In his Veterans Day speech at Arlington Na-tional Cemetery, President Barack Obama said that, after a decade of war, America’s heroes are coming home and he will welcome them back with the honor they deserve.

Boston University also welcomes veterans who are returning home with about 400 veter-ans enrolled, including spouses and dependents, in a variety of different programs, said Thomas Swift, manager of Veterans’ Services at BU.

Swift said he hopes reelected Obama will keep his promise in continuing to take care of America’s veterans.

“I think if they could continue the education benefits [for veterans], it’s worked out well for a lot of veterans and it’s been helpful,” he said. “I think that’s tremendous, and I think that it’s well deserved.”

Obama pledged to continue meeting the needs of veterans as the wars in the Middle East come to an end.

“Three years ago, I promised your genera-tion that when your tour comes to an end, when you see our flag, when you touch our soil, you’ll be welcomed home to an America that will for-ever fight for you, just as hard as you’ve fought for us,” Obama said. “And so long as I have the honor of serving as your commander-in-chief, that is the promise that we will never stop work-ing to keep.”

The College of General Studies was specifi-cally created for veterans in 1946, said Natalie McKnight, associate dean for faculty research and development at CGS.

“It was designed as a college for mature and able students, many of whom were veterans re-turning from service,” McKnight said. “It was meant to be a very rigorous and challenging curriculum really designed for older students to integrate them back into academia.”

Once there was no longer an influx of veter-ans returning from war, the school changed its curriculum, she said.

“When we were founded, we had mostly

Korean War veterans,” McKnight said. “Then after a while you don’t have as many veterans returning and so you need to redesign and re-shape your program for the majority for stu-dents who go to college who are in the 18- to 20-year-old bracket.”

McKnight said since the school started cater-ing to younger students out of high school they have gone through many names.

“In 1962 we took the form that we currently have with the team system and the core curricu-lum that we offer here really took shape at that point,” she said. “And then in 1992 we renamed the College of Basic Studies to the College of General Studies.”

Despite these promises, veterans still face many issues when they come home, including psychological, emotional or economic prob-lems, said Andrew Bacevich, veteran and BU professor of international relations and history.

“There are some military occupational spe-cialties that rather easily can translate into civil-

After spending weeks at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, doctors said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has been successfully treated for a viral infection and a blood clot, but will remain in the hospital for complications with his back.

Dr. Dale Adler, vice chairman of the Depart-ment of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said Menino’s condition has fluctu-ated since his admission to the hospital in Oc-tober, according to a New England Cable News video of the press conference held Tuesday.

“It was clear that he had some kind of infec-tion in addition to a blog clot in his leg that had seemed like it had traveled as well to his lungs,” Adler said.

Adler said the focus of medical investiga-tion is on Menino’s back, which he injured while undergoing treatment for his other com-plications.

“Very recently, the back, instead of going in a good direction with him getting better and better, started to hurt more, and that has prompt-ed some more investigations,” he said.

Menino, after returning early from a vaca-tion in Italy, was hospitalized due to a virus on Oct. 26 as the city braced for Hurricane Sandy.

A spokeswoman from the mayor’s press office who asked to remain anonymous con-firmed that Menino had his blood clot and virus treated and said a compression fracture in Me-nino’s back had been causing discomfort.

But Menino is doing well and feeling better every day, she said.

“He continues to run the city and be engaged in decision-making from the hospital,” she said.

Menino stayed in the hospital throughout Election Day and also remained active during the approach of Hurricane Sandy, making the decision to close all Boston Public Schools on Oct. 29.

Adler said Menino has been in the hospital for such an extended period of time because of doctors’ decision to appropriately rehabilitate him, according to a video of the conference provided by WCVB Boston.

“There was a period of time where we were trying to figure out, ‘what is the best way to let him get some rehabilitation?’” Adler said. “We decided maybe the best way would be for him to stay right here … Now, in terms of his back feeling worse, he needs to be in the hospital.”

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Au-thority bus was involved in the accident that killed a Boston University bicyclist on Monday night near the corner of Harvard and Brighton Avenues, an intersection that bikers and workers said is prone to accidents.

While there is no confirmation that the bus directly hit the student, an MBTA bus was in-volved in the incident, said Suffolk District At-torney spokesman Jake Wark.

“Because it’s early on in the investigation, there is no clear cut set of facts,” Wark said.

Wark said investigators are conducting in-terviews with witnesses and tracking down sur-veillance tapes.

Collision reconstruction experts are working on tracking down the steps of the crash, which could take a few weeks, Wark said. The driver has not yet been charged with any offense.

“The facts and the circumstances from start to finish are under investigation both by Boston police collision reconstruction experts and by prosecutors experienced in motor vehicle fatali-ties,” Wark said.

The MBTA has removed a Route 57 bus driver, who has worked for the T for six years, from service while the investigation is ongoing.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said in an email on Tuesday that the driver of the bus was tested for drugs and alcohol, following standard procedure.

“There’s been no suggestion of wrongdoing

on the part of last night’s bus driver,” he said.Boston University spokesman Colin Riley

confirmed Tuesday morning that the biker was a BU student.

“This is just a terrible tragedy,” Riley said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and friends.”

Boston bikers and workers in close proxim-ity to the scene of the crime said they were not surprised the biker was hit in the area he was.

“It’s a really busy intersection,” said John Griese, a biker and sophomore in the College of

Engineering. “It’s like, one of the busiest inter-sections there. Obviously there’s going to be a lot of traffic, so I can see why it would be more dangerous than somewhere else, especially if you’re not being careful.”

Griese said the accident spurred him to look up helmets online.

Eddie Cohen, an employee at Pizza Days located on Brighton Avenue between Harvard Avenue and Linden Street, said MBTA buses are notoriously hazardous on the road.

Faced with a potential $84-million deficit for the fiscal year of 2013, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority struggles to find a solution to a growing financial crisis, as officials signal that another round of fare hikes and service cuts could be implemented.

“Implementing these increases and other minor changes has obviously helped cut the debt, if by a minimal amount,” said Mas-sachusetts Department of Transportation spokeswoman Sara Lavoie. “It may be neces-sary to repeat them while more definite plans are being formed.”

Despite recent fare increases, ridership on the MBTA continues to rise.

Contrary to an originally projected drop in overall usage, bus ridership was up 2.3 percent while subway ridership increased by 3 percent in September, according to the MBTA website.

But while the importance of the public transportation system remains high, it will do little to help with the deficit, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo in an email.

“The recent increases in ridership have little impact on the MBTA’s structural finan-cial crisis,” he said. “But the numbers make it abundantly clear that the MBTA plays a criti-cal role in not only moving people, but also in moving the economy forward.”

Pesaturo said a plethora of short-term bandages will not revive the MBTA, and a long-term plan is necessary.

“It will be difficult to maintain satisfac-tory levels of service without a long-term fix that addresses the MBTA’s budget prob-lems,” Pesaturo said. “Without a permanent remedy, the MBTA is going to face growing budget deficits each and every year.”

As part of its short-term solutions, the MBTA recently imposed a 23-percent fare increase to help curb the debt.

Other proposed solutions have included the reduction of energy costs, introduction of single-person train operation on the Red Line and enrolling more MBTA employees in a lower-cost health care plan, according to an information booklet on the MBTA’s website.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

The Daily Free PressYear xlii. Volume lxxxiii. Issue xxxxi www.dailyfreepress.com[ ]

COURTESY PHOTO BY MATTHEW J. LEE/THE BOSTON GLOBEAuthorities are investigating the bicycle accident that killed a 21-year-old Boston University stu-dent at the intersection of Harvard Avenue and Brighton Avenue Monday night.

