies laden with sad-face emoticons. Practically impossible to distin-guish between genuinely disappointed fans and those whose knowledge of the deceased extends only as far as the title of their most notable masterpieces, each tear-soaked tweet or Instagram in memoriam contributes to the puzzling phenomenon that I’ve come to call “Enigmatic, Electronic Eulogizing” (EEE).

Not to be confused with the potentially fatal, mosquito-associated affliction of the same acronym, the social epidemic of EEE is incredibly interesting. Blurring boundaries between the distinct levels of fandom—the all-out fanatic as opposed to an occasional-appreciator, for example—platforms like Twitter allow anyone to pose as a proud proponent of this and a staunch supporter of that. The pressure of maintaining one’s tailored online image sometimes has a funny way of producing an onslaught of feigned af-fection—arguably the most telling symptom of societal EEE that I’ve encountered. Person-ally, this irks me a bit.

Someone who hadn’t heard of David Bowie until his death in early January could express his or her deep condolences as quickly as one of his diehard fans. Kids who merely skimmed To Kill A Mockingbird in seventh grade tweet profuse praise to Harper Lee, as if the two months spent laboriously analyzing her novel were by far the best days of their young lives. Maybe it’s just me, but I find this sometimes-hollow expression of emotion a little bit odd.

Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way claiming that artistic geniuses deserve less praise than they currently accumulate from the public (please, I’m not a monster). Rather, I believe such bold ventures into their respective fields should be celebrated more often. My main issue, I realize, stems from the cultural practice of social media users’ only oozing deserved attention and praise promptly following a death an-nouncement.

In an age when National Donut Day—a fabricated, commercial celebration of con-sumerism and calories—is celebrated more readily and with much greater enthusiasm than the publication date of cultural or literary classics like Lee’s To Kill A Mocking-bird, the social media-obsessed should take a step back and examine their priorities. When a viral cat video or the ramblings of a confused rapper get more Internet-air-time than the life of an author who highlighted the horrors of racism with one novel, some-thing about society seems a little off.

I don’t know. I just think Lee’s legacy de-serves a little more than all of this. Bowie’s iconic, celestial glow dims duller with every unenthusiastic “RIP, D.B.” tweet from guys who heard “Starman” once and liked it.

I acknowledge that this rant of mixed emotions is decidedly inconclusive when it comes to the way social media users should mourn those who’ve passed on. I know that I have no authority to determine it, anyway.

All I’m really saying is this: Creative geniuses deserve much more than half-hearted sentiments of pseudo-sympathy. Genuine appreciation isn’t pithy, preachy well-wishes cut and molded into the tidy confines of a 140-character limit.

For every story we have told, there are dozens we have yet to tell. For every story we have heard, there are thou-sands we have yet to hear. Some of these stories are unfolding now, while others have yet to happen. Still others are lost in time. One such forgotten story is that of Lou Montgomery.

Lou Montgomery: A Legacy Restored is a film by MCAS Honors Program pro-fessor Susan Michalczyk, and it follows the trials and triumphs of Montgomery, Boston College’s first black athlete. Brimming with heartfelt testimonials, family accounts, and audio from Mont-gomery himself, the film speaks to both the successes and shortcomings of BC as Lou treaded on the untested grounds of integrated collegiate sports.

A native of Brockton, Mass., and a Brockton High graduate, Montgomery made his stature as an athlete clear. He was a state-athletics star, and many schools recognized his potential. He was offered football scholarships from schools across the country, most notably UCLA, one of the most progressive universities of the time when it came to integrating sports. Going to UCLA would have made made him teammates with Jackie Robin-son and Kenny Washington, the first black football player to sign with an NFL team. But instead of heading off to California, Montgomery chose to stay close to home and attend BC in 1937.

With so much talent, the Eagles were quickly becoming a powerful football force. Under head coach Gil Dobie, Montgomery was put on the varsity squad after his freshman year. After the departure of Dobie, legendary head coach Frank Leahy stepped in to bring about a golden era of BC football, heav-ily involving Montgomery. During this historic era, Montgomery, a running back, shared the field with several Col-lege Football Hall of Famers, including

quarterback Charlie O’Rourke and fullback Mike Holovak. Played to his potential, Montgomery was incredibly impressive. Under Leahy, Montgomery averaged just under nine yards a carry.

His fullest potential, unfortunately, may never have been realized, as the outside world pressured the team to make unfair concessions. Plagued by the “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” in which Southern schools would refuse to play unless the other team’s black players were not in attendance, Montgomery was often benched. During this time in BC football history, building a brand stood above upholding principle.

Montgomery’s absence did not go un-noticed, however. In the 1939 season, the Eagles’ only losses were against Florida and Clemson in the Cotton Bowl, leaving the Eagles 9-2. Montgomery was absent from both games.

In the 1940 season, Leahy sought to flesh out other options in the offense, as he knew Montgomery would not be allowed to play when facing tough Southern opponents. Leahy and the Eagles went on to finish the season with a win against Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl at 11-0 without Montgomery. This was the year BC stood as mythical national champions.

But a large part of Montgomery’s legacy stands not on the injustices done against him as an individual player, but in his vir-tue as a teammate. Many of his teammates at BC also hailed from Massachusetts. Montgomery had played with them in high school and his absence in many games was seen as unfair by a bulk of the team. Despite this, Montgomery removed himself without protest, not wishing to inflict punishment on the rest of the Eagles because of South-ern teams’ unwillingness to look past the color of his skin.

“Had he gone to UCLA, he would have found a more welcoming community with respect to race. [...] His life would have been so very different,” Michalczyk said. “He would have had the chance to reach his potential and that is a loss not only for

Susan Michalczyk’s Film Shows Lou Montgomery as a Symbol of Progress Both On and Off the Field.

A MCLAUGHLIN MINUTE

Rebuilding a Legacy

Montgomery, but for all of us.”But Montgomery’s love of the game

was far greater than the prejudice har-bored in the hearts of others. During the pivotal seasons of 1939 and 1940, Montgomery proved himself a vital part of the program on and off the field.

These sentiments are beautifully ex-plored in Lou Montgomery: A Legacy Restored. Rife with passionate, earnest reflection on Montgomery’s story in the BC community, the film is as much about what his story meant at the time as what it means today. In a critical, yet fair fashion, many interviewees in the film call into ques-tion the conflict between the Jesuit values of the University and the willingness to abide by the Gentlemen’s Agreement. What real jurisdiction does an antiquated Southern prejudice have in the North? Certainly, when visiting teams in the South, Southern law took precedent, but Montgomery was also put on the sideline at home when facing visiting teams.

Sadly, principles were set aside to en-sure BC could play ball at the highest level. Though racism and prejudice are forces that exist outside of one university, organization, or sport, people complicit in their effects warrant criticism. In BC’s case, Montgom-ery’s plight, as so many of the interviewees pointed out, is a blatant violation of Jesuit and Christian values and that these events represent, at least, a sorely disappointing moment in the University’s history.

This may be why Montgomery’s story is not widely known. We have always heard of Doug Flutie, Matt Ryan, and Montgomery’s contemporary, O’Rourke, but we seldom, if ever, hear about Montgomery.

