Wednesday, April 27, 2011 TheLII Daily Free Press Year xli. Volume lxxxi. Issue . www.dailyfreepress.com [ The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University ] Spotlight Campus & City Sports Painting the town red: Weather Home away from home: Playground Problems: Today: Rain, High 73 International students reveal Survey reveals stats on bullying Hazel makes an Tonight: Clouds, Low 61 how they adapted to BU, US impact in first Tomorrow: 66/55 page 5 page 3 in the Bay State page 8 full year at BU Data Courtesy of weather.com City Hall testimony: Campus sexual assault policies ‘broken’ By Jamil Sbitan Daily Free Press Staff Rally following council During her freshman year, Boston Univer- meeting calls for policy sity student Sarah Merriman was a victim of an attempted sexual assault by a man she knew, changes at universities she said in a hearing on campus sexual assault By Sarah Payne policies Tuesday. Daily Free Press Staff Merriman, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, testified at Boston City Hall with city council members that the current system to Activists called for more open communica- help victims on college campuses is “broken.” tion about campus sexual assault policies out- “I’m one of the few people that actively side City Hall Wednesday at the “Break the Si- deal with sexual assault on campus,” said Mer- lence about Sexual Violence” rally. riman, who is active in the BU Women’s Re- About 50 people gathered in response to re- source Center. “There are a handful of people cent media coverage of sexual violence at col- that are dedicated to it but not a lot. So one of leges and universities across the country. us needed to come and voice our dissatisfac- About one in five women and one in 16 men ABBY PAN / DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF tion with how sexual assault is being handled are victims of sexual assault during their under- City councilors testified Wednesday at Boston City Hall during a hearing on graduate career, according to the rally’s Face- on campus.” campus sexual assault policies. Boston Police Department representatives book page. Council’s Committee on Women and Healthy Pressley said that sexual assault is a viola- Deputy Kelly Nee, Captain Mark Hayes and City Councilor At-Large Felix Arroyo, an or- Communities, was chaired by City Councilor tion of civil rights, as the Obama administration Lieutenant George Juliano said that at large ganizer of the rally, said that 95 percent of sexual At-Large Ayanna Pressley. has highlighted. universities like BU and Northeastern Univer- assaults on college campuses go unreported. Pressley, who herself was a victim of sexual “We all want the same thing, and that is sity, the campus police departments are given “This is a crisis within our culture,” Arroyo assault during her college career at BU, said to ensure the safety of our students,” Pressley full autonomy on issues of sexual assault on said. “The absence of the word ‘no’ doesn’t that men need to work in concert with women said. “To be clear, I consider our colleges and campus. The BPD can only intervene on issues mean ‘yes’.” in order to change a “culture that is far too toler- universities partners in the work to prevent sex- of homicide. Colleen Smith, a college administrator at the ant when it comes to sexual violence.” ual violence and to hold perpetrators of sexual Despite this, a little more than 1,000 cases Massachusetts College of Art and Design and “Behavior is learned. What is appropriate, violence accountable. I do not consider them of sexual assault involving college-aged people participant in the rally, said these numbers were what is healthy and what is not,” Pressley said. the enemy. The enemies are the offenders and get reported every year to the city’s police, ac- surprising. “Sexual violence is not bad behavior, assault- perpetrators of these vile acts.” cording to the BPD. “These statistics are alarming, and so many ing a woman isn’t the result of mixed signals, City Councilor At-Large Felix Arroyo, who “It takes an incredible amount of self-moti- go unreported,” she said. “As a college adminis- raping a girl in your dorm room isn’t a youth- was a sponsor of the hearing, said that it is im- vation to seek help on a university campus, as trator I see this first hand. Many college policies ful indiscretion. What we are talking about is a this issue is unsavory,” said Merriman. crime, punishable for up to 20 years in prison.” The hearing, which was hosted by the City CITY COUNCIL, see page 2 SEXUAL ASSAULT, see page 2 BU professors divided over in-class laptops; some see diligent work, others distraction By Steph Solis can multitask in lectures, especially with the engaging,” she said. “If I’m a standup come- While he said he does not doubt that students Daily Free Press Staff many distractions of social networking sites. dian, I have to earn that audience. If I’m a musi- might