By Tyler LayDaily Free Press Staff

By Nora PhilbinDaily Free Press Staff

By Jasper Craven & Regine Sarah CapunganDaily Free Press Staff

Vets’ edu. benefits under scrutiny after Obama’s Veterans Day promise

Menino remains in hospital for further back complications

By Shannon NargiDaily Free Press Staff

Area where BU bicyclist killed hectic, locals say

Vets, see page 2

MBtA, see page 2

CyClist, see page 2

Today: Sunny/High 47Tonight: Clear/Low 34

Tomorrow: 45/35

Data Courtesy of weather.com

WEATHER

Student comedians test comfort levels, bring laughs, page 5.

SPJ lecture encourages nonviolent protest, page 3.

GIVE PEACEA CHANCE M. basketball struggles

with losses, lack of seniority, page 8.

WHAT A LAUGH DEFLATED

HEATHER GOLDIN/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFFPassengers line up to board the Green Line. MBTA officials say that fare hikes and ser-vice cuts may continue for T riders.

MBTA could raise prices without future long-term plans to address deficit

Across1 Palindromic title6 Ashen10 Interrupter of a bad act, on an old game show14 Word after horse or soap15 Elvis __ Presley16 Mayberry kid17 Government decla-ration of its intentions20 Prefix with gram21 Modest shelters22 Madison Square Garden et al.23 Variety of lily24 1998 animated bug movie25 Vietnam War defoliant29 Speed Wagon maker32 Velma’s rival in “Chicago”33 Chat room chuckle34 Detained at the precinct35 Electrical network36 Pigs and hogs38 Etcher’s need39 Leer at40 Scepter’s partner41 Emulate Cicero42 Betty Ford, __ Bloomer43 Gold Rush villain46 Jockey’s tool

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Down1 Sulk2 Each3 Supermarket section4 “Entourage” agent Gold5 Bushwhacker’s tool6 Congregation leader7 Humanities8 Mauna __9 Involve, as in a sticky situation10 Morticia’s mate11 Bid one club, say12 “Project Runway” judge Garcia13 Understands18 ‘80s-’90s Serbian auto import19 One-named Deco designer23 Insinuating24 Soon, to the bard25 Fluorescent bulb gas

26 Stuff (oneself) with food27 “The Man Without a Country” hero, for one28 Suspect’s excuse29 Sports show sum-mary30 Upper echelon31 More strange34 Injures36 Isolation37 Sandwich in a

tortilla41 Thornton Wilder classic43 Spiced Indian beverage44 Gold and silver45 Shark flick46 Part of NOW48 Church recess49 Toga party setting50 Jay seen at night51 Culture medium

52 Arabian folklore spirit53 Reverse54 43-Down et al.56 Space station for about 15 years57 Vientiane native

The Daily Free Press CrosswordBy Tribune

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Suburban commuters depend on rail for work, commissioner says

Prof: Vets face psych., financial issues upon return

Buses dangerous in intersections, local says

MBtA: From Page 1

Vets: From Page 1

CyClist: From Page 1

“Intersections in all of Boston are kind of dangerous,” he said. “But the buses, especially the buses on Mass. Ave., are kind of insane. So I guess I wasn’t really surprised about that.”

Dave Gettleman, owner of Spike’s Junkyard Dogs on the corner of Brighton Avenue and Linden Street, said the intersection of Harvard and Brighton Avenues is always busy.

“It makes me not want to ride a bike nearby,” he said. “You have to be careful, it’s a busy area. There’s a lot of traffic. It’s very sad what hap-pened.”

When police officers arrived at the scene, the Boston Fire Depart-ment and the EMS were already at the scene, said Boston Police Depart-ment spokesman David Estrada.The police report did not indicate whether

the victim was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

The accident occurred at 6:36 p.m., said BPD spokeswoman Neva Coakley Monday. At the scene, Po-lice officers from District 4 in Brigh-ton observed a male victim who was seriously injured. The victim of the accident was transported to Beth Isra-el Hospital and was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Pesaturo said Monday the BPD and the District Attorney’s office have taken over the investigation, with MBTA Transit Police assisting.

The fatality follows two other in-cidents involving MBTA buses in the city in 2012. A Boston College gradu-ate student was killed in June after an MBTA bus hit her on Huntington Av-enue, an incident Pesaturo said was not the fault of the driver.

“As far as the June incident on Huntington Avenue is concerned, in-vestigators found no wrongdoing on the part of the bus driver,” Pesaturo said. “That bus driver has returned to work.”

In August, a Route 57 bus hit BU School of Management alumnus Steve Binnam Ha. Witnesses saw him cross the intersection of Common-wealth Avenue and Babcock Street when the bus had a green light.

“Witnesses said the bus was trav-eling through a green light at the time,” Pesaturo said about the August incident. “The bus operator did noth-ing wrong.”

Pesaturo said the incidents in June and on Monday night do not demand a reevaluation of MBTA drivers.

As of Tuesday night, the name of the victim had not been released.

ian employment but there are many, many others that do not,” Bacevich said. “And so veterans face the chal-lenge of acquiring the skills they need to become successful in the civilian economy either through job training or through education.”

Obama addressed the issue of continuing education, an important

one for many veterans and families. “Because you deserve to share in

the opportunities you defend, we are making sure that the Post-9/11 GI Bill stays strong so you can earn a college education and pursue your dreams,” Obama said in his speech.

While Bacevich said he is not sure if all of the benefits and opportunities that Obama has promised are realis-tic, he said it does not matter because

not every problem has a solution.“The U.S. government, acting on

our behalf as citizens should do what-ever it possibly can do to ensure that veterans can get a fair shake in our society,” he said. “[It] doesn’t mean that in every instance the assistance offered by our government is going to be successful, but I think the effort is an entirely appropriate one.”

Previous changes have also gar-nered savings for the system over the years — the MBTA expanded single-person train operation to the Blue and Orange Lines in 1996 and 2010, respectively, and initiated the CharlieCard system in 2007.

“In addition to listening to the public at meetings throughout the state, MassDOT and MBTA offi-cials have been talking with state legislators about possible solu-tions,” Pesaturo said.

City officials stressed impor-tance of the MBTA, especially to those working within the city lim-its.

“There are many people who live in the suburbs who depend on the MBTA bus and subway sys-tems to get to and from work every single day,” said Thomas Tinlin, commissioner of the Boston Trans-portation Department . “There will always be a high demand for the use of the MBTA.”

One ride on the T with a Char-lieCard costs $2 and includes a free transfer to a local bus, while fare for a CharlieTicket costs $2.50.

Although thousands of commut-

ers in the city rely on the T, some Boston University students said another fare hike would deter them from taking public transportation.

Manasa Kanneganti, a post-graduate BU School of Medicine student, said a potential increase in fares would definitely cut down on her T usage.

“I would not take the T if it got up to $2.50 a ride,” she said. “I’m a student, I don’t have that kind of money. At that point I could prob-ably take a cab for cheaper.”

College of Arts and Sciences freshman Gabrielle Bull said she would probably not take the T if prices increased again.

“I usually only go to Newbury on it anyway, and that’s not worth spending like $5,” she said. “I’d just walk more.”

School of Management senior Jimmy Barry said he does not use the T too much, so another fare in-crease would not change his hab-its because he would be willing to splurge on the T once in a while.