“As with so much in life, when there is pain or embarrassment or a sense of not having done something perfectly, most people and institutions prefer not to dwell on those moments,” Michalczyk said. “It’s human nature. And yet, unless we acknowledge the past, we are doomed to repeat it.”

The film will hopefully achieve ac-knowledgement and recognition of Mont-gomery in a wider sense. In 2012, his jersey was retired and honored in the southwest corner of Alumni Stadium, but as the film is quick to point out, the discussion

should not stop there. The film seeks to put a fire under the conversation and to achieve a greater sense of recognition of Montgomery.

Cai Thomas, MCAS ‘16, worked on the film as a co-producer, camera operator, and editor. After hearing about Montgomery’s story as a freshman during the 2012 cer-emony, Thomas wanted to learn more about Montgomery. Upon learning about the film project, Thomas quickly became involved. In addition to the production work, Thomas was instrumental in gath-ering the archival sources for the film. Speaking to the most compelling aspects of Montgomery’s story, Thomas said that lis-tening to the audio and hearing him speak about the discrimination he faced and about BC was one of the most profound and personal touches of the film.

Through the film, all those involved hope to institutionalize his memory and make it as common as other BC greats’. Presenting Montgomery as an important pioneer in BC’s history is integral for the University. This is in part the reason his story is being presented as a film.

“Art, the visual image, the music, the story, the narrative allows for a less threat-ening interpretation,” Michalczyk said. “It allows people to watch and process, and make connections in a way that would not work with simply listening or reading. The film is a great tool to get the idea out to people.”

Lou Montgomery: A Legacy Restored is, as the title suggests, an attempt to renew an interest in Montgomery’s story. Though the film does point out BC’s shortcomings, it does not wish to demonize the University. A Legacy Restored is a touching account of one man’s virtue in the face of adversity. In the audio logs from Montgomery, talking about his time at BC, one thing remained clear: in spite of all the troubles, his love of the game was strong.

“I hope people find inspiration in Lou Montgomery’s story and consider ways that we can help make a differ-ence, whether through a scholarship, a statue, yearly conversations, and dialogue, in ways that will result in positive changes on our campus and beyond,” Michalczyk said.

SUSAN MICHALCZYK

SUSAN MICHALCZYK

SUSAN MICHALCZYK

THE HEIGHTS Thursday, February 25, 2016B4

Love is patient, love is kind, and, as Judd Apatow’s new Netfl ix series would have it, it’s pretty weird too.

Love made its quiet debut last Friday. Th e fi rst season contains 10 episodes, and a second season is already on its way to production and is set to arrive next year. Its formula realistically presents the formation of a relationship from both genders’ perspectives. It arguably succeeds in this presentation, but it is far from the most entertaining of Netfl ix’s original series.

Th e tension in typical romantic comedies generally lies in discover-ing how two seemingly incompati-ble characters end up involved. Th is rule holds true for Love. Gus, played by the show’s co-creator Paul Rust, a former writer on Arrested Develop-ment, is an on-set tutor for a bratty child actress. Gus is constantly pining to bring his spec script for one of its episodes to an executive’s attention. Mickey, played by Gillian Jacobs, who also starred as Britta on Community, manages a therapist’s radio show and struggles with her former relationship with a cocaine addict. Both are in their thirties and struggling to fi nd real love.

At the show’s start, both char-acters are experiencing the fallout of breaking up. Gus moves out

TOP SINGLES

1 Work Rihanna ft. Drake 2 Love Yourself

Justin Bieber 3 Stressed Out

twenty one pilots 4 Sorry

Justin Bieber 5 My House

Flo Rida 6 Pillowtalk

Zayn 7 Hello

Adele 8 Me, Myself & I

G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha

TOP ALBUMS

1 25Adele

2 PurposeJustin Bieber

3 ANTIRihanna

4 HymnsJoey + Rory

5 TravellerChris Stapleton

Source: Billboard.com

CHART TOPPERS

Gwen Stefani has a funny way of making a comeback. Every once in a while, the dance-pop diva releases a dizzying music video or two just to remind music lovers that she’s still an active solo art-ist trying to establish a signature sound. Determined to solidify an identity as something other than that edgy lead vocalist who domi-nated No Doubt many moons ago, Stefani tried her hand at making entertainment history with the live Feb. 15 premiere of her music video for “Make Me Like You.”

With the help of discount retail giant Target, Stefani fi lmed the fi rst-ever live music video as an extended commercial break during the telecast of CBS’ 58th Annual Grammy Awards. The video is a vibrant and fast-paced romp through 11 diff erent sets, and the singer’s seven live costume changes are a fl uid and impres-sive feat for such a high-pressure performance.

Channeling her inner Marilyn Monroe—expertly emulating the sultry starlet with a retro blonde hairdo, striking red lipstick, and a purposeful stride—Stefani struts through the individual sets, com-pleting the choreography of each new scene with incomparable fi nesse. In one moment busting moves on a motorcycle, perform-ing roller skate stunts during another, Stefani provides viewers with a vertigo-inducing visual that is perfect for the song’s poppy instrumentals.

Th e video—a project a steep $12 million budget—is with a risky venture into an emerging enter-tainment trend: taking advantage of live TV. Th e music industry has been void of the energetic synth-pop stylings of an emotion-packed Stefani LP. Now, Stefani sets high expectations for her upcoming third studio album Th is is What Truth Feels Like with the exuber-ant music video for “Make Me Like You,” a performance that reads much more like an artistic spectacle than some kind of a celebrity sellout.

“MAKE ME LIKE YOU”

GWEN STEFANI

ATAPOW PRODUCTIONS

LOVEJUDD ATAPOWPRODUCED BY

ATAPOW PRODUCTIONSRELEASE

FEB. 19, 2016OUR RATING

laughs.Love sometimes feels, ironically,

artifi cial, particularly in its insis-tence on the kind of self-reference that seems popular in Hollywood recently. In one of the fi rst episodes, Gus goes through a box of Blu-Ray discs from his ex’s house. As he throws them out of the window in turn, he criticizes each for its unre-alistic depictions of love—although Love parodies itself here when Gus criticizes Homeland for being as equally wildly unbelievable as the rest. Th e orientation of the charac-ters in Los Angeles and especially

Gus’ work on the set of a television show seem overly self-obsessed to the point that it feels like a viewer could sometimes miss inside jokes and meaning.

All of this is not to say that Love doesn’t still have its charming moments. While Love frequently critiques modern phenomena like Uber and Blu-Ray, it’s pervaded by a quirky sense of anachronism. Let-ters morph and objects dance to the beat of the groovy title sequence, reminiscent of the opening anima-tion of Grease. Despite its fl aws and some of the discomfort that comes

along with these sometimes unsym-pathetic characters and slow-mov-ing plot, the show is still somehow utterly binge-able, as the dramatic tension festering in a somewhat-real relationship builds. Th e moments when Gus and Mickey have genu-inely joyful exchanges are often well worth the wait.

Love is far from typical roman-tic-comedy fare and can feel drag-ging and relatable at times. But if you’re not looking for your average dramedy or want to try something new, give it a go—it may just latch onto your attention.

Taking one of his many comedic breaks from his serious discussion on abortion laws in some states in the U.S., John Oliver elaborated on the worst way he can imagine dying.