be on distracting sites like Facebook, he While students use their laptops to take cian, I have to earn it. Why shouldn’t professors also said hopes that his students will use their Boston University student Brianna Blood- notes, some professors said they have noticed have to work for it?” laptops to take better notes and look for course good’s professor was off on a tangent in lecture. their students becoming absorbed in other ac- The nature of multitasking, however, has material online. It drove Bloodgood to give into the temptations tivities, such as online shopping, checking also changed with sites like Facebook, Harris Some professors said they have taken steps of her laptop. email and social networking. said. to prevent the Internet from disrupting lecture. Though Bloodgood, a College of Arts and “Obviously this has been an issue facing “That’s a lot more attention-grabbing than Tammy Vigil, an associate dean in the Col- Sciences freshman, was opening her laptop to students long before Facebook,” said Catherine writing a letter to your girlfriend or making a lege of Communication, instructed her teaching check up on her email and Facebook account, Harris, a professor of psychology. “When I to-do list,” she said. “You’re getting a response assistants to walk around her Introduction to the she said she thinks having it in class is a neces- was in college I would bring reading material, and getting a reward. With Facebook, there World of Communication class and make sure sary evil. I would bring a notebook, or if I didn’t I would are so many rewards . so many likes and re- students were not engaging in social network- “I think [using laptops] makes it impossible be bored.” sponses.” ing or other distracting online activities. to fall behind because you type faster than you Harris, who teaches developmental psy- In spite of the potential distractions, many “I know that there have been times when can write,” she said. “But the temptation is al- chology, said the issue of multitasking in lec- professors said they do not prohibit laptops in past colleagues have considered [a ban], and I ways there.” tures involves a number of factors, one being their lectures. certainly understand why they would do that,” Students’ increased attachment to their lap- that professors fail to present engaging and re- William Keylor, who has taught History of latable material. International Relations Since 1945, said he has tops has raised questions about how well they , see page 4 “The burden is on me to make the lecture “no objection” to his students using laptops. LAPTOPS PETA aims to increase veganism at BU CUT ME SOME SLACK By Gina Curreri to grow.” Daily Free Press Staff “Every person who sees a sticker and con- siders becoming a vegetarian could save over a Boston University is among 100 college hundred animals a year by simply leaving them campuses receiving stickers as part of People off their plate,” Huling said in an interview. for Ethical Treatment of Animals’ national cam- BUVS members plan to distribute the stick- paign to promote veganism and vegetarianism. ers, which picture a cartoon chick, along with PETA’s young adult division, peta2, an- other pro-vegetarianism materials at tabling nounced its Million Sticker Mania campaign events and grassroots campaigns over the next on Monday and has sent stickers that say, “I Am few months, said BUVS member and next Not a Nugget,” to the BU Vegetarian Society year’s president Greta Magerowski, a College in hopes that the student activist group will use of Arts and Sciences senior. them to advocate for increasing vegetarianism “It’s easier to accept the low price of meat on BU’s campus. than to question why that price is so low,” said The campaign is a lighthearted way to Magerowski in an email. “We hope that the spread the message “as far and wide as pos- stickers will lead some people to start asking sible” with the distribution of one million stick- questions because, if they do, we think they will ers, said Ryan Huling, peta2’s college campaign reach the same conclusions that we did.” coordinator. Aside from the ethics behind a veggie diet, “When it comes to animal rights – just like becoming a vegetarian or vegan can be a healthy with other social justice movements – it’s young lifestyle choice if done correctly, said Elizabeth people who are leading the charge,” said peta2 Jarrard, the social media manager for the Sar- director Dan Shannon in an email. “More and gent Choice healthy meal program and a senior more college students are embracing a healthy, in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilita- JUSTINA WONG / DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF humane vegan diet – and thanks to student Jon Doty, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore slack lines outside the groups like BUVS, that number will continue PETA, see page 4 Metcalf Science and Engineering Building on Tuesday.