“If they kept increasing it though, to maybe above $2.50 or around there, I would probably never take the T,” he said.

SARAH FISHER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

College of Communication sophomores Randi Fuchs and Amy Gaiens speak to Boston University students about Omega Phi Alpha’s Bone Mar-row Drive Tuesday afternoon at the George Sherman Union.

FEEL IT IN YOUR BONES

In light of the revelation that for more than a decade George Wash-ington University has been inflating class rank data for incoming students, Boston University officials said rank-ings remain a legitimate method of comparison.

Scott Solberg, School of Educa-tion associate dean for research, said rankings matter to many people and allows universities to see how they compete with other institutions.

“The ranking system itself is pres-tige,” he said. “... There is always a level of wanting to compare oneself to performance and value.”

Solberg said while there are other factors in determining the quality of a school, higher institutions are under pressure to place highly in the U.S. News & World Report ranking.

The class of 2015 class rank data was inflated by a margin of 20 per-cent, said GWU President Steven Knapp in a statement Thursday.

Candace Smith, GWU spokes-woman, said this error grew over time.

“At the time, a lot of high schools were reporting class rank, and over time fewer schools have been report-ing rank, so the error became more

pronounced as the years went on,” she said.

Smith said as a result of the reor-ganization of the Division of Student and Academic Support Services in July, a fresh look was taken at the ad-missions office enrollment practices.

“This came to light then when the Board of Trustees asked for an audit and discovered the error in August,” Smith said. “In September, auditors came in and looked through all the data. They then gave a report to the Board of Trustees in October.”

GWU met with U.S. News & World Report and gave them the cor-rect data for the 2011–12 academic year’s rankings, Smith said. The individuals who were originally in charge of data collection, and report-ing are no longer responsible for the task.

Hardin Coleman, SED dean, said GWU as a whole should not be blamed.

“George Washington University as an institution did not make the mistake, a unit within the institution did,” he said.

Coleman said he understands how difficult reporting data can be.

“Reporting data well is very, very difficult — how we report to the News & World Report has real life

consequences,” he said, “The pres-sure to get it right is enormous.”

A number of BU students said they value the college rankings more than other assessments of BU’s per-formance.

“They are very important because they are easiest and most standard way of judging a college on how good it is,” said Vishrut Jhawar, a School of Management sophomore.

However, Lucas Stegman, a Col-lege of Arts and Sciences freshman, said rankings should not matter much.

“They are not that important be-cause if you listen to different sourc-es, they will give you different infor-mation,” he said.

Solberg said he does not believe someone was purposefully manipu-lating the statistics.

“It’s hard to see that someone was intent on trying to misrepresent George Washington completely,” he said. “They were trying to solve a problem, but didn’t know how to do it. It was incorrect and not proper.”

A number of students attending GWU said they do not understand why the university lied about the sta-tistics.

“Lying about our incoming fresh-

Aerosmith’s old Allston apart-ment and the popular music area of Lansdowne Street in the Fens are just a two of the planned stops on the Boston Music Trail, a new cultural initiative launched by the Music Mu-seum of New England.

The music trail, which is expect-ed to include sites within the greater Boston area, will lead residents and tourists through a series of locations important to musical history within Boston and the nation, said Harry Sandler, co-founder of the MMONE.

“We have identified at least a doz-en sites that we think play a huge part in the music world here in Boston,” he said. “We have been adding up content of about 500 artists, venues, DJs and others that have had a big

influence on the music scene here.” The Boston Music Trail, which

is four years in the making, was an-nounced after the Nov. 5 free Aeros-mith concert in Allston, Sandler said.

“We started working with Aero-smith on the location and their per-formance about three to four years ago,“ he said. “They thought it was a fantastic idea.”

Sandler said the planning process of the trail is ongoing and could not estimate a date of completion.

The City of Boston honored the apartment building where Aerosmith band members lived in the 1970s, 1325 Commonwealth Ave., before their concert on Nov. 5.

The next site to be commemorat-ed will be Lansdowne Street, home to The House of Blues as well as

Wall in Palestine splits homeland, speaker saysCampus & City Wednesday, november 14, 2012 3

Iyad Burnat, a Palestinian leader in the struggle against the Israeli separation wall constructed through his homeland, spoke to students from Boston University, Tufts Univer-sity and Harvard University Tuesday night to spread his story.

“The important thing is to know about the situation in Palestine,” Burnat said. “What we need from students is to support the Palestinian case and to use what has happened and what is going to help the cause.”

Burnat shared the story of how the wall separated his hometown, Bil’in, and showed clips from a film his brother made about the struggle. He also answered questions from the audience in English and Arabic.

“He is talking about his experi-ence protesting the wall and has some footage of that,” said Zena Ozeir, a College of Arts and Sciences senior and president of Students for Justice in Palestine. “He talks about their adoption of the nonviolent method of resistance to the wall and the different tactics they have taken to protest.”

Burnat said he had difficulties leaving Jordan, but eventually ob-tained a visa from the U.S.

Once the monarchy of Jordan al-lowed Burnat to leave, he traveled to the U.S. to speak to university stu-dents, beginning in the northeast.

“The wall destroyed everything,” he said. “There were many villages doing the same demonstrations be-fore Bil’in.”

The video showed soldiers re-moving men and women locked in barrels with their heads and arms ex-posed to the protests.

Burnat said they put themselves

in cages and barrels in front of the Israeli constructed wall in nonviolent protest.

“When there is media, there is propaganda saying these are violent demonstrations because they end violently,” Burnat said. “They send special forces to throw stones at bat-tle stations. So they want to make the people seem violent.”

After talking about methods for

Students question rankings after GWU scandal

Lansdowne St., old Aerosmith apt. lay foundation for Boston Music Trail

By Kyle PlantzDaily Free Press Staff

By Zoe RoosDaily Free Press Staff

By Brian LatimerDaily Free Press Staff

In a presentation Tuesday night, founder and CEO of Palestinian Me-dia Watch Itamar Marcus told Bos-ton University students the negative portrayal of Israel in the Palestinian media is an obstacle to peace.

Marcus said he founded PMW in 1996 with the hopes of learning more about the media’s portrayal of Israel in Palestine. His organization has centered on the promotion of anti-Israeli sentiments in Palestinian youth with a focus on educational programs.

“Peace needs promotion of peace among children,” Marcus said. “Peace needs to be preparing the next generation of peace.”

BU Students for Israel hosted Marcus in the Hillel House Lounge. More than 20 students attended.

Marcus said media as a means of education is a powerful tool that can be used in constructive ways to pro-mote peace between the two nations.

“There is a glorification of war and violence among Palestinians against Israelis and children are learning these types of messages,” he said. “That’s the great tragedy that is going to prevent any possibility of peace.”

Marcus said the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation is the one official Palestinian National Author-ity television station in the state.

He said children’s programs pro-mote violence against Judaism and the complete absence of Israel’s ex-istence.

“What we’re seeing in Palestinian culture is that they [the Palestinians] are trying to create a very strong cul-ture among themselves that there is a world where Israel doesn’t exist at all,” Marcus said.

Kareem Chehayeb, a member of BU Students for Justice in Pales-tine, said Marcus’s comments were shocking.

“To dehumanize ordinary Pales-tinians is a terrible thing,” he said. “Palestinian people aren’t alien peo-ple that live in this alien and violent sort of society. They’re people too. To make such a generalization is a horrible thing.”