“Your mother catches you mas-turbating and when you fall trying to pull your pants up, you hit your head,” Oliver said. “Your dad has to carry you pants-less to the car. Th e girl next door is trying to help, but she’s laughing so

hard at you that she closes the door on your hand, startling your mother, who slams on the gas, dragging you behind the car while your father shouts, ‘Your TV show is derivative and you’ll never escape the shadow of Jon Stewart!’ Th at’s what we’re all afraid of, right?”

While many began watching Last Week Tonight thinking, “I’ll check out the show with the British chum from Th e Daily Show,” if Oliver has proven anything in the fi rst two seasons of his program, it’s that he certainly

made a name for himself apart from being Stewart’s sidekick. Especially with Stewart’s bowing out on Th e Daily Show last August, Oliver has fi lled the hole left by his spiritual predecessor rather well. With a slew of late-night programs airing every weeknight, Last Week Tonight off ers a unique, accessible, and poignant program once a week that tackles, in extreme and cautiously accurate detail, one major political or societal issue, alongside a few big stories from the week’s news.

On HBO, there is very little Oliver isn’t allowed to do on-air. He can swear as much as he likes, insult whoever he wants. He also has a noticeably high production qual-ity compared to his cable-television colleagues.

Within the realm of political late-night programs, comparatively, Real Time with Bill Maher, Th e Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore are all overly opinionated. If you watch too much of any of these programs, it’s easy to be sucked into an opinion that doesn’t give itself enough of an evidential backing as Oliver’s Last Week Tonight gives its view-ers. It seem like Wilmore and Noah are overly critical of right-leaning politics, and do not easily concede points that go against their obvious political beliefs. Sure, Noah might make fun of Hillary Clinton’s hand motions during a debate, but rarely does his program analyze the Demo-cratic candidates’ political stances with the same fervor as it does with candidates like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

Sure, all of these programs, in-cluding Last Week Tonight, are built on political opinions, but often, Oliver presents his program with as much of an unbiased air as possible and focuses less on weekly battles between politicians and more on

conceptual societal issues. In last week’s episode, Oliver discussed abortion laws in states like Missis-sippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. While it was obvious that Oliver is against these laws, he attacked them in a calm, sophisticated manner, analyzing in detail the points their proponents make in their defense, and pointing out the hypocrisy and unnecessary nature of some of their claims. He also presented many case examples of patients’ lives that were seriously affected by these laws’ restrictions in their states.

Oliver’s method of crafting a de-tailed, 20-minute argument, as well as his ability to surround some very serious topics with both relevant and irrelevant humor give Last Week Tonight a unique format compared to the many late-night programs on TV. Entering his third season of Last Week Tonight, Oliver no longer needs to fear that his name doesn’t stand on its own two feet—though he has probably realized this for some time now. While in many respects and by many people, Oliver may be considered Jon Stewart’s protege and successor of political late-night, Oliver’s program stands wholly apart from Th e Daily Show in its determina-tion to cover a story or issue with the utmost detail and least biased perspective possible. AVALON TELEVISION

LAST WEEK TONIGHTJOHN OLIVERPRODUCED BY

AVALON TELEVISIONRELEASE

FEB. 15, 2016OUR RATING

TELEVISION

TELEVISION

SINGLE REVIEWS BY DAN FITZGERALD

The music of English rocker Jake Bugg has always felt like a throwback, and “On My One” is no different. In a Johnny Cash-like track, Bugg delivers lyrics about loneliness and broken dreams as experienced by a 21-year-old. If you’re looking for a run-of-the-mill acoustic blues tune, this one’s for you.

JAKE BUGG“On My One”

The Lumineers deliver in the lead single from their much-anticipated sophomore album, Cleopatra. It does not feel the need to break the trend of catchy repetition that has come to defi ne modern pop-folk, weaving feel-good lyrics about young love. It will certainly be stuck in the head of anyone who listens.

LUMINEERS“Ophelia”

No one ever said, “We NEED more Simple Plan music.” The band that was never quite The Offspring or Blink-182 has released this track from its fi fth album Taking One for the Team. The song’s rebellious, carefree attitude is a tired shtick, seeing as the band members are in their 30s and their fans aren’t 14 anymore.

SIMPLE PLAN“Opinion Overload”

MUSIC VIDEO

High energy, high action, high confl ict—Triple 9 is, if nothing else, a high-octane thrill ride. Yet another installment to the genre of crime dra-ma that seems to dominate American cinema, John Hillcoat’s fi lm recounts the story of a band of corrupt cops and gang members blackmailed by the Russian mafi a into performing a dangerous robbery. When the

when an offi cer goes down? Who was being horribly tortured by the fi lm’s antagonists? What exactly is the mafi a’s motivation in manipulat-ing ex-Marine gang members? Why is Kate Winslet so bad at faking a Russian accent? These questions and more will plague viewers as they blindly grope in the dark for some sense of plot cohesion in Triple 9.

Frustratingly, where the writing of Triple 9 struggles, its actors and actresses struggle just as much.

For such a largely talented cast, it is unfortunate to see so many wanting performances. Casey Af-fl eck, well-known for his work in Interstellar and the Ocean’s trilogy, delivers a substandard, unrelatable performance as fresh-blood police officer Chris Allen. Falling right behind Affl eck are Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anthony Mackie, who both feel incredibly out of place in their roles. Mackie in particular is a notably defi cient and thoroughly dissapoint-ing villain. Playing to the same tune are Aaron Paul and Winslet, both dropping several levels below their typical prestige.

Despite his peers’ shortcomings, Woody Harrelson (as Sgt. Det. Jef-frey Allen) steals the show this time around. His character is very much the stereotypical pragmatic, “by-any-means-necessary” anti-hero, and though this brings nothing in-novative to Triple 9, Harrelson per-forms with poise. Also coming out of the fi lm’s woodwork is Norman Reedus, known for his central role in AMC’s Th e Walking Dead. Th ough tragically underused, Reedus man-ages to carve out a decent role despite the sloppy writing.

Th e saving grace of the fi lm is its OPEN ROAD FILMS

TRIPLE 9JOHN HILLCOATDISTRIBUTED BY

OPEN ROAD FILMSRELEASE

FEB. 26, 2016OUR RATING

FILM

ability to build tension—when Triple 9 seeks to move the audience to the edge of its seats, it actually does so very well. First and foremost, the fi lm proves that, when it comes to music composition, less can sometimes be more. Th e plot’s breaking point features almost no ambient music at all, which adds enormously to the scene’s air of terror. It is no surprise to see that Atticus Ross worked on the score, as Triple 9’s sound very much resembles his premier work, Th e Book of Eli. Adding to the tone as well, Triple 9 undoubtedly earns its R rating—numerous scenes of horrifi c, punctuated violence dot the movie, proving that Hillcoat does not fear making his audience ever-so-slightly queasy. Imagery, in fact, is the movie’s biggest strength: thematic visual connections, while no substitute for a cohesive plotline, do help to tie Triple 9’s beginning to its end.

Triple 9 is all bark and no bite. As shown by 2009’s The Road, Hillcoat has diplayed the kind of slick, energetic story, beautifully unsettling art he can produce. Triple 9 delivers instead all potential energy, but very little kinetic, ironically.

of his ex-girlfriend’s house to an apartment building full of older neighbors (including Dave Allen from Freaks and Geeks). Mickey forces her ex-boyfriend out and fi nds a new Australian roommate Bertie, played by the charming Claudia O’Doherty. Mickey and Gus meet while trying to determine what roles relationships should play in their lives.

At its core, Love is an exercise in showing what lies beyond fi rst impressions. Gus seems geeky and stressed, but can, in fact, be surpris-ingly tender, even to the point of being a pushover. Mickey appears cool and confi dent—a girl that a guy like Gus could never hope to be with. But she can be uncharismatic and even manipulative. Th e only constant in Love seems to be that Gus and Mickey misjudge everyone around them—their coworkers, friends, and even themselves.

There is a strong audiovisual component to this hyper-humane take on the romantic comedy. Th e creators humble all interactions, including sex, to the point where nothing feels romantic. Th is qual-ity follows the creators’ original intentions of humanizing the typical pedigree of love shown in romantic comedies, but the show suffers in tone from feeling ubiquitously awkward and blunt. It claims to be a comedy but doesn’t deliver many

plan goes awry, the crew is forced to assassinate an unsuspecting Atlanta police offi cer in order to complete its job. As tensions mount, trust wavers, and each man must question who he can really trust.

It is from this premise that Triple 9 marches forward. Hillcoat’s new-est work suff ers greatly from weak writing and a lazy plot, so much so that, at times, it can be exhausting to watch. Why does every single Atlanta cop converge on the scene

HANNAH MCLAUGHLIN

THE HEIGHTSThursday, January 17, 2014 B5THE HEIGHTS

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THE HEIGHTS Thursday, February 25, 2016B6

through the 2006-07 season, this sea-

son’s lack of great teams is magnified.

This season, no team has fewer

than three losses. In fact, only Vil-

lanova and Xavier have three losses.

At this point over the prior nine

seasons, denoted by ESPN as Week

15, an average of 4.8 teams had fewer

than three losses, with the two teams

claimed by the 2012-13 season rank-

ing as the fewest in that time period.

Next, let’s look at some more ad-

vanced stats. Since win-loss records

can sometimes be misleading, a look

at the analytical ranking of the best

teams in the country should give a

more accurate representation of the

relative strengths of teams across

the years.

Ken Pomeroy, one of the premier

college basketball analysts, ranks

teams based on their Pythagorean

rating, a team’s expected winning

percentage against an average D-I

team. This season’s current No. 1

team on kenpom.com is Villanova,

with a Pythagorean rating of 0.9446.

Based on the same nine-year period

considered above, in which the aver-

age rating was 0.9659, Villanova has

the worst rating of any of the top-

ranked teams. In fact, last season, six

teams boasted a better rating than

Villanova currently has.

Having proven the absence of

top-flight teams, let’s see if the same

above-average group still exists or if

college basketball is just having an

unusually poor season.

Again using Pomeroy’s website,

14 teams currently have a Pythago-

rean rating over 0.9000. This number

can be used as an arbitrary cutoff

to designate the group of very good

teams. Looking at the nine prior

seasons, an average of 13.8 teams per

year amassed such a mark.

Incredibly, despite the utter lack

of dominant programs, the 2015-16

season actually possesses a slightly

higher than average number of

very good teams. For comparison,

despite having had six teams with a

higher rating than Villanova has this

season, there were just 12 teams in

the 2014-2015 season with a rating

above 0.9000.

Now that we comfortably know

parity exists in college basketball this

season, let’s examine the causes.

Decline of the Dominance of

Traditional Programs

If you were to ask casual college

basketball fans which teams were the

best in the country during any given

season, they would probably give

pretty similar responses. Teams like

North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, and

Kansas would likely dominate the

results. Breaking from the past, that

answer would be wrong this season.

This season marks the latest

that neither Kentucky nor Duke has

been in the Top 10 since 2006-07.

Fans can usually count on Mike

Krzyzewski and John Calipari to

consistently roll out national cham-

pionship contenders year in and year

out. With Duke’s injury woes and the

high-profile struggles of Skal Labis-

siere at Kentucky, neither of those

two teams has lived up to its lofty

Top Five preseason ranking. Duke

actually slipped out of the rankings

for a brief period, the first time since

2007-08 that the Blue Devils weren’t

a ranked squad.

Despite currently holding the

No. 5 ranking, North Carolina hasn’t

exactly been dominant this season.

The Tar Heels have six losses and

recently had a three-game road trip

that saw them drop the first two

games before needing a ferocious

second-half rally to topple ACC

cellar-dweller Boston College in the

final game.

This lack of success for the tradi-

tional powerhouses has opened up

conference races across the country.

The ACC offers the best example of

this, with six teams currently situ-

ated within two games of first place

in the conference.

Over the past nine seasons, an

average of just 2.7 teams finished

the season within two games of first

place. While the remaining two

weeks of conference play do provide

some opportunities for teams to

separate from the pack, it still speaks

to the parity caused by the decline of

UNC and Duke.

In those nine years, exactly half

of the teams that finished within two

games of first place in the conference

were either UNC or Duke outfits.

With their decline, a potential power

vacuum has opened this year, al-

lowing non-traditional powers like

Miami (Fla.) to ascend to near the

top of the conference.

The Top Teams Lack the Top

Players

With no offense to Ryan

Arcidiacono, your average college

basketball fan probably couldn’t

identify Villanova’s senior point

guard as one his team’s best players.

Arcidiacono’s plight sounds pretty

familiar to members of the other

schools currently ranked in the AP

Top Five—Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa

and UNC. With the exception of

Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, who has

reached exploding supernova status

at this point, the majority of the best

players on these teams are veteran

leaders, who produce solid but not

spectacular results every night.

UNC has Marcus Paige and Brice

Johnson, Kansas features Perry Ellis,

Wayne Selden, Jr., and Frank Mason

III, and Iowa sports Jarrod Uthoff

and Peter Jok. All of these players

are very good but don’t provide the

constant night-in, night-out impact

that a superstar like Hield does. They

are more susceptible to off-nights

and shooting slumps and can often

be neutralized by elite defenses.

Having entire teams built upon

these types of players creates a bit

of variance in the quality of those

teams’ games. A seemingly easy vic-

tory against an unranked opponent

can turn into a blowout defeat very

quickly, as Kansas found out in its

86-67 loss to Oklahoma State in late

January.

Usually, teams ranked in the Top

Five boast surefire NBA talent. Over

the past nine seasons, the teams

ranked in the Top Five of the Week

15 AP poll boasted an average of 6.2

players that were selected in the first

round of that year’s NBA draft.

This season’s Top Five boasts just

two players—Hield and Uthoff—that

are ranked among Chad Ford’s top

30 players for the 2016 draft. The top

NCAA players in his rankings, such

as Ben Simmons and Kris Dunn,

play for teams that don’t figure to

pose serious threats in March.

Particularly, this year’s Top Five

teams lack NBA-caliber interior

scoring—a post player that can grind

out points on nights when the rest

of the offense slumps. Three of last

year’s Final Four teams—Kentucky,

Duke, and Wisconsin—had this cru-

cial bailout option. Players like Karl

Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and

Frank Kaminsky provided security

blankets for their respective teams.