BUSI Co-President Rachel Du-Shey said the media portrayal is an issue that is important for people to learn more about.

“It’s something that actively af-fects Palestinians,” DuShey, a Col-lege of Communication junior, said.

By Shannon NargiDaily Free Press Staff

BUSI examines media image of Israel, Palestine

BUsi, see page 4RAnking, see page 4

sJP, see page 4

MUsiC, see page 4

PHOTO BY JACKIE ROBERTSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFFHead of the Bil’in Popular Committee Iyad Burnat speaks of how the Israeli separation wall created a new border that caused conflicts over land with Pal-estinians Tuesday night at the College of Arts and Sciences building.

The following reports were tak-en from the Allston-Brighton D-14 crime logs from Nov. 8 to Nov. 13.

At about 1:40 a.m. on Friday, officers responded to a call from a woman at the intersection of Ba-yard and Myrick Streets regarding an alleged drunk driver who al-legedly struck her parked car from behind. The woman said when she asked the suspect to back off her bumper, she observed a beer in-side his vehicle. Police noted the suspect smelled like alcohol, his eyes appeared to be glossy, and he seemed unsteady on his feet. The suspect told police he drank two beers. The suspect refused a sobriety test and stated, “I drank three beers and will probably fail.” Police noticed an open container of alcohol in the driver seat console, and arrested him for operating un-der the influence of alcohol.

Three stoogesAt about 5 p.m. on Friday, a

woman reported that three male teenagers approached her while she was walking to work at 7:30 a.m. near Long Avenue and Allston Street in Allston. The teenagers tried to take her laptop and cell phone, although she kept a tight grip on her possessions. The teen-agers gave up and fled into Ringer Park.

Mysterious buttsPolice responded to a radio call

about a possible break-in at 24 Pratt St. in Allston at about 4:50 a.m. on Saturday. Three residents of the house stated that they heard bang-ing noises around their apartment at about 12:30 a.m., as well as a strong smell of cigarette smoke. However, they assumed the smell was com-ing from outside and did not inves-tigate the premises. At about 3:30 a.m., one of the residents awoke at about 3:30 a.m. to find the back door open and a discarded cigarette in the bathtub. Although no apart-ment items appeared to be missing, a resident contacted the apartment management, All-Bright Reality, to check and change the locks.

In the facePolice responded to a call on

Saturday at about 4:10 p.m. re-garding a woman who was robbed as she exited the Green Line trol-ley at Commonwealth Avenue and Linden Street in Allston. The victim said the suspect, a woman she knows, approached her and punched her in the face multiple times. The victim’s left eye was bruised from the attack, and she fell to the ground. The suspect then stole her cell phone and $200 be-fore fleeing toward Packard’s Cor-ner, possibly with another woman. When police knocked on the door of the suspect’s apartment on Com-monwealth Avenue, a man opened the door and said the suspect was not present. Police searched the rest of the area but could not find the suspect. The victim was treated by paramedics but refused to be trans-ported to the hospital.

City Crime Logs

parking under the infLuenCe

By Regine Sarah CapunganDaily Free Press Staff

GRACE WILSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFFLansdowne Street, which includes the House of Blues, will soon ac-company other historical music landmarks in Boston as part of the Music Museum of New England’s Boston Music Trail.

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Palestinian youth trained to disregard Israel’s existence, media expert says during lecture

Nonviolent protesters in Middle East cage selves to protest Israel, speaker says

Student: Rankings seen as ‘standard’

BUsi: From Page 3 sJP: From Page 3

RAnking: From Page 3

“Therefore it affects Israel and the peace progress trying to be made.”

Marcus said Palestinian children are taught to disregard Israel’s exis-tence. He said Palestinian children are shown maps of Palestine where Israel’s borders do not exist.

“If it could be taught that Israel is there and that children can recognize Israel as a neighbor, it would help to reinforce in children that there are people to be working with for peace in the region,” he said. “There is no way to make peace with a neighbor if you can’t even recognize that they are there.”

Marcus said he is concerned with the censorship of state-run media, which does not allow opposition to

be heard.“Amongst the Palestinian popu-

lation, there are many people who don’t want to go along with this, but they’re not given the publicity,” Marcus said. “They’re not given the mouthpiece or allowed to voice their opinions.”

DuShey said she is optimistic about the future between Israel and Palestine.

“I do believe there is hope, and I don’t believe in any way it is the fault of the Palestinians that they are be-ing fed these images,” Dushey said. “A productive society is questioning the media and government and re-ally seeing the other side, which they don’t get the chance to do.”

Chehayeb, a College of Arts and

Sciences senior, said he does not sup-port Marcus’s message.

“This sort of rhetoric is actually the ultimate obstacle to peace and coexistence between the Palestinians and Israelis regardless of whatever settlement is made,” he said.

Marcus said his organization aims to foster peace between Israel and Palestine.

“We’ve reached out and presented our findings to the U.S. Congress and to members of Parliament in numer-ous countries, including the Euro-pean Union, Britain, France, Norway and many more,” he said. “With the backing of these powers and foreign aid, we hope to start a more concrete path towards peace with Palestine.”

protests and how the group makes noise, the movie played stories and experiences during the struggle.

Kristen Martin, a CAS senior and SJP member, said Burnat’s talk was motivational.

“I am walking away with inspira-tion to continue the struggle,” Martin said. “It gives me a lot of motivation and hope, which we don’t get that a lot in this movement.”

However, Sarah Close, a CAS ju-nior and political programmer of the BU Students for Israel, said the wall has made Israel safer and reduced terrorist violence.

“Not saying the people are ter-rorists, but the fence has done an in-credible job reducing terrorist attacks and movements of terror into Israel,” Close said. “This is not in any way representative of what is occurring in the entire state.”

man’s statistics makes us look worse than if our percentage of students within their top 10-percent high school percentile is only 58 percent rather than 78 percent,” said Danielle Catalan, a sophomore at GWU.

If this error happened at BU,

some students said they would be disappointed at the university.

“I would be disappointed because you rely on the university to give you accurate knowledge,” Jhawar said. “I feel like it is unfair because this would give BU a name it does not deserve.”

many other clubs, Sandler said. Jay Anderson, marketing and

public relations coordinator for The House of Blues, would not comment on the trail as the site has yet to be made official.

Funding for the trail comes from the Music Drives Us Foundation, a New England nonprofit that supplies grants for music programs.

“This is a project that came to Music Drives us over four years ago, and we are honored to be a part of it,” said Music Drives Us Executive Di-rector Carla Tardif.

The public can propose addi-tional commemorative locations on

MMONE’s website. Kristine Sessa, the Boston Uni-

versity School of Music Curriculum librarian, said there were many po-tential sites for the trail, including Symphony Hall and the Hatch Me-morial Shell. She expressed concern about how well the trail would com-memorate the classical music scene that exists throughout the Hub.

“If anything, I’ve witnessed a great decline in the classical music scene,” she said. “Hopefully, with proper guidance, the trail will repre-sent the entire music scene in Boston, which is quite diverse.”

The MMONE has worked closely with Boston Mayor Thomas Me-nino’s Office of Arts, Tourism &

Special Events to best prepare for the tourist aspect of this trail, Sandler said.

“The city has the same vision we do,” he said. “We are meeting again next week to discuss the tourism as-pect. We want to make sure we have a concentrated effort.”

Sandler said the Boston Music Trail is necessary to commemorate Boston history.

“There are tons of places in this city where there is an important mu-sical history,” he said. “We have the Freedom Trail to honor that part of Boston history, and now we have the music trail to showcase Boston’s musical history. This trail is equally important in its own way.”

MUsiC: From Page 3

Music librarian concerned about how much Boston Music Trail’s will recognize classical music in city

With an array of student groups on Boston Univer-sity’s campus, it is easy for students in every col-lege to find their niche.

For students looking to make people laugh, BU’s com-edy groups, which strive to maintain their own style while performing various types of comedy, provide many oppor-tunities.

From sketch to long-form, BU’s student comics said they are welcomed into the comedy community as long as they are willing to put themselves out there.

Why Comedy?BU is home to five comedy groups recognized by the

Student Activities Office, and countless stand-up comedian students.

Each group stresses that experience is not important — as long as students are willing to try and are not too embar-rassed if they make a fool of themselves, they will fit right in, members said.

Before joining the groups, potential members are tested on their comfort level with acting silly through warm-ups during auditions.

“Warm-ups and improv are always a little bit embar-rassing — you have to look like a fool to do the warm-ups,” said Liz Arcury, a junior in the School of Hospitality Administration and a member of the comedy group Sons of Liberty. “We kind of do the warm-ups first to see if they are okay looking stupid. Can they swallow their pride and do this?”

One of the more common ways students hear about comedy groups here at BU is through word of mouth. The three new members of Slow Children at Play, or more commonly Slow Kids at Play — College of Communica-tion sophomore Evan Gott, College of Arts and Sciences freshman Jasmine Miller and CAS freshman Michael Sci-ortino — said they all heard of their group through friends of members or those involved themselves.

“I did theater in high school, and I wanted to do theater here, but then one of my FYSOP group leaders was really passionate about Slow Kids at Play, and she kept telling us how great it was, so I decided why not audition?” Miller said.

Comedy as a Competition?Although in most aspects of college life, students strive

to be the best — beat the other team and get the highest grades, amongst the BU comedy community, “best” is a relative term, members said.

Competition is scarce between groups, with them choosing instead to cultivate relationships and support one another.

While students test their wit and humor in contests such as BU’s Funniest Student, Sciortino said, BU comedy groups do not give in to the cutthroat nature of competitions — they are only there to encourage their fellow comedians.

“You know, we have relationships with the different groups that we’re not really out to be better than them, un-less it’s a competition,” Sciortino said. “For the most part, we are all looking to be funny people and help each other out as much as we can.”

The best that these comedy groups strive for is an in-ternal task, members said. It is not so much that the groups are competing with one another, but more so that they are competing with themselves.

To grow in comedy, the student comedians said they compare themselves to others, reflect upon what they have accomplished and examine what the next step is to decide how can they get better.

“What keeps me really passionate about the group is that we have this really high standard, like number one is that we always want to get better,” Arcury, one of the vet-eran members of Sons of Liberty, said.

What’s Next?If students are lovers of all things comedy, the logical

next step might be getting involved in the craft. However, most students said they do not think far past their initial participation in a group or doing stand-up. But a number of them pursue opportunities elsewhere in the comedy arena.

Besides from being an member in Sons of Liberty, Ar-cury said she has also tried her hand at satirical writing. She has been published on the website, Collegehumor.com, and participated in stand-up, competing as a stand-up comedian in BU’s Funniest Student.

With all the time it takes to refine their skills, they are not without reward. The experiences and the friendships they create while at school contribute to the great comedy network group members will take with them even after col-lege.

“There’s like this huge Slow Kids network and it’s real-ly cool being new on campus and getting to know so many people already,” Miller said.

This Slow Kids network includes past members who are writers for Jimmy Fallon and the head writer for The Onion.

Whether students plan on pursuing some form a career in comedy or not, getting to participate in such real comedy situations prepares them for some of what they might en-counter in the actual world of comedy, students said.

They also said that being a part of BU’s comedy com-munity introduces them to people with a great sense of hu-mor and provides a place to interact with the community as a whole.

“The other day I was actually approached by someone who said, ‘Hey! You’re in Slow Kids — you were just in a show.’ And I felt like a celebrity, which was fantastic,” said Sciortino. “All of a sudden I’m this recognizable face on campus.”

S P O T L I G H T

Splitting sides, not splitting hairs over competition By Carly Hoff

Features Staff

5

Students channel humor into positive performances

DANIELA ALMAYA/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFFThe comedy group, Sons of Liberty, preforms for students at Boston University Central.

DANIELA ALMAYA/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFFSlow Children at Play preform at BU Central, complete with costume and hair.

6 Wednesday, november 14, 2012

opinionThe daily Free Press

The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

42nd year F Volume 84 F Issue 41

Steph Solis, Editor-in-ChiefSydney L. Shea, Managing EditorLauren Dezenski, Online Editor

The Daily Free Press (ISSN 1094-7337) is published Monday through Thursday during the academic year except during vacation and exam periods by Back Bay Publishing

Co.,Inc., a nonprofit corporation operated by Boston University students. No content can be reproduced without the permission of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc.

Copyright © 2010 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Emily Overholt, Campus Editor

Kevin Dillon, Sports Editor

Divya Shankar, Features Editor

Clinton Nguyen, Layout Editor

Amelia Pak-Harvey, City Editor

Meaghan Kilroy, Opinion Page Editor

Abigail Lin, Photo Editor

Cheryl Seah, Advertising ManagerShakti Rovner, Office Manager

Bloomberg Businessweek, formerly known as BusinessWeek, received sharp criticism for producing an online poll that ranked the attrac-tiveness of men and women at multiple busi-ness schools throughout the country, according to an article in The Boston Globe Tuesday.

Boston University was among the schools ranked and was tied for first place along with Michigan State University and the University of Virginia.

Businessweek issued an apology on its Facebook page Monday acknowledging that the polls were in “poor taste” and that they had been removed from the publication’s website, according to the Globe.

Businessweek’s decision to remove the content and issue an apology was appropri-ate and probably necessary. However, the polls never should have been created in the first place. Ranking business students on their looks not only reduces them to mere objects, but also takes away from the credible programs they represent. These are highly esteemed pro-grams, and the students who belong to them deserve our respect. If a publication, especially one as well-respected as Businessweek, is go-ing to rank college students at all, they should rank them on the qualities for which they were admitted, their academic prowess and integrity — not their appearances. To rank members of

an academic program, especially one as seri-ous as a business program, is inappropriate.

This is not the first time that students have been ranked on their appearances. College Prowler, an online guide to college life written for and by students, ranks universities based on how attractive their student body is. However, their ranking seems more mild because it rates the student body as a whole. It does not single out one program.

In 2010 a website called Rate BU generated heat for giving students the ability to upload images of their classmates and rank them on their looks.While ranking individual students is more intrusive than ranking members of one program or an entire student body, the motive is the same: judge these men and women on their looks.

The backlash has centered on how the at-tractive females poll degraded women. How-ever, males were ranked on their attractive-ness, too. The media should address how the polls objectified both genders and not just one or the other. As degrading as the female poll is, it is important to recognize that the objec-tifying nature of the male poll is just as inap-propriate. Perhaps Businessweek should stick with what it knows best — financial news and analysis.

Rating students on attractiveness

After living in Los Angeles for 18 years, I have never experienced real snow.