Their ability to overwhelm oppo-

nents with their sheer size, skill, and

athleticism allowed their teams to

compete on nights when their shots

weren’t falling. As a result, those

teams’ performances varied less on a

night-to-night basis than this year’s

top teams’.

Top Teams Rely Too Much on

3-Pointers

Likely because of this lack of

high-quality interior scoring, the top

teams in the country this season rely

more on the 3-point shot than top

teams usually do.

Using Pomeroy’s website, I

looked at the percentage of team

shots that were 3-pointers for the top

five teams over the last 10 seasons.

Then, I averaged those numbers

and subtracted the average from the

percentage of team shots that were

3-pointers for the average D-I team

for each season. This season’s Top

Five—Villanova, Virginia, Michigan

State, Kansas and Oklahoma—take

36.06 percent of their shots from

long range, whereas the average D-I

team this year takes 35.3 percent of

their shots from that distance.

This season’s Top Five is one of

just two groupings over the last 10

seasons that took more of its shots

from downtown than the average

team. In fact, the majority of those

groups took far fewer threes than

the average team. The only other

season where the Top Five took

more 3-pointers than the average

team was 2012-13. That season also

had just two teams with fewer than

three losses by Week 15, the lowest

number over the prior nine seasons,

indicating a possible correlation

between a reliance on 3-pointers

and nationwide parity. It makes team

performance more variable from

game to game, another possible

reason why this season’s top teams

aren’t as good as prior seasons’ top

teams.

Corresponding to those num-

bers, according to hoopmath.com,

the Top Five teams on kenpom.com this season are taking far fewer

2-point jumpers than the top five

teams over the prior four seasons.

As college teams attempt to

adjust to the growing analytical

mindset within the game, trick-

ling down from the NBA, greater

parity may become an unintended

consequence. Instead of winning

correlating to long-range prowess,

top college teams still appear to be

those that dominate the paint and

possess top-flight big men.

That’s not to say that games this

year are uninteresting. The see-saw

nature of the season has provided

the usual share of mind-blowing

endings and absurd game-winners.

As we move into March Mad-

ness, without a historically great

team to root for or against, expect

the unexpected. The good thing

about a season without a clearly

defined top team is that the NCAA

Tournament can go in an infinite

number of directions, keeping fans

glued to their seats for every minute.

The only difference between this

year and years prior is that the team

cutting down the nets in Houston in

April will have to admit that it was

never a real No. 1 team.

Parity, from B8

as beat up as it may be.

With my faith in this team on

the line, I was undoubtedly let

down. I expected a much closer

game. That last strain of optimism,

however, is still alive within me.

This season is not the end of the

world, so let’s get some perspective

before anything gets out of hand.

First off, injuries are a big fac-

tor. BC was improving with better

showings against Miami, Florida

State, Clemson, and a highly im-

pressive performance against UNC.

Then two starters got injured, and

BC became a depleted team.

Take a look at the starting lineup

from Tuesday: Clifford, Eli Carter,

Ervins Meznieks, Garland Owens,

Sammy Barnes-Thompkins. I don’t

expect a single win from this squad.

Clifford is still only a shade of

his former self, even in his second

year back from injury. Meznieks is

a long-term project who is nowhere

near ready to be an ACC starter.

Owens is just simply not a scorer,

and Barnes-Thompkins does his

best despite his size.

To top it all off, the first three off

the bench are Matt Milon, a streaky,

inexperienced shooter, Daryl Hicks,

playing in his first season in three

years, and Idy Diallo, a last-minute

recruit from last year that looks like

a lost hope.

I don’t think any coach—except

for those in the NBA like Steve

Kerr, Gregg Popovich, or even Brad

Stevens—can get anything out of

these players.

So the Eagles didn’t lose because

Christian can’t coach them up to

important, winnable games. They

are simply not good at scoring.

They got the open looks, and they

just missed them. The players aren’t

playing badly because they are

hanging their heads, they are hang-

ing their heads because they can’t

score. And they can’t score because

players like Owens, Hicks, and

Meznieks are forced into a lot more

of an offensive role without Turner

and Robinson. It’s a confidence

problem, not a morale problem, and

that’s somewhat okay because lack

of confidence is to be expected with

a young team. BC also happens to

be missing one of its most confident

players in Turner.

This is all offensive, of course.

Defensively, I saw them continue

to play actively and rebound well

against Virginia Tech. Clifford’s

play and Garland’s career high in

rebounds are positives that it hasn’t

all gone the drain.

If this team does have one scary

problem, however, it’s Carter. He

stinks. He is the best basketball

player on the team who at times

looks like its worst. His shot selec-

tion is terrible, especially from

3-point range, and he tries to do too

much. He’ll get his 18 points, but

has to shoot 18 times to do so. He

has Aaron Brown’s streakiness from

last year, but he has the ball as much

as Olivier Hanlan. I’ll deal with this,

as long as he’s a leader off the court

for all the young guys.

As of right now, Christian is 2-

for-3 as head coach. First, he proved

last year that he could coach a team,

getting a misfit group of players

to hang with the best teams and

drawing a lot of praise from ACC

coaches in the process. Second, he

proved that he can have success

on the recruiting trail, bringing in

the much-hyped A.J. Turner and

finding a steal in Jerome Robinson.

Now, he gets his first strike with the

way this season is going.

But it’s only rock bottom in the

short-term. This season doesn’t

matter. I don’t care if we don’t

win a game in the ACC. Christian

isn’t tasked to create an immedi-

ate tournament team. I believe in

his long-term mission to build a

program. Besides, maybe we’ll get

another new athletic facility built for

every horrible season just to keep

people happy. In the long-term,

Carter is gone, Turner and Robinson

get healthy and keep improving, and

all that’s left is for Christian to keep

bringing in recruits. While his leash

undoubtedly got tighter following

these bad losses, he still has time.

Admittedly, I left the game

midway through the second half. I

would maybe have left at halftime,

but an unbelievable Garland put-

back slam in the final seconds kept

me hoping for just a bit more.

Eventually, I went back to my

real-world responsibilities and put

aside sports to focus on important

things, like academics and creating

great Spotify playlists. I live to see

another game of BC basketball.

Conte Forum, from B8

Garland Owens (5) gave BC fans a reason to smile on Tuesday. The rest of the Eagles vs. Virginia Tech? Not so much.AMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

THE HEIGHTSThursday, February 25, 2016 B7

Newton, MA 11/09

Boston, Ma 11/111-

scoreboardGLENDALE, AZ 2/20

NIUBC

05

HOOK 2 HCRONIN 2 RBI

M. HOCKEY BURLINGTON, VT 2/20 m. BASKETBALL WINSTON-SALEM, NC 2/21 BASEBALL

BASEBALL GLENDALE, AZ 2/20NIUBC

FLETCHER RBISTREM 2 H 2 BB

LACROSSE NOTRE DAME, IN 2/21 m. Basketballsoftball CHAPEL HILL, NC 2/2112

GLENDALE, AZ 2/21

CHESTNUT HILL, MA 2/23

BASEBALLBCMERR

41

R. FITZGERALD 2 G 1 APUSKARICH 1 G

BCWAKE

4874

OWENS 13 PTSMOORE 19 PTS

NIU BC

017

RUSSELL 2 HHOGGARTH 5 RBI

VT BC

7156

BIBBS 12 PTS 10 REBCARTER 19 PTS

NWBC

23

FILLER RBI MURPHY RBI

BCND

414

MARGOLIS 1 GFORTUNATO 5 G

Sports Editor

MICHAEL SULLIVAN

RILEY OVEREND

Assoc. Sports Editor

ANNABEL STEELE

Asst. Sports Editor

Um, is there any reason NOT to pick BC right

now? Just look at the dominance of its starters

this weekend. No runs! Not a single run given

up by FOUR different pitchers. That’s an ERA

of 0.00, for you folks keeping score at home.