I have, however, experienced fake snow. When I was little, my dad would take me to Disneyland around Christmas time ev-ery year. At the nightly parade, they would shoot out white, glittery pieces of paper, and when I asked my dad what it was, he said it was snow. It wasn’t wet, and it usually got stuck on my clothing. I liked this kind of snow because it was shiny and never disap-peared. Kids could roll around in it, and they wouldn’t get wet or dirty. My first impres-sion of snow was a pleasant one.

As I got older, my family began to take trips to the mountains of California. The most popular winter vacation spots were Ar-rowhead and Big Bear. My first trip to Ar-rowhead was only a few years after my first trip to Disneyland. It was distressing to hear that the snow that I first experienced wasn’t snow at all and that the mushy, wet and dirty flakes of ice up in Arrowhead were the real thing. But they weren’t the real thing, because Arrowhead and Big Bear produce their own snow. For the next few winters, I spent a lot of time in Arrowhead, attempting to ski and snowboard on the artificial snow and not progressing in any way. I realized that I’m not a girl who is fit for the snow. I can’t play any snow sports. I can barely un-derstand how to wear the proper clothing for cold weather, and I just don’t appreciate the beauty of snow like many other people do. Plus, I had never experienced a real snowfall — Los Angeles is known for never getting any snow, let alone any rain during the year.

When I applied to Boston University my family was confused. “You hate the snow,” they would tell me. “You can barely stand fake snow. Are you sure you’re ready for the real thing?” And honestly, I had never given it much thought. My friends from high school who moved to Boston before me told me that their first winter was a breeze and that they barely received any snow. I just assumed that a simple snow jacket and rain boots would get me through the winter.

Recently, I heard that the upcoming win-

ter was going to be one of the worst winters Boston has had in a while. I was told that my puny, California coats would not protect me from the harsh winds and snow. And this time, I would not be faced with artificial, man-made snow.

The first snowfall was not as bad as I had expected, and a number of my friends from California actually embraced the change. We went outside and experienced real snow for the first time, taking many pictures to document our experiences. Sure, my hair got wet, and my leggings were destroyed (I obviously don’t own any snow pants), but I thought it was worth it to experience this extreme weather change. When I called my dad and told him about experiencing my first snow, he laughed at me and told me that in a couple of days I would grow to hate it. I didn’t believe him at first.

The next day, the snow wasn’t so soft and beautiful as it was the day before. It was mushy and gross, just like the artificial snow I first witnessed in Arrowhead. As I walked to my classes, I wished I could feel the Cali sun shine down upon me and make me feel warm again. I remembered how un-accustomed to the cold I was and realized it would take me years to get used to this type of weather. It’s difficult to make this tran-sition because I still associate winter with light rain and foggy weather, just like it is in California. I have never experienced snow as a part of winter, and it is quite a shock to have to start wearing warm clothing in November. This time last year, my friends and I tanned by the pool on the weekends because it was scorching hot in the hills of Los Angeles. Snow never got in the way of our routine. Unfortunately, reality has hit all of the Californians living in Boston, and that reality is mostly made up of harsh winds and terrible snow.

Rachel Chistyakov is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and a fall 2012 columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at rachelch@bu.edu.

Winter wonderland

RACHEL CHISTYAKOV

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Submit a letter to the editor to:

letters@dailyfreepress.com

The recent biking accident that involved a Boston University student reinforces the need for Boston to reassess its biking en-vironment.

While the full details of Monday’s in-cident have not been revealed, there have been enough accidents and near-accidents involving drivers and cyclists to indicate that the driver-cyclist relationship is shaky and needs to be addressed.

Boston is recognized for its hectic traf-fic. People commute to work each day, and families travel in and out of the city. A number of cyclists are college students who live on their own and may not always realize the dangers this traffic poses. They weave in between cars and run red lights. Even when they are cautious, dangers emerge nonetheless. Drivers hit cyclists with their car doors or overtake bike lanes

without realizing it. In spite of all these dangers, the city en-

courages residents to opt out of driving and adopt bicycles time and time again. The Hubway program offers people an oppor-tunity to bike around the city, regardless of their riding abilities. Even tourists, people unfamiliar with Boston’s traffic patterns, can hop on a bike and go. Since bicycles serve as a convenient mode of transporta-tion, it is crucial that the city provide a safe environment for riders to travel.

The drawbacks of traveling by bicycle might not outweigh the benefits. It’s a con-venient and affordable alternative to being in packed subway cars and driving on city streets, but when biking becomes unsafe, the city needs to address that. While it is unclear what the solution would be, the city needs to focus more on this issue.

Biking Boston

Terrier Talk

MACKENZIE GIBSON“Raising the fare will

make it harder for [col-lege students] to get around the city.”

—CAS sophomore

ReflectionsThe Daily Free Press asked students how they felt about

a possible MBTA fare increase in 2013.

Here’s what some of them said.

INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY SARAH FISHER

PERRY STEIN CARL VAN REISCLARE EICHINGER

“I use a CharlieCard so it’s cheaper, but because I take the T across campus, it adds up.”

—SED freshman

“If they’re going to raise the fees again, they should raise prices mar-ginally — less than they did this summer.”

—COM junior

“I don’t take the T very often, but for students who are already paying for tu-ition and on a budget, get-ting around the city will be inconvenient..”

—SAR freshman

Wednesday, november 14, 2012 7

MARASCO: Everyone can enjoy it

GRACE DONNELLY/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE PHOTOSenior guard Kristen Sims.

than we are?I loved Zach Galifianakis when he was

just an unknown comic. He got cast in “The Hangover” — suddenly everyone loved him.

It gave me a weird feeling of indigna-tion and pretentiousness.

“I knew him before he was big,” I thought. I felt oddly possessive of his fan-dom.

I looked down on people who called him the “guy with the beard in ‘The Hang-over.’”

“The Office” was my favorite television show from its inception. From episode one I was hooked.

The characters, the style, the subtlety — couldn’t get enough.

When it moved to the U.S., it only got better, but it lacked big ratings at first.

But by season three, season four. Every-one was watching.

People were constantly quoting the show — the lines that weren’t even the “real” funny ones in my opinion.

I felt like most people didn’t “really get” the show.

It miffed me beyond reason. Again, I looked down on those new viewers.

Not only did I not bond over my love of the show with fellow fans, I stopped watch-ing for a long time — I let it bother me that much.

But, finally, I put that behind me. I re-cently watched the first seven seasons — the Michael Scott seasons — on Netflix and fell in love all over again.

It was foolish of me to stop watching, foolish to feel that I was above others as a viewer.

It’s my favorite show, why be annoyed that others enjoy it too?

I’m not better than someone else just be-cause I discovered it first, or because I view it differently. We’re all fans. We all love the show — we’re on the same team.

Truth is, the show wouldn’t have gone on as long as it did without its mass fol-lowing.

I wouldn’t have gotten to watch it in pri-metime all these years. It wouldn’t be all over various cable stations at 2 a.m.

All that extra support saved a great show from being canceled after a season and half.

Terrier fans, I know it’s hard. I know it goes against your impulse. I know it’s hard to not be annoyed when someone pro-nounces Wade Megan’s last name the way one would pronounce Megan Fox’s first name.

But, don’t be like I was. Don’t be that guy.

You’re only hurting yourself. You’re let-ting your own arrogance tarnish what you love — letting perceived entitlement de-tract from joy.

The fans who show up just for the BC games and the Beanpot aren’t your equals in terms of dedication, but they’re not your enemy either. They’re your friends — you’re on the same team!

You all want to see BU win.And don’t you want the arena to be as

packed as possible? Don’t you want it to be as loud as possible?