Meanwhile, have you seen Pablo Sandoval’s

stomach? Dude looks like he should have the

crying Michael Jordan meme completely tat-

tooed on his gut. Give me the Fightin’ Gambinos.

The Eagles will get a chance to see how

real professionals stay in shape during the

offseason (I’m looking at you, Pablo Sando-

val) when they travel to Florida to play an

exhibition contest against the Red Sox. It

may only be spring training, but these Red

Sox players will be competing for a spot on

the roster. Sorr y, Birdball , but you’re not

on the level of John Farrel’s squad quite yet.

Boston’s lineup has such natural swings that

it’ll be able to rake off of any BC pitchers.

The Eagles are coming off a very successful

and promising season opener. They’re confident.

They feel like they have nothing to lose. And

spring training only just started for the Sox.

Overconfidence will carry BC into the game,

and overconfidence will be its downfall. There’s

no way this college team will beat a professional

team, even a professional team just starting

spring training with a bunch of players who

may or may not be in baseball shape. Sorry,

Eagles, but I’ve got to go with the Sox here.

Prediction:BC 4, Red Sox 1

Prediction:Red Sox 8, BC 3

Prediction:Red Sox 5, BC 0

MBB vs. Virginia Tech, from B8

With just two seconds left

on the shot clock, Matt Milon

committed a cardinal sin, fouling

a 3-point shooter and sending

Virginia Tech’s Jalen Hudson to

the line for a potential four-point

play. Jim Christian looked on in

shell-shocked disbelief, immedi-

ately pulling the freshman guard

from the game.

Minutes later, Darryl Hicks

committed the same egregious

blunder, fouling Seth Allen on a

3-point attempt. This latest error

sent one fan sitting a few rows

behind the Boston College bench

past his breaking point.

“Hey boys, when are we gonna

stop fouling 3-point shooters?”

His question reverberated

around an empty Conte Forum,

where the slightly more than

1,000 fans in attendance likely

heard him as clearly as if they

were having a conversation from

across the room.

In a game that was as listless

as the fans’ enthusiasm, BC (7-

21, 0-15 Atlantic Coast) dropped

Tuesday night’s game 71-56 to

Virginia Tech (15-13, 7-8), pro-

longing the team’s fruitless quest

to simply win a conference game.

The Eagles played out of rhythm

for most of the night, shooting

just over 35 percent from the

floor and tallying nine assists to

15 turnovers.

On the other end, effort and

intensity waned on defense,

especially as the first half wore

along. Christian attributed the

lack of intensity to the fact that

his young players weren’t making

shots on offense.

“It’s hard to keep guarding

when you’re not making shots,”

Christian said. “Especially shots

you need to make.”

Three Up

1.) Dennis Clifford’s Re-

naissance - Early in the season,

Clifford struggled to stay within

the flow of the game. He was

often late on rotations, held

the ball too long, and struggled

to get shots up quickly around

the rim.

But as his injury-plagued

career at BC winds to its end,

Clifford has been playing the best

basketball of his career. Tuesday

night he scored 13 points and

grabbed 12 rebounds, his second

double-double of the season and

the fourth time in the last five

games he’s had at least 13 points

and 8 rebounds. He even tallied

four blocks for good measure.

Offensively, Clifford worked

efficiently off of pick and rolls.

He got up off the floor quickly,

something he has struggled with

in the past, and persistently fin-

ished through traffic. He also had

a put-back dunk late in the game,

a sure sign that his body finally

feels the way it’s supposed to.

Clifford also functioned as a

very good distributor from the

low post, with Virginia Tech

electing to double him for most

of the game. He spun away from

traps and did well to keep the

ball over his head and away from

defenders. He moved the ball to

both cutters and spot-up shoot-

ers across the court.

“We’ve got to get him the ball

more, to be honest with you,”

Christian said after the game. “I

thought we didn’t get it to him

enough.”

2.) Garland Owens - Right

before the half t ime buzzer,

Owens finally pulled off the

one-handed putback dunk he’s

attempted several times this

season.

His SportsCenter Top 10 mo-

ment was emblematic of the

constant energy he provided to

the team all night long. Owens

just missed a double-double with

nine points and 11 boards, five

of which came on the offensive

glass.

In the continued absence of

A.J. Turner, Owens played a ca-

reer-high 36 minutes, constantly

battling larger Virginia Tech

forwards in the post.

He utilized his athleticism

on defense, chasing down loose

balls and forcing turnovers .

Offensively, Owens showed a

more well-rounded attack than

usual. He did tally his custom-

ary dunks—the aforementioned

putback and a dunk off of a nice

baseline cut—but he also drilled

two jumpers, showing a bit of off

the dribble creativity.

While those plays will never

be Owens’ strong suit, develop-

ing a more competent jumper in

the coming months will allow

him to become a much more

threatening offensive piece for

the Eagles.

3.) Offensive Rebounding

- Entering the game, BC ranked

346th in the nation in offensive

rebounding rate, the lowest

among Power 5 basketball teams.

Though the team lacks reliable

size outside of Dennis Clifford,

the ranking is still surprising.

On Tuesday night, the Eagles

attempted to make up for an

entire season of not crashing the

boards, compiling 14 offensive

rebounds. While Owens led the

effort, Clifford and Idy Diallo

totaled a combined five offensive

rebounds. Virginia Tech didn’t

have substantial interior size for

most of the night, and the two

big men in the Eagles’ rotation

took advantage.

The hustle plays allowed BC

to keep the game competitive

until late in the first half. While

not something it can replicate on

a nightly basis, this effort on the

offensive glass is something that

the team should be able to carry

out for its remaining games. A

few second-chance possessions

could ultimately make the dif-

ference in stemming the tide of

its losing streak.

Three Down

1.) Eli Carter - Albert Ein-

stein defined insanity as doing

the same thing over and over

again and expecting different

results. In Carter’s case, his form

of insanity is the contested, off-

the-dribble 3-pointer.

Despite a promising 3-for-5

start from the floor, when he

seemed to make a concerted

effort to drive to the basket,

Carter slumped to a 6-for-19

finish, largely owing to his in-

fatuation with these impossibly

difficult long-range shots from

well beyond the 3-point line. He

finished 2-for-10 on threes, and

the fact that he scored 19 points

was mitigated by the sheer vol-

ume of attempts needed to reach

that mark.

In the absence of Jerome

Robinson, Carter’s inefficien-

cies have become more glaring.

With no one else around to soak

up possessions, Carter will often

aimlessly dribble away the last 10

seconds, before settling for a very

low percentage attempt.

Additionally, while he can

make good reads on pick and roll

plays, the amount of offense he is

forced to generate for the Eagles

has exposed the fact that he is re-

ally better-suited as a secondary

creator. Without Robinson, no

one else is around to help ease his

burden. As a result, Carter had

just three assists to six turnovers,

a largely unacceptable ratio for a

starting point guard.

Defensively, he appears disen-

gaged on certain possessions and

spent a few transition possessions

arguing with the refs in lieu of

heading back down the floor.

2.) Transition Defense - Late

in the first half, Virginia Tech

used a 16-2 run to blow open

what had previously been a 19-18

contest. In that run, most of the

points came in transition and at

the free-throw line, where the

Hokies had 10 attempts.

For the season, Virginia Tech

ranks fourth in the country in

free-throw rate, averaging nearly

one free throw for every two

field goal attempts. While BC

managed to keep them off of the

charity stripe early in the half,

the Hokies asserted themselves

during this run.

Allen, whose 14 points led

Virginia Tech on the night, had

six of the 10 attempts. Virginia

Tech shot 22 free throws over-

all.

“That stretch, we did a really

bad job of transition defense and

stopping the ball,” Christian said

after the game.

BC committed a few turn-

overs that led to easy buckets

on the other end, with a few bad

fouls compounding the issue.

The inability to run back down

the f loor, identify individual

matchups, and stop the ball from

parading to the rim ultimately

cost the Eagles the game.

3.) Gap in Bench Scoring -

While BC certainly has a depleted

bench now that Robinson and

Turner are injured, it’s still reason-

able to expect some help from the

second unit every night.

Tuesday, the Eagles bench

totaled three points on just 1-for-

14 shooting. All of the shots were

taken by either Hicks or Milon,

many from long range.

Th e performance was particu-

larly poor in light of the fact that

the Hokies’ bench put up a robust

35 points.

While the Eagles ordinarily

struggle to win conference games,

the team won’t approach a win

in the ACC until the bench can

provide some reliable scoring,

allowing the exhausted starters

to obtain some much-needed

rest.

Dennis Clifford recorded a double double (13 points, 12 rebounds) in the loss.AMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

screens to take advantage of the

Hokies’ man-to-man defense

all night long, and it worked—a

majority of BC’s 28 three-point

attempts were uncontested

“gimme” shots.

But something was off for the

Eagles, who shot 35 percent from

the field for the contest. Looks

that should go in for any college

basketball team, and usually do,

were rimming out. Those missed

shots made all the difference

in the 71-56 defeat, the 15th

straight loss for BC.

For much of the game, BC

head coach Jim Christian stood

helpless on the sideline. His team

was not losing for lack of prepa-

ration or gameplan—Christian’s

offensive plan created countless

open shot opportunities for some

of BC’s most consistent shooters

from the field. But as shot after

shot from player after player

clanked off the rim, there were

few adjustments at Christian’s

disposal. He called timeouts, he

made frequent substitutions, he

lectured players on the floor, but

he could do nothing to add to

BC’s score other than shoot the

ball himself.

“We’re all frustrated,” Chris-

tian said after the loss. “Espe-

cially when we go 1-for-15 from

three at home. Those are open

shots.”

When asked how he keeps

his young team motivated dur-

ing this especially tough stretch

of an especially tough season,

Christian suggested that the

team shouldn’t need much ex-

ternal motivation.

“It shouldn’t be very hard to

keep them going,” Christian said.

“I’ve never been a big believer

in getting demoralized. If you’re

out there playing basketball, and

you love to play basketball, and

you’re demoralized, then you’re

playing the wrong game.”

The team’s postgame de-

meanor, however, might suggest

otherwise. As the final note of

the Alma Mater rung out and the

drum kicked three times to indi-

cate the beginning of the Fight

Song, the team metaphorically

limped off the floor with heads

drooped and spirits obviously

beaten.

Virginia Tech, for its part,

played well and took advantage

of BC’s shortcomings. Allen

led VT’s balanced scoring at-

tack with 14 points on 4-of-

9 shooting. Justin Bibbs and

Kerry Blackshear, Jr. were not

far behind at 12 and 10 points,

respectively.

Now with only three games

remaining on the 2015-16 sched-

ule, BC’s chances to avoid col-

lege sports infamy are limited.

If the Eagles lose all three—and

they’re underdogs in each of

those games—they will become

the first Division I program to

go winless in conference play in

both football and basketball in

a school year in the post-World

War II-era.

But not only now is it a ques-

tion of talent—it is also a ques-

tion of effort. The injury-de-

pleted Eagles will likely have

to play twice as hard just to

be at even footing with ACC

competition, and that’s a lot to

ask of a team that has lost 15

consecutive games. The option

to “check out” and coast through

the remainder of the season is

enticing, and from the fan’s point

of view, it seems as though some

players have already chosen that

option.

The loss to Virginia Tech

came down, quite simply, to a

lack of execution. If the Eagles

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Eli Carter received

the outlet pass from a

rebounding Dennis Clifford and shifted

into overdrive as he crossed halfcourt—it was

just a minute into the game, and he still had plenty

of energy. As he made his way into the key, he was

confronted with a gaggle of defenders closing in on

him. Carter was essentially going one-on-four, but

he charged ahead anyway.

In one seamless motion, Carter took a quick step

with his right foot to freeze defender Seth Allen, and

gracefully cradled the ball above his head, switching

from his right to his left hand. He pushed hard off

his right foot, gliding from the edge to the middle

of the lane before Allen could react—a perfectly

executed Euro Step.

Before the defense—or even his teammates, who

were still around midcourt—could react, Carter

rose up to finish off

a textbook move.

Allen and his team-

mates attempted to swarm Carter

in the paint, but help came just a split-

second too late. The graduate transfer from the

University of Florida rose up for the finish with a

clean look at the rim, nothing standing between him

and the first two points of the ballgame.

But Carter shortarmed the shot and left it on

the front of the rim, where it bounced away into the

waiting hands of Zach LeDay. Carter then fouled

LeDay on a fast break on the other end, capping off

a four-point swing for the opposition.

Boston College (7-21, 0-15 Atlantic Coast) got

plenty of open looks against Virginia Tech (15-13,

7-8) Tuesday night. The Eagles ran players off

Scoreboard....................................................................................................B7Editors’ Picks.......................................................................................................B7

SPORTSB8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016

INSIDESPORTSTHIS ISSUE

Notebook: Clifford Gets Double-DoubleHey, it wasn’t all bad news for the Eagles vs. Virginia

Tech, as their senior center excelled yet again........B7

71HOKIES EAGLES56

MEN’S BASKETBALL

For the first time, I was asking myself

why I was in Conte Forum.

In a year and a half of being at Boston

College, I’ve gone to Conte Forum. As either

a fan or member of the media, I’ve been to

men’s and women’s basketball games, men’s

and women’s hockey games, sat in on a

handful of practices, and attended plenty of

media events. Every single time, I was happy

to be there to get my sports fix.