Every additional fan, diehard or rando, is only furthering the support of something you love.

Would BU be a hockey powerhouse if it didn’t have a ton of fans?

Sure, you’re the more sophisticated fans. You’re more loyal. You care more.

You know what icing is.You get frustrated because you feel you

deserve a greater reward for this. But don’t you see that you are reward-

ed? When BU wins your joy is exponential-

ly greater. Do you really think that girl who asked you who “Steve” was is going to get as much joy from the team as you do?

Don’t resent others because they aren’t as fluent as you are in something.

Welcome them with open arms. They’ll learn, but they have to start somewhere.

Don’t be arrogant. Don’t look down on people. Don’t be that guy.

Just enjoy the game. You’ve earned it.

MARAsCo: From page 8

Follow us onTwitter:

@DFPsports@BOShockeyblog

@BUbballblog

Fellow guard Kristin Sims tied Moran for the most steals. Sims also tied for the most 3-point shots made.

The final senior guard, Chantell Alford, scored a career-high 30 points and led the team in rebounds with nine.

So far, these three seniors have contrib-uted 75 of the team’s 109 points and 26 of its 68 rebounds.

“You really always hope for seniors who love playing, [to whom] BU basketball means everything. And, for [our seniors,] it really does,” Greenberg said. “They always take [every game] personally, like it’s their last game.

“They play like they’re never going to have this opportunity again in their life. And so far, they’re 2-for-2 for being mentally prepared and playing at a really high intensity ... They’re playing thinking ‘we’re going to go out on top,’ and they’re really doing it.”

Senior guards leading BU offense

Like the Terriers, the Friars are a very young team. Providence had nine freshmen in its starting lineup in its loss to UMass on Friday. Its entire second line consisted of freshmen. The Friars’ youth has made them one of the most inconsistent teams in Hockey East, but they took No. 4 Miami University to overtime twice early in the season before

going on a three-game winning streak. Freshman goalie Jon Gillies has stood out early this season, sporting a .924 save percentage and a 2.05 goals-against average.

2 UNH sports the best defense in the conference, allowing only 11 goals in its eight games this season. A big part of this is the strong play of sophomore goaltender Casey Desmith, who leads the con-ference with a .953 save percentage in his eight starts this season. However, the Wildcats have gotten the job done on offense as well.

They are second in Hockey East with 3.25 goals per game. Senior forwards Austin Block and Kevin Goumas have been a big part of that effort, as they lead the conference in goals per game (0.88) and assists per game (1.12), respectively.

The Terriers are coming off a tough loss to rival BC over the weekend. But for a team that has an average of seven freshmen in its lineup per game, they boast a strong 5–3 record. The team’s losses have all come against teams ranked among the top 10 in USCHO.com’s Division I rankings, including No. 1 BC, No. 5 UNH and No.

6 North Dakota. Freshman goaltender Matt O’Connor (.938 save percentage) has provided stability in goal for the Terriers while sophomore forwards Cason Hohmann (3g, 7a) and Evan Rodrigues (1g, 5a) have each made a big jump and stabilized the top line.

Boston University (5–3, 4–2)

Merrimack had been among the top teams in Hockey East until this past weekend. A surprising loss to the University of Connecticut after a loss to BU drops the Warriors in the power rankings. Still, the War-riors are tied for the league lead in goals on the season in part thanks to junior Mike Collins (5g, 8a). If goaltenders Rasmus Tirronen and Sam

Marotta can continue to play well as a tandem, Merrimack could maintain its No. 4 spot in the Hockey East standings.

After last weekend’s wins over then-No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 11 Boston University, BC cemented itself as the top team in the nation. The Eagles have recovered from a surprising loss to Northeastern Uni-versity in their first game and have won eight straight contests. Led by arguably the best top-two forward lines in Hockey East, BC leads the

league in scoring offense with 3.33 goals per game. Thanks to three talented freshmen defensemen and strong play from goaltender Parker Milner, BC has the No. 2 defense in the league, allowing only 1.89 goals per game.

Boston College (8–1, 7–1)

The gap between teams 4–8 narrows in Hockey East, but UMass has been the best of the teams in the middle of the pack this season. It has had a very tough schedule to start the season, having faced BC and BU twice and UNH once in its seven games. However, it has kept six of those seven games within a goal, and even handed

UNH its only loss of the season on Nov. 2. Its record may not be spectacular, but watch out for UMass to jump up in the standings during the next month when it has an easier schedule.

University of Massachusetts (3–4, 2–4)

Providence College (4–4–1, 3–3)

Merrimack College (4–5–1, 3–2–1)

University of New Hampshire (6–1–1, 4–1–1)

Lowell has been the biggest disappointment of all Hockey East teams this season, as it was projected to be among the league’s best teams prior to the season. The Riverhawks have lost to some tough op-ponents, such as No. 1 BC and No. 2 Denver University. But they also tied the University of Vermont and lost to the University of Maine on

Saturday. They are eighth in the conference in scoring offense (1.86 goals per game) and defense (2.71 goals per game). They will need more out of sophomore Scott Wilson (1g, 0a), who was last year’s Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year.

University of Massachusetts Lowell (2–4–1, 1–3–1)

10

5

4

Men’s Hockey EastPower Rankings

By Kevin Dillon

7

1

3

After starting the season well with wins over Merrimack and BC, the Huskies went on a five-game winless streak. Freshman Kevin Roy (3g, 6a) has led the way for the Huskies in terms of scoring, and both Chris Rawlings (2.02 GAA, .929 save percentage) and Brian Mountain (1.92 GAA, .947 save percentage) have good numbers in goal. How-

ever, the loss of freshman forward Cam Darcy to the USHL could hurt Northeastern as the season continues.

Northeastern University (4–4–1, 2–4–1)

6

The Catamounts have only won a single game on the season, but they have tied twice and have been tougher to beat than expected before the season. However, the team has struggled to score goals, as it has only scored a total of 10 goals in six games this season. No Vermont player has scored more than a single goal on the season, and its leading

scorer, senior Chris McCarthy, only has four points on the year. At this point, Vermont looks to be among one of the bottom two teams in Hockey East this season.

University of Vermont (1–3–2, 1–3–2)

8

The Black Bears are in for a long season if the year keeps going this way for them. Maine has the worst offense (1.36 goals per game) and defense (3.18 goals against per game) in Hockey East. To make matters worse, senior captain and last year’s leading goal-scorer Joey Diamond was injured on Friday. Things look bleak for Maine this season, but

freshmen Devin Shore (1g, 4a) and Ben Hutton (1g, 3a) have performed well early on.

University of Maine (2–9, 1–5)

9

WoMen’s BAsketBAll: From page 8

Sunday night was the main event, the big show, the burrito supreme — when is Boston Uni-versity getting that Taco Bell?

BU took to the ice against BC. “Oh. My. Gosh. You aren’t

going to the BC game?” I heard freshmen girls say to other fresh-men girls all week.

“Why does everyone hate BC so much?” said one pal to another in the dining hall.

“Because they suck, dude,” his friend replied.

“Oh OK.”“Where’s section 119?” “Is BC good this year?”“Who’s Steve?” — referring to

the banner above section 108.You heard these things as the

game’s beginning neared.You more loyal fans surely

spent a lot of time face-palming. In fact, I know you did because

I saw you, and I heard your sighs.Your blood pressure doubled

when you heard someone ask, “What does icing mean?”

Those carefully timed chants you know and love were slightly off at times during the game.