But then, at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night,

I walked into Conte and felt differently. I

attempted to count the individual fans on

my own and listened as the pep band tried

to fill the silent void. At one point, a security

guard’s job consisted solely of looking at me:

I was literally the only one standing near

a section where the students usually start

filling in. As the sound system fed music into

empty space, BC and Virginia Tech came out

to the court in what looked like slow motion.

This was rock bottom.

Following what was probably one of the

most embarrassing defeats in program his-

tory, in which the Eagles made national news

for their complete ineptitude against a Wake

Forest team missing its best player, the state

of affairs surrounding the team was bleak.

So why was I here? Was I just avoiding

real-world responsibilities and hiding from

the thought of a midterm at the end of the

week? I think it was something deeper inside

of me. The very last strain of optimism that I

hold for one of my favorite sports was dying,

and I was determined to not let it go on my

own. I was gonna be at this game, even if the

atmosphere and game sucked all the life out

of me. I’m not giving up on Jim Christian or

this program so soon.

I knew three outcomes were possible. 1.

BC would implode again and I would most

likely wither away and perish. 2. BC would

narrowly lose by about six as betting lines

suggested and that would be that. 3. BC

would get its first win and some internal life

force would heal my aching soul.

A game like the one against Wake Forest

is unacceptable, so BC had to show that it

could bounce back and not give up on the

season. Avoiding outcome 1 was imperative,

but other than that, I didn’t think that BC

would win, and I didn’t care. All it had to do

prove to me was that it hasn’t given up.

The actual outcome of the game was

somewhere in the middle of the first two.

The game was really bad. Both teams were

incredibly sloppy, and the game looked like

a Rec league at times. In the end, Virginia

Tech did its thing in getting to the foul line a

lot and hit its shots. The Eagles did not. They

were horrendous from the field, especially

from deep (1-for-15?!). No one created any

offense outside of Dennis Clifford and Eli

Carter, who finished with a double-double

and continues to drive his revival tour van,

See Conte Forum, B6

Four current members of Boston

College women’s hockey will represent

the United States at the International

Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) world

championships this year. Sophomore

Megan Keller and seniors Alex Car-

penter, Haley Skarupa, and Dana Trivi-

gno will leave the Heights and travel

to Canada for the event, which takes

place in March and early April.

Carpenter was first named to the

U.S. National Team three years ago.

During that span, she played in the

Sochi Olympic Games, winning a silver

medal, and served as the assistant

captain in 2015 when the team won

the world championships. As a junior,

she won the prestigious Patty Ka-

zmaier Memorial Award. In her senior

campaign for the Eagles, the forward

has tallied 38 goals and 38 assists for

76 points.

Skarupa, also a forward, played for

the U.S. U18 team in 2010, 2011, and

2012. She won silver medals in 2010

and 2012, and helped the team win the

gold in 2011. The senior has scored 29

goals and recorded 37 assists this year

for the Eagles.

Keller, a defenseman, won a silver

medal representing the United States

on the U18 team at the 2014 IIHF

championships. So far this season,

Keller has netted 12 goals, including

two game-winners, and recorded 32

assists for a total of 44 points. She

is the nation’s leading scorer among

defensemen.

Trivigno is the third forward from

BC to represent the U.S. in the world

championships. Her 43 points this sea-

son have come in the form of 15 goals

and 28 assists. Her hat trick against

Northeastern in the women’s Beanpot

final helped propel the Eagles to win

the tournament.

In addition to Keller, Carpenter,

Skarupa, and Trivigno, two BC alum-

nae will represent the U.S. in Canada.

Defenseman Emily Pfalzer graduated

last year and won a gold medal at the

2015 IIHF championships. She cur-

rently serves as the captain of the Buf-

falo Beauts in the National Women’s

Hockey League (NWHL).

2011 graduate Kelli Stack, a for-

ward, won silver medals with the na-

tional team at the Vancouver and Sochi

Olympic Games. Stack has played in

four IIHF championships over her

career, winning three gold medals and

one silver medal. She plays for the

Connecticut Whale of the NWHL.

The six current and former Eagles

will join other notable names on the

national team. Northeastern’s big-

gest threat, Kendall Coyne, is also on

the roster. Michelle Picard, Brianna

Decker, and Hilary Knight will also

represent the U.S. at the tournament.

The Canadians and Americans have

historically dominated the tournament.

Canada’s 10 gold medals and six silver

medals qualify it as the most histori-

cally successful country in the contest.

The U.S. has accumulated six gold and

10 silver medals.

The tournament kicks off for the

Americans on Mar. 28 when they take

on Canada in a rematch of the Sochi

gold medal game. Mar. 29 and Mar. 31

will see clashes with Finland and Rus-

sia. The gold medal game, should the

U.S. qualify, is Apr. 4.

CHRIS NOYES

Legendary Michigan State head coach

Tom Izzo has more coaching experience

than all but a few men in college basketball

today. With his 21 years of experience on the

job comes a refreshingly honest perspective

on his team, free from the sugarcoated state-

ments of younger coaches hoping to simply

retain their jobs.

Earlier this season, his team was ranked

No. 1 in the country for a little more than a

month. More recently, in an interview with

ESPN.com, Izzo was asked about the perch

his team had occupied.

“I don’t know if we were ever [a No. 1]

team,” he said.

When pressed about the current top

teams in the nation and whether any of them

had the ability to pull away from the rest of

the pack, Izzo gave a very unusual response.

“I don’t think anybody is gonna say there

aren’t 15 teams that could win it this year,” he

answered.

Izzo was describing the unprecedented

state of parity in college basketball during the

2015-16 season. Five teams have already lost

a game while at the top spot in the rankings,

with Villanova currently the sixth different

school to lead the AP Top 25. That number

is already four more than all of last season,

when Kentucky dominated the polls virtually

every week.

Reporters, players and coaches alike have

all discussed their belief in this parity and the

waves it has sent through college basketball.

But does it actually exist? And if it does, why

is this particular season so susceptible to

parity?

Proving ParityBefore beginning, it’s important to define

the parity that we’re looking for. Though it

could take many forms, when discussing

parity here, the term will refer to the absence

of great teams and the proliferation of above-

average teams. For an example of what this

type of parity entails, imagine a large lecture

class. Say one or two students get incredibly

high grades on every exam, almost always

occupying the spots at the top of the rank-

ings of the exam scores.

Then, there is probably a group of 15-20

students who consistently get above-aver-

age grades on exams. Despite their presence

in the same grade region, their positions

relative to each other change depending on

the exam. The student that heads this second

group on one exam might drop back a few

spots on the next exam. If you removed the

couple of students, you would introduce

parity into the class, with the top score in

the class changing frequently, depending on

which of the students in the second group

happen to perform better on any particular

day.

This definition appears to fit the pattern

emerging this season. The constant fluctua-

tions atop the polls appear to indicate both

the absence of any great teams and the pres-

ence of a clustered group of very good teams

that change in position relative to each other

almost weekly.

Looking back over a period of 10 years,

“We’re All Frustrated”

See Parity, B6

See MBB vs. Virginia Tech, B7

AMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Megan Keller, BC’s top defenseman, was one of four Eagles named to the U.S. National Team.JULIA HOPKINS/ HEIGHTS EDITOR