“Hit him!”“Get it!”“Shoot it!”These are the cries you heard

coming from over your shoulder all game long.

Steam came out of your ears every time the guy to your left yelled, “You suck number 12!” then high-fived his friends.

I heard you whispering about the new influx of fans. You didn’t enjoy them.

Fans, in all sports, look down on other fans.

Red Sox fans who tune in for all 162 games call those more se-lective watchers “fair-weather” fans.

Even fans in certain cities look down at those across the country.

“Lakers fans are soft,” say the Celtics diehards. “They show up 15 minutes late. They don’t get in fights in the stands. They don’t yell expletives at opposing play-ers. Soft.”

Why does it bother us so much when we perceive others to be less of a “real” fan of something

Notebook: BU winless after tough 2 games

SportsThe daily Free Press

[ www.dailyfreepress.com ]page 8 Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Bottom Line

By Michael BagarellaDaily Free Press Staff

MARAsCo, see page 7

the empty net

By Steven DufourDaily Free Press Staff

WoMen’s BAsketBAll, see page 7

With only 80 minutes of play under its belt this season, the Bos-ton University women’s basket-ball team (1–1) is already show-ing trends.

BU opened its season last Fri-day with a victory against Bos-ton College (0–1) and then lost Monday night against No. 14/19 West Virginia University (2–0). The stat sheets show the Terriers’ inconsistency over their first two games.

Certain BU players have shone on defense. Some have consis-tently been key starters, and oth-ers have set records. However, according to BU coach Kelly Greenberg, three major factors have played a part early on in this season.

Opening at homeFor the first time under Green-

berg, the Terriers start their sea-son with three consecutive home games. Case Gymnasium nearly filled for Friday’s victory over BC, and it echoed with “Go BU” chants Monday in the nail-biting loss to WVU. This Friday it will serve as the venue of the Terriers’ matchup with the University of Richmond (1–1).

Even after the three games, BU travels to next-door neighbor Northeastern University (0–1). Greenberg said that for a team that only lost one game at home last season, the ability to start off with a positive atmosphere has greatly benefitted the Terriers.

“We’ve always had a pretty big presence on our home court,” Greenberg said. “We don’t have to worry about travel plans and

who’s doing what ... [We’re able] to focus just on our opponents.”

Free throwsBU’s loss on Monday night

was decided by three points. Had it converted on more of its free throws — the team missed seven in the game — it would have had a better chance to win.

Even though they were 6-for-6 from the line in the first half against WVU, the Terriers have otherwise struggled with free throws. In the second half of that same game, they went 11-for-18. In the game against BC, they missed over half of their 21 free throws.

In only 80 minutes, they have cost themselves 18 points because of missed free throws.

“Friday night we won despite [the missed free throws] and

[Monday] night, we lost,” Green-berg said. “[Free throws] were certainly one of the reasons that hurt our chances … we beat our-selves a little bit.”

With a field goal conversion percentage of 37.5 percent and a 35 percent 3-point conversion rate, the Terriers are still an offen-sive threat, but points at the line remain a problem.

“We just have to keep at it,” Greenberg said. “It can become mental if you talk about it too much, so we’ll just get better game by game.”

SeniorsAgainst WVU, the three start-

ing seniors dominated the floor.Guard Mo Moran led the team

in assists, tied for the team lead in steals and was second in scoring.

The Boston University men’s basketball team has gone winless in its first two games, dropping a last-second thriller to Northeast-ern University before losing to Canisius College 83–75 on Mon-day night.

BU coach Joe Jones said while those two teams do not boast a national ranking, they are each extremely tough opponents.

“A lot of the times you have to look at the teams you play more than anything,” Jones said. “We played two of the better teams in their leagues. We could have played two lesser teams and be 2–0 right now and what does that mean? We are playing a schedule that’s more challenging than any-body else in our league.”

The competition will remain tough when the Terriers play George Washington University (0–1) this weekend and then travel to New Brunswick, N.J., to play Rutgers University (1–1).

YouthFor a team that has no seniors

on scholarship, the Terriers have relied heavily on the play of their freshmen thus far.

Freshman guard Maurice Wat-son Jr., ranked 92nd in ESPN’s top national high school basket-ball recruits of his class, has start-ed both games at point guard for the Terriers. He currently leads the team in assists with 11.

Freshman forward Nathan Dieudonne has started the first two games down low. He was the team leader in rebounds against Northeastern, pulling down nine boards.

Coming off the bench, fresh-man guard John Papale, has made big shots for BU from behind the 3–point arc. He is second on the team in scoring and leads the team in 3-point field goals.

Freshman forward Justin Alston has seen action in both games, scoring his first collegiate basket Monday night at Canisius.

“[The freshmen] are all doing very well,” Jones said. “They are all contributing. They are all great kids. They all want to contribute to a winner and they all want to win — that’s the most important thing to them and they play that way.”

Jones praised the play of the freshmen, but also noted that time and experience will help them im-prove their play.

“Sometimes when you are a young player you get quick feet and you start moving a little quicker than you want,” Jones said. “The games need to slow down for you. That’s something I think we can get better at. We just need some game experience and need to understand some things better, but I’m happy with their effort.”

Speed and transitionThe Terriers are a team that

lacks significant size down low. However, they make up for that shortcoming with two quick guards in Watson and junior cap-tain DJ Irving.

Irving, with his team-leading 38 points, and Watson have been leading the BU offense.

“We have two great weapons on the perimeter in terms of Mo [Watson] and DJ [Irving],” Jones said. “Both those guys are really hard to contain off the dribble. So when they are in there and able to make some plays for themselves, it puts a lot of pressure on the de-fense.”

ImprovementThe Terriers have been less fo-

cused on their winless record and more focused on what they can continue to do well and what they need to improve on.

“As a unit, we need to do some things that we clearly didn’t do in the first two games,” Jones said. “We need to take a hard look and say, ‘Okay, these are the things we did well in the first two games. Let’s continue to do those, but let’s also concentrate on fix-ing the areas that will give us a better chance to win.’”

Jones said the team needs to improve on its defense by bet-tering its positioning and getting around off-ball screens.

The Terriers were a couple of big defensive stops away from gaining the lead against the Gold-en Griffins and potentially com-ing away with a win.

An open letter to diehards

frank marasCo

Quotable“ “The games need to slow down for you.

-BU men’s basketball coach Joe Jones

Freebies

The Boston University women’s basketball team missed seven free throws in its loss to No. 14/19 West Virginia University on Monday. P. 8.

GRACE DONNELLY/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE PHOTOFreshman guard Maurice Watson Jr. has taken on a large role of running BU’s offense this season.

Women’s basketball enjoys home court early in season

Sunday, Nov. 18Saturday, Nov. 17Thursday, Nov. 15 Friday, Nov. 16Wednesday, Nov. 14No Games Scheduled

Jose Reyes was traded from the Marlins to the Blue Jays in a package deal...

No Games Scheduled...With Reyes’ track record in contract

years, the Blue Jays are poised to make a run at the 2017 World Series.

W. Hockey vs. Providence, 5 p.m.M. Hockey @ Vermont, 7 p.m.

W. Basketball vs. Richmond, 7 p.m.

M. Basketball vs. George Washington, 1 p.m.

Cross Country NCAA Championships, All Day

M. Hockey vs. UNH, 1 p.m.W. Hockey vs. Harvard, 3 p.m.

Wrestling @ Keystone Classic, All Day(Philadelphia, Pa.)